With the crisp whistle of referee Jonas Eriksson from Sweden, this world-renowned Champions League focus game has officially kicked off.

When Benzema, who was standing in the center circle, sent the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo on the opposite side, he saw Southampton's frontcourt players immediately rushing over like wolves, and there was a great momentum of invincibility.

The Portuguese had to quickly turn around and get the ball back to the backline.

"Sergio, be careful, hold steady first!"

Casillas, who was standing in front of the goal line, shouted at Ramos, who was holding the ball.

Ramos didn't look back, keeping an eye on the Southampton players rushing in front of him, but he still waved his hand behind him, signaling that he understood, and as soon as he saw Ibrahimovic rushing towards him, he immediately passed the ball to the right wing.

By the time Carvajal got the ball, Hazard had already rushed in front of him, forcing him to move forward and had to turn to protect the ball before passing it back into the box.

Casillas ran over, stopped the ball with his feet, and looked further on, oh my god, Southampton's full-court pressing was in place, and that was too fast, right?

How to transmit?

Whether it's a pass to the back line or to the midfield, it's obviously uncertain, and there is a great risk of losing the ball.

If you are not careful, they directly seize the opportunity to counterattack, and the goal will be dangerous.

Thinking of this, Casillas had no choice but to take a step forward, and the players of Real Madrid immediately understood that he was going to make a big move.

Ancelotti on the sidelines also shook his head, "The saints' pressing is too fast, and the integrity is too strong!" ”

Paul Clement also had a wry smile on his face, who said it wasn't?

Forcing to play from the beginning, and not giving Real Madrid the slightest respite and preparation to enter the game, this is simply to drag down the rhythm of Real Madrid from the first minute of the game!

Casillas' big foot went up front, but Raphael Varane pushed Cristiano Ronaldo back into midfield.

Toni Kroos judged the ball very precisely and met it and played it directly to the right wing.

Cesar Azpilicueta came up to receive the ball and saw Cristiano Ronaldo come up and press it and pass it back to Varane.

The French centre-back controlled the ball steadily, saw Benzema approaching, and immediately crossed to left centre-back Xavi Martinez.

It's a long process, but it can happen in an instant.

By the time Xavi Martinez got hold of the ball, Real Madrid also gave up pressing and pressing in front.

It was clear that there was no way for the three players to get the ball at the feet of Southampton's midfielders.

Besides, the three superstars in the front court, if you want to talk about offensive ability, it is outstanding, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the first in the world, but if you want to talk about the enthusiasm of defense, it is really flattering.

Seeing that Real Madrid gave up pressing in front, Xavi Martinez decisively signaled the team to press forward.

When Southampton's three lines were pressed, the ball also went back and forth in midfield, and when it came to the feet of Toni Kroos, the German midfielder saw a right-footed diagonal pass that shifted the ball wide to the left.

Eden Hazard blocked Carvajal with his body, stopped the ball and turned to cut inside.

The Belgian winger's move scared Carvajal, Ramos and Xavi Alonso into a fit of tension and immediately gathered around him.

Seeing that there was no chance, Hazard immediately steadied himself and crossed the ball to the left wing.

Left-back David Alaba was quick to cut in at this point, received the ball and fired a 45-degree cross.

The ball crossed most of the box and fell to the right post.

Ibrahimovic was like a heavy tank, let Pepe pull by the side, but still rushed into the big penalty area.

"Dangerous !!!!"

There are even a lot of Saints fans at St. Mary's Stadium who can't help but stand up!

If you score a goal from the start, it's a lot more interesting.

But at the critical moment, Casillas rushed out, grabbed before Ibrahimovic, and knocked the ball out with both fists.

The ball didn't fly far and landed on the left side of Marcelo's defensive zone, and the Brazilian left-back hurriedly pushed the ball out of the sideline and took it out of bounds!

"Whew!!"

There was a distinct exclamation of surprise throughout St. Mary's Stadium, followed by a sigh.

If it hadn't been for Casillas' abandonment, Ibrahimovic's header would have been almost there!

"Real Madrid should pay attention, Southampton's opening attack is quite sharp, if one is not careful, and the Saints score a goal, then this game will be quite difficult."

"This is Real Madrid's manager Carlo Ancelotti, who seems to be a little unhappy with the team's defense."

"Southampton sent a quick throw-in from Azpilicueta, Suarez took the ball, there was no chance, passed back to Azpilicueta, and then passed back to the backline, first stabilized, reorganized!"

"Although the Saints' attack is very vigorous, they play very steadily, very efficiently, whether it is defensive pressing or attack, they seem to be very integrated, which is also the characteristic of Bielsa's team."

"Back and forth, Modric, beautiful, midfielder dribbling the ball to get rid of the defenders, giving Kaka, diagonal pass to the left, Hazard rushing to the bottom line, knocking back, Ibrahimovic, good chance, kick the goal!"

