"Hey! How did you do that? I thought he had you caught." Kroos held his head; for the usually composed Kroos to make such a gesture and appear so incredulous, Suker's dribbling style had an immense impact.
He had never seen such physical talent.
Suker also didn't speak; as he walked towards his own half, he continuously adjusted his breathing rhythm.
Kroos also followed Suker closely.
His expression was incredibly excited.
This season filled him with infinite anticipation.
First: Real Madrid's combat power had gradually emerged, allowing them to contend for more championships.
Second: Kroos was playing a more significant role at Real Madrid.
All of this gave him a strong sense of involvement, and therefore, he looked forward to creating a brilliant season with the team and his teammates this season.
Of course, this season, if they had the chance, they definitely had to get revenge on Bayern Munich.
Although they might not necessarily meet, as long as they kept winning, as long as they climbed high, the chances of this happening would increase, and they would even inevitably meet.
Real Madrid's goal changed the complexion of the match.
Chelsea was once again behind.
"This is very bad news. We failed to capitalize on the penalty opportunity, and instead, Real Madrid scored first. The rest of the match will become even more difficult."
The English commentator looked serious.
In this match, although Terry's return stabilized the defense considerably, they had no answer for Suker's powerful wing breakthroughs.
Just like their previous match at home, Chelsea would likely be dominated by Suker again in this match.
Suker was a free player; although he mostly operated on the wing, he would appear in different positions depending on the situation.
Just like this time, he actively tucked inside, launching an attack from the half-space.
Moreover, when Suker launched an attack, other Real Madrid players were not idle, tying them up in various positions.
But there was also good news: after this goal, Real Madrid began to slow down the tempo.
They were no longer attacking so aggressively but instead controlled the ball, primarily to run down the clock.
Suker and Bale moved back and forth on the wings, trying to stretch the field's width, which prevented Chelsea from consolidating their strength for regional pressing.
The match once again fell into a very passive situation.
Mourinho stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, his brows tightly furrowed.
He also understood the current situation, but in the current predicament, it was truly difficult to find a good solution.
Substituting too early would only make them lose their trump card!
Even if a substitution didn't have an effect, it meant they would lose the ability to fight in the second half.
At the same time, they also had to guard against Suker.
Although Suker wasn't attacking as aggressively on the wing.
But the previous goal already said it all; once Suker started moving, it would be too late for them to mark him.
Therefore, they had to stick to Suker at all times.
In terms of attack and counter-attack, they could only rely on players like Oscar and Hazard.
"Hazard is still being marked very closely by us. Hazard's performance in these two matches hasn't been outstanding, at least compared to the praise from the English media, he hasn't shown his best form. On the contrary, the Brazilian youngster Oscar's performance has been eye-catching!"
Hazard's performance in these two matches was indeed not that good.
Of course, this was influenced by Real Madrid's targeted defense.
But as a top player, being targeted is constant, just like Suker. If he couldn't perform when targeted, he wouldn't be the five-time Golden Ball Winner he is today.
The meaning of a star player is to open up the situation with individual ability when the team is in trouble.
Suker achieved this!
And Hazard, currently, has not yet been able to do so.
As for Oscar, he received a lot of praise in these two matches!
In the first match, Oscar also produced a brilliant dribble and pass, helping Chelsea launch an attack.
It was the same in this match when he got past Kroos and Casemiro!
Moreover, his passing was full of flair; it wasn't the kind of pass whose intention was obvious at first glance, but rather a creative pass that combined concealment and unpredictability.
It can be said that Oscar actually contributed more to Chelsea's penalty.
And these were the special flairs of Oscar before he was transformed by Mourinho.
However, he would soon lose these and become a pure workhorse midfielder.
"Don't rush, don't blindly dribble forward, look more at your teammates on both sides!"
Oscar continued to shout as he received the ball from his teammates.
He usually spoke very little and rarely expressed his suggestions.
The reason was simple: on the one hand, his words carried little weight, and on the other hand, it wasn't his nature.
But now, Lampard was not on the field, and the rhythm was a bit chaotic, so he had to do something.
He still wanted to talk about Hazard, but he didn't dare to say too much.
He thought Hazard was playing with problems, a bit too eager, taking the ball and just wanting to dribble past players.
Of course, if he could do it, that would be best, but clearly, he was being targeted and couldn't do it.
At this time, he should look more to the left and right, appropriately utilize his teammates' positioning, and distract Real Madrid's attention.
But he didn't do that; he just wanted to dribble and break through in a rush, as if he was trying to prove something.
Hazard indeed had this idea.
Although he created a penalty, he also missed it.
Here, he needed to take more responsibility.
Moreover, he was one of Suker's challengers, and after these two matches, the comparison was simply too obvious.
Suker was dominating, while he was restricted and unable to move.
