A piercing whistle, accompanied by intense cheers, suddenly echoed throughout the stadium.
The 2013/2014 Champions League Round of 16 match between Real Madrid and Arsenal officially kicked off.
"The match has begun! The match has begun! Real Madrid kicks off the first half. After the kickoff, Real Madrid still hopes to launch an attack from the left wing, constantly moving towards the left side, however…"
On the field, Kroos brought the ball to the left, but when he looked up at Suker's position, there was tight defense both beside him and around him.
This made it difficult for Suker to receive the ball, so Kroos did not pass blindly, but instead shifted the ball to the right side.
After a moment, he used the positional change to seek an opportunity to pass the ball to Suker.
But Arsenal's lateral movement was also very fast, not giving Real Madrid an easy chance to send the ball to Suker.
Suker also noticed this, he waved to Kroos, and then actively pulled out towards the flank.
Since Arsenal wanted to mark him so closely, he would pull to the very edge of the field and see if they dared to follow him.
Indeed, once Suker pulled to the flank, Arsenal did not dare to follow.
No way!
Although Suker was equally threatening on the flank, rashly following him would only derail the defensive distance, ultimately causing the entire backline to suffer.
Sagna constantly turned his head to observe Suker's position. He was very wary of Suker, and even with some distance between them, he still dared not relax.
As a full-back, Sagna had excellent judgment of the ball's landing point.
But his flexibility was poor, and his ability to handle sudden situations was insufficient.
If he wasn't given enough preparation time, he could easily become a breakthrough point.
Moreover, against a player like Suker, whose footwork was extremely outstanding, such players were the nightmare of slow-turning defenders.
Too many players had been exploited by Suker simply because of their slow turns.
Therefore, Sagna dared not relax in the slightest.
The match was still ongoing, and Wenger's expression on the sidelines was calm.
On the field, Real Madrid controlled possession. This should have been a very bad start for a pass-and-control team.
But Wenger's expression showed no emotion whatsoever.
In fact, Arsenal was different from Barcelona.
Barcelona was a pass-and-control team, but Arsenal was 'pass-and-move'.
Compared to Barcelona's style of utilizing the width of the field, Arsenal's pass-and-move flow relied on constantly advancing with one-touch passing and intelligent runs.
And this kind of advancement was also applicable in counterattacks; without these abilities, they would not be able to establish themselves in the Premier League.
Wenger was waiting for Arsenal to seize the moment for a counterattack, while Real Madrid was indeed patiently passing the ball around, with no aggressive intent to press forward.
"They're playing a bit unlike Real Madrid!" Wenger said.
Patrice, next to him, also nodded: "The attacking rhythm is indeed a bit slow. What are they thinking?"
Wenger shifted his gaze to the right and noticed that the two full-backs, Arbeloa and Marcelo, were quietly moving forward.
"Five-man attack?"
Wenger knew that Real Madrid was very good at five-man attacks, fully utilizing the gaps on the field, with runs into the half-spaces and wide play to further disperse the defense.
However, Arsenal already had a countermeasure for this.
In fact, this attacking method was no longer as rare as it used to be, where it could easily confuse opponents.
Modern football already had very good ways to deal with it.
Sure enough, Arsenal also quickly changed their positioning, with the entire backline adopting an elliptical formation. Once Real Madrid pushed forward, they could encircle from both sides.
But the problem was Suker's strange movement.
According to the running routes of a five-man attack, Suker should either be in the left half-space or enter the penalty area.
But he was moving horizontally, not very fast, occasionally turning his head to observe, stopping and going, with no sense of urgency at all.
Just as everyone's attention was focused on Suker, Kroos suddenly threaded a through ball.
The direction of his pass was precisely where Suker was located.
What was this for?
Arsenal players were confused, but Arteta still kicked it, and Mertesacker also moved forward a bit to be safe.
Suker slightly lifted his right foot, letting the ball pass through.
