The All-Around Center Forward

Real Madrid's counterattacks were indeed a bit much for Manchester City to handle, especially Suker's impact on the left wing, which put a lot of pressure on them.

But for Manchester City, they didn't want to play passively, so they still pushed forward with determination.

They had no choice; they didn't want to lose at home.

Yaya Touré saw that it was difficult to get the ball out from the back, so he could only drop back to receive it.

"Yaya Touré has gone back again. Manchester City needs Yaya Touré to be involved in every key aspect of their attack."

Yaya Touré is Manchester City's core player, and his movement dictates Manchester City's attacking direction.

However, Yaya Touré is also difficult to mark because his range of movement is too wide, spanning multiple players' defensive zones. If you stick too closely to him, it could lead to disorganization in the defensive area.

One mess, and everyone is in a mess.

Another problem is that, given Yaya Touré's formidable ability, he is unlikely to lose possession easily.

For this reason, many teams have tried to mark Yaya Touré, only to end up losing badly.

Suker is also a core player for Real Madrid, but he doesn't drop back excessively; he usually waits for opportunities in the front third.

This also allows the opposing team to adjust based on Suker's positioning.

If Suker ran all over the field like Yaya Touré, that would truly be a nightmare!

On the field, Yaya Touré constantly passed and received the ball, controlling the tempo, while also observing his teammates' positions.

Manchester City players had a high desire to attack; their stances and positions were all oriented towards the attacking direction, but Yaya Touré didn't intend to launch an immediate attack.

Real Madrid was watching intently, and he needed to make some lateral transfers to create space.

"Manchester City is playing very patiently, constantly shifting the ball to both sides through the footwork of players like Yaya Touré and David Silva. However, Real Madrid's defense is also very solid, making it difficult to get a shot on goal quickly. The pace of the game might slow down a bit!"

No sooner had the words fallen than Yaya Touré seemed to be slapping the commentator's face, directly sending the ball forward.

It wasn't that he knew what the commentator had said, but rather that he saw Casemiro, from the left, fail to drop back in time, which created some space in the middle.

The ball was threaded forward, right to Carlos Tevez's feet.

Carlos Tevez is an Argentina player, nicknamed 'the Beast.' Beneath his fierce appearance, he possesses excellent physical strength; although not tall, he is very sturdy.

As an Argentina player, his footwork and shooting ability are also guaranteed.

Carlos Tevez performed a step-over, but Pepe, who wasn't on the field, was constantly watching Carlos Tevez's feet, anticipating the direction of his shot.

Pepe's patient defending actually made Carlos Tevez a bit impatient.

The latter feinted with his left foot over the ball.

Pepe remained still.

Carlos Tevez gritted his teeth, nudged the ball with his right foot, created some distance, adjusted his footing, and then followed up with a powerful shot with his right foot.

Just as Carlos Tevez shot, Pepe lunged in, extending his left foot to block the shooting angle.

Bang!

The ball violently struck Pepe's foot, deflecting into the open space on the right flank.

"Mine! Mine!"

Casemiro looked up, waiting for the ball to drop.

Kaka immediately shouted, "Watch your back!"

Just then, Yaya Touré charged over like a fierce tiger; he intended to press.

Casemiro also noticed this.

He didn't rush, but instead rotated his body towards the direction Yaya Touré was charging from, further blocking him behind.

If the opponent insisted on charging through, it would be a foul, and Real Madrid wouldn't lose possession.

They might even earn a yellow card!

Yaya Touré indeed slowed down.

Casemiro was delighted. He looked up at Bale on the wing: "Bale!"

Yaya Touré's eyes lit up. He immediately sidestepped, wanting to block Casemiro's pass.

As the ball was about to drop, Yaya Touré clearly saw Casemiro extending his foot to make a pass.

Yaya Touré immediately stretched out his foot.

But the next second, Casemiro's right foot feinted over the ball, while simultaneously pressing down with his instep, actually stopping the ball behind him.

