Chapter 189 Breaking the Curse

Forced by the referee's yellow card, Real Madrid players could only reluctantly disperse and wait for Lyon to take the free kick.

Starting with Ramos' yellow card, the referee became noticeably stricter, and the effect was significant. Both teams' players became more restrained in their actions, and the pace of the game became much smoother.

In the 36th minute, Fino and Alonso intercepted the ball from Bastos in midfield and delivered a long diagonal pass to Ronaldo on the left flank, who then dribbled forward down the left wing.

Under the combined pressure from Toulalan and Shelstrom, Ronaldo managed to pass the ball back to Fino, who was making a run forward to receive it in the flank.

Fino glanced at his teammates' positions. Di Maria was to his right, positioned parallel to him. Sissoko was positioned between him and Di Maria. Adebayor was on the right wing, near Lyon's penalty area, with the nearest defender to him being Chris in the box, about two or three meters away.

Fino immediately launched a long diagonal pass, targeting Adebayor.

The ball flew through half the field and landed precisely in Adebayo's direction. Chris immediately rushed towards Adebayo, trying to contest the ball's landing point with him.

As the ball dipped, the two players shoved each other with their shoulders, but Adebayor ultimately prevailed, using his strength to push Chris aside, jumping up to control the ball with his chest, and then starting to dribble towards Lyon's penalty area.

As Fino sped along the left flank toward Lyon's penalty area, he mentally cheered for Adebayor.

No wonder Mourinho likes players who are physically strong and tough. With their height, jumping ability, and strength, they can overwhelm defenders with their physical attributes. Brute force can overcome any skill!

When Fino reached the penalty arc, the Lyon players following him were already far behind. At this point, in Lyon's penalty area, besides goalkeeper Lloris, only another center-back, Lovren, remained.

Lovren had no time to hesitate and charged straight at Adebayor, who was cutting into the penalty area from the right.

"Real Madrid has a golden scoring opportunity! Adebayor dribbles into the penalty area from the right, and Cabrini is already near the penalty arc. At this moment, Lyon's defense is wide open. Apart from goalkeeper Lloris standing in front of the goal, the only Lyon player in the penalty area is Lovren, who is standing in front of Adebayor!" the commentator shouted. "Adebayor and Cabrini have combined to create a two-on-one situation against Lovren! Let's see how Adebayor will handle this ball. Will he dribble past Lovren himself, or pass to the unmarked Cabrini... um..."

Adebayor chose a different path, shoving the tall and imposing Lovren to the ground as easily as pushing aside a tree branch blocking his way.

The referee immediately blew his whistle; Adebayor had committed a foul, and Lyon was awarded an indirect free kick.

This indirect free kick was located inside Lyon's penalty area and posed almost no threat to Real Madrid's goal; it simply changed possession.

Adebayor's behavior was hard to understand. If he had passed the ball to Fino, Fino would have had a much higher chance of scoring in a one-on-one situation. He could have used a more reasonable way to dribble past Fino, but instead, Adebayor chose to push Fino in the penalty area.

Fino could hardly believe his eyes. Was this a choice a normal person would make? Sure, you might have the physical ability to overwhelm your opponent, but you still have to respect the basic rules!

What's this? The young lady has arrived, everyone get out of the way?

Adebayor wasted a golden scoring opportunity, and Mourinho angrily kicked at the air on the sidelines and called Benzema to warm up.

In the 42nd minute, during Lyon's attacking opportunity, a large number of players from both sides gathered in Real Madrid's half, causing some chaos on the field. Possession of the ball was passed back and forth between the two sides. In the midst of the fierce struggle, Carvalho unintentionally handled the ball, and the referee awarded Lyon a free kick.

Lyon's free kick was taken by Bastos. After a run-up, Bastos unleashed a powerful left-footed shot. The ball hit the wall and bounced back. Gourcuff got to the ball and immediately chipped it to the right side of Real Madrid's penalty area. Delgado ran onto it and headed the ball towards goal. The angle of the shot was so straight that it looked like he was going straight into Casillas' arms. Casillas didn't even have to make a save and easily caught the ball.

After receiving the ball, Casillas jogged forward a few steps and launched a long ball towards Lyon's half, initiating a quick counter-attack for Real Madrid. Fino, outside the Lyon penalty area, won the ball over three defenders, turned, and dribbled past Sissoko into the Lyon penalty area.

At this moment, only goalkeeper Lloris was in Lyon's penalty area. Fino had a one-on-one opportunity, but before he could even shoot, the referee blew his whistle.

The linesman raised his flag; the refereeing team determined that Fino was offside.

Fino was somewhat bewildered. When Casillas kicked off, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Sissoko, who was closest to him. Sissoko was a body length behind him and closer to the Lyon penalty area. How could he be offside?

Mourinho, on the sidelines, protested to the fourth official in dissatisfaction. Fino also spoke with the referee, describing the positioning situation, but the referee stuck to his decision.

The first half ended with a score of 0-0.

In the second half, Mourinho substituted Benzema for Adebayor, marking Benzema's first time facing his former club since transferring to Real Madrid.

