Chapter 328: Breaking through the home of hell
Camp Nou is located in the Santz district to the west of downtown Barcelona. Since its completion in 1957, it has always been one of the best home stadiums for European clubs, with a capacity of up to 93,000 people.
On the way from the hotel to the stadium, the Real Madrid team could see fans wearing Barcelona jerseys everywhere. Tonight's game was a feast for them.
There were also many malicious fans throwing mineral water bottles, stones, and other heavy objects at the visiting team's bus, banging on the windows. Fortunately, the bus was structurally sound enough, and with the security's maintenance, it quickly escaped.
"Barcelona fans are really crazy," Wang Feng said with lingering fear. Raúl smiled and said, "It's not like this for every game, but this round of matches is crucial for the championship. Moreover, we beat them comprehensively last time at the Bernabéu, so the fans are very unfriendly."
"It's impossible to ease the tension." Guti turned around from the front seat and added, "The reason why the matches between our two clubs are called the Derby of the Century is that there is a deep-seated enmity. There's hardly ever a friendly moment."
The temperaments of the two teams also clashed. Real Madrid always flaunted its noble and elegant royal bloodline to the world, while Bar?a nurtured a strong sense of self-esteem and rebellious character.
The moment they stepped onto the Camp Nou field, Wang Feng felt a strong sense of hostility. Fans in the stands used various insulting words to provoke the visiting team players, while the Barcelona players on the other side looked very different from usual, their faces solemn, staring at Real Madrid with hostility.
With the referee's whistle, the game officially began! Barcelona, playing at home, kicked off first. Their lineup was unchanged from the first round. Ronaldinho still started, forming a front line trident with Eto'o and Messi.
On the Real Madrid side, Pepe, Heinze, and Gago, who had been well-rested in the midfield and defense, replaced Salgado, Sissoko, and Emerson.
Shortly after the start, Barcelona passed the ball to Messi on the wing. After reaching the edge of the penalty area, the Argentine suddenly crossed after a dribble. Eto'o faced tight defense in the penalty area and failed to grab the first touch. The ball was controlled by Cannavaro.
Just as he was about to launch a counterattack, he suddenly realized that Barcelona's formation was retracting very quickly. Midfielders Raúl and Wang Feng were already surrounded by several players in defense. It would be unwise to go looking for them at this point.
It seemed that Rijkaard had done sufficient homework and tactical arrangements for Real Madrid's quick counterattacks. Helpless, he had to make a short pass to Diarra to organize the positional battle.
After a few passes, the home team intercepted the ball. In terms of possession, Real Madrid was clearly not on par with Barcelona. Iniesta received the ball near the center line, and Puyol quickly passed it to him.
The Spanish midfielder rushed towards the Real Madrid defense, but unfortunately encountered Pepe, the tough defender. He cleanly tackled the ball and cleared it to the sideline, while also knocking down Iniesta.
Iniesta quickly got up and sought help from the referee, "This should be a foul, sir!" Referee Delgado shook his head, "No, I was right there watching. It was a clean tackle."
With no result from the complaint, Iniesta could only take a throw-in, while Pepe nearby smiled at him, as if saying, "Dream on if you think you can pass through me!"
After more than ten minutes of entanglement, Barcelona dominated possession and the initiative on the field, but their attacks were slow to progress because Real Madrid's defense was much improved compared to the first encounter. The new signings all seemed to be worth it.
They found it difficult to penetrate into the penalty area and could only attempt long shots in the attacking third. Messi and Eto'o each contributed a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, but one missed slightly wide and the other shot high into the stands.
Of course, Real Madrid's attacks also didn't yield any breakthroughs, but Wang Feng wasn't worried. He kept moving around in the midfield, waiting for an opportunity. Defenders were not gods; there would always be openings.
As the game reached the 20th minute mark, Barcelona once again failed to score. Pepe tackled Xavi in a duel, controlled the ball, and the referee did not whistle. The Portuguese defender quickly lifted the ball to the midfield, launching a fast counterattack for Real Madrid.
Raúl received the ball with his back to goal near the center line. Túram marked him tightly from behind, preventing him from turning. So, the Bernabéu prince passed the ball to the left, and a figure shot past him like an arrow, taking the ball away.
Wang Feng's rapid advance! Túram gave up on Raúl, and Puyol and he quickly closed in on Wang Feng. However, the Chinese superstar forcefully pushed the ball forward. It just passed between the two defenders, and he accelerated further, easily overtaking them.
Camp Nou erupted with boos. All the fans were anxiously shouting, "Stop him!" Sprinting at high speed, Túram and Puyol fell further and further behind, with Túram even reaching out his right hand to try and grab Wang Feng's arm.
Using his powerful physical qualities, Wang Feng shook off Túram's grab. Although he stumbled a bit, he steadied himself. On the other hand, Túram fell to the ground in a clumsy manner due to inertia.
Now, only Puyol chasing from behind and goalkeeper Valdés ahead! After catching up with the ball into the penalty area and facing the onrushing goalkeeper, Wang Feng didn't slow down to control it but directly used the tip of his foot to chip it.
The ball soared into the air. Valdés jumped with all his might to save, but could only watch helplessly as the ball flew over his palm. Why is it so high? The Spanish goalkeeper thought, surely it's going over the crossbar.
But the gasps from the stands shattered his illusion. After passing over him, the ball had a strange downward trajectory, landing steadily into the net.
"Gooooooooooooooooooal! The ball's in! Real Madrid used a clean and swift counterattack to break open Barcelona's defense!"
"Everything happened so fast. After Pepe's interception, he immediately lifted the ball to the midfield, Raúl received it and passed, Wang Feng sprinted 60 meters to score. Real Madrid's fast break this time took less than 1 minute!"
"Barcelona's defense made a mistake. They didn't choose to retreat immediately when Pepe intercepted, but protested for a foul to the nearby referee. But from the slow-motion replay, it can be seen that the Portuguese defender's defense was flawless, and they shouldn't have tangled up here."
"On the contrary, Túram, who was chasing, had an obvious pulling action, but Wang Feng didn't fall down. His desire for a goal surpassed everyone else's. This is the true professional player!"
"The new captain of the Galacticos has breached the fortress of Camp Nou. Will he lead the team to repeat the history of the last encounter and humiliate the opponent with a big score? It's so exciting!"
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