CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 20: WARNING

The singing in the El Madrigal Stadium has stopped.

The Villarreal fans look nervously at the situation on the field. Since Real Madrid scored the first goal, everything seems off.

"The big win in the first leg blinded Pellegrini."

"He was too optimistic."

"Villarreal’s suppression of Real Madrid lasted only about ten minutes."

"Now Real Madrid is controlling the situation on the field."

Real Madrid’s waves of attacks relentlessly crash against Villarreal’s defense. First, Robinho broke through the middle, overcoming obstacles, entering the penalty area, completing a high-quality shot from a tight angle.

If it weren’t for the home goalpost’s intervention, the score would’ve been nearly changed to 0:2.

Following up, Guti attracted Villarreal players’ attention on the left and provided a precise long pass to the actively running Raul.

He cut in from the right side of the penalty area, and at a short distance from the goal in the six-yard area, completed a shot that could have broken Villarreal’s net if not for the goalkeeper’s quick reaction.

Pellegrini paced back and forth on the sideline but made no adjustments, firmly believing it was just the wheel of fortune now favoring Real Madrid.

Schuster clenched his fists, hunched over, eagerly watching his team’s surging attacks, waiting for a goal to let him celebrate jubilantly.

In the 24th minute of the match, there seemed to be a turning point. After successive attacks, Real Madrid slightly slowed down to regain some stamina, while Villarreal launched a strong counterattack.

"Cazorla!"

"Ramos steps up for the interception."

"A lob pass to Pires."

"Pires bypassed Marcelo."

"A large gap behind Marcelo."

Pires’ long hair fluttered, looking quite dashing. His gaze was sharp as he suddenly stopped and quickly passed the ball to Rossi at the edge of the penalty area.

Rossi wanted to trap the ball, but the corner of his eye caught Chen Zhong charging at him ferociously.

He only had enough time to make a reflexive move, and the next moment he was down on the ground.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle, and the booing from the stands seemed to shake the entire stadium.

Many Villarreal fans were shouting: "Red card!" "He’s a killer!" "He must be sent off!" and similar comments.

Hm, it seems they aren’t in the mood to sing now.

However, the referee did not show a card; he sternly warned, "Watch your actions, if there’s a next time, I’ll show you a yellow card."

Chen Zhong spread his hands, looking innocent.

Villarreal’s players surrounded the referee, trying to pressure him, but the referee saw clearly that when Chen Zhong tackled, he was targeting the ball, not the man.

In such situations, hitting the man before touching the ball, where the target is the ball, not the person, usually results in a direct free kick at the tackle location.

Of course, whether to issue a card or just a warning depends on the referee, but generally, except for the "Card Master," most referees opt for verbal warnings.

Rossi lay in pain for a while before getting up; his sock at the ankle had a hole with blood seeping out.

Luckily, there was no bone injury, just a slight surface wound, not much of a hindrance.

Rossi glanced fearfully at Chen Zhong; such aggressive behavior made him internally fearful, even reminded him of the "savage Premier League."

"Chen." Marcelo came over and vigorously patted Chen Zhong on the shoulder. Chen Zhong’s actions, in a sense, helped Marcelo avoid being blamed, or else if the ball reached Rossi, whether a pass, a solo run, or a direct shot could threaten Real Madrid’s goal; if it went in, Marcelo would be held accountable.

"Don’t look at me like that!" Chen Zhong dodged Marcelo’s second slap while speaking, "Watch yourself, you’re too forward, you often lose position, I know you want to show yourself, but in these situations, not making mistakes is the best."

"I know, I know!" Marcelo mumbled, superficially indifferent, but internally attentive. Still, he couldn’t resist being defensive, "Weren’t you the one who rushed to tackle recklessly?"

Chen Zhong heard Marcelo say this, couldn’t help but grit his teeth and retorted, "I was going for the ball, who knew he’d move his leg over, if not for his expression earlier, I’d have thought he was faking it! But still, no one fakes it like this!"

"What is ’faking it’?"

"I’ll explain later, gotta defend now."

Cannavaro initially wanted to say something but hearing Chen Zhong, seeing everyone in position, decided against it, though he couldn’t help wondering internally.

This kid, could he be one of those who think, I’m wrong but daring nonetheless? Hopefully not! Mustn’t be!

The one taking the free kick was Sena, the same Sena who teamed up in a "two against one" but got "countered" instead.

Standing in front of the free kick, his gaze fixed on the goal, giving the impression he would shoot, but Chen Zhong always felt he seemed to be watching forward Tomasson.

The free kick was taken, and this shot clearly aimed not at goal.

Chen Zhong anticipated, positioned accurately, leapt high for a spectacular header clearance.

The ball quickly reached Robinho’s feet, but Robinho, evidently not in form, lost possession after just a couple of steps to Villarreal’s players.

The ball was swiftly switched to the right, where Sena, after receiving the ball, sent a long pass.

Tomasson at the front, without stopping, went for a direct volley.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The ball, like a projectile, struck the blocking Chen Zhong hard, flying far out where Pires at the second point got a chance, and after trapping the ball at the arc of the penalty area, opted for a chipped shot targeting the far corner.

Chen Zhong extended his long legs, attempting an interception, but the ball brushed past his toe.

Fortunately, Casillas reacted quickly, with a leap capturing the ball in his arms.

"Run, run, run!" Casillas shouted vigorously, mov.ing forward, and in that moment Real Madrid, like an arrow, shot to pierce Villarreal’s heart.

He threw a long ball, and after Guti handled it, quickly switched the ball to the left. Sneijder delivered a long pass from the left, and the ball spanned most of the pitch, precisely landing before Raul.

Raul, without stopping, nudged the ball forward, then accelerated.

The entire stadium erupted at once.

Villarreal fans booed, whistled, cursed, hoping to disrupt Raul.

Meanwhile, the Merengue couldn’t help but stand, eyes filled with anticipation watching the "living legend."

"Real Madrid’s quick counterattack!"

"Sneijder’s precise long pass."

"Raul has the ball!"

"The goalkeeper leaves the goal to charge!"

In the commentator’s enthusiastic voice, the goalkeeper decisively abandoned guarding the goal and charged at the ball like a fearless warrior, aiming to catch it before Raul, regardless of potential injuries.

"Raul!"

"A stabbed shot into the goal!"

"The ball is in!"

"Beautiful!"

"A beautiful goal!"

"In the 42nd minute, Real Madrid seized a counterattack opportunity."

"Raul scored before the goalkeeper, a stabbed shot."

"Score changed to 0:2!"

"Real Madrid’s captain scores in consecutive matches."

Schuster on the sideline jumped up high, his face flushed, excitedly shouting. His jubilant voice irritated the Villarreal fans.

Waves of boos directed at Schuster, but he simply didn’t care.

"Not enough, still not enough!"

"We need more goals, keep scoring!"

"Dare to play open with us? You must have a death wish! TMD!"