Chapter 783: Chapter 45: I’ve Got a Fanboy Now? (2)
Chen Zhong noticed Mourinho on the sidelines, who raised his hands at that moment, signaling the pre-arranged signal.
"Counterattack?" Chen Zhong’s eyes lit up. Only 5-6 minutes into the second half, far earlier than their originally planned time, but seeing Atletico Madrid so reckless, Chen Zhong also thought it was a good opportunity.
Real Madrid’s signal for a counterattack was obvious.
Just look at Chen Zhong’s position.
"Real Madrid has the ball."
"Passed to the flank."
"Quick counterattack!"
"Quickly passed to the front field."
"Cross pass."
"Chen Zhong has the ball!"
"Burst into the penalty area, on the left side."
"Outside foot shot."
Goding firmly blocked Chen Zhong from the side. He almost lost balance, but he knew he couldn’t let Chen Zhong complete the shot easily.
Indeed, he did disrupt Chen Zhong, preventing him from directly taking a strong shot.
In the end, he could only attempt an outside foot shot with his left foot, trying to break through Atletico Madrid’s goal.
De Gea was highly focused, even making a dive.
"An outside foot shot inside the penalty area."
"Unfortunately, it slightly missed the post."
"De Gea is very focused!"
"A very unfortunate counterattack."
Chen Zhong furrowed his brows, frustratingly tapping his head, then he looked at Goding who had just blocked him. This Uruguayan center-back was smart; he didn’t hold against him like other center-backs he knew but swayed like grass bending in the wind.
His intention was clear—just simple interference—and he did it well. If it weren’t for Goding...
Chen Zhong glanced at De Gea climbing back up.
Muttering to himself, he thought, "Shouldn’t I just blast it with a heavy cannon and break you down; just a mighty blast at the goal, alright!"
After this attack, Diego Simeone was also calling out the names of players, trying to make the team play more steadily. If Real Madrid broke through the goal again, things would be irreparable.
Chen Zhong also received focused attention, especially from Koke, who stuck to Chen Zhong like glue. Although a slight shake could rid him, he still caused some trouble for Chen Zhong.
"Chen, Chen!" Cristiano Ronaldo actively raised his hand, eager to score after Real Madrid started counterattacking.
Chen Zhong once again squeezed past Koke beside him, without hesitation passing the ball to the Portuguese who was on the flank.
The Portuguese received the ball, turned, and dribbled seamlessly, directly charging into the penalty area.
Goding’s close defense again forced a hurried shot.
"C. Ronaldo charged into the penalty area."
"Slightly missed the goal under defensive pressure."
"His performance has been very active during this time."
"But slightly lacking a bit of luck."
With the goal threatened twice, Atletico Madrid also became serious, but in the face of Real Madrid gradually controlling the game pace, they were still unable to halt their offensive.
"Real Madrid’s attack."
"Chen Zhong has the ball."
"Passed to Marcelo."
"Marcelo crosses."
"C. Ronaldo."
"Header slightly off target..."
Real Madrid’s offense was like waves, and Cristiano Ronaldo had three or four direct chances to threaten Atletico Madrid’s goal but failed to seize them.
"In the 69th minute, Real Madrid used a substitution quota."
"Adebayor replaces Benzema."
"A direct substitution."
When Benzema exited, Mourinho gave him a hug from the sidelines. Substituting Benzema was for several reasons, one of which was just moments ago, Benzema was tethered by Cristiano Ronaldo again.
If Benzema, during his wall pass with the Portuguese, chose to pass to Chen Zhong instead of the Portuguese at the last moment, then Chen Zhong could take a more probable long shot to score.
But Benzema didn’t, and he passed to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Among the Portuguese’s four shots, at least half could have been passed to better-positioned teammates.
Mourinho looked at Cristiano Ronaldo, although comparatively, he had shed many attributes of a lone wolf, yet at times, he was still prone to being too solitary.
"Real Madrid’s attack."
"C. Ronaldo has been very active during this time."
"Pass, to C. Ronaldo!"
"A very rough sliding tackle."
"C. Ronaldo falls to the ground."
"Seems very painful."
Cristiano Ronaldo lay on the ground, Uyfalusi raised his hand nearby, appearing innocent.
Seemingly expressing regret, but in fact provocative.
The referee showed no signals, deeming it a reasonable physical collision.
"Ouch..." Cristiano Ronaldo looked up at Chen Zhong, muttering: "Sss~"
"It’s alright." Chen Zhong reassured the Portuguese while signaling the side for a substitution, mindful of the high-intensity fouls of Atletico Madrid and the possibility of exacerbating a recent injury of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Seeing this, Mourinho clearly also realized the necessity for player protection, substituting Di Maria for the Portuguese.
This substituted him, indicating his regard for the players. Kaka was evidently more important than Di Maria.
"The referee’s penalty scale is somewhat lenient."
"Atletico Madrid’s fouls have been too frequent during this time."
"They attempt to disrupt Real Madrid’s rhythm this way."
"Atletico Madrid controls the ball."
"Uyfalusi"
"Chen Zhong!"
The fans in the stands of Atletico Madrid shouted loudly, trying to intimidate and affect the players on the field.
After being substituted, Cristiano Ronaldo sat on the sidelines dealing with the injury on his foot, carefully bandaged by the team doctor.
Atletico Madrid kicked the ball out, Uyfalusi took the ball, trying to advance on the flank; facing him was Marcelo. As he attempted to dribble past Marcelo, suddenly a white figure skidded sideways from the flank.
The entire stadium erupted into a chaotic, boiling, furious sound.
They watched as the hero who just tackled the crying Portuguese was directly tackled and sent flying by Real Madrid’s captain, the Butcher.
Yes, just as Uyfalusi received the ball.
The keenly observing Chen Zhong charged at Uyfalusi from the side, but the man didn’t notice the danger and purposely slowed his angle, seemingly inviting the tackle.
Faced with such a live target, Chen Zhong showed no mercy.
Sprinting, sliding, flying.
The ball was tackled out of bounds, the man was carried and sent flying too.
A piercing whistle blew, the referee hurried over, pulling out a yellow card while running.
Chen Zhong’s slide was very standard, but Uyfalusi flew so high, and the pain apparent on the ground made the referee have the illusion that Chen Zhong might want to kill.
"He’s alright."
"I tackled the ball first." Chen Zhong explained to the referee, indifferent to the yellow card.
The referee looked at Chen Zhong, holding the yellow card high, knowing despite Chen Zhong’s standard actions, they were too forceful; to control the game’s rhythm and pacify the stands’ fans, he had to issue a yellow card.
Simultaneously, he understood the situation.
Just standing up for a teammate?
Sidelined, Cristiano Ronaldo, seeing this scenario, his initially aggrieved expression disappeared, standing tall, seemingly saying, "Look, this is my brother, he did this to stand up for me."
See, who dares to bully me now!
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