Halftime ended. After both teams completed their preparations, they returned to the pitch.
Suker gently jumped, his heel still stinging slightly, but not enough to affect his movements.
At the same time, Suker didn't dare use a condition recovery card. Given how things were going, who knew if the opponent would commit another malicious foul? He needed to save it in case he ended up sidelined for another six months.
The rest of the team was in a similar situation.
Barcelona on the other side was no different.
When they returned to the pitch, their eyes seemed clearer, no longer bloodshot and intent on destroying each other like in the first half.
For Barcelona, Xavi had been substituted off.
Keita came on as a substitute.
Iniesta took Xavi's position.
For Real Madrid, Kaká dropped back to play as a defensive midfielder.
After the brutal first half, both teams suffered significant losses, each losing a key midfielder.
Thanks to the referee's warning, they had calmed down somewhat.
The players on yellow cards also needed to stay composed.
Getting sent off with a red card was one concern.
Suspension was another.
So, they had to keep their cool.
However, Suker found it a bit strange.
Most of them had been booked—even Marcelo and Ramos had yellow cards—but Pepe, sandwiched between them, hadn't received one. That was odd.
He was usually a yellow card magnet, yet he'd stayed out of trouble this game.
Actually, it wasn't that Pepe didn't want to get involved—it was just that Ramos and Marcelo had been faster.
Plus, while he was impulsive and prone to losing his temper, he wasn't brainless.
Moreover, Mourinho had specifically instructed him.
With Ramos and Marcelo already on yellows, he had to stay steady, which explained the situation.
But there was no denying that Pepe had struggled to hold back.
After the first half's "battle," the score was still 0-0.
In those 45 minutes, rather than playing football, both sides had been venting, desperately seeking physical confrontations.
But now that they'd cooled down, they needed to focus on winning.
Barcelona hadn't come to fight Real Madrid—that was pointless. If they lost this match, they'd never live it down.
For Real Madrid, the goal was to secure a draw or, ideally, a win.
If they managed a draw or victory away, they could control Barcelona at home.
So, the chaos of the first half had actually worked in Real Madrid's favor.
Barcelona's players waited for kickoff, and Suker's expression was serious.
He'd expected these three matches to be tough.
The first game had been intense, and the second had escalated into a "brawl."
But thankfully, both sides had now calmed down.
"After the halftime break, both teams have regrouped. I hope they won't let anger cloud their judgment. They must remember that the key to the game is pursuing victory, not letting other actions dictate their decisions."
"Especially for Barcelona, the entire first half was extremely chaotic. They wasted their time! Don't forget, this is Barcelona's home game!"
Just then, Barcelona kicked off.
After the kickoff, Barcelona gradually began passing steadily.
Real Madrid immediately pressed high, and the physical battles continued, but without the first half's explosive intensity.
At the very least, both sides were now playing football, not targeting players.
Thump!
Suker's foot grazed the ball but failed to intercept it.
Still, it startled Barcelona's players. Iniesta immediately dropped back to receive the ball and passed it forward to Messi.
Messi turned to charge at Real Madrid's defense, but Kaká and Khedira closed in on him.
Messi attempted a "la croqueta" to get past Kaká, but as Kaká stretched out his long leg, Messi realized his move fell just short.
Kaká won the ball.
"Kaká! Successful interception! Will Real Madrid counter now?"
After gaining possession, Kaká first checked Suker's position. Seeing him heavily marked, he didn't pass to Suker but instead distributed the ball to Di María.
Di María, back on the wing, was eager to make an impact.
He feinted a few times but found no space to break through. With no good passing options forward, he passed back.
Khedira received the ball and considered passing to Kaká.
But with Villa pressuring Kaká, he turned to pass backward again.
Just then, Kaká shouted, "Watch your back!"
As Khedira was about to pass, a leg suddenly appeared in front of him, intercepting the ball.
"Messi! Brilliant anticipation! Khedira hesitated too long with his pass!"
Messi won the ball and drove toward Real Madrid's penalty area.
Ramos glanced left and right, then gritted his teeth and charged forward to apply pressure.
At that moment, Messi shifted the ball sideways, using his quick footwork to change direction.
Ramos couldn't keep up immediately. He reached out to grab Messi, but Messi dodged sideways, dragged the ball, and created space.
Now, Messi had an angle to shoot.
Damn it!
Ramos threw himself recklessly into a challenge.
Just as Messi was about to shoot, Ramos slammed into him, knocking him out of the penalty area.
Peep!!!
A sharp whistle blew.
The referee rushed toward Ramos, his expression stern.
"I warned you."
With that, the referee pulled out a second yellow card.
Two yellows made a red—Ramos was sent off.
"Ramos sent off! And this foul..."
The referee pointed to the penalty spot.
