Bab 250: Chapter 250: The Era of Dual Heroes in Football Officially Enters the Three Kingdoms Period!
Chapter 250: The Era of Dual Heroes in Football Officially Enters the Three Kingdoms Period!
"Goal!!!"
"Unbelievable! It's hard to believe that the first team to score at Camp Nou is actually Manchester City!"
"Lin, this 18-year-old young player, has made his debut at Camp Nou by scoring against his former club. He stood up once again when his team was in a difficult situation, delivering a golden goal after a long run!"
"You can always count on Lin!"
"Barça is in trouble. If the match ends with this score, it will be very unfavorable for their progression!"
"Even if they eventually defeat Manchester City, conceding a goal at home will put Barça in a very difficult position!"
Commentators from various TV stations went crazy the moment Lin scored this goal.
Few people had expected Manchester City to perform well before the match. The first 30 minutes went as expected, with strong Barça dominating, and Manchester City struggling under their intense pressure. Barça's victory seemed inevitable.
However, Lin's goal shattered everything!
What good is high possession or more shots if you can't score?
Football is ultimately a game about who scores more goals, and now, Manchester City has one, while Barça has none!
Therefore, many experts began to doubt their judgment.
Did Barça really have the advantage?
On the sidelines, Barça's coach Martino was also pondering this question.
Since taking over Barça, he realized that the possession-based tactics left by Guardiola were not as effective as before.
Possession football demands a lot from the team's lineup. Players need excellent passing skills and stamina to execute high pressing in the front.
Controlling the ball and using attack instead of defense is the essence of Guardiola's tactics.
This strategy was highly successful a few years ago, not only because opponents weren't familiar with it but also due to Barça's lineup at the time.
Guardiola's Barça was significantly younger. When he led them to a Champions League victory, Messi was only in his early 20s, Xavi was under 30, and players like Iniesta and Busquets were in their prime ages of 23-26.
At that time, they had the stamina to execute high pressing. Opponents either couldn't get the ball and had to defend passively, or when they did get the ball, they quickly lost it to Barça's pressing, falling back into a defensive struggle.
But now, it's hard for Barça to execute this high pressing tactic.
The players are older, their running ability is not as it was. Inspired by Mourinho, other teams have developed strategies against their possession tactics—using space to buy time.
Football is a game of time and space!
Barça's possession maximizes space utilization, patiently passing the ball around, changing positions frequently, overlapping, and midfielders joining the attack to pull apart the opponent's defense and find breakthroughs.
Once the opponent makes a mistake, Barça's thunderous strike follows.
But because their build-up takes time, their efficiency in using time is naturally low.
Mourinho did the opposite, abandoning space control to maximize time efficiency.
His teams don't chase possession, letting you have the ball, and seizing opportunities from your attacking errors.
When his team gains possession, they launch the most extreme, efficient counter-attacks. Players don't need complex movements and passes; they go straight forward, with forwards sprinting.
In just two or three passes, the ball moves from their own box to the opponent's box.
Mourinho's Real Madrid could complete an attack in ten seconds or less.
With such short time, most of the opponent's players don't have time to retreat, making the counter-attack highly efficient. If the ball reaches the forwards, it likely results in a goal.
Manchester City's attack was a replica of that Real Madrid.
This realization made Martino waver.
In Guardiola's later years at Barça, they struggled against Mourinho's tactics.
Now, his Barça is two years older. Can they win against such tactics from Manchester City?
It wasn't just Martino thinking this. Seeing Lin's goal, many Barça players felt a sense of defeat.
They had controlled the ball for 30 minutes, had six shots, but no goals.
Yet, the opponent scored with just one counter-attack!
The contrast was too stark, causing inevitable frustration among Barça players.
Neymar, who joined Barça last summer and didn't experience their peak, began to doubt if possession football was the right approach.
Messi stood on the field, hands on hips, watching Lin celebrate with his teammates.
He wasn't surprised Lin scored.
What concerned him was how well the opponent understood his playing style, even predicting his moves.
Was it luck?
Or did they know him that well?
Messi decided to try again.
When the match resumed, Messi asked for the ball.
His teammates trusted his ability and passed it to him immediately.
As expected, Lin appeared in front of him again.
This time, Messi didn't underestimate him. Despite Lin not being a specialized defender, his previous defense showed his capability.
Messi made a feint, shifting his weight to the right while preparing to break through.
Seeing Messi's move, Lin became alert.
Here it comes!
The dilemma for defenders against Messi!
Ignoring his feint, Messi would turn it real and break through. Following his feint would lead to him adjusting faster and passing.
Whatever choice seems wrong!
This move worked well for Lin in one-on-ones, with a high success rate.
Knowing its power didn't mean Lin could stop it!
Though familiar with Messi's style, he wasn't Messi and didn't know his final choice.
When using this move, Lin based his decision on the defender's response.
Seeing Lin not choose, Messi broke through to the right.
Lin turned a step slower, unable to catch up.
Kroos intercepted immediately.
Messi passed to Neymar, who pushed down the flank.
City's full-back rushed in, but Messi had moved to the flank, received Neymar's pass, and cut into City's box.
Kompany intercepted, blocking Messi's shot and path.
Messi passed again, finding Iniesta at the box edge.
Iniesta chipped the ball to the left side of the box, knowing Messi would be there.
Indeed, Messi trusted the pass without watching.
Had Messi run straight to the left, City's defenders would be more alert.
But Messi smartly moved back a step, confusing the defenders, giving him space to receive!
For Messi, such space is a deadly mistake!
Player and ball met.
Messi, chesting the ball, volleyed it into City's goal.
City's defenders raised their hands, signaling offside.
