Chapter 270: Chapter 270: Dawn in Adversity
Chapter 270: Dawn in Adversity
The Bernabéu fans applauded Casillas, thanking him for his spectacular saves that kept the goal intact.
On the sidelines, Ancelotti sensed danger. He called over Xabi Alonso and whispered some instructions into his ear.
He instructed them to focus on protecting the defense and reduce the number of fouls near the penalty area.
Xabi Alonso nodded repeatedly and quickly relayed Ancelotti's advice.
Ancelotti's adjustments quickly stabilized Real Madrid's defense. After thwarting Manchester City's counterattack, they regained control of the game.
Benzema, who had been almost invisible in the previous match, performed exceptionally well this game.
His movements, pulls, and passes in the front created numerous opportunities for his teammates Ronaldo and Bale.
In the 27th minute, Benzema provided a pass to Ronaldo, who shot and hit the goalpost.
The Bernabéu let out a collective sigh, with countless Real Madrid fans clutching their heads in frustration.
Ronaldo was a bit disappointed but still gave Benzema a thumbs-up.
Just two minutes later, Benzema and Bale combined, assisting each other to penetrate the penalty area for a shot.
Bale's shot wasn't as good as Ronaldo's. Perhaps he learned it from Nunes, aiming for the far corner but missing badly, wasting Benzema's quick pass.
Benzema shook his head inwardly. "These two guys, their shooting skills aren't even close to mine?"
"I should just do it myself!"
In the 42nd minute, Modric started controlling the game's tempo. Real Madrid's intense offensive seemed to be slowing down.
However, just as Manchester City players breathed a sigh of relief after withstanding Real Madrid's onslaught, Benzema saw Modric look up and without hesitation, intelligently sprinted forward near the penalty area.
Almost simultaneously, Modric delivered a precise through pass, slipping neatly between two Manchester City defenders.
Great pass!
Benzema silently applauded Modric's pass. After receiving the ball, he adjusted his position and aimed for the corner of the goal, scoring with a high-quality shot.
The shot was of such high quality that Joe Hart was helpless, not even making an attempt to save it before the ball went in.
Benzema felt good after scoring and looked up to see the ball flying into Manchester City's goal.
He raised both hands, ready to celebrate!
However, the linesman's flag was up; the goal was ruled offside.
The slow-motion replay showed Benzema had started his run slightly early, ahead of Manchester City defenders by half a body length.
Benzema and the Real Madrid fans celebrated prematurely!
Although the goal was disallowed, Benzema didn't feel too disheartened. He felt he was in excellent form today.
If he continued playing like this, scoring would only be a matter of time.
This shot startled Manchester City's defenders, who intensified their marking on Benzema for the remainder of the half, denying him further shooting opportunities.
The score remained 1-0 at halftime.
The Real Madrid players seemed very satisfied with this result, chatting and smiling as they left the field.
On the other hand, the faces of Manchester City players became more serious.
Throughout the first half, Manchester City failed to create any significant opportunities.
With the experience from the last match, they thought they understood Real Madrid's strength.
Yet, Real Madrid played like a different team at home compared to away, catching Manchester City off guard. Several players' confidence began to waver.
During halftime, Pellegrini made adjustments to their attacking strategy. Being behind against Real Madrid, the defensive counter-attack tactic was no longer viable.
However, the second half proved that Pellegrini's adjustments had little effect.
Apart from Lin Quan's threatening shot based on individual skill, Manchester City struggled to threaten Real Madrid's goal.
In contrast, Real Madrid's offense became smoother and smoother.
In the 57th minute of the second half, Real Madrid stole the ball in midfield, and Modric once again made a deadly through pass.
This time, instead of seeking Ronaldo or Bale, he found Benzema making a skillful run.
Benzema's excellent performance at the end of the first half earned Modric's trust, believing Benzema could surprise him.
Benzema didn't disappoint Modric. With his back to the goal, he flicked the ball and quickly turned before Kompany could block him, volleying the ball into the far corner of the goal, extending Real Madrid's lead!