In fact, Kroos's pass made Suker feel something was off.
If it was meant for him, it wouldn't need so much power. Although he could still control it steadily, the subsequent connection of movements would become very difficult.
Kroos's pass shouldn't make such a basic mistake. The only explanation was... this wasn't a ball meant for him!
With a thought in his mind, Suker immediately reacted when
Suker feigned receiving the ball, and at the moment the ball approached, he suddenly lifted his leg to let it pass through.
As the ball passed Suker, it was like a sharp sword, suddenly tearing through Arsenal's defense.
"Oh no!"
Arteta only reacted then. When he turned to look, the ball had already rolled into a very dangerous area, and there, Benzema had completed his lateral movement, appearing at the ball's landing point.
The ball had some spin, and after touching the ground, it slowed down slightly.
Therefore, Benzema didn't need to control the ball at all. Instead, he ran a small arc, and once he had fully adjusted himself, he directly swung his left foot and unleashed a powerful shot.
The entire Bernabéu stadium suddenly fell silent.
Facing this sudden change, Arsenal clearly hadn't reacted. Kroos's through ball and Suker's dummy completely bewildered the Arsenal players.
The Arsenal Goalkeeper rushed over, but Benzema's shot was at an extremely tricky angle, aimed directly at the left near post. No matter how he dived, he was beyond reach.
Swish!
The ball hit the net. After a moment of silence throughout the stadium, the cheers of the Real Madrid fans ignited the entire stadium like flames.
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—
"Goal!!!"
González subconsciously shouted, and only when the Referee pointed to the center circle did he roar with a more affirmative tone; "Goal!! It's a goal!!"
"Four minutes into the match, Real Madrid has scored! This pass was too imaginative. This should be an attack orchestrated by Kroos. Kroos not only saw Suker, he also saw Benzema in the blind spot behind Suker. This was an imaginative through ball! This is simply fantastic!"
González laughed; "Exactly! This is the performance Kroos should have. He is gradually starting to show his creative passing. Perhaps Real Madrid should thank Bayern Munich. Kroos is gradually showing the performance a top midfielder should have!"
This sudden attack was entirely orchestrated by Kroos, with Suker reacting on the fly.
Kroos and Benzema must have communicated beforehand for this attack to be so smooth.
Even Wenger was surprised.
The German, known for being rigid and dull, had a pass with such imagination that truly amazed him.
Even a player like Özil couldn't make such a through ball.
However, very quickly, Wenger's mood turned sour.
Conceding a goal just 4 minutes into the match was absolutely the worst start.
The most crucial thing was that it wasn't Suker who scored.
If Suker had scored, Wenger could have proceeded with the next step of countermeasures.
But in the current situation, Arsenal not only had to focus on Suker but also had to be wary of Benzema and even Bale, these attacking threats.
With their defensive energy dispersed, they would only become more and more passive!
"This is terrible!" Wenger pinched the bridge of his nose, his furrowed brows leaving deep marks.
On the field, the expressions of the Arsenal players were one worse than the other.
They had imagined many scenarios for the match, but they had never thought of this.
They conceded a goal before Suker even exerted himself.
This huge threat was already difficult to deal with, and in the current situation, they only had one path left: attack.
The Real Madrid players finished their celebration; this goal was somewhat unexpected.
Kroos also admitted that it involved a bit of luck. He was just trying to make such a pass and didn't expect it to actually work out.
However, Kroos was still very happy.
Since taking over from Kaka and orchestrating the midfield tempo, he felt he was playing better and better, and he was becoming more confident in releasing the ball.
Especially with this kind of ball, it greatly boosted his confidence.
His teammates would also trust him more!
"What a great pass!"
Benzema praised him continuously; the pass was simply too comfortable.
Especially after landing, there was a spin that slowed the ball down, allowing Benzema to easily catch up to the ball and complete the final shot.
"Of course, Suker played the role of a decoy, which was the most crucial part." Benzema didn't forget to give Suker a thumbs-up.
