Chapter 273: Manchester City's Miracle, Advances to Champions League Final!
The five-minute break ended quickly, and extra time officially began.
From the first minute of extra time, Real Madrid launched a fierce attack against Manchester City.
Manchester City strictly adhered to Pellegrini's defensive tactics, fighting tooth and nail against Real Madrid.
The situation was similar to the injury time before, with Real Madrid once again surrounding Manchester City's goal.
But Real Madrid also attacked nervously because Lin Quan was always a huge threat at the front.
However, Manchester City found it difficult to pass the ball to Lin Quan.
Under Real Madrid's siege, even when they managed to regain possession, they were either immediately pressed by the opposition or Lin Quan was tightly marked, preventing the ball from reaching him.
Real Madrid wasn't foolish. Aguero had been substituted, leaving Lin Quan as their only threat, so they naturally tightened their defense around him.
Real Madrid's defender Pepe almost stuck to Lin Quan, wherever he went.
In addition to Pepe, Real Madrid's defensive midfielder and two full-backs also frequently marked Lin Quan, ensuring there were at least two defenders around him at all times.
In this situation, he simply couldn't get the ball.
Even if he did, the opponent would foul him immediately.
With Manchester City unable to launch counterattacks, Real Madrid intensified their siege on their goal.
The first half of extra time quickly approached its end, with both teams' players experiencing significant fatigue, making it difficult to keep up.
Under pressure from Fernando's pressing, Modric managed to pass the ball to his teammate before falling.
"Let's take a look at this play!"
"Modric passes to Di Maria, who passes to Cristiano Ronaldo!"
"Ronaldo accelerates, creates space, and shoots!"
"Goal!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid's top star, stepped up when the team was in trouble this season, scoring the most crucial goal in this Champions League match!"
"With this goal, Real Madrid expands their lead, with the total score now 6:5 between the two teams!"
"This goal also means there won't be a penalty shootout in this match."
On CCTV's commentary desk, both commentators were shocked by Ronaldo's ruthless goal.
Lin Quan's outstanding performance in this match inadvertently overshadowed another superstar.
After all, Cristiano Ronaldo was on the opposing team!
Counting regular time and injury time, the players had already been on the field for over a hundred minutes.
In such circumstances, Ronaldo's explosive power and accuracy were truly unparalleled!
"Too bad for Manchester City, they've done their best, but playing with one less player has had a huge impact on the team!"
Xu Yang shook his head in regret. After this goal, Manchester City was probably unable to turn things around.
The situation in the first half of extra time was clear. With the balance of players disrupted, Real Madrid had gained a decisive advantage.
With one less threat in the front, Real Madrid had more resources to defend against Lin Quan.
This almost completely stifled Manchester City's offensive threat!
After scoring this crucial goal, Ronaldo once again ran to the sideline with his dominant celebration.
The Bernabeu erupted with cheers of "SIU"!
At this moment, Real Madrid fans were extremely grateful to have Ronaldo in their team. Without him, this game would have been much harder to predict.
Enjoying the cheers from the entire stadium and the embrace of his teammates, Ronaldo glanced towards the front and saw Lin Quan standing alone in the middle of the field.
"Lin, I admit you're strong, but my teammates are stronger!"
"And I've scored two goals now, just one goal behind you in the Champions League record!"
Ronaldo felt he was in excellent form. He was confident he could score another goal to equal Lin Quan's record in the final.
Moreover, if his performance in the final was as good as this match, perhaps he could even score twice, topping the Champions League scoring charts!
After Real Madrid finished celebrating, the first half of extra time ended.
There was no break in between extra time periods, and the second half of the match began immediately.
Trailing again, the score was unfavorable for Manchester City. Pellegrini chose to attack.
Manchester City only needed one goal to advance, so defensive tactics were undoubtedly a death sentence. Only by attacking could they have a chance.
Ancelotti admired the courage of the Chilean engineer, who turned out to be as aggressive as he had guessed.
However, this was the Bernabeu. Fighting tooth and nail against Real Madrid here?
That was seeking death!
Taking advantage of the opportunity when both teams switched sides, Lin Quan spoke with De Bruyne for a moment.
"Kevin, do you still have energy?"
De Bruyne nodded, "A little, but not much!"
"That's enough. When the time comes, watch my position and pass the ball to me!"
"You're going to take on Real Madrid's defense alone?"
De Bruyne looked at Lin Quan in doubt.
Lin Quan nodded, "Is there a better way?"
