Chapter 584: Everything for the Championship
Real Madrid's home victory over Manchester City gave them the upper hand in the group of death. Especially the team's positive attitude in the final moments was touching, making everyone realize that they shouldn't underestimate this injured defending champion. A wounded tiger is still a formidable beast in the jungle!
In this match, Wang Feng had a passing success rate of 93%, with 7 interceptions, 4 tackles, 6 key passes, and 2 assists, including a game-winning goal.
Comparatively, Essien, who also started as a defensive midfielder, had an 89% passing success rate, with 4 interceptions, 2 tackles, and 2 key passes. The difference was clear; the Chinese superstar outperformed the orthodox midfielder by a significant margin.
The 29-year-old "Ghanaian Buffalo" had suffered two ACL tears in the past, and after finally recovering from injury, he found it difficult to secure a place in Chelsea's lineup. It was at this time that Real Madrid extended an olive branch to him.
However, at that time, Essien's presence was only seen as a means to compensate for the departures of Diarra and others in midfield, becoming a rotational regular at best. No one expected the sudden turn of events, with continuous injuries forcing him to carry the burden.
Around 10:45 PM on the night of the match, after bidding farewell to many VIPs who came to the Bernabeu to watch the game, Florentino immediately went to the dressing room to pay his respects to head coach Ancelotti and the Real Madrid players.
Visiting the dressing room after each match had become a habit for the Real Madrid president. "Excellent, excellent! Wang, and all of you, played exceptionally well. We deserve this victory!"
"We are still invincible! Guys, a handsome bonus is waiting for you!"
His words elicited enthusiastic cheers. At the moment, the team needed uplifting morale. Besides glory, what else could move everyone more than practical benefits?
Florentino looked around with a satisfied smile, then shook hands and embraced the players one by one. When he came to Wang Feng, he whispered, "Thank you for your outstanding contributions to the club. We will never forget."
"Everything for the championship!" The Chinese superstar said so, even though he might not take it seriously, but the team couldn't ignore it. His most important contributions had come at their expense.
Then the Real Madrid president made a brief speech: "This is how Real Madrid people should be, to promote the spirit of Real Madrid. Guys, even now, there are still fans cheering for you on the streets. You are the heroes of this city!"
Finally, he exchanged a few words with the coaching staff, expressing that he would carefully listen to Ancelotti's opinions on strengthening the team in the winter transfer window, and encouraged Zidane to learn more from the Italian.
On the Manchester City side, the defeat in this match served as a wake-up call for the team. Despite reigning supreme in the Premier League, they were still newcomers to the Champions League. If they couldn't maintain a calm mindset and consistent performance, they might drown in the group of death, repeating the tragedy of last season.
Aguero, who returned from injury on the bench, did not get any playing time. He expressed regret about this, saying, "The team was leading at one point but ended up losing. It's most torturous to watch such a situation from the sidelines."
Before joining Manchester City, there were rumors that Real Madrid was interested in him, but his former club Atletico Madrid would never allow him to join their city rivals.
"That's fake news. In fact, Real Madrid has never shown any sincerity towards me. Maybe I'm not in their plans."
"I'm very happy at the Sky Blues now and won't think about anything else."
In the La Liga, Barcelona narrowly defeated Spartak Moscow 3-2 at home. The match was equally tumultuous, with Neymar opening the scoring, but Spartak Moscow scored two goals in succession to take the lead. In a crucial moment, Messi's header and volley helped the team to come back.
Facing opponents far inferior to themselves, Barcelona still found it very difficult to play. The Catalan team's performance was not good, and at one point, Argentine star Messi even got into a heated argument with his teammates on the field. He was really impatient!
At that time, Barcelona launched an attack from the left, and Víctor Valdés dribbled into the penalty area after receiving the ball, then crossed horizontally. The ball was blocked by the opponent's defender and bounced up. Messi rushed up for the ball, but his control was flawed, and the ball went out of bounds.
Immediately, Messi gestured and yelled at Víctor Valdés to complain, and Víctor Valdés immediately responded to Messi. The two argued back and forth.
From the TV broadcast, both Messi and Víctor Valdés looked displeased, and their words were very intense. Even after returning from halftime, the two did not reconcile.
The team's consecutive attacks were obstructed, and the situation of being overtaken by the opponent also made Barcelona players anxious. They couldn't play their own football in the first half.
Messi was the most anxious one. Not only did he argue with Víctor Valdés, but he also gave instructions to Sánchez and Thiago earlier. In the 60th minute, Víctor Valdés and Neymar were replaced by Xavi and Pedro.
According to the interpretation of lip-reading experts on Spanish Economic TV after the match, Messi shouted to Víctor Valdés, "Pass the ball! Pass the ball!"
He was obviously complaining that Víctor Valdés didn't pass the ball to him properly, and Víctor Valdés replied, "I couldn't control the ball! If I could, I would definitely pass it to you, but I really couldn't do it!"
Spanish Economic TV pointed out that Messi and Víctor Valdés didn't have a good relationship. Because of Messi's presence, Víctor Valdés could only play in an uncomfortable position, and Messi didn't have much fondness for Víctor Valdés either.
They also mentioned names like Bojan, Ibrahimovi?, Eto'o, saying that these forwards failed to establish friendships with Messi and eventually left Barcelona with regret.
On September 24th, in the 5th round of La Liga, Real Madrid hosted Valladolid.
In the 19th minute, Wang Feng, Modric, and Carvajal passed consecutively, Carvajal dribbled into the penalty area and crossed to the center, where Iguaín headed the ball into the net.
In the 64th minute of the second half, the Chinese superstar made a straight pass from the front, and Morata easily pushed the ball into the far corner, helping the Galaxy Battleship secure another victory with a score of 2-0.
On September 30th, in the 6th round of La Liga, Real Madrid played away against Deportivo La Coru?a.
The former "Super Depor" had long since faded away. Now, they had struggled to win in the first five matches and were only at the bottom of the standings, deeply mired in the relegation zone.
However, their fans still loved their team very much. Approximately 20,000 home fans filled the Riazor Stadium, which could accommodate 34,000 people.
Speaking of which, Wang Feng had some connections with Deportivo La Coru?a. If it weren't for Inter Milan's intervention, this world-class king of football would have landed in Galicia.
Whenever this was mentioned, former Deportivo La Coru?a club president Augusto César Lendoiro would lament, "We had reached an agreement with Wang's agent, and even the deal with Genk was completely settled."
"Who would have thought that Moratti would suddenly show up, offering a price we couldn't afford, and successfully convinced Wang. That's how the great Inter Milan dynasty started."
This match was one of the easier ones Real Madrid played recently. Marcelo, Albiol, and Modric each scored for the team, helping the Galaxy Battleship win 3-0.
Although the Chinese superstar did not score, he contributed 2 assists and received a post-match rating of 9.1, ranking first in the team.
So far, Wang Feng had an average passing success rate of 95%, averaged 7.25 interceptions, 4.5 tackles, and 6.75 key passes per game, ranking ahead of all La Liga defensive players.
At the same time, although his 3 goals were fewer than Messi's 7, his 5 assists ranked first on the assist leaderboard.
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