"We've got Real Madrid's starting lineup."
In the away dressing room at the Bernabéu Stadium, Barcelona Assistant Coach Robert Moreno clutched the freshly released starting lineup and walked into Barcelona's coaching area. Everyone there, including Head Coach Enrique, immediately turned their eyes toward him.
"The goalkeeper is Courtois. The back four are Marcelo, Javi Martínez, Ramos, and Danilo. The midfield is Toni Kroos, Casemiro, and Modrić. Up front are Hazard, Suarez, and Yang Yang."
After Robert Moreno finished reading out Real Madrid's starting lineup, the entire Barcelona coaching staff fell into thought.
Everyone, including Enrique, was trying to figure out what Zidane and Yang Yang were planning with their lineup for this match.
A 4-3-3 against a 4-3-3. What exactly were they trying to do tonight?
Still, it was not difficult to find clues in the starting lineup about what Yang Yang and Zidane had in mind.
"Danilo didn't play in either of the two National Team matches. Vermaelen, Varane, and Ramos all played the full two matches, but Ramos seems to be in better form. Marcelo has been recovering from an injury in Madrid recently."
"In midfield, Mascherano was replaced by Casemiro, who has also had time to rest and recharge. Kroos and Modrić are starting, while David Silva and James Rodríguez have both been placed on the bench. Di Maria isn't starting either. It's clear from this that Yang Yang and Zidane are both very experienced in their use of personnel."
The more critical the moment, the more important it was to remain steady.
Taking risks and using unexpected tactics could certainly catch the opponent off guard and produce miraculous results, but the risks were often just as great. Doing so once or twice was fine, but it could not be used all the time.
If you kept