De Bruyne shook his head. Indeed, there was none.
"Alright, leave it to me. I'll do my best to get the ball to you!"
In the second half of extra time, Real Madrid still firmly held the initiative.
The Bernabeu fans danced and celebrated, seemingly celebrating their hard-won victory.
In the 25th minute of extra time, Manchester City regained possession in their own half. De Bruyne reached out early to ask for the ball.
Fernandinho hesitated for a moment but eventually passed it to him.
His moment of hesitation allowed Real Madrid players to close in.
After receiving the ball, De Bruyne used almost all his strength to turn around and glanced in the direction where Lin Quan was. He then passed the ball out!
"Lin, this is all I can do for you. The rest is up to you!"
Seeing his teammates regain possession, Lin Quan immediately withdrew, trying to shake off the Real Madrid players marking him.
Pepe couldn't let him succeed and immediately followed him.
But because Lin Quan retreated first, he was faster than Pepe, allowing him to receive De Bruyne's pass smoothly.
Pepe decisively moved forward to intercept, trying to stop Lin Quan before he turned around and let his teammates double-team him to defuse his attack.
However, as if Lin Quan had eyes on the back of his head, he flicked the ball between Pepe's legs with his heel.
Then he forcefully broke free from Pepe's pull and slipped past him.
After being tightly marked by the opponent for so long, if Lin Quan still didn't know how to deal with Pepe, then all his efforts would have been in vain!
"Stop him, quick!"
On the sidelines, Ancelotti's face changed abruptly, shouting hoarsely.
Real Madrid's defensive midfielder and full-backs rushed towards Lin Quan, hoping to break his rhythm as they had done before.
However, Lin Quan didn't give them a chance. He kicked the ball away and sprinted with all his might.
With over 120 minutes played, including injury time, the Real Madrid players had already exhausted most of their stamina.
At this point, they couldn't catch up with Lin Quan, only watching helplessly as he ran towards the ball.
Casillas once again abandoned his goal, desperately trying to intercept Lin Quan.
But Lin Quan didn't give him a chance to tackle. He dodged Casillas's tackle with a quick move to the right and headed towards Real Madrid's penalty area with the ball.
Seeing this scene, the 80,000 Real Madrid fans at the Bernabeu almost dared not open their eyes!
Manchester City's number ten dribbled into their own penalty area, where there was no one but an empty goal.
What would happen next was not hard to imagine!
Lin Quan effortlessly kicked the ball into the empty net, scoring a hat-trick at the Bernabeu!
He stood in Real Madrid's penalty area, raised his collar, surveyed the entire stadium like a king!
"Haha, here it comes, Lin Huang's iconic celebration!"
"Patrolling the Bernabeu like a king, mighty and domineering, I love it!"
"So handsome, this is too handsome!"
"Damn it, he got us again!"
Seeing Lin Quan's goal, Real Madrid's players were struck as if by lightning, each frozen in place.
Lin Quan's goal changed the score to 4:3, tying the aggregate score at 6:6, but Manchester City had three away goals.
For Real Madrid to advance to the final, they needed one more goal!
With only five minutes left and Manchester City celebrating, time was running out. Could they still make it?
Watching the figure with the raised collar, many Real Madrid players lost the courage to resist.
In the final moments, Real Madrid launched their fiercest attack, but inspired by Lin Quan's goal, Manchester City players defended their goal fiercely as if injected with adrenaline!
A few minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle.
Despite Lin Quan's hat-trick, Manchester City lost the match but advanced to the Champions League final on away goals against Real Madrid.
This was Manchester City's first-ever entry into the final, bringing them closer than ever to their first Champions League trophy in club history.
Manchester City's opponent would be the winner between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich. Given Atletico's victory in the first leg away, the outside world favored Atletico Madrid to advance to the final.
At the moment the final whistle blew, Cristiano Ronaldo stood on the field, reluctant to leave.
"Ah, my heart aches for Ronaldo. He played so well in this match!"
"There's nothing he could do. The opponent was stronger, or should we say, Ronaldo's opponent was stronger!"
"I can't imagine how Ronaldo feels right now. He gave it his all, yet victory eluded him!"
"There was actually a gap in strength between the two teams. If it weren't for Lin Quan's explosion, Manchester City might have lost!"
The emotions between people do not always connect. Manchester City staged a comeback against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
However, Guardiola's team lost the game!
In the second leg, Atletico Madrid dominated throughout.
They defended against every attack from Bayern Munich like a disciplined army.
