"Barcelona won again?"

"Well, 1-0 Granada, Xavi scored a last-minute strike."

"Ah, Granada didn't hold it, it's a pity."

On the evening of September 25, on the bus to Rayo Vallecano's home stadium, Rayo Vallekas, some Real Madrid players were feeling sorry for the result of a La Liga match that had just ended.

Barcelona beat Granada in the last minute at home and won another La Liga game, making it five wins in a row.

This is a much more consistent performance than last season.

Last season, Barcelona was repeatedly dropped from the chain since the beginning of the season, so it was opened up by Real Madrid in the middle of the league.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have been playing in La Liga in recent seasons in much of the same way.

In the few seasons when Real Madrid was trampled on by Barcelona and lost the championship, most of Real Madrid lost too many chains on the middle and lower teams of the league and lost a lot of points that should not be lost.

And Barcelona lost the championship last year, in addition to Real Madrid's own performance being too strong and stable, in fact, the biggest reason is that Barcelona is unstable.

Judging from this season, the previous Spanish Super Cup Barcelona was still restrained by Real Madrid's tactics and did not play very well.

But in the current league, Barcelona have regained the consistency of the three-game winning streak.

Barcelona's resurgence will undoubtedly make it more difficult for Real Madrid to defend their league title this year.

However, this situation is not completely unbeneficial, and when there is pressure, there is motivation.

In the league, there is a Barcelona who has been putting pressure on Real Madrid, and the players' game form has been maintained at a high level.

This is still more good than bad for Real Madrid's league and Champions League defending.

'It wasn't a very good game, but the players didn't feel much pressure yet.

Mourinho and Karanka, who were sitting in the front row of the bus, were also constantly communicating.

Rayo Vallecano have had a good start to the season, with two wins, one draw and one loss, and are currently sixth in La Liga.

Their team's ability to seize opportunities and mental tenacity are still very good.

At least in the pre-match tactical meeting of the Real Madrid coaching staff, Mourinho and Karanka both gave high praise to Rayo Vallecano's tenacity.

In the last round of La Liga, Rayo Vallecano scored three goals in the last 30 minutes of the second half after being beaten by four goals by Atletico Madrid, and almost staged a shocking draw at Atletico Madrid's home stadium.

To deal with such a team that has exploded recently, you can't just look at their league standings last season and some old statistics.

Jose Mourinho is 100 per cent vigilant at the tactical level.

After arriving at the Estadio Vallecas and before warming up, Mourinho once again stressed that Real Madrid's opponents are not easy to deal with today.

It's rare to see their own coach attach so much importance to a mid-table team, and Real Madrid's stars have also put away too much lightheartedness.

And after the start of the night's game, in the face of Rayo Vallecano's proactive attack, Real Madrid, as usual, first ceded part of the midfield control.

This set of "fishing play" is already quite proficient for Real Madrid's players.

As long as Rayo Vallecano takes the bait and leaves enough space at the back after the overall forward press, Real Madrid can play a very dangerous long ball counterattack with a steal.

The script seemed to have been written from the start, and the game was indeed progressing according to Real Madrid's expected pace from the opening stages.

It's a pity that their opponents today obviously have their own ideas, and they don't want to be a supporting role on their home turf.

Rayo Vallecano, who started in a four-two-three-one formation, showed a ruthless attack and defense.

Real Madrid's players have rested enough during this time, and Rayo Vallecano's players have naturally rested enough, and their fitness is not bad.

For the players of these mid-table teams, exchanging physical strength for a relative balance of the situation is really a bargain.

Their attack was well organized, and youngster Baptistang was also daring to make moves in midfield.

Modric has been shaken off several occasions by this kid with the ball.

It can only be said that the young man is in good health and courageous, but he dares to rush and dare to play, Rayo Vallecano relied on the simplest way of playing with a cross from the side, and he really got a few opportunities to grab a shot for a while.

Leon is still quite comfortable with his own backline.

Even if Rayo Vallecano had two shots in the opening five minutes, it was all a header battle.

Rayo Vallecano's high striker Delibasic was in fine form today, but if he wants to shoot on target in front of Pepe and Ramos, he will be far behind.

What made Leon feel a little bad was Rayo Vallecano's defensive set-up on both flanks today.

Their all-out style of play is also more reflected in the attack and defense of the wings.

Baptistang and Dominguez could press into the Real Madrid half as the attack was launched.

But when Rayo Vallecano needed manpower to back up, they were able to retreat aggressively in front of the wing-backs as soon as possible.

In the seventh minute of the first half, Real Madrid made their first counterattack attempt with a long pass of the game.

As a result, Ronaldo's possession of the ball on the left was disrupted by the combination of Baptistang and Rayo Vallecano right wing-back Tito.

This level of aggressive defence has obviously caused Real Madrid a lot of trouble on the counter-attack.

However, after a brief exchange with Alonso, Leon also began to frequently carry the ball to the ground to deliver the ball to his teammates in the front court.

There are still a lot of ways to connect the front and back courts, and short passes on the ground are also Li Ang's strengths.

And Real Madrid doesn't necessarily have to play a set of offensive tactics, without Mourinho's opening to adjust, Alonso and Leon have begun to seek a change in their style of play.

Luka Modric still plays the role of a midfield metronome first.

The main task of promotion is still borne by Li Ang.

Thanks to the lack of a first-class defensive midfielder in Rayo Vallecano's team, Leon's advance in the offensive end today was still smooth.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria also consciously began to retreat frequently to receive the ball, attacking Rayo Vallecano's defence on both wings.

