Chapter 20

The pace of the match seemed to be suddenly increased several times.

This was not surprising. The high-intensity pressing by Ma Jing, although not necessarily leading to offensive opportunities, undoubtedly forced Villarreal to increase the frequency of one-touch passes, thus naturally speeding up the game. Realizing something was wrong, Pellegrini finally couldn't help but run to the sidelines, frantically pressing his hands down, signaling his players to slow down the pace. But how easy was that?

Lin Sen sneered inwardly. Slow down? Can you really slow down? If a pack of dogs were chasing and biting at your heels, would you dare to slow down? There is a huge difference between taking the initiative and being passive. You want to slow down to organize your attack more calmly, but have you thought about whether I would let you slow down? Do you think you are the future Barcelona, capable of toying with others?

Just as Lin Sen was feeling smug, he never expected that his joy would turn to sorrow. The damn old fox Pires fell inside the penalty area! Inside the Atletico Madrid penalty area! And after the referee blew the whistle, he pointed to the penalty area!

Damn penalty!

Antonio jumped and cursed, almost ready to bite someone. The consequence? A penalty and a yellow card.

Just as Lin Sen's mad dog tactics had succeeded in a way that cost him dearly, an old fox who had been bitten by hunting dogs during his time at Arsenal turned the score to 3-0. Lin Sen was not at all happy with how he won the third bet. Being one goal behind was not a problem; in football, one side always has to face this situation. Being two goals behind is a kind of pressure on morale, but as long as there is time, it is not irreversible. Being three goals behind, morale has already hit rock bottom. At this point, if you still want to have any thoughts about the game, it's not up to you; you need the other side to help.

Lin Sen had already calculated that Atletico Madrid would find it hard to get out of the game unscathed, but the timing of this third goal was definitely not what he wanted, especially when his team had not scored a single goal.

Seeing the color above Pellegrini's head instantly change from excited green to calm red, Lin Sen knew the old Chilean finally dismissed the trouble he had caused as insignificant, and he indeed had the conditions to do so. However, when the color above Pellegrini's head slowly spread to his entire body, Lin Sen was a bit surprised: Wasn't this a golden body? Could coaches also turn into golden-bodied arhats? There was no time to think about it. When Lin Sen's gaze turned to the colors above his team's players, his brows furrowed: A few of them showed signs of turning yellow.

This is not good! Really not good!

---

When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, the few Atletico Madrid fans who were already scarce began to leave in large numbers. No one knew whether they were just temporarily leaving or had no intention of continuing to watch the game, but the latter was more likely. Trailing by three goals at halftime, a massacre was likely to await Atletico Madrid, and no fan wanted to see their team suffer such a fate.

Lin Sen directly entered the dressing room. He was not one for making speeches, especially not the kind he was about to give, which always seemed to have a hint of manipulation. To make someone fight for you, the first point is that you must be right, the second is that you must make others believe you are right, and the third is that you must make others feel that fighting for you is fighting for themselves. So, he decided to speak the truth.

"I know what you think I'm going to say, and I know what you want to hear, but I don't want to say either. I'll only tell you the facts. The facts are that the group of people on the field playing against you earn no more than you, and their abilities are no higher than yours. Why are they leading you by three goals? I'll use a simple analogy. A swordsman and a gunman fight. Who wins does not entirely depend on strength but on the method. In a sword fight, the swordsman wins; in a gun fight, the gunman wins. Now, the gunman on the other side wants to fight you with guns, but you are still swinging swords. What do you think the outcome will be besides getting shot? For the second half, I'll give you a set of data. This data is machine-generated, not made up by me."

As he spoke, Lin Sen took a notebook from Juan's hand.

"In the first half, the possession ratio was 44% to 56%. Shots on goal were five to eleven. Passing accuracy was 63% to 81%. Fouls were twelve to four, and tackles were thirteen to six. Seems good, right? Let me tell you the data for the first twenty minutes of the first half, the time when you lost the first two goals. Your possession was 51%, even higher than the opponent's. Passing accuracy was 60%, three shots, one on target, two fouls, and three tackles. You can say that your data during this time was quite impressive, except for one thing: the score. As for the second half, I'll only give you two pieces of data: one, your fouls were more than the opponent's, but you only got one yellow card. Two, your tackles were five times the opponent's! In the two stages of the first half, I don't need to say more. You are professional players; you know which stage was more competitive.