After completing the stop, Casemiro casually turned, remarkably shaking off Yaya Touré.

"Oh~~~~ Casemiro!! A brilliant escape!"

Spain commentator González exclaimed.

Casemiro's escape this time was executed perfectly, with all the feints in his body orientation, gaze, and various details, which fooled Yaya Touré and resulted in a brilliant escape.

Casemiro passed the ball to Kaka.

Kaka immediately gave a thumbs up: "Awesome!"

Casemiro chuckled awkwardly.

Why the awkward chuckle?

It was simple: he genuinely intended to pass the ball to Bale, but when he saw Yaya Touré dart out from the side, he immediately changed his mind.

With the change in thought, his body naturally reacted.

This was a subconscious action, making it highly deceptive.

But if he were asked to do it again, he might not necessarily be able to reproduce it.

Kaka dribbled forward, turning his head left and right to look at Bale and Benzema's positions.

Ultimately, Kaka still passed the ball to Kroos and returned to his own position.

Kroos had already been observing before receiving the ball, and his judgment was the same as Kaka's.

Therefore, he also played a return pass to Kaka.

Kaka passed it along the wing to Suker.

If there's no opportunity, find Suker!

Because Suker will create opportunities with his formidable individual ability.

After Suker controlled the ball, he immediately felt a push from behind.

Without needing to think much, Maicon was already behind Suker.

But Suker leaned into his opponent, calmly looking up to observe.

Maicon still didn't dare to make a move.

If it were anyone else, Maicon would have already rushed over to steal the ball by now.

But Suker is different!

This guy makes every move seem like a fake, trying to trick him into pressing.

Seeing Maicon's inaction, Suker also shook his head inwardly.

This guy has become timid!

But precisely because he's timid, it's also not easy to break through.

What's more, David Silva and Javi García also rushed over.

Suker passed back again, prioritizing ball possession.

"Real Madrid's continuous back passes, Mancini's team is doing very well defensively. Real Madrid's continuous lateral transfers haven't completely disrupted their defensive rhythm."

"Now it's up to Kaka to make a choice. Should he use Suker's individual ability on the left wing to forcefully create an opportunity, or look for an opportunity on the right wing or the central axis?"

Kaka was also observing.

Manchester City had defended Suker, Benzema, and Bale very well, and someone needed to break this balance.

After thinking for a moment, Kaka made a gesture towards Kroos.

Kroos paused for a second, then nodded and immediately ran forward.

As Kroos ran forward, Kaka immediately occupied Kroos's previous position.

But most crucially, Suker ran into the half-space.

Kaka immediately passed the ball laterally to Suker, who was in the half-space.

Kroos ran diagonally from the middle towards the left, which forced Maicon to become tense.

"Vincent!"

Maicon couldn't move, so he could only ask Vincent Kompany to provide cover.

Vincent Kompany immediately followed Kroos.

Benzema also moved to the left, pulling the other center-back, Matija Nastasić, with him.

This created a clear forward-running gap in the right half-space.

Suker immediately passed the ball.

Kaka feigned receiving the ball, and after attracting Barry's attention, he suddenly let the ball run through.

The ball went through to the right half-space.

And there, Casemiro suddenly sprinted forward, picked up the ball, and charged into the penalty area.

"Oh no!"

"It's open!"

"Block it!!"

Under Real Madrid's series of runs and transfers, Manchester City's defensive line was instantly disrupted.

Casemiro burst into the penalty area and powerfully struck with his right foot!

Bang!

The ball flew high, into the stands.

Casemiro's face was a bit flushed; he had shot a 'sky-rocket'!

Real Madrid's players also grimaced.

Suker shook his head helplessly.

Kaka's choice was excellent, and his direction was superb. However, Casemiro was, after all, a newcomer and still very nervous in front of goal.

Furthermore, scoring this goal would have been his first goal for Real Madrid, so the psychological pressure was immense.

"Don't worry about it, next time!"

Kaka smiled and comforted Casemiro.

The latter hung his head, his face flushed.

