Chapter Ninety-Nine: Penalties
If you look at the scoreline alone, Atletico Madrid is certainly the leading side. But if you look at the situation on the field, Real Madrid has the absolute upper hand, and Atletico Madrid only has the ability to parry and has no power to fight back.
Fortunately, Courtois is in great shape and is able to keep the goal from losing!
Despite being the leader, the Atletico fans in the stands were silent and their hearts were pounding. Their team was being held down and beaten by their opponents at the moment, and they had no power to fight back, as if they could concede a goal at any moment.
Fortunately, after Real Madrid's corner kick attack, the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half of extra time.
When the referee's whistle blew, the players on both sides gasped and walked to the sidelines, and the high-intensity overtime test made the players almost reach the limit of their physical fitness.
Although according to the rules, there is no halftime in extra time, and the two sides have to directly exchange venues for the second half of the game.
But in practice, of course, it will not be so strict, the players will take the opportunity to drink water and catch their breath on the sidelines, and the manager will also take the time to communicate with the players and make adjustments.
Simeone walked to the sidelines, embracing the players one by one like a commander greeting his soldiers.
"I'm proud of your performance, boys!"
The break was very short, just a little time for the players to rehydrate, and the referee urged the players to hurry back to the pitch.
In the second half, Real Madrid kicked off the ball first, without the slightest hesitation, and immediately after the referee blew the whistle for the start of the game, Real Madrid launched an attack. There were only fifteen minutes left, and there really wasn't much time left for them.
Now Atletico Madrid's formation is very flat, because Real Madrid has frequent crosses during this time, and Li Qingshan has also returned to the penalty area to participate in the defense, which makes Atletico Madrid have no offensive power in the front.
Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane have both moved into the Atletico Madrid penalty area, playing as two centre-forwards to threaten the Atletico goal with their headers and height. The only player who stayed at the back was goalkeeper Casillas, and the rest of the Real Madrid players had already passed the half. It's a pity that Atletico Madrid is now powerless to launch a counterattack.
Real Madrid don't care about playing any nice football right now, and they start to play long balls and wide crosses frequently. When it comes to last-ditch fights, all teams tend to use this trick.
Marcelo and Carvajal, two centre-backs, acted as two wingers, constantly picking up the ball on the flanks and sending them towards goal. This simple and crude method is not technical, but it is also terrifying for Atletico Madrid fans.
Real Madrid has too many players gathered in the penalty area, Ronaldo, Morata, Bale, Ramos, Varane, five players entered the Atletico Madrid penalty area, and there are Isco, Di Maria, and Modric on the periphery.
"Atletico Madrid was too passive during this time, and almost all of Real Madrid's players were involved in the attack." Duan Xuan said worriedly.
Li Qingshan is still very eye-catching in the defense of high-altitude balls, and Real Madrid's crosses are frequently grabbed by him to the first point and destroyed outside the penalty area.
On the periphery, Real Madrid's three midfielders are frequently firing from a distance on the periphery.
In the 110th minute of the game, five minutes into the first half of extra time, Real Madrid still did not score. And Atletico Madrid's defense is also becoming more and more embarrassed, and now the physical fitness is a very serious test for both teams, who can grit their teeth and survive this period of time, then the balance of the game will be tilted in their favor.
"It's been five minutes since the second half of extra time, it's still Real Madrid's siege, Atletico Madrid's players are basically out of the box now, as long as they continue to support these ten minutes, the Big Ears Cup will belong to them!"
Real Madrid are starting to panic a little now, if Real Madrid's players were relatively calm after being scored in extra time, then even Carlo Ancelotti is a little anxious now.
They are a world-class giant, with one of the strongest attacking lines in the world, but they are not confident that they will be able to break down the Atletico Madrid goal with less than ten minutes remaining.
Counting Modric's equaliser at the end of normal time, Real Madrid have scored 157 goals this season! The firepower of such an attack is quite terrifying, but now, what they are most urgent is just a goal!
Anxiety began to creep in within Real Madrid, and in the 111th minute, Bale pulled out of the box and fired from a distance, and the football was firmly embraced by Courtois.
