Chapter 634: Marching into Wembley
With the next round of La Liga being played away from home, Real Madrid, who won the tournament ahead of schedule, will only be crowned in the 36th round of the match against Osasuna on 3 May, but before that they have two crucial games to play. The first game is to welcome Juventus's door-to-door challenge at the Bernabeu on the 22nd of this month; The second is the final against Sevilla for the Copa del Rey at the Mestalla Stadium on the 26th.
After the battle of the century with an extremely strange atmosphere, the attention of Madrid and the whole of Spain immediately turned to the first leg of the upcoming Champions League semi-finals, which can be seen from the newspapers published by several major media on Monday, because compared to last night's lackluster battle of Real Sa, there are more reports on the analysis and prediction of Wednesday's match between the Galaxy and the Bianconeri, which is an absolutely rare scene in the past.
On Monday morning, as they prepare for the war with Juventus – yes, the two-legged clash has been elevated to the level of war by the Real Madrid coaching staff, and the La Liga giants did not rest as usual the day after the league, but let the players adjust their form in the training ground, hoping to be able to build on the current squad two days later. However, their head coach was absent from the afternoon training, because his fan group was about to take a flight back to the Celestial Empire today after a full 20-day trip to Europe, and Li Mudi had to go to the airport to see him off.
Those who were able to attend this unique fan meeting were absolutely lucky, because they not only watched Real Madrid's Champions League match with Bayern Munich live, but also experienced the atmosphere of a Spanish national derby with the help of their idols, which is extremely rare when the Bernabeu tickets are basically filled by members when there is a major event. What's even more exaggerated is that all the public expenses of the team in Europe (that is, excluding personal shopping) are borne by the Real Madrid coach alone, and these days, including accommodation and meals, as well as tickets and transportation expenses for major attractions, is not a small number, but for the Real Madrid coach whose net worth can no longer be calculated by common sense, it is a drizzle.
Although due to work, there are only three opportunities to communicate face-to-face with these compatriots, a total of only seven or eight hours, but Li Mudi enjoys this opportunity to communicate in his mother tongue to the fullest. Now, in addition to his own home, he can only use Spanish as his main communication tool, and even speaks French more than Chinese, which constantly reminds him that this is not his hometown, which makes him feel very awkward that he is still a traditional Celestial Empire man in his bones.
After bidding farewell to this group of lovely fans, the Real Madrid coach had to return to the feeling of being a guest in a foreign land, but the domestic football environment is really a bit bad, otherwise he, who is suspected of being a mild homesickness, may really choose to go back to coach a certain team under the influence of emotions and create some miracles in the Asian football circle.
Of course, this was also some improvised reverie when bidding farewell to his compatriots, and Li Mudi, who returned to Valdebebas, quickly got rid of other unrelated thoughts and focused all his attention on the team.
On Wednesday night, another pair of old rivals with many grievances and hatreds in history met in the Champions League this season, and the first leg of the Bernabeu became the first chapter for them to continue to write this "fate".
Thinking back 379 days ago, it was the last time the two sides forged a new hatred, when Real Madrid also eliminated the Old Lady with a difficult aggregate score of 1-0 through a home-and-away fixture to advance to the next round. Now more than a year has passed, there has not been much change in the lineup of the two teams, and the head coach is still a contest between Li Mudi and Conte, I wonder if the result this time will still be a slight advantage for the Galaxy Battleship? With such doubts, all the fans around the world who are concerned about the progress of this season's Champions League turn on their TV or computer and tune in to the live broadcast signal of this game at this time, inadvertently setting a new ratings record.
As for the process and outcome of this battle of opinions, it can be described in one word, that is, "one-sided".
After the kick-off whistle, Real Madrid, who were on the doorstep, took advantage of the atmosphere at home to lay siege to the opponent's penalty area, and due to Mbappe's injury, Li Muddy boldly lined up a 3-4-1-2 formation, and put Pellegri and Rodrygo in the starting line-up, while Asensio appeared in his personal favorite midfield position.
On the offensive end, in addition to the wingbacks Odriosola and Aaron on both sides will actively come up to assist, Fambas in the middle will also frequently step forward to help his teammates comb the pass, only Ndidi's position is relatively deep, only occasionally picking up, most of the time to pay attention to the movement of Juventus striker Moise Keane, always vigilant against the old woman's counterattack.
As for the visiting team, coach Antonio Conte does not seem to have learned the lessons of a year ago, and the tactics set up are too conservative when playing away from home, especially after seeing the opponent use a two-center forward strategy, he even withdrew Mandragora, who should have been standing more forward, to the midfield position, allowing the Italian international to act as a full-time defender in the area outside the box with Paraguayan midfielder Leandro Fernandez, greatly reducing the threat of his side on the counter-attack. It allows Real Madrid to be more unbridled in attacking.
In the eighth minute, Odriosola sent a precise cross from the right, Pellegri resisted the Juventus central defender at the back post to complete the header, and Rodrygo directly kicked a powerful volley with his left foot from the right side of the penalty area, but unfortunately the control in the direction in pursuit of more power was slightly lacking, and the ball was slightly over the crossbar, but it also surprised the visiting team, especially the goalkeeper Frenchman Alban Lafon.
Two minutes later, Rodrygo returned the favor by pulling forward to the left to form a breakthrough and sending a back shot to his team-mate up front, but Pellegri was unable to create a real threat to the opposition goal after Pellegri scrambled to block the line with his calf.