If you need encouragement, I can give it to you. If you don't want me to yell, I can be silent, but if you want dignity, you have to fight for it yourself! The dignity you need is not the kind where the opponent congratulates you on losing with dignity, but the kind where the opponent knows they can knock you down but can never defeat you! That is dignity! That is the dignity you need now!"

"Pena, in the second half, you and Antonio will switch tasks. You will mark Pires, and do it fiercely!"

"Diego, in the second half, you don't need to come back to get the ball like in the first half. Stay in the opponent's half, run as deep as you can, and be careful not to be offside."

"Maxi, in the second half, you don't need to conserve your energy. Capdevila already has a yellow card. Don't worry, the entire right flank is yours."

Seeing the players, whether big names or not, nod solemnly at his instructions, Lin Sen finally felt like a coach. The result of the first half was unexpected, but at least one thing did not disappoint Lin Sen: Atletico Madrid had forced Villarreal to forget about their physical reserves in the first half, as Dina had previously said.

Villarreal's biggest weakness was their aging starting lineup. The oldest, Pires, was nearly 35, which, while not as old as some veteran goalkeepers, was definitely considered old in football. Of course, what Lin Sen was most satisfied with was their so-called experienced defense: left-back Capdevila, 31; center-backs Siqueira, 34, and Fornals, 32; right-back Venta, 33.

This was truly a grandpa-level defense! Lin Sen seemed to understand why Villarreal often conceded early and tried to score as many goals as possible in the first half.

---

"Damn, it's still the same lineup from the first half, not a single change. This Chinese guy is really a fraud!"

At the start of the second half, when the 0-3 Atletico Madrid lineup remained unchanged, some people in the bar began to curse. The fans in the stands could go home and drink their sorrows away, but for them, the drinks were right next to them, and they could only keep their eyes on the big screen, ready to witness the impending massacre.

"Substitutions? Who can he substitute? Simao and Reyes didn't even make the matchday squad. Should he put on those three kids?"

"They deserve it! In my opinion, those three kids are better than them!"

"The problem is that without them, Atletico Madrid can't open up the flanks."

"Just wait. If they lose this game, who knows what the AAA people will do."

...

"Frank Saunders, are you regretting it?" Bal mocked, naming him, seemingly trying to shift his attention to the person next to him.

"Regret? The game isn't over yet, is it?" Frank frowned and retorted.

Amateurs look for excitement, professionals look for insights. Frank wasn't too professional, but he was sure he saw something, even if he wasn't sure if it was an illusion. The team's performance in the two halves of the first half was clearly different, even though the situation wasn't good.

"You know, sometimes you are more stubborn than I am."

"Don't confuse my stubbornness with your extremism." Frank replied irritably.

"Let's hope so."

---

Full-court pressing is never easy, and being pressed full-court is just a matter of bad luck. Although Pellegrini had praised the team in the dressing room and encouraged them to keep up the effort in the second half, Pires didn't really believe they could do it. Of course, the coach's words always sounded better.

At the start of the second half, just as Pires was about to celebrate not having to see the face that had followed him for most of the first half, another face appeared in front of him. Then... then this face started following him again, from the first minute of the second half, and now, after more than ten minutes, it was still following him. Pires smiled bitterly but did not get angry. He was always the one who made others lose their composure, and he had long passed the age of youthful vigor. So, facing this纠缠, and realizing he no longer had the energy to create trouble as he did in the first half, he could only smile bitterly.

On the other side, Cazorla didn't have such a good temper. In no time, he gave Atletico Madrid a free kick in the attacking half.

The free kick was quite far, about forty meters away, and it was unlikely to be a direct shot on goal.

Not being able to take a direct shot doesn't mean you can't take a quick one. Jara passed the ball, and Maxi sprinted forward. Capdevila was clearly more than a step behind. When Maxi entered the penalty area, Villarreal's two center-backs barely got into position, but Maxi didn't shoot. Instead, he swept the ball to the other side of the goal...

Diego Lopez stretched his leg to try to intercept the ball, and when his action had no effect, he knew it was over.

Antonio Lopez at the far post easily pushed the ball into the empty net!

Behind him, Villarreal's defender Venta put his hands on his hips, looking helpless. He had realized it, but his body couldn't keep up.

1-3!

Less than ten minutes into the second half, Atletico Madrid scored a goal.