Chapter 62 I'm going to win this championship!
Yang Hao stood in front of the visiting team's coaching bench, watching the game intently.
After two weeks of careful preparation, Atletico Madrid started well.
Real Madrid's attack relies on the flanks, but Atletico Madrid does a good job of blocking on both flanks.
Neither Carlos and Savio's side nor Salgado and McManaman's side were able to break through Atletico's defense.
It was not until the 12th minute that McManaman hurriedly completed a long shot for Real Madrid.
The England midfielder wanted to replicate the feeling of the Champions League final and take another swing to see if he could score a world-class goal.
But this kind of thing can only happen once and not again.
Atletico Madrid has not been able to create a shot, and every time they attack the frontcourt, it is difficult to create an effective threat.
Real Madrid's defense was very tightly organized, especially Redondo, who restricted Belleron very well.
This is actually a problem with Atletico Madrid's lineup, and Yang Hao himself is very clear about it.
He has neither speed nor physique, but his technique is just okay.
Neither Solari, Aguilera, nor the full-back Capdevila have an advantage in speed.
And everyone knows that it is difficult to make effective breakthroughs on the court without speed.
Hasselbaink has good physical confrontation and decent speed, but he is only 1.78 meters tall, while Real Madrid's three central defenders are all 1.85 meters tall, a full 7 centimeters difference.
This means that it is already very difficult for Hasselbaink to remain undefeated in the physical confrontation. Want to take advantage? Sorry, don't think too much.
Of course, Hasselbaink is best at attacking.
So now, it is difficult for Atletico Madrid's offense to pose a threat.
On the other hand, Real Madrid's situation is not good either.
Facing Atletico's weak defense, Morientes did have the advantage of height and strength, but Real Madrid's midfield and flank attacks were suppressed by Atletico, and Morientes found it difficult to play to his advantage in the front.
After 20 minutes, Bosque asked his players to make a long pass directly to Morientes.
But Atletico Madrid also had a response strategy in place, taking advantage of their numbers and actively controlling the second landing point.
After all, there is often only one Raul next to Morientes.
It was this kind of tit-for-tat match, with both sides mainly using defensive tactics, that made the game very unattractive.
Not to mention scoring goals, there were very few shots.
…
"The final is unnamed."
"It was a real disappointment in the Madrid derby tonight."
"From the first 30 minutes of the game, it can be seen that both sides attached great importance to defense, which made the game boring."
"Not only Atletico Madrid, but even Real Madrid is unwilling to invest more manpower in the offensive end."
"The Colchoneros have clearly learned from Valencia's experience in the Champions League final and are not taking any risks in attacking."
"Can you imagine this? Yang Hao's team hasn't even had a single shot on goal yet."
"Could it be that he really wants to drag the game into a penalty shootout?"
…
"I heard that he really practices penalty kicks."
Real Madrid's assistant coach Tony Grande said to Bosque who was sitting next to him in the coaching booth.
Bosque now has a distinct Mediterranean look, but his hair is quite long, making him look a bit like Dr. Strange.
He had been observing the game and trying to guess what Yang Hao was thinking.
Drag it into a penalty shootout?
No, if the game goes into overtime, it will be extremely disadvantageous for Real Madrid.
This season, Real Madrid's bench is not strong, and Bosque has had a hard time polishing out a main lineup. In the past week, this lineup has played two tough games in a row.
Tonight is the third game.
If they continue to waste time, it may not be beneficial to Real Madrid.
What's even more terrible is that Yang Hao had already made a plan, so after the opening, Atletico Madrid's pressure was more forcing Real Madrid to speed up and try every means to compete with Real Madrid in consumption.
The game was intense, but really ugly.
Yang Hao's plan is to put Real Madrid into the same technical and tactical dilemma as Atletico Madrid, and then rely on their excellent physical advantage to defeat Real Madrid.
We must break the deadlock!
To break the deadlock, you have to score a goal.
Judging from the current situation, if we want to score a goal, we have to press forward.
If you push forward, you risk being sneaked up on.
Bosque was hesitant.
But when he looked at the time again, it was already 35 minutes. Bosque closed his eyes and thought intently for a while. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were much firmer.
He walked to the sidelines, made a gesture to Redondo who was lagging behind the midfield, and gave instructions.
In the last ten minutes of the first half, we attack!
…
“Here I come!”
When Yang Hao saw Bosque's gesture, he secretly exclaimed in his heart, "As expected."
He also immediately walked to the sidelines and signaled the players to cheer up, saying that Real Madrid was about to press forward and attack.
"Juan, please step back a little."
"Reuben, be careful."
Yang Hao reminded the players on the field, and his heart was also in his throat.
After thinking about it, he still felt uneasy, so he walked to the sidelines and called out to Santi Denia, "Santi, keep an eye on Moro."
Moro is Morientes.
This damn center forward is still very lethal to Atletico Madrid's defense.
Every time he met a center forward, Yang Hao would greet the talented youngsters in his heart. He really wanted to grab their heads and ask them how they came up with the idea of using a group of center backs who were not even 1.8 meters tall to form a defense line?
