Chapter 251: Falling Behind and Then Turning the Tables, the Fierce Battle at Camp Nou

Chapter 251: Falling Behind and Then Turning the Tables, the Fierce Battle at Camp Nou

Seeing Lin Quan's defensive strategy against Messi, Busquets, in the back, had a bright idea.

Could Lin's method be used to defend against him?

Busquets was still brooding over the previous failed attempt to defend against Lin Quan. If he succeeded, Barcelona wouldn't have conceded at home.

Professor Busquets was eager to try out this method the next time Manchester City attacked.

This is called "treating others as you would like to be treated!"

Barcelona's attack didn't stop. After Messi lost the opportunity to break through, he passed the ball to Iniesta.

Iniesta handed it over to Xavi to reorganize, and Xavi glanced at Manchester City's penalty area.

The penalty area was densely packed with players from both sides, making it difficult to pass the ball directly.

So, he passed it back to Busquets, controlling the pace from the back.

Barcelona's attack was swift and fierce, compressing Manchester City's defensive line severely. All three lines were almost stuck together.

Seeing Barcelona passing the ball back in their own half, they immediately pushed their formation forward, restoring the elasticity of their defensive line.

But this is exactly what Barcelona's brain—Xavi—wanted to see!

In the 43rd minute, after several back passes in the midfield, Barcelona saw Manchester City's defensive formation move forward significantly, leaving space behind. Xavi suddenly transferred the ball to the wings.

There were no Barcelona players there initially, but after Xavi's pass, a figure rushed in and received the ball in the vacant space on the wing.

Who? Barcelona's number 22, right-back Alves!

After receiving the ball on the wing, Alves immediately dribbled towards the byline. Manchester City's left-back Kolarov thought he was going to cross, so he prepared to block.

Other Manchester City players also thought the same, positioning themselves in the penalty area to block any headed shots.

However, unexpectedly, Alves didn't choose to cross but instead passed the ball back.

Neymar appeared in the path of the ball, receiving it at the corner of the penalty area.

This was a connection between two Brazilians, Alves' dribble towards the byline was just a feint, his real purpose was to create space for Neymar to shoot.

Neymar didn't waste Alves' assist. After receiving the ball, he adjusted and curled it into the far corner of the goal.

Joe Hart was powerless against this goal, only able to watch the ball fly into the net.

Barcelona turned the game around, changing the score to 2-1.

This was Neymar's fourth Champions League goal of the season, equaling the number of European goals scored by Ronaldinho in his first season at Barcelona.

Although Neymar's stats were not as dazzling as Lin Quan and other superstars, in the nine Champions League games he played, Neymar scored four goals and contributed three assists, creating a total of seven goals by himself.

If we exclude the monster Lin Quan, then Neymar's stats are definitely impressive, even arguably the best newcomer of the Champions League this season.

After scoring, Neymar seemed particularly excited, running to the corner flag and performing the samba dance.

The Camp Nou fans gave him warm applause and cheers, acknowledging this rising star in their team.

Neymar's excellent performance brought relief to Barcelona fans.

Hey, we have Messi, we have Neymar, we don't need Lin!

They began to alternate between singing Messi's and Neymar's songs, expressing their thoughts and support for the two Barcelona stars.

Seeing Neymar's goal, Lin Quan felt a bit helpless.

There was a gap in the defense!

Perhaps because Barcelona's attack wasn't as fierce as before, his teammates had relaxed a bit.

And their relaxation gave Barcelona the opportunity to create danger.

Xavi's pass for this goal was excellent, using the change of pace to catch Manchester City off guard.

Of course, Neymar's positioning was also excellent. When Alves dribbled towards the byline, he didn't rush into Manchester City's penalty area immediately, allowing Manchester City players to focus on him. Otherwise, he might not have had the chance to shoot.

"Barcelona scored two goals within ten minutes. Manchester City is in great danger at Camp Nou. If this score continues to expand, even with their precious away goal, it will be very difficult for them to eliminate Barcelona when they return home!"

