Chapter 281: New and Old Legacies, The Sky of an Eighteen-Year-Old!
"Manchester City's counterattack, the ball is at Lin Quan's feet!"
"Lin Quan has charged into the penalty area!"
"Courtois is coming out!"
"The ball is in!"
"What an unbelievable goal!"
He Wei exclaimed, "That push from Philippe almost knocked Lin Quan off balance, and Courtois's swift charge left him little time to act. Yet, in such a dire situation, Lin Quan managed to adjust in time and score. This kind of goal deserves every bit of praise!"
"That's right, this 18-year-old Lin Quan, standing on the Champions League final stage for the first time, has scored a crucial goal, pushing Atletico Madrid into a corner. Atletico must score now, or they risk losing the championship trophy because of Lin Quan's goal!"
Compared to foreign commentators, the two CCTV commentators were relatively calm.
In the commentary boxes across Europe, Lin Quan's goal drove the commentators into a frenzy.
The commentators from various TV stations extended the final sound of the word for 'goal' to an extraordinary length, making viewers worry they might pass out from holding their breath too long.
Online, after Lin Quan scored this goal, fans—especially those of Lin Quan and Manchester City—went wild with celebration!
"King Lin is awesome (voice breaking)!"
"Amazing, amazing! I thought King Lin would dive in the penalty area to get a penalty!"
"Haha, King Lin isn't the type to fake a fall. Besides, Philippe's foul was outside the penalty area. Even if it was called a foul, it would only be a free kick, not a penalty!"
"Actually, I feel Philippe's push helped King Lin. Without the push, he might not have gotten to Aguero's pass before Courtois!"
"Haha, if that's true, Philippe deserves some credit!"
"Well, the referee gave him a yellow card. I guess that counts as recognition!"
Compared to the excited Manchester City fans, Atletico Madrid fans were much more pessimistic.
"Diego Costa is injured, and we're behind. This match is too difficult for my Rojiblancos!"
"Yeah, if Diego Costa hadn't been injured, we might have scored in the first half!"
"Sigh, the problem is our squad is too thin. If we had Manchester City's depth, we wouldn't have to rely on the same lineup all the time!"
"Manchester City's players are worth over 500 million euros combined, right? We can't afford that!"
Although Atletico has had good results, their background isn't as strong as traditional powerhouses.
And Manchester City, though not a traditional powerhouse, is backed by a powerful consortium.
The financial gap between the two teams is enormous. Expecting Atletico to have a bench as deep as Manchester City's is unrealistic.
To say nothing of the fact that Atletico's main goalkeeper, Courtois, is on loan from Chelsea.
Although Atletico wants to buy him outright, Courtois is not very interested in staying. He only wants to return to a big club.
So, after this match, Courtois will leave Atletico and return to Stamford Bridge.
On the sidelines, in Atletico's coaching area.
Simeone looked grim, and the substitutes were equally gloomy, contrasting sharply with Manchester City's wildly celebrating coaching staff.
Lin Quan's goal caught Simeone off guard. He had made extensive preparations to limit Lin Quan and stop Manchester City from scoring.
But it seems those preparations were insufficient.
Lin Quan's strength exceeded his expectations. Lin Quan's skills were comparable to Messi's, but his stamina seemed much better. Many strategies effective against Messi didn't work well against Lin Quan.
Moreover, Lin Quan had a strong mental attribute, not wasting time complaining after being fouled.
Almost every time he was knocked down, he got up immediately, as if nothing had happened, and threw himself back into the game.
And he didn't just pretend to contest the ball; he gave it his all every time.
You could see Lin Quan's figure in both offensive and defensive plays.
Such a player seemed even scarier than Messi! Of course, this goal wasn't just due to Lin Quan's skill but also Atletico's second-half tactics.
Before Lin Quan's goal, Manchester City had already tried counterattacking after winning the ball.
Previously, Atletico had successfully defended those attempts, but after Pellegrini adjusted Manchester City's attacking route, it led to this goal.
Simeone felt unlucky; undoubtedly, he should take responsibility for this goal.
But Manchester City had just changed their offensive tactics, and their first attempt led to a goal.
He was caught off guard. He saw Pellegrini instructing Zabaleta, knowing Manchester City was about to adjust.
Simeone had planned to see what changes Manchester City would make before countering them.
But the opponent didn't give him a chance! However, he didn't despair easily.
This match's situation was similar to the last round of La Liga, where they played against Barcelona away.
In that match, their main forward, Diego Costa, also got injured and left the field, and the opponent scored first.
But Atletico smiled last in that game, winning the La Liga title at Camp Nou.
With this successful experience, Simeone believed his team could win in the end.
He stood by the sidelines, shouting to his players. Thanks to his accumulated prestige and the halo from winning the league, Atletico's players trusted Simeone deeply.
Originally anxious after the opponent's goal, Atletico's players calmed down under Simeone's encouragement.
One goal behind, no big deal! The second half had just started; they had plenty of time to equalize! If they could beat top teams like Real Madrid and Bayern, what's Manchester City?
Past victories brought confidence, calming them down, replacing anxiety with a strong fighting spirit! Seeing his players regain their composure and fighting spirit, Simeone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, while he had calmed his players, their attacking problem remained unresolved.
Without Diego Costa, Atletico's offensive strength was significantly weakened. Figuring out how to score was their biggest challenge.
Standing in the center circle, Villa placed the ball at his feet, hands on his hips, watching Lin Quan being celebrated by his teammates in the distance.
