Chapter 21

Antonio almost rushed into the net with the ball, then he picked it up and quickly ran towards the center circle.

There was no celebration, no words, not even a teammate came to congratulate him. If it weren't for the referee's hand pointing to the center circle, the fans in the stands might have even doubted whether the goal was invalid. Only far away in Madrid, Bal stared at the screen, watching Antonio run towards the center circle with the ball. He hadn't seen the team make such a move in a long time: this, perhaps, meant they hadn't given up yet?

In the 53rd minute of the second half, Atletico Madrid, playing away, finally scored a goal. The score became 1-3.

Finally, it wasn't so ugly.

Lin Sen glanced at the score on the scoreboard above the field. With half an hour left, anything was possible!

Pellegrini was still sitting on the coaching bench. At this moment, he was talking to his assistant coach. Soon, he made a decision: a substitution.

No. 3 Josemi replaced No. 17 Venta.

Lin Sen's eyes twitched. He almost forgot that not only was there an old fox on the field, but there was also a cunning fox on the bench. How could Pellegrini not know where the problem with his team lay? But this reaction, this substitution speed, the only consolation was that Josemi's form didn't seem to be very good; his head was covered in a transparent aura.

Substitute one old guy, and there are still three old guys left. If you have the ability, replace them all. Lin Sen grumbled in his heart.

Lin Sen didn't know that Pellegrini really wanted to replace the entire backline. As the head coach, he knew all too well where the weakness of his team lay. This grandpa-level backline would eventually cause problems. Although the team wasn't formed late, Villarreal wasn't a traditional powerhouse. At the end of the 20th century, in 1998, the Yellow Submarine entered La Liga for the first time in its history. Its history in La Liga was less than ten years. To go from a La Liga rookie to the current second place in the league in such a short time was indeed impressive, but this didn't mean the club was the second-best in La Liga. Not to mention Real Madrid and Barcelona, even the currently struggling Atletico Madrid had a depth of history that Villarreal couldn't match. Of course, the so-called depth, for the head coach, simply meant the transfer budget each season. Pellegrini's limited budget was all spent on the midfield, the core of his tactical philosophy. As a result, he had to make sacrifices in other positions.

Next season, next season we will definitely improve. This was the tragedy of a mid-table team. Pellegrini found that last season, this was the phrase he said the most. Always betting on next season, and then, he would always find that the positions that were already complete would lose key players during the transfer window, and he would have to turn his attention back to the team.

Pellegrini glanced at Lin Sen standing by the sidelines and suddenly felt a bit envious. Of course, it was just for a moment. Immediately, he was filled with confidence. Not everyone could bring the Yellow Submarine to its current position. He had already proven himself to be an excellent coach. Next, he just needed an opportunity, a better opportunity than Lin Sen.

The two sides were too tightly marked. Fernandez tried to break through the center with the ball, and Rossi even roamed between Atletico Madrid's two center-backs, ready to receive the ball at any time. But Raul Garcia and Juran combined to steal the ball from him. Raul Garcia looked up to find Maxi. So far in the match, Atletico Madrid's attacks had mostly been concentrated on the right wing, while the left wing, defended by two full-backs, focused more on defense, even though Antonio had just scored a goal.

Defense and counterattack, it's all about speed. Once the speed slows down, and the opponent completes their defensive setup, there's no basis for a counterattack.

As soon as Raul Garcia looked up, Villarreal quickly reacted. Senna instinctively moved to his team's left wing to assist Capdevila in the defense. At the same time, Villarreal's backline tilted to the left, and even the newly substituted Venta was ready to enter the penalty area to assist the two center-backs.

The ball was indeed passed to Maxi Rodriguez.

The Atletico Madrid captain, who had already provided an assist in the match, looked ahead and pushed forward without hesitation, completely ignoring the obstacles set by the opponent.

Seeing that Maxi was indeed preparing to attack from the wing, Villarreal's defensive focus tilted even more, and Venta ran directly into the center of the penalty area.

This is what I've been waiting for!

Maxi suddenly lifted his foot for a long pass. The ball bypassed everyone in the center from the right wing and found Antonio, who had made a late run to the left wing.

Antonio looked up and saw a vast open space in front of him, not even an ant. So, he stopped the ball three meters away. If he wasn't confident in his ball control, he would have stopped it ten meters away. Anyway, the opponent definitely wouldn't be as fast as him. Carrying the ball, which is faster than running without the ball?

Villarreal's entire backline suddenly woke up: Is this a feint to the east and an attack to the west?!

Pellegrini couldn't sit still: his team's right flank had too much space! Almost the entire right flank was left open. Antonio could even run to the edge of the penalty area and pass comfortably.

Hold it!

Lin Sen saw the green light above Antonio's head and saw Forlan quickly approaching the opponent's goal.

Pass!

When he saw Forlan waiting in front of the opponent's goal and no center-back marking him effectively, Lin Sen almost shouted out loud.

Antonio seemed to hear Lin Sen's shout. The ball curved from his foot and found Forlan. Forlan took a step back, then leaped high, using his waist to powerfully head the ball.

"Diego..."

As Forlan's head hit the ball, the commentator's voice began to drag out. This was a textbook header from such a close distance, it seemed impossible not to score. But another person made him choke back his elongated voice.

Diego Lopez made a world-class save, his fingertips barely touching the ball, slightly changing its direction.

The ball hit the same corner!

Just like at the start of the match.

"Quick, kick it out!"

Diego Lopez hadn't even landed when he saw the ball rebound from the goalpost not towards the field. His voice already roared from his throat.

Too late!

Maxi Rodriguez!!

Maxi, who had been closely marked and then suddenly left alone, arrived just in time. With just a light touch, the ball changed direction and gently flew into the goal.

"GOOOOOOOOOO...AL..." The commentator, who had almost choked, could finally let loose.

2-3!

Maxi raised his arm high and was soon surrounded by his teammates...

The Estadio de la Cerámica fell silent. The cheers of the few Atletico Madrid die-hard fans still in the stadium sounded particularly piercing. Yes, their team was still leading, but the match was no longer a foregone conclusion.

Maxi slowly ran back to his half along the touchline, and as he passed the Atletico Madrid coaching bench, he seemed to hesitate for a moment but then raised his hand high. Lin Sen, standing by the sidelines, smiled and raised his left hand.

A routine high-five.

Lin Sen knew that the tactical setup he had devised, which had burned billions of brain cells, had finally won the approval of the Atletico Madrid captain.

Pellegrini didn't return to his seat on the coaching bench. He stood by the sidelines, his face serious, seemingly pondering the recent goal.

The lineup and formation Lin Sen had set up allowed Pellegrini to easily read Atletico Madrid's tactics: defend on the left, attack on the right. For over an hour, Atletico Madrid had stuck to this pattern. But what just happened? Was it just a feint to the east and an attack to the west between players? Or had Lin Sen laid the groundwork for this attack for most of the match?

Pellegrini