Chapter 77

**Preface: Thank you to my old friend, Mr. Nanxi, for your generous donation.**

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"I want to congratulate Malaga; they played a great game."

When the match ended, Schuster, who couldn't immediately avoid the reporters, didn't say much, but he still maintained his composure, generously congratulating the opponents on their victory. Then, he closed his mouth, turned around, and left without commenting on his team's performance or evaluating the players. He even had his assistant coach attend the post-match press conference on his behalf.

In contrast to the dejected Schuster, Lin Sen was in high spirits. For Malaga, this was undoubtedly a great game, especially because their opponent was Real Madrid, a giant they could only look up to. Even more so because the score was 4-3, and Malaga showed no fear throughout the match. Most importantly, this victory allowed Malaga, a team widely considered to be aiming only for survival, to stand at the top of the La Liga table for the first time after four rounds!

Four wins in four matches, twelve points, ten goals scored, and four goals conceded—Malaga was the only team in La Liga with a perfect record!

What kind of team was Malaga? They were the poorest team in the entire La Liga, still under financial supervision, with a summer budget of less than one million euros. They even had to sell their star striker to raise funds. Their coach was a former Atletico Madrid manager with less than six months of coaching experience. Most of their players were under twenty, making them the youngest team in La Liga...

But it was precisely this team that created a small miracle, a prediction that even the boldest fans wouldn't have dared to make!

Following Malaga closely was Villarreal, "The Engineer's" team, which remained undefeated with three wins and one draw, accumulating ten points. Then came Sevilla and Valencia... The two most eye-catching teams, Barcelona, which had swept six goals against Sporting Gijon in the previous round, won again this round but had stumbled in the first two matches, currently ranking sixth with seven points. Real Madrid, after losing to Malaga, was in an even worse position, ranking tenth.

"Shameful defeat!" The As newspaper, often referred to as the "Real Madrid team paper," was unusually harsh in its criticism of the loss, as this was the first time in Real Madrid's history that they had lost to Malaga. They did not attribute the loss to Guti's red card but believed that Coach Schuster should bear full responsibility. It was his decision to abandon the successful 4-4-2 formation from last season and switch to a 4-3-3, which led to Real Madrid's disastrous defense. After all, Real Madrid only conceded 36 goals in the entire previous season, but in just four matches this season, they had already conceded a quarter of that number.

"Schuster reaps what he sows." Compared to As, Marca's headline was more pointed, but the content was surprisingly lenient toward the German. In the four matches Real Madrid had played this season, two ended with a 4-3 score, one win and one loss. The poor defense was certainly a factor in the loss, but luck also played a role. At the same time, Marca directly criticized Real Madrid's president, Calderon, blaming his poor transfer work in the summer for the disaster. Schuster did not get the players he wanted and instead lost key players he didn't want to lose.

Moreover, Marca lavishly praised Malaga's performance, considering them the biggest dark horse of the season. Their coach, Lin Sen, was already seen as the most promising young coach in La Liga. Of course, their praise was not without reason. In the final comment, Alfonso, a journalist who had interviewed Lin Sen, sarcastically mentioned Atletico Madrid: "Little Sanches should send a thank-you letter to Atletico Madrid, because it was they who sent Lin Sen to Malaga."

"Rustle..."

Little Hill threw the newspaper away, his face filled with anger.

These damn journalists. After just a few matches, they were already hailing him as the strongest young coach in Europe. If they won a few more, they would probably call him the best young coach in the universe. What infuriated him the most was that they kept using Atletico Madrid as a punching bag. Now, Lin Sen had become the antithesis of Atletico Madrid. Every time Malaga won a match, these damned media would slap Atletico Madrid's management in the face.

But he had to admit that it was partly Atletico Madrid's fault. Little Hill was also annoyed with Resino.

In four matches, not counting the loss to Malaga, they lost to Valladolid in the second round, won 4-0 in the third round, and were held to a draw by Getafe in the fourth. Now, Atletico Madrid's ranking was even lower than last season. Fans were still tolerating it, but if this continued, it wouldn't be long before they rebelled again...

