After the match began, Arsenal players repeatedly passed the ball around in their midfield and defense.
After an initial high press that yielded no results, Barcelona players slowed their pace and gently followed the ball's movement.
The match had just started, after all, and both teams were only in the probing stage...
The match reached the 3rd minute.
Fabregas and Wilshere played a one-two in the middle to get past Xavi, after which the latter sent a through ball to the left flank of the front field.
Clichy, who had pushed forward early, received the ball and, facing Alves a few steps away, dribbled a couple of steps before passing the ball back to Wilshere, who had come up to receive it, before Alves could close in.
Before receiving the ball, Wilshere had already scanned his surroundings and noticed Busquets showing signs of a sneak attack. Thus, he immediately passed the ball away the moment it reached his feet.
Busquets was forced to stop just as he started to accelerate.
After receiving Wilshere's pass, Fabregas immediately passed the ball to Nasri on the right flank.
Nasri received the ball without hesitation, dropped his shoulder to change direction, got past Maxwell, and then played a simple one-two with Van Persie, who had dropped back to receive, completely breaking free from Barcelona's defense in the central and backfield, and directly charged towards the penalty area.
Abidal faced Nasri, who was currently in the prime of his career, and was on high alert.
He blocked Nasri's path for a cut-in, forcing the latter to dribble towards the byline.
Nasri did not follow his plan. Instead, the moment he entered the penalty area, he passed the ball back diagonally to the feet of the overlapping Wilshere.
Facing the tightly marking Busquets, the latter made a first-time through ball, passing the ball to the left edge of the penalty area, where Fly followed up to get the ball.
Facing the deliberate squeeze from Piqué beside him, Fly performed a quick turn, instantly creating space, and then took a shot. The ball flew over the crossbar and into the stands.
"Wow, a very threatening shot from Fly, but unfortunately it was slightly high..."
"It's clear that Fly has not been affected by the opponent in this match and is still playing his role on the field as usual."
"Piqué had no answer to Fly's attack, which combined instant acceleration with a shot... Even though he had physically interfered with Fly beforehand, he still couldn't prevent the latter from completing a high-quality shot."
Piqué also realized that his recent defensive attempt had failed...
Although Fly didn't score, it was only because his shot was slightly off target. While it wasn't completely unrelated to his defense, it was 'basically unrelated'.
Thinking of this, Piqué's expression couldn't help but sink...
He had boasted to his teammates before the match that he had seen through Fly and could completely teach him a lesson.
As a result, just a few minutes into the match, Fly completed a very threatening shot.
What happened before and after was practically a slap in Piqué's face!
"Damn it... I will absolutely not let you be so arrogant!"
As Fly's shot went over the crossbar, possession finally went to Barcelona.
It was only at this point that Barcelona showed their fangs.
Starting with a kick from goalkeeper Valdés, the ball was passed back and forth between the defense and the midfield trio. The ball was like an obedient child, never leaving Barcelona's control.
The "Dream Three Midfield Core" formed by Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets began to show its ferocity.
Arsenal players were not just standing there watching the ball being passed around in front of them.
They simply couldn't get to it...
Even Fly symbolically chased after it a couple of times, but the result was, well, those who know, know; it was better than nothing.
After experiencing the difficulty, Fly immediately became more reserved, directly ignoring Barcelona's frustrating style of play and just watching them pass the ball around. He directly acted as a ruthless standing tool in the front field, trying his best not to waste his physical strength.
But the other Arsenal players were suffering...
Fly could indeed directly ignore Barcelona's passing, as he was just a forward and had no defensive responsibilities on the field to begin with.
Wenger had never asked Fly to participate in defense.
He only needed Fly to use all his physical energy for offense...
It was for this reason that Fly was standing there watching Barcelona players' arrogance so impassively.
But the other Arsenal players did not have such good treatment.
Even though they knew Barcelona's passing was very difficult to intercept, they still had to try.
After all, Barcelona's style of play is to wear down their opponents by constantly passing the ball at their feet.
Then, when the opposing players' physical strength declines, they suddenly launch an attack, primarily aiming for "surprise".
The key is that facing Barcelona's open strategy, all teams have to play according to their style.
Because if you ignore it, possession will always be at Barcelona's feet, and the initiative will always be on their side.
Your side has no choice but to passively defend...
And the physical cost of passive defense is far, far greater than that of the side actively passing the ball...
This way, by the end of the match, the side that can't hold on will definitely be the one passively defending.
Unless you are determined to park the bus and counter-attack like José Mourinho, you can only follow along and be exhausted.
Arsenal has never been a team that parks the bus, and Arsenal doesn't know how to park the bus.
Wenger has never instilled any "parking the bus" ideology since he started coaching this club.
This also means that even if Arsenal wanted to learn José Mourinho's style of play, the players' technical and tactical level wouldn't meet the requirements...
Fortunately, Arsenal players had a long rest before this match, and what they lacked least was physical strength.
The match time flew by quickly in the mutual probing of both sides...
The match reached the 9th minute.
Barcelona midfielder Iniesta suddenly launched an attack, sending a through ball to the right flank, where the overlapping Alves played a one-two with Messi, and then Alves, after dribbling into the right side of the Arsenal penalty area, sent a low cross.
Spain's main striker, Villa, faced the ball rolling along the grass and took a first-time shot.
Ultimately, because Koscielny blocked it with his thigh in time, this shot did not pose a threat.
Villa's shot was Barcelona's first shot of the match, and it was from this shot that Barcelona officially began their offensive.
The match reached the 11th minute.
After receiving a pass from Xavi on the right flank, Messi faced Clichy's defense without hesitation, dropped his shoulder to dribble past him, leaving the latter behind.
Then, after Koscielny stepped up, a small touch and change of direction completed another dribble.
In just over a second, Messi weaved past two players and charged into the penalty area.
Varane saw Messi enter the danger zone and took a lateral step to expand his defensive area, while also putting enough pressure on the nearby Messi.
However, Messi is Messi after all. He directly ignored Varane's little trick. After dribbling two steps into the penalty area, he made a fake shot and a real pass, successfully deceiving Szczęsny's center of gravity, and the ball was passed to the overlapping Villa.
The latter took a first-time shot towards Messi's pass, and the ball directly hit the left post, rebounding to the six-yard box, and was cleared by Sagna with a big kick first.
Arsenal escaped a scare...
This shot also greatly shocked the Arsenal fans at the stadium.
"Messi gets the ball... dribbles past, gets past Clichy, oh, my goodness, immediately gets past Koscielny as well, how will Varane respond?"
"Dribbles and shoots... No, it's a pass, Villa, shoots..."
"Oh, the ball hits the post, and Sagna clears it first. Pedro didn't get there in time for the rebound shot, what a shame..."
At Emirates Stadium, Peter couldn't help but feel a bit of pity when he saw Barcelona's attack.
The match reached the 13th minute.
Barcelona won the ball back in midfield, and Iniesta immediately sent a through ball to Messi the moment he got the ball.
The moment Messi received the ball, he was surrounded by two burly men. Faced with this situation, Messi did not try to show off his skills and attempt to get past these two, but instead passed the ball directly, and it went to Villa's feet.
Villa, facing the pass, flicked it with his heel, gently knocking the ball to his side.
The overlapping Iniesta comfortably received Villa's layoff, and after dribbling one step into the penalty area, he directly took a shot.
Facing this sudden shot, Szczęsny made a brilliant save, pushing the ball out for a corner.
Barcelona's first corner of the match had arrived...
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