Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

The afternoon sunlight shines on people, dispelling some of the chill.

Everyone’s eyes are on the newly crowned Gold Ball winner Chen Zhong, eager to see what kind of performance he can deliver in his first match after winning the award.

In this match, Atletico Madrid is using the 442 formation, a somewhat "outdated" setup that Diego Simeone is particularly fond of.

Diego Simeone’s 442 formation doesn’t adopt a diamond positioning but is comprised of three parallel lines: front, middle, and back.

Before the match, Mourinho analyzed Diego Simeone’s 442 formation with the players. This formation is characterized by its disregard for ball control, even deliberately ceding possession, focusing more on overall defense in positional play.

This season, Atletico Madrid has built a reputation in La Liga for being both tenacious and, perhaps, dirty. Yet, in positional play, each Atletico player knows their defensive area and duties and rarely engages in high pressing.

More often, they’ll choose to retreat in defense, forming a standard 442 parallel setup.

Simeone is accustomed to concentrating forces in the middle, making it impenetrable while purposely leaving open the flanks.

This strategy forces opponents, even with possession, to struggle to penetrate Atletico Madrid’s stringent central defense, leaving the wings as their only option — yet, due to the compactness and numerical advantage of the defensive formation, attacks down the flanks often result in failure. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The ball reaches Chen Zhong’s feet. After failing to seize the initiative early, Atletico Madrid swiftly shifts into defensive mode, operating with machine-like precision.

This is something that resonates most with fans in the stands and watching on TV.

They can see Atletico players maintaining reasonable spacing and moving in a perfectly synchronized fashion, reminding some Chinese fans of a parade formation.

When the ball arrives at Chen Zhong’s feet, Atletico Madrid blocks most of his passing options, leaving only two relatively safe choices.

One is Cristiano Ronaldo on the left, and the other is Kaka on the right.

"Come on! Come on!" Diego Simeone, an Argentine, undoubtedly favors Messi of Barcelona over Chen Zhong. To him, although Chen Zhong is excellent, he’s merely an ordinary player, while Messi is the true "king of football," possessing unparalleled talent. Against Chen Zhong, Atletico just needs to apply their famed tenacious and fierce defensive approach.

Implement their proud ironclad defense, sacrificing everything in defense for the team.

Then, this so-called "Gold Ball winner" is just a trapped beast.

"As expected!" Mourinho noticed Atletico Madrid’s tactics but didn’t pay much heed because he had studied his opponent extensively before the match and had his own strategies prepared.

No formation is perfect. Some formations create more opportunities but leave defensive gaps; some have solid defense but are weak in attack; and others balance both but lack standout features.

Atletico Madrid’s approach is a "do-or-die" strategy, a "grind" strategy, a "shameless" strategy.

Therefore, as long as the team uses fast attacks or utilizes players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, they can pose a threat to Atletico Madrid.

Of course, such a tactic is effective only for Real Madrid.

"After all."

"Not every team has someone like Chen."

"Not every team has three Gold Ball winners."

Two minutes have passed in the match, with ball possession changing twice. Chen Zhong’s attempted through pass was intercepted by Atletico Madrid. Now they’re full of stamina, ready to pounce.

In recent matches, Atletico Madrid’s "early assault" and "shell defense" have left a deep impression on fans.

"There’s usually only one scenario in an Atletico Madrid match!"

"Seize the start and retreat to defend."

"Simeone’s Atletico Madrid excels in early assaults."

"If unsuccessful, they immediately form a defensive stance."

"As long as the team isn’t trailing, they resolutely refrain from large-scale attacks, and if they lead, they defend tenaciously to the end."

"Fans joke that if Atletico scores, the match ends with a 1:0 victory."

"Currently, Atletico Madrid’s initial assault has failed."

"Real Madrid must now consider how to break their shell."

"Chen Zhong has the ball; his previous through pass was bold but couldn’t penetrate Atletico Madrid’s solid midfield. How will he choose this time?"

In Real Madrid’s matches, Chen Zhong has contributed many memorable moments with his "Surgical Knife," even being described as the next-generation passing master. Some believe his through passes rival those of Pirlo and Guti.

However, in this match, Chen Zhong’s single through pass attempt was enough to abandon thoughts of piercing Atletico Madrid’s defense line in standard situations from midfield with through passes.

This is something even Pirlo and Guti find hard to achieve, let alone him.