CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER 1: MESSI

Gonzalez, who had suffered a serious injury before, unconsciously touched his previously injured leg and looked at Chen Zhong with a hint of fear even he didn’t realize.

"A familiar taste, a familiar formula."

"Chen Zhong, it’s Chen Zhong again!"

"His ironclad defensive style is loved by many fans."

"This tackle was extremely clean, both in timing and execution."

"Oh~ without hesitation, he directly chose a long pass and sent the ball to the front field."

"Saviola!"

"The Rabbit caught that long pass."

"A quick counterattack from Real Madrid."

The Rabbit Saviola, facing a not-so-great pass, used his excellent ball control skills to "tame" it. Under pressure from Betis players, he first flicked the ball, then completed a turn while separating himself from the ball, and quickly advanced towards Betis’ penalty area.

"Flashy." Schuster frowned. Saviola’s moves were too flashy. If he had used simpler actions, he wouldn’t have been caught so easily by Betis’ defending player just like now: "Go on, go on, be tougher, you little rabbit."

Schuster still had expectations for Saviola, but when faced with a normal physical confrontation from Betis players, Saviola exaggeratedly fell to the ground just as he stepped into the penalty area.

Lying on the ground, Saviola was the first to look up at the referee, and his eyes seemed to be shouting: "Foul! Foul!"

"Damn fool!" Schuster’s impression of Saviola immediately took a hit: "What on earth is going on in his head?"

The referee obviously wouldn’t be fooled by Saviola’s poor acting and didn’t even give him a yellow card for diving, which was already lenient.

In this game, Real Madrid’s defense appeared very solid.

Pepe, Torres, Diara, and Heinze formed a defensive system around Chen Zhong.

In the 6th minute, Torres forced the Betis player towards Pepe. Chen Zhong was calling out for Diara to back him up, while when Pepe actively went for the tackle, he covered Pepe’s position. Pepe completed the interception and passed the ball to a teammate, initiating another quick counterattack.

Unfortunately, after Saviola received the ball, he failed to seize the opportunity. Facing the Betis players’ pressing, he hastily squandered the shot.

"Damn." Schuster couldn’t help but glance at Robben. Saviola’s dribbling skills and speed were good, but he was too weak in physical confrontations, almost like he would fall at a slight touch.

After experiencing Saviola’s "softness" two or three times, the players on the field also adjusted their strategy. In the 16th minute, Chen Zhong directed Pepe to go for the tackle, Pepe completed the interception, passed the ball to Chen Zhong, who then passed it to Sneijder. Sneijder, upon receiving the ball, made a long pass from the midfield.

This long pass was much better than Chen Zhong’s. It guided Raul’s positioning, allowing him to run into the open space.

The Betis player on the sideline wanted to intercept, but after a slight adjustment, Raul unleashed a powerful shot, the ball rocketed like a missile, piercing through everything and crashing into the net.

"Beautiful!!"

"So beautiful!!!"

"Raul!"

"With a powerful shot, he opens the scoring for Real Madrid."

"This season, his form has been so good. Under Schuster, he’s been rejuvenated!"

1:0

Real Madrid takes the lead.

Raul kissed the wedding ring on his hand as he ran towards the corner flag, and the Merengue in the stands applauded him generously.

"Good, good, good!" Schuster laughed heartily on the sidelines, then looked at Francisco with a hint of pride in his eyes, as if to say, see, I told you we could easily beat Betis!

Francisco returned Schuster’s look with a glance that seemed to say, look how smug you are.

Compared to their little exchange, Cooper’s expression wasn’t great. He was shouting loudly from the sideline, signaling the team to focus more and launch a fierce offensive to strive for an early equalizer.

Real Betis players, listening to their coach’s call, were full of question marks. Even though they were also crowned with the royal title, in reality, they were just a small club, a people’s team!

Yes, the team’s upper management had ambitions and once spent lavishly in the 90s to introduce superstars, but didn’t we fail then?

Are you sure you want us to actively attack against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium now?

After receiving a positive response, Betis could only start actively pressing under the coach’s gaze.

Their pressing quickly paid off. In the 37th minute, Real Madrid launched a counterattack. Heinze, after receiving a pass from Chen Zhong, sprinted forward on the left flank and finally delivered a diagonal long pass to Higuain. Higuain leapt high, nodding the ball to Raul, who shot low from the right at 12 yards, breaking through Betis’ goal once again.

The white fans in the stands turned into a sea of joy, and the entire Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was filled with the cheers of the Merengue.

By this point in the match, there was no suspense left, with Real Madrid completely in control, and Schuster was visibly more relaxed.