No one had expected that this globally anticipated El Clásico would reach halftime with a dull 0–0 scoreline.
The reason it was dull was that the two teams had managed only seven shots between them in the entire first half.
Interestingly, Real Madrid had taken five shots, with one on target, while Barcelona had taken two, neither on target.
In terms of possession, Barcelona had dominated with 71 percent, while Real Madrid had only 29 percent.
The two teams had vastly different styles, yet they appeared evenly matched.
Yang Yang was different from the fans. He was thoroughly enjoying the match from the sideline.
He had realized that Double Defensive Midfielders were extremely important to Real Madrid.
Why was that?
Because Real Madrid had actually made quite a few mistakes during the match. Several times, their opponents had advanced to the area in front of the box, but each crisis had ultimately been resolved by the Double Defensive Midfielders, Xabi Alonso and Mascherano.
It was easy to imagine what would happen if those two had not been there, giving Barcelona's players opportunities to pass the ball around the edge of the penalty area.
The answer was obvious: Real Madrid's defense would have collapsed in an instant.
But with the Double Defensive Midfielders protecting the back line, Real Madrid's defense had become much more solid.
Unless a team could possess passing and ball-control abilities as ridiculously powerful as Barcelona's, it was still necessary to have a defensive midfielder like Mascherano or Javier Martínez.
After the teams switched sides for the second half, Real Madrid's defensive line clearly dropped deeper.
Benitez had obviously taken the players' physical expenditure into consideration. If they continued using the same High Press as in the first half, the players would consume even more energy, and