Chapter 666: Power Struggle
Just like the previous match, Simeone's team's starting lineup remained unchanged, indicating his intention to continue with a tactical approach of confrontation and aggression.
Except for Isco replacing the injured Alonso, the rest of the Real Madrid lineup consisted of absolute mainstays, as they sought victory at the Bernabéu.
The pace of the game was fast from the beginning, with both sides fiercely contesting in the midfield, constantly exchanging possession.
Wang Feng received a direct pass from Modric at the edge of the penalty area. Before the Atletico defense could react, he turned and took a shot. Courtois, with his height and long arms, and intense focus, leaped to palm the ball out for a corner.
The Galacticos thus earned a corner kick. After a brief discussion, they decided to try one of their usual tactics. Modric and Di María positioned themselves at the corner flag area.
With the referee's whistle, the Croatian midfielder directly passed to the Argentine winger, who then dribbled inside, attracting defensive attention before delivering a diagonal pass near the penalty area.
At this moment, the Chinese superstar suddenly burst out from the crowd, leaping at the far post and heading the ball into the visitors' net.
Tactical corner kick success! Less than 3 minutes into the game, Real Madrid led 1-0!
The entire Bernabéu erupted with excitement, while on the sidelines, Simeone rushed towards the linesman, angrily shouting, "This is an offside! Wang was offside! Damn it, why didn't you raise the flag?"
"Please calm down, Mr. Simeone. I saw it very clearly. When Di María made the pass, Wang was half a body length behind Juanfran."
Slow motion replays clearly confirmed this, and Simeone, although aware of it, continued to protest, as it was his style and tactic to put more pressure on the referees and make them subconsciously reluctant to whistle at the home ground.
The game continued with both sides fiercely contesting. Diego Costa entered the penalty area and fell under Ramos' defense. The referee didn't see it as a foul, leading to protests from Turan and others, resulting in shoving and ultimately a yellow card.
Real Madrid organized their attack. Modric played a diagonal pass to Wang Feng on the wing, who then dribbled forward. Nearby, Godín rushed in with a sliding tackle, managing to hook the Chinese superstar's leg before poking the ball out for a throw-in, although the referee only awarded a throw-in.
García then tackled Pepe with a flying challenge, even knocking Isco down. During the subsequent free-kick, Godín directly bear-hugged Marcelo, sparking another confrontation between the two sides.
The stands were in an uproar, as the Bernabéu fans had never seen such a brutal team. Every time Atletico gained possession, they were met with deafening boos.
In the 28th minute, Turan advanced with the ball, attracting the attention of three defenders. Seizing the opportunity, he delivered a through pass to Koke, who was unmarked.
Ramos, caught out of position, rushed to block, but Koke still managed to shoot just as Casillas' fingertips, sending the ball over him and into the top corner, equalizing for the visitors!
As the first half injury time approached, Koke's breakthrough was intercepted by successive defenses. Unable to move forward, he passed back to Gabi, who then had a sudden idea to shoot directly.
The ball soared from 35 meters out, threading through the gap in the defense, and finally into the top right corner of the goal.
Atletico Madrid took the lead just before the start of the second half, dealing a significant blow to Real Madrid, who entered the dressing room with heavy hearts and sore bodies.
But when they saw the calm faces of Ancelotti and Wang Feng, their anxiety gradually subsided. The sky wasn't falling!
As the second half began, Ancelotti replaced the experienced Khedira with the young Casemiro, intending to strengthen the attacking force, while the fiery confrontations between the two sides continued unabated.
In the 66th minute, Di María dribbled down the wing at full speed, only to be brought down by a sliding tackle from Filipe Luis, who also took down the Argentine.
The Argentine winger, frustrated, got up from the ground and yelled at Filipe Luis, naturally sparking a response from Atletico. Miranda and Filipe Luis quickly surrounded Di María and exchanged words.
Pepe rushed over and got physical with Miranda, almost coming to blows, prompting the referee to intervene and separate the two teams, eventually showing yellow cards to both Pepe and Miranda.
"Tsk tsk, this season's Madrid derby is unusually fiery. Every foul makes people's hearts skip a beat, as if a fight will break out next."
"Yes, we can see both captains pulling their players away. However, under violent conflicts, there are no winners. Football is a sport, not a brawl."
"Simeone has injected this Atletico team with a ferocious spirit, but it seems to have brought many not-so-pleasant things as well."
As time passed, the Galacticos remained behind, and the disrupted rhythm of the game made home fans very anxious, but their cheers never stopped.
Because they always believed in that man, "Diwangros!"
In the 84th minute, Marcelo intercepted and passed to Modric, who then distributed the ball to the withdrawing Wang Feng.
The Chinese superstar dribbled forward from the left flank, bypassing the midfield line. He first encountered Gabi's malicious tackle, flicking the ball with his left foot to change direction and accelerating to avoid the opponent's feet.
Facing Filipe Luis rushing diagonally to block, Wang Feng suddenly decelerated, causing the defender to miss and pass by him. Then, he glided past him from behind. Filipe Luis couldn't turn around in time to intercept and could only trail behind him.
At the edge of the penalty area, Miranda also attempted to intercept with a stretch of his leg, but this time the Chinese superstar flicked the ball with his right foot to change direction again. Miranda, who missed both the ball and the man, lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Seizing this opportunity, Wang Feng dribbled into the penalty area, with Filipe Luis closely following, ready to block at any moment. However, as the Chinese superstar approached the goal line, he used his right foot to strike with an arcing motion, resembling a pass or a shot.
The ball curved past the Atletico defenders and goalkeeper Courtois, hitting the inside of the post before bouncing into the net.
"Gooooooooooooooooooal! The goal is in! It's Wang! It's him! He helped Real Madrid equalize! "
"His figure is like a nimble fish, slipping through the iron-blooded defense of Atletico, and the opponents can't catch him."
"It's amazing! Similar to his positioning in the last match against Schalke 04, the entire process almost had no confrontation with defensive players."
"Remember, Atletico's defense is not as loose as German teams. They tried several rough interceptions, even fouls, but they didn't even touch the Chinese superstar's jersey."
"And he started from midfield, dribbling past three defenders in a row, rushing nearly sixty meters before scoring, a difficulty level that is obviously incomparable to the previous one."
"The shot from a narrow angle, resembling a pass or a shot, demonstrates profound basic skills. Wang's control over the ball reaches an unparalleled level. If the trajectory were a little more inside, the goalkeeper would have caught it; a little more outside, it would have hit the post."
With the Chinese superstar scoring twice, the Madrid derby ended in a 2-2 draw. Although it was regrettable not to win, the Galacticos still remained at the top of the table.
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