I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 853: Chapter 78: Corina Has Arrived!

The second leg of the Champions League has concluded, with Manchester United defeating Schalke 04 at home 4:1. Lord Ferguson leads the Red Devils to the Champions League final once again, and all of England is celebrating. Now, they must consider whether their opponent will be Real Madrid or Barcelona.

The two teams drew 1:1 in the first leg, with Barcelona holding the advantage of an away goal.

With several key players missing from Real Madrid, more people favor Barcelona to win in the semi-finals.

The four-round battle between Real Madrid and Barcelona has finally come to an end. Real Madrid has lifted the King’s Cup trophy and is close to securing the La Liga title. As for the Champions League trophy, while the final winner is yet to be determined, fans generally believe that Barcelona has the highest chance of laughing last.

After all, they have the advantage of an away goal in hand.

In the Champions League semi-finals, from any perspective, Barcelona is in a favored position. Guardiola’s team drew 1:1 at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and returning to Camp Nou, Barcelona is bound to have a certain advantage.

At least for now, Guardiola is more likely than Mourinho to reach the finals. The question now is what kind of reversal effect Mourinho and Real Madrid might produce. The Portuguese has strong coaching abilities, and the Real Madrid Club also upholds an indomitable "Juanito spirit." Combining these factors, a miracle is not entirely impossible.

Of course, there are doubts about Real Madrid’s lineup. As a hero in previous games successfully countering Barcelona, Pepe will miss this match. The previous game against Barcelona showed that without Pepe, Real Madrid found it difficult to guard Messi. Besides Pepe, Ramos is also suspended for this match, and Mourinho himself cannot command from the sidelines. UEFA even stipulated that during the game, he cannot communicate with players or assistant coaches in any way.

Additionally, Khedira has not recovered from his injury.

However, this instead makes Real Madrid completely abandon the conservative three-defensive-midfielder strategy and opt for attacking play at Camp Nou against Barcelona.

The Spanish media believe that a series of unfavorable factors might instead make Real Madrid more aggressive, closer to the club’s traditional values, and more determined on the field. As for Barcelona, tactical and personnel arrangements are no longer a secret.

Iniesta’s return from injury allows Barcelona to better showcase their football prowess.

Furthermore, Puyol’s recovery and Mascherano’s versatility allow Barcelona to overcome the dangerous period in defense.

Notably, Abidal, who recently underwent liver surgery, surprisingly made it onto the match’s roster, adding depth to Barcelona’s bench.

Catalan media believe that the reason Mourinho spoke extensively about the referee after losing the first leg was to turn the game into a war. The more tense the atmosphere, the more it benefits Real Madrid.

However, Mourinho now has no choice; he must attack and can no longer be conservative or opportunistic.

Of course, Mourinho has not forgotten about defense. He still hopes to neutralize Messi’s role in the front field by using Alonso to prevent Messi from exhibiting his magical abilities.

However, considering Pepe was sent off for fouling in the first leg, in the second leg, Alonso will certainly pay attention to control rather than fouls, and will inevitably cut off the connection between Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi.

Mourinho might refer to Inter’s tactics last season to eliminate Barcelona. He will not let Barcelona easily unfold their passing game.

Real Madrid needs to make the game tense and focus more on physical confrontations. Last season, Inter used this method to eliminate Barcelona. However, Real Madrid players need to be mindful of the extent of confrontation.

It is known that Florentino hesitated for a year before introducing Mourinho, but after Inter eliminated Barcelona last season, Florentino decisively decided to bring in the Portuguese coach.

Mourinho stopped Barcelona from reaching the Champions League final at the Bernabeu last season. Now, Real Madrid hopes he can also prevent Barcelona from reaching the Wembley final.

Although both teams faced league losses, it will not affect the Champions League match.

Mourinho will definitely change the formation, but even with changes, there remains a significant difference in style between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The collision of styles is the most attention-grabbing.

The last suspense in the National Derby is how Mourinho will attempt to complete the comeback. From a probability perspective, Real Madrid’s chance of a comeback is very small, but we must not forget that Real Madrid has performed countless epic miracles.

Regardless of whether Barcelona or Real Madrid proceeds to the final, the unprecedented feast of four National Derby matches in 18 days has reached its end. Fans of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and even neutral fans hope that both teams will cast aside the off-field distractions and return to the essence of football in the final match.

Notably, UEFA appointed the famous Italian "bald referee" Corina to supervise the main referee, Belgian Frank Debruyne, in this match.

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