In the early morning of January 13, Beijing time, the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup, Barca Real Madrid fought 2-2 in 90 minutes, Valverde scored the winning goal in extra time, and finally Real Madrid defeated Barca 3-2 to advance to the final.
Real Madrid beat Barca in extra time to win five consecutive games in the Battle of the Century, but Barca have been behind twice in the 90-minute race and have shown a level that is already close to Real Madrid, which is an improvement for Barca.
Barca's starting line-up is logical, with only Ferran Torres starting out of three long-injured players Ansu Fati, Pedri and the newly introduced Ferran Torres, which is also the first appearance of Barca's new signings after three months. Luc De Jong, who has been in excellent form lately, is still starting, while Dembele has made way for Ferran Torres to play as a left winger. In midfield, Frenki De Jong, who was injured in the China King's Cup last week, started a bit unexpectedly, after all, Nico and Pedri can play this position.
Barca began to press forward, trying to play their own accustomed style, and Ancelotti's strategy is very much in line with real Madrid's characteristics, and it is also very suitable for Barca, that is, not rushing to play the ball, but finding a passing route to play a counterattack. In the opening 12 minutes, Real Madrid's three strikers Benzema, Asensio and Vinicius each used a counter-attack to complete a shot, Barca's front field was unable to complete the broken ball, whenever Real Madrid could easily hit the Barca penalty area through the midfield, it can be said that in the first stage of the game, Ancelotti's counter-attack tactics beat Xavi's frontcourt pressing tactics.
Finally, in the 25th minute, Busquets lacked a line to play the ball and was cut off by Benzema, who then received a direct pass from Modric and sent a direct pass to Vinicius, who was powerless to prevent Vinicius from scoring a counter-attack goal after facing Benzema and Vinicius's two-on-one.
But Real Madrid's goals and tactical victories made the team lack of aggressiveness, and Barca did not lose the goal and morale was low, but played better and better, after 30 minutes, Barca gradually controlled the game and was able to play the siege in front of the box, while Real Madrid's counterattack almost disappeared. In this situation, Luc de Jong became Barca's best performer, using Dembele and Alva's crosses from the left twice to complete the header. Finally, in the 41st minute, Luc De Jong took advantage of Militang's clearance mistake to block the ball inside the goal and equalize, 1-1.
The problem with Barca in the first half was that Felan Torres was clearly lacking the form of the game, and Frenki De Jong did not play at the highest level because of injury, after half-time, Xavi decisively replaced Ferran Torres and Frenki De Jong with Abd and Pedri, and Barca also ushered in their highest moment in the first 10 minutes of the second half, just five minutes into the second half, Dembele, Pedri and Luc De Jong's three shots made real Madrid dangerous in front of the goal.
For Barca's onslaught, Real Madrid also reacted, the first to stand out is Vinicius, his continuous breakthroughs on the left side of Alves let Barca people re-realize that Real Madrid's front line is not without threat, driven by Vinicius, Real Madrid also played more and more bravely, the game has been obvious after 60 minutes of exchange counterattack scene. It was clear that Xavi and Ancelotti had also noticed this change in the situation on the pitch, with both sides handing out similar answers, both replacing players better suited to counterattack, Xavi replacing center Luc De Jong with Ansu Fati, and Ancelotti replacing Asensio with the faster Rodrigues.
Real Madrid, who are more capable of counter-attacking, opened the situation first, first Kartsen Benzema hit the goalpost with a counter-attack, and then the French center took advantage of the opportunity of Karl Wajal's cross from the right that was blocked by Ter Stegen to take the lead again, 2-1.
However, Real Madrid once again led and failed to beat Barca's offensive arrogance, and Dembele became the engine of Barca's attack, constantly breaking through on the left to create corners. Xavi also made a disastrous substitution, replacing Alves and Garvey with Nico and Memphis for the three centre-backs, with Memphis playing as a forward behind Ansu Fati, and the game proved that the front waist was a more suitable position for the Dutch than the center forward. Finally, in the 83rd minute, Ansu Fati received a cross from Alva and equalized, 2-2.
The game entered extra time, in view of the high rhythm played by the two teams in the previous 90 minutes, the physical strength of both sides was reached to the limit, and the first to score was Real Madrid, or the use of counterattack, in the 98th minute, after Kroos's excess, Casemiro launched a counterattack with the ball, Alva despite wanting to commit a tactical foul, but the shovel did not bring down Casemiro, at this time there was a 6-3 counterattack scene of Real Madrid, and finally by rodrigue, who was replaced in the second half, Valverde scored the ball, 3-2. Busquets and Dembele then had two shots in 1 minute saved by Courtois.
