Chapter 76

Malaga and Real Madrid playing an open game?

Lin Sen, of course, knew that this was like an old man hanging himself—seeking death on his own.

Not to mention the second half, even in the first half when the score was tied at three, Malaga had no intention of playing an open game with Real Madrid. Malaga still played a defensive counter-attack, it was just that the defense failed a bit, but ultimately, it wasn't that our team didn't try hard enough; it was just that the enemy was too strong.

Therefore, when Lin Sen decided not to change the strategy of the first half, he couldn't help but use some tricks, for example, doing something with the rope used for hanging, like changing it to noodles.

Otherwise, playing a head-on game with Real Madrid? Was his brain kicked by a donkey?

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As the core of the midfield, Guti, nicknamed "Golden Wolf," the "Golden" referred to his flowing golden hair, and "Wolf" highlighted his rebellious personality. In the first half, when Malaga switched to a life-risking mode, Guti was undoubtedly one of the happiest. He delivered two through balls in the first half, and the Argentinean Higuaín's hat-trick in the first half owed half of the credit to him.

However, the situation seemed different now. Gabi's纠缠 (entanglement) in the first half continued, but now there was one more person, Apoño.

Compared to Gabi, Apoño undoubtedly made Guti extremely annoyed, because his defense always came with some small tricks, like pulling his jersey to make him miss a pass, or pushing his back to make him struggle with gravity... What made Guti even more furious was that the referee didn't even give a verbal warning for such small tricks.

Guti, of course, wasn't a pushover. He also made some counterattacks, for example, when the other side pulled his jersey, he sarcastically said, "If you want my jersey, you can come find me after the game."

But it was useless. No matter how he mocked, the other side remained persistent, at most replying, "Haha."

Thus, extreme annoyance turned into unbearable frustration. During a throw-in, he kicked the ball directly at Apoño.

How could Apoño, who had been provoking Guti since the second half began, let this opportunity slip? He turned around and charged forward.

Then, Lin Sen saw the two of them, like bulls, forehead to forehead, Guti pointing at Apoño's face and saying something, while Apoño, not to be outdone, slapped Guti's hand away...

Seeing the situation, the referee immediately stopped the game, and players from both sides started to gather. At this moment, an unexpected event occurred: Guti, whose finger had been slapped away, suddenly slapped Apoño's face.

Thus, chaos ensued.

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Unlike many Spanish midfielders, Apoño was never a bulldog type of player, although he looked... muscular, because he wasn't very tall, less than 1.8 meters, which was considered short for a European player. As one of the few players from last season's Malaga starting lineup who remained and still played a key role, Apoño cherished his position, especially after Lin Sen unexpectedly kept the number 10 jersey for him at the start of the season.

Therefore, when Lin Sen gave him a new role, he accepted it gladly and quickly fell in love with his new role.

Ball control, passing, vision, rhythm... To be honest, Apoño played his original role well, otherwise, he wouldn't have been a starter for Malaga. However, in reality, Apoño didn't like this role, and the reason was simple. When people talk about Spanish football, they think of its beauty and control, but not every Spanish player likes passing, and not every Spanish defensive midfielder is full of artistic flair.

Lin Sen's new role for Apoño was very simple: support.

Lin Sen never gave Apoño a fixed task, but in every game, Apoño performed well in his position because he always appeared where he was needed most. In Lin Sen's tactics, positioning was extremely important. Sometimes you didn't need to do anything special; just being in the right place could have a significant impact.

In this game, Apoño did the same work as in previous games, but the effect was worse because the opponent didn't cooperate. The most uncooperative was undoubtedly Guti, who delivered the two through balls that led to the goals.

This made Apoño feel very bad, so during the halftime break, when Lin Sen told him to "provoke" Guti more in the second half, it was like a pillow being offered to someone who was already sleepy—just what he needed.

...

"Do you think your footwork is beautiful?"

"Of course, I kick where I want. If I want to kick your balls, I won't miss your ass."

"I admit that, but you're actually more beautiful, you know?"

"Of course I know. I also know that even my nephew, who is not yet ten, is taller than you!"

"Haha, it doesn't matter if your nephew is taller than me, as long as I'm taller than your niece."

...

Trash talk was something everyone could do. One mocked the other for being effeminate, while the other ridiculed the other for being short. It was a test of who would lose their cool first, or who could curse more harshly, because these words were destined to be known only by the two of them. The field was large, and people only knew what they saw.

Schuster's face turned black.

The entire process was clear to him, even the referee, who was right next to them, couldn't have missed it.

