Chapter 169: Bernabéu Miracle?

Being the head coach of Real Madrid is a difficult thing.

Some superstar players in the bench lineup have Florentino, the media, and sponsors vaguely standing behind them.

"Champions League semifinals, Leverkusen—when these two names are put together, do you have a reason not to start James?"

"Ancelotti led Real Madrid to win four trophies, 22 matches unbeaten... with his extraordinary coaching ability, can he really not adjust the personnel properly? The outcome is equally a collapse!"

"Leverkusen cannot pose any threat to Bernabéu; our next few La Liga matches are even more crucial! Barcelona leads us by one point, Atlético trails us by two points!"

"We can..."

Betoni still wanted to say something...

Zidane waved his hand, interrupting: "Full strength to meet them, give them no chance."

The magnificent white sanctuary seemed to emit an endless sense of oppression.

The sound outside the car surged like a tide.

The inside of the car was very quiet.

Tuopu Laotou wore reading glasses, his fingers trembling as he flipped through the papers.

Dino felt a bit chest-tight, taking a sip of mineral water every ten or so seconds.

Lai Nuo gripped two pairs of gloves tightly, considering which pair to wear.

Van Dijk's face was grim, while Jonathan Tat... quietly asked beside him: "At which stage should I defend against whom? Benzema or Cristiano?"

Everyone's heart felt a bit heavy.

The Leverkusen bus slowly drove into Bernabéu.

Haferts hurriedly shook Li Kang awake.

"How could you fall asleep? I saw the Gate of Europe!"

The phone in the backpack kept vibrating.

Li Kang reached out and pressed the power button.

Suddenly, a gold-and-blue crown emblem appeared in his field of vision.

【The achievements of the hero of the Yin Biliya Peninsula have been unlocked.】

【Franco: Castilia is purple!】

Pre-match press conference.

Zidane warmly and proactively shook hands with Tuopu Laotou, including the assistant coach Dino.

When not playing football, he is a very courteous gentleman.

Reporters eagerly raised their hands to ask questions.

"Mr. Zidane, the La Liga title race has also reached its most critical moment; if Real Madrid gains an early advantage in this match, will they make early substitutions?"

Real Madrid's head coach shook his head: "No, the players' conditions are well maintained; we will take Leverkusen seriously, and Bernabéu will respect all visitors."

On the other side.

Facing whatever fate, whatever fourteen-year revenge and such questions, Tuopu Laotou rebutted:

"If we break into the Champions League final to face Real Madrid, that would be called destiny!"

"There's nothing much to say; Leverkusen has made sufficient preparations."

Bernabéu.

Noise rose from all sides.

"CTV5! CTV5! Good evening, viewers!"

"Welcome to the live broadcast of the first leg of the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League semifinals!"

"Real Madrid hosts Leverkusen at home!"

"This match has attracted media from 77 regions and countries worldwide for live broadcast, drawing global attention!"

"The general consensus outside is that this is a match of vastly unequal strength!"

"I am the commentator for this match, Duan Xuan!"

"I am He Wei!"

"We can see that Bernabéu today is a sea of white!"

"On the green field, the huge flag bearing the Champions League logo flutters in the wind!"

Live broadcast room.

The number of viewers surged rapidly!

-【Why is it always Duan Xuan and He Wei? A clueless Ronaldo fan, one who randomly patches together hype like chicken soup... the director cuts the camera to the stands, and they don't even recognize which legendary veteran it is!】

-【Because the audience likes it.】

-【Because the replay subtitle team also likes it, it's convenient, no need to worry about translation errors without professional terms.】

Player tunnel.

The atmosphere in the Real Madrid lineup appeared very relaxed.

Ramos simply greeted Li Kang.

Modric smiled, very much wanting to step forward and chat a few words with Li Kang... but was firmly blocked by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Marcelo whispered: "Luka, don't steal his spotlight."

The Leverkusen lineup, the atmosphere was solemn.

Son Heung-min said seriously: "Li, don't be nervous!"

Li Kang smiled and nodded.

The referee team led both teams' players out of the tunnel.

Bernabéu immediately erupted with wave after wave of cheers like a mountain collapse and tsunami.

The stadium DJ excitedly shouted the names of the Real Madrid superstars!

"Now let me introduce the starting lineups for both sides!"

"Wearing white home jerseys is Real Madrid!"

"Their formation is 4-3-3!"

"Goalkeeper: Navas!"

"Left-back: Marcelo!"

"Center-backs: Varane, Ramos!"

"Right-back: Carvajal!"

"Midfielders: Modric, Casemiro, Kroos!"

"Forwards: Bale, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo!"

The livestream exploded.

The barrage flooded the screen.

