In the second round of La Liga, Real Madrid traveled to face Granada.
The game had just passed three minutes...
"Granada's quick counter pushed them to the edge of Real Madrid's penalty area."
"Pogba tracked back, and Casemiro made the steal."
"Played to Pogba."
"Real Madrid break quickly, Pogba carrying it forward."
"Marcos Alonso comes across and they play a neat one-two."
"It is Pogba again on the ball, driving to the edge of the box and slipping it to the left side of the area."
"Isco brings it down, drags it back, feints, chops inside..."
"A lovely burst into the box and a right-footed strike."
"The ball is in."
"Real Madrid score."
"Inside three minutes, Isco dribbled in from the left and unleashed a sudden right-footed shot. It arrowed into the bottom left corner, right in the blind spot, through the narrow gap between goalkeeper Roberto and the left post."
"1-0."
"A great move down the left from Real Madrid, Pogba with the pass and Isco with a fine finish."
…
Ten minutes...
"Verratti spreads it to the left."
"Marcos Alonso controls, plays into Pogba, who slips it forward to Isco."
"Isco receives outside the left corner of the box and plays a straight ball across the six-yard line."
"Džeko arrives and stabs it low with his left..."
"The ball is in."
"Real Madrid have scored twice in ten minutes, 2-0."
"Džeko shows his killer instinct again."
"Real Madrid's start has been very lively, especially down the left."
"The combination of Pogba, Marcos Alonso, and Isco is very clever."
"Especially Isco's through ball and Džeko's sharp run."
"Granada's center-backs cannot cope with Džeko's front-post attack."
…
Twenty-three minutes...
"Ramos launches a long pass to the right side of the final third."
"Jesé chests it down and carries inside, drawing defenders in."
"Arbeloa is overlapping quickly on the right."
"Jesé slips it to the byline and Arbeloa crosses."
"Džeko attacks it, but it is blocked before it leaves the box."
"Jesé swings through it on the rebound."
"The ball is in again."
"3-0."
"Real Madrid now lead Granada 3-0."
"A goal for the young Jesé."
"In the first half, Real Madrid's attack has been relentless, giving Granada no time to breathe."
"Real Madrid's possession in the first 24 minutes is 76 percent, a remarkable number. They have 8 shots, averaging one every three minutes, with five on target, which is very efficient."
"Of course, Granada's approach plays a part. At home, they have not sat back with a strict defensive plan, but tried to attack and break Real Madrid down."
"Granada have had two shots, but neither has troubled Courtois."
…
Forty-four minutes...
"Granada attack down the right at Real Madrid's left."
"The first half is almost over, let us see this move from the hosts."
"They try to play it in, but Casemiro blocks and it pops up."
"Marcos Alonso heads clear, but not far."
"Casemiro battles on, shielding and laying it back to Pogba."
"Pogba chases forward, gets there before the defender, feeds Isco, then cuts inside himself."
"Isco clips a cross, Pogba drives on and arrives at the edge of the box."
"Džeko peels away, let us see how Real Madrid combine here."
"Pogba whips a left-footed cross behind him, Jesé arrives with pace and heads it home."
"The ball is in."
"A brace."
"Jesé."
"The young Real Madrid forward scores twice."
"He should thank Pogba. The delivery was perfect. Jesé only had to direct the header and it went in."
"That is Pogba's value, a €60 million midfielder."
…
In the 56th minute of the second half...
"Real Madrid attack again. Arbeloa advances on the right and finds Jesé."
"No angle, so it goes back to Verratti."
"Switches to the left, played to Marcos Alonso."
"Forward to Isco, trying the clip into the area for Džeko."
"The defender heads it away, but it drops outside the box. Pogba takes a touch, sets it, and lets fly from range."
"Pogba, a world wave."
"5-0."
"My word, that was from thirty meters. Pogba blasted it straight in, another sudden world wave, smashing Granada's net."
"Real Madrid's €60 million man has been fully justified by Gao Shen."
"That is two straight games with standout performances from Pogba."
...
While Barcelona labored to a 1-0 win over Málaga at La Rosaleda, Real Madrid thrashed Granada 6-0 away.
