Leading five-nil at halftime, Yang Yang had scored four goals in one match and completely stolen the spotlight.
During the break, Zidane showered praise on the team's first-half performance, believing they had produced their most exhilarating attacking display of the season so far—a sumptuous feast of attacking football. Their precise targeting of Barcelona's defensive weaknesses had been especially impressive.
Yang Yang also offered his assessment during halftime. He felt Real Madrid had been nearly flawless in the first half—their best forty-five minutes of the season, perhaps even of the past several seasons.
"Whether in attack or defense, we displayed an extremely high level. This is our true strength!"
Having earned Yang Yang and Zidane's approval, the Real Madrid players were generally satisfied. They had also realized for themselves how smoothly the first half had gone, almost as if Barcelona had been playing entirely according to Real Madrid's wishes. It felt unbelievable.
Zidane believed that this illusion had arisen because Real Madrid had seized Barcelona's weak point, and their targeted tactics had worked perfectly. "In European football today, once any team has its weak point exposed and is attacked relentlessly, it will basically find it very difficult to recover. That includes us."
That final sentence was clearly a reminder to Real Madrid's players not to let their guard down.
Even a team as strong as Real Madrid would still suffer an ugly defeat if an opponent found its weak point and attacked it relentlessly.
Of course, setting aside whether anyone could break through Real Madrid's weak point, even exploiting one of Real Madrid's weaknesses was probably beyond the ability of just any team. At the very least, they would have to be a powerhouse like Barcelona or Dortmund.
After discussing the first half and exchanging their thoughts, Yang Yang and Zidane