Chapter 486: Chapter 93: So Close, Yet So Far (Part 2)

“I wonder what kind of tactics they’ll employ in the second half?”

“What?”

The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the stands filled with Real Madrid fans, showed their displeasure by loudly jeering as Bayern Munich players took the field, expressing their “dissatisfaction” with the second half of the first period.

However, as soon as Bayern Munich completed their kickoff in the second half, the dissatisfaction transformed into jeers aimed at disturbing the opponent, mixed with sounds of surprise.

Bayern Munich surprisingly launched an aggressive attack at the start of the second half.

This shocked many fans who had confidently claimed during halftime that Bayern Munich would definitely turtle up in the second half, defending the score until the end.

Because judging by the situation on the field now, Bayern Munich’s performance clearly put immense pressure on Real Madrid’s defense.

Especially with Robben and Ribery’s active running, repeatedly breaching Real Madrid’s flanks.

Van Gaal squinted as he watched Chen Zhong tirelessly moving back and forth, secretly thinking, “The ball is faster than the man. I want to see how long you can last.”

In the football movie “Goal,” there is a classic scene where the protagonist initially dislikes passing the ball, preferring to be a lone wolf. Later, the coach made him run at full speed, repeatedly losing the ball.

Demonstrating through action that during matches, passing is faster and more lethal than running with the ball, making the protagonist more team-oriented and aware of passing.

Van Gaal clearly understood who Real Madrid’s “team spirit” was.

He attempted to deplete Chen Zhong’s stamina using this method.

This is an overt strategy!

After several encounters with Robben and Ribery and evasive maneuvers, Chen Zhong clearly understood this point.

Only about ten minutes into the second half, he was already somewhat out of breath.

He quickly began to adjust his state, during the next two defensive maneuvers, calling out teammates’ names while starting second-line protection.

This changed the look in Van Gaal’s eyes as he watched Chen Zhong!

What!

Using that method?

Chen Zhong used his shouting to urge other teammates forward to exert pressure. If the pressure succeeded, great; if not, even if it got circumvented, it was Chen Zhong’s turn.

Chen Zhong skillfully turned the situation around.

However, this only stabilized the team’s defense. If Real Madrid wants to advance to the finals, they still need to breach the opponent’s goal.

Under Chen Zhong’s command, even Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka actively returned to defend against Robben and Ribery.

However, Bayern Munich was not without changes. They began to frequently try pulling Ivica Olic to the sides to enrich the layers of their flanking attacks.

It seems Bayern Munich has abandoned using high crosses to find Olic to break through the goal.

After all, Chen Zhong always timely appeared beside Olic.

Then intercepted the ball.

“We can see both teams are constantly looking for opportunities.”

“Real Madrid even showed a player with two or more responsibilities.”

“Chen Zhong stabilized the team’s defense, but they need to score to advance.”

“In this process, they must also guard against Bayern Munich breaking through their goal.”

“This is very important.”

Real Madrid has the advantage of an away goal, and if they level the score now, they can eliminate Bayern Munich based on away goals.

But if Bayern Munich scores one goal, Real Madrid must score another to win, otherwise, it’ll go into extra time.

And if Bayern Munich scores two goals, Bayern Munich will have the away goal advantage.

Real Madrid must score more than Bayern Munich to advance; otherwise, they won’t even have the qualification for extra time.

Pellegrini’s gaze never left Chen Zhong. Bayern Munich already abandoned the long pass and high cross tactics. Their bench has Miroslav Klose, the German center forward who once achieved collective honor grand slam, yet Van Gaal seems to have no intention of swapping Klose.

After all, Klose’s physical confrontation ability is no better than Olic!

If Luca Toni were here…

The “super center forward” who wowed spectators with headers in the World Cup.

He would surely pose threats to Real Madrid’s defense.

But Van Gaal and Toni have fallen out.

In this match, Toni wasn’t even in the squad list.

So, since Bayern Munich can’t utilize the high cross tactics to score, what about us?

Pellegrini looked at Chen Zhong. If Chen Zhong played center forward, substituted Negredo, and brought on Granero or Pirlo, would there be a turning point in the game?

In this match, Real Madrid employed a 4-3-3 formation with Negredo as the center forward; on the wings are C. Ronaldo and Kaka, midfielders are Chen Zhong, Baptista, and Alonso.

The midfield is maximized.

On the field, as Chen Zhong commanded, Real Madrid gradually transitioned from controlling the ball to efficient counter-attacks.

Cristiano Ronaldo roamed up and down the wings seeking opportunities, while Negredo performed retreats for support and pulling back, and Kaka, training as an attacking midfielder, engaged more in supporting and passing or shooting.

Chen Zhong held the midfield, assisting in organization during offense, while actively defending during defense.

From the overall situation, Real Madrid’s deep offensive capacity is excellent, and they start attempting forward runs behind, trying to repeat the first-half goals.

All based on Chen Zhong’s allocation of ball possession in midfield area.

When the ball arrived at Chen Zhong’s feet, it was like going into the safe, stable and secure.

“Real Madrid’s counterattack!”

“Negredo takes the ball in support.”

“Demichelis!”

“A very impulsive move.”

“He tackles from behind and trips Negredo.”

Demichelis looked “fearfully” at the paused-moving Chen Zhong. At that moment, he admitted to feeling rash because he saw Chen Zhong advancing aggressively.

And during pre-game observation, they all knew!

Real Madrid’s specialty is passing the ball near the penalty area to Chen Zhong, allowing him to unleash a heavy cannon shot to settle the score!

The referee decisively issued a yellow card to Demichelis. This yellow card also signaled Pellegrini, who promptly rushed to the sideline, shouting loudly, “This way! It’s him!”

A central defender with a yellow card imposed a varied consequence.

Previously Bayern Munich had no hidden danger, but now, with Demichelis carrying a yellow card, he became their liability.

Van Gaal on the sidelines realized this, but he had no better defensive player available.

Can only hope that this promising youngster withstands the pressure.

“Real Madrid’s attack!”

“Match time: 64th minute.”

“Van Gaal already made the first substitution on the sidelines.”

“He seems to want to disrupt Real Madrid’s rhythm through substitutions.”

“Mario Gomez can be seen warming up on the sidelines.”

“Ready to play at any time.”

“Van Gaal intends to substitute Gomez for Olic.”

“This match saw little performance from Olic.”

Van Gaal stood on the sideline, feeling uneasy. He called out the players’ names loudly, indicating for them to quickly kick the ball out.

So that they could use the substitution to disrupt Real Madrid’s rhythm.

But…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep