Boom!
Luis García whipped in a cross from the wing.
The beanpole striker Peter Crouch rose high, towering over Pavón, and buried a header.
Liverpool had launched an aerial assault on Madrid, bombarding them with high balls.
"GOAL! Two-nil!"
"Oh! Liverpool are making full use of their two towering strikers!"
"This is classic English football."
"People often say English football is rough and lacks finesse, while Spanish teams are more technical and sophisticated."
"But in recent years, Premier League clubs have consistently beaten La Liga sides."
"If Real Madrid can't sort out their aerial defense, they'll concede again."
"Helguera doesn't have the height, Pavón has the height but not the quality. And Real's fullbacks aren't strong defensively—they can't stop Liverpool's supply of crosses."
The situation was looking bleak for Real Madrid.
Just like last year's Round of 16, where they had struggled badly.
If not for Su Hang's miraculous performance, they would have gone out early.
And now, a year later, they were still struggling.
No—this was even worse.
Simon shook his head.
On the bench, Sergio Ramos could only grimace.
Pavón was simply too clean.
In football, playing "clean" is a poor trade-off.
It might win you some praise, but it takes away your edge—you lose far more than you gain.
Ramos, by contrast, defended hard and dirty.
That's why he had been Real Madrid's best defender this season.
Against a beanpole like Crouch, Ramos would've handled him with a few elbows—no need to contest every aerial ball fairly.
Ramos: …
...
41st minute.
Gerrard tried another long-range effort, forcing a corner.
He and Luis García worked the set piece.
Back in the box, Su Hang rose above Crouch—despite being twenty centimeters shorter—and cleared.
He didn't elbow Crouch.
But he bodied him, barging into him mid-air, throwing him off balance.
It was reckless, but fearless.
Crouch was pinned down.
That was all it took.
Zidane gathered the ball outside the box and flicked it over Alonso.
Alonso immediately hauled him down—a tactical foul.
Zidane lost his temper.
He sprang up and went straight at Alonso, the two going head-to-head.
The referee rushed in.
Zidane kept protesting furiously.
In the end, both he and Alonso were shown yellow cards.
Alonso's was for the foul.
Zidane's was for misconduct.
Just like Cassano's earlier booking.
Real Madrid went into halftime trailing 0–2.
...
The locker room was heavy with silence.
Everyone knew this was their toughest test yet.
Even during their eleven-match winning streak, nothing had come close.
Against weaker opponents, Real Madrid's lack of numbers up front could be masked by individual brilliance.
But against Liverpool's level, the weakness of having too few attackers was brutally exposed.
Why had Zidane snapped before halftime?
Because he had given absolutely everything—yet still hadn't managed to truly threaten Liverpool's goal.
It wasn't Alonso's foul that angered him.
It was the frustration of giving everything and still coming up short.
By comparison, Su Hang and Cassano were doing well enough, but nowhere near Zidane's level.
What Zidane needed was a striker of his caliber.
A Ronaldo.
At the very least, a Henry.
Henry: ???
...
As halftime ended, Su Hang and Simon were the last to leave the locker room.
"Simon, if we haven't scored by the sixtieth minute, we change formation." Su Hang pointed at the whiteboard.
On it were written the numbers: "4-1-3-2."
Real Madrid didn't rely on just one setup.
The 4-3-1-2 was designed to conserve energy for the veterans and stars.
But if the team needed it, they could switch into full Galácticos mode at any moment.
The pain they had endured from earlier tactical changes had now become their hidden weapon—a masterstroke to disrupt the opponent's plan.
Most teams needed two or three seasons to cultivate this kind of tactical discipline.
Real Madrid? Eleven matches were enough.
...
The second half began.
Su Hang increased his running, constantly linking up with Zidane.
Zidane spread the play left and right, supplying ammunition.
Roberto Carlos and Cicinho started to shine, delivering threatening crosses.
But with Su Hang dropping deep, Real Madrid had no aerial target in the box.
Cassano was only 1.75 meters tall.
Baptista, as a defensive midfielder, struggled to make late runs into the penalty area.
Still, it was obvious that Real Madrid had come out with more fire after the restart.
...
55th minute.
Su Hang dropped back again.
This time, he and Zidane exchanged sharp one-twos—like a quick ping-pong rally—slipping past Alonso and Gerrard.
Gerrard reacted quickly, sliding in with a crunching tackle.
But it was from behind, and he clipped Su Hang before reaching the ball.
Yellow card.
...
60th minute.
Simon looked at the clock and made his move.
Figo replaced a drenched Zidane.
Even though Zidane had played only sixty minutes, his passing and chance creation outstripped what most playmakers managed in a full match.
For those sixty minutes, he had given everything.
If you only judged him by goals, he had nothing to show.
But if players had stamina bars, Liverpool's were flashing yellow all over the pitch.
Their energy levels had dropped to what they usually hit around the seventy-fifth minute in other games.
It was exactly the point where players felt drained and powerless.
Real Madrid made another change: Robinho replaced midfielder Garcia.
Robinho slotted in at left-back.
Beckham shifted to his natural role at right-back.
Baptista anchored the midfield alone.
The 4-1-3-2 was set!
"Real Madrid have made the wrong move. It looks like they've added to their attack, but Baptista isn't a natural holding midfielder... They're practically without cover now." Andy Gray frowned.
"If Liverpool score first, Real Madrid will collapse completely."
"And not just this match—the whole tie could unravel." Martin Tyler added with concern.
Some fans scoffed at that take and fired back in the live chat:
"I think swapping Su Hang for Ronaldo would make more sense. At least Cassano has taken shots—he's looked dangerous."
"Has Su Hang even had a single attempt this game? What kind of forward doesn't shoot?"
"If they'd had substitutions left, Raúl would've come on for Su Hang."
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser