Rose Garden Stadium
Inside Malaga’s penalty area, Chen Zhong raised his right arm high.
This made Rondon, who was in charge of defending him, feel humiliated. He clung tightly to Chen Zhong’s body, using all his strength, secretly vowing that he must ensure Chen Zhong returns from this attack empty-handed.
He thought that by doing this, he could restrain Chen Zhong!
But reality dealt Rondon a heavy blow.
At the mont Alonso kicked the ball from the corner flag, Rondon lost control of the situation. His reaction wasn’t as quick as Chen Zhong’s, nor was his leap as high. He couldn’t pull him, nor could he overpower him.
He just stood sideways, with his head raised, watching Chen Zhong complete a powerful header above him!
"Boom!"
A dull thud reached Rondon’s ears as the ball bounced off the lawn in front of the goalkeeper, then rebounded into the net from the goalkeeper’s side.
0:1
Real Madrid was the first to score!
"It’s in!"
"Goal!"
"Chen Zhong with a powerful header attack."
"The ball changed direction on the ground, avoiding the goalkeeper’s save."
"0:1"
"Real Madrid takes the lead on the away field."
"The cara focuses on Rondon, known for his physicality, with a very... subtle expression."
After confirming the goal upon landing, Chen Zhong smiled and ran towards the away fans, followed closely by other Real Madrid players. They celebrated wildly at the Rose Garden Stadium in front of their forr coach Pellegrini.
This action angered Malaga fans, but what could they do?
They could only make their boos louder!
And the cara again showed Rondon, whose face now lacked the previous "defiant" look, instead showing a bit of disbelief and bewildernt.
For the past two seasons, Rondon had played for the Segunda Division’s Las Palmas Sports Union. In his first season, he was an obscure substitute, but in the second season, he gradually beca a key player for the team, scoring multiple goals in both the King’s Cup and the league.
He had heard of Chen Zhong, but never internally felt that Chen Zhong was much stronger than him. He even had the illusion that if he were at Real Madrid, his achievents wouldn’t be any less than Chen Zhong’s.
But after these interactions, Rondon felt his "spirit shattered."
Baptista seed aware of Rondon’s frustration and intentionally ran over to him, firmly patting his shoulder and said, "Cheer up, kid."
"Losing in this aspect to him is nothing to be upset about, I’ve never seen anyone who can physically outmatch him one-on-one."
"Handle him carefully, our coach said we don’t need to compete with them in their strengths."
Baptista and Rondon both joined Malaga this season and could be considered Pellegrini’s "trusted aides."
It seed Pellegrini knew early on that Rondon would compete with Chen Zhong, hence he arranged for Baptista to remind him if he suffered a setback.
This brought back mories of the pre-match arrangents the coach made to Rondon.
At that ti, his arrogance made him think today would be his day of fa, ignoring Pellegrini’s second arrangent.
The ga continues.
Mourinho stood casually on the sidelines, turning to Francisco beside him and said, "He made a wrong choice."
"His tactics are within my full grasp."
Pellegrini, watching from the other side, also displayed an enigmatic smile at Mourinho’s relaxed deanor.
"Malaga kicks off."
"The ball is chipped to Rondon."
"Rondon barely heads it out."
"It goes to the wing."
"Is Rondon now deliberately avoiding Chen Zhong?"
Rondon realized the physical gap between him and Chen Zhong. Although he was at a disadvantage in physical confrontation with Chen Zhong, he still had a certain intimidating presence against other Real Madrid players.
He barely managed to head the ball aside against Khedira, and there, forr Arsenal youth winger Uso Abeye took the ball, accelerating like a released arrow.
Finding gaps and threading the needle through Real Madrid’s defensive midfield and backline, making a beeline towards Real Madrid’s penalty area.
This scene resembled Robinho’s approach in Real Madrid’s first season or Kaka’s frequent plays these past two seasons.
After getting the ball, utilizing his burst, he pierced through like a sharp dagger aiming at the opponent’s heart.
This unexpected speed-up from Malaga indeed caught Real Madrid off guard. What further "shocked" Mourinho was that Ricardo Carvalho, whom he once trusted so much, was passed by like a rookie in this defensive maneuver.
This made Mourinho widen his eyes in disbelief: was this Ricardo Carvalho still the Portuguese iron wall he rembered?
Abeye’s performance made the entire Rose Garden Stadium erupt, with Malaga fans on the stands rising to cheer their hero with their voices.
"The ball is laid off to the wing."
"Abeye has the ball!"
"Cutting in from the wing."
"Heading towards the goal."
"Passes a defender!"
"Shoots directly!"
The feeling of being in the spotlight enchanted Abeye. Facing Real Madrid’s Door God Casillas, he didn’t hesitate for a second, choosing to take a direct shot.
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