Football giants

Chapter 731 Opportunity is here!

Accompanied by a crisp whistle from the referee Jonas Eriksson from Sweden, this world-renowned Champions League focus match officially kicked off.

When Benzema, who was standing in the middle circle, sent the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo on the opposite side, he saw Southampton's frontcourt players rushing over like a wolf, with an aura of invincibility.

The Portuguese had to turn around quickly and pass the ball back to the defense with one kick.

"Sergio, be careful, hold on first!"

Casillas, standing in front of the goal line, yelled at Ramos, who was holding the ball.

Ramos didn't look back, and kept his eyes on the Southampton players who were rushing forward, but he waved his hand behind him to show that he understood. As soon as he saw Ibrahimovic rushing over, he immediately passed the ball to the right.

When Carvajal got the ball, Hazard had already rushed in front of him, forcing him not to go straight forward, and had to turn around to protect the ball and pass the ball back to the penalty area.

Casillas ran up, stopped the ball with his feet, looked forward, my god, Southampton's full-court pressing is in place, is this too fast?

How to pass it on?
Whether it is passed to the defense or to the midfielder, it is obviously not sure, and the risk of losing the ball is very high.

If they were not careful and they directly seized the opportunity to fight back, the goal would be in danger.

Thinking of this, Casillas had no choice but to take a step forward, and the Real Madrid players immediately understood that he was about to kick his ass.

Ancelotti on the sidelines also shook his head, "The Saints' pressure is too fast and the integrity is too strong!"

Paul Clement also had a wry smile on his face, who said otherwise?

Forced to play from the beginning, and did not give Real Madrid the slightest breath and preparation to enter the game, this is simply to drag down Real Madrid's rhythm from the first minute of the game!

Iker Casillas sent the ball forward, but Varane overwhelmed Cristiano Ronaldo and headed the ball back into midfield.

Toni Kroos accurately judged where the ball landed, went up to it, and passed the ball directly to the right with one kick.

Azpilicueta came up to receive the ball, saw Cristiano Ronaldo come up to press, and passed the ball back to Varane.

The French central defender firmly controlled the ball, saw that Benzema was approaching, and immediately crossed to the left central defender Harvey Martinez.

The whole process sounds very long, but it happened in an instant.

When Javi Martinez got the ball, Real Madrid also gave up the pressing and oppression of the frontcourt.

It was clear that it was impossible for three players to get the ball from under Southampton's midfield.

Furthermore, the three superstars in the front court are outstanding in terms of offensive ability, and it is no exaggeration to say that they are the number one in the world, but in terms of defensive enthusiasm, it is really unflattering.

Seeing that Real Madrid gave up the frontcourt press, Harvey Martinez decisively signaled the team to press forward.

When Southampton's three lines were pressing up, the ball also rolled back and forth to the midfield, and when it came to the feet of Toni Kroos, the German midfielder saw a right-footed diagonal pass and transferred the ball to the left in a wide range.

Hazard blocked Carvajal with his body, and after stopping the ball, he turned around and was about to cut inside.

This move by the Belgian winger made Carvajal, Ramos and Xavi Alonso nervous for a while, and immediately surrounded them.

Seeing that there was no chance, Hazard immediately stabilized his figure and passed the ball across to the left.

Left-back David Alaba has already stepped in quickly at this time, and after receiving the ball, he directly made a 45-degree cross.

The ball crossed most of the penalty area and fell to the right post.

Ibrahimovic is like a heavy tank, even though Pepe is pulling by the side, it still rushed into the penalty area.

"Danger!!!!!"

There are even many Saints fans at St. Mary's Stadium who can't help but stand up!

It would have been much more interesting if the goal had been scored from the start.

But at the critical moment, Casillas rushed out, grabbed the ball before Ibrahimovic, and hit the ball with both fists.

The ball did not fly far, and landed in Marcelo's defense zone on the left. The Brazilian left back hurriedly kicked the ball out of the sideline, a foul!
"call!!"

There was an obvious exclamation from the entire St. Mary's Stadium, followed by sighs.

If this ball hadn't been for Casillas to abandon the goal, Ibrahimovic's header would have almost been there!

"Real Madrid should pay attention. Southampton's opening attack is quite sharp. If one is not careful and is scored by the Saints, then this game will be quite difficult."

"This is the head coach of Real Madrid, Ancelotti, who seems to be a little dissatisfied with the team's defense just now."

"Southampton sent a quick throw-in from Azpilicueta, Suarez took the ball, no chance, passed back to Azpilicueta, and then back to the defense, stabilize first, reorganize!"

"Although the Saints' offense is very vigorous, they play very steadily and efficiently. Whether it is defensive pressing or offense, they all appear to be very integrated. This is also the consistent characteristic of Bielsa's team."

"Back and forth, Modric, beautiful, the midfielder dribbled the ball away from the defender, gave it to Kaka, passed it diagonally to the left, Hazard rushed to the bottom line, knocked back, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, good chance, kicked the goal!"

