Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea managed to finish in first place in their respective groups. After the draw, Southampton will play against Real Madrid, while Bayern Munich will play against Chelsea. The winners will advance to the finals, while the losers will compete against each other to determine third place.
The Real Madrid coach said that he would field most of the main players in the semi-finals of this International Champions Cup. Of course, one of the main reasons was to please the fans. The spectators present were not stupid, they would naturally be disappointed if they only saw the match between the second-tier teams.
Meanwhile, George Eastgate has also decided to field the best formation that Southampton currently had. Although this is only a pre-season match, the International Champions Cup is certainly very interesting for Southampton, who was always far from any championships. If a miracle occurs and Southampton beats Real Madrid, then Southampton had a chance to win the International champions cup this year.
The match this time will be held at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States. According to reports, more than 40,000 spectators have purchased tickets to watch Real Madrid's match against Southampton. Of course, almost all the spectators came in a Real Madrid white t-shirt.
Shortly after, the match between Southampton and Real Madrid began. As the Real Madrid coach said, 5 main Los Galacticos players played in this match. First, there is their central defender Sergio Ramos, second, there is goalkeeper Iker Casillas, third is attacking midfielder Mesut Ozil, fourth is winger, Angel Di Maria, and finally, there is Olivier Gerrard. To remind again, Gerrard is a former Chelsea player who chose to transfer to Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, in this match, Southampton fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation again. George played again Joe Bennet in the attacking midfielder position. In addition, he also played Ryan in the left-wing position and Rustan in the right-wing. Didn't forget, he also played Wright-Phillips side by side with Simone. All of Southampton's most talented young players played in this match.
Real Madrid starts the first half kick-off. With the quality of the Real Madrid squad, it is clear that Southampton immediately was dominated by Real Madrid. However, Southampton dared to fight and press Real Madrid. This makes the start of the first half quite exciting. Both teams seemed to attack each other wildly.
Real Madrid still had the ball despite strong pressure from Southampton. Every individual ability at Real Madrid was very strong. It is very difficult for Southampton players snatched the ball from Real Madrid players in a 1 vs 1 situation. This made Real Madrid more than able to withstand Southampton's pressure.
Southampton's goalpost had been threatened several times by Real Madrid's attacks. Even so, Southampton was still lucky to keep their goalpost. Of course, Southampton was not completely passive either. But their attack now failed as Kazuki was completely pressed by Sergio Ramos. He had a very hard time getting a chance.
Besides, even if Kazuki won the chance, his next opponent would be the legendary Real Madrid goalkeeper, and breaking into his net would not be easy.
In the 22nd minute, Real Madrid managed to score the first goal. The movement of Angel di Maria on the right side made Southampton confused. Finally, Angel di Maria gave the ball back to Ozil. Then, Ozil crossed into the penalty box. Oliver Gerrard managed to escape the guard, then he kicked the ball strongly to give Real Madrid a one-goal lead over Southampton.
The crowd supporting Real Madrid cheered with joy to see their favorite team score a goal. The game resumed, but Southampton still failed to get the ball from Real Madrid's possession. Southampton could only wait for Real Madrid's players to make mistakes, while was trying to rely on counter-attacks.
In the 35th minute, Real Madrid once again added the lead. Angel di Maria's shot was blocked by the goalkeeper and turned into a corner. Ozil took the corner kick. The ball flew into the penalty box and was headed by Sergio Ramos into the Southampton goalpost.
Southampton was 2 goals behind Real Madrid. It's very difficult to turn things around because Real Madrid's players have a lot more quality than Southampton's players. Even so, Southampton still hasn't given up, they are patiently waiting for the opportunity to arise.
At the end of the first half, Vicente ran and overlapped on the right, helping Rustan to penetrate the right. The one-two collaboration between Vicente and Rustan managed to make Rustan break into the Real Madrid penalty box. He then provided a short pass to Bennet. Joe Bennet without hesitation immediately took a powerful kick.
Casillas punched the ball outside the box, but Wright-Phillips managed to collect the ball. Then, he gave a breakthrough pass to Kazuki. Kazuki made his body ready to receive the ball, but Ramos used his body and shifted Kazuki's position. Kazuki forced his body to fight back, as a result, he was quite successful and was able to steal the ball from Ramos' feet.
Then, Kazuki took a powerful kick that went straight into the goalpost. The ball hits the post and bounces into the net. This goal reduced Real Madrid's advantage over Southampton. Even so, until the end of the first half, Real Madrid was still winning 2-1.
At the start of the second half, Southampton and Real Madrid did not make any changes. Real Madrid still dominated the game as usual. This time they played quite patiently in the face of pressing from Southampton.
In this second half, Southampton's defense went better, not just pressing, They also dare to make a foul if the foul was needed to stop Real Madrid's attack.
They also fully understand that defense was the duty of every player so Southampton's forwards were calmer in carrying out their duties in defense.
When the teamwork of the opponent was not high, Southampton's defensive strategy looks bold and adventurous, plus solid and rugged, but very practical and effective.
The most important thing was that most of the team were quite careless in defense, so it is easier to get caught off guard when Southampton turns around for a quick attack or counter-attack when the attack was just getting started.
Southampton's patience in defending paid off, in the 64th minute, Southampton got a chance to counter-attack. This was started by Simone, who managed to tap Ozil's pass to Gerrard. Simone who got the ball immediately moved it to the feet of Wright-Phillips. Real Madrid immediately counter-press and attacked Wright-Phillips who had the ball but luckily, Joe Bennet appeared as a passing option.
Bennett then dribbled the ball forward. One of the Real Madrid players tried to steal the ball from his feet, but Bennett moved the ball from his right foot to his left and quickly changed the direction of the dribble.. After that, he sent a long pass to the right side of the field.