Chapter 515: Break the record
On March 16th, at the Bernabéu Stadium, in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, Real Madrid hosted Lyon at home.
In the first leg, Real Madrid had a significant advantage, with a possession rate of up to 62% and nearly 20 shots, resulting in two goals.
More importantly, they almost completely shut down Lyon's attack, leaving the visiting team with severely diminished confidence. A miraculous comeback? They wouldn't even dare to dream of it.
The Galacticos fielded most of their main lineup, with Ramos and Alonso absent due to minor injuries sustained in training. However, there was good news as Robben, who had been sidelined for several days, finally joined the team for training and the match. Nevertheless, Benitez opted to keep him on the bench for precautionary reasons.
Despite being in a leading position, Real Madrid didn't play conservatively. They pressed Lyon high up the pitch from the start, forcing the away team to retreat into their own half.
In the 21st minute, a mistake in passing by Lovren in Lyon's half was intercepted, leading to a quick counterattack by Real Madrid. Di Maria dribbled the ball along the flank, with several Lyon defenders coming to block him.
Seeing this, Wang Feng quickly arrived to provide support. Instead of stopping the ball, the Argentine delicately passed it with his toes behind him. Without hesitating, the Chinese superstar swiftly turned around and volleyed with his left foot as the ball descended. At the same time, Lyon goalkeeper Lloris chose to abandon his goal, but Wang Feng's shot easily evaded him, finding the net effortlessly. 1-0!
The entire Bernabéu Stadium erupted in cheers. With wave after wave of attacks from Real Madrid, the home fans' emotions gradually soared, with the moment of scoring being the best time for them to release their excitement.
The television commentators exclaimed hoarsely, "So imaginative, so graceful, this is the epitome of football art! The ball moves under Wang Feng's feet like a beautiful dance."
After expanding their lead, Wang Feng continued his performance. In the 42nd minute, Sneijder intercepted the ball in midfield and passed it to the Chinese superstar, who slowly dribbled forward.
Approaching the 35-meter mark, he suddenly accelerated, leaving center-back Fernandes behind with a change of direction, then skillfully evaded defender Max with a feint, entering the penalty area and lifting his right foot to unleash a powerful shot.
The unstoppable shot pierced through Lyon's defense like a flying sword, grazing Lloris's fingertips and hitting the inside of the left post before nestling into the net. 2-0!
In the 51st minute of the second half, Wang Feng received a cross from Di Maria on the flank and volleyed sideways to score the third goal, sealing Lyon's defeat.
Shortly after, the Chinese superstar was substituted, receiving warm applause from the entire stadium, and his teammates on the bench also stood up to greet him.
"How's it going on Barcelona's side?" Wang Feng asked while wiping his sweat with a towel. In the first leg against Arsenal, they lost 1-2, so their qualification situation wasn't so good.
"Barcelona leads 2-1," the assistant coach replied, refreshing his phone. "Oh, wait, Messi won another penalty and scored it himself. Now it's 3-1."
"It seems they will advance to the quarterfinals. Our wish to have one less strong opponent is dashed!" Wang Feng shrugged. "But there's nothing we can do. To win consecutive titles and lift the trophy, we must fearlessly face any opponent."
With the referee blowing the final whistle, Real Madrid defeated Lyon 3-0 at home, advancing to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals with a 5-0 aggregate score.
Meanwhile, Barcelona defeated Arsenal 3-1, securing a 4-3 aggregate victory.
In La Liga, only the two giants remain in contention. In addition to Manchester United and Chelsea, who have been performing steadily in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur has emerged as a dark horse.
They defeated AC Milan to reach the quarterfinals, causing a genuine upset. This young team has many impressive players, such as midfielder Modric and forward Gareth Bale.
The remaining three spots were claimed by Inter Milan from Serie A, Schalke 04 from the Bundesliga, and Shakhtar Donetsk from the Ukrainian Premier League. Real Madrid's next opponent will be the dark horse Tottenham.
Three days later, on the weekend, in the 29th round of La Liga, the Galacticos faced Atletico Madrid away.
For Real Madrid, this was not just an ordinary league match because they had already equalled the club's record of 15 consecutive wins. Just one more win and they could surpass this legendary feat!
However, Atletico Madrid was Real Madrid's cross-town arch-rival, and they would definitely not want their opponents to set a mythical record at their home ground, which would forever shame the team in history.
So, after the match began, the home team played extremely aggressively, frequently using fierce pressing and fouling tactics to block the visitors' attacks. Soon, the white jerseys of players like Wang Feng were covered in mud.
Instead of being deterred by this approach, it only fueled the Chinese superstar's ferocity. The more opponents disliked something, the more he wanted to accomplish it. The sense of achievement from forcefully suppressing the opponent's pride was unparalleled.
The deadlock continued until the injury time of the first half. Real Madrid won the ball in their own half and launched a swift counterattack. Wang Feng, who had dropped back, stretched out his hand to request the ball and carried it into the opponent's half himself.
He was fast, advancing to the 35-meter mark in the blink of an eye. Seeing this, Atletico Madrid defender Juanito slid in for a tackle without hesitation. The Chinese superstar dexterously lifted the ball as he jumped, preparing to evade the defender's legs.
The ball successfully moved forward, but Juanito's raised foot accidentally scraped Wang Feng's shin, causing him pain and losing his balance.
The main referee had already put the whistle in his mouth to blow for a foul, but when he saw Wang Feng land and forcibly stabilize himself to continue chasing the ball, he signaled to play on, as the attack was advantageous.
Rushing into the penalty area and facing goalkeeper Asenjo, Wang Feng easily tricked him with a wide swing and then pushed the ball into the empty net. 1-0!
After scoring, Wang Feng didn't run to celebrate but instead signaled for the team doctor to come on. Everyone then noticed that his socks were soaked with blood. He had just attacked while injured.
Fortunately, after assessment, it wasn't serious. After a simple treatment to stop the bleeding and bandaging, he could still continue playing. The referee also gave Juanito a yellow card; indeed, his defensive action was too dangerous.
The rest of the match was much easier for the Galacticos. They only needed to control the situation and maintain their lead, while Atletico Madrid had to push forward.
In the 72nd minute, Wang Feng's accurate 45-degree cross from the left found Sneijder, who had made a run into the box. The latter then lifted his foot to slot home from 10 meters out, sealing the victory for the visitors!
"We can see that the main referee has blown the final whistle, and the match ends. Congratulations to Real Madrid! They have achieved 16 consecutive wins in the league, breaking the La Liga record for consecutive wins!"
"Previously, the longest winning streak record in the league was also set by the Galacticos, dating back to the distant 1961-1962 season when they had just completed five consecutive European Cup titles and went on to win five consecutive league titles."
"The similarity with history is striking. Now Real Madrid has reached this point again, and they are even more glorious than before, facing the prospect of winning five consecutive titles in both the league and the Champions League."
"In breaking this historical record, it carries profound significance. It means that the Galacticos are even better than before, and the players will surely achieve even more glorious results than in the past!"
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