Set a record!
This was sothing Gao Shen himself had not expected. It was not until the post-match press conference, when a reporter from AS asked him for his opinion on the matter, that he realized Real Madrid's 7-0 victory had set a record in the club's history.
That was Real Madrid's most lopsided away win in the history of the Champions League.
Before tonight's ga, Real Madrid's best away result was 5-1 against Austria's Sturm Graz in the 98/99 season. For many years afterward, Real Madrid had not been able to make history again.
But tonight, in Belgium, Gao Shen's team once again made history for Real Madrid.
7-0, a perfect away victory.
Gao Shen smiled and expressed his satisfaction with the result.
"It's a very good result, but Anderlecht also caused us a lot of difficulties in the ga."
"Our players executed well in transition, and we were faster and more efficient, which was the key to our big win."
"Also, our front three of Cristiano, Ángel, and Karim all did a great job, and that made winning very easy."
Gao Shen also ntioned so difficulties in the ga and felt that Anderlecht was a very brave team.
"We didn't expect them to adopt such an aggressive tactic at ho. They also caused us a lot of problems, but, thanks to Anderlecht for giving the Belgian fans a wonderful ga."
Gao Shen felt that the big win in the first match of the Champions League group stage was of positive significance.
"It's definitely a good thing to start the new Champions League season with a victory. Winning the first ga will lay the foundation for the next gas, but we still need to pay attention."
"Every one of the six gas in the Champions League group stage is crucial and will even affect the situation in the group."
Gao Shen ntioned that last season, Real Madrid did not get the points they should have in so gas, which led to the team only being able to qualify second in the group. Even qualifying still depended on the opponent's performance, which was very bad.
"Before this ga, I asked my assistant to play a video of last season's Champions League group stage. I asked the players to review last season's group stage, including the ga process, results, and changes in the group situation."
"I hope each of them can understand the importance of every ga in the group stage. Our players are not at 100 percent physically, but we need to make up for the lack of physical condition by being more focused, more dedicated, and working harder."
Gao Shen reiterated, "We are a very young team. We have introduced three players this season. They still need to further integrate into the team and play a more important role."
Casemiro perford well in this ga, replacing Xabi Alonso, so a Brazilian reporter asked Gao Shen what his position on Casemiro was.
Is he an alternative to Xabi Alonso?
Gao Shen smiled and shook his head, "No one is a backup for anyone else. In my team, everyone is the sa."
"Casemiro and Xabi Alonso have different characteristics. Both are defensive midfielders, but Casemiro has stronger physical confrontation and defensive capabilities, while Xabi Alonso has better organization and passing abilities. As for Illarrandi, he has just arrived and has not yet integrated into the team and has not yet played to his strengths and characteristics."
Gao Shen treats all three players equally and does not favor any of them, but he said that for now, Xabi Alonso definitely has the advantage, while Casemiro and Illarrandi are still young and need to further improve their strength and prove themselves.
"We are Real Madrid. We have 50 or 60 gas every year. We can't use just one player. In so positions, we have to reserve three or even more players. This is normal in European football."
"As the team's head coach, I will consider who will be on the bench and who will rest based on the characteristics of each player, the needs of the team, and pre-match condition. I think these are all very normal and not as complicated as you think."
"Specifically for Casemiro and Illarrandi, I think we are very patient. These are two young players who are very worth looking forward to. We hope that they can play well for Real Madrid and contribute their strength to the team."
"We won't put any extra pressure on them, because playing for Real Madrid is already stressful enough."
"We are open, inclusive, and patient with them and the young players in our team. We hope that they can continue to work hard to grow and make more contributions to the team in the future."
…
Gao Shen's remarks at the post-match press conference attracted widespread praise from the dia.
Many people doubt that Real Madrid is not suitable for developing young players, but now, Gao Shen has always achieved a relatively stable balance between famous stars and young players.
Real Madrid's young players have been performing very well and improving steadily.
Gao Shen's words undoubtedly explain his attitude toward young players.
In turn, the young players have also continuously produced good results for Real Madrid on the pitch through their outstanding performances.
The players in the Real Madrid dressing room are very satisfied with this.
For example, Cristiano Ronaldo, who is often regarded as a thorn in the dia's side, was replaced by Jesé after scoring a hat trick. He publicly expressed his recognition of Jesé, believing that the young Spanish player has the ability to beco a top star as good as himself.