The score became 2-0!
The aggregate score was now rewritten to 4-3!
This time, before celebrating, Benzema glanced at the linesman. Seeing no flag raised, he excitedly celebrated!
If Ramos' goal established a certain advantage for Real Madrid, then Benzema's goal now almost secured victory for Real Madrid.
Due to the away goals rule, Manchester City needed to score two goals to advance to the final!
With just over thirty minutes left in the game, scoring two goals at the Bernabéu was a daunting task!
This time, the Bernabéu erupted not only with warm applause but also with cheers echoing incessantly. Under immense joy, even those who considered themselves successful individuals couldn't contain their excitement.
In a certain section of the Bernabéu stands, Pep Guardiola, the Bayern Munich manager in Madrid preparing for tomorrow's match against Atlético, shook his head as he watched Manchester City playing so defensively.
If it were him, he would choose to substitute Yaya Touré with Fernandinho.
For Manchester City to overturn this, they must gain control of the midfield; otherwise, Real Madrid's attacks will continue wave after wave.
Stopping one wave is meaningless because Real Madrid's attacks are endless.
Pellegrini also realized this, although Fernandinho hadn't admitted his mistake to him yet.
But from the current match situation, the team needed him on the field!
Thinking this, Pellegrini looked towards Fernandinho, instructing his assistant coach to go remind him to warm up.
Upon hearing his name, Fernandinho quickly jumped up from the bench and ran along the sideline, warming up around the pitch.
Clearly, he had been ready to come on.
Although he still disagreed with the head coach, he wouldn't refuse Pellegrini's decision to send him onto the field at this time.
Just as Pellegrini was preparing to make the substitution, Ancelotti began adjusting personnel first.
The Manchester City coaching staff had expected their opponents to settle for defending by substituting in defensive players to secure their lead. But seeing the players Ancelotti was bringing on, the entire Manchester City coaching staff was stunned!
Ancelotti didn't strengthen the defense but instead continued to bolster the attack.
He substituted Isco for the Angel of the Wing—Di María!
Di María and Fernandinho came on consecutively. The difference was one was an attacking player, the other defensive.
Based on this substitution alone, it seemed like Real Madrid was trailing Manchester City in the lead. However, the actual result was quite the opposite.
Manchester City didn't replace Yaya Touré but rather Kroos.
Clearly, Pellegrini believed Kroos hadn't performed well in this match, hence the decision to replace him.
Seeing the Chilean's decision, Guardiola was dumbfounded.
Pellegrini substituted Fernandinho in to protect Kroos, right?
Why replace Kroos?
He couldn't understand this decision!
Seeing the substitution board on the sidelines, Kroos was a bit frustrated, walking towards the sidelines with his head down in silence.
He hadn't played well in this match because Real Madrid's attack was too fierce, forcing him to bear a heavy defensive burden.
Kroos's defensive capabilities were not exceptional, and coupled with facing a group of top stars, his defensive performance naturally fell short of expectations.
What's more, after wasting too much energy on defense, his performance on the offensive end was poor, unable to deliver precise long passes like he did in the previous match.
Moreover, due to the fierce pressure from Real Madrid players, Kroos found it difficult to control the tempo of the game several times, ending in failure.
Being substituted early now left Kroos unavoidably feeling somewhat frustrated.
The team was behind in score, and he was taken off early, now sitting on the bench watching the match like a spectator, unable to influence the outcome anymore.
He had a strong feeling that Manchester City would lose away and lose their hope of advancing!
It wasn't just him; Lin Quan also had the same feeling.
After Fernandinho came on, although he successfully froze Modric, Di María became active in the frontcourt again. His cooperation with Ronaldo, Benzema, and others continuously troubled Manchester City's defense.
Time passed by second by second, and the score remained 2-0.
What's worse, Real Madrid still held the advantage on the field.
This convinced Real Madrid fans that their team would definitely win this match and advance to the final.
Thus, the Bernabéu began echoing with chants:
"Come on Madrid! Noble and dignified! Come on Madrid! Fight with all your might! Defend your noble white!"
