De Jong received the ball and deftly rolled it under his foot, evading an Atletico Madrid player who was rushing in to challenge him. He then drove forward through the middle.
It was as if Li Mingyu's tackle had brought the Barcelona players fully to life. Every one of them surged forward at speed.
The Atletico Madrid players, by contrast, struggled to cover all the gaps.
Their half of the pitch suddenly became a beautiful sight.
Five players in yellow shirts charged toward the Atletico Madrid goal like a volley of arrows, their runs staggered and coordinated, supporting one another as they advanced.
Meanwhile, four players in red-and-white shirts hurriedly retreated, their formation scattered by Barcelona's runs.
In Atletico Madrid's half, Barcelona had as many players as Atletico Madrid did, even counting their goalkeeper.
After crossing the halfway line, De Jong played a short diagonal pass to Li Mingyu, who was sprinting forward.
Atletico Madrid defender Hermoso was highly experienced. The moment he saw Li Mingyu racing forward, he knew the ball was bound to be played to him, so he began moving toward Li Mingyu in advance.
Sure enough, De Jong's pass arrived moments later.
Hermoso positioned himself right in front of Li Mingyu. Even if it meant committing a foul, he wasn't going to let Li Mingyu dribble past him.
But Li Mingyu read the pass and didn't bother controlling it. With a quick sideways pass, he sent the ball toward the middle, leaving Hermoso defending empty space.
As Hermoso turned to look where the ball had gone, Li Mingyu slipped around him.
Hermoso was about to turn and grab Li Mingyu, but Li Mingyu had already escaped his reach.
In the middle, Griezmann held off a defender and played a superb one-two with Li Mingyu. A flick