I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Real Madrid tentatively attacked, delivering a fierce blow to Manchester City’s heart.

Guardiola watched from the sidelines, rubbing his bald head, struggling to control his expression, which looked very much like someone seeing their ”idol” as usual.

When the ball heavily hit the goal frame, the electronic scoreboard at Wembley Stadium froze the match time at 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

This number was repeatedly mentioned by countless Real Madrid fans in later days because they witnessed the last ”peak” of Chen Zhong during Real Madrid’s era, marking the first turning point of this epic final.

The rain began to intensify, and Chen Zhong wiped the rain off his face, suddenly noticing the grass had started to shine with water.

This has a significant impact on a ball-control team.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, the coaches of both teams had different moods.

Alonso smiled, knowing that although the heavy rain would affect Real Madrid as well, it was evidently going to affect Manchester City even more.

Conversely, Guardiola was communicating with the fourth official, seemingly hoping to address the water accumulation on the pitch, during which time players from both teams kept slipping.

But Chen Zhong remained unaffected.

He remained calm on the field, as if the weather didn’t affect him at all.

After Manchester City kicked the ball out, they seemed rather cautious, while Real Madrid accelerated the pace, increasing the pressing tempo, trying to force Manchester City into making mistakes in the chaos. Under these conditions, players from both teams began rolling around in the mud.

In just a few minutes, no player’s jersey on the field was clean anymore.

Guardiola watched this scene from the sidelines with some anxiety, pinning his hopes on Rodri. But when it was time for this freshly crowned Ballon d’Or winner to stand up, he played it big.

”Real Madrid’s pressing is very fierce.”

”Manchester City is trying to control the pace of the game.”

”But has not succeeded.”

”Passed back to Rodri!”

”Oh no!”

Manchester City evidently wanted Rodri to play the role of Chen Zhong, washing off the ball and distributing it, but Rodri suddenly slipped while controlling the ball in the back, nearly falling to the ground.

Facing Vinicius’s aggressive pressing, Rodri had no choice but to hurriedly kick the ball away.

It was supposed to be a harmless clearance, but under Rodri’s foot, it instead headed straight for their own penalty area.

Real Madrid’s players launched a full assault, and Mbappe was the first to rush towards the ball’s landing point.

Ederson rushed out in panic but wobbled on the slippery grass.

Arriving just in time, Mbappe poked the ball, seemingly about to score into an open goal—

The Real Madrid fans in the stands all stood up, while the Manchester City fans couldn’t help but gasp, but the referee’s whistle made everything reset to zero.

”Beep!” A sharp whistle sounded. The referee indicated that Mbappe had fouled for charging into the goalkeeper, with slow-motion showing the French forward’s cleats indeed grazed Ederson’s glove.

Wembley erupted in boos.

The rain got heavier. By the 12th minute, the broadcast cameras suddenly cut to the player tunnel, where the fourth official was engaged in a heated discussion with technical officials.

It turned out that due to the heavy rain, Wembley Stadium’s drainage system was under duress, with even small puddles appearing near the sidelines. UEFA officials had to activate emergency measures, increasing the likelihood of a temporary match suspension.

This unexpected episode completely disrupted Guardiola’s plans.

The Spanish coach anxiously looked at the scoreboard; his team had yet to complete a decent shot.

Conversely, Real Madrid had already created two excellent opportunities and seemed to be increasingly adapting to the slippery field conditions.

As staff began to move anti-slip mats to the sidelines, Guardiola called Grealish to his side for instructions...

(The whistle for a game interruption suddenly sounded)

The entire stadium was in an uproar. The referee made the gesture to pause the match, and players from both teams gathered near the center line. The broadcast switched to an aerial view—Wembley was completely shrouded in pouring rain, with reflective puddles even appearing in the center of the field. UEFA officials, the coaches of both teams, and the referee team were in urgent consultation, while fans in the stands donned raincoats, forming a colorful sea.

”What did we just see?”

”The match is paused.”

”And this is the Champions League final?”

”It appears that due to the heavy rain, the match will temporarily stop.”

”The match is now in the 25th minute.”

Guardiola was initially quite happy; after all, the heavy rain, indeed, had a significant impact on Manchester City and, of course, affected the spectacle of the match, so a pause could be said to be good for everyone.

But when he saw Chen Zhong leaving the field, panting heavily, he suddenly felt uneasy.

The biggest shortcoming of Chen Zhong right now is his stamina.

In such weather, the physical exertion is clearly greater, and without stamina, Chen Zhong is definitely advantageous for Manchester City, but now what have they done?

They’ve given Chen Zhong a chance to rest.

Now they’re happy.

But Alonso will be even happier, right?

...

During the break, both teams’ head coaches were issuing tactical instructions, and when the heavy rain gradually subsided, the rested players from both teams returned to the field.

Guardiola kept observing Chen Zhong’s expression.

When he saw Chen Zhong’s ”relaxed” look, he inwardly exclaimed terrible.