Chapter 272: S-shaped free kick reappears, 18 goals in a single Champions League season!
"Manchester City intercepted the ball, Fernandinho's long pass!"
"Lin, he's got the ball!"
"Oh no, Lin has been brought down. It's a foul by Xabi Alonso, and the referee shows him a yellow card."
On the CCTV commentary panel, seeing Lin Quan brought down by Real Madrid's player, He Wei and Xu Yang couldn't help but sigh.
"If Lin Quan had gotten that ball, it could have been another goal, but Real Madrid clearly didn't give him the chance."
"Yes, Xabi Alonso wasn't the last defender, but he still committed a tactical foul, showing Real Madrid's decisiveness!"
If Xabi Alonso had been the last defender when he fouled, it would have been a red card instead of a yellow card.
Xabi Alonso reached out and helped Lin Quan up, apologizing sincerely: "Sorry, Lin!"
Lin Quan nodded without saying a word.
Everyone is focused on their own responsibilities. Xabi Alonso showed the professionalism expected of a player; he had nothing to criticize.
Moreover, compared to a harsh tackle, physically pulling someone down causes less harm to the player, at least avoiding easy injuries.
Of course, because the opponent went straight for it, Lin Quan couldn't avoid this foul.
Obviously, Real Madrid had prepared for Manchester City's counterattack. Not only did center-back Pepe stay back to defend, but Xabi Alonso also remained near the midfield line, ready to support at any moment.
Lin Quan placed the ball where Xabi Alonso committed the foul.
This spot was approximately 42 meters away from the goal, a very long distance.
Most free kick techniques are ineffective from this distance, but perhaps one move could work!
"Lin, why don't you let me take it? I've got a strong foot and power!"
Yaya Touré stepped forward and said to Lin Quan upon seeing the distance.
There wasn't much time left until regular time ended. This free kick was crucial for Manchester City; if they didn't convert, they might be eliminated by Real Madrid.
"No, you go into the penalty area to contest for headers!"
Lin Quan shook his head, rejecting Yaya Touré's offer.
He wasn't sure if he could succeed with this shot. If not, there might still be a chance if Yaya Touré and a few other tall players contested for headers in the penalty area.
Yaya Touré nodded and, along with Kompany and other central defenders, charged towards Real Madrid's penalty area, preparing to fight for headers.
This attack saw almost all of Manchester City's forces in action, except for the goalkeeper, with most of them crossing the half-line and many rushing into Real Madrid's penalty area.
Real Madrid were on high alert, deploying many players to mark Manchester City's tall targets one-on-one.
This free kick was too far away, so they judged that Lin Quan was unlikely to shoot directly; most likely, he would cross into the penalty area for a header.
The game was about to end, and Real Madrid didn't want to risk all their previous efforts with a simple set-piece tactic from the opponents.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale stood about ten meters away from Lin Quan, hands covering their groins, looking serious as they stared at Lin Quan not far away.
Sometimes, even Ronaldo couldn't help but admire this guy.
Clearly behind in score, the team was about to be eliminated, yet there seemed to be no nervous or despondent expression on this guy's face, just calm composure.
For some reason, seeing his calm demeanor, Ronaldo suddenly felt a bit uncertain.
He glanced back at the densely packed players in the Real Madrid penalty area, feeling a ridiculous thought arise in his mind:
Could this guy actually shoot directly?
Ronaldo shook his head, shaking off this ridiculous thought.
At this distance, unless it was a top-tier free kick master like Juninho, ordinary people had no chance of threatening the goal.
Lin Quan adjusted the position of the ball, took a step back behind it, then retreated six or seven steps and stopped.
Bernabéu Stadium echoed with boos once again, with Real Madrid fans as nervous as Manchester City fans.
If this shot went in, both teams would be back to the starting line, with the total score tied and away goals equal.
If they couldn't score again during injury time, they might be dragged into extra time.
If after extra time neither side managed to determine a winner, the game would enter the most brutal penalty shootout phase.
This was Bernabéu, Real Madrid's home ground. If dragged into injury time, one goal from Manchester City counted as two, meaning they would need to score two more goals.
Such a result would be highly unfavorable for Real Madrid, so they absolutely had to defend against this shot!
