Chapter 491: Barcelona Fighting Back Violently
Originally, after the equalizer of Atletico Madrid, the Barcelona team, which was very afraid of the speed of Feng Quan's counterattack, did not increase the intensity of the attack, but left enough troops in the midfield and backfield, and at the same time, with the "South American double" on the front line, Xavi and Iniesta's four-man continuous interspersed cooperation to threaten the opponent's goal.
However, when Atletico Madrid overtook the score, Barcelona, who was unwilling to swallow the bitter fruit of defeat, had no choice but to make a big bet on the attack when they knew that the premise of the formation was likely to allow Feng Quan to get more shots. After all, putting more pressure on your opponent may still have a chance to turn the tables around.
Although the Barcelona team after moving forward in the formation firmly controlled the situation on the field with their "tending to the situation" passing and cutting cooperation, in the case of Atletico Madrid's drastic contraction of defense, they lacked a strong fulcrum striker in the front, but it was difficult for them to get a chance to shoot in the penalty area.
In order to solve the embarrassing situation of his team's "no score", Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino put the striker-turned-"defender with a knife" Pique to the front line. At the same time, in order to make up for the vacancy left by the premise of Pique's position, Mascherano was reinstated to the central defender position.
Pique, who is on the front line, although it is difficult to get a direct opportunity to attack the goal under Godin's close marking, but he is physically strong and has completed the task of the team's offensive fulcrum very well.
In the second minute of the second half, Neymar, who tried unsuccessfully to break into the box on the left side of the field, passed the ball back to Alba, who had an assist.
Alba took a step forward after receiving the ball and then sent a swift cross to the penalty spot.
Although Pique had the advantage of strength to keep Godin behind him, it was difficult to pose much of a threat to the goal even if he forced a header under the crowding and interference of the opponent.
So, as soon as the ball flew over his head, Pique headed it into the open space near the top of the box.
Ambushed at the top of the box, Andres Iniesta first unloaded the ball to the right front with his chest to avoid Raul Garcia's pounce.
Then he passed the ball to Messi, who was cruising on the right flank, before Raul Garcia made a second tackle.
Messi received the ball and took two steps horizontally along the line of the penalty area, then aimed at the far corner of the goal and curled a shot.
Although the angle of Messi's shot was not bad, due to the long distance of the shot, it was still blocked by Courtois, who was very focused.
Immediately afterwards, although Xavi's corner kick accurately found Pique who was ambushed in front of the goal, but under Godin's interference, Pique's point-grabbing attack was easily taken into the arms of Courtois.
Six minutes later, Messi, who had the ball at the edge of the box, attracted the attention of several Atletico Madrid players and moved the ball to the defensive vacuum on the right side of the field.
Danny Alves, who was cutting forward at high speed, lay down two steps forward before sending a curling cross into the centre of the box.
As Pique was far from goal, he did not choose to shoot directly, but swung the ball towards the back post.
At the same time, Messi, who had already inserted into the penalty area, withdrew from the penalty area again.
Neymar, who had been cruising on the left flank, scrambled the ball outside the box with the outside of his right foot before Miranda cleared the ball.
Messi, who was facing the goal sideways, slanted the ball down with his chest, then swung his left leg to shoot from a distance. Then when Raul Garcia pounced and risked being hit by the ball, he blocked the shot with his body head-on, but dunked the ball to the right side of his body with his left foot.
Immediately afterwards, Messi, who shook off the angle of the shot, made a slight adjustment, and pumped the ball to the left side of the goal with his right foot near the line of the big penalty area.
The next moment, just as thousands of visiting fans in the stands jumped up from their seats to celebrate Messi's goal, Courtois, who was in excellent form in this game, blocked the ball with one palm as if he had descended from heaven.
In the 33rd minute of the second half, Atletico Madrid's goal kick was given to Neymar on the left side of the field by Alex Song.
With his back to the attack, Neymar struggled to turn calmly under Juanfran's close press, so he passed the ball back to Xavi near the centre circle.
Xavi, who had already observed the position of the front court before receiving the ball, stopped the ball with his right foot in front of his right side, and then sent a very fast overhead ball to the edge of the penalty area.
Pique, who ran at high speed towards the spot where the ball landed, pressed Godin to push the ball into the open space behind the side.
Messi, who unloaded the ball before Raul Garcia cleared it, first collided with Iniesta, who was pulled to the right side, and got rid of Gabi's entanglement and came to the top of the penalty area.
Immediately afterwards, Messi took two horizontal steps along the line of the big penalty area to dodge a little shot angle, and then then at the edge of the penalty area, slightly to the left, with the inside of his left foot to the top left corner of the goal.
Although the angle of Messi's curling ball was tricky, Courtois, who had been prepared, first accurately judged the direction of the shot, and then just took the ball into his arms with both hands after just a slight vertical leap.
Courtois confiscated the ball and did not drive it straight into the opposition half, as he had done before, but tossed the ball to left wing-back Felipe Luiz.
At the same time, Diego Costa, who had retreated to his own half, also quickly ran to the left side of the front.
Because of the excessive physical exertion, Iniesta, who would come forward in the first time as long as Felipe Luis got the ball in the previous game, did not press Felipe Luis until he advanced six or seven meters along the left sideline.
Although Iniesta's fitness had already deteriorated badly, Felipe Luiz did not choose to force a breakthrough with the ball, but instead sent a ball over the top with strong spin towards the unguarded zone on the left side of the field.
Due to the strong choice of football, Diego Costa, who was running at high speed, stopped the ball a little further away from himself as he stopped the ball with his chest.
At the same time, Mascherano, who was ready to take advantage of the inside line and thus prevent Diego Costa from cutting in, did not hesitate to rush in the direction of the football.
At this time, Diego Costa, who saw that he could no longer control the ball calmly, immediately fell to the ground and shoveled the ball diagonally towards the penalty area.
Immediately afterwards, Feng Quan, who was originally going to go straight into the middle of the penalty area, immediately turned around and ran diagonally in the direction of the football rolling.
At the same time, Barcelona goalkeeper Valdés also decisively chose to abandon the goal.
In Valdés' opinion, he will be able to confiscate the ball before the wind is full.
However, when Valdés was less than five meters away from the football, he suddenly seemed to have a hallucination, and Feng Quan, who was still farther away from the football than himself, actually killed the football in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, before Valdés could finish preparing to make a save from leaning to the ground, Feng Quan had already snatched the ball over his head...... 8)