Barcelona began to grow increasingly anxious.

Perhaps it was their inability to score, or perhaps the pressure Suker brought them was too immense.

Each player wanted to get the ball out of the backfield as quickly as possible, which led to the ball always seeming rushed during the progression.

"Don't rush!"

"Slow down! Slow down!"

"Steady!"

Guardiola shouted loudly from the sidelines.

He rarely shouted like this, but seeing the increasingly chaotic situation on the field, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

At the same time, Guardiola looked at Suker again.

From the 8th minute of the game, Suker stopped touching the ball.

So far, Suker has not touched the ball once.

But that doesn't mean Suker is not a threat.

Real Madrid's progression was on the right, utilizing Bale's speed, and Benzema and Kaka both leaned towards the right.

But Barcelona did not dare to relax their defense on the left.

In fact, they didn't dare to stay too far from Suker.

They knew very well that a player of Suker's caliber, given just one opportunity, one touch, could use his superb shooting skills to put the ball into the goal.

Because of this, Barcelona was dizzy from Real Madrid's tactic of right-sided attacks and left-sided interference.

On the field, Suker was still running on the left; he didn't run to the middle at all, creating more space for the right-sided progression.

Now, Suker's task was to pull the defense.

It just depended on how long Barcelona could hold on.

Once the right-sided attack started to exert too much pressure on them, they would inevitably have to draw some defensive power away.

At that time, Suker would also be at ease.

Therefore, Suker was not in a hurry to play.

Real Madrid played very systematically, while Barcelona, on the other hand, focused on passing the ball to Messi.

Most critically, Real Madrid also heavily guarded Messi.

In the dangerous zone, Messi had no space to receive the ball; he could only pull out to receive it.

But once he pulled out, Real Madrid's defense immediately followed, giving Messi no space to turn, let alone advance forward.

Bang!

Messi transferred the ball to the wing, shaking his head slightly.

This shot was too uncomfortable!

He didn't have Suker's off-ball running ability, so he needed to touch the ball constantly, but this made Real Madrid's target even clearer.

Pedro launched an attack from the wing.

Srna lowered his center of gravity, stood sideways, and extended an arm, holding it in front of him.

Srna carefully observed Pedro's dribbling.

Seeing that Srna wasn't falling for his feints, Pedro decided to cut inside.

And just as he nudged the ball, Srna suddenly closed in, first pressing his palm against the opponent's chest to prevent Pedro from gaining speed, then taking a wide step with his thigh, cutting himself between Pedro and the ball.

This was a clean and crisp defensive tackle.

After gaining control of the ball, Srna immediately poked the ball to Alonso, without any hesitation.

"Beautiful!"

Casillas gave a thumbs-up to Srna in admiration.

Srna's defensive ability was still trustworthy.

Just like this defensive tackle, he single-handedly defended Pedro and successfully won possession.

After Real Madrid gained possession, Alonso immediately threaded the ball forward to Kaka.

Kaka turned his head to look at Suker's position, found he was still heavily guarded, and could only repeat his previous tactic.

Kaka passed the ball to Bale on the right wing.

"Don't rush!"

Kaka reminded him, while also moving forward into the central position.

Benzema, Kaka, and Bale formed a triangular formation.

And behind Kaka, Alonso and Khedira also followed closely, forming another triangular formation.

This formation was very conducive to ball passing.

Kaka received Bale's pass again; he had already observed that Benzema had no space to receive the ball, so he passed it diagonally backward.

Alonso followed up again, controlling the ball.

Alonso passed to Khedira, and Khedira again threaded it to Bale.

At this moment, along the sideline, Srna was also making a high-speed run forward.

"Damn it!"

Adriano couldn't help but curse under his breath.

He looked at Bale in the half-space, Kaka providing horizontal support, and Srna overlapping on the wing; he could only brace himself and hold off Bale.

Just then, Bale looked at Kaka, then pulled the ball back and turned, sending it diagonally forward towards the touchline.

Srna took the opportunity to surge forward, accelerating along the wing.

"Adriano! Don't let him shoot!"

Puyol roared.

Adriano also turned and sprinted back in pursuit.

At this moment, Srna had taken his first touch, completed his adjustment, and looked towards the center.

"He's going to cross!"

Adriano lunged forward, throwing himself into a slide tackle to block.

However, Srna feigned a cross, but then pulled the ball back with his foot.

A fake cross, a pull-back!

Srna dribbled past Adriano and simultaneously burst into the penalty area from the right side.

"Oh no!"

Puyol's heart jumped; he immediately rushed towards Srna.

Just then, Srna passed the ball diagonally backward.

Kaka appeared on the edge of the penalty area, and there wasn't a single defensive player around him.

"Oh no!! Barcelona's defense has a loophole!"

At this moment, in Camp Nou, over a hundred thousand Barcelona fans' hearts sank.

If Kaka chose to shoot from that position, their goal would be in danger.

Guardiola also held his head in his hands.

Kaka swung his right foot; he could see the surrounding Barcelona players rushing towards him, and Puyol was desperately trying to block.

Just then, Kaka flicked the ball with his foot.

