Chapter 265: The Show of Lin Quan, Bale, and Ronaldo!
Pepe widened his eyes in astonishment. He didn't expect Lin Quan to have the guts to try and break through as he closed in.
This made Pepe a bit angry!
This guy doesn't take me seriously at all!
Even though Pepe was angry, he didn't lose his composure.
He immediately blocked Lin Quan's path, making it impossible for him to pass easily.
The ball might get past, but Lin Quan won't!
At the same time, Xabi Alonso blocked Lin Quan's route to the left, stretching out his foot to steal the ball.
Along with Arbeloa behind Pepe, Real Madrid formed a layered defense against Lin Quan near the penalty area.
No matter which direction Lin Quan tried to break through, he would be intercepted.
It seemed that Manchester City's counterattack would be stopped in front of Real Madrid's goal.
However, Lin Quan, knowing the risks, charged towards Pepe's left side without hesitation. Pepe raised his arm to block him, pushing him outward to prevent him from shooting or adjusting his dribble.
Pepe was very strong, and Lin Quan seemed to be at a disadvantage in the physical confrontation, getting pushed away.
Seeing his successful defense, Pepe was overjoyed and further underestimated Lin Quan, thinking he wasn't much of a threat.
But then he suddenly realized the ball wasn't at Lin Quan's feet anymore!
Lin Quan had stopped in front of him, but the ball was no longer there!
Looking up, Pepe saw the ball had somehow been passed out of the penalty area by Lin Quan.
From behind, Manchester City's attacking midfielder De Bruyne rushed in at high speed!
Pepe instantly understood. Lin Quan had pretended to be pushed aside in the physical confrontation to create space in the middle for De Bruyne to shoot.
However, realizing this came too late for any corrective action!
De Bruyne struck the ball hard!
With a loud bang, the ball flew towards Real Madrid's goal.
Like Pepe, Casillas had thought the ball was at Lin Quan's feet and was caught off guard by the sudden pass during the duel with Pepe.
Seeing De Bruyne's shot, Casillas had no time to react and could only jump hurriedly.
While still in mid-air, Casillas knew he couldn't reach the ball.
With a swoosh, the ball hit the net.
Manchester City scored with their first attack.
With an earth-shattering roar, the Etihad Stadium erupted in cheers!
Manchester City fans jumped and celebrated wildly.
De Bruyne, who scored, was equally excited, pointing at Lin Quan and rushing towards him.
De Bruyne intended to hug Lin Quan in celebration, but Lin Quan turned around, bent slightly, and let De Bruyne jump onto his back, carrying him around the field in celebration!
De Bruyne's shot was very decisive. Had he hesitated even half a second, Casillas would have reacted in time!
So, while Lin Quan's pass was brilliant, De Bruyne's final touch was also crucial.
Real Madrid's defense was indeed strong. Relying solely on a few forwards to break through their defense was not guaranteed to work.
Like just now, Pepe and others had almost completely restricted Lin Quan, limiting his forward space.
But they failed to prevent De Bruyne from cutting in, giving Manchester City a rare chance.
Real Madrid won't make such a mistake again, so if this opportunity wasn't seized, it wouldn't come again!
Fortunately, De Bruyne seized it!
On the sidelines, Pellegrini was ecstatic after De Bruyne's goal, waving his arms and rushing out from the coach's bench.
Players and coaches on Manchester City's bench were equally excited!
We are leading Real Madrid!
Not even five minutes into the game, and we're ahead!
What a dream start!
In the box at Etihad Stadium, the boss from the UAE, Mansour, who had come to watch the game, stood up and applauded the players after the team scored first.
He felt immense relief and joy, thankful for his decision to invite Lin Quan to Munich!
Before Lin Quan joined, Manchester City had twice failed to advance from the Champions League group stage, struggling even to get through the group, let alone lead against Real Madrid.
But after Lin Quan joined, these problems disappeared!
Though Lin Quan didn't score directly, most of the credit for the goal went to him.
Without him drawing the defenders' attention and creating space for De Bruyne, De Bruyne wouldn't have had the chance to score.
With such an early lead, could Manchester City beat the mighty Real Madrid at home?
On the visitors' bench, Ancelotti, who had been relaxed, frowned and chewed his gum faster after De Bruyne's goal.
Manchester City's play was indeed beautiful, mainly because of Lin Quan's smart handling.
Instead of recklessly clashing with Real Madrid's defense, Lin Quan created a false impression of forcing through, deceiving the defenders, and then covertly passed the ball with his heel.
This clever and calm move ensured any advancing Manchester City player could shoot.
Is this Manchester City's attacking strategy today?
Using Lin Quan as a decoy, with the real threat coming from behind?
Ancelotti glanced at Pellegrini, thinking how the old guy had prepared such a "surprise" for him!
But it's okay; conceding a goal away from home was expected for Real Madrid.
Ancelotti wasn't too worried because he never planned to fully stop Manchester City's attack.
The key to this game wasn't whether Manchester City could score, but whether Real Madrid could score!
Before UEFA restructured the Champions League, away goals were crucial.
Many teams advanced by the away goals rule!
So, the away team could accept a loss but not a goalless game.
As long as they scored an away goal, anything was possible back home!
With this in mind, Ancelotti signaled his team to increase their attack.
Real Madrid's attacking power was no weaker than Manchester City's; if Manchester City could score, so could Real Madrid!
Seeing Lin Quan assist his teammate in scoring, Real Madrid's Ronaldo and others couldn't sit still!
The game's focus was on the direct duel between him and Lin Quan!
After Manchester City's double win over Barcelona, the doubts about Lin Quan standing alongside Messi and Ronaldo had mostly disappeared.
If Lin Quan could lead Manchester City to another victory over Real Madrid, he would not only join the ranks of Messi and Ronaldo but even surpass them.
