Chapter 155 GOOOOOOOOAL!

"GOOOOOOOOOAL!! The ball is in!! Fiorentina has widened the score gap to 3:1! And more importantly, they also have an away goal! Scoring so quickly, with the match only seven minutes old, is probably something many people didn't expect before the game! Fiorentina is demonstrating their powerful attacking firepower at Real Madrid's home ground! Instantly changing the course of this match!"

Fiorentina's goal was a very big blow to Real Madrid, and for Luxemburgo, his painstakingly arranged tactics were completely ineffective. This surprised him a bit—yes, he didn't expect Fiorentina's attacking firepower to be so fierce.

Even the commentators at ESPN were worried about Real Madrid's fate: "Real Madrid losing a goal at the start of the match has their fans on edge. A two-goal deficit means they have to attack with all their might."

This was exactly what Sabato hoped for. Although Real Madrid's attack was strong, once they attacked with all their might, there would inevitably be loopholes in the back. That was Fiorentina's chance. He didn't want to play the defensive counterattack that Italian teams were good at; he wanted to attack head-on with Real Madrid. Using offense to suppress offense, making Real Madrid lose convincingly.

In previous Champions Leagues, every time a Spanish team met an Italian team, if the Spanish team was eliminated, the Spanish media would definitely curse Italian football as ugly and a regression in football.

Sabato wanted to let the Spanish media know that Italian football also had an attack.

For so many years, Italian football has given the world the impression of being conservative, emphasizing overall collaboration and tactical arrangements. But it lacked passion and the adventurous spirit of attack.

The pinnacle of this was the 2002-2003 Champions League season. Starting from the quarterfinals, the three Italian teams used defense to a level that stunned everyone. The 10-0-0 formation was cursed by the Spanish, but in the end, both teams reached the final. The final was called a match between two tactical masters by the Italian media, but it was evaluated by more media as the most boring and shameless final in recent years. In the end, AC Milan defeated Juventus on penalties to win the Champions League that season.

Sabato didn't want such a victory, such a championship. He wanted a victory and a championship that no one could criticize.

This match against Real Madrid was a very good opportunity, a chance to let the world know what kind of team Fiorentina was.

So when Real Madrid decided to go all out and attack with all their might, Sabato also waved his hand: Attack!

He wasn't looking down on Real Madrid; on the contrary, it was a necessary respect for an opponent.

※※※

The two teams were playing a wonderful head-to-head attack on the field, and the Real Madrid fans seemed very excited. They cheered loudly and sang. They were a very stubborn group of people. The team could lose, but they absolutely couldn't win ugly. They allowed Real Madrid to lose 4:5, but they couldn't tolerate winning 1:0. In Italy, winning 1:0 might be praised by the media and fans, but in Madrid, it was a shameful verdict, the behavior of cowards.

So, although Real Madrid was currently behind and their Champions League prospects were uncertain, there was still a lot of time, and more importantly, Real Madrid was always persisting in attacking, so they received the full support of the Real Madrid fans.

This support brought enormous pressure to Fiorentina. Within those five minutes, they were pressed down by Real Madrid and couldn't lift their heads.

Ronaldo took a powerful shot, and Frey didn't dare to catch it directly, so he had to deflect it out of bounds.

"Keirr!!" Frey jumped up from the ground. "Push up! Push up! He couldn't be allowed to shoot like that just now!" He was a little dissatisfied with the performance of the defense.

Real Madrid's corner kick. When Beckham kicked the ball into the penalty area, Ramos inserted from the back and made a powerful header!

Frey reacted quickly, but he only managed to deflect the ball slightly with his fingertips, but he couldn't change the final direction of the ball—the ball flew towards the goal!

In the blink of an eye, Xiang Tao flew in and cleared the ball off the goal line with an overhead kick!

"Wow—that was close! Xiang Tao's timely clearance saved Fiorentina!"

The Bernabéu, on the other hand, let out a huge sigh. And Ramos didn't even have time to sigh; he had to rush back to defend. Because Xiang Tao didn't kick the ball out of bounds; instead, he cleared it to the frontcourt...

Zhang Jun leaned against Ciciño, who was defending him, intending to compete for the header. Ciciño felt that what was leaning against him wasn't a person, but a wall. He couldn't push him away.

Zhang Jun had already jumped up, but he was still on the ground. He was already behind; he definitely couldn't win the header. But he absolutely couldn't let him pass like this!

Ciciño fell backward, pretending to be pushed by Zhang Jun, and at the same time, he reached out and pulled Zhang Jun, who was in the air.

Zhang Jun was about to flick the ball backward, but his center of gravity was suddenly completely lost, and he fell straight down from the air.

The referee's whistle sounded, and then he ran to the scene. Judging from his gestures, he ruled that Real Madrid had committed a foul.

Guti came up to pull up Ciciño, and then patted him on the shoulder: "Good job!" This was a tactical foul. If Zhang Jun successfully headed the ball, there would be a large open space behind, and Van Persie had already rushed up. It was the perfect time to foul.

Zhang Jun, however, seemed very dissatisfied. He was asking the referee to give Ciciño a yellow card. But the referee ignored him.

Mascherano took the free kick, and after a series of passes, it ultimately didn't pose much of a threat to Real Madrid's goal.

※※※

Time passed quickly in the back-and-forth attacks between the two sides. When the spectators came back to their senses, they realized that the first half was nearing its end.

"It's the thirty-ninth minute of the first half. If Real Madrid can't tie the score before the end of the first half, then they will become very dangerous in the second half. Hmm... obviously Real Madrid is also aware of this problem, and they have strengthened their attack."

Fiorentina was a little lax at the last moment. They gave up the attacking tactics they had been adhering to for almost forty minutes and began to think about how to defend until the end of the first half.

When Sabato saw this clearly and wanted to stop them, the deafening cheers at the Bernabéu drowned out his curses.

The fans' support was the best motivation for the team's efforts. The entire Real Madrid team besieged Fiorentina like crazy, and Fiorentina's ball could hardly pass midfield. Zhang Jun even had to come back to participate in the defense in the end.

Defense wasn't Fiorentina's strong suit, especially when facing a team with Real Madrid's super-strong attack. Defense was tantamount to digging their own grave.

Frey worked hard to block Raúl's shot and then saved Ronaldo's follow-up shot again. He had already performed well enough, but he felt his heart beating very fast. He had a kind of fear, a fear of losing the ball. This fear made his breathing become rapid, and his actions were a bit too quick—he was just too nervous.

He had to use all his strength to pounce on almost every shot from Real Madrid, fearing that he wouldn't be able to reach the ball if he didn't.

When Zhang Jun cleared the ball out of the penalty area, he panted and said to everyone, "This... this won't do! We have to counterattack!"

"That's easier said than done..." Xiang Tao wiped away his sweat and muttered, "Our passes can't even get through midfield before they're intercepted. Real Madrid is pressing forward as a whole, and you're easily offside if you go up."

Zhang Jun turned his gaze to Krew, hoping to rely on Krew's individual skill to create opportunities.

"Pass the ball to Krew and rely on his individual skill!"

But soon Zhang Jun realized that this path was also blocked. Once Krew got the ball, he would be surrounded by at least three Real Madrid players. Even with good technique, Real Madrid's players' individual skills weren't bad either, and he would soon be dispossessed.

Sabato, on the other hand, was anxiously shouting and yelling from below: "Damn it! Zhang Jun shouldn't have gone back! Once he goes back, there's no way to pass the ball forward!"

Real Madrid's attack gave everyone watching the match a feeling: a storm.

That's right, Real Madrid, forced into a desperate situation, exploded with enormous fighting power. Their attack and pressing gave people an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Fiorentina's goal was tottering in the face of this storm.