"Penalty! This is bad! The game has just restarted, and Real Madrid is already in trouble!"
Suker and other Real Madrid players surrounded the referee, arguing vehemently.
But the referee showed no intention of changing his decision and glared warningly at them.
'Stay away from me!'
Seeing the referee about to lose his temper, Casillas had to usher away Suker and the other booked players while he tried to negotiate.
However, it was futile—Ramos's foul was undeniable.
Even though Messi was knocked outside the box, the foul had occurred inside the penalty area.
The red card + penalty combo was a massive blow to Real Madrid.
"Now it's all up to Casillas. Can he save Messi's penalty?"
Thump!
Messi took the penalty, slotting it neatly into the bottom left corner.
Penalties had a high conversion rate, and saving them was extremely difficult.
53 minutes: Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid!
"Messi scores!"
"In two consecutive matches against Real Madrid, Messi has now scored three goals, twice putting Barcelona in the lead!"
"This time, Real Madrid has also lost Ramos, their central defender. They'll have to play the remainder with 10 men—a very difficult situation."
Mourinho made his second substitution.
Benzema came off, Carvalho came on.
With Ramos sent off, Mourinho had to prioritize shoring up the defense.
Under these circumstances, stabilizing the defense, looking for counterattacking opportunities, and securing a draw would be the primary objective.
Winning would be incredibly challenging.
Playing with a man down in a professional league wasn't like a casual pickup game—the pressure on the short-handed team was immense.
Mourinho sacrificed some attacking power to strengthen the defense.
But this was also based on Suker's explosive potential.
Suker looked at the current situation, especially after falling behind, and couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
"Time to step up!"
Suker decisively used a condition recovery card!
If not now, then when?
With over 30 minutes left, Real Madrid's defensive pressure was intense, but they still had counterattacking potential.
'Long ball over the top!'
A simple yet effective tactic!
Moreover, with the tacit understanding between Suker and Kaká, this tactic could be executed to perfection.
Being a man down meant Real Madrid had to focus more on defense. With fewer players upfront, their high press was effectively neutralized.
They could only drop deep, employ a low block, and set up a compact defense, unable to contest midfield control against Barcelona.
Suker could only wait in counterattacking positions for opportunities.
While waiting, Suker didn't idle around. Wanting to contribute, he constantly pressed upfront, disrupting Barcelona's passing.
Although the overall impact was limited, continuous movement could eventually create an opening.
If he just stood still waiting for chances, that would be outright giving up.
"Suker's movement is extremely active. With the team short-handed, support for him is limited, but even in this situation, Suker is dropping back to help with positioning..."
Sometimes, Gonzalez deeply admired Suker.
Not for his dazzling stats, but for his professional attitude.
For many established stars, especially at Suker's level, even if he stood still, no one would blame him.
After all, the support available to him was limited.
Thus, many renowned forwards made that choice—they wouldn't actively drop back to help press, let alone run incessantly like Suker.
But precisely because of Suker's contribution and leadership, even with a man down, Real Madrid's collective movement made up for the deficiencies.
If you don't run, and I don't run, the defense will never hold.
If I run, and you run, and we all run like our lives depend on it—that's the spirit of a top-tier team.
Of course, Suker's movement was also intelligent. He constantly made lateral runs along Barcelona's defensive line, allowing him to launch counters immediately.
Thump!
Just then, Carvalho stole the ball from Keita.
The ball rolled to Srna's feet.
Srna dribbled forward a couple of steps, then looked up toward the diagonal.
Suker was already taking small adjustment steps, preparing to sprint.
"Suker!"
Srna launched a long ball—a diagonal 45-yard pass.
The ball sailed toward the space behind Alves.
Suker instantly accelerated, with Alves closely tracking him.
They reached the ball almost simultaneously. Alves didn't immediately challenge Suker but instead waited to apply pressure and exploit any mistake.
Suker looked up at the ball.
"Damn it! Overhit!"
The ball was dropping toward the touchline. Suker slightly crouched, then leaped powerfully.
He barely managed to head the ball back while in the air.
But as he landed, Alves shoved Suker away and passed the ball back to Piqué.
"My fault! My fault!"
Srna raised his hand and shouted.
The pass was poor; otherwise, with Suker's ability, it wouldn't have been intercepted so easily.
Suker waved it off, indicating it was fine.
But he also understood that after two intense matches, Srna's form had dipped somewhat.
This inaccurate long pass was evidence—usually, he wouldn't misfire like that. It was likely fatigue affecting his passing accuracy.
Barcelona regained possession and immediately launched a fierce attack on Real Madrid.
"Barcelona's offense is very aggressive! This might be their best chance to win the match. But Barcelona also needs to be wary of Suker! Suker, as a counterattacking threat, isn't easy to mark!"
