With Haaland's goal, Leeds United defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at Wembley Stadium and won the League Cup. This is also the first championship won by Leeds United in 2021.
Trophy.
However, the team did not have much time to rest and recuperate. Instead, they returned to Leeds without stopping, and after a short rest, they gathered and headed south to Madrid, Spain, to participate in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Compared with Real Madrid's well-organized personnel, Leeds United encountered a lot of troubles in this game.
For example, midfielder Valverde is injured and has yet to recover.
In addition, the team's previous continuous multi-front operations and continuous strong dialogue had a great impact on the team.
This forces Leeds United to adjust and rotate the lineup.
For example, in the just-concluded League Cup final, Pochettino arranged for Pedri to play in the midfield.
This game as a guest at the Bernabeu Stadium has extraordinary significance for Leeds United.
Because last season, Leeds United failed at the Bernabeu.
Valverde's absence has a great impact on Leeds United, mainly on the balance of the midfield.
The Uruguayan midfielder is now an integral part of Leeds United's midfield, and more importantly, Enzo Fernandez played the entire game in the League Cup.
How to beat Real Madrid?
This is the question asked by all the media and fans before the game.
The answer given by Pochettino surprised everyone.
He actually lined up a lineup of 343 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, in this focus game that attracted worldwide attention.
Goalkeeper: Alisson;
Defense: Gvadio, Ruben Dias and Militao;
Midfielder: Alphonso Davies, Camavinga, Declan Rice and Reece James;
Forwards: Rashford, Haaland and Sancho.
Everyone was surprised when they saw this starting list.
Three defenders are not new in today's European football. Many teams have such plans. Leeds United have also played three defenders before, but the problem is that playing three defenders in such an important game, especially when Gvar
Is it a bit risky for a 19-year-old player like Dior to start?
What’s even more surprising is that Pochettino’s formation showed an aggressive momentum.
There have been many calls to cancel away goals in the Champions League, and UEFA has been carefully analyzing and discussing it.
Based on the current situation, it is most likely to be implemented next season.
Such important reforms often require some adaptation time.
For example, although the five substitution quotas have been basically confirmed and rumors have been released, they have not yet been officially implemented. This is to give all clubs a buffer time to prepare.
This is also the reason why major European teams have been stockpiling talents recently.
Now, Pochettino has adopted an almost life-threatening tactic to fight Real Madrid to the death.
What's interesting is that Zidane also adopted a very radical tactic in this game and also deployed three defenders.
Goalkeeper: Courtois;
Defence: Nacho, Van Dijk and De Ligt;
Midfielder: Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Modric and Carvajal;
Forwards: Mbappe and Benzema.
Real Madrid adopts a 352 formation, which still has many similarities with Leeds United's 343.
This can give us a clue.
Both head coaches are based on offense.
As the greatest football club in the history of the Champions League, Real Madrid will never lose to any opponent in terms of home momentum.
Judging from Zidane's formation, he has been making adjustments and rotations, with the purpose of allowing the three midfielders to continue to start.
Players such as Bernardo Silva and Marcos Llorente all sat on the bench.
This is not because Zidane has a problem with his employment, but that at this critical moment, he still believes more in the experience and strength of the three midfielders, as well as the tacit understanding between them for many years.
…
"Just seeing the formations of both sides, you can tell that this game will not be ugly."
In the stands of the Bernabeu Stadium, Gao Shen sat with Florentino and others and laughed.
"They are all very targeted and want each other's life!" Valdano said with a smile.
Argentinians are considered the easiest.
What do Real Madrid fear most?
It's youth, speed and impact.
Therefore, even if Pochettino is in the away game, he is still ready to fight to the death with Real Madrid!
It can even be said that this is the only possible way for Leeds United to win.
So why did Leeds United lose so often to Real Madrid last season and in the past few seasons?
Because what Real Madrid is best at is stability and experience.
No matter what happens on the court, they will always be as steady as a rock. They are so experienced.
Moreover, Zidane seems to be playing 352, but once the two full-backs return, there will be five backs.
Sometimes, don't look at what list he makes, but look at how he plays in the game. This is the key.
"If this schedule wasn't so tight and the pressure wasn't so high, Pochettino probably wouldn't be able to make up his mind yet," Gao Shen said.
Valdano nodded, indeed.
Sometimes, it’s just the situation that forces us to do so.
"How is Camavinga?" Butragueno asked with concern.
Gao Shen looked at Butragueno's almost spy-like look and couldn't help laughing, "You'll know later."
Camavinga is only 19 years old, very young, but he has already made a name for himself at Leeds United for a long time, mainly because he plays football very smartly and is the type that you will fall in love with at first sight.
