CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 22: LEGACY

The songs of the El Madrigal stadium have resumed.

After a halftime break, the Villarreal fans revived with full energy, singing orderly in the stands.

"We are the Yellow Submarine."

"We have locked onto the target."

"That is the wreckage of the Galaxy Battleship."

"Victory belongs to us, defeat to you."

The second half begins, and Pellegrini has not changed the style of the team but has increased their offensive investment.

He now seems like a gambler desperate to win, hoping the team can turn the tide with sharp attacks.

He has completely forgotten that his fundamental strategy is usually solid defense and opportunistic counter-attacks, not this kind of aggressive attacking play.

"Cazorla!"

"A very aggressive break through."

"Directly chose a lob pass."

"Tomasson!"

Cannavaro is at a disadvantage in a physical confrontation with Tomasson, as Tomasson shoulders Cannavaro and takes a powerful shot from 25 yards out. The shot quality is extremely high, but Casillas reacts even more swiftly, tipping the ball away with one hand.

Villarreal’s corner kick, they choose to swing the ball towards the far post, but Chen Zhong leaps high and heads the ball out directly.

"A beautiful clearance."

"Though he’s only 16 years old."

"He has a great advantage in handling aerial balls."

"In this match, in aerial duels with the opposing players, he hasn’t lost yet."

"Although Villarreal’s average height isn’t high, Chen Zhong’s judgment on the ball’s drop point is also very important."

"He always manages to appear in the right place."

The ball falls to Robinho’s feet, and he plays his tactical role perfectly, like a short dagger quickly stabbing into Villarreal’s heart.

He drives forward with the ball all the way, his speed getting faster and faster, and easily evades Villarreal’s attempted interceptions. Seeing that Robinho is about to charge into the penalty area.

Villarreal’s players resort to a tactical foul outside the penalty area against Robinho.

Robinho falls to the ground, raising both hands high in protest to the referee.

"That was a very threatening attack."

"Let’s see how the referee decides."

"A free kick, no card, just a verbal warning."

"The referee is being pretty lenient in this match!"

Robinho is evidently dissatisfied with this decision; he wants to argue but is stopped by Raul.

Sneijder and Guti stand over the ball, a gust of wind blowing through, stirring their hair. They almost move simultaneously.

Team rules dictate that the left side belongs to Sneijder, the right to Guti.

Guti sprints past the ball, and Sneijder follows with a direct free kick aimed at the left side of the goal.

The ball bends around the wall, showing a clear arc in the air, hitting the inside of the left post before finding the net.

The goalkeeper, who thought the ball would go out, can only bend his knees, tilt his neck, and helplessly watch his goal breached.

"Beep!"

The referee blows the whistle, pointing both hands to the center circle.

The Real Madrid fans in the stands cheer, Schuster on the sidelines pumps his fist and roars, looking exceptionally excited, while the Villarreal fans in the stands stop their singing again, continually booing, trying to scare the Real Madrid players on the field.

"Another free kick goal."

"I remember in the Spanish Super Cup."

"Sneijder also used a free kick to open Sevilla’s goal."

"And equalized the score for the team."

"This is his second free kick goal since joining Real Madrid."

"It’s worth mentioning that in that match, Chen Zhong also scored his career’s first goal with a diving header."

"Scoring on debut is a golden start for any young player."

"3:0"

"Doesn’t Villarreal consider changing tactics?"

Pellegrini shouts loudly on the sidelines, although he’s wearing a suit, he now gives the impression of a thug.

He is now pinning all his hopes on the team’s offense, it doesn’t matter if they lose one, two, or even three goals at the El Madrigal, but if they play conservatively now, he will indeed be cursed!

Attack, he must attack.

What if they turn the game around?

He notices that Real Madrid’s defense is quite "fragile."

However, Pellegrini sees only Real Madrid’s weaknesses but can’t see his own.

"Villarreal’s attack."

"Chen Zhong uses his body to shield the position."

"Mosie has been pushed away."

"The ball is passed to Ramos."

"Ramos is advancing quickly down the right flank."

"Real Madrid’s counterattack."

"A low pass, Van Nistelrooy!"

"The ball is in!"

"4:0"

Van Nistelrooy pointed towards Ramos, and fans of Villarreal in the stands have already started to leave one by one. Schuster is smiling on the sidelines and makes the first substitution of the game, replacing Diara with Gago. This Diara is far less impressive than Arsenal’s Diarra, maybe considering bringing in Lass Diarra?

Gago has high expectations from Schuster, but he failed to improve the embarrassing state of Real Madrid’s defense. Schuster had no choice but to have Sneijder drop back, turning the team into a double defensive midfielder setup to stabilize the defense.

In the 70th minute, Cazorla crossed from the left, and Chen Zhong cleared the ball again.