Although he had no regrets, Villa, like other forwards, envied Lin Quan's incredible skills. As a forward who played with both Messi and Lin Quan, Villa knew better than anyone how extraordinary these two were.
Watching them play football felt like they were playing a different game from everyone else.
They could perform actions most wouldn't dare dream of, let alone try. The ball seemed alive under their control, tamed and perfectly cooperative.
If he had such great abilities, the honors he could achieve would be limitless! However, this was, of course, wishful thinking.
In the entire football world, only two such phenomenal players had ever appeared.
In fact, before Lin Quan, people doubted whether another player like Messi would ever appear. However, Villa didn't sell himself short. He knew he had something they didn't—experience! By using his experience well and combining it with his considerable talent, he could still create miracles!
In the whole football world, only two phenomenal players like this have ever appeared.
In fact, before Lin Quan appeared, people doubted if there would ever be another player like Messi in the future.
However, Villa didn't sell himself short. He knew he had something they didn't—experience! As long as he used it well, combined with his considerable talent, he could still create miracles! …
After celebrating, Pellegrini immediately instructed his players to play conservatively after the kickoff. He wanted them to stabilize the situation and see how Atletico Madrid would react before deciding whether to continue attacking.
This match was so important that he had to be extra cautious.
In a final where one game decides everything, there's little room for error.
As long as they won in the end, playing a bit messily didn't matter. Of course, Pellegrini didn't plan to defend passively forever.
If Manchester City could withstand Atletico's attack, he would make some substitutions.
In short, now that they were leading, the initiative was entirely in Manchester City's hands! Sure enough, after the restart, Atletico's attacks became more ferocious.
However, Manchester City had anticipated this, and almost everyone, regardless of their position, joined the defense.
Even De Bruyne and David Silva, not known for their defensive skills, were contributing.
Atletico's lack of star players became apparent. Without superstars' individual skills, they had to create very good chances to score.
But such chances were hard to come by, especially when Manchester City players were defending with all their might. It was difficult for Atletico to break through using passing and movement.
After all, they were Atletico, not Barcelona, and their coach was Simeone, not Wenger.
As time ticked away, the score remained 1-0. While Atletico's attack hadn't succeeded, their defense was still strong. With targeted efforts to limit Manchester City's wing play, it was almost impossible for Manchester City to score again like before.
In the 73rd minute, Atletico got a great chance.
Using his rich experience, Villa made a sudden run, successfully broke the offside trap under extreme conditions, and received a pass from Koke.
It was a one-on-one with the goalkeeper! Between Villa and the goal stood only Manchester City's goalkeeper, Joe Hart!
Villa ran swiftly, feeling the wind and the stadium's roar.
In that moment, he felt like he was back in the summer of 2005.
That year, he was 24, young and full of vigor, capable of anything on the field, once setting a world record by scoring three goals in five minutes! It all came back to him!
Villa felt like he was at his peak again. He glanced at the terrified Joe Hart, adjusted the ball, and prepared to shoot.
But just as he was about to strike, a figure slid in from the side and took the ball from his feet!
What? How is that possible?
Villa was stunned. He turned around to see Manchester City's number 10, Lin Quan, dribbling the ball toward Atletico's half.
It was Lin who stole the ball from him? Villa was even more shocked!
When he broke the offside trap, he had left almost all Manchester City players behind. How could someone be faster than him?
And wasn't Lin supposed to be up front?
Why was he here?
On the sidelines, Simeone saw everything clearly.
As soon as Atletico's attack began, Lin Quan had retreated from the front line, moving directly to the midfield.
When the ball reached Koke, Lin Quan seemed to predict he would pass to Villa and rushed toward Villa.
Villa indeed broke the offside trap and escaped Manchester City's defenders, but almost at the same time, Lin Quan, already at full speed, also crossed Manchester City's defense line and chased from behind.
Villa had just started, far slower than Lin Quan, and unaware of what was behind him, Lin Quan easily stole the ball!
The noise Villa heard while running was actually Atletico fans desperately trying to warn him.
Unfortunately, the stadium was too noisy, and Villa didn't hear their warnings.
Otherwise, he might have shot earlier, giving him at least a fifty percent chance of scoring!
In fact, Lin Quan had his eye on Villa earlier than Simeone imagined.
In the second half, Lin Quan noticed Villa becoming more active.
After all, despite being 33, with Diego Costa out, Villa was Atletico's biggest threat on the field.
So Atletico players would instinctively pass the ball to him for the final shot.
Thus, seeing Villa might escape Manchester City's offside trap, Lin Quan made a quick decision.
Better to run in vain than give the opponent any chance!
So when he rushed to Villa, he wasn't sure if Villa would get the ball.
In the end, he bet right!
Now, it was Manchester City's turn to counterattack! Atletico's players, seeing their missed chance and the opponent's quick counterattack, became mentally disorganized again.
Having just glimpsed hope of equalizing, only to have it cruelly dashed, left them in despair!
With only about 20 minutes left, they were still behind. Could they really equalize?
Lin Quan didn't care about that. If the opponent's mentality was collapsing, wasn't that perfect? He quickly dribbled past the hastily pressing Koke and passed the ball to De Bruyne.
De Bruyne made a quick pass back to him after a one-two with him, evading Gabi's interception.
The ball was back at Lin Quan's feet, and by now, he had crossed the half-line.
The scene was familiar to the fans.
Wasn't this how they scored 20 minutes ago?
Could it be that Manchester City was going to extend their lead and kill the game suspense completely?
(End of the chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.