On Real Madrid's side, Robinho came on for Diarra. Emerson dropped back into the defensive midfield role, while Robinho moved to left midfield.
Capello knew that defending Ronaldinho required players who weren't already on a yellow card—otherwise, you were just waiting to get punished by him.
At the same time, he was unwilling to give up the three points already within reach, which was why he chose Robinho instead of bringing on the defensive midfielder Gago.
Su Hang took the opportunity to point out Messi to Emerson, telling him to pay extra attention to the young Barcelona player's movement. If necessary, he could foul him—even if it meant taking a booking.
Emerson was a little surprised by Su Hang's instructions.
Because that kind of treatment was usually reserved for Ronaldinho.
Real Madrid only ever budgeted yellow cards when defending Ronaldinho.
Did Messi really deserve that?
Su Hang thought he absolutely did.
After all, in the normal timeline, Messi had scored a hat trick in this very match!
In fact, at this stage of his career, Messi benefited precisely because most teams focused their "booking quota" on Ronaldinho, giving him plenty of space.
At this point, without committing to full-intensity defending, it was very difficult to stop Messi.
His acceleration and dribbling were outstanding—give him even the slightest opening, and he could burst through.
Barcelona's free kick afterward also flew high and failed to pose any real threat.
In the 64th minute, Helguera lofted a high ball toward Su Hang, who had dropped back into midfield.
Su Hang cushioned it with his chest and, before the ball hit the ground, smashed a pass out to the left for Robinho.
The technique wasn't perfect, but the decision-making was spot on—there was a massive pocket of space there.
Robinho sprinted onto it, received the ball, and muscled past Puyol.
Valdés rushed out in time.
Robinho tried to chip him.
Unfortunately, Valdés managed to get a fingertip to the ball and push it wide.
In the 70th minute, Barcelona launched another attack.
Messi dribbled laterally on the right flank. Knowing Su Hang was about to come over and help defend, he released the ball early to Deco and drifted into a central position.
Deco passed to Ronaldinho.
The moment Ronaldinho received the ball, he drew a double team. He feinted a drive forward, then slipped a disguised through ball instead.
Messi surged through the middle, running onto a perfect chance.
Kompany recovered in time but knew he couldn't get there cleanly. He lowered his head and barged into Messi from the side, sending him flying.
Messi curled his body inward and rolled repeatedly after landing to absorb the impact.
It was textbook self-protection.
Barcelona players immediately rushed toward Kompany.
A brief confrontation broke out between the two sides.
In the end, the referee restored order and showed Kompany a yellow card.
Fortunately, Kompany had only used his body to block Messi.
Had he gone in with his foot, it could very well have been a red.
The referee truly showed no favoritism.
Ronaldinho stepped up to take the free kick.
Su Hang stood next to the wall but didn't join it.
"Look at him—he's scared! He's not tough at all!"
Su Hang is just a fake tough guy — all bark and no bite!
"He doesn't even dare stand in the wall!"
Before the taunts had fully faded—
The referee blew the whistle.
Ronaldinho struck the free kick directly at goal.
The Real Madrid wall leapt high, panic visible on several faces.
Because Ronaldinho had gone for a low, skidding shot!
This—
Bang!
The ball was deflected away.
Ronaldinho stared in disbelief.
Because at the exact moment he struck the ball, Su Hang had slid in behind the wall, sealing off the gap left when the wall jumped.
"Brilliant defending!"
"Su Hang read Ronaldinho's free kick perfectly!"
"This is genius anticipating genius!"
"Su Hang really does have defensive intelligence. Among today's attacking midfielders and forwards, his defensive awareness is genuinely excellent!"
"His cover on Messi today has been extremely effective—Barcelona's future star hasn't had much impact so far!"
"However, you can also clearly see the effect of Zidane's absence on Real Madrid."
"It's fine against weaker teams, but against top opposition, the problems show."
"Even with one man down, Barcelona are still maintaining the advantage in possession."
"Recently, Real Madrid have tried to organize attacks instead of relying purely on quick counters, but Barcelona are still the side creating more chances!"
After that, both teams made substitutions.
Barcelona brought on Belletti for Deco.
Real Madrid replaced Guti with Cassano.
Capello was desperate for the win.
But this change effectively left Real Madrid one man short in midfield.
Cassano playing as an attacking midfielder wasn't much different from playing as a forward.
The idea was good, but it felt like he'd been forced into it.
If Su Hang were the one in charge, he would have brought on Gago immediately and paired him with Emerson to double-team Ronaldinho.
Once Ronaldinho was shut down, wouldn't it be Real Madrid's turn to dominate?
There was no need to go toe-to-toe with Barcelona in an attacking shootout and hand them chances for free.
In the 73rd minute, Cassano was fouled on the right side of the attacking third, earning Real Madrid a promising free kick.
Beckham took it.
Su Hang darted toward the near post, drawing the attention of Barcelona's defenders.
Sergio Ramos surged in from the back, leapt high, and powered a header toward goal.
The ball flew cleanly into the net.
"GOAL!"
"Sergio Ramos! After being completely tormented by Ronaldinho, he finally gets his redemption!"
"He couldn't stop Ronaldinho defensively—but Ronaldinho couldn't stop Sergio Ramos either! That's a fifty-fifty right there!"
"Three–two! Real Madrid take the lead again!"
"This is a massive goal."
"With a man down, it will be extremely difficult for Barcelona to turn this around."
In the 77th minute, Barcelona launched one final push, committing everyone forward.
Iniesta slipped past a double team with a Marseille turn and fired a tight-angle shot inside the box, but it went wide.
Even without scoring, Iniesta showed dribbling ability at this critical moment that was no worse than Messi's.
At this stage, he could even serve as a direct stand-in for Messi.
But Messi couldn't replace Iniesta.
Of course, as Messi gained experience, he would eventually be able to replace Iniesta—but Iniesta might not be able to replace a fully matured Messi.
Their talent distributions were simply very different.
In the 81st minute, Messi created space on the flank and whipped in a diagonal 45-degree cross toward Ronaldinho.
Kompany rose to head the ball clear.
Márquez followed up with a long-range shot that flew into the Camp Nou stands.
Ronaldinho ultimately couldn't play as a striker—at least not one who constantly battled center backs in the air. That just wasn't his game.
Barcelona made another substitution.
Striker Gudjohnsen came on for defensive midfielder Márquez.
Barcelona returned to a three-forward setup.
On Real Madrid's side, Capello also chose caution, replacing Kompany with Salgado.
Ramos moved into central defense, while Salgado took the fullback role.
Another "perfect substitution."
Ramos, though also on a yellow card, had the speed to stay with Ronaldinho.
Salgado could help with cover while also pushing forward as a fullback.
But Capello overlooked one key issue.
Salgado hadn't played in a match of this importance for a long time.
And Sergio Ramos hadn't played as a true center back in quite a while either.
Even the most versatile players need time to adjust.
And against someone like Ronaldinho, a single moment is all it takes to be punished.