When the fourth official held up a sign on the sidelines indicating two minutes of added time in the first half, it seemed like a signal for Real Madrid to strengthen their attack again. Fiorentina suddenly felt the pressure increase again.

Beckham crossed the ball again, but this time it wasn't a simple cross from the wing; instead, it was a forty-five-degree diagonal long pass from midfield, directly sending the ball from the right side of the field to the left side.

Ronaldo retreated to the outside of the penalty area, stopped the ball with his chest, and then feinted with his upper body, tricking Bonera into leaning towards the baseline, while he went around from the side.

"Oh! Ronaldo has broken through!"

"Damn it! Don't let him go!" Frey shouted loudly, and his voice didn't sound very good.

Xiang Tao had rushed from the left side to the right side to support the defense. He fearlessly slid towards Ronaldo.

"Idiot!" Frey really wanted to kill this reckless guy. What if this fat guy fell to the ground and tricked them into giving up a penalty?

Ronaldo, however, had no intention of tricking them into giving up a penalty. He flicked the ball outward with his right foot, then jumped up, awkwardly but effectively dodging the sliding tackle. Immediately afterward, he swung his leg and shot!

Frey's highly tense state allowed him to pounce in the correct direction—the far corner—the moment Ronaldo shot. The speed was so fast that it could truly be described as an arrow leaving the string.

But he never expected that Raúl, who was hidden in the penalty area, would suddenly stick out a foot and just barely poke the ball.

To be honest, not only Frey didn't expect it, but Fiorentina's defenders didn't expect it either. All their attention had been on Ronaldo just now. Who would have thought that Raúl would appear here?!

The ball was poked by Raúl's toe and flew towards the near corner, which was completely opposite. Frey was already in the air, and he helplessly turned his head to look at the ball flying towards the goal, powerless to do anything.

"Yes! GOOOOOOOAL!!! Raúl! Real Madrid has tied the score! This is a very important goal. They still have hope in the second half! It's not over yet!"

After scoring, Raúl kissed the ring on his hand and sprinted towards his teammates. And the Bernabéu resounded with huge cheers.

"Hala Madrid!!!! Hala Raúl!!!"

"What the fuck... bullshit!" Sabato cursed angrily. "It's a disgrace to lose a goal when defending! They should all remember this goal!"

Fiorentina's players on the field also seemed very dejected. Xiang Tao held his head in his hands, looking at the ball in the net.

Zhang Jun looked at the big screen, which was replaying the scene of Raúl's goal. He noticed that Raúl wasn't in the shooting position originally; he had suddenly cut in before Ronaldo shot, as if he knew Ronaldo would shoot like that.

What a terrifying striker.

※※※

The first half ended in a 1:1 draw. During the halftime break, Sabato looked at his disciples in the locker room with a livid face.

The players rarely saw Sabato so angry. Even Xiang Tao, who was usually fearless, lowered his head and didn't dare to say a word.

Sabato didn't say anything either; he just stared at them, watching for a full minute.

"I... I really have to congratulate you," Sabato finally said after a long time, but his words were full of naked sarcasm. "Retreating at the last moment, successfully allowing the opponent to tie the score. Isn't that right? Who... who the hell told you to retreat?! Which idiot asked for that? Me?" Sabato pointed to himself.

Of course, it wouldn't be himself.

"If we could have continued to put pressure on their defense before the end of the first half and maintained this one-goal lead into the second half, then we would have at least had one foot in the quarterfinals! But now everything is different! I'm not against defense, but I hate and detest choosing to defend at the wrong time! Like just now, why did we have to defend? We were playing well. How difficult it is to suppress Real Madrid. You've already done it, so why be conservative? You've released a tiger from its cage! Too stupid! Too fucking... stupid!"

After Sabato finished cursing, he stood there for a long time without saying a word.

Since he wasn't speaking, no one dared to say a word. Everyone in the room was silent, letting the valuable halftime break time pass by minute by minute.

