Barcelona's Dead End

Marcelo's diagonal long pass was perfectly placed.

On the right side near the edge of the penalty area, Su Dong met Marcelo's pass, raised his right foot, and cushioned the ball with the inside of his foot, bringing it straight under control.

Almost at the same time, Puyol arrived in front of Su Dong and used his body to block Su Dong's path into the penalty area.

Yaya Touré, who had originally been on the right side of the arc, and Seydou Keita, inside the arc, both immediately ran over to the right.

Just as Su Dong brought the ball under control, Robben was sprinting forward along the right touchline behind him, ready to support him at any moment. He also pulled Maxwell toward the right side of the penalty area, creating a one-on-one opportunity between Su Dong and Puyol.

Time was precious. There was only a second or two, and Seydou Keita was almost there.

Su Dong made his decision at once. After stopping the ball, he pushed it forward a step and feinted as if he was about to charge into the penalty area, as though he intended to combine with Robben.

Once Puyol moved with him, Su Dong suddenly hooked the ball over with his right foot, dragged it sideways with his left, and changed direction, cutting inward.

The sudden change left Puyol unable to block Su Dong any longer.

After dragging the ball sideways and shaking open a gap, Su Dong did not wait for Seydou Keita to close in. He swung his left leg and sent a curling shot straight toward the upper-left corner of the goal.

The sudden shot drew a collective gasp from the entire Bernabéu Stadium.

Valdes had originally been positioned on the left, but after Marcelo's long switch, he had moved