-【How many billions of euros are in here?... Maybe Leverkusen should just forfeit? At least better than being slaughtered.】

-【Zidane really has no intention of holding back! He wants to beat Li Mingdeng to a pulp, give him no chance at all!】

-【Football is round, it's not about how many stars you have... Damn, facing the full-strength Galacticos... might as well not play!】

"Leverkusen are wearing their first away red jerseys today!"

"Their formation is 4-2-3-1!"

"Goalkeeper: Lai Nuo!"

"Left-back: Hilbert!"

"Center-backs: Van Dijk, Jonathan Tah!"

"Right-back: Börges!"

"Double pivot: Bendel, Kramer!"

"Attacking midfielders: Son Heung-min, Li Kang, Bellarabi!"

"Striker: Kiessling!"

-【Come on, Li Mingdeng, Leverkusen will definitely reach the Champions League final and win the Champions League.】

-【If Li Mingdeng doesn't win the Champions League, what's the point? I'll never watch his matches again!】

-【Exactly! Spain got slaughtered by the Netherlands, Brazil got slaughtered by Germany, why can't Real Madrid be slaughtered by Leverkusen?】

-【Brother, haven't you seen how tough and painful Leverkusen's previous matches were? It's not satisfying at all, how did you even stick around until now?】

Players from both sides took their positions on the field.

Li Kang unconsciously glanced around.

White!

An endless sea of white, as if it would completely swallow his insignificant self!

【Ding! Mission triggered: Bernabeu Miracle!】

【Mission feedback: This ancient and great stadium has given birth to countless legendary classic moments, you... well, you can't do it.】

【Mission reward: Pelé "Primordial Birth" module (Legendary)】

Beep!

Accompanied by the referee's whistle.

The match officially began!

Benzema kicked off and passed to Kroos.

Leverkusen's midfield and forward line quickly pressed, hadn't even run a few steps before having to fall back to defend!

Real Madrid's two full-backs have terrifying sprint speed!

On both sides of the pitch, it's as if swept by wind!

Marcelo and Carvajal, returning to the club, are the top contenders for "World's Best Full-back"!

"Wow! Kroos's long pass, so beautiful!"

"Right after kickoff, Leverkusen's left flank got torn apart! Unbelievable! It's like the two teams aren't even playing the same sport!"

The ball left Kroos's right foot.

Drawing an extremely elegant trajectory in midair.

Forty-meter zone.

Marcelo suddenly stopped, his instep seeming to be glued, steadily trapping the ball.

Son Heung-min tracked back to defend in position, trying to cut off Real Madrid's full-back's attacking lane.

Pa!

Marcelo twisted his waist and hips, lifted his instep!

Man and ball just swept past the Korean star!

"Great pass, great trap!"

"Flawless dribble past!"

"The attack can't be stopped!"

Kramer rushed to cover, to no avail.

Fate of being devoured.

Leverkusen's left flank was completely blown apart.

Marcelo alone, consecutively toyed with the Korean and the German!

It seemed to sense Li Kang's approach.

His afro shook as his left foot swept over the top of the ball.

With a slap.

The ball rolled toward the sideline!

"C罗!"

"His sprint speed is no longer what it used to be! But his intimidation remains!"

The moment C罗 touched the ball, the Bernabéu fans erupted!

"HalaMadrid!!!"

"HalaMadrid!!!"

"HalaMadrid!!!"

They believed: even a super sniper wounded beyond recovery could crush Leverkusen's defense like tofu residue.

The white number 7 flew across the green pitch like lightning.

He had lost the speed and dribbling he once prided himself on.

Thirty-meter zone.

Bender didn't even need to think—he just lunged with a tackle!

C罗's body jerked to a halt.

He doesn't like passing, unless that person is Modrić!

Smack!

The ball not only skimmed over Leverkusen captain's head, but also pierced through the back of Jonathan Tah.

"Beautiful!"

"Unmatched left-wing assault!"

"Is he looking for Benzema?"

"Modrić! Huh? How did he end up at the front?"

The ball landed at the top of the penalty arc.

Modrić had his back to the goal.

Börjes and Hilbert quickly closed in from the inside!

He lifted his foot and flicked the ball up.

Man and ball separated.

He got past two people!

"Unbelievable!"

"Inconceivable!"

"A volley after man and ball separation?"

"He's going to use the outside of his foot!"

Despair!

Börjes and Hilbert stared blankly, frozen in place.

They didn't have time to recover defensively!

The last line of defense—only Van Dijk remained!

Seeing Modrić's shooting tendency, the Dutch center-back couldn't calculate the gain or loss.

Charging madly!

Trying to block the opponent's shot!

Smack!

In the flash of lightning and stone.

Modrić's foot shape changed.

Not the expected explosive shot.

The ball obediently landed on the grass.

Accompanied by a simple pull-and-push motion.

Van Dijk was out of position.

On the sideline.

Tuopu Laotou's face turned ashen: "I've said it how many times—don't let him get the ball at the top of the penalty arc!"

Dino gaped.

Zidane's face remained calm.

Modrić was at the peak of his career.

An outside-of-the-foot shot from a standing position hardly needs a run-up.

Li Kang's recovery was a step too late.

Thud!

The ball arced above Leverkusen's penalty box like a meteor.

The shot's angle was easy to predict.

Lai Nuo just couldn't save it.

No suspense whatsoever.

The ball precisely hit the dead corner.

Lifted the white flower-like net.

1:0!!!

The whole stadium cheered!

"Too easy!"

"A mismatch in strength!"

"Zidane's favorite kickoff strategy!"

"A simple left-wing attack, with no obstacles."

"In the face of strong individual ability, almost no complex tactics are needed to achieve results!"

"Marcelo's advance, Cristiano Ronaldo's assist, Modric's outside-of-the-foot long-range shot to score! Real Madrid gained the lead!"

"Will this be another massacre?"

Live stream room.

Bullet comments flying.

-【Modric is awesome! When defensive pressure is low, his attacking attributes explode! That outside-of-the-foot curling long-range shot from a standstill!】

-【Just now, Real Madrid had a hundred ways to score; even if Lai Nuo made a godlike save, Bale could still finish with a follow-up shot!】

-【Football is a team sport; look closely, this Real Madrid lineup could at least beat Lewokusen 4-0!】

"HalaMadrid!!!"

"o!!!"

"Luka!!!"

Cristiano Ronaldo and Modric simply slapped hands, then excitedly rushed to the corner flag area.

Leapt high!

Turned in mid-air!

"Siu!"

Magnesium lights flashed wildly.

Media reporters all raised their long and short guns, aiming at Real Madrid's number 7.

Neutral stands, many fans pouted.

Who actually scored the goal?

Lewokusen players lowered their heads...

They truly felt the gap in strength.

Arsenal can fight back.

Chelsea's aggression is not that strong.

But the despair brought by Real Madrid is too deep.

They haven't even played their best counter-attack "two hundred million flying together" yet.

Li Kang silently picked up the ball from the net.

On the way, he patted Lai Nuo's shoulder and ran back to the center circle.

Modric watched his back from afar, thoughtful.

Sideline of the pitch.

Tuopu Laotou sat slumped on the coach's bench, expression complex.

Dino murmured: "Boss... our defensive setup had no issues; it's just that Real Madrid's players' individual abilities are too strong..."

Other side.

Zidane remained calm, clapping loudly.

Since experiencing the trousers-tearing incident, he dare not make too exaggerated celebration moves.

Betoni kept raising his hand toward the nearby stands, signaling fans to shout their slogans even louder!

Bernabeu's home advantage was fully displayed!

Match restarted in the center circle.

Kießlin kicked off and passed back to Li Kang!

The midfield and forward zones of both sides quickly overlapped.

The ball was hardly passed in Lewokusen's half.

Kramer and Bendel's coordination made a mistake.

Pa!

Benzema intercepted the ball at the waist.

His beard at this time is not very dense, his appearance is quite delicate, just like a jade-faced flower monk!

"Did Benzema's pressing take effect so quickly?"

"Dangerous!"

"Real Madrid's ability to support in attack is too strong!"

"This time they attacked the right flank."

"Carvajal!"

In Lewokusen's midfield and backfield, Benzema's double-team was quickly formed.

If facing mainstream Bundesliga strikers, perhaps it would be very effective.

Unfortunately.

But they are now facing the "green leaf period" Benzema!

The French center forward with the highest-level pivot passing ability!

Smack!

The football tore through the defensive gap!

It rolled to the right flank!

Carvajal charged in hot pursuit!

Van Dijk quickly directed his teammates to retreat!

Too late.

The right flank of the Galactic Battleship possesses the most ferocious charging power!

Carvajal hadn't taken a few steps when he gave it a light push!

The football rolled into the right side of the penalty area!

Lai Nuo had no time to think about coming out!

He quickly sealed the near corner.

A tall, imposing white-clad figure burst out!

Bell!

Bang!

A powerful shot!

The football pierced Lewokusen's far corner!

2:0!!!

Bernabeu, a sea of joy!

"Simple! Too simple!"

"Just like a practice match!"

"This time we attacked the right flank, a simpler and more direct offensive!"

"Everyone only saw Bell's speed and his combination with the ball, yet overlooked his shooting!"

"A small mistake by Lewokusen's midfield was seized by Benzema, thus creating an irreversible situation."

"Carvajal assisted, Bell scored with a powerful shot from a tight angle, Real Madrid extended their lead!"

"Just six minutes into the match, Lewokusen trailed by two goals—unimaginable—how exaggerated will the score of this game become?"