For a long time—Zhang Jun felt like it had been a long time—Sabato finally spoke again: "Okay, we won't dwell on the low-level mistakes you made at the end of the first half. I'm now reiterating that Fiorentina's football is attacking football. We pursue as many goals as possible, not as few goals conceded as possible. As for when we need to defend, I will notify you. Before receiving my notification, no one is allowed to change tactics on their own. You just need to keep attacking! If we lose because of attacking, I'll take responsibility. This is especially true for this match! If you don't think about attacking in your heads, then there's no way to beat Real Madrid! Their situation is worse than ours right now, so they will bring out all their level. Still want to defend against them?!" Sabato revealed a contemptuous expression.

"Attack! Attack! This is what I always say, and I hope you will understand it in the future. As long as I'm on this team for one day, I will always insist on this. My football philosophy is—give me attack, or give me death! Let us play like Juventus, I'd rather die! In the second half, we have to be like the first forty minutes of the first half, stick to attacking. You have to have confidence in your attack. As long as we can push Real Madrid back, we'll win half the battle. Always put pressure on them, whether we're leading by one goal or five goals, you have to stick to attacking! Even if we're behind or the situation is dangerous and unfavorable to us, do the same!"

Sabato's words were impassioned, re-igniting the fighting spirit of the players who had been scolded into dejection.

"Go! Go on the field! Remember what I said: Attack! Attack! Attack until the last minute, and keep fucking attacking! I won't call it quits, no one is allowed to stop!"

※※※

After the second half restarted, Real Madrid found that Fiorentina had resumed their attack again, and it was even fiercer than in the first half.

They even got three very threatening chances in two consecutive minutes. If Casillas hadn't performed heroically, Real Madrid would have lost their goal early.

After Zhang Jun missed a shot, he hugged his head in frustration. Fiorentina had many chances at the start of the second half, but they just didn't seize them. What a pity!

Real Madrid's attack was still very fierce, but Fiorentina was no worse than them. The scene returned to the wonderful back-and-forth attack situation after the start of the match. Both sides had many chances, but both sides also had a super strong ability to waste opportunities. Many times, when they saw the ball brush past the goal, the fans could only sigh and then slap the table and curse.

Now it depended on which side could seize the opportunity and change the course of the match.

Fiorentina launched a strong attack through the middle, but unexpectedly, Krew's dribbling was intercepted by García. Real Madrid took the opportunity to launch a counterattack. García gave the ball to Guti, who didn't pass to Baptista in the frontcourt to transition, but instead launched an attack directly from the backcourt, making a precise long pass of more than forty meters, sending the ball directly to Ronaldo, who had already started running!

In fact, it can be said without exaggeration that the overweight Ronaldo ran like a tank at full speed. Therefore, he easily bumped away Bonera, who was coming up from the side, and then forcibly cut inside, wedging himself in front of Ujfaluši and taking the lead into the penalty area, preventing Ujfaluši from daring to act rashly behind him.

Keirr hurried up to help. This time, he didn't pass the ball to Raúl, who was unmarked. Perhaps watching Raúl's goal stimulated him. He was already thirty-three years old and didn't have many years of fighting left. If he didn't work hard now, would he regret it later?

Because of his overweight body, he was always ridiculed, and even Eto'o dared to shake his finger in front of him. If this had happened before 1998, who would have dared to do that?

He was, after all, once the best striker in the world—without exception.

Ronaldo suddenly exerted his strength, not shooting directly, but suddenly accelerating and surpassing Keirr. Keirr was a little stunned. He didn't expect that Ronaldo could still dribble past him again in such a narrow space.

Frey rushed out, but Ronaldo flicked the ball very quickly with his right foot. The ball rose into the air from Frey's falling body, went over him, and then bounced on the goal line and fell into the goal…

At this time, Xiang Tao rushed over and only managed to kick the ball that was already inside the goal towards the upper part of the goal. It was of no avail.

