Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

Both teams started cautiously, with the midfield battle exceptionally intense. Villarreal was clearly out for revenge in this match, fearlessly dragging Real Madrid into the "meat grinder" in the midfield again and again.

But Pellegrini obviously miscalculated.

The current Real Madrid is worlds apart from the team at the start of the season. With Baptista and Chen Zhong as two tanks in the midfield, they can entirely compensate for the physical disadvantage of Guti and Robinho.

"Cazorla has the ball."

"Torres's defense is very steady."

"Cazorla shifts the ball to the center."

"Chen Zhong!"

"Directly shoves the opponent aside."

"He seems to have become even stronger."

Chen Zhong directly pushed aside the opponent beside him, protecting the ball, and using his strength advantage, passed the ball to Robinho, who was in decent form for this match. After receiving the ball, he quickly found an opening and passed it to Van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy, with his back to the goal, took the ball at the edge of the right side of the penalty area and shot with his left foot. Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez was highly focused, making a beautiful dive to catch Van Nistelrooy's shot.

"Huh?"

"Why do I feel the king of the small penalty area..."

"Seems to have gotten worse?"

"Before, this kind of shot was almost a sure thing."

"But now it seems to lack something!"

Some fans raised the question, but Van Nistelrooy also had his fans, who quickly responded, "Do you think soccer is basketball? You can't always score with every shot!"

"Wasn't it the same when Chen took his shots earlier, when teammates set him up, he missed several times."

"Watching games at your house must cost a lot in electricity."

The fans' argument didn't last long because Real Madrid's offensive started to surge.

"Wow!"

"It's Chen Zhong again."

"He and Baptista are like two stabilizing forces."

"Not allowing Villarreal any chance for disruption."

"Baptista headed the ball away during a contest with an opponent."

"Chen Zhong got into position early and won the ball."

"In the contest for those 50/50 challenges, Chen Zhong really has an advantage in anticipation and physicality."

With the ball at his feet, surrounded by three Villarreal players, this was clearly a move Pellegrini had planned, locking down Chen Zhong's passing routes forward. However, Chen Zhong showed no signs of holding onto the ball or forcing a pass.

First, he shielded the ball, making a turn.

Then decisively pushed the ball to the side.

The ball squeezed through the gaps between the Villarreal players.

Guti, upon receiving the ball, before the Villarreal players could close in, delivered a precise through ball that pierced through Villarreal's defense.

Robinho successfully beat the offside trap and, one-on-one with the goalkeeper, executed a low shot that drilled into the bottom right corner.

1:0

Real Madrid scored the opening goal in the 9th minute of the match.

"It's in!"

"Beautiful coordination!"

"After winning the ball in the midfield, Chen Zhong attracted most of Villarreal's attention."

"Then, facing the oncoming opponent, passed the ball to Guti on the side, whose vision and through balls are exceptional."

"Directly slicing through the opponents' defense."

"Faced with such an opportunity, Robinho took a straightforward low shot, piercing through Diego Lopez's guarded goal."

"This marks Robinho's 7th league goal of the season."

"Which surpasses his total league goals from last season."

Following his goal, Robinho appeared extremely excited, running to the corner flag and performing his signature celebration move, while other players also ran over.

Schuster, on the sidelines, was celebrating with pumps of his fists, while Pellegrini's face darkened, internally increasing his rating of Chen Zhong again.

In such situations, many players would choose to pass the ball directly, but Chen Zhong was very calm, passing it to Guti on the side, allowing Guti to pass it to the originally intended target.

In simple terms, if Chen Zhong wanted to directly pass the ball through Villarreal's defense, the success rate was below ten percent. However, if he opted for an additional pass to a teammate on the side, given space and a gap in defense, with good passing skills,

the success rate would be over eighty percent.

This is a common technique in soccer matches, even applicable in soccer games, but not everyone can make the right choice in an instant.

"It's terrifying!"

"What's most terrifying about him isn't his physique."

"But his mind," murmured Pellegrini, sometimes using your head on the field is more effective than anything else.

After conceding a goal, Villarreal chose to first stabilize their team's formation, which instead allowed them to produce a series of beautiful counterattacks.

Rossi cut in from Ramos's side, and Ramos jutted out his hip, causing Rossi to fall to the ground.

The referee blew the whistle for a foul, but he didn't issue a card, only giving Ramos a verbal warning. Ramos rolled his eyes and nodded, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

The referee's decision also drew dissatisfaction from some Villarreal fans in the stands. They believed it was definitely a card-worthy action.

Villarreal took their free kick, and Casillas tipped the ball away with his fingers, giving them a corner kick opportunity. As the ball was delivered, Chen Zhong leapt up high and cleared the ball.

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