Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Huntelaar's goal was initially a positive sign for Real Madrid to launch a counterattack, but the dramatic comeback that fans were hoping for failed to materialize.

In the 71st minute, Pepe committed a malicious foul while defending Diego Forlán and was shown a straight red card by the referee.

The situation had initially started to develop in Real Madrid's favor, but Pepe's sent-off caused the situation to take a sharp turn for the worse.

Mourinho's face turned ashen. Pepe is good in every way, but sometimes he gets carried away and makes some irrational moves, giving people the feeling of a ticking time bomb.

The team's center-back was sent off, forcing him to make further substitutions, replacing a striker with a defender.

However, Pepe was originally a substitute, and there were no other available center-backs on the bench besides him.

"Let that Brazilian kid give it a try!"

The assistant coach gestured towards Thiago Silva and offered a suggestion to Mourinho.

With no other options, Mourinho could only nod and bring on Thiago Silva.

This is the first time that his sister-in-law has played for Real Madrid since joining the club.

The Brazilian was very excited to receive the order to play. To be honest, while sitting on the bench, he regretted choosing Real Madrid instead of Milan, but Real Madrid had a better reputation and platform than Milan.

Therefore, he is very much looking forward to starting a new career at Real Madrid. Now that the opportunity has finally come, he is determined to seize it and impress the coaching staff and fans with his performance.

Atletico Madrid, with their numerical advantage, naturally wouldn't let such a good attacking opportunity slip by. Especially after seeing the opponent bring on a newcomer who had never played before, they were convinced that the opponent was an easy target and wanted to use him as a breakthrough point.

The Real Madrid fans at the stadium were very nervous. They lacked knowledge of the newcomer who had been brought into the team during the winter break, and the fact that Thiago Silva had never played in previous matches only deepened their doubts about his abilities.

If someone truly has the ability, how could they possibly sit on the sidelines for so long?

Of the players Real Madrid signed during the winter break, all but Thiago Silva have already made appearances for the club.

Amid the anxieties of countless Real Madrid fans, Thiago Silva began his performance.

Despite the relentless attacks from strikers Forlán and Aguero, Thiago Silva remained remarkably composed.

In the 77th minute, Atletico Madrid crossed from the left wing, and Forlán received the ball in the penalty area but was immediately marked by his sister-in-law.

The Uruguayan striker tried to break free, but found that his opponent was like a leech, sticking to him and impossible to shake off. Seeing that he had lost his attacking opportunity, Forlán had no choice but to pass the ball back to his teammates to reorganize the attack.

Seeing that the team's veteran had actually been humiliated by this newcomer, Aguero refused to believe it and wanted to step in and teach the newcomer a lesson on behalf of his veteran.

In the 81st minute, Atletico Madrid used their numerical advantage in the attacking third to execute a combination play. Aguero used his speed to shake off the defenders and break into the penalty area, where his teammates delivered a pass.

Just as he looked up to observe the goalkeeper's position and considered how to complete the shot, a white figure rushed over from the side and made a precise and bold tackle, clearing the ball from Aguero's feet and sending it out of bounds.

"nice shot!"

"Good job!"

A huge cheer erupted in the stadium, with countless Real Madrid fans applauding Thiago Silva's tackle.

Sliding the ball in the penalty area is extremely risky; even the slightest mistake could result in giving the opponent a penalty kick.

Therefore, any player who dares to make a sliding tackle in the penalty area must have a big heart.

They are either unafraid of making mistakes, or they are so confident in their abilities that they don't believe they will make mistakes.

At present, Thiago Silva seems to belong to the latter category, because as a complete newcomer, where does he get the confidence not to make mistakes?
In such a crucial match, if a newcomer makes even one fatal mistake, he could be carried off the team along with his locker in the locker room.

So there's only one reason he dared to do that: he had enough confidence in his tackling skills.

Despite being tackled to the ground, Aguero refused to give up and chose to attack his sister-in-law again as the breakthrough point in his next attack.

But his sister-in-law's defense was very solid, firmly holding her position and blocking Aguero, giving him no chance to score.

Aguero swerved left and right, trying to shake off him and find an angle to shoot.