Suker was undoubtedly a threat, but now he could only wait for opportunities from his teammates.
Moreover, Suker was constantly observing Barcelona's defense.
Compared to the steady Puyol, Piqué was more aggressive in stepping up.
If he could draw Piqué out...
A gap would open up behind him.
Just as he thought this, Kaká intercepted again for Real Madrid.
After winning the ball, Kaká immediately looked up to pass.
He noticed Suker wasn't pushing forward but instead moving closer to the center circle.
This made Kaká hesitate momentarily.
As Kaká paused, he saw Suker's movement pull Piqué out of position.
A gap appeared!
Kaká wound up and launched a long pass!
"Beautiful!"
Suker grinned, sharply turning and sprinting forward.
Piqué reached out to grab Suker, but Suker anticipated it, slapping Piqué's hand away during his acceleration.
Piqué felt a sting on the back of his hand, and by the time he retracted it, Suker was already charging toward the ball's landing spot.
"Captain!"
Piqué turned and yelled.
Damn it!
Suker was on the move!
Swoosh!!!
Suker sprinted toward the ball, covering nearly 10 meters in a burst of speed.
On the other side, Puyol also charged horizontally toward the ball.
Puyol was closer, but Suker's speed was breathtaking.
Seeing Suker about to reach the ball, Puyol gritted his teeth and went into a sliding tackle.
Thump!
The ball, along with Suker, was taken down by Puyol's challenge.
Suker tumbled forward, rolling smoothly twice before ending up inside the penalty area.
If he was going down, it would be in the box.
"Hey!"
Suker knelt on the ground, raising his hands and complaining loudly.
No card?
If there's no card, I'll lose it!
Peep!
A sharp whistle sounded.
The referee, meeting Suker's sharp gaze, pulled out a yellow card.
Two yellows = one red!
Puyol sent off!
"Well done!"
Mourinho pumped his fist in celebration.
He glanced at the frantic Guardiola and thought:
Now we're even!
"Oh~~ my goodness~ Two red cards in one match, sending off the central defenders of both Real Madrid and Barcelona."
"Real Madrid's counter was so decisive! Suker's speed was incredible! If Puyol hadn't fouled, Suker might have been through on goal!"
"Now, Puyol's red card has given Real Madrid a free kick just outside the penalty area!"
Suker picked up the ball and walked to the free-kick spot.
He would take this set piece.
This position was within his shooting range.
Suker placed the ball on the spot.
Barcelona players formed a wall, watching Suker nervously.
The entire Camp Nou fell silent.
Suker stepped back several paces to create a run-up.
"Real Madrid's free kick in the 79th minute, taken by Suker!"
Gonzalez said gravely, "Suker! Can he once again be Real Madrid's hero? Can he help Real Madrid equalize?"
On screen, Suker took a few deep breaths, then suddenly looked up and began his run-up.
At that moment, everyone's heart raced.
Though it wasn't a penalty, a free kick in the 79th minute, especially with Real Madrid's recent attacking momentum, had both sets of fans on edge.
Real Madrid fans prayed for a goal.
Barcelona fans prayed for Suker to sky it!
Just then, Suker's right foot connected fiercely with the ball.
Thump!
The ball compressed and shot forward.
It was a low driven shot!
The ball skimmed under the jumping wall, grazing Iniesta's studs as it passed through. Originally headed toward the near post, it deflected and swerved toward the far corner.
Barcelona's goalkeeper Valdés had made the correct initial read.
But after the deflection, he completely lost his balance.
Swish!
Goal!
79 minutes: Real Madrid equalized through Suker's goal.
"Oh~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!——"
In Real Madrid's locker room, Ramos, who had been frustrated earlier, leaped up from the bench.
He jumped for joy like a child.
In the empty locker room, he raised his arms excitedly.
Suker!!!!
Suker!!!!
Suker!!!!
On the pitch, as the goal went in, the entire Camp Nou fell silent.
100,000 Barcelona fans uniformly held their heads in disbelief as they watched the scene.
Again!
Again!
That damn Croatian had scored against them once more!
Because of him, they suffered defeat after defeat.
How could they contain this guy? How could they beat Real Madrid?
"Shout!"
"Keep shouting now!"
Suker charged toward the corner flag, violently punching the corner post, provocatively jeering at the stands.
All the boos, insults, and taunts throughout the match—shut up now!
Suker pressed his left hand to his lips, facing the stands.
Shut the hell up!
Instantly, Barcelona fans erupted in fury.
They unleashed even louder boos, pointing at Suker and screaming curses.
But Suker only smiled wider.
To him, this was just impotent rage.
Keep shouting!
I'll just score again against you.
Of course, that was just trash talk.
After such a brutal match, equalizing was crucial.
The remaining 10+ minutes were unlikely to produce another goal.