Unable to Defeat Inter Milan

Real Madrid's training had always been held at Valdebebas.

As the Champions League Final drew near, Benitez and the coaching staff gradually made some adjustments to their training.

For example, they began adding more small-sided group scrimmages, as well as focusing more on rehearsing attacking patterns.

Everyone knew that when Real Madrid faced Inter Milan, their ability to break through a stubborn defense would be crucial. How to break the enemy—that would be the key factor deciding the final. If they could not breach Inter Milan's defensive system, Real Madrid would undoubtedly lose this battle.

Besides attacking, defense was another aspect Benitez valued greatly.

Looking at this season's performances, Real Madrid's defense could hardly be called reassuring.

The number of goals conceded in the second half of the season appeared to have stabilized considerably, but in reality, the team's defense was still far from reliable.

Or rather, compared with Inter Milan's reinforced-concrete defense, Real Madrid's defense was truly mediocre.

That raised the question: If they could not break through Inter Milan's defense up front, what would happen if the match dragged on and the back line made a mistake?

This was no alarmist talk. Real Madrid had already made defensive errors countless times this season, especially on set pieces.

There were gains and losses in everything. It was a matter of choice for the team.

Take the center-backs, for example. Because Pepe was injured, Benitez had placed his trust in Ramos and Vermaelen while abandoning Metzelder. This was bound to leave the team vulnerable when defending high balls, but the recovery speed, overall mobility, and ability to play the ball out from the back had all improved considerably.

It all came down to what the team chose.

Did they want Metzelder's dominance in the air, or something else?

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