Ronaldo couldn't accept this!
His competitive nature wouldn't allow such a defeat!
So, Ronaldo became extremely active in the front.
In the 7th minute, Ronaldo took a long shot from outside the penalty area, but it just brushed the crossbar and flew into the stands. The Portuguese player held his head in frustration.
Five minutes later, he received a pass from Modric, bypassed Demichelis, and entered the penalty area, but his final touch was too heavy, allowing Joe Hart to intercept the ball.
Before transforming into a pure striker due to injuries, Ronaldo wasn't just a goal poacher.
At this time, Ronaldo was fast, had strong dribbling skills, could break through defenses, and score goals. He was incredibly powerful and versatile, the pinnacle of what a winger could be!
Because of this, fans called him "Golden Edge Ronaldo!"
In one-on-one defense, Kolarov struggled against him and often needed help from teammates.
Real Madrid's attackers were all very strong. If Manchester City assigned multiple players to defend Ronaldo, it would leave fewer defenders for other positions!
In the 22nd minute, Ronaldo attracted defenders again on the wing, and Modric passed the ball to the other side, reaching Bale.
Unlike Benzema, Bale was ambitious.
He knew Ronaldo was strong but believed he was even stronger.
So, Bale wanted to become Real Madrid's top star and compete with Ronaldo for the team leader position!
After receiving Modric's pass, Bale quickly sped up and charged towards Manchester City's penalty area like a storm.
Having learned from a previous mistake, Zabaleta didn't dare to rush forward this time.
He turned sideways and retreated, preparing to contest the ball and stay ready to turn and chase Bale.
Seeing Zabaleta's stance, Bale chose to pass the ball.
Modric, who came to support, received Bale's pass and quickly sent it forward, behind Zabaleta.
Modric had seen Bale's speed and trusted he could get to the ball before Zabaleta.
Bale didn't disappoint. As soon as he passed the ball to Modric, he sprinted forward and reached the ball before Zabaleta.
This time, Kroos was marking the advancing Isco and didn't help defend Bale.
This gave Bale an opportunity. He took the ball into the penalty area at high speed, dodged Kompany's interception, and shot from a tight angle.
It was a low shot, and Joe Hart dove to save it, trying to block it with his hand.
But the ball was too powerful. It deflected off his hand, hit the crossbar, and bounced into the net!
1:1!
Real Madrid equalized in the 23rd minute of the first half!
After scoring, Bale sprinted to the sideline camera, clenched his fists, and roared into the lens, looking just like the Monkey King from Journey to the West!
Real Madrid's players rushed to Bale, surrounding him and celebrating wildly.
Only Ronaldo, who was farther away, didn't join in. He clapped symbolically but didn't run over.
He was actually quite displeased.
He had clearly signaled for the ball, but Modric passed to Bale instead.
Passing to Bale was one thing, but then Bale scored!
This made Ronaldo a bit jealous. It was one thing for Lin to refuse to exchange jerseys with him, but now even Modric was betraying him?
Ancelotti clapped in satisfaction when the team equalized, looking calm and composed, as if everything was under control.
The 5,000 traveling Real Madrid fans at the Etihad Stadium were far from calm. Seeing Bale's goal, they chanted his name wildly.
This pleased Bale greatly, making him feel very proud. It seemed he was quite popular within Real Madrid!
Bale wanted to compete with Ronaldo for the top position in the team mainly because of his transfer fee.
He joined Real Madrid with the highest transfer fee in football history, even higher than Ronaldo's at the time.
With the highest transfer fee in football, anyone would have ambitions, not just Bale!
Moreover, Bale believed he could do everything Ronaldo could, and he had a speed advantage that Ronaldo didn't. So why couldn't he be the leader?
Pellegrini frowned. Although Bale scored, the key to the goal was Modric's pass.
If they didn't deal with Modric, he would become a huge threat to Manchester City.
So, Pellegrini called Yaya Toure over and gave him some instructions.
From then on, Yaya Toure closely marked Modric.
However, this tactic didn't work well because Real Madrid had more than one playmaker!
With Modric marked, Real Madrid quickly shifted the playmaking duties to Xabi Alonso.
Before Modric joined the team, Xabi Alonso was Real Madrid's midfield brain.
But after continuous injuries last year, his playing time decreased, and his form declined, gradually stepping back and leaving the playmaking duties mostly to Modric.
But that didn't mean Xabi Alonso couldn't handle the role anymore.
Positioned deeper, Xabi Alonso had better physical fitness and stronger body strength.
Manchester City's forwards couldn't pressure and disrupt him as effectively as they did with Modric!
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Xabi Alonso dodged De Bruyne's pressing, looked up to observe the positioning of the players in the front, and quickly delivered a long pass over 40 meters.
Xabi Alonso's long passes were different from others; the ball seemed to have eyes under his feet, always finding a teammate or landing in a weak spot in the opponent's defense.
Ronaldo, having played with Xabi Alonso for four or five years, knew his passing skills very well.
Seeing Xabi Alonso look up, Ronaldo immediately started to move.
He believed that if he found space, his teammate would get the ball to him!
Modric and Bale both came from Tottenham, so it was normal for them to be closer. Modric favoring Bale was expected.
But Xabi Alonso came from Liverpool and joined Real Madrid the same year Ronaldo did.
Their relationship was closer, so Xabi Alonso was more likely to pass to him.
Ronaldo's judgment was accurate. As he ran, the ball landed in front of him. This pass was not only meant for him, but Xabi Alonso had also calculated the lead time. If Ronaldo hadn't started early, he wouldn't have gotten the ball!
Great pass!
Ronaldo praised silently, controlled the ball with a masterful touch, and before the defenders could interfere, he unleashed a powerful shot towards the goal.
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