I Am Scouted by Real Madrid-Chapter 421 - 61: Eat, Sleep, Defeat Atletico Madrid (Part 2)
Facing Fernando’s counter-snatch, Chen Zhong didn’t rashly pass the ball out, because Atlético Madrid players were poised along his line, waiting for Chen Zhong to deliver the ball.
"Simão lost the ball!"
"Real Madrid’s counterattack." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
"Chen Zhong is advancing with the ball through the midfield."
"Fernando attempts to snatch the ball from Chen Zhong’s feet."
"But he fails."
"Chen Zhong firmly protects the ball under his feet as he moves forward."
Flores pursed his lips; he now despised Chen Zhong because, like his players, he couldn’t grasp Chen Zhong’s intentions. Chen Zhong was no longer the player he used to know.
The old Chen Zhong, as soon as he got the ball, would immediately pass it to more creative players. His every action had a traceable pattern.
But now, it’s hard to guess what Chen Zhong is really thinking.
What’s more frustrating is that he always does things that catch you off guard, as if his way of thinking is different from ordinary people, or perhaps it’s too calm.
Just like the recent encounter with De Gea.
Normal players might choose to shoot directly, to take a gamble!
But Chen Zhong could accurately observe his teammates’ positions, as if he had some kind of omniscient view, and he precisely poked the ball forward, assisting his teammate to score.
This kind of calmness and vision sends chills down one’s spine.
So what does Chen Zhong want to do now?
He has already crossed the midfield with the ball, not fast, but each step is firm.
While Fernando, next to him, cannot, no matter what, take the ball from Chen Zhong’s feet; Chen Zhong’s ball protection ability is not something Fernando can shake, and the other Atlético Madrid players remain indifferent within their defensive zones.
Faced with this situation, Fernando can only grit his teeth and persist, having to keep someone close to Chen Zhong; compared to Aguero, the 180CM tall Fernando is evidently the better choice.
The two of them tangled from Real Madrid’s half into Atlético Madrid’s half, and finally, Atlético Madrid’s players could no longer sit idly as Chen Zhong was a few steps away from reaching his heavy cannon’s range.
It’s known that De Gea was once blasted to drop the ball by Chen Zhong’s shot.
They certainly didn’t want to give Chen Zhong enough opportunity to test how steady De Gea’s hands are now.
And when the Atlético Madrid players started moving, Chen Zhong also came to a sudden stop, then lifted his butt slightly to push Fernando a bit away, then posed as if he were going to pass the ball.
This immediately threw the Atlético Madrid players, who were already a bit restless, into chaos, quickly locking onto their nearby targets, such as C. Ronaldo or Negredo.
However, Chen Zhong did not intend to pass at all; he pushed Fernando, who first made contact, to the ground again with his arm, then tapped the ball forward, advancing once more towards Atlético Madrid’s goal!
The Atlético Madrid fans in the stands rose, expressing their dissatisfaction with boos, and also to pressure the referee, as if to say!
Did you see that?
Did you see it!
He shoved Fernando to the ground!
But the referee saw it clearly, and the cameras also clearly recorded it; it was Fernando who initiated contact by pulling at Chen Zhong. In this situation, if a defensive player makes the first move, the attacking player, as long as they don’t hit the face or kick the groin.
Even accidentally hitting the face might not be penalized.
Chen Zhong merely engaged in normal physical confrontation!
Fernando couldn’t hold his ground, which means he still needs more training.
"Fernando fell to the ground."
"Chen Zhong tapped the ball."
"Quick advance!"
"This is a rather rare scene."
A small "prairie" emerged in the middle of Atlético Madrid, and after "pushing down" Fernando, Chen Zhong took two taps forward, quickly arriving at the edge of the penalty area.
At this point, Atlético Madrid’s players encircled in.
Facing Atlético Madrid’s encirclement, Chen Zhong posed as if he wanted to pass, then immediately followed with a shooting gesture.