"Wonderful individual performance! Real Madrid has tied the aggregate score! Ronaldo has once again shown people his style from his youth. His acceleration within five meters has become a nightmare for Fiorentina's defense! Although Raúl's position may have been better, this is the confidence of someone who was once the best striker in the world!"

"Hala Madrid!!!"

This earth-shattering cheer seemed to shatter the hearts of Fiorentina's fans and also forced Fiorentina's players into a dead end.

The situation had changed, and it was now their turn to fight with their backs to the wall.

Zhang Jun turned his head to look at Sabato in front of the coaching bench, wanting to see what instructions he had. He happened to see Sabato waving his hands and shouting at them, "Attack! There's no choice! Attack!"

※※※

Fiorentina, who were behind on the road and whose aggregate score had been tied, had no choice but to attack and strive for a goal.

And Luxemburgo also stood on the sidelines, shouting loudly to the field, pushing his hands forward, indicating his players to continue attacking and strive for another goal.

After Ronaldo had just scored a goal, Real Madrid pressed Fiorentina so hard that they couldn't breathe for a while. But Zhang Jun and his team obviously didn't want to give up like this. Since Fiorentina had achieved fourth place in Serie A last season, when had they ever given up?

So after surviving Real Madrid's attack, Fiorentina also launched a counterattack. They relied on the tacit cooperation of a few people in the frontcourt to find opportunities.

Beckham was dribbling the ball in his own half, but Duff intercepted the ball. Beckham made a very dangerous tackle from behind. Duff jumped up to dodge it and then rushed towards the baseline.

Fiorentina's other players also cooperated with him to move towards Real Madrid's goal. Van Persie raised his right hand high, marking the direction for Duff.

Duff didn't wait for Ciciño to press him and crossed the ball directly. Van Persie jumped high and made a powerful header!

The ball was headed very powerfully, but unfortunately, it was too straight and was caught directly in Casillas' arms.

After receiving the ball, Casillas immediately launched an attack with a hand throw. The ball was thrown to Beckham. Having learned a lesson from being intercepted while dribbling the ball last time, Beckham no longer dribbled the ball. He launched an attack directly with a long pass.

The ball was received by Raúl, who controlled the ball and then moved past Ujfaluši, who was defending him, before breaking into the penalty area.

"Raúl's one-on-one!"

The Bernabéu cheered loudly.

Frey didn't neglect it. He rushed out quickly, hoping to minimize the distance between him and Raúl.

Raúl shot!

Frey pounced in the wrong direction, but fortunately, the tip of his right foot touched the ball when he fell to the ground, causing the ball to deviate slightly and go out of bounds past the post.

"That was close! Frey's save was quite wonderful! Real Madrid has also lost a great opportunity!"

Raúl grabbed his hair in frustration. At this time, he would definitely not realize how much of an impact this missed opportunity would have on Real Madrid.

After the corner kick was taken, it was caught directly by Frey, posing no threat.

※※※

Sabato looked down at the watch on his wrist. Half of the second half had passed.

Zhang Jun looked up at the big screen. The twenty-fifth minute of the second half, twenty minutes left. They had to score another goal to qualify.

The change of initiative was only one goal.

Krew was dribbling the ball in midfield. Real Madrid was now very concerned about him. Before the match, the Madrid media said that this young Chinese attacking midfielder made them see the shadows of the retired Zidane and the current Ronaldinho at Barcelona.

That was indeed the case. With gorgeous technique and outstanding awareness, Krew had become an extremely threatening attacking midfielder under Sabato's training, instead of the street ball kid at Chelsea who only knew how to show off fancy footwork.

García was marking Krew almost man-to-man, not only man-to-man, but also constantly bumping with his body and pulling with his hands.

But Krew was like a tumbler, no matter how the opponent tossed him, no matter how unstable his center of gravity was, no matter how embarrassed his posture was, the ball miraculously remained on his feet.