"Yes, for Manchester City, a 1-1 or even 2-1 scoreline is acceptable, but 3-1 is not. Facing a strong team like Barcelona, they can't afford to lose too much. Losing too much will make it difficult for them to turn the tide even at home!"

"The first half is almost over. I wonder what adjustments Manchester City will make at halftime. They have been very passive in the first half. If they continue like this, the third conceded goal may not be far away."

On the sidelines, Pellegrini frowned.

The number of goals conceded in the first half was more than expected, but fortunately, there was one goal scored, which was acceptable.

"How many games has Xavi played this season?"

Suddenly, Pellegrini turned his head and asked his assistant coach.

"This season, Xavi has appeared in a total of 35 matches: 23 league matches, 5 cup matches, and 7 Champions League matches.

In the first half of the league season, he often played the full 90 minutes, but in the second half, he was often substituted around the 75th minute."

"Did he play the full 90 minutes in the last La Liga match?"

"Yes, in the last match against Espanyol, Barcelona struggled until the 77th minute to score. After the goal, Martino began to make substitutions. However, for some reason, he replaced Neymar, Fabregas, and Pedro, but didn't choose to substitute the veteran, Xavi."

Pellegrini nodded. Martino probably knew how important Xavi was to the team, so he chose to keep him on the field! But using a 34-year-old veteran like this might be a bit excessive!

Thinking of this, Pellegrini had already figured out the tactics for the second half.

As the first half ended, both teams went into the locker rooms with a score of 2-1.

This score favored Barcelona more, and the expressions on the faces of Barcelona's players were relatively relaxed.

Manchester City's players could also accept this score. Although they were trailing by a goal, this was, after all, Barcelona's home ground, and falling behind was normal.

Besides, there were still 45 minutes, right?

...

In the locker room, Pellegrini took out the tactics board, preparing to explain the second-half tactical arrangements to the players.

Before starting the explanation, the Chilean asked the players a question: "After playing against Barcelona for half a match, what do you think of Barcelona's strength?"

Manchester City's players expressed their thoughts upon hearing this question.

"They're very strong, and their pressing is intense!"

"Their ball possession is impressive. Our possession rate is probably less than 30%?"

"There's nothing we can do. We can't even hold onto the ball. Before we can even receive it, their players rush at us like mad dogs. We lose the ball after a few seconds. When passing, there are often opposing players sweeping the passing lanes, and we accidentally lose possession!"

Seeing that the players were hitting the mark, Pellegrini smiled and clapped his hands, stopping the discussion: "It seems that everyone has deep feelings!"

Pellegrini looked at Lin Quan and asked, "Lin, are you tired?"

He saw Lin Quan working very hard on both ends of the pitch, so he subconsciously thought that Lin Quan's physical exertion was considerable, and he should be tired.

But what surprised Pellegrini was that Lin Quan shook his head when he heard the question and said, "Not really, I'm not tired!"

Uh...

Not tired?

You covered the most distance in the first half, sprinting energetically during attacks and actively retreating to participate in defense when needed.

And you're not tired? Pellegrini was a bit bewildered for a moment: "Okay, okay, if you're not tired, that's good. We'll still rely on you for the team's attack in the second half. Pay attention to saving some energy for counterattacks!"

Lin Quan's answer made Pellegrini feel a bit unsure, but fortunately, he then asked several other people, and their answers all indicated that they felt tired.

Physical fatigue was one thing, but mainly, they were mentally exhausted.

Facing Barcelona's possession-based style, Manchester City's players had to maintain full concentration at all times, not daring to relax in the slightest.

Maintaining such focus for a long time would naturally lead to mental fatigue.

"If I told you that you're tired, but Barcelona is even more tired, would you believe it?"

The players shook their heads. All they saw was Barcelona's players constantly passing the ball. How much energy could that consume? "Don't believe it? Then we'll try it out in the second half and see!"

Pellegrini didn't try to convince the players but instead explained his tactics for the second half.

As the second half of the game began, Barcelona quickly noticed the difference in Manchester City's approach.

They found that Manchester City was playing more aggressively, with players actively pressing Barcelona in their own half.

This kind of pressing wasn't unfamiliar to Barcelona, so they didn't pay much attention to it at first.

