Chapter 387: Close to scoring record
Once again encountering Waterloo, Ribery's melancholy mood can be imagined. They were defeated 0-3 by Liverpool over two legs, once again failing to reach the quarter-finals.
Since the Calciopoli scandal, Inter Milan has dominated Serie A for two seasons, and neither the declining AC Milan nor the newly promoted Juventus could shake their position.
However, with Wang Feng's departure, Inter Milan also lost their miraculous performances in the Champions League, and both fans and the club greatly missed the Chinese superstar.
Not only was Mancini's position as coach unstable, but Ribery, as the core player, also came under criticism. However, the Frenchman was also full of grievances. Adriano's form had declined, both mentally and physically affected, forcing him to return to Brazil for treatment. At the end of last year, he was loaned to Sao Paulo.
Although Ibrahimovic performed bravely, his form was severely affected by a knee injury at the beginning of the year, and other players in Inter Milan were also injured to varying degrees. Ribery found it difficult to carry the team alone.
"Sometimes I even wish I were injured myself," the Frenchman said self-deprecatingly. "Wang, I'm a bit confused. How did you lead a team full of wounded soldiers to win the quintuple crown or even the sextuple crown?"
Wang Feng comforted him, saying, "Franck, you've done well enough. Didn't you lead the team to break the league's highest points record last season and accomplish what I didn't?"
"The Champions League is always very unpredictable. Liverpool is very strong, at least they are a title-contending team. Losing to them in the context of the overall decline of Serie A is not shameful."
"Next, we should focus on the league and achieve an unprecedented seven consecutive championships, which would also be a good explanation to the fans and the club."
Ribery nodded. As he grew older, he increasingly felt that being the leader of the team was too difficult. Perhaps it was time for a change.
On March 9th, in the 27th round of La Liga, Real Madrid hosted Espanyol at home. As another team from Catalonia, Espanyol naturally hoped to defeat the Galacticos here, but the gap in strength between the two teams was quite significant, and even the media didn't want to hype up the confrontation.
Affected by the midweek Champions League match, several key players of Real Madrid were not in good form. Although the home team controlled the ball, Raul and Robben missed opportunities frequently, and even Wang Feng was somewhat off his game, missing a sure goal.
Fortunately, the Chinese superstar's adjustment ability was world-class. In the 22nd minute, Sneijder slotted a pass to Robben on the flank, who immediately sent a lobbed pass with the outside of his foot. Wang Feng leaned against the defending player in the penalty area and volleyed the ball into the net. 1-0! The Galacticos broke the deadlock!
After taking the lead, the team became more composed. Six minutes later, Wang Feng received the ball on the flank and passed it to Raul. He attracted defensive attention while dribbling in the penalty area, then passed it back to Sneijder who volleyed the ball fiercely.
Espanyol's goalkeeper, Kameni, got a fingertip to the ball, but it was too strong, deflecting out of his reach and into the net. 2-0!
Just before the end of the first half, it was Sneijder again orchestrating an attack through the middle, with Wang Feng receiving the ball at the top of the arc. After receiving the pass, the Chinese superstar deftly pushed the ball to his left and suddenly unleashed a low shot.
This time, the ball didn't fly aimlessly but went straight into Espanyol's goal, hitting the inside of the left goal post and bouncing into the net. Kameni was left frustrated, wondering why he always conceded such difficult shots!
Real Madrid once again ended the first half with a flurry of goals. However, unlike before, before clocking out early, Wang Feng assisted Raul in scoring another goal, expanding the score to 4-0. His contribution was two goals and one assist.
After the main players were substituted, there was inevitably some slackening in the team's performance. Espanyol seized the opportunity to launch several threatening attacks, and their forward, Baardo, even scored twice, pulling two goals back for the away team.
Fortunately, the teammates realized their mistakes in time and increased their ball control, avoiding giving the opponents more opportunities. With the referee blowing the final whistle, the score settled at 4-2.
After this match, Wang Feng's league goal tally reached 40 again. Following his breaking of the La Liga highest goal record last season with a terrifying 50 goals, everyone speculated that only he could break this record again.
Unexpectedly, this day came very quickly. The Spanish newspaper "El Pais" wrote that Wang Feng was truly unique. Not only could he score goals, but he also wouldn't disrupt the team's system, helping the team achieve many honors.
"And what's terrifying is that the Chinese superstar seems to have no downturns in form. His performance always surpasses the previous one, making people wonder where his limit is."
After playing against Espanyol, Real Madrid finally had a brief respite and didn't have to face a high-intensity week of two matches. Their next match would be one week later.
The club gave everyone a two-day short vacation, and Wang Feng returned home to accompany Lu Yao. Her condition had completely stabilized now, and the doctor suggested she engage in some exercise to stay active.
"I can't become a fat mom," she declared solemnly. So the two of them planned to drive to the nearby Alhambra.
This place used to be a pleasure ground for the Spanish court, where the king planted thousands of exotic trees. After hundreds of years of growth, it had become lush and verdant, showing a thriving scene every spring and summer.
Walking in the palace gardens, Lu Yao, who hadn't been out of town for several months, was very excited, looking around eagerly, while Wang Feng stayed by her side, always paying attention to her safety.
After a short rest, the Real Madrid players regrouped and headed to La Coruna to prepare for the 28th round of La Liga.
That night at 8 p.m., with an attendance rate of over 70% in the 34,000-capacity Riazor Stadium, the fans were very enthusiastic. They hoped the home team could defeat the Galacticos here, after all, at the beginning of the new century, "Super Depor" had once been crowned kings at this stadium.
During the match, the performance of the home team players delighted the fans. Not only did they suppress Real Madrid in the opening stages, but they also took the lead in the 19th minute with a goal from forward Adrián.
Trailing 0-1 at halftime, in the 71st minute of the second half, Wang Feng appeared on the left to receive a long pass from Diarra. Facing two defensive players, he continuously used his footwork skills to find space and break through.
After shaking off the defense, he immediately passed to Robben in the back post, who volleyed the ball into the net, finally breaking through La Coruna's defense and equalizing the score to 1-1.
After that, the away team gradually gained the upper hand but wasted many scoring opportunities. Instead, it was the Spanish forward Riki who seized the only counterattack opportunity in the second half to help La Coruna take the lead again.
This was also because Casillas was too complacent; he relaxed when the opponent didn't attack for dozens of minutes, resulting in a basic mistake.
So Deportivo La Coruna narrowly defeated Real Madrid 2-1, handing them their fifth loss of the season.
In another highly anticipated match, Villarreal defeated Almeria 2-0, reducing the gap with the Galacticos to four points, and the championship battle seemed to be stirring up again.
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