Although Apoño had some small tricks, they weren't new tactics, clearly aimed at provoking Guti. Schuster thought the experienced Guti wouldn't be provoked, but Guti couldn't help it. Worse still, if it was just the kick, it could be passed off as a coincidence, but what about the slap? Was it to show they were good friends?

After all, Guti already had a yellow card.

---

The red card finally appeared!

At the 78th minute, the referee gave both Guti and Apoño yellow cards for their dispute, but for Real Madrid, this yellow card was equivalent to a red card, as the on-field captain Guti was sent off.

Schuster had nothing to say.

The game became a 10 vs. 11.

Standing on the sideline, Schuster, who had been touching his chin, ultimately didn't make any changes. Instead, he instructed the wingers De La Red and Van der Vaart to drop back to the midfield, forming a 4-4-2 formation, leaving only Higuaín up front.

A few minutes later, Lin Sen made substitutions, and as usual, if he was going to make changes, he would make three.

Reus, replacing Alba.

Elysee, replacing Carrion.

Isco, replacing Apoño.

When the three players came on, Lin Sen looked at his watch. With added time, there were about ten minutes left, enough for a lot to happen. In fact, after Guti was sent off, Lin Sen had been waiting for Schuster to make a move, but the other side remained still, confirming one thing: Schuster hadn't given up on victory.

The score was 3-3, Malaga had one man less, and the game was nearing its end. Under these conditions, if it were an ordinary team, they would have already solidified their defense and prepared to hold on. But Real Madrid didn't; they kept all their attacking players on the field.

Sometimes, no action is the biggest action. Lin Sen was very pleased; Real Madrid indeed couldn't let go of their royal demeanor. Thus, Lin Sen decided to make a move. His thoughts were clear: the trap was set, and if you dare to jump, I dare to bury you!

Lin Sen's substitution strategy wasn't new. Gundogan dropped back, and Reus was still the primary substitute, but this time, Lin Sen also brought on Isco and the starting player Elysee. The goal was clear: if you want to continue attacking, I'll put more rockets on the field, and if you're not afraid of death, come on.

Sure enough, Real Madrid's attacks showed no signs of slowing down. Their defense was still pushed forward, ignoring Lin Sen's substitutions. They even created a scoring opportunity. In a midfield battle, Sneijder's precise pass found Higuaín, who made a perfect run to break the offside trap. However, his shot was too hasty and was blocked by the advancing Gordia.

Before Real Madrid could recover from the missed opportunity, Gordia quickly kicked the ball out. The ball reached Gamez, who passed it to Gabi. At this moment, Real Madrid's retreat was very fast. Just as Gabi transferred the ball to Reus, Ramos was already in position.

Facing Ramos, who had joined Real Madrid for 27 million euros at the age of less than 20 and had completely shut down Alba, Reus showed no signs of nervousness, and his speed didn't decrease. As the two were about to meet, Reus simply flicked the ball to the side and quickly moved in the other direction...

Speed and skill to bypass the defender!

When Reus slipped past Ramos, Ramos realized he had underestimated this young man, who looked even younger than himself. He thought the other side would at least hesitate when facing his defense, but there was no hesitation, no delay. The other side was like a gust of wind, passing by and then gone...

"Beautiful! Reus's breakthrough was very clean. Now, he has a clear path ahead. Real Madrid must be careful; now there's only Cannavaro in front of their penalty area, and the others must quickly retreat..." The Spanish commentator, always generous with praise for beautiful play, praised Reus's clean breakthrough, but what followed left them speechless.

After breaking past Ramos, Reus's speed increased even more. He was like a multi-stage rocket, accelerating step by step. At this point, Reus was in possession of the ball, and his speed was just a bit faster than the Real Madrid defenders.

When the commentator saw Reus, who had been slightly behind the Real Madrid defenders, suddenly gain a step, they couldn't find the right words to describe it, only muttering, "Fast... too fast..."

Reus didn't cut into the penalty area because he saw his teammates already in position. Lewandowski in the center, Elysee at the far post, and Isco behind Lewandowski...

"Mark him!" Schuster's eyes were fixed on the figure on the field, almost shouting.

As if hearing Schuster's shout, Cannavaro, seeing his teammates retreating, charged forward, trying to disrupt Reus's attack before he could make his next move. But at that moment, Reus sent a low pass...

The ball almost flew past Cannavaro's toes.

Right between Casillas and the retreating defenders.

Lewandowski, with Heinze on his back, seemed caught off guard. His feet stumbled, and the ball rolled between his legs.

Seeing the ball slip through, Casillas, who thought Lewandowski would take the shot, felt a chill.

Elysee was a step ahead of Marcelo at the far post!

The goal was inevitable!

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PS: Writing this made me feel like I was in a trance. It's already 3 AM, so I decided to just post it...