Guti was anxious watching from the side. Without thinking about anything else, he directly slid in with a tackle.

Krew pushed García away with one hand, flicked the ball lightly upward with his left foot, and then immediately jumped up with his whole body. The ball still seemed to be stuck to his shoe. In this way, Krew easily dodged the encirclement and interception of García and Guti.

When he landed, the ball just rolled off his shoe and onto his front. This action was done in one go and was very beautiful. Even the audience at the Bernabéu burst into a burst of exclamation.

It wasn't a big deal to flick the ball past the opponent's tackling players. At most, it would be shown on a TV league highlights program. But to flick the ball up while quickly following up with your foot, so that the ball seems to stop on your foot until you fall to the ground from the air, that's not just "outstanding footwork."

That was completely worthy of the TV station making a special video about him and then posting it on the internet, causing fans all over the world to worship him, just like Ronaldinho back then.

As if mocking García and Guti, Krew didn't pass the ball immediately after getting rid of them, but when the two men came up from behind, thinking they could take the opportunity to intercept the ball, Krew passed the ball out without hesitation, leaving the two men to work for nothing.

Krew continued to run forward after passing the ball, and Hua Jin, the target of his pass, sent the ball back again.

Krew looked at the front of Hua Jin, signaling him to continue inserting. They were going to do a one-two pass. Raúl Bravo realized this problem. He quickly moved his feet and rushed to the front of Hua Jin, preparing to stop this breakthrough.

But Krew looked at Hua Jin, but passed the ball directly to the front.

Zhang Jun reappeared from the crowd. He stopped the ball forward with his chest, then lifted his foot and stepped on the ball.

"Zhang Jun has the ball, but he's immediately surrounded!"

Raúl Bravo turned around and rushed towards Zhang Jun, and Woodgate also immediately pressed forward from the front. At the same time, Casillas moved his feet and blocked the near corner.

This was truly a perfect defense. But Zhang Jun, who had entered the penalty area, was not the same level as Zhang Jun, who was wandering around in the penalty area. His body suddenly leaned back, just barely leaning against Bravo, forming the most stable triangle with the ground. At the same time, he stepped firmly on the ball, preventing Woodgate from daring to tackle rashly.

"Don't delay! Shoot! Shoot!" Sabato shouted from the sidelines.

But with Zhang Jun's posture, it was good enough to keep the ball from being lost. What was there to talk about shooting?

Woodgate naturally wouldn't let Zhang Jun be arrogant in their Real Madrid penalty area for too long. He swept his foot across, hoping to kick the ball out from under Zhang Jun's feet, even if it was kicked out of bounds. It was better than leaving a time bomb in front of the goal.

Zhang Jun leaned against Bravo. Bravo's foot was stretching hard behind him, but he couldn't reach the ball. Seeing Woodgate sweeping across, he thought it was a good opportunity to intercept the ball. To avoid this sweep, Zhang Jun would definitely pull the ball back, and that would be his chance.

Zhang Jun did pull the ball back to avoid Woodgate's sweep, and Bravo, seeing this scene, laughed wildly in his heart. He was waiting for this opportunity!

He immediately poked his foot without hesitation at the ball, which was being pulled closer.

He was sure he could touch the ball at this distance.

Huh?

Bravo found that his foot still couldn't touch the ball.

It turned out that Zhang Jun, while pulling the ball back, suddenly stuck out his butt, bumping Raúl Bravo back. At the same time, he quickly swung his left foot, not to shoot, but to flick the ball up and cross it!

Casillas was shocked and quickly turned around and pounced towards the back post. He knew that Van Persie was behind him, and he had to defend against this guy.

Van Persie did jump up to compete for the header with Ramos, but neither of them got it, because Zhang Jun had picked the ball up a bit high. It went high over the heads of all the defenders, and of course, the heads of the Fiorentina forwards as well.

It was obvious that this ball was passed to the back post.

Following up at the back post was Fiorentina's left winger, Duff. He made a difficult volley shot directly in motion!

