Starting from playing as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid

"Barcelona wins again?"

"Well, 1-0 Granada, Xavi succeeded at the last minute."

"Ah, it's a pity that Granada couldn't be defended."

On the evening of September 25, on the bus heading to Vallecas Stadium, Rayo Vallecano’s home stadium, some Real Madrid players were feeling pity for the result of a La Liga match that had just ended.

Barcelona defeated Granada at the last moment at home and won another La Liga victory. It is now the beginning of five consecutive victories.

This performance is much more stable than last season.

Last season, because Barcelona had repeatedly fallen behind since the beginning of the season, Real Madrid widened a huge points gap in the middle of the league.

The competition between Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga has been mostly like this in recent seasons.

In the seasons when Real Madrid was stepped on by Barcelona and lost the championship, Real Madrid mostly lost too many links to the middle and lower reaches of the league and lost a lot of points that should not have been lost.

Last year, Barcelona lost the championship. In addition to Real Madrid's own performance being too strong and stable, the biggest reason was also that Barcelona was unstable.

Looking at this season, Barcelona was still tactically restrained by Real Madrid and didn't play very well in the previous Spanish Super Cup.

But in the current league, Barcelona has restored the stable ability to abuse food during the three consecutive championships.

Barcelona's recovery will undoubtedly make it more difficult for Real Madrid to defend their league title this year.

However, this situation is not entirely without benefits. There is motivation when there is pressure.

There is Barcelona in the league who is always putting pressure, Real Madrid's preparations, and the players' game status can always maintain a high level.

This will do more good than harm for Real Madrid's league and Champions League defense.

"This game is not easy to play, but fortunately the players don't feel much pressure yet."

Mourinho and Karanka, who were sitting in the front row of the bus, were also constantly communicating.

Rayo Vallecano has started the season very well, with two wins, one draw and one loss, currently ranking sixth in La Liga.

Their team's ability to seize opportunities and mental toughness are still very good.

At least in the pre-match tactical meeting of the Real Madrid coaching staff, Mourinho and Karanka both gave relatively high evaluations of Rayo Vallecano's tenacity.

In the last round of La Liga, Rayo Vallecano scored three goals in the last 30 minutes of the second half after being beaten by Atletico Madrid by four goals, and almost staged a shocking tie at Atletico Madrid's home court.

To deal with such a team that has exploded recently, we can't just look at their league rankings last season and some old data.

Mourinho is 100% vigilant at the tactical level.

After arriving at the Vallecas Stadium and before warming up, Mourinho once again emphasized that Real Madrid's opponents today are difficult to deal with.

It's rare to see your coach value a mid-tier team so highly, and all the stars of Real Madrid have also put aside their too much relaxed thoughts.

After the game started that night, facing Vallecano's proactive attack, Real Madrid, as usual, first gave up part of the midfield control.

This "fishing style" is already quite familiar to Real Madrid players.

As long as Rayo Vallecano takes the bait and the overall pressure leaves enough space in the backcourt, Real Madrid can counterattack with a very threatening long pass as soon as they steal the ball.

The script seemed to have been written from the beginning, and the game was indeed progressing at the pace Real Madrid expected from the beginning.

It's a pity that their opponents today obviously have their own ideas, and they don't want to be a supporting role at their home court.

Rayo Vallecano, who started in a 4,23,3 formation, showed full attack and full defense.

Real Madrid's players have rested enough during this period, and Rayo Vallecano's players have naturally rested enough, and their physical fitness is not bad.

For the players of these mid-range teams, exchanging physical fitness for a relative balance in the situation is really a good deal.

Their offense was very methodical, and young player Baptisto also dared to make moves in the midfield.

Modric was knocked out of position by this kid several times.

It can only be said that young people are in good health and courageous, and they dare to charge and play. Rayo Vallecano relied on the simplest cross from the wing to get several shooting opportunities.

Li Ang is quite reassured about his own defense.

Even if Rayo Vallecano looks at the statistics, he shot two shots in the first five minutes, but those are all statistics produced by header competition.

Rayo Vallecano's high school forward Delibasic is in good shape today, but if he wants to compete with Pepe and Ramos for a shot on goal, he is still far from it.

What makes Li Ang feel a little bad is Vallecano's defensive arrangement on the two wings today.

Their all-defense style of play is also more reflected in the offense and defense on both wings.

Baptista and Dominguez were able to press into Real Madrid's half as the attack started.

But when Vallecano needs manpower to return to defense, the two of them can actively retreat to the full-backs immediately.

In the seventh minute of the first half, Real Madrid made its first long pass counterattack attempt of the game.

As a result, Ronaldo's ball on the left was destroyed by Baptisto and Rayo Vallecano's right back Tito, who were back in place.

This level of active defense obviously caused Real Madrid a lot of trouble on the counterattack.

However, after Li Ang had a brief exchange with Alonso, he also began to frequently walk on the ground with the ball to deliver the ball to his teammates in the frontcourt.

There are many ways to connect the front and backcourts, and short passes on the ground are also Li Ang's strengths.

Moreover, Real Madrid does not necessarily have to adopt a set of offensive tactics. Mourinho does not need to adjust, Alonso and Liang have already begun to seek changes in their playing style.

Modric still played the role of a midfield metronome first.

The main responsibility for advancement is still borne by Li Ang.

Thanks to the fact that Rayo Vallecano does not have a first-class defensive midfielder in his team, Li Ang's advancement and distribution of the ball on the offensive end today was still very smooth.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria also consciously began to frequently drop back to catch the ball, taking turns attacking Vallecano's defense on both wings.