"Oh, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, hit the goal very close, and Ramos blocked most of the shot angle, and the result was a little bit wide. This ball is a very good chance to score!"

"Southampton opened in less than 3 minutes and already got two pretty good chances to score!"

"We have every reason to believe that tonight's game will definitely be quite exciting!"

"Goal kick from Iker Casillas, Benzema grabs the first ball, passes to Angel Di Maria, another pass, beautiful, beautiful interception by Azpilicueta, Cristiano Ronaldo counter-foul."

"Southampton countered quickly with a free kick, Toni Kroos, pass again, Kaka takes the ball, goes to the right, passes again, to Suarez."

"The Uruguayan striker is unguarded. It's a good opportunity. Take it forward by yourself. Real Madrid still has no one close to it. Enter the 30-meter zone. Come on, Suarez, suddenly hit the goal!"

A very obvious muffled bang was heard at the scene. Suarez suddenly shot a long-range shot of more than 20 meters, and the quality was very high. Casillas was the savior in danger. He flew to save at the critical moment and blocked Suarez's long-range shot with one hand.

"It's too dangerous! Real Madrid's defense gives Southampton too much space!"

"Marcelo just pressed up to participate in the attack. After Southampton stole the ball, he didn't retreat immediately, so Suarez was unguarded at the time. The quality of this shot was very high!"

"Casillas, he has already made two key saves. It seems that the captain of Real Madrid is in very good condition today."

"But Ancelotti must also think of a way. If Southampton continues to attack like this, no matter how good Iker Casillas is, I'm afraid Real Madrid will still be scored sooner or later."

"We saw that Toni Kroos took a corner kick and Ramos made a clearance immediately. The ball went out of the penalty area, but it was still at the feet of Southampton. Real Madrid still retreated to the 30-meter zone."

"Southampton's offensive was fierce after the start, and Real Madrid felt like they were being overwhelmed."

"But the Saints can't be careless. If one doesn't handle it well, the ball is intercepted by Real Madrid and then passed out. The three offensive players in the frontcourt are waiting, and they may deal a fatal blow to the Saints anytime and anywhere."

Southampton is clearly aware of this as well.

Real Madrid retracted the entire midfield, especially the midfield, and basically retracted to their own 30-meter zone to defend, but the Trident was always cruising in front, ready to plan a counterattack anytime, anywhere.

Relatively speaking, Gareth Bale will actively retreat to the midfield to participate in the defense on the left, but Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo are basically at the forefront.

I don't know whether this is due to Ancelotti's arrangement or other reasons.

But with the three superstars staring ahead, Southampton did not dare to be careless.

Especially when they saw that the front attack would be difficult to open the situation for a while, Toni Kroos and Modric also felt that they could no longer continue to press like this, so they began to use inverted kicks and back passes to pull the rhythm down again.

This slow, the Saints' overall formation is also retreating in an orderly manner.

"Southampton has shown their mature and stable side. The ball is under their feet and the initiative is in their hands. They advance and retreat in a certain way, and they relax well. It is indeed not the kind of new Champions League team that many people have heard, but more like a strong team."

"It is worth noting that although Southampton participated in the Champions League for the first time in history, they have won the Europa League in the past two seasons, so they do not lack European experience."

"Real Madrid began to consciously strengthen the oppression and pressing in the midfield. After all, it is a wealthy team. How can they allow their opponents to attack when they want to attack and retreat when they want to retreat?"

Therefore, as Southampton retreated, Real Madrid's offensive gradually improved.

However, the Saints' defense is quite well organized, especially against Real Madrid's midfield pressure.

And as Real Madrid pressed forward, flaws inevitably appeared behind them.

When the game progressed to No. 14 minutes, Harvey Alonso tried to pass a through ball to Benzema, but Toni Kroos blocked the position early, broke the ball, and quickly gave it to Varane.

No one was pressing in front of the French central defender. He stopped the ball and looked up. He saw an ecstatic scene.

Because he saw that as Carvajal advanced to participate in the attack, Hazard's left was unguarded, and he was already close to Ramos!
What does this mean?
This means that as long as Varane can pass the ball behind Ramos, Hazard can be offside!

The French central defender did not hesitate at all. He is very confident in his long pass skills, because he passes a lot of such long passes in almost every game. During normal training, launching long pass attacks from the backcourt is also a training item that Southampton must strengthen every day.

So, I saw Varane striding forward with a big step, and kicked the ball.

There was a bang, and the ball was sent from Southampton's backcourt, like a Tomahawk cruise missile. The arc was suppressed very low, but the ball was very fast, and it landed behind Real Madrid's defense with great precision.

Hazard, who had already ambushed in place, quickly passed by Ramos' side and went straight to the goal.

The ball landed precisely in the predetermined area, Hazard also came to this position in time, followed by Ramos, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Pepe in the middle, and Suarez on the right.

Three against two, here's your chance!

(End of this chapter)