"Oh, Ibrahimovic, the shot from close range was blocked by Ramos for most of the angle of the shot, and it turned out to be a little bit off, this is a very good chance to score!"

'Southampton opened the game less than three minutes and had already had two pretty good chances to score!'

"We have every reason to believe that tonight's game will be quite exciting!"

"Casillas sent a goal kick, Benzema grabbed the first spot, gave Di Maria, another pass, beautiful, Azpilicueta made a beautiful break, Cristiano Ronaldo counter-fouled."

'Southampton counter-attack with a quick free-kick, Toni Kroos, pass again, Kaka take the ball, go to the right, pass again, to Suarez.

"There is no one to defend around the Uruguayan striker, good opportunity, bring it forward, Real Madrid still has no one to get close, enter the 30-meter zone, come on, Yarez, suddenly kick the goal!"

A very obvious bang was heard at the scene, Suarez suddenly hit a long-range shot of more than 20 meters, and the quality was very high, Casillas was in danger, and he flew to save at the critical moment, and blocked Suarez's long-range shot with one hand, which once again resolved the crisis.

"It's too dangerous! Real Madrid's defence gave Southampton too much space! ”

"Marcelo just pressed up to participate in the attack, after Southampton broke the ball, he didn't retreat at the first time, so Suarez was unguarded at the time, and the quality of this shot was very high!"

'Casillas, there have been two key saves, and it seems that the captain of Real Madrid is in very good form today.

"But Ancelotti also has to think of a way, if he continues to let Southampton attack like this, even if Casillas is in good form, I'm afraid Real Madrid will still be breached sooner or later."

'We saw that Toni Kroos took a corner kick and Ramos cleared the ball and the ball went out of the box, but it was still at the feet of Southampton and Real Madrid were still in the 30-metre zone.

'Southampton started the game with a lot of aggression and Real Madrid felt like they were being pressed.

"But the Saints can't be careless, if one is not handled well, after being cut off by Real Madrid, and then it comes out, the three attacking players in the front field are waiting, and it may deal a fatal blow to the Saints anytime and anywhere."

Southampton is clearly aware of this, too.

Real Madrid retracted the entire central midfield, especially the midfield, and basically retreated to their own 30-meter zone to defend, but the trident was always in front, ready to plan a counterattack anytime and anywhere.

Relatively speaking, Gareth Bale will also actively drop back into midfield to participate in the defense on the left, but Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo are basically up front.

I don't know if this is due to Ancelotti's arrangement or other reasons.

But with three superstars staring ahead, Southampton didn't dare to be careless.

Especially when they saw that the attack in front of them would be difficult to open up for a while, Tony Kroos and Modric also felt that they could not continue to press like this, so they began to use inverted feet and return passes to pull the rhythm down again.

This slow, the overall formation of the saints is also retreating in an orderly manner.

"Southampton showed their maturity and steadyness, with the ball at their feet, the initiative in their hands, their advance and retreat, their relaxation, and indeed not the kind of Champions League newcomers that many people rumor, but more like a strong team."

'It's worth noting that Southampton are playing in the Champions League for the first time in their history but have won back-to-back Europa League titles in the last two seasons, so they are not short of European experience.

"Real Madrid began to consciously strengthen the pressing and pressing of the midfield, after all, it is a giant team, how can you let the opponent be like this, attack if you want, and retreat if you want to?"

As a result, as Southampton retreated, Real Madrid's offensive gradually improved.

But the Saints' defense is quite well organized, especially the midfield pressure against Real Madrid, which is quite in place, and the execution of the players is also enough, Kaka even retreated to the front of his own big penalty area to defend, which is really hard.

And as Real Madrid pressed forward, it was inevitable that there would be flaws behind them.

In the fourteenth minute, Xavi Alonso tried to get a through ball to Benzema, but Toni Kroos got stuck in position early and broke the ball before it was quickly distributed to Varane.

The French central defender was pressed in front of no one, stopped the ball forward and back, looked up, and saw an ecstatic scene.

Because he saw that with Carvajal stepping forward to attack, Hazard's left side was unguarded and he was already close to Ramos!

What does this mean?

This means that as long as Varane can get the ball behind Ramos, Hazard can play offside!

The French centre-back did not hesitate at all, he is very confident in his long passing skills, because he has to pass a lot of such long balls in almost every game, and when training in normal times, launching long balls from the back is also a training program that Southampton must strengthen every day.

So, I saw Varane stride forward and face the ball is a kick.

I heard a thud, and the ball was sent out from the Southampton backfield, like a Tomahawk cruise missile, the arc was pressed very low, but the ball was fast, and it fell behind the Real Madrid defense with great precision.

Hazard, who had already been ambushed, quickly passed past Ramos and headed straight for the goal.

The ball landed precisely in the predetermined area, and Hazard also arrived in this position in time, followed by Ramos in hot pursuit, Ibrahimovic and Pepe in the middle, and Suarez on the right have also quietly followed.

Three-on-two, here's your chance!