It Actually Went In!

Guardiola and Vilanova both felt the same way.

Thirty-two meters from the goal, and although the position was fairly central, scoring directly from the free kick would be extremely difficult. An indirect free kick seemed like the more reliable option.

So Guardiola quickly went to the touchline. When signaling the players to form the wall, he reminded the taller players to stay near the penalty area and mark Real Madrid's tall players. Ibrahimovic, Pepe, Ramos, and the others all possessed excellent heading ability, so they had to be watched carefully.

Although Barcelona appeared to have taken some initiative on the field, that was mainly because of their possession. When it came to truly threatening attacks, Real Madrid actually had more of them. Almost every one of their counterattacks was heart-stopping.

This was especially true on the wings. Yang Yang and Robben were both exceptionally capable individually. Whenever the ball reached their feet, they could create danger. Then there were Kaka and Ibrahimovic through the middle.

The Swedish Striker was intimidating with both aerial balls and ground passes.

"Luckily, Sergio committed that foul decisively just now," Vilanova said with a bitter smile.

Although the referee had shown him a yellow card, it was still far better than letting Yang Yang break through and create a three-on-three situation.

"I think Alves should stop pushing forward on this side. Whether it's Puyol, Pique, or Busquets, none of them can stop Yang Yang in terms of speed or agility. If Alves pushes up, the space behind him will be too large."

Vilanova nodded in agreement. "As long as we control possession and grind them down slowly, I believe we'll definitely create chances. They can't go through the entire match without making a mistake or exposing a gap."

This was Cruyff's philosophy of possession.

Control