However, as Manchester City committed several fouls on the field, they began to realize that something was amiss.

"Barcelona in possession, Xavi with the ball, Yaya Toure comes forward to intercept, and De Bruyne also closes in. Xavi is facing pressure from Manchester City!"

It wasn't just Barcelona who realized that something was wrong. In the commentary box, the commentators also noticed Manchester City's intentions.

"Since the start of the second half, Manchester City seems to have increased the intensity of their pressure on Xavi. Whenever Xavi gets the ball, there will always be Manchester City players pressing him immediately, making it difficult for Xavi to find space to organize the attack."

Xavi was Barcelona's midfield core and the brain of the team. Without his command and coordination, Barcelona's attacks weren't as smooth as they were in the first half.

Moreover, due to Xavi's position, once he lost the ball here, Manchester City would immediately launch a threatening attack.

Such attacks were rare in the first half, but less than 10 minutes into the second half, Manchester City had already launched two attacks.

If it weren't for the outstanding performance of the defenders and the goalkeeper, Manchester City might have equalized by now.

Xavi, with his wealth of experience, realized the opponent's intentions and reduced the number of times he received the ball, denying them the chance to counterattack.

However, by doing so, it was like killing one thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own.

Manchester City couldn't find a breakthrough from him anymore, but Barcelona's attack lost a significant portion of its threat without Xavi's organization and coordination.

Moreover, Manchester City's intensity in pressing increased significantly in the second half. Just because Xavi handed over the organizing work to Fabregas and Iniesta didn't mean they wouldn't press.

When Fabregas or Iniesta had the ball, Manchester City players would still press them.

Unfortunately, Manchester City lacked a sweeping defensive midfielder. If Fernandinho were on the field, with his sweeping range, Manchester City's efficiency in pressing would greatly improve.

In the 57th minute, Manchester City successfully pressed in their own half, and Kroos passed the ball to David Silva on the wing.

David Silva knew how fast Barcelona's players pressed, so he dared not dribble and immediately passed the ball to De Bruyne.

De Bruyne also didn't dare to hold onto the ball for long and quickly passed it to Lin Quan.

With the ball at Lin Quan's feet, he had basically shaken off most of Barcelona's defenders.

Taking advantage of Barcelona's full-backs not yet returning from their attack, Lin Quan quickly dribbled along the wing.

Aguero, David Silva, De Bruyne, and other players were all sprinting towards Barcelona's penalty area at full speed.

Manchester City's counterattack was fierce, making Camp Nou's fans unable to sit still.

How similar is this scene to the goal conceded in the first half!

Busquets hesitated, unsure whether to restrict Lin Quan or continue marking Aguero.

Glancing at the positions of Xavi and Pique, and calculating the time, Busquets decisively abandoned Aguero and chose to intercept Lin Quan.

Although Lin Quan was on the wing, Busquets still believed that he posed the greatest threat.

Because if he didn't mark him, Lin Quan could cut inside and shoot.

Busquets quickly appeared in front of Lin Quan. He had calculated in his mind.

As long as he could delay Lin Quan's progress slightly, wait for the full-back Alba to return to his defensive position, he could neutralize this danger.

Facing Lin Quan again, Busquets still chose to defend by retreating.

Lin, let me defeat you with your own method!

Busquets was confident. He felt that this time he had at least an eighty percent chance of stopping Lin Quan.

Lin Quan seemed unaware of Busquets' plan. He seemed to be planning to use the same method as last time to pass Busquets.

Now is the time!

At the moment Lin Quan completed his breakthrough, Busquets quickly turned around, blocking the position where Lin Quan wanted to cut inside, tightly marking him to disrupt Lin Quan's dribbling rhythm and force him to stop.

This move worked. Lin Quan was successfully forced to stop!

I finally stopped Lin! Busquets was excited, almost in tears. Since the opponent had stopped, this fast break couldn't succeed. When his teammates fell back into position, they could launch a counter-press and regain possession.

Wait, where's the ball? Busquets was astonished to find that the football had disappeared from Lin Quan's feet at some point.

