The Time Left for Barcelona Was Running Out!

As soon as the whistle blew to start the second half, Barcelona's players realized something was wrong.

Real Madrid, who had spent the entire first half huddling deep in defense and refusing to push forward recklessly, suddenly surged ahead in force.

This was not the spontaneous action of one or two players, either. It was a deliberate, coordinated move by the entire team.

As Real Madrid's back line pushed up in unison and the three defensive midfielders advanced, they immediately suppressed Barcelona's midfield and attack.

The sudden change caught Barcelona completely off guard.

Before long, Barcelona made a mistake in passing and receiving. Lass Diarra intercepted the ball, carried it forward himself, and sent it toward the right side of the penalty area.

After Ibrahimovic received the ball, he used Forceful Breakthrough to get past Pique and chipped it toward the center of the box.

Yang Yang cut diagonally into the penalty area at speed, but Puyol and Gabriel Milito closed in on him from both sides. He failed to reach the ball, which Valdes plucked out of the air, and a very good chance went begging.

Yet less than three minutes later, Sneijder sent a through ball from midfield, and Ibrahimovic's shot inside the penalty area was blocked by Valdes.

Real Madrid's two consecutive attacks failed to produce a goal, but they had done an excellent job of suppressing Barcelona's momentum.

Barcelona welcomed Real Madrid's decision to take the initiative.

To a certain extent, they were not afraid of Real Madrid attacking. What truly gave them a headache was the way Real Madrid had played in the first half. Therefore, when faced with an aggressive Real Madrid, Barcelona refused to yield and immediately fought back.

Soon, Busquets passed the ball to Messi. Messi took it and fired without hesitation,