And Rayo Vallecano coach Antonio, who was standing on the sidelines at the moment, still did not immediately call the frontcourt players to follow the shrinking formation to return to defense.

Previously, there were too many teams in the middle and lower reaches of La Liga, and they were finally forced to besiege by Real Madrid and break the defensive line.

Antonio clearly did not want to repeat the mistakes of the past, and learned his lesson, no matter how much pressure at the back was to insist on pressing Real Madrid's defence.

And their high school striker Delibacic can also provide a big fulcrum, supporting Rayo Vallecano to play more concise and efficient on the counter-attack.

The counter-attack effect is still good, and Rayo Vallecano's tenacity and performance of seizing counter-attacking opportunities also limited Real Madrid's full press.

After all, Real Madrid will have to keep someone in the backfield to watch out for Rayo Vallecano's counter-attack, right?

Alonso can't press the middle line, Real Madrid's strong offensive rhythm can never be full, the number of offensive rounds can't go up, and Rayo Vallecano's defense is barely stable.

Replacing defense with offense and exchanging physical fitness for the situation, this set was played by Antonio.

Leon felt that if he wanted to continue the attack, he might as well go with it.

Real Madrid's two fullbacks also pulled to the middle line, it's a big deal to explode with Rayo Vallecano, is it possible that Rayo Vallecano can still play a whole game without making mistakes on the defensive end?

However, Mourinho was clearly more thoughtful and did not make radical tactical changes in the first half.

After Cristiano Ronaldo missed a chance to break the deadlock, the game remained 0-0 at halftime.

Real Madrid, who have been sharp in attacking and counterattacking in the past, showed fatigue in today's game.

Combined with Barcelona's difficult performance not long after the end of this round, many fans believe that Real Madrid is also too affected by the summer European Cup.

Several key players in the Real Madrid team have almost played all the games of the European Championship in the summer, and there is still less rest time.

The new season is another league and a world preliminary round, and Real Madrid just finished the Champions League match with Manchester City not long ago, and it is time for the state to be affected.

There is some truth to these fans' speculations.

However, the form of the players in the Real Madrid team is not bad yet.

If Ronaldo's goal near the end of the first half is scored, then the outside public opinion will change the word now.

Rayo Vallecano prepared well for today's game and they were pretty good defensively.

Real Madrid were out of luck after all.

And Mourinho also straightened out the key areas of Rayo Vallecano's attack and defense in the first half at halftime.

Playing on the wings and defending on the side is the smartest point of Rayo Vallecano's game.

It was the right decision not to go head-to-head with Real Madrid's strong midfield.

Mourinho also admired Antonio's tactical choices.

However, now that the opponent's tactical intentions have been clarified, Mourinho will not continue to allow the opponent to attack and defend in the second half.

After the urgent tactical adjustments, the Real Madrid players also have a bottom in their hearts.

At the beginning of the second half, Benzema, who actively retreated to the side, gave way to Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria.

Real Madrid's two wingers began to test Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Martinez again and again with his individual ability and long-range shots after cutting inside.

Such a tactical change is simple and crude.

But Real Madrid's attacking rhythm came out, so they forced the middle to find opportunities to shoot, and it was better to get set-pieces.

Whether it's set-pieces or corners, Real Madrid's header attack group is outstanding.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Rayo Vallecano's home fans couldn't sit still.

Rayo Vallecano's manager, António also lost the composure of the first half.

"Do you want to keep the pressure on Real Madrid's defense on both wings?"

A tactical choice lay out in front of him.

Will they continue to put pressure on Real Madrid's counter-attack, or will they pull the players up front to drop back to fill the holes in the middle of the midfield?

If Real Madrid continues to bombard like this, Antonio will be worried about his goalkeeper's ability to save, even if he is not worried about his goalkeeper's ability to save.

And just as he was about to make a decision, the Real Madrid attackers on the field had already launched another wave of attacking advances.

Cristiano Ronaldo was marked by a number of Rayo Vallecano defenders in the process of cutting inside, and after receiving Modric's pass, he could only choose to knock quickly horizontally!

This time it was not Di Maria who received the ball, but Leon who stepped forward in place!

In the position of two steps outside the right side of the Rayo Vallecano penalty area, Leon saw that there was almost no one in front of him, and after stopping the ball, he made a slight adjustment, and a bold idea flashed in his heart!

Close enough to aim, and he's able to hold his power down pretty well.

If he was going to be 30 metres away from goal, he wouldn't have thought about anything else outside of passing.

But now it's just over twenty meters away from the goal!

Leon's ambition quickly swelled to the extreme, he opened his bow and arrow, and his right calf swung quickly after accumulating his strength, and finally slammed into the middle and lower parts of the football!

A rather terrifying sound seemed to tear the air apart in an instant!

Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Martinez only felt a flash in front of him, and before he could see the trajectory of the football, the goal post on his right hand side trembled and made a dull sound!

And when he looked back, the ball had already lifted the net high!

This shocking blow stunned most of the home team fans at the scene!

And the thousands of Real Madrid fans who saw the football bounce on the inside of the goal post and end up in the net will be completely crazy!

Movistar's La Liga commentator roared passionately in a broken voice at this moment!

A long shot from Leon!

Unexpected world wave long-range shots!

What's more, the goal is also TM in!

Leon patted his chest and ran wildly to the corner flag area, pulling his jersey and roaring in celebration.

It was his first long-range goal, and he looked quite rough and reckless!

But there are many times when recklessness is the best way to break the game!

(End of chapter)