On the evening of May 5, the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain.

In the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, Real Madrid faced Chinatown at home.

Both teams are from La Liga, know each other well, and there are no surprises on both sides. From the beginning, the game directly entered a hand-to-hand battle with bayonets, especially Chinatown, which played away, and started the game away.

Less than a minute into the game, Isco dribbled into the penalty area and fell to the ground. Although the referee did not make a foul, the slow-motion replay showed that Bruno Alves had an obvious pulling action.

At the Bernabeu Stadium, no head coach has the courage to give the visiting team a penalty kick less than a minute into the opening game.

Especially in such an important Champions League semi-final.

Two minutes later, Chinatown launched another wave of offensive, and Hazard shot low from the left side of the penalty area, but was saved by Casillas.

In the sixth minute, Real Madrid broke into the penalty area of ​​Chinatown, the ball was intercepted by Varane, Devry launched a long pass with his big foot, Morata used his body to withstand Albiol, and shot the incoming ball in mid-air to the far corner of the goal.

Facing such a goal that was more than 20 meters away from the goal, but unexpectedly shot, Casillas, who was originally a little outside, reacted very quickly and couldn't help but retreat. He got the ball before entering the goal, resolving a wave of crisis.

However, Chinatown's continuous offensive still put huge pressure on Real Madrid's already weak defense line, and the midfield was suppressed by its opponents since the opening and made frequent mistakes.

Until the ninth minute...

…………

…………

"Mutinho made a mistake in the midfield's pass."

"Chinatown midfielder Ilia Lamendi intercepted the ball and passed it to Isco."

"Real Madrid counterattacked on the spot, and Isco quickly passed the ball back in front of the goal."

"De Gea stopped the ball, passed it to Varane, and then passed it to the other side, and handed it to Danilo."

"Chinatown passed one continuous kick, transferring the ball out of Real Madrid's pressing range."

"Mutinho was obviously a little regretful, and raised his hand to signal to his teammates that this was his pass-and-receive mistake."

"Chinatown doesn't seem to be in a hurry to pass the ball through the half. The two central defenders pulled the ball wider, and they still stood at the front of their own penalty area to pass the ball. The two full-backs also responded closely to the sidelines."

"Real Madrid's frontcourt is pressing forward, Aguero comes forward to harass him, and Ilia La Mendi retreats to respond."

"It was another continuous pass, Devry passed to Ales Sandro, and the Brazilian left-back passed back again."

"Garresbeer came up to press, Devery moved his big foot and passed to the right."

"Danilo stopped the ball, De Bruyne came to pick it up."

"The two middle players, Isco and De Bruyne, have a large range of activities. Look at De Bruyne this time, there is no chance, and then pass it back to Ilia Lamendi."

"Chinatown has already exceeded half the game."

"Real Madrid should be careful. Chinatown's attack speed is not fast now, but once they get a chance, it will be a storm of offensive force, which is also the offensive technique that Chinatown is best at."

"The two central defenders in Chinatown have already received the ball in half and then passed it to the left side to Ales Sandro, and passed it to Isco who was receiving it. Turning around to protect the ball, it still passed it back to Ilia Lamendi."

"During this period, Real Madrid's defense has been well organized, but Chinatown firmly controls the ball. Real Madrid has no chance to grab the ball, and the players seem to be a little anxious."

"Transfer back to Devry, Gareth Bale rushed directly to Devry this time and was assigned to the left road."

"Garres Bell sprinted for a while."

"Isco received the ball and then passed it back to Iliaramendi in the middle. Iliaramendi came up and passed it to Danilo on the right."

"During the continuous pulling process, Real Madrid's left defense appeared at a gap."

"Danilo dribbled the ball forward and advanced to the 30-meter zone. Coentrane stepped forward to guard, but Danilo quickly passed to De Bruyne."

"De Bruyne took the ball, adjusted it, and passed it straight to the front of the penalty area."

"Griezmann stopped the ball, had a chance, drifted past Bruno Alves, and shot directly!"

"oops!"

"Casillas flew to block the ball..."

"The ball is in!!!!!!"

"goallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!"

"In the eleventh minute, in the eleventh minute, Chinatown took the lead in knocking on Real Madrid's goal."

"This is a continuous pass and catch cooperation. Through continuous pulling, the loophole in Real Madrid's defense was finally found."

"One to zero!"

"The goal-scoring hero is Chinatown's powerful center Morata!"

"He seemed very agile. When Griezmann kicked his feet, he quickly chased to the back point. After the ball was saved by Casillas, he calmly pushed the ball and scored a bargain."

"The players in Chinatown seem very excited."

"Let's look at the entire process of scoring the goal. It feels like during Chinatown's possession, Real Madrid did not even have a chance to touch the ball. This has to be said to be a very morale-damaging thing."

…………

…………

Morata, Griezmann and others rushed out of the stadium frantically and went under the stands where the Chinese City fans were. During the crazy celebration, the entire Bernabeu stadium was so quiet that only the voices of the visiting Chinese City fans were left.

Real Madrid fans seemed to be indifferent.

Yes, they have enough reasons to be upset about their team's performance.

"Thirty-seven feet passed." Cantalero laughed excitedly.