Now Real Madrid has run out of patience for crosses, they began to frequently fire on the perimeter, Bale's shot seemed to be a signal, and then Cristiano Ronaldo, Di Maria, Isco, and Modric all began to shoot directly after winning the ball outside the penalty area, and no longer sought to cooperate with their teammates.
"Real Madrid are starting to get anxious, for them, there really isn't much time left!" Duan Xuan couldn't hide his excitement.
Ancelotti certainly knows that such a sloppy long-range attack is really not effective, and it is easy for Atletico to delay time after winning the ball back.
It's like Ronaldo's long-range shot was hugged by Courtois, Courtois did all the action, he actually fell to the ground, pressed the ball to the ground for a few seconds, and then slowly stood up, paced around in the penalty area, and waited until all the Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid players left the penalty area, he threw the ball to Li Qingshan. This series of movements alone took at least forty seconds.
After Li Qingshan got the ball, he was not in a hurry to move forward, but took it near the sideline, using his body to protect the football, and he was consumed for more than a minute.
A long-range shot went past and two minutes were consumed by Atletico.
This is what Real Madrid can't stand the most now. Carlo Ancelotti was also unsettled on the sidelines, yelling at the sidelines to signal the Real Madrid players to calm down.
Simeone couldn't calm down on the sidelines, he pulled his tie one moment and walked around the sidelines, and those ten minutes were too torturous for him. After that, he simply waved at the Atletico Madrid fans on the sidelines, encouraging the fans to cheer even more.
Luka Modric quickly calmed down, and such a sloppy long-range shot would only cause Real Madrid to lose possession frequently. For Real Madrid right now, the most important thing is to be patient and organize a quality attack, rather than gambling with a long-range shot with no quality.
They can't afford to gamble!
Atletico Madrid's fatigue at the end of regulation time was visible to all. At that time, almost everyone thought that Real Madrid, whose physical condition was much better than Atletico Madrid, would beat the tired Atletico Madrid into a sieve in 30 minutes of extra time, but unexpectedly, Li Qingshan used an ultra-long-distance free kick at the beginning of extra time to overtake the score again, and at the same time, this goal also greatly boosted the fighting spirit of the Atletico Madrid players.
Carlo Ancelotti was standing on the sidelines, and when he saw that Modric was no longer rushing forward after getting the ball, but directing his teammates to run, he was a little relieved, at least the Real Madrid players were not completely dazed.
Modric stomped the ball at his feet and waved his teammates to run. Seeing this, Raul Garcia had to come out of the box and put pressure on Modric to deny him another chance to pass the ball easily.
Alvaro Morata pulled out of the box and Modric slotted a straight shot at Morata's feet before Raul Garcia could come up.
Behind Morata was a team of Miranda clinging to him.
Despite his young age, Morata has a very high ball quotient and the way he handles the ball often makes it impossible to overlook his age.
He didn't stop the ball, but knocked the ball directly with his right foot and made a kick to the wall with Modric. Modric had to shoot from distance after winning the ball on the edge of the penalty area, and Jose Sousa rushed to pounce, knowing that their previous equaliser was caused by Modric's shot from this position, and Atletico would not allow Modric to repeat his old tricks.
However, Modric faked the shot this time, and with a smash of his right foot, he passed Jose Sousa, who was on the rescue!
"Luka Modric has been successful!!!! Be careful!!!! ”
Modric's successful pass caused some panic in Atletico Madrid's defence, and Juanfran pounced on him – either way, don't give too much space to the player who is holding the ball.
Modric did not continue to possession after getting past Jose Sousa, but instead crossed diagonally to the right....... Plugged in there at high speed....... Cristiano Ronaldo!!
"Cristiano Ronaldo !!!!!!!"
Courtois struck and pounced on the ball like a hungry tiger.
Now Ronaldo has not yet got the ball, this is the best opportunity to destroy the opponent's attack!
Cristiano Ronaldo was so fast that almost as Courtois pounced on the ball, he had already stretched out his right foot, ready to poke the ball away!
Half Goal!!
The two sides touched the ball almost at the same time, after which Ronaldo fell to the ground.........
At the same time, Courtois also clutched his wrist and lay motionless on the ground.
The referee's whistle blows.
Dutchman Kujpels raised his left hand and pointed to the penalty spot..........