CHAPTER 147: CHAPTER 49: YOU... YOU’RE BULLYING ME! (SUPER LONG CHAPTER)

The ball rebounded, and Puyol scrambled to nudge it aside, while Abidal powerfully kicked the ball out of bounds.

The Merengue fans in the stands regretfully sighed, "Ah, too bad."

"Chen’s header was just too straight!"

"If that ball had gone in, it would’ve been perfect."

The Barcelona fans, however, let out a long sigh of relief, "Almost got scored on by that guy."

"It would’ve been different if Messi could play."

"When did he show up in the penalty area?"

Chen Zhong waved his fist in frustration, then gave a thumbs up to Sneijder. Marcelo ran over to offer comfort, but was repelled by Chen Zhong’s gaze. Did he look like someone who needed comfort?

"This was the most dangerous attack by Real Madrid in the first half."

"Also the first shot on target by both teams."

"The first 15 minutes of the game were all about mutual pressure and tight marking."

Rijkaard loudly called from the sidelines, realizing that relying solely on Ronaldinho would hardly pose a real threat to Real Madrid, so he chose to sacrifice Eto’o a bit, making him Ronaldinho’s wingman on the flank.

Ronaldinho and Eto’o kept executing one-two passes that frustrated Ramos even more, and during one attack, Eto’o received the ball and didn’t pass back to Ronaldinho but instead tried a shot from the left side of the box, hoping for some luck.

However, just as the ball left his foot, it was immediately blocked by Chen Zhong’s outstretched long leg.

"It’s already the 30th minute of the match."

"The passing success rate for both teams hasn’t exceeded 80%."

"This is quite rare for both teams."

"It also proves the intensity of their midfield battles."

"Rarely does a Derby see so many fouls, rarely do we see both teams not having a shot in the first 10 minutes."

"This is the result of continuous scrambling and disruption by both sides, as well as a highly concentrated defensive focus."

No side could organize a fluent attack on the pitch; the most present elements were interceptions, passing, interceptions, passing, interceptions, and passing, with the ball possession changing at a dizzying pace, even Chen Zhong’s passes were intercepted multiple times.

It wasn’t that Chen Zhong wasn’t calm; it was truly because the space, range, and number of people were too overwhelming, and both teams frequently performed sliding tackles.

"Robinho!" Schuster finally couldn’t hold back and loudly called out to Robinho from the sidelines, "Move your legs, move your mind, break through, I need you to make a breakthrough."

Robinho was once nicknamed the "Bike Kid."

In the early part of the season, it was common to see Robinho break through, but recently, for some reason, he seemed to dislike breaking through in matches?

Real Madrid was the first to change tactics, and when Chen Zhong got the ball, he collided with Yaya Toure again. Toure’s body was very strong, but Chen Zhong maintained his balance.

He passed the ball to Marcelo on the wing and pointed to Robinho. Marcelo, after receiving the ball, passed it to Robinho, while leaping to avoid Eto’o’s sliding tackle.

After receiving the ball, Robinho quickly cut in from the left, and Puyol intercepted him like a starving lion from the front.

With Schuster’s approval, Robinho quickly started his bike-stepping technique, then chose a side to break through, Puyol responded swiftly, decisively sticking close.

Robinho fell to the ground, the referee blew the whistle, and reached into his pocket. Puyol raised his hand in innocence, angrily yelling to the referee, "I didn’t touch him, he fell on his own."

However, the referee remained unmoved, pulling out a yellow card and noting Puyol’s name.

This was also the first yellow card of the match, and seeing the game getting increasingly heated, the referee attempted to cool down both teams’ overheated brains by showing cards.

"Good, yes, just like that." Schuster nodded in satisfaction. Could Robinho break into the box and score a solo goal?

Maybe he could, maybe not, but that didn’t matter, what Schuster wanted was for him to muddy the waters, to bring more variations to Real Madrid’s attacks, and simultaneously create some fouls to gain free kicks or even penalty opportunities.

This is also a kind of tactic, and this is also contributing to the team.

Sneijder stood before the ball again, with Chen Zhong still outside the box, and this time Yaya Toure stayed specifically beside him, as Barcelona was clearly anxious about Chen Zhong’s previous header.

"You think I don’t know what you’re up to?"

"Don’t even think about it." Yaya Toure’s expression was firm, glaring at Chen Zhong with eyes like bronze bells, the two had several physical contests in this match, and overall, neither had absolute dominance.

"Then you better keep up." Chen Zhong replied before slowly moving towards the penalty area, with Yaya Toure closely following him.

Sneijder’s cross was very tricky, with a very strange arc in the air. This led Valverde, who decided to abandon the goal and attempt to catch the ball, to misjudge its landing point.

"Over here!" Yaya Toure called out urgently. Just a moment ago, Chen Zhong’s sleek S-turn, along with an unexpected bump, put Yaya Toure in a disadvantaged position; he couldn’t push Chen Zhong away, who had firmly locked his position.