Starting from the ball passed by Ilia Lamendi after interception, Chinatown passed thirty-seven, and finally Griezmann shot, Casillas flew out, and Morata scored a bargain.

During the entire goal, Real Madrid did not even have a chance to touch the ball.

"I didn't expect that, I really didn't expect that the goal would be like this." Gao Han was quite surprised.

This type of goal is often more like the characteristics of Barcelona. Chinatown rarely scores this type of goal, but it turned out to be achieved by Real Madrid. In addition to strength, it is very important to luck.

"There is a problem with Pellegrini's lineup," Cantalero said. "He still wants to attack more, but he has exposed his weaknesses and shortcomings in the defensive end."

Gao Han nodded. This was indeed a mistake for Pellegrini in this game.

The Chilean engineers lined up the double midfielder of Tony Kroos and Moutinho, and Jamez Rodriguez suddenly played the front midfielder. It was obvious that this was to allow the Colombians to form the offensive squadron of the front court, Neymar, Aguero and Gareth Bale to form the frontcourt offensive formation, and Tony Kroos and Moutinho organized and controlled the rhythm behind them.

It is beautiful in theory, but it is difficult to do in fact.

A very important reason is that Tony Kroos and Moutinho's double midfielder seemed too thin, especially Moutinho, who had problems with pressing. The goal just now came from his pass mistakes.

But compared with the midfield configuration, Real Madrid's more serious problem lies in its defensive formation.

Unlike Chinatown where there are defensive midfielders like Kante and Ilia La Mendi, Real Madrid did not arrange full-time defensive players in this game. Brazilian midfielder Casemiro is a defensive player, but he has never been trusted since joining.

On the defensive end, the gap between Coentrand and Bruno Alves was a bit too high, especially when Coentrand stepped forward to press Danilo, the 33-year-old Bruno Alves did not step forward and stuck in the position immediately, which gave Griezmann an opportunity to get the ball at the front of the penalty area and kicked it straight away.

Of course, if we want to trace back to the source, it should be that the midfield and frontcourt are not enough to return defense. Neymar and Gareth Bale are more cruising in the frontcourt waiting for the midfield and backcourt passes, which allowed Danilo to step forward and Chinatown to get a numerical advantage on the right.

"The most core problem is the disconnection between offense and defense, and the first thing to do is the midfielder." Gao Han said with his eyes narrowed.

There is an old saying in European football that has been said millions of times, that those who win the midfield will win the world.

Looking at the teams coached by Gao Han in the past, from Atletico Madrid to Chelsea to Inter Milan to Bayern Munich to Manchester City, and finally to Paris Saint-Germain, almost all teams pay attention to the formation of the midfield first.

The peak moment of Barcelona Dream Team 3 is also the strongest time for their midfield.

During that period, Barcelona was able to be at ease with how Guardiola changed its formation and how to play various formations. After all, it was because the team had enough midfield control.

It's like Zhang Wuji in Jin Yong's novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. After practicing worldly internal skills, all the martial arts became easy to capture in his eyes, and the control of the midfield is the internal skills of a team.

"Real Madrid's midfielder looks beautiful, but there are many problems. James Rodriguez's most threatening position is close to the penalty area, Tony Kroos..."

When Gao Han mentioned this player, his face turned gloomy. He once wanted to introduce Tony Kroos to Chinatown, but after negotiating with Zidane, the French also admired Tony Kroos very much, but he still politely declined Gao Han's proposal because he believed that the harmonious atmosphere in the locker room should be maintained.

In Gao Han's view, Tony Kroos will be one of the strongest midfielders in European football in the next few years.

"If it were me, I would consider dragging the defense with Casemiro, Jamet Rodriguez and Tony Kroos form a double midfielder. I believe this will be far more balanced and more reasonable than Moutinho. Of course, in this way, Real Madrid still gains and loses the power in the midfield."

Chinatown's midfield has basically been a success. Zidane will arrange for the four midfielders Isco, De Bruyne, Pogba and Cork to take turns to form different partners according to different opponents and different needs.

But no matter how you organize, Chinatown's midfield control is the top in Europe. In addition to the two abnormal teams, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, even against Ancelotti's Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, Chinatown's midfield has the advantage.

As long as the midfield control is sufficient, the attack can be organized and planned forward, the opportunity can be created, and the defense can be protected and the opponent's attack will be blocked, and the entire team will not be disconnected. No matter what kind of opponent you face, you can have the power to fight.

On the other hand, Pellegrini and Moutinho are definitely a big trick.

Of course, the Chilean engineer may have his own considerations. After all, the biggest stars in the midfield must be played, and he does not have reliable cards to play. When Casemiro has not proved himself, it is understandable that he chooses the more mature Moutinho at a critical moment.

"Real Madrid must be strong, and their waists must be straightened. There is also a defensive line... There is a long way to go!" Gao Han shook his head and sighed.

This summer, Real Madrid invested hundreds of millions of dollars and made a big splash in the midfield superstars, but there were no corresponding signings on the defense line. Pellegrini could only rely on veteran Bruno Alves and the youth training players in the team.

This is also the reason for the embarrassing situation at the moment.

This has a lot to do with the current urgent shortage of European football defenders.
Chapter completed!