April 23, 20:30 p.m., Madrid, Spain.

The stands at the Bernabeu Stadium are steep and give a very strong sense of oppression, and the layers of stands are full of black and pressed people, densely packed, and they make a deafening sound that sweeps every space on the pitch.

Led by referee Webb, the players of both teams lined up and walked into the Bernabeu.

The monstrous noise created by more than 80,000 fans made the players of the two teams suddenly feel like a gladiator walking into a bloody arena and a matador walking into the Colosseum, which makes people feel nervous and stressed.

No one will doubt that this will definitely be a classic matchup between the top teams!

Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola is like the Barcelona he once coached, and any fan only needs to watch a few minutes of Bayern Munich games to be able to recognize at a glance that this is the style of football that belongs to Guardiola and Barcelona.

Real Madrid's style is varied, ranging from a solid Italian defence to a sharp and impactful counter-attack, while the team is also able to be patient, calm and slow to pass......

If Pep Guardiola has left a deep mark on Bayern Munich, playing his own traditional style and characteristics, then what Ancelotti has created at Real Madrid is that there is no fixed style.

Therefore, in recent seasons, Real Madrid's tactics have changed, and the formation has changed from 4231 to 433, and then it is 442, 4321, 352 and other different tactical formations back and forth, and Ancelotti even sometimes adopts a variety of different tactical formations in a game, depending on the situation.

These are two very different teams, but at the same time they are both one of the strongest teams in world football today.

Such a duel, such a collision, can only occur in a field like the Champions League.

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The two teams walked onto the pitch, and the starting line-ups of both sides were already very obvious.

The home team, Real Madrid, still has the four-three-three formation that they are most familiar with and is best at.

The goalkeeper is Iker Casillas, the back line is Marcelo, Xavi Martinez, Ramos and Carvajal, the midfield is Mascherano behind, the combination of David Silva and Modric is in front, and the front trident is Eden Hazard, Yang Yang and Di Maria.

Players including Isco and Suarez were placed on the bench.

Guardiola played this game with a four-two-three-one double back formation.

The goalkeeper is Manuel Neuer, the backline is Alaba, Dante, Boateng and Raphinha, the back two are Schweinsteiger and Lahm, the front is Franck Franckie, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller, and the single forward is Mandzukic.

This is also an important starting line-up for Bayern Munich this season, that is, Lahm who originally played at right wing-back has been replaced in a midfield position, because he is one of the few players in the Bayern Munich team who can meet Pep Guardiola's requirements for a midfielder.

However, the right wing-back will have to go up Raphinha, and the Brazilian right wing-back is not solid.

Real Madrid also made a targeted plan for this, if Lahm plays right wing-back, then Real Madrid will start to grab the midfield, but if Lahm returns to the midfield, then Real Madrid will give up the midfield appropriately, but when attacking, it will rush to Raphinha's side.

There are pros and cons to everything, and what Ancelotti is best at is also watching the food and formulating his own tactical play style according to the opponent's situation.

Therefore, after seeing Bayern Munich's starting lineup, Real Madrid has already decided on the strategy and tactics of this game.

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From the very beginning of the game, Real Madrid adopted a sound tactical style of play.

Bayern Munich is anti-opponent and actively fights for possession, while the home team Real Madrid does not mean this.

Ancelotti's pre-match tactics were very clear, Real Madrid's defensive weakness lies in the space after the full-backs stepped forward to attack, so after the opening, Real Madrid's main idea was to seek stability and strive not to give Bayern Munich a chance to score away.

As for saying that the ball was grabbed by Bayern Munich, Real Madrid didn't mind, because every time it played Barcelona, Real Madrid never fought for possession, and basically played defensive counterattacks, which is Real Madrid's forte, and everyone knows how to play.

Pep Guardiola's coaching ability was very obvious from the beginning of the game, because Bayern Munich's midfield surrounded and pressed very much like Barcelona, even stronger than the current Barcelona.

Because Xavi and Iniesta are both old, but German players such as Schweinsteiger and Lahm have stronger tactical execution.

This kind of pressing and encirclement seems very simple, that is, using the local numerical advantage to grab the ball, but in fact it is very difficult, and the risk is not small, once you can't grab it, it is easy to be played by the opponent to play a sharp counterattack.

But judging from the confrontation in the first few minutes, Bayern Munich still did a pretty good job, pressing and blocking the Real Madrid midfielder more successfully, and the double back combination of Lahm and Schweinsteiger contributed a lot.

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'No wonder Pep Guardiola would rather leave a hole on the right and move Lahm to midfield.' Ancelotti nodded in approval.

Zidane also nodded his head, Lahm is indeed a very well-rounded player.