Real Madrid fans couldn't help but pray silently that this shot wouldn't go in.
And Manchester City fans were also praying, but for the opposite outcome—hoping this shot would go in.
At this moment, whether Real Madrid fans, Manchester City fans, or neutral fans, all eyes were focused on Lin Quan.
His shot would determine the fate of these two teams.
Lin Quan took a deep breath, glanced at the goal behind him, and started his run-up.
Step by step, Lin Quan approached the ball.
Within a few meters, Lin Quan leaned back, his power focused on his right leg, swinging fiercely at the football.
Bang! A loud sound echoed as the ball soared high like a fired cannon shell.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale jumped with all their might but failed to touch the ball.
The ball soared over the defensive wall, entering the penalty area, heading straight for the goal.
With a clear curve, Casillas anticipated the ball to the right side of the goal and instinctively moved in that direction.
However, as he completed his movement, the ball suddenly curved.
This...
Casillas widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.
Juninho's S-shaped free kick?!
As a victim of Lyon against Real Madrid, Casillas had faced Juninho's signature move many times in the Champions League.
Upon seeing the ball, Casillas immediately recognized it as Juninho's renowned skill.
Reacting swiftly, he forcibly twisted his body mid-movement, diving towards the opposite direction of his initial move.
This was already Casillas' limit!
However, the ball fell into the net, a good two to three meters away from him.
Casillas had absolutely no chance to touch it!
The Santiago Bernabéu fell into silence as Real Madrid fans looked on in disbelief at the football falling into their net.
It was a goal!
They couldn't help but rub their eyes, as if the result was just an illusion.
However, no matter how much they rubbed their eyes, they couldn't change the fact that the football lay securely in Real Madrid's net.
The first to react were Manchester City's players. Seeing the referee signal a valid goal, they went wild, rushing towards Lin Quan!
"Lin, that was brilliant!"
"Haha, is this the game-winning goal against Real Madrid?"
"Fantastic, we've leveled the score!"
Players exclaimed, each more excited than the last.
Originally fearing elimination, Lin Quan's free kick had pulled them from the brink.
On social media and in commentary boxes, fans and pundits were even more excited than Manchester City's players!
"Wow, Lin's S-shaped free kick!"
"So powerful, scoring twice at Bernabéu!"
"How many Champions League goals is this for Lin this season?"
"18 goals in a single season, unparalleled!"
"Ronaldo finally equalized with a penalty, and now he's two goals behind again!"
"Ronaldo must be devastated!"
...
On the field, Ronaldo stood with his hands on his hips, watching Lin Quan being surrounded by Manchester City players.
He instinctively glanced at the scoreboard: 3-2, Real Madrid still led by one goal.
But after Lin Quan's goal, both the overall score and away goals were now tied.
All of Real Madrid's advantages had vanished in an instant.
And the goal Ronaldo had fought so hard for now seemed almost ridiculous.
Could this guy really be unbeatable?
At this moment, Ronaldo forgot about Messi, focusing solely on the threat from Lin Quan.
Benzema was also stunned by Lin Quan's goal, but his reaction was one of admiration!
Truly worthy of being his mentor, Lin Quan was still so formidable!
After the celebrations, captain Kompany stepped forward to remind everyone:
"No complacency. The game isn't over yet. We need to hold on for these last few minutes and not let Real Madrid snatch victory from us."
They knew well the attacking prowess of Real Madrid. Any relaxation on their part could give the opponent a chance and result in punishment from Real Madrid.
So, they needed to grit their teeth and endure the remaining time!
After Manchester City's celebrations ended, regular time concluded, and the referee added 5 minutes of stoppage time.
This decision displeased Manchester City fans, who felt the added time was excessive.
Now it was Real Madrid's turn to mount a full-scale assault. They certainly wouldn't accept being dragged into dangerous extra time or penalty shootouts by Manchester City.
Therefore, in these five minutes, they would give everything to attack.
For Manchester City, these final moments would be incredibly challenging.
And indeed, after the kick-off, Real Madrid launched a furious onslaught against Manchester City.
Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale, Di María, and others took turns charging towards Manchester City's goal.
Manchester City's players found themselves pressed into a tiny area just outside their own penalty box, unable to break free. Even when they managed to clear the ball, it quickly fell into the hands of Real Madrid players, restarting their attacks.
