Chapter 266: 16 Goals in a Single Season, Breaking the Champions League Record!
"Xabi Alonso, long pass to Ronaldo!"
"Ronaldo shoots, the ball is in! What a beautiful goal!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo scores a crucial goal at the Etihad Stadium, helping Real Madrid turn the game around to 2-1 against Manchester City!"
After scoring, Ronaldo runs excitedly to the away fans, spreading his arms and jumping high to perform his signature celebration. The Real Madrid fans at the scene respond with a loud "siu" cheer, celebrating their star player.
Seeing Ronaldo's goal, Real Madrid players rush to the sidelines, surrounding him like stars around the moon, celebrating together. However, Gareth Bale is notably absent from the group.
From a distance, Bale spits and decides not to join the celebration.
On the Real Madrid bench, Ancelotti pumps his fists in excitement and runs a few steps on the sidelines. Ronaldo's goal has shifted the advantage to Real Madrid. If the game ends with this score, Real Madrid's chances of advancing to the semifinals would exceed 80%!
Ronaldo's goal greatly boosts Real Madrid's morale, and their attacks become even more intense. Manchester City's defense begins to crumble under pressure.
It's undeniable that Bale's arrival has significantly enhanced Real Madrid's offensive capabilities. Although his coordination with Ronaldo isn't very seamless, their presence alone poses a huge threat to Manchester City's defense.
Throughout the first half, Manchester City's two flanks are firmly suppressed by Real Madrid. While Lin Quan is active, he can only dominate one flank. The other wingback frequently assists in attacks, providing substantial support for Real Madrid's offense.
Manchester City has only one Lin Quan, but Real Madrid has two hundred-million-euro players. Numerically, Real Madrid is in the lead!
In the 43rd minute, Real Madrid nearly extends their lead again when Ronaldo's highly threatening shot in the penalty area is barely saved by Joe Hart.
Manchester City fans at the scene begin to worry. Real Madrid's fierce attacks over these past minutes have made them fully aware of the fearsome power of the Galacticos. If the game continues like this, Manchester City is bound to lose!
Realizing this, Lin Quan takes advantage of a dead ball opportunity to discuss with De Bruyne and others. Since their flanks are suppressed and their wingbacks can't assist in attacks, they decide to launch a counterattack from the midfield.
However, to launch a counterattack from the midfield, they must bypass Real Madrid's midfield line. Among Isco, Modric, and Xabi Alonso, the hardest to bypass is clearly Xabi Alonso.
He's the linchpin of Real Madrid's midfield. If they can't get past him, it's hard to threaten Real Madrid's goal. Moreover, if they lose the ball, Xabi Alonso might quickly deliver a precise long pass to launch a Real Madrid counterattack.
Thus, attacking through the middle is very risky. But with Manchester City trailing, if they don't take the risk, they face a slow demise!
De Bruyne and others agree with Lin Quan's idea and plan to change their strategy to try attacking through the middle!
In the 44th minute of the first half, with Yaya Toure's help, De Bruyne successfully intercepts Isco's ball. He quickly passes it to Lin Quan before Real Madrid's players can intercept.
Lin Quan carries the ball along the middle, with Real Madrid's defense line retreating at full speed, leading to a race of speed. Modric rushes towards Lin Quan almost immediately, trying to disrupt his advance.
However, Modric is not a professional defender. Though his defensive abilities are slightly stronger than De Bruyne's, he still can't compete with Lin Quan. Lin Quan easily gets past him with a feint and a sidestep. However, this slight delay allows Xabi Alonso to position himself.
Xabi Alonso is clearly more challenging to deal with than Modric. Lin Quan dares not slow down, knowing that if he gets bogged down, the trailing Real Madrid players will quickly double-team and press him.
Moreover, without speed, Manchester City's quick counterattack would turn into a positional battle, giving Real Madrid's defenders enough time to prepare.
Lin Quan chooses to speed up again!
Xabi Alonso's pupils contract, realizing Lin Quan intends to force his way through. He immediately positions himself to block Lin Quan from easily getting past.
Lin Quan anticipates Alonso's move, changes his strategy, and after a sideways dribble to create some space, charges diagonally towards Real Madrid's penalty area. Alonso is left with no choice but to turn and chase him.
But Alonso's height and build slow his turn compared to a smaller player, giving Lin Quan a one or two-meter lead.
Seeing Lin Quan advancing after bypassing two midfielders, Manchester City fans at the Etihad Stadium stand up excitedly, craning their necks to see the action, afraid to miss any detail of this attack.
Real Madrid's two central defenders, seeing Alonso beaten, realize the danger. Pepe immediately abandons Aguero and rushes towards Lin Quan.
Despite being bested by Lin Quan last time, Pepe believes he can defend against him, which gives him confidence to charge forward and try to stop Lin Quan.
But Lin Quan is pleased with Pepe's decision to come out. If he had stayed in the box, it would have been harder for Lin Quan to get past both him and Ramos.
