Real Oviedo's sudden high press immediately caused the already error-prone Real Madrid B Team to make even more mistakes.
The fourth official on the touchline had already raised the board showing three minutes of stoppage time, and Oviedo's efforts on the pitch paid off. Saúl's high press forced Javi Hernández's hurried clearance directly to Teixeira, who immediately sent the ball to Javi Fernández, who'd surged forward from the backline on the wing to join the attack. Fernández shielded the ball with his back against his defender, Álvaro García, controlled it, and passed it straight to Saúl, who'd come over to receive the ball. After passing, Fernández immediately turned and sprinted forward again. Just as he passed García, Saúl's return pass arrived.
Before André arrived at Oviedo, Javi Fernández was the fastest player on the entire Oviedo squad, which was one reason he'd secured a spot in the starting lineup. Hierro's 4-3-3 formation demanded very high capacity for the two fullbacks to surge forward from the back.
After passing García, Fernández received Saúl's pass and sprinted forward at full speed along the touchline. Just as he was about to reach the byline, Fernández suddenly executed a sharp stop, causing García, who'd been chasing him closely, to overshoot. After adjusting, he immediately sent a half-volley cross into the Real Madrid B Team penalty area.
At this moment inside the Real Madrid B Team penalty area, André had moved to the near post position, Folch was in the center, and Ibra had also arrived at the far post. Fernández's cross was not very high and was aimed precisely at André at the near post, but considering André's height, he couldn't use a header to complete the shot.
In desperation, André faced the incoming ball, jumped slightly, and chested it down, completely ignoring Javi Hernández constantly pushing him from behind. Then, just before the ball landed, he suddenly struck the ball backward forcefully with his heel. With his back to the goal, he suddenly heard the referee's whistle and the cheers of the Oviedo fans in the stands.
When he turned around, he saw the ball was already in the net.
3-0.
Then all the other Oviedo teammates rushed over and immediately piled on top of each other next to the goal. At this moment, the big screen on the sideline was constantly replaying the goal sequence. The ball that André had back-heeled had luckily rolled straight through the crowd toward the goal. The Real Madrid B Team goalkeeper, Luca, had his view blocked, and by the time he saw the ball rolling toward the goal, it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as the ball rolled into the net. The replay on the big screen showed the ball first passing between Javi Hernández's legs, and everyone behind him was likely caught off guard by the ball, reacting a beat too slow.
3-0, and this was only the first half. This result was absolutely beyond everyone's expectations. Even Hierro hadn't anticipated that today's match would go so smoothly, nor had he realized how terrifying André would be when fully unleashed.
André, once again pinned at the very bottom of the pile, finally managed to crawl up from the ground after his teammates got up and ran off. Seeing their hero in such a miserable state, the Oviedo fans in the stands let out good-natured laughter.
"Ptooey! Ptooey!" André spat out a few blades of grass from his mouth, glaring resentfully at his teammates running away. He wondered if he should assist a teammate's goal next time so he could enjoy the feeling of being on top of the pile, especially Saúl. He vaguely heard Saúl and others discussing how he'd wiggled a few times when they piled on him earlier.
Thinking this, André narrowed his eyes and looked at Saúl. That bastard better not give me a chance, or I'll bloody maim him.
Only a few minutes after the match resumed, the referee blew the whistle, signaling the end of the first half.
As they walked off the pitch, Hierro specifically gave André a hug.
"Well done, kid. How was that? Feels brilliant, doesn't it?"
"Heh, not bad."
"Let's go."
"Lads, you played a fantastic first half. You brought down opponents who thought they were high and mighty and made them bow their noble heads. Every single one of you performed brilliantly. However, I must remind you—only half the match is over. The second half is still waiting for you. So absolutely do not give the opposition any hope of winning. Crush them completely here on our home turf, understand?"
"Understood!"
The atmosphere in the Oviedo dressing room, leading by three goals, was relaxed and the squad morale was soaring. Conversely, in the Real Madrid B Team dressing room, Dias looked at the young men before him with disappointment. To be honest, he'd always thought highly of these young players, but today's match fully exposed their problems. First and foremost, their mentality was extremely fragile. He knew that encouragement should be the priority for young players, but frankly, given the issues that arose in the first half, he didn't even know how to begin encouraging them.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
Dias clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, 0-3 is not the end of the world. Who are we? We are Castilla. Forget the first half and play the second half seriously. If they can score three goals against us in the first half, we can score three goals against them too. Everything is still possible. Our goal has never been just one specific team. Have you forgotten that your dream is to step onto the Bernabéu pitch? If you give up now, what right do you have to enter the Bernabéu?"
Dias's words finally brought a glimmer of light back into the eyes of these young men. The fighting spirit and morale that had been shattered by the three-goal deficit recovered slightly at this moment.
Seeing that the players were finally showing some improvement, Dias quickly laid out the tactics for the second half.
Soon, the halftime break was over, and both teams' players returned to the pitch. The second half was about to begin.
Dias made adjustments to the starting lineup from the first half: Víctor Campuzano replaced Marvin Park. Based on the positioning of the opposing players, Hierro realized that this was not just a like-for-like substitution of a forward for a forward—the tactics had also changed. After Campuzano came onto the pitch, Sergio González stood behind Campuzano, and the four midfielders were no longer in a 2-2 alignment but had shifted into a diamond formation. In other words, the Real Madrid B Team's current formation on the pitch was a 4-4-1-1.
"What is Malono trying to do?" asked Sánchez.
"I don't know. Let's wait and see. Could it be that he wants to attack the flanks? Bringing on a tall center-forward, but if he switches to a single defensive midfielder, isn't he afraid of André's impact?" Hierro was temporarily unsure of Dias's intention behind changing the formation.
On the pitch, André looked at Castilla's new formation.
They've changed tactics, he thought. Good. More for me to destroy.
He smiled.
The second half was about to begin.
And André was just getting started.
HALF-TIME: Real Oviedo 3-0 Real Madrid Castilla
Goals:
André Cristiano (10', 36', 45'+2)
Hat-trick for André in his revenge match!
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