He turned around suddenly, only to find that the football had been passed to the middle by Lin Quan and was now at Aguero's feet.

Pique rushed towards Aguero, but as he approached, Aguero passed the ball to David Silva.

David Silva shot with one foot, sending the ball into the goal, and Manchester City equalized away from home with a score of 2-2!

Silence, a dead silence.

After David Silva's goal, Camp Nou fell into a silence that lasted for more than ten seconds.

Barcelona's fans couldn't accept their team being reversed at their own home ground. What they longed for was a thrilling victory.

But how did it turn out like this? After the silence, what followed was even more intense anger.

The boos, like a hurricane, once again swept into the stadium, flying towards the celebrating Manchester City players.

Even the spectators near the field were throwing various objects at the celebrating Manchester City players, including lighters, coins, and other items.

At this moment, disappointment and anger had clouded their minds. Even though there was no real animosity between Barcelona and Manchester City, they vented their anger on the Manchester City players.

It wasn't just Barcelona's fans who were angry; even the eleven players on the field were!

We are FC Barcelona, the supreme team in Europe! We hold four Champions League trophies! This is Camp Nou, our sacred home ground, where no one is allowed to act recklessly!

After the restart, they launched their most fierce onslaught since the beginning of the game.

Barcelona's players ran wildly in the frontcourt, pressing frantically, even if it meant fouling.

In just ten minutes, Barcelona's aggressive play led to Iniesta and Alba each receiving a yellow card!

And in order to stop the opponent's attack, Manchester City's players also received two yellow cards.

The recipients were Kolarov and Sagna.

These two yellow cards were very unfavorable for Manchester City; now three of their defenders had yellow cards.

This meant they had to be careful in defense; otherwise, if they accidentally received a red card, not only would they have to play with fewer players in this match, but they would also face suspension in the next match!

Seeing that Manchester City's defensive players had yellow cards, Messi increased the number of breakthrough attempts.

In the 63rd minute, Messi dribbled into the penalty area, made a feint under Kompany's block, created space, and aimed for the corner of the goal with a lob shot.

The ball finally crossed Hart's outstretched hands but hit the post and bounced out.

There was a sigh from the crowd; even their own goalpost had betrayed the team?

However, the attack was not over yet. The ball rebounded from the post and was picked up by Iniesta. With the goal empty and Hart still on the ground, this was almost a guaranteed goal.

However, Iniesta's shot was blocked on the goal line by the diving Demichelis.

The ball rolled out of bounds, and the latter collided heavily with the post.

Iniesta held his head in disbelief! Could this shot also be blocked? After completing the shot, he had already raised his hands in celebration.

However, Demichelis's clearance turned his celebration into frustration and regret.

Manchester City teammates ran over to hug Demichelis, who had made the crucial clearance.

This goal was saved thanks to Demichelis's selfless clearance; otherwise, Manchester City would have fallen behind again.

"Martin, are you okay?"

Lin Quan asked with concern; he had just seen Demichelis collide with the post and feared he might be injured.

Demichelis was already 34 years old; for players of this age, the biggest fear was injury.

Young people have good physical condition and strong recovery ability. They may recover from an injury in a few months.

But for those veterans whose form is declining and are on the verge of retirement, a major injury could lead to their retirement.

"I'm fine, don't worry. If I can't hold on, I'll ask for a substitution myself!"

Demichelis patted Lin Quan on the shoulder and smiled at him.

Seeing the other party so confident, Lin Quan also relaxed and returned to his position to prepare to defend Barcelona's corner kick.

Iniesta stood in the corner area, glanced at the positioning of both teams' players, and kicked the ball towards the far post.

Barcelona didn't have many tall players to aim for; apart from the goalkeeper, Pique was the tallest.

Iniesta's intention was to find Pique with this corner kick.

Pique had started running towards the far post as soon as his teammate took the free kick. Seeing the ball flying towards him, he immediately jumped high to prepare for a header.

However, before him, Kompany had also jumped to try to clear the ball.

With a loud bang, the two collided in mid-air and fell to the ground together.

(End of this chapter)

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