The ball sailed over the defense, dropping towards the back post.

The camera suddenly panned, showing Suker and Alves both rushing towards the ball at the back post.

Alves was pulling Suker desperately, but still couldn't completely restrict Suker's movement.

Suker had already arrived at the landing spot first, lightly jumping up.

Just as Suker was about to head the ball, he felt a sudden push in his lower back.

He tumbled forward, falling violently out of bounds.

"Foul!!"

"Damn it!"

"Pushing!!"

Benzema, Alonso, Bale, and others suddenly erupted, immediately raising their hands to signal to the Referee.

And the Referee also saw this scene.

At this moment, the Barcelona players' hearts pounded.

They had a bad feeling!

Alves was the last defender!

In this position, this kind of foul...

The Referee ran towards Alves, pulled a red card from his pocket, and then turned to point to the penalty spot.

Red card + penalty!

Whoosh!!!!!!!!!!!!—

Camp Nou erupted in an uproar.

The Barcelona fans were going completely crazy.

At this critical juncture, Alves gets a red card + penalty?

This news couldn't be worse!

"You damn well play cleanly!" Alonso was still angry and proactively confronted Alves to argue.

Alves said nothing in response, while Pique pushed Alonso, knocking him to the ground.

But soon, urgent footsteps sounded.

Ramos charged over like a sports car, crashing into Pique and knocking him to the ground.

Instantly, players from both sides pushed and shoved each other, arguing incessantly, a chaotic scene.

Suker lay outside the end line, grimacing and rubbing the inside of his thigh; when he was pushed down just now, the inside of his thigh hit the goalpost, causing some pain.

Of course, the pain wasn't enough to cause injury, it was just a painful bump.

Suker saw Alves charging furiously towards Ramos; at this moment, his teammates hadn't arrived yet, and Ramos was going to be at a disadvantage.

Suker extended his leg, directly tripping Alves.

"Who the hell tripped me?"

Alves fell, then stood up roaring.

But before he could find the culprit, he was knocked down by Pepe.

Suker shifted his butt, avoiding being affected.

At this moment, the Referee's sharp whistle sounded continuously.

Beep beep beep!!

Under the piercing whistle, players from both sides were pulled apart by their calmer teammates.

The Referee called both captains over, giving them a more severe warning.

Alonso also received a yellow card for provocation.

Barcelona's original ruling stood!

Suker felt that Alonso's yellow card was a bit unnecessary; there was no need to argue with people, as they had already received the red card + penalty package.

"Are you okay?"

Benzema helped Suker up.

Suker rubbed his thigh again, then shook his thigh muscles, and only then did the pain subside slightly.

"It's nothing serious!"

Suker exhaled.

At this moment, his mind was completely focused on the penalty kick.

This was a good opportunity to widen the goal difference!

What's more, with Alves sent off with a red card, Barcelona, playing with one less man, would inevitably become passive.

Alves was sent off with a red card, but if Suker had been allowed to head the ball just now, it would have been a definite goal!

González shook his head and sighed.

There was nothing he could do!

As a defender, Alves couldn't just watch that ball go in.

But he paid a heavy price for it.

Suker carried the ball to the penalty spot, gently placed it on the white mark, and cleared away the surrounding weeds before straightening up and taking a deep breath.

At this moment, the entire Camp Nou held its breath.

A penalty kick!

And it was a red card offense!

It would be fine if Suker missed, but if he scored, the situation would become extremely passive.

Messi also had a worried expression.

Why a red card at this moment!

The situation was already not very clear, and now it had become even more passive.

Suker had been invisible the whole time, and then he appeared and caused a huge stir.

Inside the penalty area, there were only Suker, Goalkeeper Valdes, and the Referee.

The Referee slowly stepped back after confirming that the Goalkeeper was ready.

Suker had already marked out his run-up distance, keeping his head down and not looking at the goal.

Unable to observe Suker's gaze, Valdes could only make a blind save based on his experience and data.

Beep!

The Referee blew his whistle.

Suker suddenly looked up and began his run-up.

This time, his run-up was no longer smooth; as he neared the ball, there was a change of rhythm in his footwork.

And this movement allowed Suker to see Valdes leaning towards the right side.

"Left side!"

Suker twisted his waist and kicked the ball towards the lower left.

Valdes's center of gravity was towards the right, so he could only bend his knees, drop to one knee, and turn his head regretfully to watch the ball enter the net.

Swish!

The ball went into the net!

Suker laughed and ran towards the corner flag, extending his index finger and wiggling it slightly, indicating that he had scored a goal.

The Real Madrid players also followed closely behind.

"Hahaha! I knew you could do it!"

"Well done!"

"Let's beat Barcelona hard!"

"They're down a man, let's keep attacking fiercely!"

"Finish them!"

The Real Madrid players jumped around Suker, incredibly happy.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Mourinho let out a slight breath.

Although he trusted Suker to score the penalty, he still couldn't stop his inner tension.

Now that he saw the ball enter the net, he slowly exhaled and clapped his hands softly.

"The rest of the game will be easy!"