As Pepe approaches, Lin Quan dribbles along a diagonal line and suddenly changes direction. Pepe is caught off guard by Lin Quan's ability to change direction at high speed, but adjusts and keeps up with Lin Quan.
Lin Quan recognizes Pepe's skill in defending against Messi and raises his estimation of him. Realizing Pepe is prepared, Lin Quan changes direction again, heading towards the penalty area.
Pepe, mid-turn, loses balance and falls in the box, becoming another victim of Lin Quan's dribbling.
Seeing their solid defender fall without contact, Real Madrid fans are shocked, while Manchester City fans laugh, recalling a similar incident with Bayern's Boateng.
Real Madrid fans are confused, but Manchester City fans cheer even louder for Lin Quan, recognizing his exceptional skill.
Ramos was ready to provide backup defense, but he didn't expect Pepe to be beaten so easily. This surprised him and delayed his reaction. For Lin Quan, this delay was enough to score!
Before Ramos could get into position, Lin Quan took the shot. Casillas did his best but couldn't stop the ball from flying into the net. He stood up with his hands on his knees, giving Lin Quan a complex look. This was the first time Lin Quan had scored against him, and the feeling was mixed. Competing against Lin Quan felt terrible; it was much better to be on the same team!
The score was now 2:2, with Manchester City quickly equalizing before the end of the first half. This way, they wouldn't return to the locker room trailing.
Seeing Lin Quan score, the Etihad Stadium erupted in cheers. Moments ago, they were worried as Real Madrid's fierce attacks had them on edge. Now, with the score back to level, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Initially, after Bale and Ronaldo scored, Lin Quan was the only one among the three superstars who hadn't scored. Fans of the other two were smug, using this as evidence that Lin Quan wasn't as good.
Especially Ronaldo's fans, who couldn't accept an 18-year-old like Lin Quan being considered on the same level as their idol. They seized the moment to attack Lin Quan online.
"Ha, it's one thing to compare him to Messi, but Lin Quan alongside Ronaldo is a joke!"
"Indeed, this match saw both Ronaldo and Bale scoring, but someone didn't!"
"Embarrassing for someone!"
However, within just a few minutes, Lin Quan scored, leaving those who had belittled him feeling awkward.
"Hey, where are the haters now?"
"Wasn't someone saying Lin Quan isn't as good as Ronaldo? What now?"
"Fun fact: Lin Quan now has 16 goals in this season's Champions League, surpassing Ronaldo by one goal!"
"Ronaldo's fans love to boast about his goals, but they ignore Lin Quan breaking Premier League and Champions League records. In terms of goals, Lin Quan has more. In terms of assists, he outshines Ronaldo. Yet, they still think Lin Quan isn't as good. Do they even understand football?"
While Ronaldo's fans didn't acknowledge Lin Quan, commentators on major TV networks were full of praise for him.
"Incredible performance, Lin Quan has scored his 16th goal of the season in the Champions League, once again breaking his own record for most goals in a single season!"
"In the last match against Barcelona, Lin Quan scored his 15th Champions League goal, breaking the record held by Messi in the 2011-2012 season and Altafini in the 1962-63 season. Now, he has increased the record to 16 goals! Whether Manchester City reaches the final or not, we must applaud Lin Quan!"
Seeing Lin Quan score, Ronaldo felt a bit frustrated. He had worked hard to score and tie with Lin Quan on the scoring chart, only for Lin Quan to pull ahead again. This season, Ronaldo felt his performance in the Champions League was top-notch, with the most goals he had ever scored. In any other season, such record-breaking goals would have made him the center of attention, receiving countless praises.
However, this year, he faced an unexpected rival. Messi, his longtime competitor, had fallen, but Lin Quan emerged. At first, Lin Quan's goals were nowhere near as many as Ronaldo's and Messi's, but his consistency was frighteningly high. He scored in all six group stage matches, and in the knockout stages, except for one rotated match, he scored in every game.
In other words, whenever Lin Quan played in the Champions League, he would score! Such scoring efficiency was something even Ronaldo found hard to match. As a result, despite scoring 15 goals, Ronaldo couldn't top the scoring chart.
In any other season, this would be unimaginable! What's more, Lin Quan not only scored many goals but also had numerous assists. This season, he had six assists in the Champions League, ranking second, just behind Rooney with eight assists. Since Manchester United had been eliminated, Rooney's assist count wouldn't change, but with Manchester City still in the competition, Lin Quan's assists could still increase.
By the end, Lin Quan might top both the scoring and assist charts. Thinking about this, Ronaldo's competitive spirit was ignited. He couldn't let Lin Quan dominate both charts. He needed to keep scoring to reclaim the top scorer spot!
Ronaldo wanted more goals, and Lin Quan wanted to extend his lead. Neither was satisfied with the current score, so after the restart, both sides fiercely contested for possession. Unfortunately, the first half soon ended, and neither could extend the score, entering the locker room with a 2:2.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.