Chapter 126: Four in the Champions League, Three Salute My Emperor
When the first-half whistle sounded, Cristiano Ronaldo was the first to walk into the players' tunnel head down; every player behind him looked equally dejected.
In the dressing room,
272 sat facing the door, waiting for his teammates to show some concern…
But no one paid him any attention, as if he were invisible.
That shows
272's popularity within the team.
Different from the anonymous 272,
Fábio Coentrão sat in a corner trying to hide but couldn't; he was met with glaring stares.
Coentrão looked like a small white rabbit eyed by a pack of wolves, trembling; he crouched slowly against the wall, clutching his head.
"Take it easy! Don't hit his face!"
Seeing that he behaved, everyone sighed and withdrew their "death stares!"
They stopped paying attention to him, peeled off their protective gear and went into the massage room…
"Brothers, why don't you hit me a couple times — with you like this, I'll be even more scared."
"Don't be an idiot next time!"
"It wasn't your fault. You just made the game harder, but you're not the reason we conceded three goals."
"That kid is too strong!"
"..."
Just then José Mourinho walked in. Unlike the players, he was full of fighting spirit.
While motioning the masseurs to continue loosening the players' muscles, he delivered a halftime pep talk in the tone of a speech:
"Tonight's Arsenal are strong. We made some mistakes. But that's okay — beating weak opponents would cheapen our Champions League title; it would let Barça mock us for only being able to bully an Arsenal without Xia Qi. Now, if we play our tactical characteristics, we can shut these flies up."
"I like tough opponents because that's what makes victory meaningful. Don't be fooled by the three-goal deficit — the advantage is still with us…
In the second half, Kaká and Raphaël Varane, you two come on for 272 and Modrić. Our tactic is this… Varane, in the second half I need you to tuck wide; it's a challenge for you in that position, but I believe you can handle it."
On the other side, Arsène Wenger also rallied his team before the restart:
"We played well in the first half, but it's not enough. We still need two more goals. Mourinho and his players won't raise their hands in surrender.
We need to keep applying pressure. In the second half we must try to score as quickly as possible — that will make them panic…"
…
"Dear viewers, welcome back after the break. During halftime José Mourinho made tactical adjustments, bringing on Varane and Kaká for 272 and Modrić.
He bolstered the backline and added an attacking midfielder to allow the front to press up without concern."
Beep!
Play resumed.
Arsenal pushed forward. Wenger's plan was clear: score one goal in as little time as possible to level the aggregate, then outdo Real on away goals.
Mourinho's approach was to attack in order to defend.
From kickoff the contest entered a white-hot phase. Neutral fans were delighted; partisan supporters watched nervously.
"Kevin De Bruyne's curled ground pass!"
"Balotelli's low drive!"
"Ah! So close. The ball brushed the post."
"Balotelli wasted De Bruyne's exquisite pass. De Bruyne's ground run earlier would have bent — amazing."
"Look, Real's counterattack!"
"Kaká's breaking through!"
"De Bruyne was beaten, Arteta was beaten, that white-horse-saddled boy — he's back."
"Santi Cazorla makes a sliding tackle!"
"That slide was perfectly timed."
"Kaká after his major surgery can still make such a breakthrough — a tremendous performance."
"Cristiano helped Kaká to his feet off the turf; the two of them touched foreheads and were discussing something."
"Fans, Kaká has broken through and Cazorla slid — Real win a free kick just to the right of the box. From here you can shoot directly. Cristiano and Kaká are discussing how to take this free kick."
"There's gossip the relationship between the two goes beyond ordinary friendship, and rumors that Cristiano found his current girlfriend in the mold of Kaká's style."
(Note: Cristiano Ronaldo's current girlfriend is Georgina Rodríguez.)
"Watch out! Cristiano is taking the free kick — Arsenal must be careful. From this spot Cristiano has a direct-goal record."
"Cristiano's free kicks rely on power to produce miracles, often an unpredictable knuckleball; very dangerous."
"Cristiano shoots directly — the ball sails over the crossbar."
"Cristiano, having missed the free kick, made an apologetic gesture toward Kaká — maybe Kaká wanted to take it."
"..."
"..."
"Santi Cazorla threads it to Xia Qi. Xia Qi runs laterally all the way in — no cross! …cuts inside."
"Shot!"
"A Quasi-curved arc!"
