August 17, 11:00 p.m.
Camp Nou, Barcelona.
As the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup kicked off, Real Madrid took the initiative on the road and tried to launch an early assault. They created several chances in the opening ten minutes, but either the goalkeeper saved them or they failed to pose any real threat.
Guardiola had clearly heard the calls from the outside world, especially those from Barcelona's godfather, Cruyff. He strengthened the defense on Real Madrid's left flank and focused on shutting down Yang Yang, greatly limiting Real Madrid's attacking firepower.
Barcelona settled into the match more quickly this time. Starting from the tenth minute, the hosts firmly seized possession and began launching wave after wave of attacks against Real Madrid. Then, in the fifteenth minute, Barcelona won the ball near the halfway line and passed it to Messi.
Messi had dropped very deep. After receiving the ball, he shook off Mascherano's defense and sent a brilliant through ball behind the defense to his teammates up front. Iniesta easily beat the offside trap and chipped the ball past the goalkeeper one-on-one.
One-nil, with the aggregate score now two-three!
The entire Camp Nou erupted, and every Barcelona fan screamed at the top of their lungs.
They yearned to witness a great comeback, and everyone at Barcelona had shown the same determination and fighting spirit before the match.
It had been two full years. They had gone from crushing Real Madrid to suffering defeat after defeat over the past two years, leaving everyone at Barcelona ashamed. Last season in particular, aside from winning La Liga, they had gained almost nothing. They had even continued their losing streak against Real Madrid—a situation they simply could not accept.
After pulling one goal back, they saw hope. Everyone became even more committed