Chapter 202 Patience Contest

After lunch the next day, Atletico Madrid gathered on the team's bus and headed to the Bernabeu Stadium.

Although there will definitely be a fierce counterattack by Real Madrid away from home, the mentality of the players of Atletico Madrid is very relaxed, after all, it is Atletico Madrid who is leading now, and it is Real Madrid who needs to score, so what reason do we have to be nervous?

The Bernabeu also has a mentality buff bonus when facing opponents in other leagues, but this is not ideal for Atletico Madrid - they play at least once a season at this goal, and they know each other very well, and they naturally know Real Madrid's home stadium very well.

When Atletico Madrid warmed up, the Bernabeu fans also expressed their "welcome" to the visiting team

It's just that the players of Atletico Madrid have not been affected in any way, and the fans at the Bernabeu Stadium are still much more "Sven" than some of the biggest teams in other leagues, even when expressing their hostility.

Just as the players of both sides were warming up on the field, the media got the starting lists of both teams.

Atletico Madrid's starting XI is still very fixed, Simeone's team has maintained a largely stable main lineup, and the personnel in the forward and back line are basically fixed, and Simeone will generally only adjust according to the team's situation in midfield.

And on the Real Madrid side, the name of James Rodriguez did not appear on the starting list!

The player who took Bale's place was Isco.

Zidane's choice has taken the media and fans by surprise.

...........

While the players on both sides were setting up on the pitch and waiting for the referee to blow the whistle for the start of the game, the cameras frequently showed James Rodriguez sitting on the bench.

The commentators also took the opportunity to frequently mention Hames' name.

Zidane chose to send Isco and keep James Rodriguez on the bench, which is indeed a choice that has made many people wonder.

You must know that in the last game, when Real Madrid needed to attack, the threat created by James Rodriguez was obvious to all.

James Rodriguez was expressionless, and no one would have known that he was thinking about some shots right now, but the camera camera was pushing closer and closer to his face, which was quite meaningful.............

...............

It was only after the start of the game that everyone gradually understood why Zinedine Zidane put James Rodriguez on the bench.

Real Madrid didn't start the game with a heavy attack, as can be seen from the movement of their overall formation.

Real Madrid's two full-backs, whether it is Marcelo or Carvajal, did not press the attack after the opening, but honestly stayed in their own half, so that a player like Marcelo with an offensive tendency to stay honestly at the back to defend, it seems that Zidane had specially advised before the game.

In this way, Zidane's strategy is still based on stability, after all, he is deeply aware of Atletico Madrid's counter-attacking ability. In order not to give Atletico Madrid a chance to play comfortably on the counter-attack, he opted for a steady and conservative style of play in the opening stages.

In the face of Real Madrid's compact formation and style of play, Atletico Madrid is not in a hurry, it is they who are leading now, they don't need to make any changes easily, they have the money to look at the opponent's style of play before making a move.

Since the opponent did not press on all fronts, Atletico Madrid also held on to the midfield and slowly maneuvered with Real Madrid in the midfield.

Fifteen minutes passed in the game, and there were not many shots on goal from both sides, and most of them were long-range shots, and more time was entangled in the midfield. Sometimes Atletico can create chances on goal, and sometimes Real Madrid look dangerous but don't.

Zidane's calculation is to avoid conceding the opening goal, and then seek offensive opportunities on the basis of a solid situation, for Real Madrid, 1-0 is enough, although Atletico Madrid is now leading on aggregate, but Real Madrid has an away goal, and the home team only needs a 1-0 is enough!

With a long game to go, Zidane decided to stabilize the game before looking to attack.

The two sides are now dining in midfield, and Zidane is not in a hurry.

Twenty minutes later, Atletico Madrid still had no intention of pressing, and both sides were competing for patience.

But the Bernabeu fans are impatient.

Now Real Madrid is behind in the aggregate score, and the team's posture on the pitch, in the eyes of Real Madrid fans, this is not enterprising, this is content with the status quo, this is tarnishing the "aristocratic atmosphere" of the Bernabeu.

So the boos began to sound, and now it was Real Madrid who were in possession of the ball, and the sudden burst of boos startled the Real Madrid players.

It is clear to whom the boos of the fans at the scene were given.

Under the boos of the fans at the scene, Marcelo finally couldn't hold it anymore, and he quietly pressed over the halfway line to ask Kroos, who was holding the ball.

Now the fans booed and Kroos knew what to do, and he passed the ball to Marcelo.

Marcelo received the ball and immediately advanced with the ball, and then made a combination with Ronaldo and then cut inside and shot directly at the goal.

Although the shot missed, the crowd immediately applauded – it was the first time that a Real Madrid full-back had beaten the midfield in this game.

Zidane knew he couldn't wait any longer, and the pressure from the fans forced him to make changes in advance.

He stood up from the dugout and signaled to the team to attack.

Real Madrid's players waited for 30 minutes to finally get the signal, and Real Madrid's formation was still pressed as a whole, and the two full-backs also began to insert assists.

As a result, the pressure on Atletico Madrid's direction increased sharply, but Simeone was relieved at the moment. Real Madrid are finally on the offensive and the game is back to what he predicted before the game.

Real Madrid pressed on the attack, which naturally increased the defensive pressure on Atletico Madrid, but there are two sides to everything, although the defensive pressure has increased, but Atletico Madrid has also gained space to counterattack.

Here, Real Madrid threatened Atletico Madrid's penalty area with a cross from right wing-back Carvajal, and Oblak immediately threw the ball hard into Antoine Griezmann, who was waiting for a counter-attack. At this moment, the right side of Real Madrid, Isco and Carvajal are in an attacking state and have not yet returned.

After Griezmann got the ball, he dribbled directly on the right side of Real Madrid, that is, on the left side of Atletico Madrid's attacking direction, to the edge of the Real Madrid penalty line.

Then Griezmann inverted the triangle to the vicinity of the arc of the penalty area, and Li Qingshan, who followed the outflank, shot directly at the goal, and was hit on the post by the fingertips of Casillas, who reacted quickly.

One of Atletico Madrid's most dangerous shots!

When the two sides competed for those, Real Madrid, which was behind, took the lead and couldn't hold its breath!