Starting With Real Madrid

As many people have said, Di María was born with the instincts of a classic South American forward.

Much like Suárez, when he plays, he often pulls off unexpected moves that catch everyone off guard—only for people to realize afterward just how clever they were.

Just like right now.

Everyone, including Real Madrid's own players, thought Di María would send a cross into the middle or far post, aiming for Benzema or Ronaldo. Both were already in position. As long as the ball got through, and as long as Barcelona's defenders didn't intercept it, it was almost guaranteed to result in a goal.

But after dribbling into the box from the right and drawing Puyol's attention as the captain tracked back, Di María suddenly chose to cut the ball back to the top of the box.

The move surprised everyone.

Barcelona's defenders had their eyes fixed on Di María, anticipating a traditional cross, but he went the opposite direction.

Real Madrid's players also instinctively pulled back slightly, wary of being caught offside.

Modrić was the first to arrive at the top of the box to receive Di María's cut-back. Without stopping, he played a quick pass forward.

At that moment, Benzema had his back to goal and had just dropped deep. He received the ball from Modrić and controlled it toward his right, which was the left side of the goal.

Piqué didn't have time to intervene, and though Alves came charging to close him down, Benzema beat him to the ball and knocked it into the left side of the penalty area.

Ronaldo, having just returned from an offside position and established himself, burst forward at full speed. He met Benzema's through ball and struck it first-time with his left foot.

The ball flew low and fast, almost in a straight line, and slammed into the left side of Barcelona's net.

"Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

"In the 4th minute, Real Madrid have taken the lead at Camp Nou!"

"A brilliant finish from Cristiano Ronaldo!"

After scoring, Ronaldo sprinted wildly in celebration, but still turned around to call his teammates forward to share in the moment.

Boos echoed around the Camp Nou stands, yet Real Madrid fans' cheers could still be heard amidst the jeers.

"Just four minutes in, and Real Madrid have struck first."

"No one expected such a high-tempo start from both sides."

"There was no feeling-out phase—both teams went straight for it. And Real Madrid have made the breakthrough in just four minutes."

"To all of you watching at home, trust me—this match will be electric!"

"Now that they're behind, Barcelona are going to come out even more aggressively!"

…

On the sidelines, Gao Shen clenched his fists and shouted in excitement.

Then he turned and gave high-fives to each of his assistant coaches to celebrate.

"That was a gorgeous play," Hierro said with excitement.

Real Madrid hadn't won at Camp Nou in years. Each visit had ended in a tough loss.

But tonight, this start gave everyone belief.

"Di María is unbelievable," Zidane praised the Argentine, but he didn't forget to mention his compatriot either. "And Benzema—smart as ever. That turn and pass were brilliant."

Gao Shen laughed.

Real Madrid had never lacked attacking talent. If there were problems, they usually came down to defensive structure—and that was on the head coach.

But Gao Shen knew full well, Barcelona wouldn't just sit back and give up.

He immediately walked to the touchline and, as the Real Madrid players returned from celebrating, he kept shouting at them, signaling for calm.

Stay composed. Stick to the game plan. No rushing. No greed for goals.

He especially called out to the midfielders—Xabi Alonso—and defenders like Ramos and Pepe to stay sharp.

Before the goal, some Real Madrid players still held doubts about the "advanced tactics."

But now, after effectively shutting down Barcelona's famed passing rhythm and scoring an early goal, everyone was bought in.

Barcelona had hardly produced a meaningful threat.

Ramos even rallied his teammates loudly on the pitch.

With Casillas absent, he had begun to take command like a true general.

…

"Looks like you guys got lucky tonight," Rosell said awkwardly in the presidential box, watching Ronaldo's celebration.

Just before kickoff, during dinner, he had confidently told Florentino that Barcelona would humble Gao Shen at Camp Nou to avenge the pre-match war of words.

But the game hadn't even settled, and Real Madrid were already ahead.

Florentino maintained his signature warm smile.

To describe it metaphorically, he looked like a modern-day Maitreya Buddha.

Impossible to read, but very clearly in a good mood.

After hearing Rosell's jab, Florentino chuckled and replied, "Yes, scoring in the fourth minute—pure luck."