...
Under the cheers, the Real Madrid players became more and more excited, more and more active.
In the 73rd minute of the second half, Di María dribbled to the sideline and, after two consecutive one-twos with Bale, charged towards the edge of Manchester City's penalty area.
Just as he was about to dribble into Manchester City's penalty area to take a shot, he was suddenly fouled and lost the ball.
The stadium erupted in uproar. Real Madrid fans focused and saw that the one who fouled wasn't a Manchester City defender but their number 10, Lin Quan.
Lin Quan had observed earlier that Di María liked to move to the left side, so he waited specifically here to defend against him.
As it turned out, his judgment was accurate. Di María indeed dribbled in from the left and aimed to shoot.
Lin Quan lunged towards the ball with a clean tackle. He didn't touch Di María at all. Even though Di María exaggeratedly flopped into Manchester City's penalty area, Lin Quan paid no attention. He quickly got up from the ground, passed the ball to De Bruyne, and then sprinted at full speed towards Real Madrid's half.
De Bruyne was similarly unaffected by Di María's dramatic fall in Manchester City's penalty area. After receiving Lin Quan's pass, he quickly delivered a through ball, bypassing Real Madrid's midfield and sending the ball near the center circle.
The pass was exquisite, helping Lin Quan evade the interception of Real Madrid's midfield!
After receiving the ball, Lin Quan rapidly advanced towards Real Madrid's half, getting closer and closer to their goal.
Boos erupted in the stadium. Real Madrid fans were particularly displeased with Manchester City, especially Lin Quan's actions.
They believed it was not only a vicious foul but also lacked sportsmanship, continuing the attack even when a player was injured.
However, the main referee was nearby and saw clearly that Lin Quan did not make contact with anyone. Therefore, he did not call a foul but signaled for the game to continue.
Seeing the referee's decision, the Real Madrid players were instantly in disarray.
Most of them were out of position since the opponents had already dribbled past half the field.
"Quick, quick, defend!"
Vice-captain Ramos roared and rushed towards Lin Quan first.
He was closest to Lin Quan and intended to try and block him.
If he couldn't block him, Ramos was prepared to use tactical fouling to stop Manchester City's counterattack.
Lin Quan understood Ramos's intentions very clearly. He didn't give Ramos a chance to foul.
Seeing Ramos charging aggressively towards him, Lin Quan kicked the ball past Ramos and evaded his tackle!
Seeing Lin Quan evade Ramos in this manner, Bale, who was lazily tracking back on the sideline, was stunned.
Why did this move feel so familiar?
The home fans of Real Madrid sensed the danger of conceding a goal. They desperately booed, trying to disturb Lin Quan.
Casillas decisively chose to rush out when Ramos was pressing Lin Quan. The area inside and outside Real Madrid's penalty area was completely open. If he didn't come out, it would be like waiting for death.
Rather than waiting for death, he chose to take the chance when Lin Quan passed Ramos to compete for the ball!
Casillas judged that he had a chance to get to the ball because Lin Quan had kicked it quite far, almost in between the two players!
As long as he could get a touch on the ball first, he could disrupt it!
Real Madrid fans saw Casillas rushing out and stopped booing Lin Quan. They all nervously stood up, craning their necks to watch the field, waiting for the verdict of fate!
Casillas was already quite fast, but what shocked him was that Lin Quan was even faster.
The match had already gone on for over seventy minutes, yet he still had this kind of speed!
Casillas's pupils contracted suddenly as he realized the danger.
He feared that he wouldn't be able to get to the ball before Lin Quan!
So, gritting his teeth, Casillas chose to slide tackle, trying to disrupt the ball.
Lin, give it up. Even if you score this goal, Manchester City will still be behind by one goal.
And you might get seriously injured from this shot. It's really not worth it, so please give it up!
However, within Casillas's line of sight, Lin Quan resolutely lifted his foot and kicked towards the football.
He didn't dodge!
(End of this chapter)
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