"This is the 30th round of the 2012/2013 La Liga season, a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at home."
"Currently, Barcelona leads the League with a three-point advantage, sitting at the top of the standings. The outcome of this match will determine the leader of La Liga."
"Can Real Madrid catch up, and can Barcelona overcome the psychological pressure to secure a victory?"
González's tone was heavy, making every fan following the match tense.
Especially Barcelona fans, despite their dissatisfaction with González's commentary, what he said was the truth.
Since 2009, for three whole years, Real Madrid had been suppressing them.
Barcelona struggled to win in direct confrontations!
In fact, from a certain perspective, this had already become Barcelona's nightmare.
And three days prior, they suffered another setback in the Champions League, being slaughtered by Bayern Munich, which worsened their situation.
The starting lineups are as follows:
Real Madrid (4-3-3):
Goalkeeper: Casillas.
Defenders: Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo.
Midfielders: Casemiro, Kroos, Khedira.
Forwards: Di Maria, Benzema, Suker.
Barcelona (4-4-2):
Goalkeeper: Pinto.
Defenders: Alves, Piqué, Bartra, Montoya.
Midfielders: Xavi, Alexandre Song, Iniesta.
Forwards: Pedro, Messi, Fabregas.
Suker turned his head to look.
Fabregas was once again in a forward position, which meant he was almost completely cut off from the midfield.
Even now, Barcelona had no intention of entrusting the midfield power to Fabregas.
And it's estimated that Fabregas has already given up hope and is preparing for a transfer.
However, what surprised Suker was Messi.
Messi had sustained an injury during an intense confrontation in the Champions League match.
But he still played in this match, so either he wasn't injured, or it was a minor injury.
In any case, Barcelona couldn't do without Messi now, let alone in such a tense match.
However, playing with an injury could easily turn a minor injury into a major one, which would be a net loss.
Suker turned his head and waved his fist at Kroos, who nodded vigorously.
Based on Kroos's excellent performance in the previous match, he received more tactical resources in this game.
Di Maria starting meant that the two wings would tuck in, cooperating with the midfield to attack.
Zidane intended to focus on midfield rhythm control in this match.
Many people said that playing midfield rhythm against Barcelona was suicidal.
But in the previous Champions League match, Bayern Munich had already proven that only by suffocating Barcelona in the midfield would the latter completely collapse.
Therefore, Real Madrid, based on Kroos's excellent performance in the previous game, combined with Suker and Di Maria's control abilities, decided to give it a try.
Both teams' players took their positions in their respective halves.
Real Madrid kicked off the first half.
The match was on the verge of breaking out, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.
Suker stepped on the ball and turned his head, saying, "Let's cooperate well in this match!"
Benzema immediately nodded, looking eager to try.
This match would involve frequent position changes between the two of them.
It was meant to lay the foundation for their forward line cooperation.
In fact, they had already accumulated some experience, and the effect was good, but it still needed to be honed through match after match.
Bale didn't start, which was also a pity.
But to add an extra layer of insurance in midfield control, Di Maria was still deployed.
Of course, Suker could also drop back to receive the ball.
But Real Madrid's coaching staff didn't want to do that; even though Suker said he could play that way, they still believed that Suker was most threatening in the attacking third.
To put it bluntly, the coaching staff still didn't trust the finishing ability of other players enough.
With Suker up front, Real Madrid at least retained a huge threat; if it were someone else, it would be uncertain.
Beep!
The whistle blew.
The entire Bernabéu stadium erupted in cheers.
Suker immediately kicked off, and amidst the intense cheers, the 30th round of the 2012/2013 La Liga season, the battle for the top of the League, also began.
"Kroos passed back; he still thinks passing back is safer. In the last Champions League match, the Germany midfielder performed brilliantly, and we can continue to expect great things in this match!"
Kroos constantly moved, and after the baptism of the Juventus match, it was clear that he played with more confidence.
Suker and Di Maria also constantly converged towards the center, sometimes Suker would even run to the central axis.
And at this time, Benzema would run to the left flank or wide.
Real Madrid systematically passed the ball, and during this time, Suker played stranger and stranger.
He wondered if it was an illusion, but he felt that Barcelona's restriction on him in the midfield had lessened.
It wasn't that they weren't marking him, but the feeling of being marked wasn't very strong.
In previous matches, even without the ball, they would try every possible way to provoke him.
Confrontation, pushing, provocation, and other tactics were endless.
But now, these guys were honestly behind him, not knowing what they were thinking, looking a bit lost.
Suker also didn't know what the opponent was thinking, but it was worth a try.
Thinking of this, Suker began to diagonally run forward from the left flank area.
As he moved, Alexandre Song also followed.
However, there was still no physical contact with him, let alone confrontation.
At this moment, Kroos also saw this scene and immediately passed the ball to Suker.
Suker accelerated and rushed to the right flank.
Di Maria then ran along the wing, and Suker's diagonal run forward meant he could suddenly cut in and pass the ball to Di Maria.
But he didn't do that.
Suker stepped on the ball and turned, his body facing the far left.
At the same time, he gently pushed the ball forward with his left foot.
He didn't choose to chip the ball into the open space on the left, but rather passed it flat to the onrushing Kroos.
Kroos received the ball and dribbled forward directly.
As he approached the penalty area, he attracted enough defensive attention and passed the ball to the right.
Di Maria caught up and slid to sweep the ball across.
The ball rolled towards the six-yard box, but Benzema was a step too slow and couldn't get a touch on the ball, which landed on the left half of the field and was cleared by Alves.
"Oh~~~ Real Madrid's attack, Suker's sudden change of play was very surprising."
"Everyone thought he would pass to Di Maria, but he stepped on the ball, turned, and passed it flat to Kroos, who then passed it back to Di Maria."
"This caused Barcelona's defense, which was already tilted to the right, to converge back towards the center, and by the time Kroos passed the ball, Di Maria had more options."
"Although the attack didn't result in a goal, it achieved a good effect."
"In contrast, Barcelona's defense was a bit loose. Were they asleep?"
As González said, Barcelona's backline seemed to be asleep, not only reacting a step too slow, but also having a significant drop in their defensive awareness and game intensity.
This was why Real Madrid was playing so easily.
They initially thought it was just the defense, but soon discovered that the offense also became sluggish.
Barcelona's back passes increased, or rather, became too frequent.
Sometimes, there were clear opportunities, but to be absolutely sure, they would pass back again to build up the play.
After several consecutive back passes, not only were opportunities lost, but the game also started to become passive.
"Are they really dragging out the attack like this?"
Zidane was a bit stunned.
This wasn't the Barcelona he remembered!
Even if the offense was sluggish, it wasn't sluggish in this way.
It was as if everyone was afraid to attack, always trying to find the most certain opportunity.
But in a football match, where would there be absolutely certain opportunities?
Opportunities are not waited for, but fought for!
But Barcelona's current style of play was very negative.
They were waiting for opportunities, not fighting for them.
"Hey! Pass the ball! Pass the ball! What are you waiting for?"
Watching his teammates constantly passing the ball around in the backfield, Fabregas was impatient.
What was the point of passing the ball around in the backfield?
Once they were dispossessed, their goal would be in danger, and playing like this was too negative!
Just as Fabregas was shouting, Xavi, who was behind him, couldn't take it anymore.
After passing the ball, Xavi turned and angrily retorted, "Shut up! Are you the only one who knows how to play?"
He was fed up with this guy's random instructions.
Due to the issue of the midfield core, Xavi and Fabregas had not been getting along well recently.
Fabregas wanted to quickly establish himself.
Xavi stated that he could hold on for a while longer.
Their conflict stemmed from this.
Fabregas wanted control of the midfield, but Xavi said it wasn't the right time.
Coupled with the coaching staff not supporting him as much as before, this made Fabregas very annoyed, even thinking of leaving.
Suker was not far from them and heard these conversations very clearly, and he couldn't help but feel happy.
So it was an internal problem!
Not only Real Madrid, but Barcelona was also developing conflicts.
Some time ago, Real Madrid was not doing well, so Suker really didn't want Barcelona to do too well either. Seeing this scene, he felt a bit of sastifaction.
"Real Madrid is still patiently holding their position, but possession is still with Barcelona."
González frowned.
Barcelona was indeed controlling the ball, but they had not been able to make any progress or penetrating passes.
What were they waiting for?
González wasn't very clear, but many of Barcelona's passes were indeed meaningless, as if they were just for the sake of possession.
The old Barcelona, every one of their passes was very deliberate.
In swift and fluid passing, they could continuously advance and also influence the opponent's defensive adjustments.
But now these passes were meaningless!
Up to now, Barcelona had not been able to make a single threatening pass.
Bang!
In the 21st minute, at the moment Messi made a horizontal pass, he suddenly encountered a challenge from Kroos, causing his pass to be unstable.
Iniesta quickly adjusted, trying to control the ball, but Casemiro and Di Maria followed up with a joint tackle.
Under the pressure of the two, Iniesta was eventually dispossessed.
As Iniesta fell, he raised his hand, signaling a foul.
But the Referee extended both hands forward, indicating no foul.
Kroos didn't care about the Referee; since there was no whistle, he immediately passed the ball to Benzema in front.
As Benzema dropped back to receive the ball, Suker and Di Maria moved forward diagonally from both sides towards the center.
But during his run, Suker suddenly paused.
And it was this pause that allowed Benzema to seize the timing for a pass. He twisted his body, used his left foot to hook the ball, and immediately passed it to Suker, then circled around himself, charging towards the goal from the left wing.
Suker also noticed Benzema's run. He immediately stepped on the ball, not rushing to pass it, but waited for Benzema to reach a certain position, then suddenly pulled it back gently.
Suker pulled the ball into the open space behind him.