This was not good news.
He needed to compensate for these with a better performance and prove his ability.
However, the more Hazard thought this way, the harder it became for him to play.
"This guy is really getting competitive with me," Casemiro said with a grin. "He keeps running towards me, just wanting to get past me."
Casemiro seemed very happy; this saved him the trouble of finding Hazard.
Despite carrying a yellow card, with Kaka's defensive support and the backline's backing, he was still able to restrict Hazard.
Time passed bit by bit.
There were no significant breakthroughs in the match.
Real Madrid maintained their lead and controlled the tempo.
Chelsea wanted to equalize, but as the passive side, their counter-attacking opportunities were pitifully few.
Even when they had counter-attacking opportunities, they always failed to execute them, messing up the chances.
The match entered the 40th minute, and Chelsea was clearly getting anxious.
"Pass forward, take a chance!"
With not much time left in the first half, Chelsea was anxious to equalize, and they began to pass forward frequently.
At the same time, their overall positioning also pressed forward considerably.
Suker turned his head and saw that Chelsea's defensive line had pushed up significantly, which was a good opportunity for a counter-attack.
He then turned to look at the other side, and Bale was also already itching to go.
Chelsea advancing created a perfect runway for Bale to sprint; it would be strange if he wasn't tempted.
Bang!
The ball was intercepted by Carvajal. Carvajal's performance in this match was very impressive, especially his extremely steady defense.
After completing the interception, Carvajal carried the ball forward for a distance, then looked up towards the other side.
He also wanted to emulate Srna, directly linking up with Suker and delivering a 45-degree long pass.
But Suker was clearly surrounded here.
"Pass it through!"
Just then, Bale suddenly shouted, positioning himself sideways on the touchline, looking only at the space in front of him.
Carvajal did not hesitate and immediately threaded the ball forward.
The pass was perfectly weighted, allowing Bale to accelerate forward without any need for adjustment.
"Good ball!"
Bale praised quietly, then burst forward, his left foot smoothly pushing the ball, just evading Azpilicueta's tackle.
Having gotten past Azpilicueta, Bale began to cut diagonally forward, bursting into the penalty area.
"Watch out, he's going to pass!"
Terry roared.
Bale sneered, "Who's going to pass?!"
He swung his left foot, his entire center of gravity shifting slightly backward. After his left foot touched the ball, there was a slight lifting motion of his toes, and his body also leaned slightly forward.
This was a standard curling shot motion.
The ball sailed over the defense, describing an arc as it dropped towards the top left corner of the goal.
Čech quickly dived sideways to save the ball, but it was beyond his reach.
He could only watch as the ball nestled into the net, powerless.
At 44 minutes, with only one minute left until the end of the first half, Chelsea conceded another goal.
Bale's breakthrough and curling shot from the wing found the back of the net!
Real Madrid leads Chelsea 2-0!
This goal caused the Chelsea players to look pained. They had wanted to equalize, but instead of gaining an advantage, they fell further behind Real Madrid, which was very bad news.
Mourinho was furious on the sidelines.
One conceded goal was bad enough!
To concede another goal at the very end was unforgivable for a strict defensive master.
It was imaginable that during halftime, the Chelsea players would face Mourinho's stormy wrath.
"Gareth Bale! A brilliant shot! This curling shot perfectly found the top corner of Chelsea's goal, helping us score the second goal."
"In the first half, Benzema and Bale both scored, and Suker also got an assist! Real Madrid's attack is still so formidable!"
"With a two-goal lead, Real Madrid can afford a great deal of error in the match, while for Chelsea, the situation is very grim. This is a difficult challenge for them!"
After the second goal, the match quickly entered halftime.
On camera, Chelsea players could be seen entering the player tunnel with their heads bowed.
Their expressions were incredibly dejected.
Although it was only 45 minutes, their tactical objectives were not achieved; instead, Real Madrid scored two goals against them.
This was an away game, and they indeed felt some psychological impact.
But home's home advantage for Real Madrid was too great.
This was also a clear difference from the previous match, which was the very poor control of the game.
In the previous match, they could at least create a few decent counterattacks, but in this match, opportunities were scarce.
In Real Madrid's locker room, Ancelotti praised the performances of Carvajal and Casillas.
In that penalty incident, they were absolutely the heroes.
Casillas saved the penalty.
Carvajal disrupted the first touch, which prevented Chelsea from scoring and initiated Real Madrid's counterattack.
Facing the praise, Carvajal also appeared extremely excited.
After all, he was a young player, and at this critical juncture, every compliment from Ancelotti could increase his chances of becoming a starter.
"In the second half, we maintain this rhythm, attacking using both flanks. Kroos and Benzema will provide support, Kaka should pay more attention to Casemiro's position. Chelsea will definitely try to penetrate our defense in the second half!"
Ancelotti believed Chelsea would certainly try to unleash Hazard.
And they didn't have many options!
First: Utilize De Bruyne's passing.
However, the conflict between these two was well-known, so whether they could cooperate well remained a question mark.
Second: Have Lampard make more forward runs.
Although Lampard was a veteran midfielder, like Gerrard, he wasn't particularly adept at orchestrating play or controlling tempo.
Therefore, the tempo would still be driven by Oscar, with Lampard making more forward runs, using his offensive ability to unlock Hazard.
The last option was to substitute Hazard and implement another formation.
However, Mourinho probably wouldn't do that, as he wasn't a Head Coach who liked to take risks.
Regardless, the advantage was ours.
With a significant lead, Ancelotti had multiple options; they didn't need to rush.
On the other side, in Chelsea's locker room.
Mourinho's angry voice echoed.
"No fighting spirit! No blood! I don't know what you are afraid of?"
"When you saw them pressing, your first reaction was to retreat, not to actively engage. Every one of your movements showed inner fear."
"This is a match! You need to fight like warriors, not retreat like cowards!"
"Hazard!" Mourinho suddenly turned his head, his tone full of annoyance.
Mourinho, who had always shown great tolerance towards Hazard, was now consumed by rage.
"Didn't you want to challenge Suker? If you only have this much awareness, I tell you, it's absolutely impossible. Look at what Suker did the entire first half, and then look at what you did?"
"My patience with you is limited. This isn't capital for you to act recklessly. They are clearly targeting you, why didn't you pass?"
"Do you really think one person can turn the tide?"
Mourinho's scolding of Hazard gave his teammates a hidden sense of satisfaction.
Let you not participate in defense!
Let you make thoughtless breakthroughs!
You like being scolded now, don't you?
However, they thought about it again and felt a bit helpless.
If Hazard couldn't get past, and their strongest attacking point was restricted, what should they do next?
Mourinho turned to look at De Bruyne.
To be honest, he still thought highly of De Bruyne, especially his passing ability.
However, his conflict with Hazard was too great, almost irreconcilable.
Mourinho had tried to mediate between the two, but no matter what he did, they just couldn't get along. This wasn't a problem he could solve alone.
In this situation, he could only use the in-form Hazard and abandon De Bruyne.
Now, he wished these two would suddenly reconcile, which would surely boost Chelsea's attacking prowess.
However, these were just his wishful thoughts.
"Frank!"
Ultimately, Mourinho could only call out to Lampard.
"Go warm up, get ready to come on!"
Watching Lampard go out to warm up, Mourinho sighed inwardly.
Facing adversity, he could only rely on veteran players; none of the new ones were dependable.
For some reason, Mourinho suddenly recalled his time coaching Real Madrid.
At that time, because of Suker, he never had to worry about offensive problems.
He was a truly top player; he could solve many problems on his own, even without any help from the Head Coach.
But now, Suker was on the opposing team and was their biggest threat.
This was also why Mourinho had tried every possible way to bring Suker in.
If he could, even if it cost twice as much, he would still consider it worthwhile.
Suker himself represented honor and championships!
Halftime ended.
The second half began.
Ancelotti watched the Chelsea players emerge from the player tunnel, and he immediately spotted Lampard, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"You guessed it right!"
Zidane, standing nearby, laughed; "Lampard is on, and the substitution was made during halftime!"
Ancelotti nodded; "This is not surprising. Chelsea doesn't have many options, and when they encounter problems, Chelsea also relies heavily on these veterans."
"Making a substitution now means Chelsea is desperate to score. After the second half begins, Chelsea will launch even more intense counterattacks."
"Lampard will also definitely make forward runs, using his ability to increase the attack, and at the same time, give Hazard more freedom."
Zidane asked; "You know all this, don't you have any arrangements?"
Ancelotti smiled in response; "It's simple: treat the symptoms! In the second half, we'll play with a double pivot!"
Zidane grinned.
Making adjustments with minimal cost, without even using a substitution slot.
That's why top coaches like Ancelotti are all old foxes; they are simply masters at tactical adjustments.
"Halftime is over, Chelsea has made some adjustments. David Luiz is off, and Lampard comes on as a substitute."
"With the team trailing, Mourinho still trusts the veteran players more, hoping Lampard can bring a different dynamic to the game, and perhaps even use Lampard's forward runs to divert more defensive attention away from Hazard."
"Of course, these are all our speculations; the actual performance still needs to be shown by the players, but we still hope Chelsea can play a better game in the second half!"
The English commentator took a deep breath.
This was Chelsea's last chance.
If they lost this match, Real Madrid would secure first place in the group with a game to spare.
Chelsea would only be able to contend for second place in the group.
Therefore, no matter what, they had to fight hard in this match.