Among various attacking methods,
corner kicks were actually one of Barcelona's least preferred options!
They severely lacked aerial threats!
Few players in their attacking third possessed competent heading ability.
As for their backline, while Busquets and Piqué were decent in the air,
they were currently being tightly marked by Schalke 04 defenders.
Metzelder stuck to Puyol like glue, while H?wedes shadowed Piqué.
At the referee's whistle,
Xavi delivered the corner kick.
"Front post!"
"Xavi's cross targets Piqué at the near post!"
"Piqué leaps highest!"
"Powerful header!"
"H?wedes outmuscles Piqué to glance the ball clear!"
"The ball loops toward the left flank!"
"Klaas-Jan Huntelaar intercepts!!!"
"Counterattack!!!"
"Schalke 04 break forward!"
"Iniesta closes in to challenge!"
"Tackle!"
"Close!"
"Klaas-Jan Huntelaar underestimated that interception!"
"Iniesta's defensive positioning saved them - that should have been handled more securely!"
On the pitch,
Su - who had just outsped Messi in their frantic sprint - could only watch helplessly as Iniesta's last-ditch slide tackle sent the ball into touch.
However,
Messi, now catching up beside him, was studying him with suspicious intensity.
That gaze... almost as if the Argentinian had noticed something unusual.
Though considering rationally, his sudden explosive speed improvement might indeed appear unnatural.
Not to worry - at eighteen, natural athletic development could explain it. If questioned, he'd simply attribute it to working with elite physiotherapists on speed training.
Technically... that wouldn't even be a lie.
Smits prepared the throw-in.
Huntelaar collected the ball but found Dani Alves instantly pressuring him. After multiple failed attempts to shake off the Brazilian,
the Dutch striker reluctantly turned and recycled possession to Su in midfield.
"Barcelona initiating their signature pressing trap!"
"Su receives under immediate pressure!"
"Villa, Pedro, and Xavi converge on him in coordinated triangular pressing!"
Among the many attacking strategies,
corner kicks were actually one of Bar?a’s least preferred options!
They simply lacked height in their squad!
Few of their attacking players were strong in the air.
As for the defenders, while Busquets and Piqué were decent at heading,
they were currently tightly marked by Schalke 04.
Metzelder stuck close to Puyol, while H?wedes kept an eye on Piqué.
At the referee’s signal,
Xavi took the corner kick.
"Near post!"
"Xavi’s delivery finds Piqué at the near post!"
"Piqué leaps high!"
"Strong header!"
"H?wedes outmuscles Piqué and nods it away!"
"The ball loops out to the left!"
"Klaas-Jan Huntelaar intercepts!!!"
"Counterattack!!!"
"Schalke 04 break forward!"
"Iniesta closes in!"
"Tackle!"
"So close!"
"Klaas-Jan Huntelaar took that pass too casually!"
"Iniesta’s defensive awareness saved them—he should’ve been more careful!"
On the pitch,
Su—who had just sprinted past Messi in a frantic chase—could only watch helplessly as Iniesta’s last-ditch slide sent the ball out of play.
However,
Messi, now catching up beside him, was staring at him with a hint of suspicion.
That look… as if he had noticed something unusual.
But then again, Su’s sudden burst of speed was unnatural enough to raise eyebrows.
Still, at just 18 years old, he could always claim it was due to intense training with professional physiotherapists.
After all, that wouldn’t even be a lie.
Smits took the throw-in.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar received the ball but was immediately pressured by Dani Alves.
After several failed attempts to shake him off,
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Huntelaar had no choice but to turn and pass back to Su in midfield.
"Bar?a are tightening their press!"
"Su receives under immediate pressure!"
"Villa, Pedro, and Xavi converge on him in a three-man press!"
"Surrounded by three opponents!"
"Su doesn’t dare take risks and quickly releases the ball!"
On the sidelines,
Magath crossed his arms and frowned as he watched Su being marked so aggressively.
He had anticipated Bar?a targeting Su this match,
but he hadn’t expected them to commit three players to press him—while also cutting off passing lanes from deeper positions!
