In truth, Dias's change in formation was a move born of desperation. He hoped to get the team back a goal as quickly as possible to restore some morale, but he didn't dare to bet everything on it. André's impact on the team's defensive line in the first half was still fresh in his mind, so he ended up with this balanced tactic capable of both offense and defense.
But what he didn't know was that sometimes, this kind of indecisiveness would only accelerate the pace of a team's defeat.
Dias's substitutions did see some results at the beginning of the second half. Although they didn't score, the performance on the pitch was indeed better than in the first half. Specifically, they kept looking for Campuzano as a target man from both wings. For a time, the Real Madrid B Team's attack was indeed much sharper than in the first half.
Seeing this situation, Hierro was very decisive and immediately adjusted the lineup on the pitch.
In the 53rd minute of the match, Real Oviedo chose to make a substitution.
Omar, a defensive midfielder who'd played for Leganés last season, replaced Saúl, and Cortuno directly replaced the forward Ibra.
After the substitution, Real Oviedo switched directly from a 4-3-3 attacking formation to a 5-4-1 defensive formation. Seeing the opponent's tactical change, Dias gritted his teeth in frustration. He'd seen cynical football before, but never anything this blatant. He knew that once Oviedo fully committed to a counter-attacking tactic, if his side couldn't score for a long time, the little bit of morale they'd managed to raise would plummet again.
Hierro knew this well, which is why he made the adjustment. Moreover, with André leading the line, the opponent's defense didn't dare to push forward carelessly. Since Hierro arrived at Oviedo, he'd always emphasized putting enough pressure on the opponent in the midfield. So after Oviedo's substitution, everyone gradually noticed that while the Real Madrid B Team was still attacking on the surface and Oviedo was defending, the ball was actually changing hands in the midfield most of the time. Dias's 'wings flying together' tactic was also suppressed by Oviedo. Furthermore, Hierro's five-back tactic wasn't a rigid one. After Cortuno came on, his position was more between the defensive line and the defensive midfielder, serving as the final barrier between the midfield and the backline. As a result, the Real Madrid B Team's lone attacking midfielder was completely lost in Oviedo's tactical web.
However, there was one thing Castilla did well, and that was the marking of André in the second half. Throughout the second half so far, the defensive tactic against André was very simple and crude: they would rather foul than let André easily turn and accelerate.
But doing this was not without a price. As the match progressed to this point, the referee had already shown 6 yellow cards today, 4 of which were for the Real Madrid B Team.
As time went on, the Real Madrid B Team players began to get irritable again. With this irritability, many people's actions became increasingly aggressive, even exceeding the permissible rules of football.
This volatility finally erupted at the end of the match.
And this eruption made both head coaches regret not adjusting the lineup on the pitch in time.
81st minute.
After Óscar Rodríguez received a back-pass from a teammate, he suddenly felt a great force. His footing became unstable, and he fell to the ground, losing control of the ball. It turned out that André had tracked back and stolen the ball from Óscar's feet. The referee nearby signaled for play to continue, indicating that André's tackle was not a foul. This made Óscar snap completely. He scrambled up and aimed a sweeping kick at André. Although André jumped in time, he was still hit on the instep by this move that was clearly aimed at the person.
André felt a pain in his foot and immediately fell to the ground. However, he could tell that there shouldn't be any major problems. But if he hadn't dodged just now, this hit would likely have caused a serious injury. Thinking of that move, André was filled with rage. He couldn't help but think of his previous life when someone had played dirty on the pitch, directly leading to Marcus never being able to play again. Thinking of this, he scrambled up from the ground, ignored the sound of the referee's whistle behind him, and grabbed Óscar's jersey.
"What the bloody hell are you trying to do?"
In fact, Óscar regretted it a bit after making that move. He knew very well what his action just now meant for a player. If André hadn't jumped to avoid it, André's fate might have been a broken lower leg. So facing André's questioning, Óscar said nothing.
At this time, the referee also came over in time to separate the two. Logically speaking, this should have been the end of the matter. But no one expected that at this moment, Sergio González from the Real Madrid B Team rushed over and landed a punch directly on André's face.
That single punch immediately triggered a brawl.
Saúl, who was standing nearby, was the first to react, knocking González down with a punch of his own. After being punched, the short temper that had originally vanished from this body suddenly flared up. Then, there was no "then." André stood at the front alone, fists clenched, like a lone warrior holding a pass against ten thousand. The Real Madrid B Team players—González, Óscar, and the goalkeeper Luca Zidane who'd rushed up—these three who were the most aggressive, and also the three who'd had the worst relationship with André during his time at Castilla, were all lying on the ground.
As for the other Real Madrid B Team players, they all backed off under the restraint of a few calm players. However, it wasn't necessarily because they were held back. It might also have been the deterrent brought by André's display of power.
"I'm telling you lot, you can't beat me at football, and you can't beat me in a fight. Come on, who else wants to try?"
Ultimately, this sudden outbreak of a mass brawl was finally stopped under the intervention of all the officials on site. The result was naturally simple: first, Óscar's foul itself was worth a red card, and Luca and González, who were lying on the ground, also received red cards. On Oviedo's side, André, Saúl, and Folch, who'd also joined in, each received a red card as well.
On the touchline, Hierro stood there with a grim face next to Dias.
"Malono, the current atmosphere at Castilla makes me very disappointed. You've insulted the name of Real Madrid."
Facing Hierro's accusation, Dias said nothing. Everyone had seen what just happened, and Dias also saw very clearly what the cause was.
He had no defense.
Castilla had lost more than just the match today.
They'd lost their dignity.
FINAL SCORE: Real Oviedo 3-0 Real Madrid Castilla
Goals:
André Cristiano (10', 36', 45'+2)
Red Cards:
Real Madrid Castilla: Óscar Rodríguez (81'), Sergio González (81'), Luca Zidane (81') Real Oviedo: André Cristiano (81'), Saúl (81'), Folch (81')
Man of the Match: André Cristiano (Hat-trick + 3 knockouts)
The revenge was complete.
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