But all these feints were in vain, and when he finally took the shot, his sister-in-law easily blocked it with her foot.

This successful one-on-one defense once again earned him enthusiastic applause from the fans in the stadium.

After about ten minutes, the fans gradually discovered his strengths and advantages.

Thiago Silva handles the ball cleanly and decisively, without any hesitation.

Moreover, his anticipation is superb; he can often observe the opponent's pass and intercept or disrupt it in advance.

In addition, he has a great sense of positioning on the court. He not only performs his defensive duties well, but also excels at covering for his teammates and providing help defense, adding another layer of protection to the team's defense.

Although his height is a disadvantage, his jumping ability is outstanding, and he is in no way inferior to Albiol, who is 1.9 meters tall, in defending high balls.

As they watched, many Real Madrid fans began to look at this newcomer with new respect.

"This Brazilian's got something! I feel like he's much better than Albiol!"

"He is definitely better than Albiol, and I even think he is better than Pepe. At least he is more composed and his defensive moves are cleaner. Even when he is fouled, he doesn't get flustered or emotional. He is much better than Pepe in this respect!"

"That's not all. I think he plays with his brain, not his body. If you look closely at his head, it's constantly turning. He's observing and judging the opponent's attack. His attention isn't just on the opponent's striker, but he anticipates the opponent's attack route and method!"

"It feels like the team has struck gold! Is a defender of this caliber really only worth 1000 million euros?"

"If he can maintain this level of performance throughout the entire season, his market value will easily double!"

Not only did the fans notice his brother's unusual behavior, but Mourinho, who hadn't had high hopes for him, also became very interested after seeing his performance on the field.

After watching for a while, Mourinho turned to his assistant coach and asked:
"I heard this guy was discovered by the team's chief scout?"

"Yes, it is said that after watching his game in the Brazilian league, the scouts were convinced that he would definitely play in one of the top five leagues in the future, so they strongly recommended that the club buy him before other teams."

Subsequent events confirmed the scout's prediction. We had just signed him when news broke that AC Milan was also interested in him. If the club hadn't acted quickly enough, he might already be a member of AC Milan.

AC Milan?
Mourinho seemed thoughtful. Milan's captain Maldini will retire this summer, and they do need to strengthen their center-back position.

Milan's defense has been top-notch for years, and their discerning eye in choosing Thiago Silva speaks volumes about his talent. With this in mind, Mourinho changed his attitude towards his brother's wife.

For Mourinho, who is known for his counter-attacking tactics, a good center-back is the core element of his tactical approach.

If the Brazilians are really that strong, then at least for the next few years, I won't have to worry about the team lacking a strong center-back.

Although Thiago Silva's debut was amazing, the lack of players still had a huge impact on Real Madrid.

Because Pepe was sent off with a red card, Real Madrid had to substitute an attacking player to make room for Thiago Silva.

Already short-handed, Real Madrid's attacking prowess was further hampered by the substitution of another attacking player.

In the final stages of the match, Real Madrid did try to launch counter-attacks, but due to a shortage of players in the attacking third, their counter-attacks were difficult to execute effectively.

Atletico Madrid were also helpless against Real Madrid's defense, and after ninety minutes, the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw.

This result is perfectly acceptable for Atletico Madrid. Although they didn't win, they managed to escape with a clean sheet and dominated their city rivals away from home, ending their opponent's 10-game winning streak.

They all seem more like winners.

On the other hand, Real Madrid, if they had won this match, would have kept the gap between them and Barcelona at 3 points. However, because they were held to a draw by Atletico Madrid, they lost 2 points that they had worked so hard to catch up with.

After the 26th match, Barcelona had 66 points, while Real Madrid only had 61 points.

Barcelona have extended their lead back to 5 points. With 12 rounds left in the league, this lead isn't particularly large, but it won't be easy to catch up.

As long as Barcelona doesn't make any mistakes against other teams, they will still be in the lead in the standings even if they lose to Real Madrid in the next El Clásico.

For Real Madrid to catch up with Barcelona, ​​they not only need to avoid making mistakes, but also need to be mindful of the results from other teams and hope that they can put in some effort and cause Barcelona some trouble.

