September 24, Vallecas Stadium, Southeast of Madrid.
At 19:30, it will be time to play.
Gao Shen led the coaching staff from the coaches' dugout into the players' dugout, applauding vigorously to get everyone's attention.
Real Madrid's players are very experienced and they have made all preparations before the game.
Now, we just need a head coach to mobilize before the game.
This is the routine for all teams before every game.
Although the Vallecas Stadium is located in the Spanish capital, its capacity is not large, and the team Rayo Vallecano does not have much money, so their facilities are not complete and the locker room is not spacious, which makes all the players sit in the lounge area.
, as if surrounded by Gao Shen.
"Tonight should be considered a derby."
Gao Shen kicked off the show with a joke.
Of course, no one would think that Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano were playing a derby.
The two teams are not on the same level at all, and even Getafe is not considered a rival by Real Madrid.
Of course, both Getafe and Rayo Vallecano have benefited from Real Madrid's youth training camp. This can be regarded as a kind of getting what they need.
Many teams that seem to be in hot water actually have a very unusual relationship behind them.
On and off the court, things are often torn apart, this is called professionalism!
"So far this season we have played five games, won two, drawn one and lost one, and the funny thing is, everyone thought we were going to be finished because we just lost to Dortmund away from home."
"In the last round, we drew with Sevilla away from home."
"So far this season, we have three away games, two draws and one loss, and Rayo Vallecano has one win and one draw at home, so..."
Gao Shen did not continue because the players all knew what was going on.
The whole world feels that Real Madrid is still going to die.
This conjecture is not unreasonable, because the intensive schedule really does not leave Real Madrid time to adjust.
Many fans don't realize that in such a dense schedule, consecutive away games are a disaster for any team.
From the time the international players return to the team's departure for Seville, there is only one day of training.
The coaching staff also needs to examine the players' physical fitness, injuries, physical fatigue, etc., because the biggest problem in the national team competition is not the competition itself, but the consumption and time lag caused by the long journey.
The team still needs to do some joint training. After all, we haven't trained together for more than two weeks, so we have to arrange some joint training.
You see, time is running out.
After playing in Seville, the team only had two days to return to Madrid.
Restoration training the next morning, followed by adjustments and joint training, and then immediately leaving for the away game.
Gao Shen didn't even have time to arrange targeted training for Dortmund.
This is why Gao Shen said after the game that the team performed very well.
Some people may accuse you of having too many things to do. Who among other teams has never experienced such a dense schedule and consecutive away games?
This is true, but Real Madrid's situation is different because it is now a period of restructuring for the team.
If it were at Manchester City, Gao Shen would not take this little difficulty seriously at all, because the players know very well what he wants to do, and they know how to fulfill the head coach's requirements.
But in Real Madrid, it is not possible yet.
Real Madrid players know all of this.
No one knows better than them why the team was tied with Sevilla and why it lost to Dortmund in the away game, because they know very well what their performance is.
But Gao Shen took all the responsibilities alone.
"I will not ask you to defeat your opponent. Although it seems that this is the only way we can go now, to be honest, I have not felt any pressure and no one has put pressure on me."
Gao Shen looked at the players in front of him and said with certainty.
"I firmly believe that you are the best players in the world. Your goal is not Rayo Vallecano, or even just La Liga. I know what you are thinking, so I know you don't need me to put any pressure on you.
It will put pressure on yourself.”
"So, here, I still say the same thing. I want to remind you, relax and don't be too nervous. With our strength, there is no problem in defeating the opponent. As long as we perform normally, okay?"
"Enjoy the game, enjoy the process, and remember..."
Gao Shen stretched out his right hand, wandered back and forth among the players, and finally landed on Di Maria, Ronaldo and Benzema.
"Angel, Ronnie, and Karim, remember what I said before, left, left, left!"
Almost at the same time, the bell rang to remind players to enter.
Gao Shen clapped his hands vigorously, signaling that everyone could come on stage.
He was still standing at the door of the locker room as usual, high-fiving and hugging every player and cheering for them.
…
As soon as the game whistle sounded, Real Madrid took the lead and launched a wave of attacks.
Marcelo got ahead of everyone and advanced from the left rib at high speed. After receiving a pass from his teammate, he dribbled the ball past two opposing players and distributed the ball to the left wing. Ronaldo did not respond in time and the ball came out.
Out of bounds.
This is also a problem for Real Madrid now.
During Mourinho's coaching, players mostly stayed in position, but Gao Shen emphasized running.
Only when you are running can you have contact points, but when you are running, the defensive formation will easily become loose.
When switching from offense to defense, how to quickly switch and quickly organize an effective defensive formation is a problem.
The advanced solution is to counterattack on the spot after losing the ball.
This is already a very mature idea.