"Diego López saves! He pushed away Xia Qi's outside-of-the-foot shot."
"Xia Qi's outside-of-the-foot quasi-curve — look, my goosebumps stood up."
"A very fine shot, but Diego López's miraculous save won out."
Diego López rolled the ball out from his goal.
Xabi Alonso received and prepared to feed Cristiano, who was already sprinting on the right, but Mikel Arteta slid in and snatched the ball to Kevin De Bruyne in the middle.
"After the second half began, Arsenal pressed ferociously — this Arsenal is becoming unfamiliar, and thankfully it's evolving for the better."
When De Bruyne received the ball, Xia Qi immediately made a diagonal run into the box from the right; Balotelli also smartly vacated space and ghosted toward Real's near post.
Of course he lurked beside the defender, ready to dart for a run and avoid offside to attack the far post.
All of this happened in the instant De Bruyne controlled the ball.
De Bruyne didn't trap it; meeting the rolling ball he flicked it with the outside of his foot.
The ball arced beautifully over Casemiro's head toward Real's penalty area.
"Beautiful interplay."
"Player to player — De Bruyne and Xia Qi exploited the weakness of Real being a man down."
Seeing Xia Qi suddenly in front of him Pepe panicked a little; the sight also made Diego López's hair stand on end.
Others would just praise his miraculous save, but that earlier save was pure luck — a blind cat catching a dead mouse by chance.
But Xia Qi's shot is no fluke, so how could Diego López not be alarmed?
Diego López shouted loudly: "Close him down, don't let him strike!"
"Where are the rest!? Get back! Get back!"
Actually there was no need to shout —
As Xia Qi entered the box, Pepe recklessly rushed at him, and others were converging too.
If Alonso had been able to pass out earlier it would have been Real attacking, so the defensive gaps were somewhat open.
Pepe, charging toward Xia Qi, saw Xia Qi winding up for a driven shot and thought: "a bicycle-wheel blast!"
He immediately braked, hands bracing his thighs, ready to block a thunderous hit.
However,
Pepe's reaction was exactly what Al-Xia Qi wanted.
Pepe braked hard; Xia Qi raised his right foot high and lightly placed it down to the left side of the ball. The outside of his right foot brushed it; his body changed direction and he chased the rolling ball, toes pointed, body again reorienting.
A flowing sequence of moves completed,
and Pepe was already behind Xia Qi.
"One-on-one!"
"Xia Qi slips past Pepe."
In the box, Ramos hesitated for 0.01 seconds, swung an arm to ward off Mario Balotelli who was trying to mark him, and charged at Xia Qi.
Diego López came off his line toward Xia Qi.
"Diego López rushes out."
"Ramos tracks back."
"Goooooooooal!"
Over twenty thousand Arsenal fans shouted: "Goal!"
Surrounded by Diego López and Ramos, Xia Qi had only a tiny angle to shoot.
Diego López, having rushed out, breathed out and silently applauded Ramos for closing the gate with him.
They judged the defense was safe!
This was the joint assessment of Diego López and Ramos.
In a flash, Xia Qi rolled the ball and shoved it forward.
The ball threaded between Ramos' legs.
In an instant,
Ramos' mind went blank with a ringing noise; he knew Balotelli was behind him!
He hoped Balotelli was in an offside position.
But Balotelli's football IQ was high — when Ramos lunged at Xia Qi, Balotelli ran back, staying in line with Ramos.
Xia Qi played a small pocket pass; Balotelli timed his run to beat the offside trap.
The two combined exquisitely inside Real's box.
Balotelli got to the ball and pushed it into the empty net.
"Nooo! Offside!"
"Balotelli is offside."
Ramos ran to shout at the referee.
The referee ignored him and decisively blew his whistle for a valid goal, signaling with his hand in the circle.
"Arsenal crafted a brilliant move in the final third — De Bruyne to Xia Qi; Xia Qi acted as the decoy to draw out Ramos and Diego López, and Balotelli finished into the empty net."
"Fourth goal! 0:4! Arsenal have leveled the aggregate to 5:5! But Real Madrid still have one more away goal — Arsenal still need one more goal to advance."
"From five goals down to one, tonight's Arsenal are playing with the aura of Premier League champions. Looking at Real, they've been far less impressive, and of course that's partly because Coentrão was sent off too early."
In the stands, Arsenal players sang the club song… The scorer Balotelli mimicked Xia Qi's earliest goal by not celebrating.
