The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

They pressed hard in the midfield, but not by pushing forward blindly. Instead, they focused on keeping their formation compact.

The goal was to ensure that whenever the ball reached the feet of players like Harvey, Iniesta, and Messi in the midfield, there were enough players around to immediately swarm them.

At the very least, they had to be forced to move the ball to the wings or even pass it back.

And once the ball was on the wings, that was where Dortmund’s defense excelled, using the sideline to pressure their opponents.

For the first three-plus minutes, the ball was almost entirely under Barça’s control.

Even when Dortmund managed to win the ball back, they would lose it almost immediately, completely unable to maintain possession.

Then, in the fourth minute, Wang Shuo suddenly dropped back from the attack, ran to the left of the center circle, and raised his hand to call for the ball.

Upon receiving the pass, he used his body to muscle past Harvey, quickly turned with the ball, and then burst forward, dribbling into the attack.

As Busquets and Harvey closed in, Wang Shuo laid the ball off to Reus while making a quick diagonal run toward the left side, just outside the penalty area.

Reus, understanding perfectly, sent a through ball into the space behind Alves.

Wang Shuo raced after it at top speed. Upon collecting the ball, he faced the defending Mascherano. He slowed down for a moment, then put on an explosive burst of speed, breaking away with the ball. After shaking off Mascherano, he tried to make a breakthrough along the byline.

But just as Wang Shuo was about to cut into the penalty area from the byline, Mascherano rushed over and deliberately bodied him to the ground.

The referee, Caser, immediately blew his whistle and beckoned Mascherano over.

The Barça players immediately surrounded the referee.

Busquets and Alves, in particular, were chasing after referee Caser to argue their case.

But Reus, who was closest, also rushed in immediately to get involved.

Wang Shuo, meanwhile, remained on the ground just off the pitch.

As more players gathered, the referee sternly separated them.

"Break it up, all of you!" Caser yelled.

He then showed Mascherano a yellow card.

A roar of approval erupted from the Dortmund fans in the stadium.

"Just over four minutes into the game, Wang Shuo used his individual skill to make a Breakthrough on the left wing, drawing a foul from Barcelona and winning Dortmund a free kick in an advanced position."

"It’s also a yellow card for Barça’s center-back, Mascherano."

"Barça needs to be careful."

"We know how dangerous Dortmund are from set pieces."

Wang Shuo took Reus’s hand to pull himself up from the ground and immediately gave him a thumbs-up.

"Great job, Marco!"

Dortmund’s free kick put Barça on high alert.

The spot was just outside the penalty area, near the byline.

A direct shot was unrealistic.

Gundogan stepped up to take it.

Subotic, Hummels, Sven Bender, Wang Shuo, and others all pushed into the penalty area.

The ball was delivered to the near post, where Hummels met it with a header that went just over the crossbar.

However, just three minutes later, Barça and Dortmund were battling for possession near the halfway line.

The ball was constantly being won and then lost, changing hands repeatedly.

After the ball changed hands several times, Messi received a pass and suddenly took off. He shook off Gundogan and was continuing his charge forward when he was brought down by a fierce, well-timed tackle from Subotic.

The referee immediately came over and showed Subotic a yellow card.

"This match has been fiery right from the start."

"First, Wang Shuo drew a yellow card from Mascherano, and now Messi has done the same to Subotic."

"The two superstars are going tit for tat."

"This match is looking more and more like a stage built for these two superstars!"

"But neither side has managed to create any truly threatening scoring opportunities."

In the first ten minutes, Barça’s possession reached a staggering 78%.

Dortmund spent most of their time running and pressing.

But the Bundesliga team’s specific defensive strategy was also proving effective.

...

"Dortmund is a little slower than usual tonight."

In the away team’s dugout, Guardiola said to his assistant coaches, stroking his chin.

"They’re still worried about their stamina for the second half," said Villanova.

Guardiola nodded and pointed toward Dortmund’s midfield and back line. "Look, they haven’t dropped deep. Their defensive line is still pushed up, but Götze has fallen back. Wang Shuo’s position hasn’t changed much, he’s just not pressing the center-backs as much."

"The advantage is that they’re compressing the space. They have more bodies in the midfield, so their press is more effective."

Villanova’s brow furrowed upon hearing this.

Ten minutes had passed, but Barça still hadn’t managed to create a single Shooting opportunity on the pitch.

On the surface, they held a one-sided advantage.

But that advantage couldn’t be converted into a genuine threat.

"Dortmund is being very physical tonight. Even Wang Shuo and Götze are actively using their strength," Domenech Torrent offered.

Guardiola gave an amused smile upon hearing that.

’Even Wang Shuo is using his physical advantage!’

’That’s a pretty interesting observation.’

"Actually, Wang Shuo isn’t that bad physically," Guardiola remarked. "He just looks a bit weaker because he’s always up against those brutes in Germany."

But compared to Barça’s players, Wang Shuo’s physique actually gave him a slight edge.

Dortmund’s young players were strong and well-built. In a physical battle, Barça was at a clear disadvantage.

’Compact formation, press the midfield, solid defense, quick movement...’

Guardiola nodded repeatedly.