As a defender, he is the world's top full-back, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is in the top three, and what is even more terrifying is that he is the top on both the left and right wings, and basically he can enter the top three in the world safely, which is terrible.

Let him appear in the midfield position, mainly because he is comprehensive and stable enough.

In Barcelona's tactical system, the midfield position is the pivot, and the first requirement is stability, which is why Guardiola gave up Yaya Toure and chose Busquets, not because of his strength, but because Busquets is more stable.

On the offensive end, Lahm's passing ability is very strong and stable, he is also very smart when running without the ball, he is not tall, fast and flexible, his defensive ability is also quite good, he knows how to play to his strengths and avoid weaknesses, has a very high ball quotient, plays as a midfielder, and controls the field very well.

Sometimes, for players in the midfield position, you can't rely on feelings, nor can you rely on data, just look at the comparison.

It's like Lahm, with or without him, how is Bayern Munich doing?

That's the most straightforward comparison.

In this game, Bayern Munich were able to control the field from the start, with Lahm and Schweinsteiger, and Toni Kroos as the three midfielders playing a major role.

This also surprised Zidane, because he found out that the German players also had such a good midfielder, and before that, everyone was skeptical about Pep Guardiola's management of Bayern Munich.

"Once we have stabilized our position, our counterattack will begin!" Ancelotti's eyes flashed with a hint of fierceness.

That's the tactic he had in the dressing room before the game.

Seek stability at the beginning, stabilize the defense, keep the formation not chaotic, and then slowly peek at the opportunity to play a counterattack.

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On the pitch, players from both sides have been in contact with each other.

The first shot of the game came in the fifth minute, when Thomas Muller picked up the ball on the right and Toni Kroos fired a long-range shot that was easily denied by Casilla and failed to threaten.

However, Bayern Munich still firmly controlled the situation on the pitch and the ball.

"Ten minutes into the game and we saw the latest stats that Real Madrid, who were playing at home, were a bit passive tonight, or should I say Carlo Ancelotti's side were a bit conservative and didn't have a shot on goal since the opening, which is hard to believe."

"Not only that, but Real Madrid only have 10 per cent possession, which is undoubtedly quite scary, is it true that Carlo Ancelotti's side did not want to win at home?"

The live TV commentator was surprised by the aftermath of the game, as Real Madrid's performance was completely different from usual, even more conservative than against Barcelona, which could not be explained.

You know, it's at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Of course, ten minutes is not a good thing at all.

The pace of the game is fast, and ten minutes is just a blink of an eye.

Only the Real Madrid players on the pitch know that they have been adapting to Bayern Munich's pass-and-possession play, midfield pressing and attacking rhythm up front.

Real Madrid have a lot of experience, so they can quickly familiarise themselves with the tactics and tempo of their opponents.

Pep Guardiola brought Bayern Munich Barcelona's pass-and-possession style of play and high-post pressing and pressing, but at the same time, it also brought Bayern Munich Barcelona's fatal weakness, that is, slow!

This is a very serious problem that has always existed since Barcelona.

Or it should be said that for a manager like Pep Guardiola, who regards the ball as his life, the first thing they do after grabbing the ball is not to counterattack, but to control the ball firmly first, and then think about how to counterattack.

Real Madrid are slowly adjusting their defence, making the central midfield defense more resilient and varied, adapting to Bayern Munich's organization and attack, and patiently waiting for opportunities.

In the fourteenth minute, Bayern Munich played another attack, Ribery passed through, Thomas Muller turned and volleyed from the edge of the penalty area, and Ramos blocked the bottom line, giving Bayern Munich a corner kick.

However, the German team's corner was not well exploited, and Schweinsteiger's header was comfortably held by Casillas.

By the twentieth minute, Bayern Munich was still in control, with 80% possession.

The two full-backs also started to push forward, Raphinha took the ball on the right, Mandzukic headed the ball back from the back post, and Toni Kroos cut in and volleyed in front of goal, which was blocked by Xavi Martinez and headed the ball to the left.

Marcelo was the first to burst out of the box, grabbed the ball and passed forward to David Silva.

After the Spanish midfielder pulled to the left touchline to receive the ball, he turned and was about to take it forward, but saw Marcelo quickly cut forward from the inside, and he immediately understood it and passed the ball straight to Hazard on the left wing.

The Belgian winger also picked up the ball on the left sideline, stopped the ball, immediately took it forward, pulled Raphinha out, and then suddenly crossed diagonally behind him and sent the ball to the left side of the box.

At this time, Marcelo, who had been running wildly, suddenly appeared behind Borafinha and cut diagonally into the left side of the penalty area as fast as he could.

Real Madrid's counter-attack opportunity is here!

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