Even now, there are still many Real Madrid fans who miss Gao Shen and the Real Madrid team he coached.
Everyone believes that it was Gao Shen who injected tenacity and iron-bloodedness into Real Madrid.
The most typical one is the last season he coached, which was a thrilling half-way reversal and was hailed as a classic among classics.
After several years of accumulation, the legacy left by Gao Shen is still there, and the foundation Gao Shen laid for Real Madrid is still there. Even the current head coach of Real Madrid is Zidane, Gao Shen's assistant coach at the time.
Gao Shen is the technical director of Real Madrid.
This allows Real Madrid's tenacity to continue, which is reflected on the court every moment.
Some people say that Real Madrid is no longer an elegant nobleman, but a persevering fighter.
As long as you can't defeat me, I will try my best to defeat you!
What is even more amazing is that Real Madrid's players have long been accustomed to various scenes and situations. They are even familiar with various reversals and are fully aware of all kinds of bad situations.
So they know exactly what they should do and when.
These don't even need to be taught and guided by the head coach, the players themselves can do it.
Just like tonight at the Bernabeu.
In the first ten minutes, they conceded two goals in a row. If it had been any other team, their mentality would have collapsed.
Even if you don't adjust in time, you can be directly beaten into a big score.
But what about Real Madrid?
They still advanced and controlled slowly according to their own rhythm. They were very experienced, and they didn't even know how many times they had encountered such a situation.
They know how to do it!
In this way, the situation gradually stabilized.
After the full-backs retreated, the defense of five backs and three midfielders stabilized the team's position.
Slowly, the vigor that Leeds United showed after the start of the game was gradually worn away.
It was not until the 33rd minute that Real Madrid finally showed its fangs.
This was Real Madrid's first shot of the game.
Benzema retreated to receive the ball from midfield, passed the ball back to Modric, and quickly moved forward.
Modric passed the ball to Mbappe, and the French winger pushed the ball to Benzema who was advancing, and then sprinted forward as quickly as possible.
Benzema knowingly sent the ball behind him. Mbappe succeeded in countering offside, and after a single shot, he easily scored.
One to two!
What happens after scoring a goal?
Real Madrid is still taking their time and following their own pace.
When the first half came to an end, Mbappe's charge on the left side of the frontcourt created a corner kick opportunity.
Toni Kroos took the corner kick and was cleared by Leeds United.
But the ball was taken by Marcelo.
The Brazilian left back sent a diagonal pass from the outside and transferred the ball to the back point.
De Ligt's header flew back to the center. After stopping the ball with Benzema's chest, he directly volleyed and hooked the ball, once again breaking the Leeds United goal, two to two!
draw!
…
"Real Madrid has so much experience!"
In the stands, Gao Shen shook his head with a wry smile after seeing Benzema score.
Real Madrid players are extremely experienced, so they know very well what to do when encountering problems. They are all familiar with it, unlike Leeds United players who rely on passion and courage to move forward.
Sometimes this experience is really, really valuable.
Just like Modric, Real Madrid's ability to control the field on the court is different from Bernardo Silva's on the court.
Is Bernardo Silva not good enough?
There are definitely some differences in characteristics, but the more important thing is experience and understanding of the game.
"This is all your fault." Florentino said with a smile.
From the time when Gao Shen coached Real Madrid for the second time, to now, there is Gao Shen behind almost every championship of Real Madrid.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Gao Shen created the glory of Real Madrid Galaxy Battleship II.
Gao Shen smiled and didn't say much.
He was still very confident about Florentino's statement.
Real Madrid has been able to reach the semi-finals for two consecutive seasons. Although Zidane's coaching is indispensable, Gao Shen and his team also deserve the greatest credit.
Not to mention the seasons that Gao Shen personally coached before that.
"Now, Zidane's adjustments only make the team's possession and delivery of the ball smoother, and the defense has become more stable and orderly, but it still cannot change the fundamental problem." Gao Shendan analyzed indifferently.
road.
"The frontcourt cannot be widened. Mbappe and Benzema can only stretch to the two wings frequently. There is only one person left in the middle, and the other side is empty. If Marcelo and Carvajal fail to insert,
, then the offensive threat will be very small."
"As for the midfield, Real Madrid can't compete with Leeds United."
What Gao Shen said about not being able to fight does not mean that Real Madrid players are not good enough, but that they are older and cannot play at a fast pace, cannot run, and cannot win direct confrontations. In this case, the midfielder's loss of ground is obvious.
If the frontcourt attack cannot be opened, then Real Madrid can only rely on defense.
This is a situation that Real Madrid cannot change no matter what, unless Zidane uses substitutions to strengthen the midfield.
In fact, if Marcos Llorente and Bernardo Silva were used, Real Madrid's midfielder would have stronger confrontation and running capabilities, but the experience would not be as rich as it is now.
It is very likely that Leeds United's two opening goals in the first half stunned Real Madrid.
So, sometimes this kind of thing is like this, a dilemma, and a choice must be made.
The same is true for Leeds United now.
If pressed out to play, the defense may be stolen by Benzema and Mbappe at any time.
Especially Mbappe, this kid is too fast.
So what to do?
Suppress Real Madrid in the midfield and frontcourt so they can't play the ball, and then find a way to open up the situation.
"Our two goals in the first half were both a reflection of the players' individual abilities," Butragueno said helplessly.
It's not that Real Madrid is too weak, but that Leeds United is too strong.
Pochettino himself is good at this kind of high-position pressing. Combined with the current group of young players in Leeds United, as well as their excellent physical fitness and tactical execution, Real Madrid almost suffocated.
If it weren't for the superior personal abilities of players such as Benzema and Mbappe, there would have been two goals.
Think about what it would be like for Barcelona to be directly abused?
"We should also pay attention to Casemiro. His running coverage in this game was very good. When he slows down, the situation will change again." Gao Shen analyzed.
Toni Kroos and Modric's running coverage and confrontation abilities have indeed declined, but Casemiro has not. The Brazilian midfielder is now in his prime. He can be said to be the world's top midfielder and Real Madrid midfielder.
of pillars.
Once Casemiro slows down, Real Madrid's situation will be even more dangerous.
After listening to Gao Shen's words, Florentino and others' expressions became heavier.
If this is the case, then Real Madrid's situation will be very dangerous.
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the stadium.
Everyone was attracted.
It's raining!
And it was sudden and heavy.
…
At the beginning of the second half, the Bernabeu Stadium was already muddy.
The running ability of many Real Madrid players has declined visibly to the naked eye.
Especially players like Modric and Toni Kroos, and even Benzema in front of them, you can see that in the second half, under the pouring rain, their age was visibly exposed to the naked eye.
The heavy rain seemed to have dampened their condition and made them lose their stability.
This makes everyone feel sad, especially Gao Shen.
They are all players brought out by him.
So much so that in the 58th minute of the half, when Modric was dribbling the ball forward, he was intercepted by Camavinga outside Leeds United's penalty area.
The French youngster with chic dreadlocks stole the ball and quickly kicked the ball to Declan Rice. The latter passed the ball to the right. Reese James advanced at high speed and made a big hit on the muddy turf.
Move the ball forward.
The entire Leeds United team also pressed forward.
Especially the trident in the frontcourt sprinted forward immediately.
As soon as Reece James passed the halfway line, he immediately sent a direct pass to Sancho in front.
The ball was covered with water and didn't fly very far. It landed outside the right corner of the penalty area. It was a little deviated from the expected distance, forcing Sancho to change direction, run over to control the ball, slow down the pace, and dribble the ball towards him.
Nacho.
The England winger was bold and talented. He kept approaching Nacho and suddenly started near the right corner of the penalty area. First, he cut inward horizontally, forcing Nacho to block it. Then he suddenly spiked the ball into the penalty area and made a gesture.
Get up and knock on the door.
Nacho immediately flew to block the ball, but at the critical moment, Sancho dunked the ball back, causing Nacho to lose his balance and almost slip on the grass. After the England winger spiked the ball back, he immediately tilted
The direction of the goal.
Van Dijk was shocked and immediately rushed to help defend, while also blocking Sancho's shooting angle.
But Sancho seemed to have expected this, and sent the ball horizontally with his right foot.
Harland stepped in from the center and failed to intercept the ball in time. De Ligt also failed to step in, but Rashford arrived just in time from behind.
On a rainy day, the surface of the football was covered with water, making it wet and slippery. Rashford was also afraid that he would accidentally hit the ball. He stopped with his left foot in front of the ball, adjusted his position, and went up with his right foot to shoot a low shot.
.
The ball flew out from Rashford's feet, causing a wave of water, and went into the left side of Real Madrid's goal.
Goalkeeper Courtois made a sideways save, but was still out of reach.
“GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
!
!”
"Three to two!"
“Leeds United wins again!”
"Goal from Rashford."
"My God, this is definitely a crucial goal."
"A heavy rain during the half-time break disrupted Real Madrid's rhythm and deployment, and also allowed Leeds United to seize the opportunity. In just 13 minutes of the second half, Rashford scored with a shot and scored for Leeds United.
Scored the third goal.”
"The situation is once again not favorable for Real Madrid."
"Zidane is going to make substitutions soon."
"We saw that Felix was ready to go."
"It seems that Real Madrid wants to adjust their tactics and return to the traditional 4-3-3 formation."
