Chapter 614
Lin Feng is warming up
Although Real Madrid did look very disheveled on the field.
More than 20 minutes into the game, Real Madrid only had 30% possession and less than a third of their opponents' shots.
During this period, there were even instances of Manchester United besieging Real Madrid's goal.
But head coach Mourinho remained completely unfazed.
Why isn't Mourinho panicking?
There are two reasons:
1. Real Madrid's tactics in this match were defensive counter-attacking; controlling possession was not their goal. Manchester United, on the other hand, is a strong team, so it's normal for them to dominate the game.
However, Manchester United's relentless attacking style takes a huge toll on their own stamina. In contrast, Real Madrid's stamina expenditure is relatively lower, so as long as they don't concede a goal, all of this is within their acceptable range.
2. Lin Feng's return gave him enough confidence!
Mourinho had already planned it out in his mind: in the second half, once the opponent's stamina dropped, he would bring Lin Feng on and catch them off guard.
Ferguson could roughly guess Mourinho's plan, so he felt a little uneasy.
Although Manchester United dominated the game, it was all for naught without a goal.
Manchester United need to break the deadlock as soon as possible and take complete control of the game with a goal.
On the pitch, Manchester United's attack continued.
In the 18th minute, Ronaldo changed direction on the right flank to dribble past his opponent, and Marcelo, losing his position, committed a foul by pulling Ronaldo from behind.
The Swiss referee showed the first yellow card of the match, and seeing the card and the location of the foul, Mourinho, who had been sitting calmly, finally started to get restless.
"Marcelo's foul was a bit too hasty."
"Yes, Thiago Silva has covered the gaps in defense. Even if Ronaldo is allowed to pass, it will be difficult for him to break through. On the contrary, he himself was already struggling against Ronaldo, and now he has a yellow card."
"I estimate that Manchester United will definitely take advantage of this and use this side as a breakthrough point to further strengthen their attack on the right flank."
Because of Lin Feng, the two CCTV commentators unconsciously leaned towards Real Madrid when commentating on this match.
However, the majority of fans watching the CCTV live broadcast did not raise any questions or objections.
After all, more than 90% of the Chinese fans watching this game were there because of Lin Feng.
The commentator's stance was less biased towards Real Madrid and more biased towards Lin Feng.
As expected, Ronaldo arrived at the penalty spot, ready to take the free kick.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored numerous free kicks in league and Champions League matches this season, has shown a significant improvement in both his free-kick technique and his confidence compared to previous years.
Although the ball wasn't directly in front of the goal, it was only a little over 20 meters away, which meant that a skilled free-kick taker could potentially shoot directly at the goal.
Real Madrid didn't know whether Ronaldo would shoot himself or lob the ball into the penalty area, so in addition to setting up a wall of players outside, they also adopted a tight marking strategy against Manchester United players in the penalty area, keeping Manchester United's tall players firmly under their control.
Cristiano Ronaldo glanced at the crowded people in the penalty area, placed the ball, took a few steps back, put his hands on his hips, and looked resolutely at the goal.
Beep!
The referee blew his whistle, and Ronaldo began his run-up.
With a bang, the football flew over the wall of players at high speed and headed straight for the goal.
Instead of passing the ball into the penalty area for his teammates to contest for a header, Ronaldo opted to shoot directly.
Casillas moved quickly, leaping towards the right side of the goal, but he didn't touch the ball.
With a muffled thud, Ronaldo's shot struck the crossbar and bounced out of bounds.
"Damn, it didn't even go in!"
"Phew, that scared me to death! Thank goodness it didn't go in!"
Two completely different voices came from the stands. Manchester United fans were so angry when they saw the ball hit the post and bounce off that they started cursing.
Real Madrid fans felt a sense of relief after seeing the ball bounce away.
The way she looks at Ronaldo has also changed:
This guy is really something, even his free kicks are amazing.
However, no matter how great Ronaldo is, he can't shake Lin Feng's position in their hearts.
After all, no matter how good Ronaldo's free kicks are, can they compare to Lin Feng's?
Seeing the ball bounce off the goalpost, Mourinho, whose mood had been like a rollercoaster, returned to the bench cursing and muttered something to Lin Feng.
The camera captured the madman's action, piquing the curiosity of many fans, who were eager to know what the two had been talking about.
