I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 185: Chapter 66: Chen’s Connections and Status

Robinho, after taking the ball, dribbled all the way fiercely into the left side of the penalty area. Just outside the small box, he made a low shot aiming for the near corner, but it unfortunately went slightly wide of the goalkeeper.

Soldado pointed forward with both hands, with a look of disbelief on his face. He was in an unguarded position, and if Robinho had passed the ball to him, it would have been nearly impossible for him to miss the shot.

”Calm, calm.”

Seeing this situation, Chen Zhong immediately ran over to embrace Soldado. After hearing Chen Zhong’s voice, Soldado quickly calmed down and said to Chen Zhong, mumbling, ”Sorry, I just got a bit impatient.”

Robinho looked at Soldado, then glanced at Chen Zhong, but in the end he said nothing.

Robben, standing aside with his hands on his hips, watched with a thoughtful look on his face.

In the 7th minute of the match, Real Madrid regained possession. Under the interception of a Valladolid player, Chen Zhong noticed Robben’s movement and made a delicate lob pass to Robben.

After receiving the ball, Robben flicked the ball to create space and sent a through pass.

Because of Robben’s flick, Raul and Robinho ended up in an offside position. The Valladolid players hadn’t yet relaxed when Soldado, running from behind, managed to get this one-on-one opportunity.

This scenario was quite dramatic. Valladolid deliberately laid an offside trap that successfully caught Robinho and Raul offside but just happened to leave room for Soldado to exploit.

”A beautiful lob pass from Chen Zhong.”

”A direct pass from Robben.”

”Valladolid trying the offside trap.”

”Oops...”

”Wait a minute!”

”Soldado!”

”One-on-one chance.”

”No one can catch up to him!”

Fans on the stand stretched their necks waiting for a result, and Schuster clenched his fists, murmuring while watching Soldado, ”Stay calm, stay calm, you rascal.”

Soldado pursed his lips with a determined look, not shooting early as he did in the warm-up match.

Instead, he calmly broke into the penalty area and, near the penalty spot, waited until the goalkeeper rushed out before calmly making a push shot, breaking through the Valladolid goal.

”Soldado!”

”A calm push shot!”

”The ball is in!”

”1:0”

”The game has not even reached 10 minutes yet.”

”Soldado has already scored, giving the team a lead.”

”Chen Zhong’s intelligent lob, Robben’s cunning through pass, and Soldado’s calm shot together created this goal.”

After scoring, Soldado pointed to Robben, and Robben ran towards Chen Zhong. The two of them, arm in arm, ran over to Soldado to celebrate his goal.

This was the first goal Soldado scored for Real Madrid this season.

Seeing this scene on the sideline, Schuster couldn’t help but smile, but still teased: ”If it were Van Nistelrooy, his role in positioning would be greater.”

”He’s just like Barcelona’s Bojan, only good at positioning.”

”Not much contribution in defense and organization.”

Francisco carefully dodged Schuster’s slap, not arguing with him. At least for now, in Schuster’s eyes, Soldado had shown some worth, right?

Real Madrid’s goal seemed to lock Valladolid, making them become a bit cautious in the subsequent game.

In the 11th minute, Chen Zhong knocked over a Valladolid player beside him, and before being pulled down by the opponent, tapped the ball to Robben.

The referee had the whistle at his lips, but seeing the advantage, he didn’t blow it.

Robben chipped the ball, evading the Valladolid player’s tackle, and then made a decent-quality shot from the right side of the penalty area, only for it to be caught by the goalkeeper.

In the 13th minute, Valladolid was a bit impatient in defense. After receiving a pass from Chen Zhong, Robinho tried to step over and accelerate to pass a opponent but was brought down by a Valladolid player.

After the team doctor came on, they signaled for a substitution. Robinho was replaced by Higuain, who switched positions with Robben, with Robben playing left wing and Higuain playing right wing.

In the 20th minute, Valladolid defender Capdevila in midfield tried to cut inside after shaking off Baptista but was tackled by Chen Zhong from the side, not even getting a shot attempt.

”Wow!”

”A beautiful tackle from Chen Zhong.”

”Baptista still has the same old problem in defense.”

”A bit too reckless.”

”Luckily, Chen Zhong closed in to cover the gap.”

”Real Madrid is starting to control the game tempo now.”

Valladolid was still struggling to cope, but losing midfield possession caused Real Madrid to press Valladolid in their half.

In the 28th minute, after getting the ball, Chen Zhong played a one-two with Baptista and then resisted a Valladolid player’s pressure, making a through pass.

Valladolid tried an offside trap, but Raul cleverly breached it.

Facing the advancing goalkeeper, Raul faked a shot, misleading the goalkeeper, and scored effortlessly into an open goal.

”Raul!”

”Very clever positioning!”

”This is his 10th league goal this season.”

”He’s in excellent form this season.”

”And of course, there’s Chen Zhong.”

”His through pass was very concealed.”

”It’s rare for him to make such a direct pass that cuts through the opponent’s defense.”

Fans on the stands chanted Raul’s name, mixed with shouts for Chen. Schuster stood at the sideline, his eyes full of surprise, as he said to Francisco: ”Is this kid having a breakthrough?”

”If he can make more threatening passes like this one...”

Schuster covertly glanced at Guti, and worry flashed in the eyes of Guti and Sneijder on the bench. If Chen Zhong could make these dangerous passes regularly, it would explode their egos.

After this goal, Valladolid was visibly flustered, and only 2 minutes later, Chen Zhong did it again, from almost the same location, delivering a powerful through pass to Robben.

In truth, the pass was a bit too strong.

But Robben didn’t give up!

Robben ran desperately, with all his might, almost sparking fire from his thighs.

Finally, he caught up to the ball not far from the small box on the left side and then pushed it into the near corner, scoring his first La Liga goal.

Robben: Whenever Chen Zhong passes to me, if I didn’t get it, I ran too slow. Even for a strong pass, I’ll praise him for his strength.

”3:0”

”The match is only at the 30-minute mark.”

”Real Madrid has already scored 3 goals.”

”Chen Zhong seems to have found a rhythm, once again delivering a brilliant pass.”

”This is Robben’s first La Liga goal.”

”His final push shot was very exquisite.”

Robben ran to Chen Zhong, attempting to recreate their iconic ”symbol of friendship,” but just as he was about to jump onto Chen Zhong’s back and ride on his shoulders.

Chen Zhong, instead, spun 360 degrees and clamped Robben under his arm, carrying him on his shoulder.

This scene was widely captured by numerous journalists, marking the third iconic moment in Chen Zhong’s career, later seen by Robben as a symbol of their friendship, ”Chen Zhong carrying Robben.”

In the future, whenever Robben was tackled by Chen Zhong in matches, causing him to feel exalted, he would proudly puff out his chest and say: ”My friendship with Chen is unshakeable.”

”He does this to me on the field because he knows my capability well.”