His foot skills are very good, but his passing is a bit haphazard. He looks like a skilled player, but in fact his defense and interception and stealing abilities are very good, so he belongs to that kind of contradictory combination.
At present, Leeds United's positioning for him is not particularly clear. Players have been accumulating experience and slowly exploring and finding their own roles. This is also a characteristic of most young players.
Especially for a comprehensive player like Camavinga who is both offensive and defensive, it will be more difficult to find the right position.
When it comes to shortcomings, there are actually some, and it’s his right foot.
But over the years, Leeds United has been strengthening his right foot, so his right foot is not too weak now.
As for how much he can perform at the Bernabeu tonight, who knows?
"If there is no problem with Camavinga tonight, I guess it will probably be a wonderful offensive battle." Valdano said with great anticipation.
Everyone also nodded.
Leeds United have made it clear that they are going to fight Real Madrid to the death.
Real Madrid is playing at home and has no other choice but to face the enemy head-on.
Zidane placed the combination of Benzema and Mbappe in front of him to show his attitude!
…
As soon as the game started, Leeds United set a fast pace.
Especially in the midfield and frontcourt, it put huge pressure on Real Madrid.
Leeds United's game strategy is very obvious, which is to make full use of its youth advantage and use a fast-paced offensive and defensive battle to directly bring down Real Madrid. At the worst, it will force Real Madrid into a war of attrition.
This gave Real Madrid a huge headache, especially under Leeds United's fast-paced pressing pressure, which made it difficult for Real Madrid's players to get the ball out.
What is surprising is that Camavinga, a young player, was very active, ran in a wide range, defended very actively, and made fine movements with his feet.
When the game reached the 8th minute, Camavinga suddenly stepped forward and directly forced Casemiro to make a mistake in passing the ball to Modric. Camavinga stole the ball first.
Modric quickly counterattacked, but Camavinga's foot movements were very precise and he staggered to the left side of the frontcourt.
Rashford advanced with the ball and quickly broke through along the left rib to the left side of Real Madrid's penalty area.
Facing De Ligt's defense, in a one-on-one situation, Rashford dribbled the ball into the left side of the penalty area, made an emergency stop, spiked the ball, and cut inside.
De Ligt reacted quickly, always following Rashford, and went to block him when he was about to take off.
But Rashford did not kick directly to hit the goal, but passed the ball to the back of the penalty area with his right foot.
Sancho chased after the ball at full speed, and when the ball hit the ground, he stepped out and pushed the ball back to the center.
Haaland, who had been gearing up in the middle for a long time, rushed over, met the ball with his right foot, fired a furious shot, and blasted the ball straight into the Real Madrid goal, one to zero!
The entire Bernabeu stadium screamed.
Everyone at Leeds United was celebrating wildly, everyone cheering for this wonderful start.
The game restarted and Leeds United continued to attack Real Madrid fiercely.
Especially in the 16th minute, Haaland retreated from the front to receive the ball and passed the ball back to Camavinga. The latter was under pressure from Modric and passed it back to Ruben.
Dias.
After the Portuguese central defender stopped the ball in the gap, he didn't wait for Benzema to get closer and made a long pass, which hit the frontcourt and fell behind Real Madrid's defense.
Rashford moved forward at great speed and got ahead of De Ligt. After stopping the ball at the front of the penalty area, he rushed into the penalty area. He made another emergency stop and passed the ball with his left foot.
The ball was dunked to the right foot, and the body made a fake movement. After the right foot spiked the ball and cut inside, he fired a furious shot.
With lightning speed, the football once again got into the right side of Real Madrid's goal.
Two to zero!
The entire Bernabeu stadium became silent.
All Real Madrid fans looked at this scene in stunned silence.
Only ten minutes into the game, Real Madrid had already conceded two goals in a row.
How to play this game?
Could it be that Real Madrid will be like Barcelona, where they were massacred by Leeds United at home?
Not to mention the fans in the stands, even Florentino and others were a little out of control.
If the defeat at home is like Barcelona's, then his job as chairman will be over.
But what surprised everyone was that after the game restarted, Real Madrid's players were still stable.
Real Madrid's midfielder was still slowly controlling the ball and slowly stabilizing the rhythm and situation of the game.
Under Leeds United's pressing pressure, Real Madrid's players also had enough technical ability to hold the ball stably.
They didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, they were still advancing in an orderly manner and executing the team's tactics.
This makes people feel a certain way.
Real Madrid players are waiting!
Wait until Leeds United's sharp start has passed, when you need to breathe and have to slow down, then I'll kill you!