Sneijder, effortlessly taking the ball, made a direct pass to Robinho, who entered the box, but his low shot was blocked.

In the 72nd minute, Pires crossed from the right, Chen Zhong positioned himself early, stopped the ball, and gave it to Guti. Guti made a direct through pass to Raul, whose low shot in front of the goal scraped past the post.

Schuster, looking at the already irrational Villarreal, let out a slight smile, preparing Baptista to warm up and replace Sneijder, forming a double defensive midfielder to add an extra layer of protection.

"Don’t even think about scoring a single goal," Schuster muttered, "You want to play an attacking battle with me?"

During the time Baptista was warming up, Real Madrid altered the score again. Guti’s cross from the left reached Sneijder, and Sneijder’s low shot from the left side of the box nestled into the near corner.

The score turned to 5:0

Sneijder scored twice and, upon being substituted by Baptista, received applause from the Merengue and boos from the Villarreal players.

In the 77th minute, Guti passed the ball to Baptista, who, having just come on, had a perfect chance but his powerful shot from a tight angle was slightly off-target.

In the 79th minute, Van Nistelrooy controlled a chest pass, flicked the ball to Guti, and Guti’s low shot pierced Villarreal’s goal again, updating the score to 6:0.

Schuster laughed heartily on the sidelines and used his final substitution, replacing Van Nistelrooy with Saviola.

After conceding 6 goals, Villarreal completely lost their composure,

In the 88th minute, Chen Zhong intercepted the ball and sent a long pass to the front. Raul nodded the ball forward, racing towards Villarreal’s penalty area.

Villarreal’s Fuentes tackled Raul at the edge of the box.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle amid the roaring boos from the entire stadium, awarding a penalty and issuing a yellow card to Fuentes.

The Villarreal players surrounded the referee, trying to protest, but the referee stood firm with his decision.

Chen Zhong looked envious at Raul with the ball in his arms. He achieved an assist in this match and made numerous interceptions, completing at least two tasks. Scoring a goal would be icing on the cake!

Saviola wanted to take the penalty, but Raul felt Chen Zhong’s gaze, filled with eagerness, which Raul immediately understood.

"No." Raul declined Saviola’s request and, after a moment’s hesitation, pointed at Chen Zhong and said, "Chen, you take it."

"Me!" Chen Zhong widened his eyes, ran over, grabbed the ball and confirmed again, "I take it?"

On the sidelines, Van Nistelrooy somewhat regretted being subbed off. If he were on the pitch, he wouldn’t let this chance go.

He looked at Raul who conceded the penalty, and then at Guti who watched Chen Zhong with a smile, and even at Casillas, who was standing near the center circle seemingly watching a spectacle.

At some point, Chen Zhong had already formed a network of relationships within the team that even he cannot underestimate.

Saviola eyed Chen Zhong with jealousy, Baptista’s face was full of envy, Cannavaro’s eyes glistened with affection, and Marcelo was excitedly shouting on the sidelines.

"Hahaha!" Schuster laughed heartily and said, "This is a blatant humiliation for them. We are so lazy to take penalty kicks that we let the young players on our team pad their stats and gain some experience."

"What if he doesn’t score?" Francisco suddenly chimed in.

Schuster’s laughter stopped abruptly, and he glared at Francisco, saying, "Then I’ll make him practice penalties ten thousand times."

"You be the goalkeeper!"

...

After receiving a confirmed response, Chen Zhong stood at the penalty spot, taking a deep breath to clear his thoughts. The boos from the stands gradually faded away.

Approach run, strike.

A decisively powerful shot,

Villarreal’s goalkeeper never expected that this young man would aim straight down the middle and not with a cheeky Panenka, but with a straightforward strike.

This made his save attempt look more like dodging the ball, making him appear quite comical.

"It’s in!"

"Chose the middle."

"What a powerful strike."

"7:0"

"Real Madrid slaughtered Villarreal at the El Madrigal."

After scoring, Chen Zhong didn’t celebrate wildly but immediately ran to Raul to express his gratitude. Raul embracing Chen Zhong at this moment became an iconic image later referred to as "the passing of the torch."

The game ended with a score of 7:0, and after the match, reporters mocked Pellegrini mercilessly.

Pellegrini, facing the media, smiled wryly and said, "I feel like we committed suicide by actively attacking Real Madrid. Perhaps previous successes gave us delusions, but this is also a good thing, reminding us of the gap between us and the top clubs."

Pellegrini’s clear-eyed demeanor left the reporters in a state of confusion.

Real Madrid’s resounding slap of reality, however, only served to clarify Pellegrini’s vision.

Of course, all this had nothing to do with Chen Zhong. He completed three tasks in one match and was off to tally the spoils and check out the new tasks.