I Am Scouted by Real Madrid-Chapter 463 - 82: Full-Throttle Charge

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

The exclamations at that moment reached a peak decibel level.

Alves, who had just taken down Marcelo, was still unaware of what he was about to face and was slowing down his steps, trying to control the ball at his feet.

Then seek an opportunity!

In the next moment, a massive force came from behind him. Chen Zhong, sprinting at full speed with no reduction, "swept past" him. Alves flew sideways, his waist and legs pulled upward, and the ball was kicked directly out of bounds by Chen Zhong.

This scene left the spectators utterly shocked. If not looked at closely, one might think Chen Zhong directly kicked Alves over.

At this moment, Barcelona fans partly surrounded Chen Zhong, and another part gathered around the main referee to apply pressure.

"That move was obvious."

"It was to retaliate for Alves’s foul on Marcelo."

"We can see from the slow-motion replay that Chen Zhong was clearly intentional."

"But he did indeed touch the ball first."

In the footage, Alves slowed down his steps when he wanted to catch up to the ball and gain control. He might have wanted to drag the time then, but Chen Zhong turned into a "wind," almost causing Alves to rotate 360° in mid-air. Everyone could clearly see Alves’s airborne maneuver and side flip.

According to netizens, it was like getting hit from behind with a leg sweep of immense power.

From a personal perspective, it was undoubtedly a premeditated, intentional "collision," but from a technical standpoint, Chen Zhong touched the ball first, then his knee hit Alves’s leg, and from behind he lifted him progressively, leading to him arching backward, taking off, and falling down.

The main referee, Mejuto Gonzalez, struggled to get out from among the excited Barcelona players and approached Chen Zhong. Under the eager eyes of the Barcelona players, he hesitated for a moment before saying, "You need to pay attention to your actions."

"The intent of that move was too strong."

"If you continue to make such moves, I will give you a card warning."

"Okay," Chen Zhong nodded and said, "but if they continue with the kind of moves on Marcelo, I will respond."

The main referee glanced without saying anything further. For retaliatory "fouls" like this, the main referee typically has two choices: either issue a card, meaning it’s over, or give a verbal warning, telling the player not to do it again.

And he was obviously the latter.

The Barcelona players also heard these words. Some players still wanted to say something, but they were pulled back by their teammates.

They knew Xavi got a yellow card for protesting, so they didn’t want another card from protesting while Chen Zhong didn’t get a yellow card.

Ziglinsky was also watching from the crowd. As one of the tallest players on the team, he didn’t know why when Chen Zhong’s gaze swept over like a knife, he couldn’t help but shrink his neck.

Now, in Ziglinsky’s eyes, Chen Zhong seemed to emit an unsettling aura, but fortunately, the first half of the match soon ended.

The main referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the first half, and the teams entered halftime with a score of 1:1.

This result matched most people’s expectations, after all, one side had spent 300 million Euros and was advancing strongly in all competitions this season—Real Madrid; the other side had just won the "six trophies" and Messi had been crowned with the Ballon d’Or.

Anyway, it looked like a well-matched, exciting battle.

Neither side winning would be surprising; even a draw could be acceptable.

During halftime, the atmosphere in the dressing rooms of the two teams was completely different. Guardiola was gesturing animatedly in front of the tactics board, explaining tactics, and the focus of his tactics was only one thing: Messi, Messi, Messi.

Give the ball to Messi, and then use Messi’s individual abilities to break through Real Madrid’s defense.

He didn’t deliberately discuss Chen Zhong’s issues because he knew the team couldn’t think about how to restrict Chen Zhong, as there was simply no way to restrict a "free" midfielder in such a position.

At just 18, with a calm demeanor, abundant stamina, strong ball protection, precise long and short passes, a heavy cannon shot, and unafraid of body confrontation.

This kind of player is simply another "Messi"!

But Guardiola still had a strong desire for victory.

What about the Bernabeu? What about Real Madrid? Only by winning would they have a chance to continue contending for the league title.

In the Real Madrid dressing room, Pellegrini’s gestures and facial expressions were much more relaxed. After all, in his view, the current situation was advantageous for them; they were leading in the league standings, and the league only had a few rounds left.

Unless they lost the rest of their matches, they could hardly lose the already-in-hand title.

Pellegrini at this moment demonstrated his two different characters from Guardiola. Guardiola only wanted victory, but Pellegrini thought that at home, not losing was good enough.

This mindset wouldn’t be an issue if he were an ordinary coach.

But this is the Bernabeu, and the team he leads is Real Madrid, while the opponent is Barcelona.