This made Suker roll his eyes.
"Don't flatter me, this goal was created by you guys, it has nothing to do with me."
Although Suker acted as a decoy, he only lifted his leg and did almost nothing.
The credit goes to Kroos!
Benzema's shot and goal were also very crucial.
Anyway, the appearance of this goal made Real Madrid as a whole feel more relaxed.
Both teams' players had already returned to their respective halves.
Arsenal was preparing to kick off.
They were anxious, eager to equalize the score.
"The match restarts, Arsenal, after conceding, is extremely eager, they are becoming more active in offense, and their overall running is also very hard."
On the field, Arsenal players were running wildly across the pitch, constantly passing the ball with one touch while running.
Arsenal, like Barcelona, paid great attention to their players' one-touch passing ability.
At most, it would be a second touch; they constantly kept the ball moving, trying to pry open Real Madrid's defense through passing and overlapping runs.
But Real Madrid's midfield and defense performed extremely stably, not giving Arsenal any opportunities for penetrating passes.
"Cazorla!"
Özil turned and passed the ball to Cazorla.
Under the current circumstances, simple passing couldn't effectively advance, so they could only pass the ball to Cazorla, who possessed the ability to break through vertically.
After receiving the ball, Cazorla retreated one step with the momentum, and at the same time, pulled the ball and immediately turned to the other side.
Just this one step, Casemiro was a bit slow to keep up.
But Casemiro was very decisive and slid in directly; he poked the ball out of bounds with his toe.
However, Cazorla was tripped and fell to the ground with the momentum.
Beep!
The Referee immediately blew his whistle, signaling a foul by Casemiro.
Casemiro explained that he touched the ball first and that he didn't slide tackle intentionally.
But the Referee insisted that the action was dangerous.
However, since it was Real Madrid's home, the Referee did not show a yellow card but issued a verbal warning.
Although this made Arsenal players somewhat dissatisfied, they had no choice; after all, it was the opponent's home, and they could understand.
Moreover, the top priority was to score!
The position of this set piece was still a bit far from the goal, so a direct shot on goal posed little threat, but they had Giroud, a tall center forward, so they could also launch an 'air battle.'
However, Giroud was not having an easy time either.
Ramos on the left, Pepe on the right.
Pepe even raised his elbow and pressed it directly against his chest.
Giroud protested repeatedly, and it was only after the Referee's numerous persuasions that Pepe reluctantly lowered his elbow.
But Giroud could clearly feel that this guy was still aiming wildly at his chest.
Undoubtedly, once he was about to head the ball, Pepe would definitely give him an elbow strike!
Bang!
Özil took the free kick.
Giroud immediately wanted to move.
But just as he was about to act, he was suddenly pulled, and just as he was about to shout out to attract the Referee's attention, the hand suddenly retracted.
Giroud cursed inwardly; by the time he looked up again, it was already too late.
Pepe leaped high and headed the ball away with a flick.
And the ball was cleared perfectly, landing precisely on the left side.
"Chance!!"
Marcelo suddenly burst forward, darting out of the penalty area, immediately catching up to the ball, and thrusting it forward!
At this moment, the most nervous person was undoubtedly Sagna!
"Retreat!!"
Sagna shouted at the top of his lungs, then became as if facing a formidable enemy.
He retreated while looking at Suker.
Although he felt the landing spot of the ball was closer to him, he didn't dare to go forward.
If there was any mistake, he wouldn't even be able to slow Suker down.
It would be useless to be bypassed!
Sagna gave up contesting the landing spot, and Suker naturally easily controlled the ball.
"Suker has the ball! Real Madrid's counterattack!"
González suddenly stood up.
In this position, with Suker on the ball, the danger level was steadily increasing.
After Suker gained possession, he immediately dribbled the ball forward.
Sagna followed and retreated at a distance of 2-3 meters from Suker, while the other defenders immediately returned to a deeper position to hold their ground.
