Chapter 638: The Gang of Rogues
Back in the league, the Galacticos secured victories against Getafe and newly promoted Elche, with scores of 4-1 and 2-0 respectively. In these two matches, Wang Feng contributed 3 goals and 1 assist.
After six rounds of matches, only three teams remained undefeated in La Liga: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid. This season, the "Big Three" seemed to have expanded, with Diego Costa leading Atletico Madrid's impressive performance, continuing to amaze fans.
All credit goes to the grassroots striker Diego Costa, who scored 8 goals in 6 matches, surpassing Messi to rank second in the top scorer list, second only to Wang Feng's 10 goals.
It's worth noting that just a year ago, this Brazilian could only be found in the outskirts of Madrid playing for Rayo Vallecano. He showed no signs of being a superstar on the pitch back then, with a repertoire of crude moves.
Therefore, many people thought Costa was a clown, a flash in the pan. But the Brazilian, hailing from the streets of Brazil, cared little for such opinions. He only focused on scoring goals, winning games, and earning money.
Like Wang Feng, the Brazilian started his professional football career at the age of 16, starting in the S?o Paulo state second division league. He then moved to Portuguese clubs Braga and Penafiel before being sold to Atletico Madrid for a low fee of 1.5 million euros.
However, Costa did not receive much attention from the Atletico Madrid hierarchy at that time. Instead, he became a bargaining chip in a deal sent to Valladolid. Perhaps due to the habit of continuously nurturing strikers over the years, then Atletico Madrid's general manager Pitarch deliberately added a buy-back clause to the transfer contract.
Costa impressed with his performance at Valladolid, prompting Atletico Madrid to activate the buy-back clause and pay him a hefty signing fee. Unfortunately, even after returning to Atletico Madrid, he still did not secure a place in the team, as Falcao's excellent performance continued to overshadow him.
However, the Brazilian, loaned out to Rayo Vallecano, did not despair but continued to shine. When rumors swirled about the transfer of the Colombian star, he knew his chance had come!
As expected, head coach Simeone strongly advocated for his recall and retention, grooming him as a key striker. In reality, his shooting skills were not particularly refined; rather, he relied more on "reasonably" provoking opposing defenders to create opportunities.
He persistently harassed and used psychological tactics during battles, taking advantage of the referee's blind spots and opponents' characteristics, using minimal foul actions to seek profit while easily evading punishment. Costa's abilities in this regard were unrivaled in La Liga.
He was very proactive in physical confrontations, seeking direct physical contact with opponents. In such situations, his rich repertoire of hand movements came into full play, often frustrating opponents and even causing them to lose their temper.
Costa admitted this aspect himself, but he did not see it as a problem: "I play within the rules. I want to continue improving and leading the team to victory. I won't change my style of play."
The constant emergence of strikers has become a tradition for Atletico Madrid. In 1997, Vieri was brought back by old Hil, costing 15 million euros. The Italian star contributed 24 goals in 24 matches in just one season, setting a legendary performance. Since then, the value of most forwards joining Atletico Madrid has skyrocketed.
Torres, Aguero, Forlan, Falcao, and now Diego Costa—no matter how the team changes, Atletico Madrid always seems to have a decisive figure. Not to mention the young Adrian and Baptiste.
Under Simeone's coaching, this team is full of wildness, which is not good news for Real Madrid, as they will soon face this gang of rogues at the Calderon Stadium, a match that will likely affect the title race.
On September 28th, in the 7th round of La Liga, the Galacticos faced their city rivals Atletico Madrid away.
Simeone fielded a 4-4-2 formation with Courtois in goal.
The defense consisted of Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, and Felipe.
In midfield were Gabi, Thiago, Turan, and Koke.
Diego Costa and Villa formed the strike partnership.
Ancelotti, in this match, chose Illarramendi to replace the fatigued Modric in the starting lineup. Bale was not included in the squad, so Morata got a chance to play.
The match started with intense rivalry. Di Maria was fouled by Gabi after dribbling down the flank, and later, Isco's pass to Wang Feng was interrupted by Godin from behind.
Referee Alsas from Spain only gave verbal warnings and signaled for the game to continue, while the home fans in the stands were going crazy, which annoyed the Chinese superstar.
During Atletico Madrid's attack, Diego Costa, as usual, followed his strategy of small actions. When facing Ramos' close marking while dribbling in the frontcourt, the Brazilian raised his elbow and made a ruthless move.
Ramos, not one to back down, fell to the ground and directly pressed him down. The referee immediately blew the whistle, stopping the players from both sides, and awarded Real Madrid a foul.
The Spanish defender spread his hands in disbelief, while Wang Feng argued with Alsas, "Sir, it was clearly an elbow from their side. We saw it very clearly; it was definitely a malicious move."
But the referee shook his head, indicating he didn't see it, hoping both sides could calm down and play the game normally. The Chinese superstar couldn't help but smile bitterly. How did he encounter such a rookie referee who couldn't control the game at all and even hoped to calm things down? He was only worried that the situation would get worse.
Soon after, Diego Costa repeated his tricks. This time, he received a through pass from Miranda, cut inside to break through, and when faced with Pepe's interception, he made a sneaky move under the Portuguese defender's arm.
Pepe wouldn't let him get away with it and immediately brought him down. The two then started to confront each other, with referee Alsas rushing over to show Pepe a yellow card. Wang Feng once again approached to protest, while also holding back his teammates to prevent them from clashing with the opponents and the referee.
"This is all part of their conspiracy, guys, stay calm! Don't fall for it easily, maintain our normal rhythm, and win this game!"
Subsequently, the match gradually fell into a deadlock. Both the Galacticos' defense and Atletico Madrid's defense were tough to break through. Wang Feng's agile breakthroughs and sharp passes always managed to penetrate the defense, forcing them to resort to frequent fouling strategies.
Several direct free kicks taken by Wang Feng narrowly missed the target, leaving the Chinese superstar shaking his head in regret, which also boosted the home team's defensive confidence.
In the 31st minute, a midfield interception by Alonso was passed to the Chinese superstar. He immediately turned and dribbled forward, facing Thiago's interception. He slowed down and feinted to the left, causing the opponent to commit to blocking, then lightly touched the ball with the tip of his foot, passing it through the legs of the Atletico Madrid midfielder. He then accelerated past the defense.
Miranda hurriedly stepped forward to defend, but Wang Feng was about to overtake him with a big step. At this moment, Miranda could only choose to foul the Chinese superstar desperately.
The referee blew the whistle, and Wang Feng pushed away his opponent. "Do you really think you can stop me like this?"
Standing at the penalty spot again, the Chinese superstar stared at the goal, continuously constructing the trajectory in his mind, turning his previous failures into experience, adjusting the position and force of the touch.
Run-up! Shot! The moment the ball touched his foot, Wang Feng was confident. So he immediately turned and ran towards the stands, personally responding to those provoking fans.
Amidst countless horrified looks, the ball drew a deadly curve in the air, bypassing the wall and going straight into the corner of the goal. Despite Courtois' best efforts to stretch out his two-meter-tall arms, he still couldn't reach the ball.
"Goal~!" 1:0! Real Madrid took the lead!
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