I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 176: Chapter 62: No Genius Before Chen? (Part 2)

And in the stands, the Merengue fans were chanting his name, excited by his performance.

Isn’t this the scene I once dreamed of?

Pellegrini stood on the sidelines, biting his lip, feeling as if a kitten was scratching his heart. They had just caught up in score not long ago, and now Real Madrid had surpassed them again.

His setup in the defense area was already perfect enough, but that Chen Zhong could run into this opportunity and squeeze out Godin was really absurd.

Godin, in the central back position, is considered a ”genius center back.” His positioning, his intuition are very good, but in front of Chen Zhong, he was pushed aside like a small fish.

”The scouting department is simply incompetent.”

”They underestimated Chen’s physical confrontation capability.”

”I hope they don’t continue making the same mistake.” Pellegrini felt a bit of a headache. From the first defeat, he has been studying Real Madrid, studying Chen Zhong.

But later, he discovered that studying Real Madrid is not as good as studying Chen Zhong because now Real Madrid already vaguely feels like it is being built around Chen Zhong as the core.

This kind of thing can only be done by a madman like Schuster!

Just as Pellegrini was having wild thoughts, Real Madrid launched another attack. After Chen Zhong helped the team take the lead again, Real Madrid’s morale soared while Villarreal seemed to be a bit disheartened.

Chen Zhong received a return pass from Guti on the outside of the penalty area, withstood the Villarreal players beside him, and gave the ball back to Guti, completing a one-two pass.

Guti took the ball on the right side of the box and passed it to Sergado, who accelerated directly and violently shot within the penalty area, attempting to pry open Diego Lopez’s gate.

But Diego Lopez, once Real Madrid’s substitute, now Villarreal’s main goalkeeper, made a flying save and punched out this highly quality shot.

”Real Madrid’s corner kick.”

”Guti raised his right hand.”

”The ball was kicked out.”

”It’s aimed at Chen Zhong!”

The ball soared toward the penalty area, Godin was firmly suppressed by Chen Zhong, and Chen Zhong’s head made full contact with the ball, which was headed toward the goal.

However, Diego Lopez’s reaction was also extraordinary, and he punched the ball fiercely away.

Ramos got to the second ball and volleyed it mid-air.

”Bang!”

The ball flew out of bounds into the sky.

Villarreal was completely suppressed by Real Madrid, and the Merengue in the stands were very excited, loudly cheering for the team.

In the 39th minute of the match, Real Madrid launched another attack. Now, when the ball was given to Chen Zhong, Villarreal’s players did not even want to move.

Pellegrini knew Chen Zhong’s ball protection ability was extremely strong, and combined with his extraordinary physicality, so he chose to have players block Chen Zhong’s passing routes and forward paths after he got the ball.

This indeed posed some difficulties for Real Madrid.

But Chen Zhong’s vision and football intelligence are excellent; he always manages to find a gap in the cage Villarreal built for him, and his teammates move very flexibly.

When Chen Zhong got the ball, a picture of his teammates’ movements quickly formed in his mind.

He pretended to pass the ball to Robinho, drawing Villarreal’s attention, but actually delivered a fierce short pass to Guti.

Guti, after getting the ball, started quickly, bypassed a Villarreal player, pretending to pass back to Chen Zhong, tricking another Villarreal player.

But in reality, he lobbed the ball to Raul in the box.

In this match, Raul and Van Nistelrooy were tightly restricted by Villarreal in the early stages, but after Chen Zhong’s consecutive outstanding performances, they relaxed their marking on Raul and Van Nistelrooy.

Raul didn’t choose to stop the ball, directly heading it over to Van Nistelrooy at the side.

Van Nistelrooy, with his side ready to shoot, suddenly felt Godin crashing into him, causing him to stumble and fall directly to the ground.

”Penalty!!!”

”Penalty!!!!!!!”

”This is absolutely a penalty!”

On the sideline, Schuster was shouting loudly, but the on-field referee Alvarez had no reaction, waving his hand to indicate it was not a penalty.

”Catalonia dog!” Schuster muttered to himself, cursing in all sorts of ways. The last time he lost an away game to Sevilla, it was also this Alvarez refereeing. At that time, Schuster’s comment ”The referee is from Catalonia? Then I have nothing to say!” shocked the entire Spanish football scene.

But now?

This dog dared to rob us of a penalty?

”Ah, this ball.”

”What can I say! It could be a penalty, or it might not be.”

”In the eyes of some referees, this is an absolute penalty, but in the eyes of others, it may just be a normal physical confrontation.”

”We can only say that Alvarez’s decision will cause controversy after the match!”

”We can see Schuster on the sidelines looking a bit agitated.”

Fans online were also debating this scene, everyone having their own opinion, some firmly believing it was a penalty.

[No way, this isn’t a penalty?]

[Does someone have to die for it to be considered a penalty?]

[If it were Barcelona, it would definitely have been a penalty, right?]

...

But others felt there was nothing wrong with the decision.

[This was obviously a dive for a penalty.]

[No penalty means no penalty! Anyway, leading.]

[Ha, when did Real Madrid need to rely on penalties to win?]

...

The debate online about whether it was a penalty quickly became heated, and on the pitch, Real Madrid’s players were clearly filled with anger.

Buoyed by the fan’s cheers, Real Madrid launched wave after wave of fierce attacks, trying to score another goal in the first half.

Facing Real Madrid’s overwhelming offensive, Villarreal also unified their thoughts, which was to stabilize the current score, waiting for adjustments at halftime, and then launch a counterattack.

”Oh!”

”Baptista was knocked down.”

”Alvarez called a free kick.”

”But no card was given.”

”Real Madrid’s players appeared somewhat dissatisfied.”

The Merengue in the stands hissed; it was unclear whether it was due to the penalty decision or if Alvarez had something on his mind. During this period, his penalty quality was very low.

If Schuster weren’t held back by Francisco, he might have rushed onto the field to give Alvarez a piece of his mind.

Guti stood at the free kick point, and although his ”Wolf Arc” wasn’t as famous as the ”Beckham’s Arc,” it also had a loyal following.

The white hairband was tightly tied around the golden hair, which fluttered in the wind.

Guti’s eyes looked somewhat fierce, and Villarreal’s players were vigilantly watching the surrounding Real Madrid players.

The free kick position outside the right side of the penalty area was somewhat distant, unsuitable for a direct shot, and moreover, Guti preferred seeking a set-piece cooperation strategy.

So Villarreal’s players were more wary of Guti’s passing.

However, this time they all guessed wrong.

Guti ran up and shot, not choosing to loft the ball into the box but opting for a direct strike.

The ball curled its way, and if not for Diego Lopez’s extreme save, the score would have changed.

And this free kick was also the last threatening attack in the first half.