Mourinho's lips curved into a smile.

Barcelona couldn't beat them at full strength, let alone playing with one less man.

Guardiola rubbed his bald head, shaking it continuously.

His heart was filled with frustration.

He knew he shouldn't feel this way, but after continuous setbacks, it made Guardiola feel disheartened.

He had forgotten how many times they had been at a disadvantage.

Playing against Real Madrid, whether home or away, they were always at a disadvantage.

And among them, Suker was the most annoying guy!

Now, Real Madrid had already scored a goal, and they couldn't abandon their attack.

After all, this match wasn't about winning the championship; they needed to help Messi score.

But watching didn't mean they could let Real Madrid attack freely.

If they did, with Suker's efficiency, they wouldn't be able to stop them at all!

The situation was getting worse.

Even Guardiola couldn't find any solution.

No one to substitute, no one to use!

His biggest trump card, Messi, was also suppressed by Suker.

This made Barcelona play extremely passively.

Guardiola turned to look at Suker.

He knew what he should do, but he didn't know exactly what to do!

How to limit Suker?

If he knew the answer, they wouldn't be so passive!

"Guardiola is completely desperate!"

Mourinho looked at Guardiola, with joy in his eyes, but also a hint of melancholy.

They had once been good friends, and had both served as Assistant Coach.

When discussing Mourinho's coaching career, one person can never be overlooked: Robson!

This Scottish coach helped Mourinho start his coaching career, from Sporting Portugal to Barcelona, where Mourinho became Robson's Assistant Coach and went to Barcelona to form the coaching staff.

There, Mourinho gained significant improvement; Robson took great care of Mourinho, and for a few matches, Mourinho even had the opportunity to arrange tactics, and he completed the tasks perfectly.

During that time, Mourinho was very happy.

But soon, Robson left Barcelona!

At that time, Mourinho still decided to follow his mentor's footsteps, but Robson told Mourinho to stay in Barcelona, believing that he would continue to grow there.

Mourinho respected Robson's opinion on this.

However, what followed was not pleasant.

The Dutchman Frank Rijkaard took over the Barcelona helm, and at the same time, Barcelona legend Guardiola also joined the coaching staff.

Mourinho's defensive tactical philosophy was clearly not favored by Frank Rijkaard and at that time, Barcelona fans were also pursuing a more beautiful style of play.

In this environment, Mourinho's professional life became very bad.

In his own words, 'he felt like an outsider,' no one respected his opinions.

Mourinho went from Assistant Coach to translator, while Guardiola was more favored and trusted by Frank Rijkaard.

The time that followed was very difficult for Mourinho.

Until he left Barcelona, he repeatedly recalled these past events in his mind.

He was determined to defeat Barcelona with his proudest tactics and give those who once looked down on him a harsh lesson.

Mourinho felt he had done it.

He led another major Spanish powerhouse, suppressing Barcelona for two consecutive years, proving the value of his tactical skills.

But at what should have been a moment of triumph, his heart was somewhat restless.

He didn't know if these were the things he was pursuing.

After achieving these goals, he thought he would be very happy.

But in fact, the feeling in his heart was not that excited!

"The first half is about to end!"

At this moment, Faria suddenly spoke.

Mourinho came back to his senses, he turned to look at the time and realized that the first half was indeed about to end.

He looked towards Barcelona's coaching bench.

Guardiola sat on the substitute bench, his gaze somewhat blank, holding a paper and pen in his hand, but not writing for a long time.

Mourinho took a deep breath, turned his head and said: "When the players come down, immediately give them muscle relaxation massages, and have the team doctor confirm Suker's condition. I just saw Suker hit his thigh, let's pray he isn't injured!"

The first half ended.

Real Madrid led 1-0 temporarily.

With one more player, Real Madrid's possession time also lengthened, allowing them to better control the rhythm and time.

Barcelona had launched several threatening attacks, but none of them resulted in a goal.

However, to defend against Messi, Real Madrid still paid the price of three yellow cards.

Besides Alonso, Srna, Kaka, and Ramos each received a yellow card!

Half-time break.

The Real Madrid players returned to the locker room.

Suker was holding a banana and putting it into his mouth, while the team doctor was conducting a detailed examination of Suker's thigh.

"No injury!"

Suker reminded him: "It doesn't hurt!"

The team doctor ignored him and continued the examination.

His experience told him that the least trustworthy words were those of the players.

In professional football, how many aggressive individuals, when injured, conceal their condition, harbor lucky thoughts, and ultimately ruin their careers.

Therefore, in the profession of team doctor, players' words are nonsense, absolutely not to be believed!

However, this time Suker was very honest.

Although the inner side of his thigh was a bit bruised, there was no risk of a major injury; it was just a simple bump.

This level of bruising couldn't even be considered an injury.

"No problem!"

The team doctor stood up and nodded to Mourinho.

Upon hearing this, Mourinho and Faria slowly exhaled.

They really didn't want to see Suker injured.

Moreover, the Champions League Final was approaching.

If he got injured in this meaningless match, their mentality would explode!

The best solution was not to play, but Suker insisted!