Chapter 71

Now, the midfield core of Barcelona is the Portuguese Deco, replacing Xavi. Rijkaard clearly wants to use the home advantage to defeat Real Madrid and overtake them in the league table by goal difference. Mourinho is not a timid coach either; he has brought on a tall striker, clearly unsatisfied with a draw!

Like the Seven Injuries Fist, to hurt others, one must first hurt oneself! To win, increasing the number of attacking players means bearing the heavy pressure on defense! This is a game of mutual injury, and the one who holds out until the end is the real man!

Qiao Wanxian, who had been chatting with his two girlfriends with a smile, finally focused all his attention on the pitch. At this moment, he finally felt the tension and peculiar atmosphere of the Spanish Derby, the Clásico! This atmosphere is enough to make anyone's nerves taut, yet deeply engrossed.

The charm of football, sometimes, surpasses even drugs...

Mourinho's tactical thinking is very clear: using Beckham's precise long passes and his crescent moon kicks, relying on the two tall points in the penalty area, Drogba and Morientes, and Ronaldo's super-sensitive sense of smell to deliver a fatal blow to Barcelona.

Rijkaard's tactical thinking is also very clear: in the penalty area, the combination of Larsson and Eto'o, one big and one small, one tall and one strong, complementing the breakthroughs of Ronaldinho and Giuly on the wings, using a three-dimensional attack to breach the ten fingers of Iker Casillas again.

The game has reached the 73rd minute, and the score is still 1-1! The rhythm of the game seems to be controlled by Barcelona, with Ronaldinho and Giuly dropping back to control the tempo, making Barcelona's formation look like a 4-4-2, but sometimes it looks like a 4-2-4!

However, Mourinho's defensive system is like a steel wall made of reinforced concrete, especially Essien, who is like a black wall. Any ball passing in front of him will definitely be deflected back! With the addition of Carvalho, Real Madrid's defense has been fully assembled by Mourinho, and Roberto Carlos has also abandoned his attacking runs, focusing entirely on defense. Although Barcelona's attacks are strong, Real Madrid's defense is watertight.

But at the 78th minute, the situation on the field suddenly changed! The entire Camp Nou gasped!

Ronaldinho was rolling on the grass, clutching his calf in pain, while the black-faced Essien looked at him innocently, muttering something disdainfully, as if complaining about his effeminate style, unable to play like a man...

The slow-motion replay on the big screen showed Ronaldinho dribbling down the left wing, his body swaying rhythmically, the ball seemingly glued to his feet, inseparable from him. Ronaldinho looked like a dancer on the pitch, performing a solo waltz, captivating the entire crowd.

Seeing this, even Qiao Wanxian couldn't help but marvel. In Chelsea, the best dribbler is Joe Cole, but compared to Ronaldinho... it's like showing off a big sword in front of Guan Yu, a bit ridiculous. However, his buck-toothed skull-like appearance made Qiao Wanxian's eyes hurt, wishing he could use some eye drops.

But just as Ronaldinho dribbled past Real Madrid's right back Salgado again, Essien charged forward as if he had seen his father's killer, eyes red with anger! Poor Ronaldinho immediately went black in the eyes, almost following Owen's fate, with intense pain in his ankle, his body involuntarily flying out...

This was an incomparably brutal foul, and seeing this, Qiao Wanxian thought: Essien must have trained with the abbot Shi Yongxin at Shaolin Temple!

Mourinho immediately flew into a rage on the sidelines, his face red and neck swollen, arguing with the fourth official, spreading his hands wide to indicate that Essien's foot was still far from Ronaldinho, this was a genuine dive!

Rijkaard also rushed over, eyes red, saying, "Foul, an unforgivable foul! This is a trampling of artistic football, this is the behavior of a beast, a red card should be shown!"

Mourinho, seeing Rijkaard's red eyes and constant incitement, wished he could gouge out his eyeballs right there!

Essien already had a yellow card, and if the referee determined that Ronaldinho was not diving, then Essien's departure from Camp Nou would be a certainty!

The Barcelona players on the field all ran over to surround the referee Gavi, even the goalkeeper Valdes joined in. The 80,000 Barcelona fans also put pressure on the referee, booing loudly.

Sure enough, amidst the horrified looks of the Real Madrid fans and the desperate expressions of the Real Madrid players, referee Gavi showed Essien another yellow card, which turned into a red card!