"That's too reckless…"

It would be very difficult to shoot inside the goal frame, let alone score?

But this ball did shoot inside the goal frame. Casillas truly deserved to be the Spanish national goalkeeper. He made a sharp stop in high-speed defense, then reached out his left hand and slapped the ball. He didn't let the ball fly directly into the goal.

"Good job!"

"Clearance!"

The ball was only hit towards the front of the goal, and the crisis was not resolved. Real Madrid's defenders panicked and each wanted to kick the ball out of the penalty area.

But at this moment, a figure rushed in, snatching the lead in front of all the Real Madrid players and sticking out a foot!

The ball hit Ciciño's toe and bounced, then rolled into the goal.

"Goal! Goal!! Unbelievable! Fiorentina has once again exceeded the total score! And they got two away goals! This is truly a devastating blow! The scorer is... Fiorentina's number 10, Krew Lee! Before the match, the Madrid media reminded Luxemburgo to pay special attention to this young attacking midfielder, and in the match, García was almost inseparable, but unexpectedly, he still scored a key goal."

Real Madrid's players were ashen-faced. This meant that if they wanted to qualify, they had to score at least two more goals. But for this match with so little time left, it was too difficult. Luxemburgo was constantly biting his fingers on the sidelines.

Krew jumped up from the ground and then raised his right arm high, pointing his index finger at the sky. The expression on his face still didn't show how happy he was, which instead caused his female fans to increase sharply in an instant.

"Wow! How cool!!" Many women had already begun to fantasize with hearts in their eyes.

Before he could hold this cool pose for long, he was pounced on by his excited teammates.

"Great! We're leading!"

Zhang Jun didn't pounce on him. His first reaction was to give Sabato a thumbs up on the sidelines: Now, the initiative has returned to our feet.

Sabato grinned, then pushed forward with both hands: Keep attacking, kid. I haven't said stop yet.

※※※

Having fallen behind once again and conceded two away goals, Real Madrid had no choice but to continue to strengthen their attack. They could even give up defense to score two more goals in the end.

This is our home, we absolutely can't lose here!

This was almost what all Real Madrid players were thinking.

However, Fiorentina, who were leading, became more and more relaxed, with the intention of making Real Madrid dance around. Krew was even showing off the "art of football skills" in front of Real Madrid, a team that insisted on "artistic football." Even Real Madrid fans couldn't help but be impressed by his skills.

"The head-to-head attack is still continuing. Fiorentina, who is leading on the total score, has not become conservative... Sabato is truly a very bold coach. He insists on his attacking philosophy in such an important match in the Champions League. Although his reputation is not good in the Italian media, I still want to say that he is an excellent coach. Fiorentina can be what it is today, and he has made an indelible contribution."

"Let's evaluate the head coach after the match is over. Now let's turn our attention to the field. Real Madrid's attack has not diminished at all. Although Fiorentina's attack has repeatedly threatened their defense, they have no choice now. If they don't attack, they will only die!"

"However, I see that as time passes, Real Madrid's hopes of qualifying are also gradually diminishing... They haven't achieved anything in the Champions League for three consecutive seasons. If they fail again this season, then... are we witnessing the decline of Real Madrid?"

The commentators and special guests at ESPN laughed.

The Real Madrid players on the field were still struggling desperately to salvage their honor, which had been rejected by everyone—they had indeed declined, and the current world was no longer Real Madrid's world.

Sabato, like a madman, stood on the sidelines, shouting non-stop: "Attack! Suppress them! Foul! Foul when necessary! Don't be afraid of them! We're within reach of victory!!"

He raised his hands high, and his mouth was open wide enough to fit an apple. He looked like he was singing 'O Sole Mio' at the Bernabéu.

Time was passing by minute by minute on the big screen. Everyone could look up and see what minute and second of the second half it was. This precise high technology brought a high degree of tension to the Real Madrid players on the field.

