I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 842: Chapter 74: What Defines a Super Heavy Cannon!

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

The players of both teams walked onto the pitch one after another, and Real Madrid won the right to kick off.

As the referee Stark blew the opening whistle, Barcelona immediately displayed their trademark dominance in ball control.

”The match is officially underway!”

”Real Madrid kick off!”

”Chen Zhong has the ball, what will he choose to do?”

Chen Zhong was now unquestionably the new king of Real Madrid. After getting the ball, he didn’t rush to lay it off, but instead carried it forward all the way.

He glanced at the cautious Busquets not far away, grinned, pushed the ball forward, and then unleashed a direct Heavy Cannon!

”Chen Zhong on the ball!”

”Barcelona’s Defense is very solid.”

”Chen Zhong goes straight for a Heavy Cannon!”

This was a Heavy Cannon from 25 yards out. At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Chen Zhong formally announced his presence. The ball whistled through the air towards Barcelona’s goal; if not for Valdes’s flying save, Barcelona might have conceded right at the start.

Chen Zhong shook his head with a hint of regret, while Busquets swallowed hard. In their past clashes, every time he went into close contact with Chen Zhong, the outcome had been bad, so Busquets had given up on tight marking. But now it seemed that not sticking close was no longer an option.

Mourinho also shook his head regretfully; if that thunderbolt from Chen Zhong had gone in, it would have been perfect.

Guardiola was shouting his players’ names loudly on the touchline, hoping the team could steady their mentality.

And in fact, Barcelona did very well in the following moments.

In the 4th minute, Barcelona completed their first attempt on goal, but Casillas reacted quickly to punch the ball away. Xavi, spotting the chance 30 yards from goal, struck it first-time on the volley before the ball hit the ground, the powerful effort flying straight towards the center of the goal.

Real Madrid’s back line didn’t even have time to react, but Casillas went down in a flash and smothered the ball under him; this save showcased ”Saint Casillas’s” textbook goal-line technique.

It also sent the Real Madrid fans in the stands into a frenzy.

Mourinho on the touchline was not particularly surprised; in this match Real Madrid were not playing for ball control, and possession doesn’t decide the winner.

Guardiola shook his head with some regret; had they scored just now, it would have been a huge boost for Barcelona.

In this match, Real Madrid’s main weapon was still the counterattack. Their counters were as swift as lightning, and whenever they got a chance, they would never let it slip easily.

After Chen Zhong took the ball, he quickly passed it to Kaka. Kaka drove forward 20 meters before laying it off to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese unleashed a Heavy Cannon from 25 yards out, but Valdes held it firmly.

Real Madrid quickly hit back in kind, and the atmosphere of the match was pushed to a climax.

In the 10th minute, Barcelona came again. On the right corridor, Villa produced a fantasy dribble: first using a feint to shake off Marcelo, then dragging the ball with the sole of his foot to change direction and get away from Pepe. Under the double-team of both players, he suddenly swung his left foot to curl the ball towards the far corner; the ball drew a perfect Arc and shaved past the left post.

The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium erupted in a collective gasp.

Even Mourinho’s expression grew a shade more grave; Barcelona’s form in this match seemed exceptionally sharp!

Guardiola rubbed his bald head, eyes stern, lost in thought about something.

Barcelona’s passing-and-control system kept piling on the pressure.

In the 14th minute, Xavi and Iniesta completed three one-touch passes in a tight space. After drawing the attention of the Real Madrid players, a pass like a Surgical Knife sliced open Real Madrid’s Defense, but Villa’s cross from the left side of the box was blocked behind by Pepe’s knee.

The transitions between attack and Defense from both sides were extremely quick in this match. Barcelona’s ball control rate was very high, but Real Madrid’s counterattacking Defense was equally suffocating.

In the 21st minute, Chen Zhong took the ball, used his Body to brute-force Busquets, then switched play out to Kaka on the flank. Kaka simply powered past Alves, using his speed to eat his opponent alive before cutting into the box.

Barcelona’s retreat was very fast. Just as Kaka was about to play the square ball, Busquets came in from an angle with a sliding tackle to break it up.

The Real Madrid fans in the stands were full of regret, and Mourinho shook his head as he muttered to himself; even though this match was at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, at Real Madrid’s home ground—

Barcelona’s fighting spirit was incredibly fierce.

In the 25th minute, Messi dropped back into midfield. After using his Ball Control to shake off the defenders, he sent a piercing through ball from near the center circle. Xavi timed his run perfectly, beating the offside trap and going clean through.

In that instant, the entire Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was filled with cries of shock, but Xavi showed no panic at all. He drove into the penalty area and finished with a beautiful low shot.

But his low effort was blocked by the onrushing Casillas with his leg, and Barcelona missed a golden chance to break the deadlock.

Guardiola’s expression didn’t change, but Mourinho’s face grew a bit more serious.

After that, Mourinho shouted loudly from the touchline, telling his players to ramp up the Body contact.

The gunpowder in the match kept getting thicker as time went by.

In the first 20 minutes, Barcelona’s possession rate reached 78%, and their Passing success rate was as high as 95%.

Mourinho knew he had to come up with something; he couldn’t let Barcelona play so comfortably.

In the 30th minute, the Bernabeu exploded with its first great roar of amazement! Chen Zhong, after receiving a pass in midfield, suddenly took a shot. The ball tore through the night sky over the Bernabeu like a shell from a cannon. This trademark Heavy Cannon strike—if not for Puyol’s block—no one knew what kind of result it might have produced.