At this moment, Rayo Vallecano's head coach Antonio, who was standing on the sidelines, still did not immediately ask the frontcourt players to shrink their formation and return to defense.

Previously, too many teams in the middle and lower reaches of La Liga had set up a bus and were finally besieged by Real Madrid and broke the defense line.

Antonio obviously doesn't want to make the same mistake again and has learned his lesson. No matter how heavy the pressure on the defense is, he must insist on putting pressure on Real Madrid's defense.

And their high center forward Delibasic can also provide a considerable fulcrum, supporting Rayo Vallecano to play more concisely and efficiently on the counterattack.

The counterattack effect is always good. Rayo Vallecano's tenacity to seize counterattack opportunities also limits Real Madrid's full attack.

After all, Real Madrid has to keep someone in the backcourt to guard against Rayo Vallecano's counterattack, right?

Alonso couldn't press the center line, and Real Madrid's strong offensive rhythm was never able to reach full speed. The number of offensive rounds could not be counted, and Rayo Vallecano's defense could barely stabilize its position.

Substituting offense for defense, exchanging physical strength for situation, Antonio played this trick thoroughly.

Li Ang felt that if he was going to continue to attack forcefully, he might as well just go all out.

Real Madrid's two full-backs are also pulled to the center line. The worst is that they will fight with Rayo Vallecano. Is it possible that Rayo Vallecano can last the whole game without making any mistakes on the defensive end?

However, Mourinho obviously had more considerations and did not make radical tactical adjustments in the first half of the game.

After Ronaldo missed an excellent opportunity to break the deadlock, the game entered the halftime break at a 0-0 deadlock.

Real Madrid, which used to have sharp offensive counterattacks, looked very tired in today's game.

Combined with Barcelona's difficult and decisive performance not long after the completion of this round, many fans believe that Real Madrid was also too affected by the European Cup in the summer.

Several core players in the Real Madrid team have played almost all the European Cup games in the summer, and they still have less rest time.

The new season is a league and a World Cup qualifying match. In addition, Real Madrid just finished its Champions League match against Manchester City not long ago, and it is also a time when the state is affected.

There is some truth to these fans' speculations.

But the current condition of Real Madrid's players is not that bad.

If Cristiano Ronaldo had scored the goal near the end of the first half, then outside public opinion would have changed.

In today's game, Rayo Vallecano was well prepared, and their performance on the defensive end was also quite good.

Real Madrid was out of luck after all.

Mourinho also straightened out Vallecano's key offensive and defensive areas in the first half during the halftime break.

Playing wide and defending wide is the smartest thing Vallecano did in this game.

It was the right decision not to compete head-on with Real Madrid's powerful midfield.

Mourinho also praised Antonio's tactical choices.

However, now that he has clarified his opponent's tactical intentions, Mourinho will not continue to let his opponent seize the offensive and defensive rhythm in the second half.

After the urgent tactical adjustments, Real Madrid players also felt confident.

At the beginning of the second half, Benzema, who actively retreated to the side, made way for Ronaldo and Di Maria to cut inside.

Real Madrid's two wing kings began to test Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Martinez again and again with their personal abilities and long-range shots after cutting inside.

This tactical change is very simple and crude.

But when Real Madrid's offensive rhythm came out, they cut into the middle to find opportunities to shoot, and it would be better if they got the chance to set the ball.

Whether it is a set kick in the frontcourt or a corner kick opportunity, Real Madrid's header attack group performs very well.

Only fifteen minutes into the second half, Vallecano's home fans couldn't sit still.

Rayo Vallecano's head coach Antonio also lost the calmness he had in the first half.

"Should we continue to put pressure on Real Madrid's defense on both wings?"

A tactical decision was clearly placed in front of him.

Should we continue to put counterattack pressure on Real Madrid, or should we pull the frontcourt players back first to fill the defensive holes in the middle of the midfield?

If Real Madrid's brutal bombardment continues, even if Antonio is not worried about his goalkeeper's ability to save, he will have to worry about his mental endurance.

And just when he was about to make a decision, the Real Madrid attackers on the field had quickly launched another wave of offensive advances.

Cristiano Ronaldo was marked by many Rayo Vallecano defenders during the cut. After receiving Modric's pass, he could only choose to hit quickly!

This time it was not Di Maria who caught the ball from him, but Li Ang who was in position!

Two steps outside the right side of Rayo Vallecano's penalty area, Li Ang saw that there was almost no one in front of him. After stopping the ball and making a slight adjustment, a bold idea flashed through his mind!

The distance is close enough, making it easy to aim, and he can now suppress his own strength very well.

If he is thirty meters away from the goal, then he will not consider other ways to handle the ball besides passing the ball.

But now we are only a little over twenty meters away from the goal!

Li Ang's ambition quickly expanded to the extreme. He opened his bow and nocked an arrow, swinging his right calf quickly after charging up, and finally hit the middle and lower part of the football hard!

A rather terrifying sound seemed to tear the air apart instantly!

Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Martinez felt his eyes blurred. Before he could see the trajectory of the football clearly, the goalpost on his right hand side trembled and made a dull sound!

And when he looked back, the football had lifted the net high!

This shocking blow left most of the home team fans at the scene stunned!

Thousands of Real Madrid fans who saw the football bounce on the inside of the goal post and eventually into the net were completely crazy!

Movistar's La Liga commentator roared passionately with a broken voice as if he had an orgasm at this moment!

Long shot from Li Ang!

An unexpected world wave long shot!

What's more important is that the goal was scored!

Li Ang patted his chest and ran to the corner flag area, tugging on his jersey and roaring in celebration.

This is his first long-range goal, and he looks quite rough!

But there are many times when recklessness is the best way to break a situation!