Sure enough.
Oleguer turned his head—and saw the referee pointing straight at the penalty spot.
At the same time, Oleguer was shown a yellow card.
"What a beautifully chaotic sequence!"
"Su Hang's vision is incredible—if that pass had been even a moment later, it wouldn't have gone through."
"That touch from Su Hang is starting to feel more and more like Zidane."
"Guti has delivered!"
"This is his 300th appearance for Real Madrid. That penalty is just like his performances over the years—decisive and deadly!"
"He will always be an indispensable part of Real Madrid!"
Ten seconds later, Su Hang smashed the ball home with a powerful strike, calmly converting the penalty.
"Two–nil! Su Hang scores his second!"
"His finishing touch lately has been insane! Seven goals in two matches—this is terrifying form!"
"Valdés was a bit unlucky. He actually got a touch on the ball—he read Su Hang's penalty correctly, but his height and reach just weren't enough."
"If that had been Reina, this penalty might have been saved."
Ever since Pepe Reina became Liverpool's starting goalkeeper, Barcelona fans had gradually begun to miss him.
What you can't have always feels like the best.
As Su Hang leapt high into the air, the sound of siu erupted from the Real Madrid supporters along the touchline.
Just over ten minutes in, Barcelona were already completely stunned.
At this critical moment, Rijkaard made adjustments.
He gathered the players and instructed them to shift all defensive focus onto Su Hang.
Not only did they have to follow his dropping movements, they also needed to constantly cut off his connections with his teammates.
Isolate Su Hang.
Rijkaard also gave specific attacking instructions to Ronaldinho and Messi.
In the 18th minute, the young Messi began to show his sharp edge down the right flank.
He dribbled repeatedly, feinting again and again. His speed was explosive, and his center of gravity shifted constantly.
Even though Diarra and Emerson closed in to double-team him, they still couldn't dispossess him.
Eventually, Messi carried the ball into a dangerous area and laid it off to Ronaldinho, who had come over to support.
Ronaldinho played a through ball in stride.
Eto'o powered past his marker and burst into the penalty area.
Fortunately, Casillas rushed out decisively.
Facing Casillas, the cheetah Eto'o attempted a chip.
The ball skimmed past Casillas' head as it went over him.
Barcelona won a corner.
Su Hang looked at Messi, deep in thought.
Messi looked to be in excellent form today.
With Ronaldinho drawing all the attention, it became very easy for Messi to find space.
If nothing unexpected happened, Messi might even score the first hat trick of his career in this match.
So…
Su Hang quietly shifted closer to Messi.
Today, his biggest task was likely to be containing this future member of the dual superstars.
Bang!
Eto'o delivered the corner kick.
Ronaldinho muscled his way past the defenders, attacked the near post, and snapped a header.
The ball glanced off the inside of the near post and flew into the net. Casillas had no chance.
Camp Nou exploded.
"GOAL!"
"Ronaldinho!"
"When it matters most, it's Ronaldinho who steps up for Barcelona!"
"He is Barcelona's eternal king!"
"Compared to Su Hang's Ballon d'Or, Ronaldinho even has one more FIFA World Player of the Year to his name!"
"This goal perfectly showcases his imagination!"
Two–one. Barcelona pulled one back.
The morale that had been crushed by Su Hang now began to rise again.
For a giant club like Barcelona, once the first goal goes in, everything becomes possible.
In the 20th minute, the 102-rated Ronaldinho was almost unstoppable.
Sergio Ramos paid the price with a yellow card just to bring him down—and still gave Barcelona a free kick from a very dangerous position.
Fortunately, Kompany was tall enough to block Ronaldinho's direct free kick.
In the 21st minute, Ronaldinho pulled off an elastico on the left flank, sending Sergio Ramos tumbling to the ground, then slipped in a threatening pass.
The future Sergio Ramos would be known for fierce and reliable defending.
But in his younger days, he paid plenty of tuition fees—often being left in pieces or gifting opponents big chances.
Eto'o received the ball in the box, turned, and fired a powerful shot.
The strike was hit cleanly and looked destined to be a goal.
But Casillas' form was still on fire, and he somehow pushed the ball away.
It seemed that from the previous Champions League match, he hadn't just taken victory away from the Allianz Arena—he'd taken Kahn's great form with him as well.
In the 28th minute, Su Hang dropped deep again to help his teammates relieve Barcelona's midfield pressure.
Márquez followed Su Hang up and reached in from behind, trying to poke the ball away.
He didn't get the ball.
But he did step on Su Hang's heel.
Su Hang went down in pain.
The referee showed Márquez a yellow card.
Beckham then took a tactical free kick from that spot, floating the ball into the penalty area.
Unfortunately, Oleguer cleared it away.
Barcelona immediately launched a counterattack.
Deco carried the ball, cut inside from the left, and passed to Eto'o.
Eto'o played a one-two and immediately found Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho received the ball, dragged it back with a deft touch, then accelerated—adding two bounding steps—forcing his way into the penalty area through the double-team of Sergio Ramos and Diarra.
Double marking him was no longer enough.
Bang!
Ronaldinho shot from a tight angle.
Casillas blocked it.
The ball rebounded toward the far side of the goal.
Unnoticed, Messi had already slipped into the box. He raised his leg, turned his body sideways, and waited for the ball to come to him before finishing.
Under normal circumstances, that would have been a goal.
But—
Bang!
Su Hang arrived first, sliding in from the side and clearing the ball away.
He had been watching Messi the entire time, so his tackle touched only the ball, not Messi.
Instead, Messi, swinging at empty air, ended up kicking Su Hang.
The referee blew his whistle.
Barcelona fans thought a penalty was coming.
Instead, the referee walked straight over to Messi and showed him a yellow card.
"Oh! Messi has been booked."
"That was a dangerous action. Whether he meant to kick Su Hang or not, a card was unavoidable."
"There are plenty of examples like this in football. A player may not intend to hurt anyone, but if a dangerous move occurs by chance, punishment follows."
"Honestly, the referee could even have shown a red card. Messi has already gotten off lightly."
"Besides, Messi's choice on that rebound wasn't a great one. He waited for the ball instead of proactively adjusting to shoot first."
"As a result, the quicker-reacting Su Hang got there first and cleared it."
"If Messi had been sharper and gone for the shot earlier, he might have earned a red card and a penalty!"
"And the player sent off would've been Real Madrid's biggest threat—Su Hang!"
"What a shame!"
Messi, now carrying a yellow card, walked back toward midfield with his head down.
He had felt that his touch was excellent today.
But now, it seemed like everything was going wrong.
Missing such a golden opportunity really shouldn't have happened.