How embarrassing!

If it had at least been on target, it would have been fine, even if it didn't go in.

But that 'sky-rocket' was truly unpresentable.

Even Mourinho on the sidelines narrowed his eyes slightly: "When we get back, have Casemiro do extra shooting practice!"

Faria nodded: "I understand!"

They had indeed overlooked the issue of Casemiro's daily shooting training.

"Casemiro really needs to practice his shooting; he can't always be satisfied with just defending.

An excellent defensive midfielder can also seize opportunities in attack!" González said with a smile.

Despite not scoring, Real Madrid's two created chances still surprised him.

Especially Kaka's several commands, including Kroos and Benzema's runs.

Suker's pass, Kaka's dummy.

This all indicates that Real Madrid intentionally created and exploited space in the right rib area.

If it hadn't been Casemiro, and someone else had taken the shot, it might have gone in.

The match has entered the 35th minute, but currently, both teams are at 0:0.

Real Madrid had opportunities but couldn't convert them, and Manchester City was in the same situation.

There are about ten minutes left in the first half.

What kind of performance will the two teams deliver next?

Fans and commentators alike are eagerly anticipating it.

The cheers from both sets of fans grew more intense, and the physicality on the field was palpable.

Both sides wanted to create more advantages in the first half.

Preferably, a goal!

For Manchester City, Yaya Touré constantly dropped back to attack, dropped back to attack!

He fully displayed his performance, transforming himself into Manchester City's command tower and offensive lynchpin.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, made more use of Suker's threat on the left.

The match entered the 41st minute.

Real Madrid launched another counter-attack.

Suker, facing Srna's long pass, did not stop the ball but jumped up and used the instep of his left foot to lay the ball off to Kroos in the middle.

At the same time, Suker began to sprint diagonally towards the central position.

Seeing Suker's run.

Benzema immediately pulled to the left.

A cross-run caused some confusion in Manchester City's defense, preventing them from making effective and decisive judgments.

Suker surged into the defensive line, with Vincent Kompany standing behind Suker, preventing him from turning.

Just then, Suker called for a pass with his back to the goal.

Kroos immediately threaded the ball forward.

Suker gently trapped the ball, and then he made no further movement.

Vincent Kompany was also somewhat stunned.

Why isn't Suker moving?

Moreover, his vision was completely blocked by Suker.

He didn't know what decision Suker would make.

Just then, Suker stepped on the ball with his right foot, turning to one side with his left foot as a pivot, but pulled the ball backward with his right foot.

The man and the ball went their separate ways!

Vincent Kompany's first instinct was to follow Suker, but as he took a step, he saw the ball being pulled to the other side by Suker.

"Oh no!"

Vincent Kompany was shocked, but by the time he wanted to block, he couldn't keep up.

Kroos dribbled the ball forward, directly bypassing Manchester City's defense, creating a one-on-one situation.

"Kroos!!—" González exclaimed.

Manchester City Goalkeeper Joe Hart came out, but Kroos calmly pushed the ball into the far corner.

The ball passed the Goalkeeper and accurately went into the goal.

"Goal!!!!!!—"

"Toni Kroos!! Real Madrid finally scored in the 42nd minute!!—"

"Suker's layoff and turn were brilliant!"

González roared excitedly, and all the Real Madrid fans in the stadium were also boiling.

As the goal scorer, Toni Kroos also jumped and punched the air in excitement.

Of course, he didn't forget Suker, who had passed him the ball; he excitedly pointed at Suker, calling for Suker to celebrate together.

Suker also smiled and ran over, and the two embraced tightly.

"I told you, you are the best!"

Suker's words moved Kroos even more deeply.

At Bayern Munich, he had encountered almost constant negativity, even being told he couldn't become a world-class midfielder.

But Suker had always encouraged him and believed in him.

Now that he had come to Real Madrid, his excellent performance was also, in no small part, due to Suker's support.

Suker pushed Kroos forward.

"Go, go and receive the cheers of the fans!"