In the 22nd minute of the first half, Real Madrid, who had been under attack for a long time, finally seized the opportunity to launch a decent counterattack.
Robben received the ball on the right wing, cut inside, created space on the edge of the penalty area, and then unleashed a curling shot from 20 meters out with his golden left foot.
Robben's breakthrough and cut inside were impeccable, already showing some of the charm of the peak Robben.
But he just lacked a bit of luck; his final shot wasn't quite there yet, failing to get past Van der Sar's outstretched fingers.
The ball was saved by Van der Sar and then cleared by a Manchester United player.
Although this counter-attack did not result in a goal, it made Manchester United feel a real threat.
Although Lin Feng was not present, Real Madrid's attacking power should not be underestimated.
If a similar counterattack occurs again, their luck may not be so good.
Despite the immense attacking pressure, Manchester United continued to press Real Madrid relentlessly.
In the 25th minute, Ronaldo's shot from 25 meters out went wide of the right post.
In the 28th minute, Giggs took a corner kick from the left, and Ronaldo headed the ball over the bar from 8 meters out.
The negative effects of Marcelo's recent yellow card are starting to show. During this period, Ronaldo has become exceptionally active in the attacking third – he alone accounted for 6 of Manchester United's first 8 shots!
Unfortunately, he seemed to lack some luck; all his shots were quite threatening, but he just missed by a little bit.
The continuous attacks took a heavy toll on Manchester United's stamina, and after 30 minutes, they had to temporarily halt their relentless offensive.
Real Madrid also tried to launch attacks, but because they didn't commit many players to the attack and the midfield struggled to connect effectively, their attacks lacked quality.
Although they managed a few shots, they posed less of a threat to Manchester United's goal than when they were playing on the counter-attack.
The situation on the field has temporarily reached a stalemate, but everyone knows that this calm will not last long.
In the 36th minute, a cheer suddenly came from the stands near the substitutes' bench.
Everyone looked on curiously and found that Lin Feng had gotten up and left the bench at some point and started warming up on the sidelines.
[Here he comes! Lin Feng is finally going to play!] [He's coming on in the first half? I thought Mourinho would wait until the second half to make a substitution.]
[It was indeed a bit early, but Real Madrid's midfield is truly appalling right now. If they had brought Lin Feng on earlier, they might have scored much earlier!]
Indeed, Real Madrid looks awkward without Lin Feng. Sneijder is really not up to par; let Lin Feng take over!
Seeing Lin Feng warming up, Real Madrid fans were overjoyed, almost ready to pop open a champagne box to celebrate.
On the other hand, Manchester United fans had serious expressions, and a sense of crisis involuntarily arose in their hearts.
There's nothing we can do; this guy is Manchester United's nemesis.
Manchester United suffered heavy losses under his management in two consecutive Champions League campaigns!
Like Barcelona, Lin Feng was particularly energetic when playing against Manchester United, scoring every time he faced them, and even completing a hat-trick at Old Trafford.
Manchester United fans' fear of Lin Feng is so deep that they turn pale at the mere mention of his name.
No wonder Manchester United fans were so happy when they heard that Lin Feng was injured and unable to play.
Lin Feng's action also attracted the attention of players from both sides on the football field.
Upon witnessing this, the Real Madrid players were greatly encouraged and became even more aggressive in their tackles.
Manchester United's players became even more impatient, as if an invisible rope was tightening around their necks.
In the 37th minute, Park Ji-sung fouled Sneijder in midfield. Real Madrid took advantage of the fact that most of the opponent's players had pushed past their half and quickly took a free kick to launch a counter-attack.
Raul received a pass from his teammate, dribbled into the penalty area, and his shot was blocked by Ferdinand.
Van der Sar was very dissatisfied with his teammates' performance in this defensive play, and he yelled at Carrick and Park Ji-sung, especially Park Ji-sung.
He was almost completely ineffective in that defensive play. After committing the foul, he failed to be alert to the opponent's quick free kick, practically allowing the opponent to pass the ball out and leaving his own defense to face the opponent's attack directly.
If it weren't for Ferdinand's outstanding performance, they might have conceded a goal from Raul's shot just now.
Faced with the goalkeeper's roar, the South Korean lowered his head in shame.