This was complete man-marking, isolating Su entirely.
Busquets was already positioning himself to cut off Su’s forward movement.
Not just Busquets—even Abidal and Alves on the flanks were drifting inward!
This…
They were completely ignoring Hao Dong and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
Fine,
maybe Abidal couldn’t see Hao, but what about Huntelaar?
The former Eredivisie Golden Boot winner? And Alves was just…
On the pitch,
Boujellab received the ball from Su.
He was ecstatic—
like a neglected dog finally thrown a bone.
At the Veltins-Arena, Boujellab, having received Su’s pass, eagerly surged forward!
With him leading the charge,
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on the left, Hao Dong on the right, and even Vardy through the middle all sprinted into attack!
Bar?a had focused their defense on Su,
so now,
for once,
Boujellab found himself unmarked in midfield!
The only player near him, Busquets, was still too far away to close him down.
And from that position,
there was no way to disrupt his passing options.
In that moment,
Boujellab spotted Vardy making a sharp run into the final third.
Without hesitation,
he adjusted his body and whipped an outside-foot pass toward Vardy’s path.
The ball curled with both speed and dip—a dream delivery for any striker!
It arced beautifully toward Bar?a’s penalty area!
"Su absorbed most of Bar?a’s defensive attention!"
"Boujellab plays it forward unchallenged!"
"Vardy times his run perfectly, leaving Puyol in his wake!"
"A brilliantly disguised sprint!"
Boujellab watched as the ball soared toward Bar?a’s box…
"Look at that!"
This was still the same Veltins-Arena, and the same Boujellab!
Could his pass send Schalke 04 straight to Wembley Stadium?
"Boujellab's pass is still very..."
"Hmm... Valdés reacts! He leaps high and easily catches the ball with both hands before Vardy can reach it!"
"Boujellab didn't account for the goalkeeper coming off his line!"
"Well..."
"At least Boujellab made an aggressive attempt!"
"If Su had played that pass, it would never have ended like this!"
"The ball was placed too centrally!"
On the sidelines, Magath had been watching Boujellab’s pass with anticipation.
But the moment he saw Valdés intercept it effortlessly, he turned away in frustration, hands on his hips!
Schalke 04’s attack came to an abrupt halt!
Boujellab, watching his confident pass get plucked out of the air, awkwardly raised a hand toward Vardy in apology.
Valdés immediately threw the ball to Alves on the right, and Bar?a resumed their possession play.
"Xavi!"
"Receives and turns!"
"Busquets moves up—a quick one-two!"
"Xavi slides it to Iniesta!"
"Facing Su, Iniesta executes a La Croqueta and breezes past him!"
"Boujellab tries to double-team!"
"Iniesta sidesteps him with a quick feint and pulls the ball back!"
"Oh, Boujellab!"
"Xavi surges forward—Iniesta slips it through!"
"Messi drops deep, and Xavi, without even looking, flicks it first-time!"
"Messi collects it!"
"Dribbling laterally along the edge of the box!"
Inside Schalke 04’s penalty area, Metzelder—ignoring Villa beside him—charged straight at Messi!
He knew Messi could unleash a shot at any moment while cutting inside!
Sure enough, the moment Metzelder committed—
Messi lifted his left leg, shaping to shoot!
Metzelder, whether it was a dummy or not, threw himself into a sliding tackle!
But Messi sharply pulled his foot back, then flicked his ankle—
A quick sidestep!
Clean past Metzelder!
"Danger!!!"
"Messi!!!"
"Peer Kluge!"
"Throws himself into the block!!!"
"He denies Messi at the last second!"
"Peer Kluge saves the day!"
"He’s in phenomenal form today!"
Messi’s shot was heroically blocked on the line by Peer Kluge!
Bar?a earned another corner kick.
Piqué, Puyol, and the rest trotted forward again.
"Same old story!"
"Bar?a begins their siege on Schalke 04’s goal!"
"Two corners in just five minutes!"
"But still..."
"Schalke 04 remains in the lead!!!"
