Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 710 Dejected Barcelona
While pleased, Pellegrini also made tactical adjustments for the second half and some changes to the team's formation.

Flores was substituted off, and Cambiasso came on.

Granada also adjusted their formation to 4-5-1. After Cambiasso came on, Nainggolan could move forward when launching an attack, lurking behind Shan Yongzhuo, becoming a support point connecting the backfield and Shan Yongzhuo during counter-attacks.

When defending, Nainggolan will also drop back, forming a three-man midfield with Cambiasso and Milinkovic to increase the midfield's interception efficiency.

With a two-goal lead, Granada's choice can be considered very prudent.

It must be admitted that Pellegrini's adjustments were indeed very effective; at least at the start of the second half, Barcelona had a tough time.

Unable to gain an advantage in the central midfield, Suarez found himself isolated and struggling to carry the team in the penalty area.

Messi and Neymar can create threats on the wings, but unfortunately there aren't enough support players to receive them, making it difficult for them to play.

With Granada holding a two-goal lead, the pace of passing in the midfield and backfield slowed down, even becoming somewhat soporific. They were unlikely to launch a major attack unless they found a very good opportunity.

When Barcelona commits more players to press high up the pitch, Granada will immediately accelerate and attack behind Barcelona's defense. Nainggolan will break forward, and with the addition of Shan Yongzhuo, the two of them can completely overwhelm Barcelona.

Enrique stood on the sidelines, his emotions becoming very agitated. Granada's current style of play was really giving Barcelona a feeling of having a lot of energy, but nowhere to vent it, leaving them feeling frustrated and frustrated.

"Damn it, those treacherous Chileans!" Enrique couldn't help but curse under his breath.

But despite the criticism, the problems on the field still needed to be addressed, and Enrique racked his brains trying to come up with a good solution but couldn't find any.

In fact, this tactic alone is not difficult to counter; simply increasing high pressing is a good solution.

However, the presence of Shan Yongzhuo in the opposing team posed a significant challenge to Barcelona's high-pressing strategy.

Once Barcelona commits a large number of players, it's like leaving Shan Yongzhuo a vast grassland in his own half to roam freely.

This is the most difficult situation for Barcelona right now.

On the other side, Pellegrini stood idly by, looking smug and confident of victory, which made Enrique grit his teeth in anger, but there was nothing he could do.

"We have the lead, so you can forget about turning the tables." Pellegrini was very smug; at least he felt that Barcelona had no chance of a comeback.

Therefore, he felt extremely happy.

There was a time when he coached Villarreal and Malaga, and although he achieved great results, he still had no way to deal with the two giants of La Liga.

The team's best they can hope for is to finish in the top four of La Liga and reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

But now, Pellegrini is able to coach a team that is no less strong than Barcelona, ​​and even makes Barcelona helpless on the field, which is something that makes him very happy.

And that's exactly what happens in the game.

Barcelona seemed to have been caught off guard, playing with limited options and often having to rely on the individual performances of Messi and Neymar on the wings to break the deadlock.

Unfortunately, despite occasional good moments against Granada's solid defense, neither player managed to score.

However, in the 62nd minute of the second half, Barcelona still had a good chance.

Neymar broke through on the left wing, dribbling past Ziyech and Nyom in succession, showcasing the Brazilian player's remarkable flair, before suddenly passing the ball to the center.

Suarez was aiming to score, but Van Dijk's interference prevented him from getting a shot off, so he simply crossed the ball with both feet, letting it slip towards the far post.

This unexpected turn of events caught Granada off guard. At that moment, Messi arrived at top speed and swung his right foot to strike the ball hard.

Camp Nou erupted in a frenzy. At that moment, all the Barcelona fans stood up excitedly; Messi's shot seemed certain to score. For the first ten minutes or so of the second half, Barcelona hadn't created many good chances, and the game had become somewhat soporific.

This left many Barcelona fans feeling disappointed.

But this time, it was an excellent opportunity to break through.

"That was a beautiful lapse! Luis Suarez didn't try to take the credit; he made the right choice!"

"Messi, Leo Messi!"

"Our genius has appeared where he is most needed!"

Shoot!
"Messi has completed the shot!"

Amidst the passionate roar of the broadcast commentator, Messi unleashed a stunning shot.

However, the exclamations abruptly ceased at that moment.

It felt like my throat was being choked by both hands, and I couldn't make a sound.

No one would have expected that Messi would kick such a seemingly sure-win shot so wide.

At that moment, it seemed as if the whole world was stunned by Messi's shot, this astonishing flying world-class goal.

Messi gripped his hair tightly, as if he wanted to pull out all the hair on his head and become bald like Mascherano. His incredible behavior was as if he had witnessed the most unbelievable thing in the world.

The Barcelona players all wore expressions of disbelief; they couldn't believe that Messi had missed such a great opportunity.

If this shot goes in, the game will be very different.

Barcelona are on fire and have a strong momentum; they could very well equalize or even take the lead in one fell swoop.

Without scoring, Barcelona's passion has probably been completely exhausted.

It's fair to say that Messi's shot sent Barcelona's hopes of catching up flying into the stands.

The Granada players, having narrowly escaped defeat, breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, a goal is a goal, even if the ball hit the post or the crossbar.

The result is what matters most.

Sure enough, in the following match, Barcelona seemed to have lost their spirit all of a sudden, especially Messi, who was the most threatening player on the field. He was listless and sleepwalking, and his threat level dropped sharply.

Granada could even hand Barcelona a home thrashing.

If Pellegrini hadn't slowed down the pace after Nainggolan scored his third goal, no one could have predicted what the final score would have been.

Pellegrini doesn't care how many goals they beat Barcelona away from home; he only cares about beating Barcelona and, more importantly, about the team becoming more mature and more adept at controlling the tempo.

In Pellegrini's view, this is the fundamental standard for a strong team.

At least in this match, Granada played more like a true top-ball powerhouse than before, relying entirely on Shan Yongzhuo's individual performance.

This is what Pellegrini cares about most and is most satisfied with.

(End of this chapter)