Chapter 664: Returning to Familiar Grounds, I Am Still Myself!
On February 22nd, the Galacticos hosted their opponent at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for the 25th round of La Liga, facing the newly promoted team, Elche. The last time this small club from the Valencian Community defeated Real Madrid dates back to the distant year of 1978.
In preparation for the upcoming Champions League knockout stage, Ancelotti sent out a rotated lineup, with young players like Carvajal, Isco, Varane, and Illarramendi given the opportunity to play.
The away team immediately positioned themselves as underdogs, adopting a defensive strategy, and it wasn't until the 34th minute that the home team finally broke through the defense.
Wang Feng took a corner kick, and Coentrao headed the ball into the net, hitting the underside of the crossbar and bouncing off the goal line before going in, breaking the deadlock for Real Madrid.
At halftime, the Chinese superstar was substituted off for a break. Although he didn't score, the team was in the lead, so he didn't insist on staying on the field.
In the 71st and 81st minutes, Illarramendi and Isco respectively scored goals, securing a 3-0 victory for the Galacticos over the newly promoted Elche.
In Gelsenkirchen, Germany, at the Veltins-Arena, Wang Feng was no stranger to everything here. He had led his team to this stadium to face Schalke 04 many times before, and ten years ago, he even lifted the Champions League trophy here after defeating Porto.
While time had changed, many memories seemed to remain on the pitch. Walking through the corridors of the locker room, one could see many historical photos, including scenes of the Chinese superstar wearing the blue and black jersey, raising cups.
Young players like Isco watched with great interest. The Spaniard exclaimed excitedly, "I remember this game. I was only 12 years old that year, and Wang's performance was amazing!"
Varane, Jesé, and others nodded in agreement. At that time, they were still relatively new to football, and Wang Feng had brought them an unprecedented shock.
Just like witnessing Maradona play football for the first time in the 1980s, or seeing Ronaldo play in the 1990s, in the eyes of these children, the idol status was unshakable.
Not only Varane and the others, but when the Chinese superstar led the team through the player tunnel onto the field, many German fans actually cheered, some even specially made banners to show their support.
"To receive cheers and applause from the opposing fans before the start of the game, Wang Feng should be unique in this regard," commented Zhang Jun, the commentator.
"He has achieved victory many times on this field, with spectacular goals captivating the audience. I wonder what kind of performance he will bring us in this game?"
"Schalke 04 has lined up in the classic 4-2-3-1 formation, with goalkeeper F?hrmann.
The four defenders are Howedes, Matip, Felipe Santana, and Kolasinac.
Boateng and Neust?dter are in the defensive midfield, while Farfan, Meyer, and Draxler are in the midfield.
The lone striker is Huntelaar."
In the first half, the home team kicked off, quickly advancing to the front. Huntelaar's shot was blocked by Ramos, and Schalke won their first corner of the game.
Farfan took the corner from the right side, Howedes contested the header in front of the goal from 9 meters out, but the ball bounced slightly wide of the left goalpost.
"The attacking initiative of the Bundesliga powerhouse is very high. They didn't adopt a conservative tactic to counterattack against the Galacticos, but instead want to engage in a back-and-forth attack! It's daring, but the result remains to be seen," Zhang Jun commented cautiously, but during the game, Real Madrid played exceptionally well. Seeing such an open space in the opponent's half, they felt a sense of satisfaction they hadn't felt in a long time.
In the 8th minute, Howedes cleared the ball with a long kick from the back, and Modric intercepted the ball near the midfield, passing it forward to Wang Feng.
The Chinese superstar received the ball, quickly turned and started, faced Boateng, made a feint to the side, then suddenly changed direction. The German midfielder behind him attempted to poke the ball away with his foot, but missed, and because of the imbalance caused by the feint, fell to the ground.
Matip was waiting in front of the penalty area, Wang Feng approached at a reduced speed, and as the distance between the two sides narrowed, it seemed that the Cameroonian defender could just stretch his foot to intercept the ball.
Enough is enough! Matip quickly stretched out his leg to try to steal the ball, but the Chinese superstar calmly flicked the ball with his right foot, almost avoiding the opponent's toe, then suddenly shifted to his left foot and entered the penalty area.
Due to the extension of Matip's left leg, he left the space on the right side open, and he forcibly turned his body to try to make up for it, but ended up falling to the ground like Boateng!
Goalkeeper F?hrmann saw the danger and immediately rushed out, but Wang Feng used the outside of his right foot to send a curved shot, the ball bypassed him and went straight into the top right corner of the goal, brushing against the upright and into the net.
"The ball is in! A beautiful solo goal! Wang Feng opens the scoring for Real Madrid!"
"With continuous changes in speed and shoulder feints, Wang Feng completely played with the Schalke 04 defense. There was no physical contact between him and the defending players, but Boateng and Matip fell due to deceptive shifts in balance."
"His dribbling was mesmerizing. We can see that throughout the entire process, the Chinese superstar didn't stop once, completing it all in one go."
"The quality of the final shot was also very high, a curled shot that bypassed the goalkeeper and defensive players, piercing the home team's goal in an unstoppable manner."
This goal completely ignited the attacking passion of the Galacticos. Five minutes later, Bale cut inside from the right and combined with Wang Feng to tear open the Schalke 04 defense, with Benzema tapping the ball in from close range.
In the 21st minute, Wang Feng aggressively pressed near the right touchline in the opponent's half, dispossessing Santana's back pass, and then passed to Bale nearby. The latter dribbled inside, evading the defense of Santana and Kolasinac, and scored with his left foot from 13 meters out, making it 3-0!
Twelve minutes later, Modric intercepted a long pass in midfield, directly stopping it for Wang Feng. With a quick turn, he shook off Matip, entered the penalty area at a narrow angle, and slotted the ball into the far corner with a diagonal shot.
As the first half was about to end, Real Madrid struck again. Wang Feng and Bale exchanged passes to break through the Schalke 04 defense, with the Welshman chipping the ball into the penalty area with the outside of his foot.
Wang Feng leaped sideways, his right leg swinging like a baseball bat, "Bang!" A close-range shot left F?hrmann with no chance, as he made the save only after the ball had already hit the net.
5-0! Wang Feng contributed a hat-trick and an assist in just 45 minutes, he was still himself, the undefeated god of war!
To save face for the home team, in the second half, coach Ancelotti substituted Wang Feng and Modric, two key players, to ease the situation, but the enthusiasm of the players on the field remained undiminished.
In the 69th minute, Ramos intercepted in midfield and sent a direct pass, Bale pushed into the far corner with his left foot from the right side of the penalty area, making it 6-0!
In the 89th minute, Isco intercepted in the opponent's half, Iglesias received the ball and passed it diagonally, Bale entered the penalty area from the right side and scored with a shot from 9 meters away from the goal, completing another hat-trick, 7-0!
In injury time, Schalke 04 pulled one back, with substitute Fuchs crossing from the left, and Huntelaar volleying from 18 meters out to beat Casillas in goal.
The final score was set at 7-1, with the Bundesliga powerhouse suffering a devastating defeat at home, destined to face elimination.
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