The new situation in La Liga began with coaching Real Madrid.
Barcelona's issues actually have little to do with Gao Shen. They are more a topic of conversation between him and the coaching staff.
As Real Madrid's head coach, Gao Shen also carries a heavy burden.
Due to the 2014 Brazil World Cup, the European league schedule was greatly compressed, so after playing Anderlecht away, Real Madrid faced a packed run of fixtures.
In the fifth round of La Liga, they would face Getafe at home.
In the sixth round of La Liga, they would visit Elche.
In the seventh round of La Liga, they would host Atletico Madrid.
In the second round of the Champions League group stage, they would host Manchester United.
There was also the eighth round of La Liga, an away trip to Levante.
In just two weeks, 15 days, Real Madrid would play five matches in a row.
The pressure on Real Madrid during this stretch was extremely high.
Gao Shen did not have much time to care about Barcelona.
…
September 21, the 5th round of La Liga.
Barcelona visited Rayo Vallecano.
Thanks to Pedro's hat trick, Barcelona won 4-0 away.
Martino's team earned a crucial victory after being under pressure.
The pressure naturally shifted to Real Madrid.
But just one day later, Gao Shen's team beat Getafe 5-1 at home.
Ronaldo scored a brace. Pepe, Isco, and Dzeko each scored once.
With this big win, Real Madrid continued to lead the La Liga table with five straight victories.
Atletico Madrid also beat Valladolid 2-0 away.
Thus the three unbeaten La Liga teams all won again this round.
This also created a very interesting situation in La Liga.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid were tied at the top, far ahead of teams such as Villarreal and Espanyol in fourth.
But everyone believed this new situation would not last long.
Because in the 7th round, Real Madrid would face Atletico Madrid.
…
September 24, the 6th round of La Liga.
Barcelona hosted Real Sociedad.
Neymar and Messi put on a show from the start.
In the 5th minute, Sánchez assisted Neymar to open the scoring.
Just three minutes later, Neymar assisted Messi to score again.
In less than ten minutes, Barcelona were already two goals ahead.
In the end, Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 4-1. Messi and Neymar both registered one goal and one assist, and their performances were eye-catching.
Almost identically to Barcelona, Atletico Madrid scored two quick goals. Diego Costa netted in the 18th and 24th minutes, a brace that helped Atletico beat Osasuna 2-1 at home.
Both rivals won.
Real Madrid, who played a day later, encountered Elche's tenacious resistance.
Gao Shen again made a large rotation, but the away match was not smooth. Elche's rugged defending caused Real Madrid's players a lot of trouble.
A total of 11 yellow cards.
Almost everyone at Elche was booked, yet, strangely, there was no red card.
This was not referee favoritism. Elche's players deliberately avoided those already on a booking when executing their defensive tactics, especially when committing tactical fouls.
Simply put, they took turns getting carded.
Real Madrid had no easy answer to this.
Gao Shen asked his players to target those on a yellow, but the effect was not ideal.
Especially in the second half, Real Madrid's youngsters played a bit anxiously.
It was not until the 81st minute that Real Madrid won a free kick in the attacking third.
Verratti delivered toward the back post, but the placement was not great. Pogba chased to the byline and headed back across. Ramos nodded in from close range to break the deadlock for Real Madrid.
It was the only goal of the game.
In the end, Real Madrid narrowly defeated Elche 1-0 away thanks to Ramos's goal.
…
The win at Valero Stadium allowed Real Madrid to continue leading La Liga, but the outside world questioned Real Madrid's performance.
Real Madrid did not play well against Elche.
At the review meeting the day after the Elche match, Gao Shen analyzed the team's various shortcomings in this game.
Some problems could be forgiven, because everyone at Real Madrid was under heavy pressure from consecutive fixtures.
Especially since Barcelona and Atletico Madrid had played a day earlier and both won, Real Madrid had less time and greater pressure, so every player was desperate to win.
Sometimes, that mentality is a problem.
But Gao Shen also said, "When you are a Real Madrid player, you must learn to bear this kind of pressure."
Illarramendi performed poorly in this match and was replaced by Casemiro in the second half.
With Xabi Alonso injured, Gao Shen wanted to rotate between Illarramendi and Casemiro, but it now seemed that Illarramendi was not ready yet.
Casemiro was very strong defensively, but his contribution going forward was not strong enough.
Gao Shen softened his tone and reassured the players, saying that the win was secured regardless.
"I know everyone is under a lot of pressure right now, and I can see you are all trying hard to help the team win, but I still hope you remember to be patient."
