Chapter 504: No warmth
After six rounds of matches, La Liga ushered in the two-week international break in October, with the league temporarily paused. The media and fans focused their attention on the early performances of various teams.
Real Madrid led the standings with a perfect record of 18 points, followed by Barcelona with 16 points from 5 wins and 1 draw. They were the only two unbeaten teams in La Liga. Valencia ranked third with 11 points from 3 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss.
History always repeats itself. It seems that no other team can participate in the race for the La Liga title alongside the two giants this season.
In terms of the top scorer list, Wang Feng led with 9 goals, followed by Messi with 6 goals, and Sevilla striker Negredo in third place with 4 goals.
Although the Chinese superstar remained strong in goal scoring, his numbers had declined compared to the first three seasons before joining Real Madrid. This was due to the disadvantage of not being in sync with head coach Benitez's tactics.
Many times, he couldn't move freely to seize opportunities and was easily targeted by opposing defenses. Fortunately, Wang Feng's technical ability was good, often allowing him to break through defenses.
However, scoring goals was evidently not as easy as before. Therefore, his league goal tally last season dropped to 43, falling below 50 for the first time.
But most people couldn't discern the difference. They thought it was normal for Wang Feng's scoring ability to slightly decline, as it would be terrifying if he maintained over 50 goals every season.
As for whether Real Madrid or Barcelona had the best chance of winning the league title, the media had differing opinions and couldn't reach a consensus. However, based on past experience, regardless of who led the process, the one laughing in the end would be the Galacticos.
However, the Catalan team always seemed capable of overturning opponents at the last moment. So, who could say this year wouldn't be different?
The Daily Sports News stated that last season, Barcelona's league performance was an unexpected failure. After being eliminated from the Champions League, the players' morale fluctuated greatly, leading to losses in two crucial matches. Otherwise, they could have ended Real Madrid's winning streak.
"When Wang Feng couldn't replicate his magical hundred-goal season, Barcelona's front three became even stronger."
External opinions didn't affect Wang Feng. He only knew that the game needed to be played one match at a time, and whether he could win trophies depended on the accumulation during the process.
During the holiday period with no matches scheduled, he took his wife and children to the Alhambra Palace, an hour's drive from Madrid.
The palace stood on the banks of the Tagus and Jamara rivers, was built in the 16th century, and served as a summer retreat for the Habsburg dynasty. It had a beautiful large garden where his daughter could play to her heart's content.
When his daughter got tired, Wang Feng would gently hold her and playfully entertain her, occasionally turning back to tell Lu yao about European history. Despite not attending university, he often found time to read and enrich himself, especially in various aspects of Eastern and Western history, which greatly interested him.
As the holiday approached its end, the Chinese superstar received some unfavorable news: Robben was injured again! This time, it was his left knee and he would be sidelined for at least three months.
Seeing the worried "Little Flying Dutchman" in the hospital, Wang Feng comforted him, "At least you got injured after playing seven World Cup matches. Kaka suffered much worse. After playing only four matches due to being forced onto the field during the World Cup, he couldn't save the team. Now, he's injured again for five months and even Barcelona is ignoring him. The last time I called him, he was about to cry."
Robben forced a smile, "I'll be fine, but renewing my contract is definitely off the table." Wang Feng didn't have a solution for this. He really hoped the Dutchman would stay, even more so than Sneijder. Because Robben loved football more purely, without so many off-field issues. He remembered when he first arrived at Real Madrid, in order to integrate into the team quickly, Robben even enrolled in Spanish classes. It could be said that he was very dedicated.
However, Real Madrid was like this, never sentimental. When a player was no longer valuable, they could only part ways. Perhaps this season would be the last season for both of them.
On October 16th, La Liga reignited, and in the seventh round, the Galacticos faced Malaga away. This was a club that wasn't flashy but always managed to hold its ground.
Since rising to the first division and finishing eighth in the season, Malaga had been hovering on the brink of relegation but always managed to survive in the end.
This summer, they poached coach Ferreira from Porto. He outlined a gradual team-building plan, first ensuring the team's first division status, then steadily improving, and finally aiming for European qualification. Therefore, their goal this season remained to avoid relegation, with not much overall investment.
On Real Madrid's side, Benitez rested the national team players who had been traveling, and Robben's injury indeed left the wing positions short-staffed. But if necessary, Di Maria could still step up.
The game started with both sides playing tepidly, and the deadlock persisted until the 77th minute of the second half when Wang Feng broke the deadlock with a long shot. Afterwards, the Galacticos seemed to wake up and played more smoothly.
Four minutes later, Leon passed diagonally to the right rib of the penalty area, and the Chinese superstar received the ball, dribbled forcefully to the byline, and crossed. Morata, at the 8-meter mark in front of the goal, headed the ball into the net, 2-0!
This was the first goal scored by the 18-year-old Spanish youth team player for the first team! Therefore, he kept thanking Wang Feng for passing the ball to him, and the pass was so good. "No, this is your own merit. You were able to get to the spot and head the ball perfectly. You are really talented, and I have high hopes for you."
Morata's face turned red with excitement. He received recognition from his idol! It was not an exaggeration to say that he grew up watching Wang Feng play. Since he was very young, he had hoped to play football with the greatest player, which was why he chose to transfer from Getafe to compete at Real Madrid.
With these two goals, the Galacticos took all three points away from home, extending their winning streak this season to 12 matches.
Next, they would return to the Bernabeu Stadium to face the challenge of AC Milan. Regarding this, head coach Benitez was very cautious in an interview, saying, "Based on last year's experience, this will be a very difficult match."
"Whether it's the experienced defenders like Nesta and Thiago Silva at the back or midfielders like Gattuso and Seedorf, they are all world-class players with rich experience and excellent skills. Moreover, with the addition of Ibrahimovic as a forward this season, they have become even stronger."
"However, playing at home, we will strive for victory with all our strength. If our goal is to top the group, AC Milan is a team we must surpass. It's better to grasp the advantage of playing at home than to struggle away."
When interviewed, Wang Feng stated that this AC Milan had undergone significant changes compared to several years ago when they faced each other many times. Many people had left, but some were still holding on.
"Their pursuit of victory hasn't changed, whether it's in the league or the Champions League, it's evident. I'm really looking forward to facing them again."
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