But many of Real Madrid's players are still not used to it and often fail to move in place.
What surprised Gao Shen was Toni Cross.
This player's ability to integrate into the role is really strong. After Gao Shen mentioned it to him, he basically knew what he wanted to do, and he had no problem adapting.
He previously played as an attacking midfielder at Bayern and as a left midfielder at Leverkusen, but Gao Shen now lets him play as a left midfielder. He has seamlessly transitioned without any problems, and even performed his tactical duties very well.
This is definitely not luck, but strength and wisdom.
Just like in the second minute, Toni Kroos's cross pass was transferred and given space on the right.
Arbeloa passed the ball forward, and when Di Maria forced a breakthrough with the ball, he caused a foul on the Rayo Vallecano defender.
It doesn't work without a foul. Di Maria passed by and was a threat.
Real Madrid got a set-piece opportunity in the frontcourt in the first two minutes.
Xabi Alonso and Toni Kroos stood at the corner, and Ramos, Pepe and Ronaldo all entered the penalty area.
I saw Toni Kroos brewing for a while, running quickly, and sending a high-quality diagonal pass with his right foot, which accurately landed at the edge of Rayo Vallecano's small penalty area, and Ramos stepped in at high speed to meet him.
Toni Kroos's free kick was headed directly.
The ball went in!
!
"In less than three minutes, Real Madrid scored!
!”
The players cheered wildly on the field and ran to celebrate the goal.
There were also many Real Madrid fans at the scene, and all of them were cheering for the team's goal.
Behind Gao Shen, the assistants on the coaching bench also cheered.
What a beautiful penalty goal!
"After Toni Kroos joined Real Madrid from Bayern, his position on the court was further back, but his overall view, ability to read the game, and excellent footwork and passing skills were fully utilized."
"So far this season, his performance has been very stable, and Gao Shen also has great trust in him."
"We have to admire Gao Shen's ability to select players, especially his cultivation and training of players."
…
The game restarts.
Real Madrid scored immediately after the opening, and then played steadily after scoring.
Ten minutes later, Rayo Vallecano once attacked the outside of Real Madrid's penalty area, but Real Madrid deployed their defense outside the penalty area, in a relatively advanced position. They tried to pass a long pass behind them, but Pepe headed the ball over.
return.
Xabi Alonso headed the ball to the left, and Marcelo passed it forward.
After Ronaldo got the ball, he launched a counterattack. When he saw Di Maria crossing over, the two wingers formed a coordination.
The Portuguese passed the ball directly behind Rayo Vallecano's defense, and Di Maria moved forward as quickly as possible.
Many people forget that he is actually a left-footed player!
When Di Maria caught up with Ronaldo's pass at the front of the penalty area, he suddenly made an emergency stop and stopped abruptly in the penalty area. After deceiving the defensive player, he suddenly started again, went directly to the bottom, and passed the ground ball.
The ball passed under the defender's crotch and rolled directly to the back of the goal.
At this time, Benzema, who had been ambushing on the outside, rushed over and easily pushed the shot into the empty goal.
Two to zero!
The whole stadium was filled with cheers from Real Madrid fans.
Di Maria, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and others all ran to the sidelines to celebrate the goal.
Cross-positioning, this is what Gao Shen asked them in the locker room before the game, focusing on attacking the left wing.
This kind of cross-positioning is very troublesome for defensive players.
Just like this time, it was Benzema who was supposed to step in in the middle, but Benzema is a right-footed player and not particularly fast. Di Maria is different. He is very fast and has delicate and exquisite footwork.
Extremely capable of one-on-one breakthroughs.
If you defend Di Maria the same way you defend Benzema, you are doomed.
…
In the 19th minute, after scoring two goals in a row, Real Madrid was still playing steadily.
But Rayo Vallecano exposed his own problems.
Ramos made a clearance in his own half and made a long pass to find Benzema. However, under the pressure of Benzema, the opponent's central defender tried to make a big kick, but the ball was blocked.
Good guy, this immediately created an opportunity for Benzema.
After the Frenchman intercepted the ball, although there were three defensive players around him, he chose to take it laterally to the right and quickly handed the ball to Di Maria.
After Di Maria stopped the ball in the outer right corner of the penalty area, facing the defensive player one-on-one, he had many different options, including cutting inside with the ball and then kicking.
But the Argentinian winger glanced in the direction of the penalty area. He first made a fake move and deceived the defender. Then he suddenly cut inside and kicked a curve ball with his left foot, which hit the back of the penalty area.
Cristiano Ronaldo stepped in at high speed, met Di Maria's diagonal pass, and shot directly with his left foot, driving the ball into the goal of Rayo Vallecano who was close to Chi Chi.
Three to zero!
The Portuguese opened his arms excitedly and flew out, like a free-flying Imbilia eagle!
