I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 326: Chapter 19: China Derby (Part 2)

”It seems Marseille’s plan is about to fall apart.”

The commentator’s voice carried a hint of amusement, while the Chinese fans watching the match felt somewhat disappointed.

”Didn’t they say it would be a Chinese derby?”

”Has what’s-his-name gone on yet?”

”Not yet? Is he on the roster?”

Amid the fans’ discussions, the match had unknowingly progressed for 7 minutes, with Real Madrid’s backfield, under Chen Zhong’s ”leadership,” continuously teasing the Marseille players.

Deschamps had a darkened expression upon seeing this, while Pellegrini showed a trace of surprise, seemingly not expecting such a development.

The ball returned to Chen Zhong’s feet. Seeing the Marseille players slowing down, a sharp look flashed in his eyes, and his right hand casually flicked forward.

The next moment, Chen Zhong nudged the ball forward and then forcefully ”bang.”

The ball took a large curve, crossing the entire half-field.

Kaka, who had established a tacit understanding with Chen Zhong last season, quickly dashed forward, almost recreating his famous scene against Manchester United under pressure from Marseille players.

Negredo, Granero, and C. Ronaldo all raised their hands in the middle to request the ball.

Marseille’s players quickly blocked Kaka’s passing routes.

Kaka feigned an inside cut, but he was actually waiting for Chen Zhong, then passed the ball horizontally to Chen Zhong’s feet.

Chen Zhong gained the upper hand in his struggle with Mubia.

After controlling the ball, he lobbed it over the horizontally positioned Marseille player in front.

The ball traced an arc, falling behind Marseille’s defensive line, where Negredo rushed in from the side and volleyed it on impact.

”Boom!”

The ball soared like a cannonball toward Marseille’s goal.

At that moment, countless Real Madrid supporters had already prepared their celebratory gestures.

But Mandanda denied the ”goal application” with a beautiful dive, palming the ball away.

Pellegrini let out a regretful low growl, while Deschamps was shocked into a cold sweat by the scene. Realizing that they couldn’t gain an edge with full-field pressing, Deschamps changed his team’s tactics, which gradually handed the initiative to Real Madrid.

”Marseille handed control over to Real Madrid.”

”I’m not sure if this is the right choice.”

”But if they keep up the full-field press...”

”I’m afraid they might just exhaust themselves against Real Madrid.”

Real Madrid’s continuous attacks saw C. Ronaldo, Kaka, Granero, and Negredo bombarding Marseille’s goal wildly. Yet the Marseille players stood firm, and with Mandanda’s exceptional performance, the team came just short of scoring multiple times and even faced two counterattacks from Marseille.

Among them, C. Ronaldo had the most opportunities, with at least four shots within the goal frame.

But twice Mandanda held the ball firmly in his arms, once kicked it away, and once tipped it over with his hand.

This left C. Ronaldo quite frustrated, even sneaking glances at Chen Zhong’s expression, as he remembered that night when he confidently told Chen Zhong that as long as he was given the ball, he would definitely score.

Chen Zhong didn’t initially notice C. Ronaldo’s gaze, but after multiple glances, he occasionally caught it by chance. Seeing C. Ronaldo’s nervous eyes, Chen Zhong didn’t make much of it and just gave a thumbs up as encouragement.

Witnessing this scene left C. Ronaldo somewhat restless.

Darn, why do I feel like passing the ball to him...

C. Ronaldo was itching to do so, but Chen Zhong’s positioning in this match was relatively behind, becoming the team’s point for returns, and Chen Zhong’s ball-cleaning abilities were showcased in this pass.

However, after 40 minutes of pressing, football is still a team sport.

Real Madrid began slowing their offense, and Deschamps swiftly instructed Marseille to launch a massive offensive as Real Madrid caught their breath.

And they cleverly avoided going through the middle.

They combined wings and center play to bypass Chen Zhong.

”Marseille’s counterattack!”

”Pepe.”

”Niang!”

Marseille’s counterattack was swift and decisive, with Pepe initially trying to slide in from the side to intercept the ball. However, Niang’s abrupt stop dodged Pepe’s slide, and he quickly charged into Real Madrid’s penalty area.

With Pepe sliding off, Niang had only the goalkeeper Casillas in front of him.

He slowed down, attempting to score through a narrow angle.

But Casillas reacted extremely quickly, employing a beautiful ’Buddha Lotus’ move to secure the ball under him.

Marseille missed an excellent opportunity, and Deschamps tilted his head up, pulling off a graceful turn, looking quite frustrated.

In the subsequent time, Real Madrid had two excellent chances, one being C. Ronaldo’s low shot from the left, and another a header from Negredo in front of the goal.

Both were blocked by Mandanda.

The goalkeeper was outstanding in the first half, making at least eight saves with high-flying moves.

During the halftime break, Pellegrini didn’t make many adjustments to the strategy, instead hoping the team could be calmer and more patient.

After a brief halftime break, both teams returned to the field. Real Madrid kicked off, with Chen Zhong passing to Marcelo, Marcelo returning to Chen Zhong, and Chen Zhong passing to Granero, creating a very smooth transition.

Deschamps seemed to anticipate Real Madrid’s actions, as Marseille players remained very composed, with most maintaining their positions except for a few closer players.

”Marseille’s dense defense is causing a lot of trouble for Real Madrid.”

”Breaking a dense defense is a known challenge in football.”

”Let’s see how Real Madrid responds!”

No sooner had the commentator spoken than Pellegrini gave instructions from the sidelines, signaling both sides, C. Ronaldo and Kaka, to break through more often, deciding whether to cut in or cross based on the situation.

”The match has progressed to the 70th minute.”

”Real Madrid’s attack.”

”C. Ronaldo!”

”Cutting in after receiving the ball.”

”Breaking into the penalty area.”

”Diawara!”

”Penalty!!!”

”Absolutely a penalty!”

After falling, C. Ronaldo forcefully slapped the grass, appearing very indignant until the referee blew the whistle, showed Diawara a red card, and awarded a penalty, celebrating as he jumped up.

”Red and penalty combo!”

”At this point in the match, sending someone off and awarding a penalty!”

”This is a match-defining decision, but the referee made it decisively.”

”Both C. Ronaldo and Kaka want to take the penalty, but C. Ronaldo is holding the ball tightly.”

”He, huh?”

The commentator sounded surprised, initially thinking C. Ronaldo would take the penalty himself, given his goal-hungry nature during his time at Manchester United.

However, after winning the penalty, C. Ronaldo didn’t head to the spot but instead walked towards Chen Zhong!

”For me?”

Chen Zhong looked at C. Ronaldo with a face full of surprise.

And C. Ronaldo glanced at Kaka, then at Chen Zhong, as if to say...

Yeah! It’s for you. You see, Kaka always has his eyes on taking penalties, but I’m different. Not only will I not compete for the penalty, but I’ll even win and secure penalties for you~

When C. Ronaldo glanced at Kaka, Kaka didn’t know what was going on.

He flashed a brilliant smile.

However, when C. Ronaldo saw Kaka’s smile, he just snorted coldly, then looked at Chen Zhong, flashing his white teeth with a sincere smile, ”Yes, it’s for you.”

Upon saying this, C. Ronaldo furrowed his brows.

He had been keen on taking the penalty just now.

Now he really feels his right leg is somewhat ”sore” and ”aching.”