Chapter 137 Sometimes, Recklessness Is the Best Way to Break the Deadlock

"Barcelona won again?"

"Yes, 1-0 Granada, Xavi scored a last-minute goal."

"Ah, Granada didn't hold on, what a pity."

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

Barcelona scored a last-minute goal against Granada at home and won another La Liga match, and now has won five consecutive games.

This performance is much more stable than last season.

Last season, Barcelona had repeatedly failed since the beginning of the season, so Real Madrid opened a huge gap with them halfway through the league.

The competition mode between Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga in recent seasons is also mostly the same.

In the seasons when Real Madrid lost the championship due to Barcelona's stepping on their heads, Real Madrid mostly lost too many points to the lower-middle teams in the league and lost many points that should not have been lost.

Last year, Barcelona lost the championship. In addition to Real Madrid's own strong and stable performance, the biggest reason was that Barcelona was unstable in bullying.

This season, Barcelona was still tactically restrained by Real Madrid in the previous Spanish Super Cup and did not play very well.

But in the current league, Barcelona has restored the stable bullying ability during the three consecutive championships.

Barcelona's strength recovery will undoubtedly increase the difficulty for Real Madrid to defend the league title this year.

However, this situation is not completely without benefits. There is motivation when there is pressure.

There is a Barcelona in the league that has been putting pressure on Real Madrid's preparations and the players' game status can also be maintained at a high level.

This is more beneficial than harmful for Real Madrid's league and Champions League defense.

"This game is not easy to play, but fortunately the players have not felt much pressure yet."

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

Rayo Vallecano had a good start this season, with two wins, one draw and one loss, temporarily ranking 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 a relatively high evaluation of Rayo Vallecano's game tenacity.

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

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

Mourinho was 100% vigilant at the tactical level.

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

It's rare to see that the head coach values ​​a mid-level team so much, and all the stars of Real Madrid have put away too much relaxed thoughts.

After the game started that night, facing Rayo Vallecano's active attack, Real Madrid, as usual, gave up some midfield control.

This "fishing method" is already quite familiar to Real Madrid's players.

As long as Rayo Vallecano takes the bait and leaves enough space in the backcourt after the overall forward pressure, Real Madrid can make a threatening long pass counterattack as soon as it steals.

The script seemed to have been written from the beginning, and the game was indeed progressing at the pace expected by Real Madrid from the beginning.

Unfortunately, their opponents today obviously have their own ideas, and they don't want to be supporting roles in their own home court.

Rayo Vallecano, who started with a 4-2-3-1 formation, showed a fierce all-out attack and defense.

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

For the players of these mid-level teams, it is really a good deal to exchange physical fitness for a relative balance in the situation.

Their attack was very organized, and the young player Baptistao was also very daring in the midfield.

Modric was shaken off by this kid several times.

It can only be said that young people are physically strong and courageous, that is, they dare to rush and fight. Rayo Vallecano relied on the simplest side cross play, and for a while, they really got several chances to grab shots.

Li Ang was quite confident in his own defense.

Even if Rayo Vallecano shot two shots within five minutes of the opening, those were all data from headers.

Rayo Vallecano's center forward Delibasic was in good shape today, but he was still far from being able to head the ball in front of Pepe and Ramos.

What made Li Ang feel a little bad was Rayo Vallecano's defensive arrangement on the two sides today.

Their all-out defense play was also more reflected in the offense and defense of the two wings.

Baptistao and Domingos were able to press into Real Madrid's half as the attack started.

But when Rayo Vallecano needed to return to defense, they were able to actively retreat to the front of the full-backs in the first time.

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

As a result, Ronaldo's ball on the left was destroyed by Baptistao and Vallecano's right back Tito who returned to defense.

This degree of active defense obviously caused Real Madrid a lot of trouble on the counterattack.

However, after a brief exchange with Alonso, Li Ang began to frequently hold the ball and pass the ball to his teammates in the frontcourt.

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

Moreover, Real Madrid does not necessarily have to stick to a set of offensive tactics. Even without Mourinho's opening adjustment, Alonso and Li Ang have begun to seek changes in their playing style.

Modric still played the role of a midfield metronome.

The main task of advancement is still undertaken by Li Ang.

Thanks to the lack of a first-class defensive midfielder in Vallecano's lineup, Li Ang's offensive advancement and distribution today were still very smooth.

Ronaldo and Di Maria also consciously began to retreat frequently to receive the ball, and took turns to attack Vallecano's defense line on both wings.

At this moment, Antonio, the head coach of Rayo Vallecano, who was standing on the sidelines, still did not immediately ask the front players to shrink their formation and return to defense.

Previously, too many mid- and lower-level teams in La Liga had parked their buses and were finally forcibly besieged by Real Madrid and broke their defense.

Antonio obviously did not want to repeat the same mistake again. He learned a lesson and insisted on putting pressure on Real Madrid's defense no matter how great the pressure on the defense was.

