Chapter 176 Real Madrid vs Ajax

After running a betting operation during Fino's penalty shootout with Ronaldo last year, Arbeloa became completely obsessed with it. Fortunately, he was quite discreet, betting on trivial matters unrelated to football, with small stakes and more for entertainment. So, both Pellegrini and Mourinho turned a blind eye.

As the players lined up in the tunnel to take the field, Arbeloa started a small bet, wagering on whether Casillas would win or lose in the pre-match coin toss.

The defenders, who were trying to curry favor with Casillas, all bet on a win, while the midfielders and forwards bet on a loss. Fino also followed the crowd and bet 20 euros on a loss.

A little while later, Casillas returned with a proud look on his face, and it was clear at a glance that he had won the coin toss.

Marcelo and the other defenders who were routinely scolded by Casillas immediately went to flatter him, making Casillas feel very comfortable.

Casillas won the coin toss and chose to keep possession, so Real Madrid kicked off the match first.

Fino and Higuain stood together inside the center circle, while the other players were distributed in their own half, quietly taking their positions and waiting for the game to officially begin.

With the referee's whistle, Fino gently pushed the ball to Higuain, who immediately passed it back to Alonso in Real Madrid's half. Then, together with Fino, they made a run into Ajax's attacking third, drawing away some of Ajax's defenders.

Real Madrid and Ajax had not faced each other for 15 years. In the early stages of the match, both sides were cautiously probing each other. Real Madrid passed the ball around in midfield, while Ajax did not immediately launch a pressing attack.

Alonso played a through ball to Marcelo, who was positioned to his left rear, and Marcelo then passed the ball to Ronaldo, who was positioned to his left front.

Ajax's De Jong blocked Ronaldo's path and began to move closer to him. Upon seeing this, Ronaldo passed the ball back to Marcelo.

Ajax striker Sulemani ran from the center towards Marcelo, and Alonso immediately came over to support him. As Marcelo and Alonso made a cross-run, Marcelo passed the ball to Alonso and blocked Sulemani.

With Marcelo providing cover, Alonso calmly launched a long cross, the ball traversing most of the field and reaching Arbeloa on the right wing.

Arbeloa launched another long pass before the Ajax players could get close, targeting Fino who was waiting to receive the pass in Ajax's half.

As the ball was passed into Ajax's half, the previously relaxed atmosphere changed drastically, and the game suddenly became tense.

Fino lifted his foot and firmly controlled the ball between his feet, then turned and dribbled towards the front of the field.

De Zeeuw and Anita positioned themselves on the left and right, preparing to double-team Fino. Fino remained calm and, before Anita could close in, proactively dribbled the ball towards De Zeeuw. In the instant the two met, Fino used a nimble turn to shield De Zeeuw behind him, and then passed the ball low forward to Higuain.

The moment Fino released the ball, Di Maria sped down the right flank. By the time Higuain received the ball, Di Maria had already reached the outside of the Ajax penalty area and began to cut across into the box.

Ajax's two center-backs left the penalty area and pressed towards Higuain, who had the ball. At this point, only Ajax's goalkeeper Stekelenburg was left alone in the penalty area.

Upon seeing this, Higuain immediately unleashed a long-range shot, the ball passing between two Ajax defenders and entering the penalty area.

Higuain's shot wasn't particularly fast or powerful, and Fino, who was behind him, was somewhat disappointed, feeling that his shot was likely to go to waste.

However, there was a king in the penalty area. Di Maria seemed to think the ball was meant for him, took a few steps to the side, and caught it with his foot. The referee blew his whistle the moment Di Maria touched the ball.

The assistant referee raised his flag from outside the field; offside.

Fino: ? ? ? He didn't understand Di Maria's actions.

When Higuain passed the ball, the two center-backs were the closest Ajax players to the goal line besides the goalkeeper. They were standing near the penalty area line, while Di Maria was inside the penalty area. There was no need for Ajax players to create an offside trap; Di Maria was clearly in an offside position.

Why did he catch the ball?

Fino's puzzled expression was so obvious that DiMaria scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.

This was his first appearance for Real Madrid in the Champions League, and he was a little too excited. When he saw the ball, he impulsively caught it...

Because of this offside, possession of the ball immediately went to Ajax.

Van der Wiel launched a long pass from the right flank, the ball crossed the halfway line and was accurately passed to De Zeeuw, who was positioned near the right sideline. De Zeeuw then began to make wide, sweeping runs down the right flank.

Khedira, Marcelo, and others immediately rushed towards De Zeeuw.

Marcelo was the closest to the ball. He approached De Zeeuw from the side and, without any physical contact, cleanly and decisively poked the ball out of bounds.

The caddie at the Bernabéu threw the ball over, and De Zeeuw began throwing it in from outside the box.

After he threw the ball to striker Hamdawi, Hamdawi pushed the ball back to him, and then he kicked the ball to Suleimani, who was not far away.

At this moment, several Real Madrid players, including Arbeloa, Pepe, and Carvalho, were standing near the penalty area line. Suleimani had a flash of inspiration and immediately launched a long pass after receiving the ball, lobbing it towards the Real Madrid penalty area, preparing to attack behind Real Madrid's defense.