With two goals in both halves, Atletico Madrid defeated Bayern 2-0 at home, sweeping them 3-0 on aggregate and advancing to the final.
Poor Bayern suffered a harsh defeat, completely shut out.
Last season they shut out Barcelona, and this season another La Liga team shut them out, a form of revenge!
After Atletico Madrid defeated Bayern, the two teams to reach the Champions League final were decided.
The Champions League final would be held in 25 days at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.
However, Manchester City was no longer concerned about this. The Champions League final was far off, and they still had another trophy to win: the FA Cup!
The Premier League season was nearing its end. Including make-up games, Manchester City had three matches left.
On May 3rd, in the 37th round of the Premier League, Manchester City challenged Everton away.
This match meant little to Manchester City, but it was crucial for Everton's ambitions to qualify for the Champions League.
The Toffees seemed to feel tired after their tough battle against Real Madrid at home. They saw an opportunity.
Thus, with the advantage of their home ground, Everton launched a fierce attack against Manchester City.
However, when the final whistle blew, Everton's fans were left devastated.
The scoreboard displayed a bright red number - 0:6!
Home team ahead, away team behind!
Everton suffered a brutal defeat at home against Manchester City. Aguero and Lin Quan both scored twice, while De Bruyne and David Silva each scored a goal.
Manchester City's ruthless victory over Everton moved Professor Wenger to tears.
Before the match, he was most worried that Manchester City, already crowned champions, would go easy on Everton.
If that happened, Arsenal's fourth place would be in jeopardy.
Fortunately, Manchester City didn't hold back and instead handed Everton a crushing defeat.
This defeat not only pushed Everton's goal difference far behind Arsenal's but also shattered their morale.
Wenger's Arsenal secured fourth place!
Whether Arsenal could successfully secure fourth place, Manchester City didn't care.
On May 8th, Manchester City returned to Etihad Stadium to face Aston Villa.
This was a rescheduled match of the 29th round of the Premier League.
Facing the notorious foul-playing Aston Villa, Manchester City played exceptionally aggressively.
Their active pressing and rough fouls turned Aston Villa, who were prone to complaining to the referee, into mere complainers.
At the end of the game, Manchester City easily defeated Aston Villa 4-0.
Mahrez scored twice, while Lin Quan and Kroos each scored a goal.
On May 11th, in the 38th round of the Premier League and the final game of the season, Manchester City hosted West Ham United at home.
In this match, Pellegrini allowed key players like Lin Quan to play only half of the game for warm-up purposes and to maintain their form before substituting them.
Even so, with goals from Lin Quan and Aguero in the first half, Manchester City still won 2-0 comfortably.
Thus, Manchester City completed their Premier League season.
In a total of 38 games, they achieved a record of 31 wins, 6 draws, and 1 loss, accumulating a total of 99 points, breaking Chelsea's record of 95 points set in the 2004-2005 Premier League season.
In addition to breaking the record for the highest points in a league season, Manchester City scored a historic high of 127 goals in these 38 games since the Premier League's reformation, second only to Aston Villa's record of 128 goals in the 1930-1931 season when there were 42 games. If these four additional games were counted, Manchester City's firepower could certainly have broken that record.
In terms of individual statistics, Lin Quan scored 52 goals in 35 appearances, leading the top scorer's list by a wide margin ahead of Suarez, and significantly breaking the single-season goal record in the Premier League.
The previous record holders were Alan Shearer and Andy Cole with 34 goals.
Lin Quan increased this record by 18 goals, achieved under the shortened Premier League season from 42 rounds to 38.
This historical record, except for Lin Quan himself, would likely be difficult for anyone else to surpass!
What makes Lin Quan even more terrifying is not just his goal tally but also his impressive number of assists.
In 35 appearances this season, Lin Quan provided 21 assists, also topping the assist chart!
Of Manchester City's 127 goals, Lin Quan alone created 73 goals, accounting for nearly sixty percent of the team's firepower.
If Barcelona lacks Messi, they struggle to play. Similarly, if Manchester City were without Lin Quan, they would likely drop a level.
Before the Premier League released each team's statistics, people didn't fully realize how terrifying Manchester City was. After the data was announced, in addition to feeling Manchester City's terror, they also felt awe for Lin Quan.
He had quietly grown to such heights!
After reviewing everyone's feedback, I found that many didn't like this section of the plot. I humbly listened to your opinions and have revised the plot accordingly.
(End of this chapter)
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