Chapter 447: Chapter 74: El Clásico

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

The score at halftime was 1:1, and as the second half commenced, Atletico Madrid’s tenacious defense kept Real Madrid from scoring.

However, it was evident to the observant that Real Madrid had already taken control of the game’s rhythm.

Flores paced anxiously on the sidelines, frequently shouting the players’ names, hoping to inspire them, but with little effect.

What further plunged Flores into despair was the injury of Reyes, who had been performing excellently, early in the second half.

During an Atletico Madrid counterattack, Reyes raced towards the ball, when Chen Zhong charged in from the side, knocking Reyes out of bounds, crashing into the advertising boards, seemingly injuring his thigh.

Thus, in the 47th minute, Atletico Madrid used their first substitution, and the looks from Fernando and Aguero towards Chen Zhong were filled with shock.

The 2010 World Cup was imminent, and they had no wish to get injured at such a critical moment.

In fact, Kaka opted for surgery three months ago, aiming to be in prime form for the 2010 World Cup.

“Jesé Hualdo comes on as a substitute.”

“He formerly played for Real Madrid B team.”

“He also made several appearances for Real Madrid’s first team in the 05-06 season.”

“In 2006, he was transferred to Atletico Madrid for 3 million Euros.”

Chen Zhong had seen Hualdo in the youth team, where Hualdo was once full of ambition, though now he seemed somewhat disheveled.

After joining Atletico Madrid, he had one season as a starter, then was loaned out for another, and now served as a substitute. There were rumors he might be loaned out again.

When Hualdo entered the field, it did not cause any “sensation,” perhaps only a few fans vaguely remembered him, with more even recalling Reyes than Hualdo.

After Hualdo came on, Atletico Madrid’s right flank was rendered ineffective, and Simão’s left flank was equally lackluster.

Despite Flores yelling until his voice was hoarse, he could only watch as Real Madrid gradually took away what could have been their victory.

“49th minute of the match.”

“De Gea blocked a powerful shot from Chen Zhong.”

“Kaka took a corner kick.”

“Albiol headed the ball in the box.”

“Chen Zhong!”

“Volley shot!”

When De Gea saved Chen Zhong’s heavy shot, he was very exhilarated, even daring to shout at Chen Zhong, as if his eyes were saying, even today, if you’re a missile, I’ll shoot you down.

However, just after his exhilaration, when facing Chen Zhong’s close-range volley shot, he calmed down.

It was not that he was scared; he bravely made the save attempt.

But the ball didn’t fly in a straight line; it took an arc, a curve with spin.

He could only watch helplessly as the ball flew into the net, watching helplessly as Chen Zhong broke Atletico Madrid’s goal.

The Real Madrid fans in the stands began chanting Chen Zhong’s name, and Chen Zhong ran to the corner flag, celebrating his excitement with a slide.

He scored the goal that gave them the lead.

2:1

Real Madrid took the lead.

“A beautiful volley!”

“Chen Zhong was there when he was needed.”

“Oh! We can see C. Ronaldo was there too.”

“But Chen Zhong held his position, allowing him to watch as Chen Zhong finished the goal.”

“In matches against Atletico Madrid, it seems Chen Zhong is always scoring.”

“Perhaps from today, someone will start calling Chen Zhong the Atletico Assassin.”

In the subsequent match, Atletico Madrid increased the intensity of physical confrontations, but it seemed more like the cries of a defeated dog, especially after Chen Zhong had given Atletico players a few hard hits, even this kind of physical confrontation decreased.

Moreover, Atletico Madrid wanted to push the match into a chaotic state, trying to win in chaos, like they did against Barcelona, but in the match against Real Madrid, it didn’t quite work, as Real Madrid simply wouldn’t lose their composure.

However, this did create some rare opportunities for them.

At the 51st minute, Atletico Madrid tried to find opportunities on the wings, and after Pereira got the ball, he quickly drove down the line on the right, looking to cross to Aguero.

Aguero noticed Chen Zhong’s position, knowing that with Chen coming over, he had no chance to stop the ball, so he threw himself into a comical header attempt.

In the 52nd minute of the match, Chen Zhong, after getting the ball, performed multiple pass combinations, bringing the ball into Atletico Madrid’s danger zone.

Outside the penalty area, he passed the ball to the cutting-in Kaka, who attempted a curved shot outside the penalty area, the ball bypassed De Gea’s outstretched fingers and accurately fell into the net.

