I Am Scouted by Real Madrid-Chapter 459 - 80: Irreplaceable

The entire stadium was in an uproar.

When Messi fell inside Real Madrid’s penalty area, Barcelona supporters all instinctively stretched their arms and shouted loudly, "Penalty, penalty!"

While Real Madrid supporters angrily shouted back, "Dive, dive."

All eyes were focused on the referee, Mejuto Gonzalez. Would this referee, who just helped Pique avoid a yellow card, assist Barcelona in getting a penalty?

No one knew.

However, Mejuto Gonzalez merely glanced at Messi, who had fallen inside the penalty area, without any intention of blowing the whistle or issuing a card, leaving Barcelona players dissatisfied.

After kicking the ball out of bounds, they all surrounded the referee to demand an explanation.

"That’s a penalty!"

"That was definitely a foul."

"We deserve a penalty! Are you blind?" Even those who tried to be more polite sounded unpleasant due to their flushed faces and elevated voices.

The referee waved his finger, indicating it wasn’t a penalty. Of course, strictly speaking, it was a matter of judgment, just like Pique’s handball earlier, subject to the referee’s subjective perception.

If the referee thought Albiol touched the ball first and then brought down Messi, then nothing. If he thought Albiol touched Messi first and then the ball, that’s a penalty. If Albiol touched the ball first and Messi "dived," then Messi gets a yellow card.

Without video review, it mainly depended on the referee’s "subjective perception." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Pellegrini stood on the sidelines with a grin, relieved there wasn’t a penalty. Francisco reminded him, "If it’s not a penalty, can’t Messi be punished for diving? Then he’d get a yellow card."

A sudden realization hit him.

The importance of this match was self-evident. As long as they defeated Barcelona, Real Madrid would almost ensure a league championship.

Pellegrini immediately rushed to the sideline, waving his right hand and shouting, "Dive, that’s a dive, he should get a yellow card!"

Not far away, Guardiola watched Pellegrini’s sudden outburst and touched his bald head, while the fourth official and the referee ignored Pellegrini. After a couple of shouts, Pellegrini quieted down.

This scene was captured on camera, providing fans with plenty to talk about.

"No penalty awarded!"

"Barcelona players are unhappy."

"They’re surrounding the referee to demand an explanation."

"This play was a matter of judgment."

"But maybe the referee was trying to balance out the earlier call!"

The commentator muttered to himself, and the camera just happened to show the referee, who at that moment looked at Chen Zhong in the distance, sparking countless fans’ imaginations. Later on, there were even memes of Mejuto Gonzalez gazing at Chen Zhong, shouting, "I don’t owe you anymore."

The match continued, and Barcelona, feeling wronged, evidently played with a simmering frustration. This directly led to a slight increase in their passing speed and frequency during attacks.

Faced with a Barcelona with a "rage boost," Real Madrid clearly lacked coordination.

"Barcelona’s attack."

"Series of passes."

"Messi!"

"Even under Chen Zhong’s defense, he managed to pass the ball."

"Pedro!"

"Alonso."

A piercing whistle sounded, Alonso climbed up from the ground, glanced at Pedro, and walked away. Pedro gritted his teeth on the ground for a while, then looked pitifully at the referee.

The referee pursed his lips and showed Alonso a yellow card.

"That was clearly looking for a foul."

"Alonso fell for it."

"Oh Dragon! (nickname)"

"A yellow card in the 9th minute."

"Be careful with your actions from now on."

"Barcelona’s free kick."

Pellegrini paced on the sideline irritably; getting a yellow card at this point could lead to later problems.

His eyes scanned the bench, considering who to substitute in and when.

Barcelona quickly took the free kick; they played a short pass, Xavi received the ball, just as he was about to turn, he sensed a surge from the side.

The next moment, he felt as if he was "carried" away.

Confusion was written all over Xavi’s face.

The spectators in the stands saw it clearly, though. Chen Zhong anticipated the ball’s trajectory, started early, and used his backside to lift Xavi.

Xavi, weighing only 60 kilograms, was not much of a "burden" for Chen Zhong.

After securing the ball, Chen Zhong made a long pass, aiming for C. Ronaldo, who started jogging. C. Ronaldo quickly judged the ball’s landing point, controlling it beautifully, causing fans to erupt in applause.

At this time, C. Ronaldo’s old rival Pique appeared on the scene as well.

With a sidelong glance, C. Ronaldo noticed Pique. He looked at the penalty area not far away and sped forward. Then, just as Pique stretched out his leg, C. Ronaldo performed a sudden "dive," but Pique seemingly predicted this old friend’s trick and retracting his leg was the real move.