After Pogba's world wave, Varane pounced in the chaos from a corner to score another.
Real Madrid beat Granada 6-0 away.
On one side, Barcelona eked out a hard-fought win. On the other, Real Madrid delivered a perfect victory. The two teams have shown very different trends since the start of the season.
Especially Real Madrid. This season, the club's highly rated young players have produced stunning performances in two consecutive games, leaving a deep impression on everyone.
In particular, the newly signed €60 million man Paul Pogba has scored and assisted a string of wonderful goals, and has also shown his orchestration and planning in midfield, astonishing not only Spain but the whole of Europe.
Even many media and fans who had questioned Pogba's fee now admit the €60 million looks worth it.
At the post-match press conference, Granada's Spanish coach Alcaraz did not hide his admiration, calling Pogba Real Madrid's most dangerous player.
"I just cannot believe he is only twenty."
"He looks like a mature, composed, world-class midfielder, and I have no doubt he has the potential to start for Real Madrid."
In fact, Pogba has completed ninety minutes in both of Real Madrid's opening league matches.
He even won man of the match in his second La Liga game, beating Jesé, who scored twice.
Gao Shen was not surprised, and even felt Pogba had not yet hit his best level.
"I have no doubt about what he has done so far, but I think he can be better in all areas."
Gao Shen said the two straight league wins were normal.
Whether it is Real Betis or Granada, they are clearly not sides who can truly threaten Real Madrid.
Although big wins are pleasing, what Gao Shen cares about most now is the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup at Camp Nou.
"It would be a wonderful experience to beat Barcelona at Camp Nou and lift the trophy."
Gao Shen's words further stung Barcelona.
Catalan outlets in particular went at Gao Shen furiously, claiming he showed a lack of respect.
Barcelona fans even threatened to punish Gao Shen at Camp Nou.
But many outlets revealed that Barcelona's players had suggested Martino adopt tactics more familiar to the team to face Real Madrid.
"Barcelona's players believe that if they want a comeback at Camp Nou, they need to rediscover the football they know best."
"Especially with Busquets suspended."
Yellow cards in the Copa del Rey and La Liga can carry over, but red cards are different.
Therefore, Busquets's red in the first leg ruled him out of the second.
This would be a huge blow to Barcelona.
And Gao Shen did take note.
In the match, Martino flipped his first-leg plan and adopted a more Barcelona-style approach, controlling the ball and attacking with a trident of Neymar, Fàbregas, and Messi.
But Gao Shen also saw the pattern. Since Barcelona wanted to dominate the ball, Real Madrid deliberately ceded possession, tightened the three defensive lines, and further compressed the trident's space.
As a result, the positional rotations between Fàbregas and Messi that Martino had devised in the first leg became ineffective.
Real Madrid defended solidly and waited for chances to counter.
In the 34th minute, Real Madrid stole the ball outside their own area and broke quickly.
Ronaldo carried it down the left and slipped it into the box.
Benzema received under pressure from Piqué on the left of the area, but could not turn to threaten. He was forced to protect it, then laid it back to Di María at the right of the D.
Di María, sprinting up, controlled it, found no angle, and rolled it sideways.
At that moment, Toni Kroos arrived from deep, met Di María's pass, set himself, and hit it.
The ball flew like a cannon, skimming the turf into the bottom right corner of Barcelona's goal at great speed.
Valdés was stationed left and had no chance against the sudden long shot.
The top of the D in front of the box is where Busquets usually sits.
But against Real Madrid's quick break, Alexandre Song had dropped too deep.
After that, no matter how much Barcelona kept the ball, Real Madrid stayed compact and repeatedly launched dangerous counters.
Although Barcelona had possession, they struggled to enter Real Madrid's box, and they failed to threaten.
In the end, they watched Real Madrid win 1-0 at Camp Nou.
With an aggregate 5-1, Real Madrid beat Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup.
When the final whistle blew, Camp Nou rang with boos.
That did not dampen Real Madrid's joy as they lifted the Super Cup.
The louder the boos, the more vigorously Real Madrid celebrated.
(To be continued.)