Chapter 302: Bad luck
In the second round of the Champions League group stage, Real Madrid hosted Dynamo Kyiv at the Bernabéu. This is the strongest hegemon of the Ukrainian Premier League, where three Ballon d'Or winners, Blokhin, Belanov, and Shevchenko, have emerged.
Just 5 minutes into the game, Ramos, the defensive mainstay of the Galacticos, was injured by Dynamo Kyiv's forward Mykhaylychenko. He lay on the ground in pain, clutching his ankle, while the perpetrator received only a yellow card.
The 20-year-old prodigy, who only transferred from Sevilla to Real Madrid in 2005, quickly became a key player in the defense. Besides his outstanding abilities, the shortage of Real Madrid's defensive players was also a contributing factor.
Schuster looked worriedly at the team doctor, Edenson, as Ramos was carried off the field. After a moment, Edenson shook his head at Schuster from a distance, signaling the need for a substitution.
The German's heart sank continuously. With Carlos still recovering, now Ramos was also injured and had to leave the field. What should Real Madrid do about their defense? Time waits for no one, so he had no choice but to send Bravo to replace Ramos.
With two key defenders missing, Real Madrid faced some difficulties against Dynamo Kyiv's attacks. The double midfield composed of Cléber and Belkevich frequently confronted the midfielders, preventing them from passing the ball to Wang Feng and Raúl in the front.
So the two had to retreat further to support, especially Wang Feng, who came to his own half to defend and wait for opportunities. Time proved his efforts worthy. In the 17th minute, Wang Feng received the ball on the left, turned to shake off Dynamo's central defender, Yusuf, and dribbled past the center line.
Reyes quickly inserted on the right, so Wang Feng sent a diagonal pass with his left foot, drawing a crescent moon in the center of the field, avoiding Cléber and Belkevich one after another, and directly reaching the feet of the Spanish attacking midfielder.
From the stands, this pass seemed to be given to Reyes two seconds later, and the perfect timing of the pass made the fans couldn't help but applaud and cheer for this attack.
Reyes stretched out his right leg to control the ball. His ball control skills were also excellent. The high-speed ball passed through the inside of his foot, lightly stopping at his side, then he poked it forward with his toe to accelerate past Yusuf towards the bottom.
Approaching the baseline, the Spanish attacking midfielder successfully created space, so he sent a triangular pass, and Raúl, who was inserted in the middle, was closely marked by another Dynamo defender, Sabolchych. At this moment, shooting would definitely lack power.
So without even looking, he directly passed the ball to the left, causing sighs of regret from the stands, as everyone thought Raúl's shot was disrupted.
"Raúl's shot! No, it's a pass! Raúl passed the ball to the left, and Wang Feng arrives! Oh my God, his speed is just too fast!"
"He shoots with his left foot, and it's in! Goooooooooooooal! Wang Feng opens the scoring for Real Madrid!"
"When the team was gradually in trouble, Wang Feng, Reyes, and Raúl contributed to a wonderful attacking combination, successfully changing the score. Now they lead 1-0!"
"Let's take another look at this goal. Wang Feng, as the first organizer, his range of activity is too wide. Starting from the backcourt, his pass to Reyes is simply amazing. We can even see shades of Beckham and Zidane."
"Of course, Reyes' control is also crucial, with one touch and one poke at the perfect timing, Yusuf couldn't stop his cross."
"The most beautiful part is Raúl's handling of this ball. Under unfavorable conditions, he chooses to blind pass to the left. You know, Raúl and Wang Feng have been teammates for less than a month, yet they can form such understanding."
This goal boosted the morale of the entire team, but the fatal problem of the defense line could not be avoided. Before halftime, the combination of Belkevich and Shatskikh tore open Real Madrid's defense line, with Shatskikh delivering the final blow, and Casillas failed to save the team, allowing the Ukrainian powerhouse to equalize the score.
As the second half began, within five minutes, Dynamo Kyiv successfully reversed the score. This time, Mykhaylychenko faced Bravo, deceiving him with a feint before shooting, once again piercing through Casillas's ten fingers.
In crucial moments, Real Madrid always relied on Wang Feng. As the game approached its end, Wang Feng retreated to receive the ball and passed it to Reyes on the wing, then immediately turned and rushed forward.
Reyes understood immediately and sent a long pass over the top, attempting to pierce through Dynamo Kyiv's defense line directly to Wang Feng.
Wang Feng, under the challenge of defender Hublianchich, skillfully stopped the ball at his feet, then suddenly stopped, using a change of pace to catch the opponent off guard, and took a sudden long shot from 25 meters out.
The ball bounced several times on the grass before reaching goalkeeper Shovkovskyi, still with plenty of power. The Ukrainian judged the situation wrong, and although he managed to block the ball, he let it bounce into the net.
Relying on Wang Feng's brace, Real Madrid drew 2-2 with Dynamo Kyiv.
After two rounds of Champions League group stage matches, Real Madrid garnered two draws and only ranked third in the group. Lyon and Dynamo Kyiv both had one win and one draw, while Bucharest Stars lost both matches and ranked last.
No one expected the once-mighty Galacticos to suffer consecutive setbacks in the Champions League. For Wang Feng, this was also the first time in his many years of Champions League experience to encounter such an unfavorable start.
But injuries were unreasonable. Two days after the match, during training, Emerson accidentally pulled a thigh muscle. Although not very serious, he still needed to miss the next month's games.
Schuster was going crazy. He almost pulled out his hair. Real Madrid had been very unfortunate during this period. The players on his hands were originally not very abundant, and now they encountered injuries one after another. It was simply too frustrating!
In the fifth round of La Liga in the first week of October, Real Madrid hosted Atletico Madrid at home. This city derby attracted a lot of attention, not only because of the ties between the two teams but also because Atletico's lineup looked very promising, making both sides evenly matched.
During an interview before the match, the team's coach, Aguirre, stated that Atletico Madrid's goal for this season was a spot in the Champions League: "We have experienced the downturn of last season, and both the players and the club have had enough!"
"This season, the team successfully retained Torres, and brought in Aguero, the scoring king, and Mista, the striker from Valencia. Now we fear no opponent."
"Injuries plaguing Real Madrid? Sorry, I won't show any mercy because of that."
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