Chapter 32

This was a match destined not to be very entertaining.

The Atletico Madrid fans, who were happily preparing to bid farewell to the unfortunate season, soon found themselves frustrated. It turned out that not only was Lotina capable of setting up a defensive wall, but Atletico Madrid on the field also played like a turtle, even more resolutely than the opponent. The midfield has always been a contested area in football, but now, the two teams were playing a modern war in the midfield—long-range aerial strikes. The ball would often be seen whistling from one half of the field to the other, and then whistling back in no time...

"No wonder Lin dared to play Koke in the midfield. It turns out that Atletico Madrid doesn't need a midfield in this game," Kosol, who had watched for over twenty minutes without even a breathless goal celebration, finally couldn't resist the urge to unleash his sharp tongue. "Let's guess, did Lin really train Atletico Madrid on how to attack in this game? This isn't the Atletico Madrid we know, nor is it the Atletico Madrid we want to see. It's hard to imagine that Atletico Madrid would be so conservative in their home ground! Does Lin plan to let the home fans see a turtle-like Atletico Madrid in the last game of the season?!"

No goals, no attacks, not even a decent shot. The two teams were like old men practicing Tai Chi in a park, seemingly following a method, but the slow pace drove everyone crazy. Even more unbearable was that whenever one side's Tai Chi was about to hit a vital point, it would immediately be countered by the other side's punches.

Then? One, two, three, four, two, two, three, four, and again...

Not only were the fans unable to bear it, but even Lotina on the sidelines was frowning. Whose home ground was this?

On the field, Belelón was about to receive a long pass from the back, but before he could control the ball, three players from the opposite side had already surrounded him. One, two, three... Belelón only knew that his left rib, right leg, and buttocks had been hit three times, almost falling flat on his face. When he came to his senses, the ball had already changed hands. Belelón was so angry that his nose was almost out of place, and what made him even angrier was that the referee, Romero, made no indication.

Seeing Belelón's head turn a furious indigo, Lin Sen sneered inwardly: One against three, with no help, you must be dreaming. Do you still think you're young?

The situation on the field changed instantly, and Deportivo La Coruna's counterattack quickly turned into Atletico Madrid's counterattack.

The three players who won the ball immediately spread out. Reyes and Maxi were already charging down the flanks, and Forlán was even closer, less than ten meters away. One could say that Atletico Madrid's counterattack was well-organized, and the transition from defense to attack almost formed a textbook three-line advance. If the opponent had committed too many players to the attack at this moment, it would have been an excellent counterattack opportunity.

However, from the moment Atletico Madrid won the ball to when Koke received it, only a few seconds had passed. Koke hesitated for a moment about which side to pass to, and the opposing defense was already well-prepared. It wasn't that the opponent retreated quickly, but rather that Deportivo La Coruna's five defenders hadn't even crossed the halfway line! Because of this, Koke faced a large open space. Seeing this, Koke decided not to pass but to carry the ball forward himself. Of course, just as he reached the midfield, Lin Sen's tight rein sounded, and the ball was passed to Maxi...

For the counterattack turning into a counter-counterattack, Lotina's reaction was incredibly calm: What's the rush? Just now, it was a turtle hitting a tortoise, and now it's a tortoise hitting a turtle. As long as the turtle shell isn't removed, who can do anything about it?

But Lin Sen didn't think so.

On the field, the light green above Maxi's head instantly turned dark green. With a simple turn and pull, Maxi easily dodged the tackle from Lafita and cut into the center from the flank. However, before he could continue showing off, someone burst his rear.

The whistle blew.

By the time Maxi, wincing in pain, got up and covered his buttocks, Belelón, who had chased the ball for half the field after it was stolen, was already running away with a satisfied look...

Free kick.

This time, Lotina finally became nervous. After all, in the previous match, Espanyol had lost due to a set piece.

As everyone knows, if a free kick isn't suitable for a direct shot, the key to coordination is the layering. What seems to be a chaotic scramble for the ball in the eyes of the fans, in fact, has strict personnel assignments for who is responsible for the near post, who for the far post, and who for covering and distracting, whether on offense or defense. The so-called extra practice for set pieces is more about making the players more familiar with the kicker's trajectory, in addition to arranging some special tactical combinations.

Atletico Madrid's kicker was Forlán. With a knack for long-range shots, Forlán could not only pass well but also confuse the opposing goalkeeper. After all, a direct shot is also a possibility, even though this free kick was a bit far.