He walked coldly to the center circle.
Just as everyone gave him a thumbs-up for his icy-manager vibe, he clutched his stomach and collapsed laughing on the ground…
The crowd and viewers at home couldn't help but laugh too…
Online:
"The Bernabéu is about to witness an epic comeback — the Bernabéu disaster."
"I watched the whole match on my knees."
"The match isn't over yet — what if our Champions League comeback king — President Ronaldo — scores?"
"Kid, whether Cristiano scores or not is secondary — the key question is whether Arsenal can score more."
"How can that be secondary? If the President scores, doesn't that kill the comeback early?"
"Haha, your math was taught by a PE teacher."
"Fact-check: this Ronaldo fan either doesn't understand football or doesn't understand math."
"What????"
"He hasn't worked it out."
"Right now the aggregate is 5:5 with Real having five away goals and Arsenal four. If Cristiano and Xia Qi each score one, the aggregate becomes 6:6 with away goals equal, which would force extra time and penalties.
So for Real to eliminate Arsenal, they don't necessarily need to score again — they only need to maintain the current score to full time. Thus Cristiano scoring is less important; the key is whether Arsenal can score in the remaining half hour."
"Real still have the advantage."
"Yes, Real have the initiative — from a big lead down to a marginal advantage."
…
The Bernabéu turned into a sea of red; the white sections were gloomy and listless…
Real's players were similarly flat.
At that moment a No.7 stood up and faced the white stands, waving his arms to rally the flagging Real fans.
Though demanding, Real fans responded to Cristiano — for a while the Bernabéu roared again.
This move was effective; the dispirited Real squad quickly regained spirit.
However, Arsenal's momentum had already been sparked.
Play resumed.
Real kicked off but Arsenal immediately intercepted.
Arteta collected the ball and, before Real could counter-press, passed back to Xia Qi who had dropped to receive.
"Xia Qi's range of movement is wide — tonight he plays more like a front-line libero."
Arteta's pass was a bit soft. Xia Qi and Kaká arrived at the ball almost simultaneously.
Xia Qi's longer stride won him the ball just ahead of Kaká; he used a Marseille-turn spin to evade Kaká's challenge.
"Nice!"
"An artful dribble — Arsenal launch a counterattack."
"Defense isn't Kaká's strongest suit, and he's had major surgery."
"Another turnover in transition — Real's midfield, a man short, is a bit weak."
Xia Qi drove forward on the right; Real's defense naturally shifted toward him.
But at the moment they swarmed Xia Qi, he passed — the ball flew across the field to the left flank.
"Xia Qi's vision is broad — he spotted Luke Shaw on the other side."
Luke Shaw received and decisively bombed forward, carrying into Real's penalty area.
"Feels like since Wenger bought Xia Qi he's become more adventurous — new tactics keep appearing; fullbacks have been pushed forward. The last time Arsenal played like this was in the Henry–Pires era."
Shaw's forward run was like a dagger into Real's heart; the defense had to reallocate.
Shaw then played a reverse triangle pass to the edge of the box.
There stood a man overlooked by Real's defense, poised with bow drawn!
Kevin De Bruyne!
An unappreciated superstar.
In an instant the stadium thundered with Real fans' gasps.
Under the shocked gaze of Real supporters, De Bruyne struck a low drive.
Xia Qi in the box sprang high and let the ball roll beneath his feet.
His leap deceived Pepe marking him.
Pepe jumped with Xia Qi, and when Pepe realized Xia Qi's intent his face went crimson.
Their sudden jump also confused Diego López.
By the time he understood and tried to save, it was too late — the ball slipped past him and nestled in the net.
"A low-driven strike!"
"De Bruyne scores the decisive goal!"
"The Champions League has four in the semi-finals, three salute my emperor."
"Arsenal have completed the impossible at the Bernabéu — in just 75 minutes they've scored five goals. The aggregate is now 5:6! If Arsenal can hold this score to the end, they will be the ones to advance to the final."
"If that happens, they will be recorded in history; this night will become legend."
On the other side of the pitch, a white-shirted No.7 emitted an almost invisible magnetic aura…
"Ding dong — detected that an opponent has triggered the King of Adversity attribute; re-matching attributes for the host…"
Holy shit!
There are cockroaches in Real that just won't die!
The match has only just begun! (END CHAPTER)
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