Isco roamed in front of Real Madrid's three-man midfield. The moment he saw Xabi Alonso preparing to launch a long ball, he instinctively looked ahead and spotted Yang Yang about to start his sprint. It was a perfect opportunity, with a huge gap behind Barcelona's defense.
But Xavi pressed back in time and stuck out a foot, blocking Xabi Alonso's long pass.
That challenge snuffed out a promising Real Madrid attack and left the ball stranded in a dangerous area for them.
Isco was the closest and reacted the fastest, immediately throwing himself toward the ball.
Iniesta was also nearby and charged forward, but he was a step slower than Isco and was blocked behind by the Málaga man. The Barcelona midfielder kept trying to muscle past Isco from behind, but Isco remained unmoved. Instead, he guided the ball ahead of himself, turned, and chased after it.
Busquets had stayed in position the whole time. When Isco and Iniesta went for the ball, he immediately moved toward Isco. As soon as he saw the Málaga man win possession and try to carry the ball forward, he spotted his chance and stuck out a foot.
One major reason Isco's dribbling ability was so astonishing was his incredibly quick reactions. Even in tight spaces, he could respond instantly. Sometimes it felt as though he wasn't reacting to the defender's movements at all, but had prepared in advance and was luring the defender into a trap he had already laid.
That was exactly what happened with Busquets. His timing on the tackle was excellent, yet it was as if Isco had known it was coming. Isco nudged the ball to his left a step ahead of him, cleanly evading Busquets's challenge.
Xavi had tracked all the way back to Busquets's side and wanted