Deportivo La Coruna's goalkeeper, Arribas, wasn't particularly worried about set pieces. Part of his confidence came from his defense. A team with five defenders means three center-backs, and these three center-backs were all good at aerial duels. So, compared to worrying about the opponent's headers, Arribas was more concerned about Forlán's direct shot.

However, when the whistle blew, Arribas only saw a wave of players rushing towards him but didn't see the ball coming.

At the same time, this wave of players quickly separated, and all the Atletico Madrid players who had pretended to rush for the ball instantly retreated. Thus, a strange scene appeared: all the Deportivo La Coruna players rushed to the edge of the small penalty area, while the Atletico Madrid players retreated to the edge of the large penalty area. Forlán, of course, took the free kick, but it wasn't a direct shot, nor did it go to the goalmouth. Instead, it was a low pass to the left flank.

Just as the crowd in the penalty area split into two groups, Antonio López, who had charged in at high speed, lifted his foot to cross.

A low ball, flying directly towards the edge of the penalty area!

Lotina's heart immediately tightened. After all, in a turtle fight, if one gets bitten first, the one who bites can just retreat into its shell, leaving the bitten one to be a turtle forever.

The kicker was Forlán, and the shooter was also Forlán!

The Uruguayan kicked the ball directly towards the goal, with great speed.

However, in front of the goal, a bus was parked. The ball hit Coloccini's groin hard, and the Argentine was so scared that he almost fainted. Known as the Lion King, he was famous for his bravery, but this part of his body couldn't be brave compared to the ball. Fortunately, he blocked it in time with his hands, and the ball bounced off.

Before Coloccini could even appeal to the referee that it wasn't a deliberate handball, Atletico Madrid had already made a follow-up shot: Luis García!

García's movement was small, but the force was significant.

This time, the unlucky one was Deportivo La Coruna's other center-back, Barragán. The ball didn't hit his vital spot, so his reaction wasn't as quick as Coloccini's. By the time he realized the ball was coming from the wrong direction, it had already hit his hand solidly.

Worse still, Barragán was in a spread-eagle position, and the referee, Romero, who was standing at the edge of the penalty area, caught it right away: penalty!

Lotina was instantly at a loss. What he feared had come true.

The fans, who had been holding their breath for most of the game, finally found an outlet, and the Calderón erupted in cheers.

"Undoubtedly a penalty, Deportivo La Coruna has nothing to complain about. It seems that after winning the previous match with a set piece, Atletico Madrid is likely to open the scoring with a penalty in this game. Set pieces have clearly become Lin's secret weapon. From the free kick combination just now, we can see that this was a meticulously planned attack."

Maxi converted the penalty with a single kick.

As the first half neared its end, Atletico Madrid led 1-0.

Lin Sen glanced at Lotina out of the corner of his eye and saw that he had returned to the bench, discussing something with his assistant coach, holding a tactical board. Clearly, after falling behind, Deportivo La Coruna would have to make changes if they didn't want to give up the game. So far, everything had gone according to Lin Sen's script, and with Atletico Madrid scoring first, the most crucial step of the script was completed. Next, Lin Sen just needed to wait for Lotina's move.

In any match, for a coach, it can be divided into three steps: pre-match analysis, tactical arrangement, and in-game command. These three parts are also ranked in importance. The first part is the foundation for the next two. The second part sets the tone for the match, and the third part is more of a supplement. In this game, the coaching staff had already predicted that Deportivo La Coruna might adopt a defensive counterattack strategy. Based on this, Lin Sen set the tone for a turtle vs. tortoise match. Conversely, Lotina, who hadn't anticipated that Atletico Madrid would also play a defensive counterattack, was in a much more difficult position. If a coach's pre-match assessment and judgment are wrong, there's actually very little they can do, especially since there are only three substitutions allowed.

In-game command is essentially a continuation of the first two steps. Pre-match analysis becomes on-the-spot reading of the game, and tactical arrangement becomes in-game substitutions. Usually, the trailing team makes the first move, and the leading team counters. In other words, if the first two steps are done perfectly and the game goes smoothly, the third step becomes redundant. For example, in the previous match against Villarreal, when Lin Sen made three substitutions at once, it wasn't really a display of in-game command. At best, it was a favor, and at worst, it was just a way to drag out the remaining time.