Thinking about this, Little Hill's mood darkened even more.

Because Atletico Madrid's upcoming opponents included some of the strongest teams in La Liga: the next match against Sevilla, then Barcelona, followed by the Madrid Derby, and finally Villarreal...

Just thinking about the potential disastrous outcomes of these matches made Little Hill feel dizzy.

Subconsciously, he found the schedule and looked at Malaga's upcoming opponents. As he counted them one by one, he felt an urge to curse.

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Valladolid, Almeria, Getafe... These were Malaga's next three opponents.

Lin Sen, of course, didn't know that the contrast between Atletico Madrid and Malaga's schedules had made Little Hill want to curse. As the team's coach, he was very familiar with the schedule, as it was crucial for the team's planning. Every team had its own assessment of its strength and a comparison of the strength of each opponent. Which stage to fight for points and which matches to放弃 were decisions that, while not openly stated, were clear in every coach's and club's mind.

Of course, each match still had to be fought one by one.

After defeating Real Madrid, Lin Sen found himself with a dream start in Malaga that he hadn't even imagined. Four consecutive wins, leading the league... These achievements brought him countless praises and accolades, making him feel a bit dizzy. However, his euphoria was short-lived as he soon hit a wall.

Gundogan was injured.

Another case of joy turning to sorrow.

During a routine training session, Gundogan winced and clutched his waist, signaling that he couldn't continue.

The on-site doctor, Marcelino, initially thought it was just a minor strain, but Lin Sen still had Gundogan undergo a thorough examination. Marcelino saw Lin Sen's decision as a precaution, but Lin Sen knew that Gundogan would frequently suffer from back injuries in the future, even to the point where his career was rumored to be in jeopardy.

Lin Sen had used his eyes to take a quick look, but he wasn't entirely sure in this situation.

For football players, back injuries are not as common as knee injuries, which more often affect basketball players. However, once a back injury occurs, it can be just as troublesome. Back injuries usually refer to muscle strains, but in Gundogan's case, Lin Sen's eyes didn't detect any issues with his back muscles. This suggested that Gundogan's back injury might be related to a more serious area, such as his spine.

This was why Lin Sen immediately had Gundogan examined. It's always better to prevent injuries before they happen, but if they do occur, it's crucial to address them early.

Gundogan's injury forced Lin Sen to consider changes to the starting lineup.

To facilitate the transfer, Lin Sen had promised starting positions to Reus and Gundogan. It wasn't that Lin Sen wanted to break his promise, but he hadn't originally intended to start them so quickly. However, after a series of preseason matches, Reus, due to his physical condition, was not considered, while Gundogan performed well in the attacking midfielder role, so Lin Sen let him start.

From a statistical standpoint, as an attacking midfielder, Gundogan's performance was not as good as Reus, who had even more assists, but the entire coaching staff was very satisfied with his performance. This wasn't because he was likable, but because of his excellent tactical execution and understanding. Finding a player with the same position to replace Gundogan was easy, but finding one with the same characteristics was difficult within Malaga's squad.

Whether it was Reus or Isco, they could do more in attack than Gundogan, but in terms of balancing attack and defense, Gundogan was irreplaceable. Not to mention, the former two were not yet physically fit.

Thinking about this, Lin Sen felt a headache. Regardless of whether Gundogan could recover in time for the match against Valladolid, Lin Sen needed to find a solution for the substitute. And this solution needed to be practical within a month.

This was due to the schedule.

For Malaga, the upcoming matches were against weaker opponents, but the schedule was the schedule, and the opponents would still be there. The more weak teams they faced early on, the more strong teams they would face later. After the next three matches, Malaga's schedule would be very similar to the one Atletico Madrid was currently facing.

Sevilla, Barcelona, Valencia, Villarreal.

So, after the tough schedule, Malaga had two possible scenarios.

Either Malaga would continue their "miracle," facing the tough schedule in the best possible condition and solidifying their position in the league. Or, Malaga would lose their dark horse status and have to fight for survival after the tough schedule.

Regardless of which scenario, the prerequisite was that Malaga must do their best to win the next three matches!