Gao Shen has always felt that elegance and decency are based on strength.
Whether in past lives or this one, Barcelona have always been a very strong presence.
From Dream Team II to Dream Team III to now, Barcelona have been famous for their passing-and-control attacking style. With superstars like Ronaldinho and Messi, and great strength, they can naturally play elegantly and decently.
Facing such a Barcelona, the one getting the red card has always been the opponent.
But at this moment at the Bernabéu, when the referee's whistle sounded, Gao Shen felt like he was hearing the sound of heaven.
He cheered and shouted toward the referee and Busquets on the pitch, "Tactical foul!"
The Real Madrid fans across the Bernabéu reacted, booing wildly and shouting for a red card.
The Barcelona players realized the danger and immediately surrounded the referee.
Busquets, however, looked stunned.
It was then that he suddenly remembered he had received a yellow card in the first half.
"You will get booked for surrounding the referee!" Gao Shen shouted.
Argentina speaks Spanish, so Martino naturally understood what Gao Shen was yelling.
Turning to look at the home coach, who was gloating, Martino almost spat blood in anger.
Damn it, are you watching a show?
But Martino was anxious too.
Of course he knew that surrounding the referee could bring a booking, but if he did not stop the referee, it would be a red card.
The Argentine was also caught in a bind now.
On one hand, he feared the referee would book other players. On the other, he did not want the referee to book Busquets.
Damn it.
Gao Shen covered his mouth with his hands, turned around and burst out laughing.
Zidane, Carlo, Hierro and the others all found it funny. Were they really that happy?
"Why do I feel like you are more excited than scoring a goal?" Carlo was puzzled.
Gao Shen casually took a bottle of water, took a sip, and smiled. "This is different. This is Barcelona's red card."
After a pause, Gao Shen explained, "I have only seen Barcelona hand out red cards to others. When have I seen Barcelona embarrassed enough to take a red card themselves?"
It is true, it is rare.
Because Barcelona's passing-and-control style has such a clear on-field advantage, teams facing them basically focus on defending, which naturally makes them prone to fouls and cards. Red cards are not uncommon.
For example, was the feud between Barcelona and Chelsea not the result of accumulated red cards?
Later, when Mourinho coached Real Madrid, the red-card feud with Barcelona continued.
It is rare to see a match like tonight, leading on the scoreboard and forcing Barcelona into a tactical foul.
"Just wait and see, I will tear off Barcelona's last fig leaf tonight!" Gao Shen said confidently.
…
Faced with pressure from Barcelona's players, the referee issued a clear warning and threatened bookings, which made the Barcelona players back off a little.
He then walked straight over, waved at Busquets, and showed the yellow card.
Since Busquets had already been booked in the first half, the referee immediately showed the red and sent him off.
The entire Bernabéu erupted.
It was not even sixty minutes, with more than half an hour left, and he was sent off.
The thought alone was exciting.
But what made the Real Madrid players even more excited was seeing head coach Gao Shen walk to the touchline as Busquets left, call Xabi Alonso over and give some instructions.
He then waved differently to the players on the pitch.
From his expression, there was no need to guess. He was telling them to attack.
Attack hard.
Go ahead, brothers.
This further ignited the enthusiasm of the Real Madrid fans.
More than 70,000 Real Madrid supporters were roaring for the team.
That also made the players on the pitch even more motivated.
…
Play restarted.
After Real Madrid took a quick free kick, they used the numerical advantage to launch a fierce attack, pinning Barcelona back.
The player sent off occupied the No. 4 role for Barcelona, which is a vital hub in their tactics.
Real Madrid's quick free kick did not produce a direct chance, but Barcelona had problems when they won the ball.
Only Xavi and Iniesta remained in midfield.
Iniesta dropped into the No. 4 role to receive, but was immediately trapped between Benzema and Modric.
There was no clear passing option nearby, and Modric intercepted directly.
After winning it, Modric quickly slipped the ball into the left channel, in behind Alves.
Ronaldo had already started his sprint. Piqué was deepest and did not play him offside.
The Portuguese controlled Modric's pass inside the box and accelerated.
Real Madrid had formed a three-on-three in the final third, but Alves was slightly behind Ronaldo, so Piqué had to slide across to help, while Puyol tracked the trailing Benzema, who had just reached the top of the box.
