Chapter 610
Hat-trick Wins the Game: Real Madrid Eliminates Barcelona and Advances to the Final!
Time is running out for both sides, whether it's Real Madrid or Barcelona.
In stoppage time, Mourinho used his last substitution, bringing on attacking midfielder Sneijder to replace Pepe, who was carrying a yellow card.
His intention in bringing on Sneijder was clear: to bring the Dutchman on to assist Lin Feng and further unleash Lin Feng's attacking capabilities.
The Dutchman was clearly aware of the coach's purpose in bringing him on, so shortly after entering the game, he received a yellow card for a foul on Xavi during a midfield scramble because he was too aggressive and couldn't stop in time.
Although Sneijder paid the price for his recklessness, the changes his appearance brought to Real Madrid's midfield were still very noticeable.
In the second minute of stoppage time, Eto'o passed the ball back from the edge of the penalty area, and Xavi made a mistake under pressure from Sneijder, allowing Real Madrid to launch a counter-attack.
Lin Feng had just dribbled past the halfway line when he looked up to observe his teammates' runs. He then launched a long, low through ball from the center circle to Higuain's feet on the right flank.
Higuain accelerated and dribbled into the penalty area. Under pressure from Puyol, his shot from 10 meters out was saved by Valdes.
Benzema, who was following up in the middle, wanted to take a follow-up shot, but collided with Valdes in the scramble for the ball.
Judging from his grimacing face, the collision was clearly quite serious, but Benzema gritted his teeth, didn't utter a sound, and turned to run back.
He didn't even have time to waste here; he had to be ready to fight at any moment and prepare for the opponent's impending counterattack.
"Hmph, this kid's got a pretty enthusiastic attitude!"
Mourinho doesn't like Benzema, thinking he plays softly and has poor finishing ability.
But after seeing his attitude towards the game, my impression of him changed slightly.
Barcelona's counter-attack came on fiercely. Although his stamina had dropped, Messi's breakthroughs were still sharp, forcing Cannavaro to foul him and bring him to the ground.
The Italian received a yellow card as a result, and Barcelona were awarded a free kick in a very good position in the attacking third.
As expected, Messi was still standing behind the ball, ready to take the penalty kick.
Messi took a deep breath and recalled the feeling of that free kick from before.
Although Casillas saved that free kick, Messi could sense that he was very close to scoring.
If I can regain that feeling, I'll be more confident with this free kick.
But what bothers him is that no matter how hard he tries to recall, he can't find that feeling again.
Time was up, the referee blew his whistle, and Messi had no choice but to grit his teeth and send off the ball.
Casillas had prepared for all sorts of tricky shots, but after Messi took the shot, he was surprised to find that the ball had neither angle nor speed, and posed far less of a threat to the goal than he had imagined!
Casillas easily caught the ball, but instead of holding it in his arms, he dashed out of the penalty area and threw the ball with all his might towards the open space on his right.
It's Real Madrid's turn to fight back!
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
Puyol, who was playing a defensive role, retreated while loudly calling for his teammates to get back on defense.
It was now the fourth minute of stoppage time, with only a few dozen seconds left before it ended.
If Barcelona can hold on for those few dozen seconds and drag the game into extra time, they will almost certainly win!
Because they not only have a physical advantage, but they also have an unused substitution!
But all of this is contingent on them being able to withstand this counterattack from their opponents!
Upon hearing the captain's reminder, all the Barcelona players immediately began to exert themselves to the fullest, retreating at full speed to defend, determined to hold off the opponent's counterattack.
Although they ran very fast, someone was faster than them!
The moment Casillas caught the ball, Lin Feng realized it was an excellent counter-attack opportunity. Before Casillas could throw the ball back, he had already started sprinting.
The moment the ball hit the ground, Lin Feng had already overtaken Xavi and was almost at the center circle.
Sneijder controlled the throw-in from Casillas on the wing, and seeing Lin Feng's position, he passed the ball forward to Lin Feng without hesitation.
Because he was worried about slowing down Lin Feng, he didn't choose to pass the ball to his feet, but instead gave him enough lead time.
But this choice also gives the opponent an opportunity to fight for possession of the ball!
Upon seeing this, Puyol rushed towards the ball's trajectory without hesitation.