De Jong, who was partnering with him, was clearly a bit smarter than Di Maria. He didn't put himself in an offside position and only made a diagonal run into Real Madrid's penalty area from the left wing the moment Suleimani took the shot.

However, Soleimani's shot wasn't high enough, and Pepe jumped high on the edge of the penalty area to intercept it, giving De Jong no chance to touch the ball.

As Pepe passed the ball across to Carvalho, another offensive and defensive transition occurred on the field.

Carvalho, Marcelo, and Ronaldo passed the ball from the left flank towards Ajax's half.

After Ronaldo received the ball, De Jong stood close behind him with his arms outstretched, looking as if he was about to tackle Ronaldo.

Ronaldo immediately passed the ball back to Marcelo, who launched a long diagonal pass from the left wing. The ball crossed the halfway line into Ajax's half, where Fino successfully received it.

Upon seeing Fino with the ball, the Ajax players instantly tensed up.

After the World Cup, Fino's prestige rose to another level. His all-around performance from the front to the back was truly awe-inspiring and had a huge deterrent effect on the opponents.

Fino turned and broke through the Ajax penalty area from the middle, the knight in white embarking on a long run.

De Jong closed in from the left, but Fino moved to the right and accelerated past him; Emanuelson came forward to intercept, but Fino shifted his weight from side to side several times, easily gliding past him; Eno approached from the right flank, but Fino dribbled past him with the ball...

Screams erupted from the Bernabéu stands. Fans have always loved the long-distance run-up style of breakthrough, engaging in 1v1 or 1vN close combat with defenders during high-speed forward runs, which is full of strong courage and visual appeal.

Especially players like Fino and Kaká, who excel at long-distance runs, not only terrify their opponents but also send the fans' adrenaline soaring—it's incredibly exciting.

In just a few seconds, Fino had dribbled past three opponents and was closing in on Ajax's penalty area.

Ajax's two center-backs, Alderweireld and Oe, nervously approached, ready to face the Ballon d'Or winner. Fino, however, did not continue his breakthrough. This was a game, not a dribbling drill. He had already spotted Ronaldo making a run down the left flank out of the corner of his eye.

Fino passed the ball to Ronaldo on the left wing, and Ronaldo received the ball and began to cut inside from the left.

Van der Wiel, who was positioned opposite Ronaldo, had already blocked him, and center-back Alderweireld also released Fino and rushed towards Ronaldo.

At this moment, Enoch and Emanuelson, who had been left behind by Fino, finally caught up. One of them positioned himself between Fino and Ronaldo, while the other blocked Fino's path. Their intention was clear: to prevent Ronaldo from passing the ball back to Fino.

During a one-on-one duel with Van der Wiel, Ronaldo used a few stepovers. Seeing that Van der Wiel wasn't fooled, Ronaldo dribbled the ball a few steps to the right and, before Alderweireld could close him down, lobbed the ball into the penalty area.

Higuain and Ooye, who had dropped back, squeezed towards the ball's landing point. In the end, Higuain was a step faster and jumped to head the ball directly, but because the angle was too straight, it was caught by goalkeeper Stekelenburg.

Real Madrid's attack also ended in failure.

The two unsuccessful attacks at the start of the game seemed to foreshadow the outcome of the match. In the following minutes, although Real Madrid maintained a firm advantage, none of their numerous attacks resulted in a goal.

Higuain and Di Maria missed several shots, Ronaldo's powerful shot inside the penalty area hit Ooer, and Fino's long-range shot was tipped over the crossbar by Stekelenburg.

At that moment, Fino suddenly remembered the bet made before the match; all the players in the midfield and forward line had lost the bet...

Even though rebirth happened to Fino, he wasn't particularly superstitious. But now, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the bet before the match was unlucky, and his dagger-like gaze pierced Arbeloa, the bookmaker.

Arbeloa was startled and quickly reviewed his memories. He hadn't offended Fino recently, nor had he made any major mistakes just now. He was a little confused by Fino's gaze, but that didn't stop him from immediately flashing Fino a fawning smile.

Mourinho stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, chewing gum with a blank expression.

So far, he has been fairly satisfied with the performance of the Real Madrid players. Apart from Di Maria's thoughtless offside call at the start of the game, the players have not made any major mistakes and their teamwork has been quite good.

If they keep playing like this, it's only a matter of time before they score.

The score changed in the 37th minute when Real Madrid broke the deadlock with a corner kick.

Alonso took a corner kick from the right, the ball soaring high over the penalty area and heading straight for the far post. Anita won the header challenge with Arbeloa, leaping high to clear the ball, but it deflected off Carvalho and bounced into the goal.

Stekelenburg was completely unprepared for this.

This unexpected turn of events stunned everyone.

Stekelenburg sighed, hands on his hips, looking utterly helpless, while Anita, who had caused this blunder, looked like he was about to break.

Real Madrid's players looked at each other in disbelief. They had been attacking relentlessly for over 30 minutes without scoring, and the score was unexpectedly changed in this way.

After blowing the whistle to confirm the goal, the referee pointed to the center circle.

The Real Madrid players then realized what had happened, gave each other a quick high-five to celebrate, and regardless of how the goal was scored, as long as it was valid, that was enough.

-----------------------

Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support! [cheering emoji]