The most outstanding defensive midfielder of Real Madrid, Essien, who had become the stabilizing force of the Galácticos after Makelele, was sent off!

Mourinho had already used all three of his substitutions, his hands in his pockets, wearing a black windbreaker, his eyes squinted, not showing any panic but exuding a dominant aura! Seeing this, Qiao Wanxian was a bit annoyed, thinking shamelessly, "This Mourinho, daring to copy my style?"

With about 15 minutes left in the game, Rijkaard's face was full of confidence. He no longer pursued simple offensive tactics, striving to win respect in Camp Nou with the most perfect football. He made another substitution, bringing on the more popular Iniesta to replace Giuly.

After Raul left the field, Salgado became the captain. Mourinho called him and Morientes over, whispering some instructions, his expression calm, without any panic.

The game resumed, and with one man down, Real Madrid was completely on the back foot. If Essien was on the field, Real Madrid could still get a few counter-attacks, but now, the game had turned into a half-field defensive drill. The Camp Nou was boiling with cheers, and even if the outcome was not yet decided, the fact that Real Madrid was being pressed like this was enough to make all the fans feel elated!

"Darling, Barcelona's style is so similar to Chelsea's. Is that mushroom-head secretly learning your tactics?" Lucy asked in a soft voice, her face lifted.

Qiao Wanxian laughed and pinched her upturned nose lightly, nodding without hesitation, relying on his broad-mindedness!

Except for a lazy Ronaldo, even Morientes and Drogba were involved in defense near the penalty area, and Beckham was almost like a right back, busy to the point of not having the chance to use his crescent moon kicks.

Real Madrid's defense was solid, and Iker Casillas's goalkeeping was even more astonishing, making high and low saves like a god in front of the goal! The 10,000 Real Madrid fans present, after Raul's departure, unanimously shouted, "Saint Iker!"

At the 85th minute, Ronaldinho cut in and shot, but Iker Casillas kept the goal intact, firmly holding the ball. A powerful throw found the substitute Guti, and seeing Mourinho's agitated appearance on the sidelines, the Real Madrid players went all out, launching a counter-attack!

Guti and Ronaldo made a simple combination in the midfield, and when his teammates were sprinting, he delivered a precise through ball, bypassing Van Bronckhorst, finding the right-wing star, the world-famous heartthrob, Beckham!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Beckham didn't choose to dribble after a few steps without any defenders, but instead looked up towards the penalty area. Drogba and Morientes were already in position, and the alien Ronaldo was on his predetermined course. Beckham extended his left arm, made a large circle in front of his chest, leaned to the left, and swung his right leg... the long-prepared "crescent moon kick" finally unleashed!

Drogba at the front, Morientes at the back, Ronaldo in the middle...

Puyol, known as the "Golden Lion King," is a rare iron-blooded man in Spain. But he has said in many occasions, "As a defender, the player I least want to face is not Ronaldo, not Raul Gonzalez, but Morientes!"

Indeed, Drogba leaped high but failed to touch the ball, and Ronaldo did not jump, waiting for a header or a goalkeeper's mistake. At this moment, Mourinho placed all his hopes on the Spanish No. 10, the UEFA Champions League top scorer of the previous season, Raul's best partner, and three-time UEFA Champions League winner, Morientes!

The facts proved that despite the vicissitudes of time and the entry of Real Madrid into the Galácticos era, Morientes was still the tall tower of Madrid, still the key player who stood up for Real Madrid in critical moments!

Raul suddenly stood up from the sidelines, his face no longer showing resentment towards Mourinho but hope for Morientes! He longed to return to the days a few years ago when he and Morientes were partners, dominating European football and looking down on the world! At that time, the two of them together won all the honors that Real Madrid could achieve!

A selfish thought suddenly appeared in Raul's mind: if Morientes could score this goal and reclaim his starting position, the two of them could once again become the most feared forward combination for any goalkeeper and defender, even if... it meant letting the genius Ronaldo sit on the bench...

Morientes jumped, swung his head, and powered through... goal!

Morientes once again toyed with Barcelona's defensive core, Puyol, scoring a standard center-forward header, without any flashy moves, but the most headache-inducing way for Puyol.

Camp Nou fell silent!

After scoring, Morientes put his finger to his lips... seeing this, Raul was moved to tears...