And there, Benzema had already circled around and rushed over, meeting the ball with a narrow-angle shot.
The ball threaded through the crowd and accurately flew into the far corner of the goal.
"Gooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!"
"Karim Benzema! A brilliant short-range combination from Real Madrid, continuous passing, tacit cooperation, in the 22nd minute, they scored the first goal!"
"From the moment they chose to counter-attack, every pass from Real Madrid was forward, all serving the purpose of scoring, which is precisely what Barcelona lacks."
"Barcelona urgently needs to adjust; they certainly have more possession, but they can't produce effective attacks!"
Listening to González's commentary, Barcelona fans were furious.
But then they suddenly sighed; what he said was not wrong.
Barcelona was indeed controlling the ball, but this possession was ineffective and posed no threat.
In contrast, Real Madrid's two attacks were threatening, and one of them resulted in a goal.
In terms of offense, Real Madrid was much more decisive than them.
"Are you scared? Are you scared by Bayern Munich's counter-attacks? If you don't dare to push forward, what kind of game are we playing?"
Fabregas roared in anger.
At this point, he couldn't care about anything else. This game was frustrating and stifling.
Everyone was afraid to pass forward, every pass was a safe pass.
In amateur football, this is not a problem.
Continuously making safe passes is already very impressive in amateur games.
But they are professionals!
And top-tier professional giants!
Waiting for Real Madrid to make mistakes on their own when there's no pressure?
Dream on!
That's impossible!
Opportunities don't wait!
But these guys were incredibly cowardly.
The reason Fabregas was angry was because he had betrayed everyone and chosen to join Barcelona.
He had abandoned everything to come here, but in the end, he ended up with such a result?
He was almost a joke!
At Barcelona, he had only won one Copa del Rey!
Continuous losses in the Champions League.
Continuously suppressed by Real Madrid in the League.
Every year they said 'next year,' but which 'next year' would they finally win a championship?
If it was just one Copa del Rey, why would he bother paying his own money to come to Barcelona?
Arsenal competing for the FA Cup is more fun than what you're doing, isn't it?
Real Madrid's players also saw some signs of argument within Barcelona. Although they were trying their best to hold back, it would explode sooner or later. They were too experienced in this regard, having just gone through internal strife themselves, and the effects were not yet completely gone.
"I knew this game felt a bit off; turns out the other side has internal strife!" Benzema said with a grin.
He felt the same as Suker; seeing conflicts arise within Barcelona.
The emotions of the others were largely similar.
Seeing their direct rivals, Barcelona, in a bad internal situation, they were naturally happy.
And for Barcelona, this period had indeed been quite grueling.
They had managed to hold on until now entirely due to Messi's superb performance.
But in the last Champions League match, even Messi was unable to turn the tide; they were thoroughly defeated by Bayern Munich.
This was a complete destruction, from psychological to technical levels, encompassing everything!
Guardiola was also ruthless towards his former players, playing in a way that caused his old disciples' mentality to collapse.
The worst news was that Messi was injured.
It could be seen from his performance in this game that Messi's movements were a bit slow, a bit off.
This was not the strength he should be showing!
But Messi's ankle was injured and still bandaged.
They dared not let Messi rest, especially in this game.
And Messi himself also stated that he wanted to participate in this game.
But from the current situation, Messi was simply unable to perform.
With Messi silenced, Barcelona's overall rhythm became even worse.
Suker also breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "It looks like this game should be easier to play!"
Barcelona's form was poor, and they had internal conflicts, which made Real Madrid play with even more confidence.
After the game restarted, Real Madrid actively controlled the rhythm, pressing step by step, constantly threatening Barcelona's goal with fluid cooperation in the front third.
It could be said that the only regret in this game was Bale.
Bale sat on the bench, his legs constantly shaking; he was eager to get on the field.
Bale's gaze constantly swept towards Zidane.
He didn't look at Leidup, even though that guy was the nominal Head Coach, it was all Zidane's command.
So far, Zidane had no intention of letting him play.
However, Bale believed he still had a chance to play in the second half.
Watching Suker and Benzema's tacit cooperation, Bale was itching to play.
The forward cooperation was the result of their three-person joint training. Now that these two were having fun on the field, he could only sit on the bench and watch, naturally feeling stifled.
But at the same time, he was constantly building up his form, ready to give 100% as soon as he got the chance to play.
As Zidane watched the field, he would also occasionally turn his head to look at Bale.
He saw Bale's expression.
He did pressure Bale a bit, mainly because Bale had been playing too passively, too gently, recently.
His inner self should accumulate some anger, making him perform more aggressively.
Therefore, he kept Bale on the bench to watch half the game.
And from the current situation, the effect was quite good!
On the field, Real Madrid's offense was like a tide, and Barcelona was struggling to cope.
Messi was silent, Barcelona's progression couldn't be played out, and Real Madrid continued to apply pressure.
The scales of the game still tilted towards Real Madrid!