After the start of the game, Real Madrid's attack became more aggressive. Both Mourinho and the players wanted to break the curse of not being able to beat Lyon, especially after witnessing Real Madrid's three-game losing streak at the Stade Gerland.

Florentino also came to the Stade Gerland to watch the game, accompanied by Zidane.

In the 48th minute, Real Madrid launched an attack from the left flank. Cristiano Ronaldo, Fino, Benzema, and Alonso combined with a series of passes to advance into Lyon's penalty area.

After successfully reaching the byline, Fino, who made the final touch, crossed the ball to Di Maria, who had cut from the right wing to the center. Di Maria reacted too late, and the ball was intercepted by Lyon's center-back Lovren, who then passed it to Bastos.

Bastos made a mistake after receiving the ball, failing to control it properly, and Di Maria won the ball back.

Just as Di Maria was about to dribble into the penalty area, Bastos panicked, grabbed Di Maria by the back of his collar, and kicked him to the ground.

The foul happened right under the referee's nose, and the referee immediately showed Bastos a yellow card and awarded Real Madrid a free kick.

This is Bastos' third yellow card in this season's Champions League, and according to regulations, he will be suspended for the second leg at Real Madrid's home ground. This is good news for Real Madrid, as it effectively shuts down Lyon's attack down the left flank in the second leg.

Cristiano Ronaldo took the free kick, and the ball flew over the wall and towards the right side of the penalty area. Fino and Ramos rushed towards the goal together, distracting Lyon goalkeeper Lloris and making him think it was a free kick combination. However, he was unsure whether Fino or Ramos would be the one to finish the shot.

Actually, none of that applies. Ronaldo didn't coordinate with anyone; it was a direct shot. The ball went over the wall and fooled Lloris, but unfortunately, it hit the far post and bounced out.

During the scramble for the ball, Gourcuff kicked it out of bounds.

Real Madrid were awarded a corner kick on the right.

Alonso took the corner kick, and Ramos jumped at the near post to head the ball, which hit the crossbar and bounced back into the penalty area.

For a moment, chaos erupted in Lyon's penalty area as the ball was passed back and forth between the players of both sides. Lloris stared intently at the ball, fearing a sudden shot from behind.

After Alonso intercepted the ball from Delgado, he didn't linger in the crowded penalty area but instead passed the ball out of the box.

Fino unleashed a chip shot from the left side of the penalty arc. The ball arced over the heads of both teams in the penalty area and nestled into the top corner of the goal, just inside the right post.

Lori's vision was completely blocked, and he didn't have time to make a move.

The referee blew the whistle to confirm the goal and pointed to the center circle.

"Goooal! After a 50-minute stalemate, Real Madrid took the lead with a corner kick. This is the first time in Real Madrid's history that they have scored at the Stade Gerland, and the opening goal was scored by Fino Cabrini, the two-time Ballon d'Or winner!"

The deafening boos from Lyon fans on all four sides of the stands seemed to be the best compliment to Fino.

Mourinho clenched his fists and waved them twice on the sidelines, while Florentino Pérez smiled reservedly and applauded from the VIP box...

Fino's teammates excitedly surrounded him, hugging him, patting his shoulders, and ruffling his hair. Even Casillas rushed over from in front of the Real Madrid goal.

Ramos squeezed in, put one arm around Fino's waist, and pinched Fino's chin with the other, about to kiss Fino's lips.

Fino, who was initially overjoyed at scoring, was immediately horrified upon seeing Ramos's kiss and struggled to turn his head away. NO! NO! NO!

Ramos's kiss finally landed on Fino's neck, but before Ramos could say anything, Alonso roughly pulled it away!

Ramos: ? ? ?

Alonso didn't show any displeasure. If he showed a bad attitude while celebrating a goal, wouldn't that just be giving the media something to criticize him for?

But Fino could already picture Alonso's aggrieved face, so he quickly hugged him and, under the cover of his teammates, secretly pinched Alonso's waist.

When Fino released his grip, Alonso gave Ramos a smile.

Ramos: ? ? ?

In the 65th minute, Real Madrid had another attacking opportunity. Fino lost possession under pressure from Lovren and Toulalan, but before Lyon could launch a counterattack, Fino, with the help of Ronaldo, won back possession and made a low pass to Benzema, who had made a run into Lyon's penalty area.

Benzema dribbled past several defenders in the penalty area, rendering Shelstrom and Chris's defense ineffective. Goalkeeper Lloris rushed out, but Benzema dribbled past him and slotted the ball into the empty net.

Benzema extended Real Madrid's lead to 2-0.

Just as Fino didn't celebrate when playing against Milan, Benzema also chose not to celebrate when facing Lyon.

After taking a two-goal lead, Mourinho substituted Di Maria with Lass Diarra, using a three-man midfield to strengthen the defense, and Real Madrid immediately switched from attack to defense.

Lyon's coach made three substitutions to strengthen their attack.

In the 87th minute, under sustained pressure from the players, Lyon finally pulled one back when Gomis scored with a low shot from the right side of the six-yard box.

The score remained 2-1 until the end, with Real Madrid breaking the curse of losing at the Stade Gerland and securing two valuable away goals.

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