The two consecutive fakes made Chen Zhong appear to jerk, but Atlético Madrid’s players followed suit, each making various moves.
Either stretching out a leg, or standing like a golden rooster.
And when Chen Zhong saw Atlético Madrid’s players standing like a golden rooster, he cut the ball, creating a space, a path unblocked by any player.
Then, he took the shot!
Heavy cannon!
"Bang!"
A muffled sound echoed across the pitch, like a heavy hammer pounding on the chest of Atlético Madrid’s players.
The ball was like a missile, precisely targeting the top corner of the goal, blasting in with a powerful strike.
De Gea managed only to glance, with no time to react.
"Pass? No. Shot? Not that either!"
"Cut the ball, then!"
"Take the shot!"
"It’s in!!!"
"0:2"
"Chen Zhong!"
"What are Atlético Madrid’s players doing!"
"The first half hasn’t even finished, and Real Madrid is already two goals ahead."
"This is the fourth encounter between Chen Zhong and Atlético Madrid, and in these four matches, Chen Zhong has scored 5-6 goals."
"De Gea stands in front of the goal looking as if he hasn’t recovered from conceding a goal."
"He obviously didn’t expect his teammates to allow Chen Zhong to advance from their own half all the way to the edge of the penalty area."
"And then outside the penalty area, he found space and used a powerful shot to break his goal."
"This is clearly an abnormal situation."
"It seems Atlético Madrid has caught Chen-phobia."
"They need to think of a way."
Not only did the commentator realize this issue, but Atlético Madrid’s Flores also realized it. His players seemed a bit hesitant when facing Chen Zhong.
Aguero became "mediocre", Fernando became "fragile", attacks became monotonous, defense became "weak".
Was Atlético Madrid like this initially?
Obviously not.
But Chen Zhong won almost every physical confrontation, they suffered from Chen Zhong’s tackles, suffered from his long shots, and were even knocked over by him.
Especially Aguero, initially, he was the least convinced by Chen Zhong, but during their first encounter, in the washroom, while rinsing and noticing the bruises on his body.
He realized what this man had done to him.
And during the second, third, fourth encounters, Aguero’s concern about Chen Zhong shot up exponentially.
Atlético Madrid’s fans, Atlético Madrid’s players, Atlético Madrid’s coach!
They watched Chen Zhong in that white jersey, watched him slide across the turf on his way to the corner flag, then punch the air amid the boos, showcasing his number and name.
In their hearts, a few more shades of gloom emerged.
And in the stands, Atlético Madrid’s executives wore similarly gloomy expressions, feeling an urge to change coaches.
And they had someone in mind, that "rogue" coach from Argentina, or the "Rogue Handsome", Diego Simeone!
Yet they hadn’t mustered the determination to replace Flores.
Flores paced back and forth on the sidelines, no matter how he adjusted, how he shouted at his players, how he encouraged their fighting spirit, the players seemed unable to lift their spirits.
At this moment, a dazed Flores seemed to realize that the Atlético Madrid he coached had been broken by Real Madrid.
This wasn’t about a single game.
But many, many, many games.
Atlético Madrid, whether in city derbies, the King’s Cup, Champions League.
No matter what competition, whether they started with a lead, or whatever.
They haven’t secured victory against Real Madrid, long accumulated over time.
During the remaining minutes at the Estadio Vicente Calderón, Flores chose to defend stubbornly.
And this also set the stage for his departure.
The final score was 0:2
No one believed Atlético Madrid could reverse the score at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, defeat Real Madrid, win, enter the finals, and then take the King’s Cup championship.
And Flores, at the post-match press conference, when asked by reporters if Pellegrini’s tactics suppressed his, bluntly said: "Our tactics have no superiority or inferiority, the only issue is he leads Real Madrid, while I lead Atlético Madrid."
"I didn’t lose to Pellegrini."
"But to... Real Madrid with Chen."