On the right side of the penalty spot, the unmarked Di María had already raised his hand for the ball.
Ronaldo saw him.
The Portuguese clipped a diagonal with his left foot. It skimmed past Piqué and dropped to the right side of the six-yard box.
Di María arrived and calmly pushed it into the net.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
"3-1!!!"
"Real Madrid score again!"
"Di María!"
The Argentine winger charged to the sideline, made a heart with his hands, and celebrated non-stop.
His teammates chased after him one by one.
The entire Bernabéu was roaring.
…
When Gao Shen saw Di María score, he jumped with excitement, but quickly calmed down, went back to the touchline and shouted to the celebrating players.
He signaled them to get back quickly, keep attacking, and try to score more.
What is this called?
As the saying goes, it is better to use the remaining courage to pursue the enemy than to seek fame by imitating the tyrant.
Now was the best time to press the advantage and crush Barcelona with overwhelming force. If not now, when?
The Real Madrid players were encouraged by the head coach. After returning and restarting, they kept pushing forward, creating overwhelming pressure on Barcelona.
Martino responded quickly.
His first choice was to pull Fàbregas back into midfield to restore a three-man unit, leaving only Neymar and Messi up front. But the effect was clearly not ideal.
With a man down, and Real Madrid's physical power well known, when the home side pressed Barcelona crazily, they had no answers and were forced into a deep block.
That made the Real Madrid fans even more excited.
When have you ever seen a team suppress Barcelona like this?
Not only did they concede, they lost a man. The state of the match was so dominant, it was just too exciting.
The fans cheered louder, and the players found even more energy.
In the 60th minute, seeing Real Madrid continuously pressing and creating danger, Martino realized the risk. He immediately substituted, replacing Neymar with Alexandre Song.
The Brazilian's performance was fine, but given the overall situation, he was powerless to turn the tide.
With Song on, Barcelona shifted to a 4-3-2, with Fàbregas and Messi up top, but their midfield had completely lost its advantage.
Especially after Gao Shen adjusted, pushing both Marcelo and Carvajal high, actively opening up the wide attacks to break Barcelona's flank defending, Barcelona became even more passive.
In the 71st minute, Ronaldo drove into the left side of the box and was tripped by Piqué, but the referee did not blow.
From the slow-motion replay, it was clearly a foul and should have been a penalty.
But perhaps because Piqué was also on a yellow, the referee let it go.
In the 74th minute, Real Madrid built another wave of pressure in Barcelona's third.
Ronaldo and Di María combined on the right. After a quick one-two, Di María crossed from the byline, but Puyol blocked it in front of the six-yard box.
Real Madrid kept the ball.
Modric settled it and rolled it to Toni Kroos, who played forward to the dropping Benzema.
The French striker retreated to the D. Kroos's pass arrived to his left, and Benzema understood, leaning into Alexandre Song, cushioning with his left foot, and spinning sharply.
The touch and turn were one seamless action, leaving the defender no time to react.
By the time Benzema turned, Song, Puyol and others realized the danger and rushed at him, but the Frenchman had already unleashed a fierce right-footed shot.
The ball flew like a cannonball, arrowing into the right side of the goal.
The strike came out of nowhere. Benzema's control and turn were so quick that goalkeeper Valdés was caught cold. He thought Benzema would take a touch back.
When Benzema suddenly struck, Valdés dived across, but it was too late.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
"4-1!!!"
"Benzema!"
"Real Madrid score again!"
"After sustained pressure, we finally have another goal."
"Benzema's long-range effort from the edge of the box beats Barcelona again."
"Alexandre Song did not track Benzema in time, allowing the Frenchman to control, turn, and shoot."
"Barcelona's defending really has problems."
"But we also have to recognize how sharp Real Madrid's attack is."
"Gao Shen on the touchline is preparing a substitution."
"It looks like an attacking change. This is to keep piling on the offense."
"With a man advantage, Gao Shen wants to make the most of this chance and secure as big a win as possible."
"Of course, 4-1 is already an excellent result."
"We are deeply impressed by Real Madrid's performance tonight, while Barcelona suffer a complete defeat at the Bernabéu."
"Perhaps now, for Barcelona, the hope is simply to avoid conceding more, or at least concede fewer."
(To be continued.)