But Barcelona has weathered the toughest stretch of the season, and their next opponents are of average strength, so it's unlikely they'll pose much of a problem for Barcelona.

Fortunately, in addition to the league, Barcelona also has the Champions League and Copa del Rey to keep them occupied.

With both the league and the Champions League entering their final sprint, Barcelona, ​​who need to compete on three fronts, will face a severe test in terms of physical fitness.

On March 11, the second leg of the Champions League Round of 3 match kicked off.

In this round of matches, apart from Barcelona, ​​the other three La Liga teams will be playing away games against their opponents.

Barcelona, ​​as the group winner, can focus on preparing at home and wait for their opponents to come and challenge them.

Playing at home, Barcelona will definitely expend much less energy than the other three teams.

After all, they don't have to travel back and forth and endure the torment of long journeys.

On March 11, the match between Atletico Madrid and Villarreal kicked off first.

Atletico Madrid, playing away, failed to conquer the Estádio do Dragão and drew 0-0 with Porto, making the aggregate score 2-2.
As a result, Atletico Madrid were eliminated due to their away goals rule, becoming the first La Liga team to be knocked out.

For Atletico Madrid, this outcome was actually predictable.

This outcome was foreseeable when they chose to go all out and fight Real Madrid at the Bernabéu.

Unlike top clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid's squad depth is far less than those two teams, and they almost rely on the same lineup to win games.

The league match on the 8th was too close to the Champions League match, and most of Atletico Madrid's players were not fully recovered after that high-intensity game.

Atletico Madrid, playing away at the Estádio do Dragão, appeared somewhat listless and failed to utilize their attacking strengths.

Although Porto's strength has declined considerably, relying on the foundation laid by Mourinho and the defensive genes instilled in them, it shouldn't be difficult for them to stop a weakened version of Atletico Madrid's attacking line.

Compared to the unfortunate Atletico Madrid, Villarreal was clearly much luckier.

Thanks to an own goal by their opponents in the second half, Villarreal, playing away, defeated Panathinaikos 2-1, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 3-2 aggregate score, becoming the first La Liga team to reach the quarterfinals.

Villarreal were delighted to advance, as were the other teams.

Because they are not strong, they are easy targets for other powerful families.

Anyone who's lucky enough to be drawn against Villarreal in the quarterfinals will be incredibly fortunate.

In addition to the two matches between Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, the results of the other two knockout matches held on March 11 have also been released.

Playing at home, Juventus squandered a good opportunity, and after having a player sent off, they were held to a 2-2 draw by Chelsea. In the end, they lost to the Blues 2-3 on aggregate, and were unfortunately eliminated in the round of 16.

For the elderly woman who had just recovered from the phone call scandal, this was actually a pretty good result.

After all, they made it into the knockout stage by defeating Real Madrid in the group stage, but unfortunately they were unlucky and drew a strong Chelsea team in the first stage of the knockout stage.

If they hadn't drawn Chelsea, but instead faced an opponent of the caliber of Villarreal or Panathinaikos, they would most likely have made it to the quarterfinals.

Considering this is their first season back in the Champions League, the Old Lady will certainly continue to increase their efforts in signing and strengthening the squad this summer. Their strength will be further improved next season, and their competitiveness in the Champions League will become even stronger.

Perhaps Juventus fans can look forward to the team's performance next season.

While the long-established powerhouse Juventus was eliminated in the round of 16, another long-established powerhouse once again caused a humiliation in the Champions League.

Bayern Munich, playing at home, thrashed Sporting Lisbon 7-1, sweeping their opponents with a terrifying 12-1 score to advance to the quarterfinals.

The result of this match sent chills down the spines of many of Europe's top clubs.

Everyone knows Bayern Munich is very strong, but no one expected them to be this strong.

Sporting Lisbon may not be considered a top-tier team, but it is a long-established powerhouse in the Portuguese league.

But against Bayern Munich, they were completely outmatched.

The 12-1 aggregate score clearly demonstrates the vast difference in strength between the two teams and showcases Bayern Munich's formidable power! (End of Chapter)