Just like Santi Denia, he is exactly 1.8 meters tall, and Morientes is 1.86 meters tall, it seems like there is only a difference of 6 centimeters, right?
But what is the biggest problem?
People are high up and look down on you, and the strength and confrontation advantages brought by their height cannot be compensated by any amount of training.
Therefore , in this case, the best option is to defend in front and at the same time prevent the opponent's players from passing high balls behind them.
The goal Valencia lost in the Champions League final was because they were defending in front and were hung behind by the opponent, and Morientes scored with a header.
In response to this, Atletico Madrid also did a lot of work, focusing on suppressing the opponent's passes.
"Everyone, cheer up and hold on to this wave!" Yang Hao shouted loudly.
He was really nervous.
Whether it is a mule or a horse depends on this wave.
…
When Real Madrid really pressed forward to attack, not only were the two full-backs active, but midfielders McManaman and Savio also actively moved forward, forming a six-man offensive formation.
Real Madrid players have strong individual abilities and they work together very well.
McManaman and Savio are both versatile players who can play on the wing or in the middle. Add in Roberto Carlos and Salgado, and there's Morientes up front to suppress the central defenders, and Raul with his flexible positioning and superb technique...
It can be said that Real Madrid's attack is still very threatening.
But Atletico’s strategy is also very clear. If I don’t fight for the ball, I will suppress you on the wing.
So far this season, Atletico Madrid has played two league games with Real Madrid. During Toshack's coaching, Ranieri's Atletico Madrid defeated Real Madrid 3-1 away. The goal scorer for Real Madrid was Morientes and the assist was Carlos.
After Bosque saved the day, the two sides played another game at the Calderon Stadium with the score being 1-1. The goal was scored by Morientes again and the assist was by Salgado.
This is very evidence of Real Madrid's offensive threat.
Yang Hao's purpose was very clear. Call me conservative or shameless, but I'm going to take this championship today! Not even Jesus can take it away from me!
Atletico Madrid hadn't had a single shot in the first thirty minutes, but it doesn't matter, as long as I can defend the goal and drain all your energy, I can win!
Yang Hao also conveyed this set of ideas to the players very clearly before the game.
Carlos was extremely active on the left, and Savio was also a winger. The cooperation between the two created huge defensive pressure on Atletico's right.
Especially in the 41st minute, it was Carlos who quickly inserted into the wing, received the pass from Savio, forced his way through Aguilera, and made a cross to the front point.
Morientes headed the ball into the far corner, but it just slipped past the goal.
There was a panic in front of Atletico Madrid's goal.
Yang Hao also anxiously signaled Gamara to keep a close eye on Morientes, and at the same time asked Beybur to stay low and help guard Real Madrid's center forward, and not let Morientes wreak havoc in the penalty area.
But just when Atletico Madrid gathered its forces on the right to defend Real Madrid's attack on the left, Redondo suddenly passed the ball to Salgado on the right when he passed the ball in the midfield.
Real Madrid's right-back drove the ball along the right sideline. When Solari rushed to defend, Salgado easily passed the ball back to the ribs and handed it to McManaman.
At the critical moment, Baraha returned to his position in time and rushed towards McManaman. Although he failed to intercept the ball, the ball passed to Raul by the England midfielder deviated.
Santi Denia took the initiative and shoveled the ball to the left.
Real Madrid counterattacked on the spot, but Capdevila passed the ball forward to Solari.
The Argentine turned around without stopping the ball and caught up with Capdevila's pass. Seeing his brother-in-law Redondo rushing towards him, he pushed the ball forward and suddenly took a step forward and rushed forward at an accelerated speed.
Redondo chased back desperately and blocked Solari's inside.
At this time, Real Madrid's defenders were also quickly returning to defense. Karanka was behind Redondo, ready to assist the Argentine midfielder at any time. Elguera followed Hasselbaink, and there was Campo at the back post.
Real Madrid quickly formed four defensive players in the backcourt, 4 to 2, and Real Madrid had the numerical advantage.
When Solari rushed to the 30-meter area of Real Madrid, he glanced at the midfield and saw Real Madrid's defense. He also saw that Hasselbaink had already rushed up. He no longer hesitated and passed the ball diagonally behind him.
Redondo tried to intercept the ball, but the ball passed over his foot and fell diagonally to the top of the penalty area.
Solari's shot was passed very forward, and it was difficult for Karanka to block it.
Hasselbaink forced a start, sprinted forward at top speed, and caught up with Solari's pass at the top of the penalty area.
Elguera was entangled beside him, and the Dutch center forward forced him away with his body, then stopped the ball first and got a great chance to shoot, but when he touched the ball for the second time, he went a little too far.
The ball entered the penalty area , Casillas decisively left the goal to attack, Hasselbaink saw that he could not catch up, so he made a direct sliding shot.
The shot hit the arms of Casillas who was lying on the ground.
The entire stadium was filled with the regretful voices of Atletico Madrid fans and the relief of Real Madrid fans for surviving the disaster.
This was Atletico Madrid's first shot of the game, which occurred in the 43rd minute.