Sagna wanted to slow Suker down.
Suker also knew what the opponent was thinking.
Sagna was waiting for the midfielders to retreat and form a encirclement.
But Suker wouldn't give him such an opportunity.
Suker was seen to dribble the ball inwards with his left foot, then suddenly pushed off, instantly accelerating.
"Here he comes!"
Sagna took a lateral step, immediately blocking Suker.
Just at this moment, Suker suddenly made a small, second dribbling motion with his foot, and Sagna subconsciously retracted his foot, thinking Suker was going to nutmeg him.
But Suker stepped on the ball with the sole of his foot, pulled it horizontally, and again created a body's length of space.
And Sagna was completely unable to keep up with Suker, only able to fall backward, falling in a very awkward manner.
"Mertesacker!! Follow up!! Don't retreat!"
After Sagna fell, he immediately rolled over and shouted, then got up and chased back.
But Suker's sprinting speed was too fast, like an arrow released from a bow, rapidly charging towards Arsenal's penalty area.
Mertesacker also rushed up, wanting to block Suker.
Suker did slow down a bit, but his footwork became faster.
Mertesacker watched Suker continuously touch the ball in a short period, his heart pounding, and he was incredibly nervous.
"He's in his shooting range!"
The Goalkeeper behind him shouted, reminding Mertesacker.
Just at this moment, Suker pushed the ball with his left foot, creating a slight shooting angle, and then powerfully swung his right foot.
"Don't even think about shooting!"
Mertesacker blocked almost in a split.
But Suker's highly raised right foot gently came down, again dribbling the ball horizontally, creating space.
Oh no!
Koscielny saw this scene and immediately rushed up, blocking desperately.
But Suker again pushed the ball horizontally; after this horizontal push, Suker ran to the right side of the penalty area, and the Goalkeeper also moved closer to the right post, limiting the shooting angle.
Suker immediately stopped abruptly; he paused for a moment, and taking advantage of Mertesacker rushing towards him and Koscielny not yet getting up, he gently chipped the ball with his left foot.
The ball flew over both players, landing on the left side of the penalty area.
And there, a white figure, like lightning, came swooping in, meeting the descending ball, and powerfully volleyed it with his left foot.
Swish!!
The ball struck the back of the net.
At this moment, the entire Bernabéu stadium vibrated.
"Toni Kroos!! A spectacular volley!!"
"He made a late run from midfield and perfectly received Suker's chipped assist."
"In this match, Kroos, with a goal and an assist, shone throughout the game!"
After a pause, González couldn't help but exclaim, "Suker handled that ball too calmly! It was brilliant!"
"He almost drew all of Arsenal's defense out, and even from that position just now, Suker could have barely shot, but for a better scoring opportunity, he unselfishly passed the ball to Kroos, who was in a better position!"
"Real Madrid scores again in the 19th minute; in less than 20 minutes, Real Madrid is already two goals ahead!"
"In this match, they again demonstrated a completely different style of play, in addition to their own varied pace, there was also creativity in attack and high efficiency in counterattacks."
"Benzema was already offside earlier, Bale's positioning on the right overlapped with Suker, and in the large open space on the left, Kroos quickly made a judgment and scored the goal."
"Real Madrid is two goals ahead, isn't Arsenal going to make adjustments?"
Wenger's figure appeared in the shot.
He was wearing a long down jacket, with his arms crossed over his chest, his lips tightly sealed, his brows furrowed, and his eyes revealing a sense of helplessness.
Anyone facing this counterattack would feel this way.
The moment Suker got the ball and launched the counterattack, Wenger felt a goal was inevitable.
And it was true; Suker wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity.
Wenger had analyzed Real Madrid's data, but what was headache-inducing was that, through this match, he realized that this data would also continuously increase with the match and their form.
In other words, this Real Madrid team was still improving!
They were already strong enough, and now they were still improving; how terrifying was that!