In the following matches, Pedri, who had not played for 4 months and had just won the new crown, was already visibly physically weak despite playing in the second half, while Vinicius had already fought to the point of cramping. There were few shots from both sides since then. Until the last 2 minutes of the game, first Ansu Fati's back-hook shot in front of the goal did not miss the last chance to equalize, and Real Madrid had a counter-attack opportunity in the last minute, Rodrigues missed a one-handed opportunity.
Throughout the game, Real Madrid's use of counterattack to defeat Barca is a normal result that everyone can expect, but Barca has fallen behind 2 times and equalized twice, and finally fell in extra time, and it is beyond people's expectations to suppress Real Madrid for a long time in the game.
"Limited edition" national derby: Real Madrid show technology, Barca fight body
Perhaps only in the Spanish Super Cup can you see such a national derby: both sides are full of fighting spirit but not unscrupulous, and the atmosphere in the middle position is warm but does not add pressure. Playing important events abroad is not friendly to domestic fans, and player coaches are also tired, but there are some benefits in addition to money. Such a stage also allows the audience to clearly see the current changes in the styles of Real Madrid and Barca, as well as the existing problems. Everyone is no longer hiding.
For today's Spanish Super Cup, Barca and Real Madrid must have some dilemmas. Barca's several lines are under a lot of pressure, but if you can take advantage of this opportunity, it will be of great benefit to training the team and restoring morale. Real Madrid's squad is thicker and has been leading the league so far, but the advantage over Sevilla is not obvious. Fortunately, the semi-finals of the two sides will be divided into winners and losers, a hammer deal, and then there will be no worries.
Barca, which looks like a thinner squad, are actually more likely to move players. The main players under Harvey are mostly the second-team players promoted this year, Garvey, Nico needless to say, Abd and Jutegra need more playing time, as long as they play, they will inevitably perform. Not to mention the newcomer Felan Torres, and the newly injured Ansu Fati and Pedri. For this group of teenage and twenty-year-old boys, the stability of long-term combat is difficult to guarantee, but there is a good chance that a single-game victory or defeat will kill the teacher.
The situation of Real Madrid was clear after the game: the 120-minute battle did not use a full substitution, and Hazard, Jovic and Isco all sat idle. Ancelotti is conservative in his employment strategy, gritting his teeth and not rotating. Not to mention that this game is won, even if the Super Cup champion arrives, others will probably continue to worry about the possibility of dropping the chain in the future. However, although the people are still the few on the field, the atmosphere is well controlled. Vinicius, Felan Mendy, Benzema and even Camarweunga, who played last, played very relaxed and showed off their skills, as if it was a warm-up game, and they were here to give the audience a show.
Real Madrid have shots on target far more than Barca, which is mainly reflected in the ability of both sides to create a killing chance in the penalty area. Real Madrid have a more mature and sharp counter-attack routine, but the midfield organisation and defence are now weaknesses. This explains why it seems that Barca are driving the rhythm, desperately trying to control the ball but always playing very tired. Because whether it is the starting Busquets, Garvey or the substitute Pedri and Nico, maintaining a high-intensity offensive and defensive rate, can only insist on these ten minutes. Barca pushed up their positions and suppressed them for a while, and they would be brought back by a wave of real Madrid counterattacks.
The most interesting part of the game is actually this: Real Madrid show off their personal skills, playing passes in a small space, Barca giving a desperate pass to the station center in the penalty area, and fighting in a short battle. The stereotypes that have accumulated over the past decade or so are now reversed. However, as far as the Real Madrid show technology is concerned, the audience can still distinguish who is showing and who is soft foot. Vinicius and Mendy were both on the show, facing the goal without a foot, missing a kick for a teammate at the back. Asensio and Rodrigo were very serious and did not listen to the call.
If Real Madrid is equalized in the last minute because of the few feet that should be scored, and the penalty is lost, compared to Ancelotti, who has such a good temper, he will also curse. Cautious as An Shuai, the game process is not ideal. Militan, who was entrusted with heavy trust, was directly responsible for the two goals conceded. Looking at Barca again, the game was lost but the gain was great. Everyone saw the potential of this team, not just a rising star, but a team that was clearly improving, and became stronger with the comeback of the previous group of young players. If there are a few more games like this, Barca will play more and more smoothly.
Wen | Liang Hongye Wu Yifan
Edit | Fat Cat