Chapter 563: Stepping on the Dead Enemy to Defend the Title!
Real Madrid gained an advantage in Munich, while Barcelona's dream shattered at Stamford Bridge. It was a showdown between ironclad defense and ultimate offense.
With Lampard assisting Drogba to score the only goal of the match, the Blues defeated the Catalan team 1-0.
Barcelona fans were once again disappointed. If it weren't for the second leg, Rosell almost wanted to fire the head coach, Vilanova, on the spot.
It's worth noting that Chelsea's form hasn't been good. With an aging main lineup, frequent losses in the league, and instability in the coaching staff.
Even against such opponents, Barcelona couldn't guarantee a stable win. So how could they talk about winning the Champions League?
Back to the 34th round of La Liga, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium witnessed another century-old derby.
In order to ensure a positive result in the upcoming match against Bayern, head coach Ancelotti had to rotate the lineup, with even Wang Feng sitting on the bench.
In a desperate situation, Vilanova made a bold decision, which was to give up the league and focus on the Champions League, thus he also benched key players.
Fans who were eager to watch the century-old battle were bound to be disappointed because both sides played very dull after the game started.
Real Madrid lacked sharp speed, and Barcelona lost their proud rhythm control, making them look more like they were playing a friendly match.
"This can also be understood. After all, for the Galaxy Battleship, leading in the league is significant, and there's no need to exhaust themselves. It's wise to save energy for the Champions League," explained Asensio, a commentator on the Spanish TV sports channel.
"Barcelona has a similar mindset. Since winning the league championship is hopeless and they've lost the Copa del Rey, they absolutely cannot afford to lose the Champions League."
As the first half was about to end, during injury time, Muniesa initiated a quick counter-attack from the back, sending a direct pass forward. Pedro, avoiding offside, broke through the defense and scored a goal, giving the away team the lead.
The Bernabéu fans were somewhat unhappy. Even though this was an inconsequential match, how could Real Madrid be suppressed by Barcelona? They clamored for Wang Feng to come on and teach their opponents a lesson.
So, in the 60th minute of the second half, the Chinese superstar eagerly took to the field. Soon after, he aggressively broke through on the wing, threatening with a cross.
Since his appearance, the home team's temperament changed drastically. The players seemed to have found their backbone, playing more boldly and passionately.
"As long as Wang Feng is on the field, I feel a sense of security," said Hierro on the sidelines, beside Ancelotti.
Zidane on the other side felt a similar sentiment. Both of them were currently Ancelotti's assistant coaches, indicating Florentino's intention to groom a coach from within the ranks of Real Madrid.
The Italian nodded, "He brings more encouragement to his teammates' mentality and emotions, as well as pulling the defense."
"With Wang Feng, we can arrange tactics more flexibly, but we must not think that everything will be fine as long as we throw him onto the field. It's necessary to allocate reasonably."
Ancelotti instructed the two newcomers without reservation, and there were new changes on the field.
In the 79th minute, Wang Feng attacked with the ball in the midfield, first accelerating past Mascherano with a diagonal dribble, then facing Adriano, he feinted sideways.
Facing Adriano's attempt to block him, the Chinese superstar changed direction again, using consecutive left and right feints to dribble past three defenders and break into the penalty area.
After taking two steps into the penalty area, Wang Feng used the outside of his left foot to shoot, the ball grazed the upper arm of Valdés and narrowly entered the goal.
"Goooooooooooal! The ball's in! Real Madrid equalizes!"
"Coming from Wang Feng's consecutive dribbles and shot, this attacking ability is unparalleled!"
"We can hear that when Real Madrid is behind, the entire Bernabéu crowd is calling for their emperor, calling for the one who never disappoints them."
"And the emperor who leads by example never returns empty-handed. He shows the world what it means to be the strongest!"
After equalizing the score, the increasingly brave Real Madrid continued to pressure Barcelona at home amidst cheers from the fans, causing a tense atmosphere in front of the visitors' goal.
Six minutes later, Di María and Wang Feng conducted a wall-pass style combination on the wing, attracting a lot of defensive attention, and the latter cut back to the middle near the goal line.
Morata, unmarked at the penalty spot, easily tapped the ball into the net. 2-1! The Galaxy Battleship staged a comeback!
This score held until the end of the game, and Real Madrid once again won the century-old derby.
This 3 points also secured Real Madrid's successful defense of the title, widening the gap with Barcelona to 14 points with 4 rounds left in the league, making the championship a foregone conclusion.
Creating a historic sixth consecutive championship! An unprecedented sixth consecutive championship! A dominating sixth consecutive championship!
As La Liga clubs sweep across Europe and establish themselves as number one, their championships have always belonged to one team, demonstrating their strong control.
The world's attention is focused on Real Madrid, and their performance has received unanimous praise, with Wang Feng naturally being the central figure.
At 29 years old, scoring 59 league goals, he still maintains such a strong dominance, making him a truly unique presence in the world of football.
Praise from countless media outlets flooded in, "We don't know how long Wang Feng can dominate football, but we know that at this moment, Real Madrid and him are invincible." This was how the Spanish newspaper, "El País," evaluated.
Having secured the championship in advance, Real Madrid stated that they would hold a grand celebration after the end of the season, "We will hold a grand parade celebration with five championship trophies." Florentino said in an interview.
The trophies he mentioned, in addition to the already won UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, and league championship, also include the Copa del Rey and the Champions League trophies.
Three days later, they faced Bayern at home, and Real Madrid perfectly fulfilled this goal.
In the 21st minute of the match, Di María broke through on the wing and crossed into the penalty area. Neuer, the Bayern goalkeeper, came out but made a fatal mistake, allowing the ball to slip past his hands.
Reacting the fastest in the scramble, Wang Feng leaped and headed the ball into the opponent's goal, giving the Galaxy Battleship a 1-0 lead!
In the 64th minute of the second half, Bayern, eager to attack and equalize, encountered another problem. Midfielder Gustavo unexpectedly passed the ball directly to Alonso.
The Spaniard took advantage of this to initiate a quick counterattack, reaching the edge of the penalty area and sending a diagonal pass behind the Bayern defense.
Although the pass was a bit too strong, the Chinese superstar relentlessly chased after it and caught up near the goal line.
Instead of stopping to control the ball, he almost kicked out a shot that seemed to be both a pass and a shot, with a tiny arc.
The ball flew almost parallel to the goal line from the front post to the back post and hit the inside of the latter, bouncing into the net.
A completely zero-angle shot! Even though the home fans and the commentators on-site were fully aware of the Chinese superstar's abilities, this goal still exceeded their expectations.
After a moment of silence, cheers erupted like a storm throughout the entire Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
In the end, Real Madrid defeated Bayern Munich 2-0, advancing to the Champions League final with a 4-1 aggregate score over two legs!
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on fr(e)𝒆webnov(e)l.com