At this moment, Real Madrid's fans completely forgot their status as "successful people." They shouted and cheered like those they typically looked down upon, urging their team on with hoarse voices. This fervor injected the Real Madrid players with an almost frantic energy, fueling relentless assaults.
In the final moments, Real Madrid went completely berserk. Manchester City's defense resembled a shaky old house that seemed on the verge of collapse with the slightest nudge.
Yet, despite being this fragile structure, it stubbornly stood firm, thwarting one Real Madrid attack after another.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Di María fell again inside the penalty area.
Real Madrid players immediately surrounded the referee, clamoring for a penalty kick.
However, this time, the referee resisted the pressure and did not award the penalty.
"Get up, you actor!"
Demichelis saw Di María attempting to deceive the referee for a penalty kick and was instantly infuriated, rushing over to confront him.
Di María's eyes flickered as he thought of something.
He got up, glanced at the referee's position, then shoved Demichelis: "You committed a foul, yet you have the nerve to accuse me of diving for a penalty!"
"Shut up, actor! I didn't touch you at all!"
Already annoyed, Demichelis, at this moment, instinctively pushed him back.
However, to his surprise, as soon as he made contact with Di María, Di María immediately covered his face and fell to the ground in Manchester City's penalty area, rolling and groaning.
The referee, seeing the two seemingly arguing fiercely, headed their way. Witnessing Demichelis' rather 'rough' push on Di María, he didn't hesitate and promptly showed Demichelis a yellow card.
Demichelis already had one yellow card, so with this second one, he was sent off with a red card!
This outcome greatly surprised everyone associated with Manchester City. Nearby players quickly surrounded the referee, protesting and explaining that Di María had initiated the physical contact and thus Demichelis should not have received a yellow card.
After listening to Manchester City players' appeals, the referee communicated with the linesman via his earpiece, confirmed their account, and proceeded to show Di María a yellow card as well.
Di María clasped his hands together, portraying the image of a well-behaved child admitting his mistake. Yet, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth betrayed his inner satisfaction.
Di María had only come on in the second half and hadn't received any prior yellow cards, so one yellow card was inconsequential.
Trading one yellow card for an opponent's key defender being sent off was simply too valuable!
"Di María is quite cunning!"
"It's a shame he didn't go to Barcelona!"
"Heh, La Masia acting academy?"
"Demichelis lost his cool, falling for it!"
"He's probably still bitter about that penalty earlier!"
"Manchester City is in trouble now, about to play extra time with one man down."
On social media, fans debated the red card decision.
The referee's decisions seemed fair to both sides, but in reality, Manchester City was severely disadvantaged by the sending off.
To maintain defensive integrity, Pellegrini had no choice but to substitute an attacking player with a defender.
He brought on a defender, replacing Agüero.
Clearly, this substitution would significantly weaken Manchester City's attacking capability, making it even harder for them to threaten Real Madrid's goal.
But Manchester City had no other option.
The stoppage time soon ended with no change in score.
During the five-minute break before extra time, players couldn't enter the locker rooms, so both sides quickly gathered on the sidelines, sitting on the grass, listening to their respective coaches' tactical instructions.
For Real Madrid, it was all about attacking!
Aside from setting up offensive strategies, Ancelotti also prepared measures to counter Manchester City's counterattacks.
"At this point, Manchester City's only threat is Lin Quan. Mark him tightly, then damn well kick that football into their goal. Victory in this match will be ours!"
After swiftly briefing the tactical arrangements, Ancelotti clenched his fists tightly and said to his players.
With their opponents down to ten men and being at home, if they couldn't secure a win now, and even ended up being dragged into a penalty shootout, they might as well collectively run into a wall of tofu!
On Manchester City's side, Pellegrini spoke up:
"Real Madrid must think we'll just defend to the death, but we only need one goal to reach the final!
Lin, once extra time starts, I need you up front. You don't have to worry about defense, your task is to seize any opportunity and damn well put that ball into their cursed net!"
Lin Quan nodded heavily. As long as his teammates could get the ball to his feet, he would risk everything to score!
"Everyone else, give your all in defense. Once we defend successfully, no matter how, get the ball to Lin and let him attack!"
(End of this chapter)
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