Chapter 561 Messi's Revenge
Faced with a double-team, most players would have surrendered by this time.
But Lin Quan did not give up. When he saw two people trying to double-team him, he first kicked the ball with his foot, and then suddenly accelerated, giving the impression that he was trying to get through the gap between the two people.
Seeing this, Umtiti and Mathieu quickly moved towards the middle to close the door, preventing the ball from passing through!
However, just after the two reacted like this, Lin Quan quickly dunked the ball back and completed the second change of direction. At the same time, his left shoulder sank slightly and his body suddenly exerted force to pass through Mathieu's right side.
Mathieu widened his eyes and was extremely shocked. He didn't expect the other party to complete the action so quickly.
This is even faster than Messi!
In a hurry, Mathieu quickly stretched out his right leg and tried to stop Lin Quan from dribbling the ball.
But just as he stretched his legs, Lin Quan slammed the ball again and completed the third change of direction, about to escape from Mathieu's control.
Seeing that the opponent was about to break through successfully, Mathieu seemed to forget that he still had a yellow card. He almost subconsciously reached out, grabbed Lin Quan's jersey and pulled him to the ground.
There was an uproar at the scene. Barcelona fans covered their mouths in horror and looked at Lin Quan who fell in the penalty area in shock.
Could this be a penalty?
Will Mathieu get a card for this foul? He already has a yellow card. If he gets another card, won't he be ejected? The referee blew the whistle decisively, but did not award a penalty. Instead, he pulled out a yellow card for Mathieu, and then a red card, ejecting him from the game.
I have to say that referees who can coach Champions League matches are indeed very capable.
Just now, Mathieu committed the foul right on the penalty area line. If it had been a little forward, he would have entered the penalty area.
The referee was able to determine the location of the foul so decisively and then make the correct judgment. It has to be said that he is very capable.
Barcelona fans breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately it was not a penalty.
But then they started to worry again.
Mathieu received two yellow cards in just two minutes, resulting in their current number being the same as Manchester City, with both sides down by one man.
The numerical advantage is gone, and the player who was sent off was a key center back, which is a bit uncomfortable for Barcelona.
Enrique quickly made a substitution, replacing Iniesta with a central defender.
Barcelona is already leading by three goals, and now all they have to do is use up the remaining 20 minutes.
On the field, Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen was arranging his teammates to form a human wall. The position where Mathieu committed the foul was right on the penalty area line. For a free kick master, this position is still very threatening.
Barcelona's human wall is arranged very scientifically, with four tall players forming an aerial interception network, and a player lying on the ground behind them to prevent the opponent from making a ground-based attack.
Lin Quan didn't even look at the human wall. He just observed the goalkeeper's position and then shot decisively.
The football drew a beautiful arc in the air and flew into the goal almost sticking to the near corner post.
Ter Stegen had no way to deal with this ball. He had tried his best but just couldn't save it. Unless he stood in the near corner from the beginning, he would not have been able to move his feet in time.
After scoring the goal, Lin Quan did not celebrate. He rushed into the goal and took the ball out. On the way back to the center circle, he reached out to his teammates and asked them to come back quickly to prepare for the kick-off.
Manchester City doesn't have much time left, so they can't waste it on celebrating.
In the stands of Camp Nou, Barcelona fans had complicated expressions and felt bad when they saw Lin Quan being so active and working so hard.
What a good player, a gem of our La Masia youth training camp, but why can't he return to Camp Nou to play for us?
Some people even started to worry, as Barcelona's lead is now only 2 goals.
If the opponent continues to explode like this, Barcelona's two-goal lead may not be safe.
On the court, Messi, with his hands on his hips and breathing heavily, stared at Lin Quan who had returned to the center circle.
Messi was in very good form in this game. Before Lin Quan scored, he almost dominated the game single-handedly.
Although Messi had always admired Lin Quan, a junior who was very similar to himself, he became really angry after losing to him repeatedly in major competitions.