Toni Kroos raised his arms, and the Real Madrid fans in the stands shouted at him with all their might.

Words of encouragement!

Words of support!

Under the shouts, Kroos became even more excited.

At the same time, commentator González was also analyzing the goal.

"Let's look at this goal!"

"Srna's 45-degree diagonal long pass accurately found Suker.

Suker laid it off horizontally to Kroos, and then Suker's run was key; he surged diagonally forward, rushing all the way to the center-forward position.

At this point, Benzema moved to the left, and a cross-run caused some confusion in Manchester City's defense."

"And Suker's position was also very crucial.

At this position, Matija Nastasić should have marked Suker, but Vincent Kompany went forward first, which left a significant gap in the left side of the penalty area!"

"After Suker trapped the ball, that pause was very subtle!"

"It could both deceive Vincent Kompany and apply pressure, while also waiting for Kroos to get into position."

"And as Kroos charged up, Suker simultaneously completed the actions of attracting attention and laying off the ball!"

"Vincent Kompany's vision was obstructed, and he couldn't see Kroos's run at all.

At this time, a teammate should have alerted him, but this clearly didn't happen.

Vincent Kompany was led one step too far by Suker, and that one step created Kroos's one-on-one goal!"

"A brilliant attack!"

González couldn't help but applaud: "Let's give these lads a round of applause, this is simply fantastic!"

At 42 minutes, Manchester City trailed Real Madrid 0:1!

Real Madrid scored first, which brought them a sense of relief.

At the very least, they had broken the stalemate.

But for Real Madrid, the remainder of the match was equally important, as they were only leading by one goal and needed to be even more vigilant.

Manchester City would certainly not give up their pursuit of victory.

After this goal, coupled with the time lost in celebration, not much time was left in the first half.

Manchester City wanted to score and equalize in the remaining time.

But Real Madrid's repeated resistance prevented their attacks from being effective.

Ultimately, Real Madrid led 1:0 at halftime.

Inside Real Madrid's locker room.

Suker entered the locker room, took off his soaked jersey, grabbed a water bottle, squeezed some into his mouth, gargled, and then spat it out.

Suker pursed his lips, while other Real Madrid players were also discussing the match.

At this moment, Suker noticed that Kaka was silent; his breathing was rapid, and he frowned intermittently.

Suker picked up a water bottle and walked over.

"Here you go!"

Kaka looked up and took it; "Thanks!"

Suker plopped down next to Kaka: "Is your stamina that bad?"

Kaka gave a bitter smile; "I'm exhausted! I don't know why, but this match feels incredibly tiring, my legs feel heavy, and by the 30th minute, I already felt like I was reaching my limit."

Suker frowned slightly.

"Don't talk for now, just regulate your breathing."

Kaka nodded and began to quickly recover his physical strength.

In this match, Kaka had covered a lot of ground and was very active in his running.

But Kaka's stamina hadn't been an issue before; it shouldn't be this poor.

When form declines, the first problem to show up is usually stamina.

But Kaka's situation was somewhat different.

His physical fitness had indeed declined, but his technique, awareness, and overall form weren't significantly affected.

Suker couldn't figure it out and couldn't help but ask: "Has your wife come to Spain?"

Kaka was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

Suker smiled.

It seems that wasn't the problem.

"After the match, ask Pintus about it!"

Pintus is the fitness coach; he should be able to find the problem.

Kaka also nodded, indicating he understood.

With that, both looked at Mourinho, who was explaining the tactics for the second half.

Although they were currently leading, it wasn't enough for them to be careless, as Manchester City's bench also held a host of talented players.

Manchester City's frantic transfers during this period had improved their sustained endurance.

Soon, halftime ended.

In the second half, both teams switched sides.

In the 53rd minute of the match, Manchester City actually scored, equalizing the score.

"Oh~~ Kaka made a huge mistake! Aguero came on as a substitute, seized this opportunity, and assisted Yaya Touré for a goal!"

"Manchester City has equalized!"