Beckham passed a long pass directly out of bounds.

And even Luxemburgo, even after replacing Robinho to strengthen the attack, seemed so helpless.

Tactically, he couldn't change anything anymore. He could only sit on the leather seat of the coaching bench and watch his men work hard.

The TV broadcast had given many close-up shots of Real Madrid's players and coaches, seemingly telling the audience in this way: Their efforts in the Champions League this season had vanished.

Beckham's anxious expression, Ronaldo's dull eyes, Robinho's furrowed brows, Raúl's unwilling lips, Casillas' helpless shake of his head.

After turning around, the camera was aimed at the president of Real Madrid, Mr. Florentino Pérez, on the podium. His face was expressionless, and it was impossible to tell whether he was angry or frustrated.

※※※

"Don't give up! The match isn't over yet!" Raúl shouted loudly during the time when the ball was out of bounds. He couldn't care about shouting at other times, because he only had scoring in his mind.

He was the symbol of the Bernabéu, the symbol of never giving up. He definitely couldn't fall first. So until the last moment, he was still running and counterattacking with all his might.

Zhang Jun looked at Raúl's back and a sense of respect arose in his heart. Although many people were saying now that Raúl had lost his agility from his younger years and was running around like a headless fly, in Zhang Jun's heart, he was always a symbol. This symbol was like a totem, inspiring him in his heart to be like Raúl, never giving up, never giving up.

Raúl's efforts paid off. Just as the match entered injury time, he scored a goal to tie the aggregate score. But Frey almost watched Raúl shoot without doing anything. It wasn't that he didn't go to save on purpose, but that he didn't expect Raúl to still be able to persist in shooting under those circumstances and to be able to shoot it in.

After scoring, Raúl didn't celebrate. He went in to pick up the ball on the ground, held it in his arms, and turned around and ran towards the center circle.

He was fighting for time, and the time he was fighting for might only be half a minute, but he still had to fight for it.

Raúl's fight didn't bring a miracle to Real Madrid. After four minutes of injury time, the referee's whistle announced that Real Madrid's Champions League journey this season had come to an end. And Fiorentina broke into the quarterfinals!

Fiorentina's substitutes all rushed onto the field at the moment the referee's whistle sounded! Cheering to their heart's content for their victory.

And the Real Madrid players were all frustrated, either sitting or lying down. But the fans at the Bernabéu didn't boo because Real Madrid had been eliminated. On the contrary, they gave these players who had attacked until the last second warm applause and unlimited tolerance.

"The match is over! Real Madrid has been eliminated. It's truly a sad night for Madrid. And we want to congratulate Fiorentina. After many years, they have entered the quarterfinals again after entering the Champions League. In this match, Fiorentina's attacking football was played to the fullest, and even Real Madrid was defeated in their head-to-head battle."

The excited Fiorentina players hugged each other tightly. They cheered and celebrated wildly, not caring that this was someone else's home.

Zhang Jun didn't join them. He found Ronaldo, who was planning to leave the field, and made a request to exchange jerseys.

Ronaldo didn't object. He took off his jersey, then took Zhang Jun's jersey, slung it over his shoulder, patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder and walked away.

Throughout the whole process, he didn't say anything, and Zhang Jun was embarrassed to disturb the upset Ronaldo too much. He took the jersey and put it on.

Just after sending Ronaldo away, he was surrounded by reporters who swarmed up.

"Zhang! Tell us how you feel!"

"You're now second on the Champions League scorer list!"

"Why did Fiorentina dare to stick to playing head-to-head with Real Madrid at Real Madrid's home?"

Zhang Jun smiled: "Because the boss told us during the halftime break: If you don't stick to attacking, then go fuck yourselves. We didn't want to die, so we did what he said."

All the reporters were stunned. This was the first time Zhang Jun had used foul language in public. Li Yan felt a chill in his heart: Had Sabato's black hand reached out to Zhang Jun? It was hard