3:1

Real Madrid took a two-goal lead, with Kaka performing his signature celebration.

After taking a two-goal lead, Real Madrid played more comfortably, in the 67th minute, Chen Zhong got the ball and passed it to Kaka, who dribbled near the edge of the penalty area.

Thiago risked everything to slide tackle, sending the ball flying, by coincidence it reached the feet of Chen Zhong, who after receiving it, shifted the ball to the side, and Higuain at 12 yards in front of the goal, pushed for the score.

4:1

Higuain, having scored, seemed extremely excited while not far away, Aguero watched the scene with complex emotions.

At this moment, Aguero might be thinking, “If only I were Chen Zhong’s teammate, how great would that be!”

The final score settled at 4:1

Apart from Atletico Madrid’s brief rise at the start, in the ensuing time, they were completely pummeled by Real Madrid.

This made some Barcelona fans dissatisfied.

After all, Atletico Madrid defeated them this season, handing them their first defeat of the season.

What’s the deal, you fought hard against us, but have no energy against Real Madrid?

Atletico Madrid fans, hearing Barcelona fans’ complaints, were also very displeased, like, “If you’re so good, why don’t you stop losing to Real Madrid!”

Why don’t you, next round, win against Real Madrid and see?

In the post-match press conference, Flores was asked what he thought of the match’s result.

Flores was silent for a while before speaking: “The score doesn’t represent the gap between the two teams.”

“We’ve done very well in terms of strategy.”

“But Chen is an incredible player, if we could fill in the gaps in midfield, next time we won’t be like this.”

Flores now, like a “man” deeply tormented, no longer has the energy to discuss these matters, perhaps he should honestly accept suggestions, not invest too much energy in the league, but rather focus on the UEFA Europa League.

He knows that if he cannot make an impact in the UEFA Europa League, maybe he won’t last the season before leaving Atletico Madrid.

Compared to the complex emotions of Flores, Pellegrini seemed in a good mood. With the camera on him, the results gave him enough confidence, and he spoke with the demeanor of a classy manager.

He smiled and said, “Our goal is to defeat the opponent, then consider the matches against Santander Athletic and Barcelona.”

“We scored 4 goals, being disadvantaged, we weren’t panicked at all, everyone played in the rhythm they’re familiar with, and then we won the match.”

“But I’m still somewhat concerned about our team’s performance, after all, the opponent didn’t threaten our goal much, yet they scored one goal.”

Such Versailles-like remarks also made Atletico Madrid fans very dissatisfied, even making Pellegrini one of the most disliked figures among Atletico Madrid supporters.

The other person, naturally, is Chen Zhong.

Especially since he injured Reyes during the match, many fans claimed Chen Zhong played dirty, and believed the referee and Spain’s football association were protecting Real Madrid and Chen Zhong.

However, this sentiment was met with counterarguments from Real Madrid fans, after all, those benefiting most from the matches seemed to be Barcelona fans. There’s even some gossip that says some of Barcelona’s funds go to referees.

Real Madrid continued to advance in La Liga, and general manager Valdano, as Pellegrini’s guide, took the opportunity to make a presence too.

General Manager Valdano confidently stated after the match: “Our momentum in the league is nearly perfect. Today’s match was a test for the team, the players performed maturely, despite being behind, they scored 4 consecutive goals to turn the game around.”

And after the team defeated Santander Athletic and won against Bordeaux in the second leg, successfully advancing to the Champions League semi-finals, during the post-match press conference.

Faced with reporters inquiring about whether there was a competition between Chen Zhong and C. Ronaldo, and presenting an image where Chen Zhong took C. Ronaldo’s spot to complete a volley at Atletico Madrid.

Pellegrini denied that Ronaldo and Chen Zhong had a competitive relationship on the field.

“They didn’t clash, did they?”

“It was a good ball.”

“It was an excellent collaboration.”

If it was before another match, perhaps the topic would end here, but this was happening when the national derby was about to take place, naturally, Catalonia Region’s media wouldn’t miss the opportunity to stir things up.

And C. Ronaldo also accepted an interview with Canal+, he said: “We played well, showing individuality, creating many good chances, I’m very happy.”

“Chen and I don’t compete, we’re friends, we train together.”

“During matches, we pass to each other, he passes to me, I pass to him too, it’s all for the team, it’s just that simple.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep