CHAPTER 137: CHAPTER 44: ICONIC SCENE (RECOMMENDED READING!)

Baptista and Chen Zhong stood in the center, like two battering rams, pounding on Lazio’s chest, making them very uncomfortable.

"Oh, my God!"

"Is that Chen Zhong? How can he be everywhere!"

"He’s so robust! Is Real Madrid now centering their midfield around him?"

"With him in the midfield, Real Madrid’s defense and organization are both very stable!"

"Look at this interception, his early start, and then cutting in when the opponent receives the ball."

The Merengue fans in the stands were enthusiastically discussing Chen Zhong, whose performance now was no less impressive than when they first saw a young Raul and the magical performances of Casillas in front of the goal.

At the age of 16, in his debut season, being able to produce such performances in La Liga with Real Madrid.

As long as Chen Zhong doesn’t give in to complacency, his future is boundless.

Compared to the excited Merengue fans, Lazio fans had "stunned" written all over their faces. They didn’t expect that the Chen Zhong, who only had accomplishments on defense a month ago, had now become proficient on both offense and defense.

The midfield formed by him and Baptista was directly overwhelming Lazio’s midfield players.

This made Lazio’s midfielders very frustrated; they even shouted to their teammates with the ball: "Go to the wings, go to the wings, not the center, not there."

For Lazio players who had to directly confront Chen Zhong and Baptista in the center, it felt more like wrestling than playing football.

Who can stand this!

Lazio’s attack on the wings produced some effect, their formation now looked more like a 4-3-3. In the 15th minute of the match, a cross from Lazio was cleared by Pepe.

The ball fell to Chen Zhong’s feet.

The nearby Lazio players, seeing Chen Zhong with the ball, were reluctant to press him, but if they didn’t, Chen Zhong would keep the ball while his teammates ran for positions or pushed forward.

"A beautiful clearance by Pepe."

"Chen Zhong has the ball now."

"Lazio players close in on him."

"Chen Zhong passes it to Sneijder, who returns it to Chen Zhong."

"Lazio players continue to press."

"Chen Zhong gives it to Robinho, who returns it to Chen Zhong."

"Whoa~"

Chen Zhong stood like a commander in the backfield, smoothing out Real Madrid’s offensive organization. Schuster’s instructions from the sidelines were very clear.

Tease the impatient Lazio, exhaust their energy, and patiently organize the attack.

This was difficult for Real Madrid to achieve before due to the lack of a true, calm player who could control the ball in the midfield. But now, they had Chen.

They were teasing Lazio players back and forth, but the whole team was still advancing forward.

Lazio, living up to its reputation as an Italian team, had a very organized and tight defense. Neither Sneijder nor Robinho had good chances.

Robinho seemed a bit off this match; he seemed disinterested or reluctant to take players on.

When Chen Zhong passed the ball to him, facing an opponent’s pressing, Robinho unhesitatingly chose to pass back, even though he would usually try a dribble.

"Idiot." Chen Zhong cursed under his breath. Robinho’s pass back was too weak, like a scared little rabbit, giving Chen a bad ball.

Ledesma from Lazio’s eyes lit up and rushed forward to intercept, but Chen Zhong positioned himself first and controlled the ball, sending Ledesma, who rushed in, off balance, causing him to bounce on his feet.

After stabilizing his posture, Chen quickly moved forward with the ball, dodging Mutindani, who came sliding in from the side, knocking over Ledesma on the ground.

"Oh wow, that’s impressive!"

"Chen Zhong’s physical condition is really something to behold."

"He has extensive experience in physical confrontation."

"Ledesma nearly got knocked down."

"Hah, couldn’t escape his teammate’s sliding tackle."

"Now Chen Zhong has a lot of space. What will he choose to do?"

Exhaling deeply, while dodging, Chen Zhong hadn’t forgotten to observe his surroundings. His teammates were being marked closely, and Lazio players were clearly guarding against Chen Zhong himself. Upon seeing no new Lazio players coming up to pressure him.

He nudged the ball forward.

Then suddenly unleashed a powerful shot.

"Bang!"

Taut muscles, a fluid motion, and immense shooting power split the ball into a white beam, rocketing toward the goal through the path left open by Lazio players.

This long-range shot, 24 meters from the goal, caught everyone off guard. Goalkeeper Balota was moving to his left and couldn’t fully stop the shot headed to his right. The ball rebounded into the net after hitting him.

"Chen Zhong opts for a long-range shot immediately."

"A very powerful strike!"

"Balota!"

"Fumbles it!"

"The ball rebounds into the net."

"Beautiful!"

"Beautiful!"

"The ball is in! It’s in!"

"A brave attempt."

"From 24 meters out, a superb long-range shot!"

"Chen Zhong scores for Real Madrid first."

"He had attempted to score with long shots in multiple games."

"But was unsuccessful."

"But today, in this very crucial match."

"He scored a crucial goal."

"His vision is indeed broad; he was observing the field situation and chose to go for a long shot decisively at the perfect time."

"1:0"

"Chen Zhong puts Real Madrid in the lead first."

The passionate voice of the commentator sent countless fans into a frenzy.

On this night, who knows how many fans will remember Chen Zhong’s name firmly.

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium erupted, and the Merengue in the stands couldn’t help but shout "Chen," as Marcelo came running from afar, pushing Chen toward the corner flag excitedly, saying: "Chen!"

"Celebrate! You must celebrate!"

"It’s such a superb goal."

"If you don’t celebrate, you’ll definitely regret it."

"Definitely!"

Upon hearing Marcelo’s words, Chen Zhong snapped back, realizing that he hadn’t thought the ball would go in. But from that position and angle, he had a strong urge to shoot, so he went for it.

Running, jumping, shouting.

In front of the corner flag, before all the fans, Chen Zhong leapt high, then turned, revealing the number 22 CHEN behind, with both thumbs pointing back.

In front of the camera, in front of the fans, he seemed to be telling everyone.

Remember this name.

At this moment, on the sidelines, Lazio’s coach Rossi watched the scene before him, his lips twitching.

This long-range shot had left Rossi somewhat devastated; in this match, all his setups, all his painstaking efforts, were being disrupted by this young man before his eyes.

"Is this what you call a genius?"

Nobody gave Rossi an answer; this goal had left half of Lazio hanging in limbo.

Compared to Rossi’s collapse, Schuster was quite cheerful, swinging his big palm through the air, while Francisco, watching from the side, had a knowing expression, as if expecting such a reaction.

"This kid!"

"When did he secretly practice those long-range shots?"

"Ahem," Francisco coughed twice, reminding, "Actually, his long-range shots are all about power. Nothing else."

"It’s mainly because they never expected him to shoot from there."

"Did it go in?"

"What?"

"I’m asking you if the ball went in or not." Schuster leaned in, finally slapping Francisco’s back as he wanted, making Francisco grimace: "I don’t want to hear those words. As long as it scores, even if he uses his private parts, I’ll praise him for being hard and solid."

"What’s in a name for this goal; it’s about the score."

"He’s a hero."

"Technical discussion and angles are nonsense."

"Power creates miracles; with enough strength, you can direct it where you want it."

"However," Schuster shifted gears, patting Francisco next to him, "his long-range shots still need improvement, and that’s your task now."

"Pay attention; if his long-range shot doesn’t improve, I’ll make you the goalkeeper during his practice."