He knew perfectly well that as long as he could clear the ball out of bounds, he could neutralize the opponent's counterattack.
"That pass was too long; the ball is closer to Puyol!"
"But Lin Feng is faster than Puyol, so now it's a matter of who can arrive first!"
In the commentary booth, the two commentators were extremely nervous, wishing they could put their faces close to the laptop screen to get a clearer view.
The two arrived almost simultaneously. Puyol extended his foot first, and Lin Feng, who was right in front of him, dared not take the ball and only wanted to clear it out of bounds.
But the moment he stretched out his foot, his other foot also stretched out.
With a loud bang, the two clashed feet!
Puyol collapsed to the ground, clutching his ankle in pain, unable to get up.
Lin Feng lost his balance and stumbled forward, falling to the ground.
The moment Lin Feng's knee hit the ground, countless Real Madrid fans felt as if their hearts had fallen into an ice cellar.
The force exerted on the feet is mutual; Puyol was injured, so there's no reason why Lin Feng should be completely unharmed.
Not only Barcelona fans, but even Real Madrid fans themselves felt that the counterattack was over.
However, just when everyone had given up on the attack, Lin Feng, who was about to fall completely, managed to push off the grass with his hands as his knees touched the ground and his body slid forward. He used the strength of his waist and abdomen to overcome the enormous inertia and stubbornly stood up!
"Charge! Lin!"
"Well done, Lin!"
"You will always be the pride of Real Madrid!"
"Just keep charging forward and fucking kill Barca!"
This scene ignited the passion of the Real Madrid fans in the stands, who practically strained their lungs, roaring and cheering wildly for Lin Feng!
Barcelona's goalkeeper Valdes had already come out, but he was unable to clear the ball before Lin Feng could catch up with it.
With a muffled thud, Lin Feng had already taken a shot before Valdes could even get close to him.
After exchanging a kick with Puyol, his body had reached its limit and no longer allowed him to make any more aggressive dribbling moves.
After taking the shot, Lin Feng finally lost his strength and collapsed on the grass.
But as he fell to the ground, he heard the loudest cheers erupt at the Bernabéu since he joined Real Madrid.
Goal!
The score became 3-2, with Lin Feng scoring the winning goal against Barcelona in the final minute of stoppage time!
"Haha, Brother Lin, you're practically Superman!" "So cool, Brother Lin, you were absolutely awesome just now!"
"Brother Lin, you are my idol! Please accept my deepest respect!"
His teammates rushed over from all directions like mad dogs, showering him with praise and even wanting to worship him.
But seeing that Lin Feng hadn't gotten up from the ground for a long time, someone immediately noticed something was wrong:
"Something's wrong, Lin, are you injured?"
"Oh, you're injured? Could it be from that foot injury we just had?"
"Quickly, call the team medic!"
As Real Madrid fans around the world celebrated wildly, seeing the tense expressions on the faces of the Real Madrid players in the penalty area, and the team doctor sprinting onto the field with a medical kit, they all had a bad feeling:
Was Lin Feng injured?
The fans had lost their appetite for celebration and started asking each other about Lin Feng's health, worried that he might have been injured like Puyol in the previous match.
In the view of almost all Real Madrid fans, a Champions League semi-final is not worth gambling with the health of the team's core players for the next decade.
If they had a choice, they would rather be eliminated than have Lin Feng seriously injured!
On the sidelines, after the initial excitement and elation, Mourinho's face immediately fell.
No one understands better than him what Lin Feng means to this team. Without Lin Feng, Real Madrid's current tactics simply won't work. Let alone going to the final to compete with Manchester United, they'll probably be bullied by other teams in the league.
Watching Lin Feng being carried off the field on a stretcher, and seeing him receive a standing ovation as he left the field, Messi let out a barely perceptible sigh, his mind filled with complex emotions.
When Lin Feng scored, Messi had already tracked back to his own half, but ultimately it was too late to stop the goal.
Messi felt bitter, having lost to his opponent once again, and it seemed that defeating him was still a long way off.
However, Messi couldn't bring himself to hate this opponent who had eliminated him time and time again; instead, he felt a sense of respect for him.
The opponent's individual skills, sportsmanship on the field, and character are all impeccable.
