I Am Scouted by Real Madrid
Chapter 603 - 56: What? Chen!? (2)
"Did you hear that? Angel."
Di María looked at Mourinho, speechless for a long time.
If he followed Mourinho’s instructions, it would definitely lead to chaos on the field, and Messi, his national teammate, might even be at risk of injury.
Di María was very worried that Messi might get injured, but having watched this match from the bench, he was very clear that this was a pinnacle showdown, with both teams fiercely competing.
Whether it was Real Madrid or Barcelona, both were at their peak in terms of momentum and state, and if they could defeat their opponent at this moment, it would impact the opponent’s "invincible momentum."
Di María understood he had no choice but to live up to the jersey he wore, so he nodded and agreed to Mourinho’s request.
"The second half of the match is about to begin."
"The players from both teams are returning to the field."
"The Barcelona fans in the stands have gradually calmed down."
"Real Madrid made the first substitution."
"Di María replaced Negredo."
"It seems Mourinho has some ideas."
This led to some chaos on the field, to some extent. Sometimes, I worry that my teammates might accidentally injure Messi, and my biggest concern is whether he will get hurt."
In the second half, as soon as the match started, both teams fought fiercely in the midfield. After a period of halftime rest, the Barcelona players immediately increased the intensity against Real Madrid.
Marcelo was somewhat unprepared for this, and under pressure, even his cooperation with Kaka resulted in mistakes.
"Marcelo holds the ball on the flank."
"Pass the ball!"
"A mistake."
"Rapid passing coordination."
"Messi gets the ball!"
Having rested well, Messi’s acceleration was swift, and Chen Zhong was momentarily outpaced by Messi, who charged all the way to the top of the penalty arc, while Di María came in from the side and chose to slide tackle directly.
Messi was somewhat unprepared for this, but still managed to pass the ball out.
Pedro received the ball in the penalty area, and facing the pressure from Real Madrid players, he backheeled the ball to the advancing Villa, who tried to shoot from a tight angle.
And just then, Chen Zhong came out of nowhere.
Pedro’s shot bounced off Chen Zhong’s long leg and was easily collected by Casillas.
"I’m sorry." Di María looked at Messi and said in a low voice, "If I didn’t interfere, you would have scored."
"I have no choice..."
Di María said to Messi, with a determined look in his eyes, he couldn’t let Barcelona easily break through their defense, even if it was Messi...
Messi looked at Di María, with countless words stuck in his heart, yet he didn’t know what to say.
In the first half, under Chen Zhong’s man-marking, he had barely any chance to perform, and in the second half, he finally seized an opportunity while Chen Zhong was caught off guard.
Only to be tackled by Di María, his Argentine compatriot and old teammate...
Can’t you have a little faith in your captain! With him marking me, you see I still dribble like magic!
"Whoa."
"Di María’s slide tackle showed no mercy at all!"
"They are teammates in the Argentina National Team!"
"Messi seems quite surprised by Di María’s action."
The match continued.
After this threatening attack from Barcelona, Chen Zhong once again stuck close to Messi, who turned to look at Chen Zhong with a socially anxious yet awkward smile.
"Ryo." Chen Zhong said softly, "I will stick to you tightly from now on."
"Chen." Messi looked at Chen Zhong and said, "You don’t have to do this." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
The star players of Real Madrid and Barcelona were chatting there, while the players of both teams began surrounding and contesting around them.
In the 49th minute of the match, Busquets suddenly dribbled forward.
This action was absolutely rare.
It also caused some tension in Real Madrid’s defense line. In the end, it was Alonso who tripped Busquets from behind.
In the stands, Barcelona fans expressed their displeasure with jeers and shouts, and if the chief referee showed no reaction this time, they might even have an illusion of rushing down.
And the referee, without hesitation, showed a yellow card to Alonso as a warning, which Alonso didn’t dispute; it was a clearly intentional tactical foul.
The match continued, with Messi and Chen Zhong still entwined there, while the players of both teams started to create undercurrents.
"Barcelona’s ball control."
"They’ve been patiently controlling the ball during this period."
"Dominating the rhythm of the match."
"Real Madrid is different in this aspect."
"Obviously, the entanglement between Chen Zhong and Messi has a greater impact on Real Madrid."
"After all, Chen Zhong has always been the brain of Real Madrid."
"Without Chen Zhong’s organization, Real Madrid’s midfield play is somewhat inferior to Barcelona."
Messi has been strolling around, occasionally making some shuttle runs, while Chen Zhong followed Messi closely. He didn’t believe Messi would resign himself to fate; this seemingly shy little guy actually had a competitive spirit similar to Cristiano Ronaldo’s.
As expected, as the match approached the 50th minute, Messi took action.
It was a small-range short-passing play by Barcelona, originally not involving Messi, but suddenly the ball changed direction and was passed to Messi.
Chen Zhong watched Messi, ready to intercept the ball at the first chance, but Messi didn’t stop the ball; without any vision, he made a direct through pass to the advancing Xavi.
This pass was astounding, provoking the Barcelona fans in the stands to scream.
This is the tacit understanding developed from playing together since childhood; though he didn’t see or hear it, he knew if he passed the ball there, someone would be waiting.
However, Khedira was right beside Xavi. He immediately leaned towards Xavi, disrupting his dribble when Xavi tried to change direction, and poked the ball away. Casillas came out in time, pinning the ball under his body.
"Don’t underestimate Messi!"
"The Barcelona players show great tacit understanding."
"Messi, in that situation, without looking, made a direct through pass."
"The quality was quite high."
"The score remains 3:3."
"Compared to the first half, both teams are playing more cautiously in the second half."
Mourinho watched the situation on the field from the sidelines. In the beginning, Mourinho was quite confident.
So what if Barcelona has Messi, we have Chen Zhong, we can completely lock down Messi. Even if we can’t completely neutralize Messi, we can limit most of his actions.
But in locking down Messi, wasn’t Real Madrid’s creativity restricted as well?
Mourinho was certainly not content with leaving Camp Nou with a draw.
After a brief discussion with Francisco, Mourinho stood on the sidelines and gave instructions.
"Real Madrid made adjustments."
"Mourinho seems to be saying something from the sidelines."
"What?"
"Chen Zhong has left Messi."
"Yes, we didn’t see it wrong."
"Chen Zhong is no longer beside Messi."
"Is this Mourinho’s intention?"
The fans in the stands made sounds of surprise, while Guardiola looked at Mourinho, as if to say, no, brother, are you playing such a big move?
This is Messi, after all, Messi!
It’s like having a dagger at your chest!
Mourinho ignored Guardiola’s gaze and revealed a slight contemptuous smile.
Yes, you all have a dagger at our chest, but we have a machete pressed against your neck!
We have to worry about Messi, don’t you have to worry about Chen?
Hmm?