Barcelona players on their home ground clearly became anxious after falling behind.
Their attacking pace started to pick up.
But the impressive thing about this team is that even with a faster pace, their passing game remained extremely fluid.
Simply put, the players' basic skills were solid.
However, the Barcelona players soon realized something was amiss.
That is, even after entering "acceleration mode," they were not able to outpace Manchester City in terms of attack and defense speed.
It was as if Manchester City was very comfortable with this rhythm.
Rijkaard's expression turned grave.
Indeed!
Manchester City also had an "acceleration mode".
Many people have misconceptions about possession football.
They think that possession is just constant back-passing from the defense.
It's about slowly and leisurely controlling the ball.
They think that counterattacking, which they see as the opposite of possession, is about fast attacks and quick passes.
