The team doctor rushed onto the pitch.
A stretcher was quickly brought in.
Ronaldo, writhing in pain, was stretchered off.
Owen came on as a substitute.
If the referee hadn't awarded the penalty right away, things could have completely boiled over.
Fortunately, Real Madrid had plenty of level-headed players.
Everyone knew the priority—convert the penalty first, take the lead, then worry about everything else.
So the conflict never fully broke out.
Besides, Ronaldo, who had taken the worst of it, was already off the pitch. If he had stayed, he probably would've gone head-to-head with Puyol.
Every player knows how dangerous a two-man sandwich tackle can be.
When two defenders close in, the one caught in the middle is at serious risk of injury.
And to say Puyol did it unintentionally? No one would buy that. Deep down, he definitely kept a bit of malice in that challenge.
Real Madrid's penalty taker was Zidane.
He stood calmly at the spot.
Ten seconds later, the Bernabéu erupted.
"GOAL!"
"Zidane is rock solid from the spot!"
"Three-two! Real Madrid are ahead again!"
"El Clásico never disappoints! Every minute is pure drama!"
"Barcelona are on the back foot now."
"And the key problem—both of their center-backs are carrying yellow cards!"
The match resumed.
Even with stoppage time, Barcelona had less than ten minutes left to equalize.
...
85th minute.
Iniesta and Messi combined on the right flank.
Both were agile, their close control so good the ball seemed glued to their feet.
Zidane, Gravesen, and Roberto Carlos all pressed them, but couldn't stop the pair.
Finally, Messi slipped a through ball.
Iniesta burst forward to chase it down.
But almost at the same moment, Casillas charged out.
Casillas got there just a split-second earlier!
In truth, if Messi and Iniesta had swapped roles, the play might have been perfect.
Iniesta was the better passer but lacked Messi's explosiveness.
Messi had the acceleration, but his passing wasn't at Iniesta's level.
As a newcomer, Messi's passing game still wasn't particularly sharp.
...
88th minute.
Real Madrid counterattacked.
Roberto Carlos drove the ball past midfield.
He might not have stopped Messi defensively today,
but offensively, Carlos was still a cheat code.
Bang!
Carlos whipped in a cross from the byline.
Su Hang outjumped Puyol and flicked on a header.
Raúl pounced for the shot, but since the ball came in at half-height, he couldn't get proper power behind it.
Valdés made the save.
Regulation time ended.
Because of the scuffles, goals, and injuries, five minutes of stoppage time were added.
Real Madrid coach Luxemburgo thought it was too much.
Barcelona coach Rijkaard thought it wasn't enough.
Both ended up shown yellow cards.
Let them argue all they want.
...
93rd minute.
Xavi threaded a diagonal pass to Messi.
Messi received it and tried a feint to beat Beckham, who had tracked back into defense.
Beckham brought him down.
Barcelona won a free kick in a very dangerous area.
They had plenty of free-kick specialists.
It could be a direct shot, or a cross for teammates to attack.
Defending became much trickier.
All of Real Madrid frowned.
Commentator He Wei voiced his concern.
Ronaldinho stepped up, but Xavi stood by the other side of the ball.
It might be him instead.
Every Real Madrid player dropped back.
Even Owen stood near Ronaldinho, ready to defend.
Bang!
Ronaldinho ran over the ball—Xavi curled in the cross from the other side, lofting it into the box.
A set-piece routine!
Real Madrid's wall was inevitably misled.
That was Ronaldinho's threat—it was unavoidable.
Oleguer rose high, won the header, and aimed at goal.
But Casillas pulled off a superhuman save, timing his leap perfectly to punch it away.
Chaos erupted in the box as players scrambled.
Samuel finally cleared it.
The ball dropped to Messi outside the area.
He raised his left foot.
Zidane and Raúl turned their backs, twisting reluctantly to block.
That's forwards for you—when it comes to taking a ball to the body, they'll never match defenders.
In fact, many players become strikers precisely to avoid that.
It's not that they lack courage—it's just that they'd rather use it in scoring battles, not defensive ones.
Messi pulled back his left foot—a fake shot.
He stepped left, raised his leg again.
Gravesen lunged in to block.
Samuel stretched out a leg to cut off the angle.
But...
Messi nudged the ball again.
Another fake!
"Oh my God! Messi is unreal!"
"Two straight fakes! Is he even bound by physics?"
"Terrifying! His control over himself and the ball is absolute!"
"No wonder they call him the next Maradona—he really does look like him!"
After two feints, defenders were left sprawled on the ground behind him.
Now, nothing blocked his path.
Even Casillas, fooled by the second fake, had shifted, leaving a massive gap.
Bang!
Messi shot!
No!
Not a shot!
That sound!
Su Hang slid in!
"Su Hang!" He Wei leapt up, "Su Hang blocked it! He and Messi struck the ball almost at the same time!"
"My God! A head-on clash!"
"Messi's airborne!"
"But not because he was fouled—more like when you kick a stone and your body lifts up involuntarily. If he hadn't, his left leg could've snapped! He redirected the force!"
"Meanwhile, Su Hang's right leg absorbed almost all of the impact."
"Brilliant! The ball is still under Su Hang's control!"
"A perfect sliding challenge with ball retention!"
"Barcelona players protest a foul, but Su Hang's already driving forward!"
"In reality, it wasn't a foul! Barcelona are chasing him, but Su Hang's not going too fast, so..."
Bang!
Su Hang poked the ball several meters forward, shoved past Iniesta, and accelerated.
By the time Iniesta absorbed the collision, Su Hang was already a few meters ahead.
Xavi slid across to intercept from deeper.
Bang!
As Su Hang neared him, he lashed the ball another ten meters forward!
Xavi's pupils shrank.
You call that not fast?
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
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