If the two weren't rivals, Messi believes he could become good friends with him.
If the other player were on the same team as him, Messi believed that they would have excellent chemistry and become the most feared attacking duo in the entire football world.
Unfortunately, the two were destined to be rivals, and he could only encounter this guy's thwarting attacks time and time again on the court.
But seeing Lin Feng injured and forced to leave the field, Messi didn't feel secretly pleased; instead, he couldn't help but worry about him.
It would be a real shame to lose such a formidable opponent.
Besides, he hadn't even defeated his opponent himself!
……
After the game, when it came time to select the best player of the match, Lin Feng, who scored a hat-trick and made the game-winning shot, unsurprisingly won the MVP title with a perfect score of 10.
Messi's performance of scoring twice was already dazzling enough, but unfortunately his opponent was even more monstrous.
Barcelona ultimately lost to Real Madrid 4-5 on aggregate, ending their run in the semi-finals and missing out on the Champions League title this season.
After the match, major media outlets in Spain and across Europe reported on the game immediately.
Real Madrid defeats Barcelona 3-2, advancing to the Champions League final once again!
Real Madrid advances to the final and will once again face their old rivals, Manchester United!
Hat-trick + game-winning goal: Lin Feng is Real Madrid's savior!
Messi's two goals weren't enough to save Barcelona; they were eliminated in the semi-finals.
Lin Feng scores three goals, Messi nets two, turning El Clásico into a superstar individual show!
"Lin Feng's injury and withdrawal from the game may pose a huge hidden danger for the future?"
"What? Lin Feng is injured?"
Thousands of miles away in China, when national football team coach Zhu Guanghu learned of Lin Feng's injury, his expression changed drastically, and he could no longer sit still:
"Book me the earliest flight available; I need to go to Madrid to visit Lin Feng!"
With the final two World Cup qualifiers approaching, if China loses its star player Lin Feng, its situation will be very precarious when facing the strongest teams in the group, Japan and Australia. It is not impossible for the Chinese team to suffer two consecutive defeats.
Although the Chinese team currently has a high score, there is still a theoretical risk of being eliminated.
If the Chinese team suffers two consecutive defeats in the final stage, this danger will be magnified exponentially.
When the news spread, many football fans across the country were equally worried:
[Lincoln must be alright, the national football team can't do without him!]
[In the last two World Cup qualifiers, the Chinese national team could secure just one point and advance, but the biggest concern is whether Lin Feng's injury will leave lasting problems and affect his future performance.]
Yes, he's only 20 years old. There are too many examples in football of young players like him who suffer serious injuries and never recover!
[Pah, pah, pah! Don't jinx it! I believe Lin Feng is a lucky person and will be alright!]
Although they were trying to comfort themselves, everyone was worried about the worst-case scenario.
After so many years of Chinese football, it's finally gotten to produce a genius. We absolutely cannot let anything happen to him!
Liu Yifei, who had just returned from Spain, canceled all her pre-arranged work and booked another flight to Spain after seeing Lin Feng injured on television.
At this point, she had no heart for work. Recording songs, holding concerts, and filming movies were all forgotten. She just wanted to fly back to Lin Feng's side as quickly as possible to accompany him through this difficult time.
Meanwhile, news of Lin Feng's injury also caused a major upheaval in the football world.
Arsène Wenger of Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United, Roberto Mancini of Inter Milan... many famous football managers are concerned about and inquiring about Lin Feng's injury.
Lin Feng's teammates and former teammates, including Figo, Beckham, Zanetti, Torres, Sun Jihai, Zheng Zhi, and Chen Tao, all called him immediately after the match to inquire about his injury.
"How is his injury?"
At the Olympias Clinic in Madrid, the official rehabilitation center of Real Madrid, almost all of the club's top executives, including head coach Jose Mourinho, general manager Jorge Valdano, club president Calderón, and several board members, were gathered.
All eyes were on the attending physician at the clinic, Dr. Manuel Reyes, known as the football legend, as they inquired about Lin Feng's injury.
Dr. Reyes, with a very serious expression, glanced around at everyone and said:
"A torn deltoid ligament in the ankle requires at least six to eight weeks of rest, and..."
"And what?"
Several senior board members pressed for an answer.
"This could leave behind hidden dangers." (End of Chapter)