The linesman didn't raise his flag, so the referee confirmed the goal as valid.
The slow-motion replay showed the goal was extremely close to being offside.
When Messi made his run, the Manchester City defender moved forward, making it look like an offside.
If Messi had been half a second faster, or if the Manchester City defenders had moved forward a bit quicker, the goal would have been offside.
In the 33rd minute, thanks to Messi's goal, Barcelona equalized the score.
The Barcelona fans at Camp Nou could finally celebrate without any reservations.
Messi, the hero of the goal, celebrated in his signature style, pointing both hands towards the sky.
The main focus of this match between Manchester City and Barcelona was the direct confrontation between Messi and Lin Quan.
Messi became famous earlier and had more honors.
Before the match, everyone expected Messi to outperform, but surprisingly, Lin Quan scored the first goal.
This shocked many and put Messi under pressure.
Now, he finally scored, so he wouldn't be outdone by Lin Quan!
Interestingly, despite the media hype around his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo, calling them the "two best players of the generation," Messi always felt calm about it.
He never saw Ronaldo as his main rival and didn't care much about the media hype.
But Lin Quan was different!
From the first day Messi saw Lin Quan play, he realized that this guy would become his biggest competitor!
He had secretly followed Lin Quan for two years and even learned some techniques from watching him play, using Lin Quan as a mirror to improve his own skills.
Although Messi never admitted it publicly, in his heart, he had long regarded Lin Quan as his biggest rival!
So, he cared more about this match than anyone else could imagine!
Seeing Messi's goal, Lin Quan felt a bit helpless.
Defending against Messi was really hard, and he shouldn't have hesitated earlier.
He should have either committed to a tackle or gambled on whose reaction speed was faster. The reason Messi and he were so hard to defend was their quick footwork, allowing them to respond faster than their opponents.
Even if their footwork speed was the same, Messi still had the upper hand, while he was in a disadvantageous defensive position.
Therefore, in such confrontations, he would probably lose more often than not.
Was there any way to stop Messi?
Lin Quan pondered deeply.
Messi's goal boosted Barcelona's momentum significantly. They increased the pace of the game and pressed more aggressively in the front field.
The ball moved quickly between Barcelona players, with constant position swaps among Messi, Neymar, and others, and the full-backs pushing forward to assist.
Messi, Neymar, and Iniesta all had chances to shoot, and Barcelona launched a wave of attacks.
This round of attacks put Manchester City in a tough spot, with Yaya Touré and Kompany both receiving yellow cards for their defensive efforts.
Referee Kuipers was very strict, issuing cards decisively.
After getting yellow cards, Yaya Touré and Kompany became more cautious, making Manchester City's defense even more difficult.
During this period, Joe Hart became the busiest player on the field.
He made several crucial saves to keep Barcelona's score from increasing.
But this couldn't go on. After their earlier goal, Barcelona was very cautious about Manchester City's counter-attacks.
They would immediately press hard and in numbers to win back the ball after losing it.
Except for Lin Quan, it was hard for other Manchester City players to hold the ball under such pressure, let alone pass it out.
Seeing that the first half was almost over and unable to get the ball up front, Lin Quan decided to retreat to the edge of the penalty area to help with defense.
No matter what, they had to hold the score until halftime!
Barcelona didn't want Manchester City to succeed in this and hoped to score another goal before halftime to take the lead into the dressing room.
In the 41st minute, the ball reached Messi's feet again.
Lin Quan stepped up to face Messi.
Here we go again?
Messi saw Lin Quan once more and was less worried than before.
They had faced each other twice, each winning once.
With previous success, Messi felt more confident.
He made the same move, posing a choice for Lin Quan.
However, Lin Quan had already figured out his countermeasure. He stepped back.
If the choice is difficult, then I simply won't make a choice.
I'll leave the initiative to you!
Messi was surprised by Lin Quan's move: Did he step back on purpose?
Was he scared?
No, definitely not!
Messi knew Lin Quan had never shown fear!
Yaya Touré was closing in from the side, and Messi couldn't think too much. Using the space created by Lin Quan's retreat, Messi made his move forward.
Lin Quan had anticipated this choice. As he retreated, he quickly turned and positioned himself side-by-side with Messi.
At the same time, Lin Quan leaned his body into Messi's, engaging in a physical confrontation, making it hard for Messi to dribble smoothly.
Messi struggled against Lin Quan, who had the advantage in height and weight, putting Messi at a disadvantage in their physical duel.
Realizing this, Messi quickly turned to relieve the pressure but lost the chance to attack Manchester City's penalty area.
Seeing Lin Quan successfully defend against Messi one-on-one again, the fans and commentators were all very surprised.
One success might be luck, but what about twice?
Can that still be considered luck?
"Wow, it's surprising that Lin Quan managed to freeze Messi in a one-on-one defense!"
Messi had been a nightmare for defenders in La Liga and the Champions League, rarely being stopped in one-on-one situations. So, Lin Quan's success was unexpected.
"Lin has made outstanding contributions on both offense and defense. So far, his performance has undoubtedly been better than Messi's!"
As the first half was almost over, the score was still 1:1, with both Lin Quan and Messi having scored one goal each. In terms of goals, they were tied.
However, Lin Quan's defensive contributions were greater. For an offensive player to achieve this, what more could you ask for?
"Before the game, many people doubted putting Lin Quan in the same category as Messi and Ronaldo. I think after this game, those doubts should be much quieter!"
In the CCTV studio, commentator He Wei was full of praise for Lin Quan's performance in the first half:
"Lin Quan is undoubtedly on the same level as Messi and Ronaldo!"
"In the future, the two-horse race in football will probably turn into a three-way battle!"
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