Although he and Van der Sar joined Manchester United in the same year, Van der Sar's seniority and prestige in the football world are far beyond what he can compete with.
In terms of seniority and hierarchy, Koreans seem to have been implanted with a mental imprint, and they dare not resist at all.
Towards the end of the first half, Manchester United launched another major attack on Real Madrid.
However, Real Madrid had already adapted to the opponent's attacking rhythm. Apart from Ronaldo's breakthrough on the right wing putting Real Madrid somewhat on the defensive, Rooney in the middle and Giggs on the left wing were both tightly marked by Real Madrid and had no room to maneuver.
Lu Xiaopang had a very frustrating game. Because of his height, he was at a great disadvantage in the contests with Real Madrid's two center-backs and had to frequently pull out of the penalty area to receive the ball outside the penalty area.
But outside the penalty area, it was Ronaldo's domain. This guy's attacking desire was incredibly high today. Given the right opportunity, he would definitely take a shot.
So Rooney, who was supposed to be Manchester United's attacking spearhead, ended up playing second fiddle, setting up goals for Ronaldo.
But just as Rooney's frustration was about to reach its limit and explode, Ronaldo scored.
In the 43rd minute of the first half, Ronaldo made a sprint down the right flank.
Faced with Ronaldo's feints and continuous stepovers, Marcelo, who already had a yellow card, didn't dare to make a move and could only call for his teammates to help.
But just as Mascherano moved toward him, Ronaldo suddenly accelerated, feinted past Marcelo, and dribbled into the penalty area.
Facing Thiago Silva's cover from Real Madrid, Ronaldo made two quick cuts to create a little space before decisively choosing to shoot.
Casillas was ready to make a save in front of the goal, but the ball deflected off a defender's leg during its flight.
Faced with such a sudden change of direction at such close range, even Saint Casillas could only watch helplessly as the ball flew into his own goal.
"Goal!!!!"
Goal!
"Manchester United finally scored in the 43rd minute!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo! He stepped up when the team was in trouble, proving with his actions that he is the leader of this team, and that he is indeed qualified to be compared with Lin Feng and Messi!"
The moment the goal was scored, the two Sky Sports commentators roared with passion, practically praising Ronaldo to the heavens.
It's one thing to praise their compatriot Rooney on ordinary days, but when it comes to international competitions, we really can only rely on Ronaldo's performance.
Given Lu Xiaopang's virtually invisible performance in the first half, he would have been criticized a long time ago if he were a different nationality.
Cristiano Ronaldo is awesome!
This goal came at just the right time; it would have been dangerous if they hadn't scored!
Real Madrid has Lin Feng, we have Cristiano Ronaldo!
[Finally, we've opened the scoring! Let's keep up the good work and try to score another goal to seal the victory!]
Manchester United fans, who had been waiting for several tens of minutes, finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the goal.
So what if it's Lin Feng? So what if it's Real Madrid?
We are Manchester United, we have Cristiano Ronaldo, we Red Devils are invincible!
Manchester United fans sang praises to Cristiano Ronaldo while dreaming of the Champions League trophy on the podium in front of the players' tunnel.
It has been a full decade since Manchester United last won the Champions League.
Ten years have passed, isn't it time for us to take our turn?
Cristiano Ronaldo was ecstatic after scoring the goal. After seeing the ball fly into Real Madrid's goal, he sprinted to the sidelines and performed a passionate knee slide, roaring at the camera as he slid forward.
He had been suppressing his emotions for too long, and finally he got to vent!
This is his sixth goal in the Champions League this season, and also the most important one!
This goal could very well decide who wins the championship trophy.
Cristiano Ronaldo feels he has never been so close to the Champions League trophy!
If he can hold on for just 45 more minutes, the trophy will be his!
The camera switched from Cristiano Ronaldo's wildly celebrating face to the sidelines, focusing on Real Madrid's star player, Lin Feng.
Lin Feng had finished warming up and was putting on his shin guards and checking his equipment.
He ignored the changes happening on the field and focused on making his final pre-match checks.
Cristiano Ronaldo's goal was not unexpected for Lin Feng. This guy is very strong, so it's not surprising that he can score. It would be strange if he couldn't!
If he really had no skills at all, how could he possibly be on par with himself and Messi?
Besides, it's only one goal conceded; the 45 minutes of the second half should be enough! (End of Chapter)