To some extent, Elche are not really a match for Real Madrid, given the huge gap in strength.
But it is precisely this gap that made Elche abandon all illusions.
Especially since they were 17th in La Liga, level on points with the teams in 18th and 19th.
Do you know how cruel La Liga is this season?
Sevilla, a team all fans are familiar with, were bottom.
In their first five games, they collected only 2 points.
However, in the sixth round, Sevilla beat Rayo Vallecano 4-1 at home, and their ranking suddenly rose to 14th, which dropped Elche into the relegation zone.
This is why Elche fought Real Madrid so hard.
In La Liga, not all teams advocate attacking and technical play.
For example, Atletico Madrid, Elche, Osasuna, and others.
Especially at critical moments, every team's players will fight tooth and nail to avoid relegation.
…
After playing Elche on the 24th, the city derby with Atletico Madrid was on the 28th.
There was a gap of three days in between.
Gao Shen and the coaching staff could only squeeze in one training session for tactical drills against Atletico Madrid.
This was thanks to it being a same-city derby.
But it was precisely this damn city rival that made Gao Shen rack his brains.
Atletico Madrid are very difficult to deal with.
Gao Shen has always felt that Simeone is very much like an Italian head coach at heart, not only because of the tactics he built at Atletico Madrid, but also because of the suffocating high press across the pitch.
Simeone's pressing is organized and coordinated, a systematic, oppressive press. They are willing to commit numbers high up. At the same time, to win the ball, they really will do whatever it takes.
Atletico Madrid's players particularly buy into Simeone's style.
Conversely, players who do not buy into Simeone's approach will not be able to establish themselves at Atletico Madrid.
As a result, Atletico Madrid have become a team that gives everyone a headache.
Gao Shen could not find an obvious weakness.
The left side was a weak point last season, but last summer Atletico signed Siqueira and solved the issue on that flank.
Against Barcelona, Gao Shen could still choose to defend and concede possession. Against Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid could not do that, especially at the Bernabéu.
This troubled Gao Shen greatly.
So before the match, he specifically called Xabi Alonso, Modric, and Toni Kroos together.
…
If not every match, Gao Shen chats with players almost every day.
Sometimes he goes to them, sometimes he calls them over. The location could be in a restaurant, on the roadside, at the training ground, or in the office.
As long as he wants to chat, they can chat anytime, anywhere.
This is also something many people admire about Gao Shen.
There are many who can talk, but among professional head coaches, there is no one who communicates as well as he does.
Even Ancelotti, who likes to communicate with players, feels inferior to him.
Gao Shen often calls a few players together for a short meeting to study the game and listen to their ideas.
Because he has always felt that the players' feelings on the pitch are more real than the head coach's on the touchline.
Many times, the head coach sets tactics and requires players to cooperate on the pitch.
No matter how good the tactics are, what is the point if the players cannot execute them?
Therefore, Gao Shen often talks with players to hear their opinions and suggestions.
This time he called the three midfielders not because he had decided the starting lineup.
In fact, although Xabi Alonso had resumed training, it was still a bit difficult for him to play against Atletico Madrid.
Gao Shen preferred to use him against Manchester United, which was also a crucial game related to qualification from the group.
Xabi Alonso was working hard to adjust his condition, hoping to meet the match standard as soon as possible.
But Gao Shen called him over today not to ask him to play, but to hear his view.
In midfield, Xabi Alonso has rich experience and a sharp mind, and many of his suggestions are very useful.
Gao Shen brought Zidane, Carlo, and Hierro. They gathered in a small conference room. They had asked the restaurant to prepare some drinks and fruit beforehand, so it was a relaxed and pleasant exchange.
As for Atletico Madrid, Gao Shen believed the team had to be mentally prepared for a tough battle, and it would be a tough battle for 90 minutes.
Los Colchoneros are by no means easy to deal with. In both defending and tenacity, Simeone's team is top-level in today's European football.
As early as last season, Gao Shen said that Simeone's team had the level to perform well in the Champions League, they just were not in it. This season, they are.
In the first round of the group stage, Atletico Madrid beat Zenit St. Petersburg 3-1 at home, which is enough to prove that judgment.
Simeone's team has no obvious weaknesses. Against such an opponent, you can only fight hard and wear them down. There is no shortcut.
But there are still details to consider for this match.
Gao Shen had some ideas of his own, so he called the three midfielders for a short meeting, just to hear their opinions and see if they could be implemented.
If they reached a preliminary consensus, Gao Shen would call other players for another meeting, and finally hold a meeting for the entire team.
He has always conveyed his ideas to the players in this way.
(To be continued.)