"There's still plenty of time left. We'll bounce back," Barcelona vice president Bartomeu chimed in, trying to ease the tension.

In truth, the situation was already quite awkward.

Even after the restart, Barcelona hadn't found any answers to Real Madrid's defense.

They tried to pass forward, and Messi dropped deeper to support, but just getting into Real Madrid's half was a challenge—let alone their penalty area.

This made Rosell and the Barcelona board visibly frustrated in the stands.

Even with their famed possession game, they couldn't break through.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid's defense and midfield stayed tight and disciplined.

"Florentino, your side is playing pretty conservatively tonight," Rosell jabbed again.

But the Real Madrid president still smiled calmly. "Perhaps Gao Shen anticipated how dangerous Camp Nou would be, so he decided to be cautious."

Oh?

If they hadn't already scored, maybe that line could've worked.

But they had scored—and to say this now was downright humiliating.

Florentino might as well have pointed to Rosell's face and said:

You've been figured out. Gao Shen knew exactly what you were planning.

You've been fooled. Idiots!

…

Barcelona tried repeatedly to push the ball forward.

But again and again, they were denied.

Could you believe that the La Liga leaders hadn't even registered a single shot in the first 10 minutes?

Not just shots—they'd only entered Real Madrid's penalty area twice.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid were growing more composed and patient after taking the lead.

The 100,000 Barça fans in Camp Nou were growing restless.

They came to see Barcelona thrash Real Madrid—to avenge earlier humiliations.

Instead, they were watching them concede first.

They'd already had to endure the pre-match trash talk. Now they were watching their team be dominated on the pitch too?

Puyol began pushing forward more and getting involved in the midfield build-up.

There was no other option. The midfield couldn't break the press, and the full-backs' forward runs were neutralized by Di María and Ronaldo.

Speaking of Ronaldo, the Portuguese star was putting in tremendous effort defensively tonight.

Barcelona finally managed to create a half-chance.

Sánchez dribbled in from the left, tried to cut inside, then laid it off to Iniesta, who returned it with a through ball. Sánchez slipped into the box again.

He attempted to square the ball toward Messi in the center, but Pepe stepped in and cleared it decisively.

Just three minutes later, Barcelona launched another attack.

Again from the left.

This time, after receiving from Iniesta, Sánchez shook off Arbeloa, cut inside on his right foot, and fired a shot.

But Courtois handled it cleanly.

"Barcelona's first shot of the match—14 minutes in."

"So far, Real Madrid's defense has looked very solid and organized."

"Here comes a corner."

Xavi took it quickly, but Courtois came out decisively and caught it in the air.

"Courtois has been rock solid, giving Barcelona no second chances."

After landing, he looked to distribute quickly to Marcelo. But Barcelona pressed immediately, so Courtois changed his mind and threw the ball across to Arbeloa on the right.

Arbeloa found Modrić, and Real Madrid attempted a build-up.

Di María dropped deep to link up with Modrić and Arbeloa, but they couldn't create much danger.

Barcelona then stepped up their pressing on Real Madrid's right and central areas, forcing Toni Kroos to recycle the ball back to Courtois.

Messi pressured the Belgian keeper, but Courtois calmly played the ball left.

Ramos sprinted to the left sideline to meet it, then played a quick ball up to Marcelo.

"Real Madrid switching play, now attacking from the left."

"Marcelo drives forward with Pedro closing him down."

Ronaldo was hugging the right sideline, ready to receive, but suddenly Benzema came over from the middle and pointed toward the space in front of him. Behind him was Piqué.

Marcelo heard the call and saw the signal. He feinted past Pedro and fired a sharp pass forward with his left foot.

The ball hugged the ground and reached Benzema.

The French striker was half a step ahead of Piqué and got to the pass first. He didn't stop—just gave it a quick touch with his right foot.

A slick flick behind Barcelona's defense.

Almost at the same moment, Ronaldo broke free from Alves and surged forward with explosive pace.

Alves raised his hand for offside, but neither the referee nor the linesman responded.

"Beautiful!"

"Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"A perfectly timed run, he's through on goal!"

"Ronaldo charges into the box—he's one-on-one with Valdés!"

(To be continued.)