However, the active performance of these two goalscorers also involved most of Juve's defensive attention, helping teammates to gain more space to move, which can be regarded as an indirect assist.
In the twelfth minute, benefiting from Juve's shift of defensive focus to the other side, Fabas, who had not had any chances to perform since the start of the game, made his first personal breakthrough attempt after winning the ball, winning a free kick opportunity for Real Madrid to the right of about six or seven meters outside the penalty area.
Captain Asensio on the field, under the cover of Marcos Llorente, who has a violent long-range shooting skills, took a wonderful curling kick, which spun into the net from the dead corner at the top of the near post, so that the French international who made a limit flying save could only sigh why his arm could not grow another ten centimeters.
1-0, the Galaxy Battleship had a very good start, which made the 80,000 Meilingge who came to the scene to watch the battle feel particularly excited. However, this score has not yet played the most fundamental role in the promotion situation, and if they want to advance to the final stage, Real Madrid's players need to continue to use the opportunity of the first leg at home to seek a bigger lead.
So after high-fives and celebrations with the coaching staff around him, Li Mudi immediately came to the sidelines and gave instructions to the disciples on the court to keep the offensive end engaged. According to his understanding of Conte and the measures that other teams generally take under normal circumstances, Juventus will not immediately launch a counterattack after conceding the goal, and should still focus on a solid defensive strategy first, after all, this is just the first meeting, and the result of a small defeat is still reluctantly acceptable, and returning to the home side of the second leg is the most favorable opportunity for them to turn the tables.
However, the La Liga giants soon gave the Bianconeri a dilemma. In the 19th minute, the home team, which had already slowed down the pace of attack, suddenly picked up speed again and completed the lethal move with four or five passes. Febas crossed diagonally to the left and Alon crossed in the back row, and Pellegri leaned on Romania about two metres behind the penalty spot to complete a difficult barb shot. The ball formed a very arcing, fast trajectory after leaving the Italian striker's feet, grazing the inside of the far post and diving into the net, catching the puller off guard.
The two-goal gap makes the situation more and more delicate, and although there is no shortage of precedents in the history of the knockout stage to complete a two-goal reversal in the second leg, it is still a much higher percentage of the leaders to advance, even Juventus, who have been very good at counter-attacking against Real Madrid, have never had a similar experience.
So Conte has to decide as soon as possible whether to keep defending or try to fight for even one away goal. After a brief reflection, the Italian coach quickly made his choice, instructing his players to move their overall position forward by about seven meters, using their rich experience in midfield to start controlling the ball, and focusing on the weaker defensive side of Aaron, hoping to tear a hole in the left side of Real Madrid's defence, disrupt the opponent's regular defensive position, and create opportunities for Keane and Chiesa Jr. to play their own characteristics.
However, Li Mudi's response made Juve's wishful thinking difficult to start, with three central defenders already more protective of the penalty area than the traditional back four, plus they also have a Ndidi in front of them who can be used as two players, and a Fabas who is also full of fighting spirit and competitiveness, making it difficult for the home team to have a chaotic situation at the defensive end because of a point being blown up.
When the team is on the defensive, Rodrygo will pull to the left, while Asensio will also move more to the right wing, allowing them to avoid the more defensive central areas of the visitors and gain more space on the counter-attack. As long as the mid-to-long passes of teammates at the back can be of good quality, almost every transition between attack and defense of Real Madrid can directly bring a huge threat to Juve's penalty area.
Before the end of the first half, Dembele, who joined the old woman on loan in the winter window, sent a cross from the left that was headed out by Skriniar, and the second drop was controlled by Febas and immediately hit a precise long ball to the right side of his own front. Asensio won the ball and took advantage of the first start to shake off the chasing Italian international Calabria and go straight to the edge of the penalty area, sending the ball to the middle before Marco Varnier could rush forward to block it.
Manuel Pellegri cleverly slipped through the gap between the three defenders in the face of two defenders, allowing the ball to slip through the gap at the trio's feet and catch up just in time for Rodrygo, who was cut in at high speed at the back post. The Brazilian calmly showed his excellent footwork, and without stopping the ball, he used his right foot to make a straight curling shot, pushing the ball into the far post and hitting the fast-moving Pull Fang at a reverse angle.
3-0, in less than 45 minutes, Real Madrid scored three consecutive goals against Juventus, who are known for their defensive ability, and stunned all experts and fans who predicted that it would be a tough battle.
But that's not all, as the entire Bernabeu Stadium was filled with joy when Manuel Pellegri smashed a low cross from the right into the Juventus goal in the 72nd minute. At this moment, it was clear to everyone that unless the Bianconeri could bring their morale back to the bottom in the remaining 20 minutes and score at least two away goals, their Champions League campaign could be declared an early end for the season.
If it weren't for Real Madrid's missed two more good chances to score, perhaps the final difference would have been further widened, but 4-0 was the biggest difference between the two teams since they first met in 1962.
Even Conte himself said in an interview with reporters that Juventus are far from the final stage, and unless they can be given a supersonic plane, it will be difficult to reach the originally planned destination.
Li Mudi said after the game that the team's excellent performance today was what he expected, but the four-goal lead is not certain, after all, there are still 90 minutes to play in the game. It's just that when everyone sees the smile on his face that can't be hidden, they can feel the joy in the heart of the Real Madrid coach at this time, and the Meilinger can now shout out the words "Wembley, we are coming!" without waiting for the results of the second leg in two weeks' time. ”