And their center forward Delibasic can also provide a considerable fulcrum to support Rayo Vallecano to play more concisely and efficiently on the counterattack end.

The counterattack effect is still good after all. Rayo Vallecano's tenacious performance in seizing counterattack opportunities also limits Real Madrid's full-line pressure.

After all, Real Madrid must keep someone in the backcourt to guard against Rayo Vallecano's counterattack, right?

Alonso cannot press the center line, and Real Madrid's strong attack rhythm can never be fully pulled up. The number of offensive rounds cannot be increased, and Rayo Vallecano's defense can barely stabilize its position.

Antonio played this game thoroughly, using offense instead of defense and using physical strength to change the situation.

Li Ang thought that if he had to continue to attack, he might as well do it in one go.

Real Madrid's two full-backs also pulled to the center line. At most, they would fight against Rayo Vallecano. Could Rayo Vallecano last the whole game without making mistakes on the defensive end?

However, Mourinho obviously had more considerations and did not make radical tactical adjustments in the first half of the game.

After Ronaldo missed a great opportunity to break the deadlock, the game remained at a 0-0 deadlock and entered the halftime break.

Real Madrid, which used to have sharp offensive counterattacks, was very tired in today's game.

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

Several core players in Real Madrid have almost finished all the games in the summer European Cup, and they still have less rest time.

In the new season, there are both league and World Cup qualifiers. In addition, Real Madrid just finished the Champions League match with Manchester City not long ago, and it is also the time when the state is affected.

These fans' speculations are reasonable.

However, the players in Real Madrid are not in such a bad state now.

If Ronaldo scored the ball near the end of the first half, the public opinion would change again.

In today's game, Rayo Vallecano was well prepared, and their performance on the defensive end was also quite good.

Real Madrid was a little unlucky after all.

And Mourinho also sorted out the key offensive and defensive areas of Rayo Vallecano in the first half during the halftime break.

Going to the side and defending the side were the smartest points of Rayo Vallecano in this game.

It was the right decision not to confront Real Madrid's powerful midfield head-on.

Mourinho also admired Antonio's tactical choice.

However, now that the opponent's tactical intentions have been sorted out, Mourinho will not continue to let the opponent grab the offensive and defensive rhythm in the second half.

After the urgent tactical adjustment, the Real Madrid players also had a bottom line in their hearts.

At the beginning of the second half, Benzema, who actively retreated to the side, opened the channel for Ronaldo and Di Maria to cut inside.

Real Madrid's two wing kings began to test Vallecano goalkeeper Martinez again and again with their personal abilities and long shots after cutting inside.

Such tactical changes are simple and rough.

But Real Madrid's offensive rhythm has been played out, so they cut into the middle to find opportunities to shoot, and it would be better if they get a set-piece opportunity.

Whether it is a set-piece or a corner kick opportunity in the frontcourt, Real Madrid's header attack group performed very well.

Only fifteen minutes into the second half, the fans at Vallecano's home stadium couldn't sit still.

Vallecano's head coach Antonio also lost the calmness of the first half.

"Should we continue to put pressure on Real Madrid's two wings?"

A tactical choice was clearly placed in front of him.

Should they continue to put pressure on Real Madrid to counterattack, or should they pull the players in the front court back to fill the defensive loopholes in the middle of the midfield?

If Real Madrid continues to bombard like this, Antonio will have to worry about his goalkeeper's ability to save shots, even if he doesn't worry about his goalkeeper's ability to save shots.

Just when he was about to make a decision, the Real Madrid attackers on the field had already launched another wave of offensive advancement.

Ronaldo was marked by many Vallecano defenders during his cut-in process, and he could only choose to knock the ball sideways quickly after receiving Modric's pass!

This time, it was not Di Maria who received his ball, but Li Ang who had advanced to the position!

Two steps outside the right side of the Vallecano penalty area, Li Ang saw that there was almost no one in front of him. After stopping the ball and making a slight adjustment, a bold idea flashed through his mind!

The distance was close enough, aiming was very convenient, and he could now suppress his strength very well.

If he was thirty meters away from the goal at this time, he would not consider other ways to handle the ball except passing the ball.

But now the distance from the goal is only a little over twenty meters!

Li Ang's ambition quickly expanded to the extreme. He drew his bow and arrow, and his right calf, which had been charged, swung quickly, and finally hit the middle and lower part of the football hard!

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

Getafe goalkeeper Martinez felt a flash before his eyes. Before he could see the trajectory of the ball, the goalpost on his right side trembled and made a dull sound!

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 ball bounce on the inside of the goal post and finally bounce into the net were completely crazy at this moment!

Movistar's La Liga commentator seemed to have a climax at this moment and shouted passionately with a broken voice!

A long shot from Li Ang!

An unexpected world wave long shot!

More importantly, this ball went in!

Li Ang patted his chest, ran to the corner flag area, pulled his jersey and roared to celebrate.

This was his first long shot goal, and he looked quite rough and reckless!

But many times, recklessness is the best way to break the game!