"He has everything it takes to be a top star. All he needs to do is stay focused and work hard, no matter what, just like !"
Ronaldo gave a very high evaluation of the head coach and believed that Real Madrid is now in a very good stage.
"In the past, we were always conservative in midfield because we were all worried about the safety of the back line. But now, he has shown us another way, strengthening control in midfield, and letting the forwards invest more in defense, thereby reducing the number of dedicated defensive players."
"This way, we have more attacking options when we launch an attack up front, and the technical quality and control of the midfielders ensure that we get more support and opportunities to get the ball into advanced areas."
Ronaldo believes this is a very creative decision and that the team forms an organic whole from front to back.
"We are very united in the dressing room now. Everyone can speak freely and express their ideas, even including accusations, but we all know that we are not targeting people, so our exchanges and communication are very smooth."
"This has not had a negative impact on us, but has made us understand each other more deeply. Of course, this is based on the premise that all of us sincerely hope that the team can beco better and stronger."
Ronaldo said that this is the biggest change brought about by Gao Shen.
As for the accusations of overcomplicated tactics made by so tabloids, Ronaldo said it was not worth refuting at all.
"We are the defending Champions League winners and the strongest team in European football. We don't need to explain or prove anything to anyone. That's why we never clarify anything."
But the facts also prove that people seeking attention are everywhere.
While the whole of Spain was singing praises for Real Madrid's landslide away win, so dia, including the Catalan press, believed that Real Madrid did not show much strength away from ho and did not have the overwhelming montum of the past.
"Real Madrid now feels more like they are playing defensive counterattacks."
"By quickly switching from defense to attack after winning the ball, they can imdiately hit the opponent's back line. Isn't this a defensive counterattack?"
As for the 7-0 result, these outlets believed that it did not explain the problem at all.
The implication was that Real Madrid under Gao Shen is still conservative and the football is not good at all.
At least, it is not as elegant, artistic, and composed as Barcelona's passing and possession.
Many dia outlets even called on Real Madrid to learn from Barcelona's good example, saying that this is the essence of Spanish football.
But the slap in the face ca soon.
In the first round of the Champions League group stage, Barcelona faced Ajax at ho. The match was the day after Real Madrid played Anderlecht. As a result, Barcelona, full of superstars, defeated Ajax 4-0 at ho.
This was also a comprehensive victory, but the key issue was not the score, it was the process.
Barcelona's possession was only 53.6 percent, which marked their lowest single-ga possession in recent years.
Even more telling, Barcelona had 16 shots with 7 on target, while Ajax had 9 shots with 7 on target. The only difference was that Barcelona were better at taking their chances and scored four, while Ajax did not score.
Previously, the Catalan dia accused Real Madrid of being conservative. One important point was that Real Madrid's possession was only 60 percent, and they had lost the suffocating pressure of the past.
You know, the best thing about Spain's small and agile style is to press the opponent into a 30-ter area, take turns controlling the ball and recycling possession, forcing the opponent's defense to make mistakes, then suddenly play a killer through ball to deliver the decisive blow.
But Real Madrid does not follow this pattern at all.
It was unreasonable, in their view, for Gao Shen to drop the entire formation back to the halfway line and allow the opponent to co out.
The Catalan dia, who value ball control, scoffed at this, believing that such football was too conservative.
But now, the Barcelona they believed in actually played this way, and at Camp Nou, they even perford worse than Real Madrid.
Lower possession and worse defending.
If Valdés had not saved a penalty, Barcelona would have conceded at ho.
No matter how you look at it, Barcelona is imitating Real Madrid.
Just think about it, at the sa ti, the Barcelona dia had just criticized Real Madrid, and then their own team played like this. What should they do?
Bla Martino.
As a result, the Barcelona head coach was once again pushed to the forefront.
Anti-Barcelona football, going against tradition, being conservative...
In any case, there was no problem with Barcelona as a whole, the problem was with the head coach.
With Barcelona's squad and overall strength, they can definitely launch an attacking storm not inferior to Dream Team III.
Use the perfect storm of attack to completely destroy Gao Shen's Galácticos.
This is the football that Barcelona fans want to see.
(To be continued.)
***
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