He was eager to win a fair game on the court, and this game was undoubtedly the best chance! Now, Lin Quan led Manchester City to launch a desperate counterattack.
Messi certainly won't let the other side succeed easily! You are very strong, I admit your strength.
But I won't let you run wild on my home turf!
With a strong desire to fight, Messi became more proactive in the following games.
Even the Barcelona players and head coach Enrique on the field noticed that Messi's performance today was different from usual.
The last time Messi tried so hard was in the 2014 World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Spain.
Who on earth provoked him to make Messi fight so hard? Enrique's eyes naturally locked on the opponent's number 10. He was the only one who could have this possibility.
Although one player was sent off on both sides, the excitement of the game did not decrease but increased after the game resumed.
Manchester City, with 10 men, performed even better than before. Lin Quan's goal completely inspired the players' fighting spirit and allowed them to recover their form. They ran on the court at all costs and fought for the ball without fear of danger.
The same goes for Barcelona. Under the leadership of Messi, they showed the momentum of the world's top team and competed fiercely with Manchester City on all fronts.
The pace of the game suddenly accelerated, and it was obvious that both sides were really angry.
The constant back-and-forth attacks made the fans who came to watch the game very excited.
This is the game we want to see, this is the level that the world's top teams should play! In the 79th minute of the second half, Manchester City had a throw-in in the frontcourt. Lin Quan successfully got around the front, received the pass from Stones, and shot directly into the far corner without stopping the ball.
The score became 3:2, and Manchester City was only one goal away from equalizing!
Lin Quan's goal made the Camp Nou feel like it was falling into an ice cellar, and almost every Barcelona fan began to feel scared.
We only have one goal left, we can't let the other team score any more goals! Guard this guy!
On the sidelines, Enrique's left hand couldn't help but tremble. He desperately held his left hand tightly with his other hand to prevent his embarrassing image from being exposed.
However, the expression of fear on his face could not be concealed: Is it really impossible to stop this guy?
Messi just took a look and didn't look any further, and called on his teammates to run towards the center circle.
The other party's performance was so brilliant, how could he let the other party outshine him?
The game resumed soon, and after Messi received the ball, the number of times he attempted to dribble past opponents began to increase significantly.
Although his physical energy has been greatly consumed by this time, Messi has to grit his teeth and persevere to win the game even if he has overdrawn his physical strength.
In the 86th minute of the second half, Barcelona's quick attack was successfully blocked by Manchester City. Seeing that there was no chance, Suarez chose to pass the ball back.
Generally speaking, the Barcelona players who receive the ball will redistribute the ball to the flanks on both sides, and look for opportunities by taking advantage of the gaps that appear on the flanks when the opponent shrinks their defense.
However, Messi did not do so this time.
Instead, after receiving Suarez's pass, he chose the most reckless way of playing - he dribbled the ball directly into the penalty area which was full of people! If someone else made this irrational choice, it would be suicide and he would be scolded after the game.
But he wouldn't, because his name is Messi! In the double-teaming of multiple Manchester City players, Messi got ahead of the other team every step of the way, dodging like a loach, and gave him a chance to shoot.
Manchester City's substitute goalkeeper Joe Hart hadn't even seen the direction of the opponent's shot before the ball had already flown over.
Unlucky Joe Hart once again became a background figure and a footnote to Messi's wonderful goal.
The Camp Nou stadium is completely boiling!
This kind of magical ball is difficult to complete even for Messi in a game.
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What's more, the goal was scored when the opponent's counterattack was in full swing and the team was in an extremely critical situation.
This is even more significant! After scoring the goal, Messi was so excited that he rushed to the sidelines and took off his jersey to show it to the more than 90,000 Barcelona fans at the scene, expressing his love and loyalty to the team in this way.
Seeing Messi's actions, the cheers of Barcelona fans in the stands became louder.
Looking at Messi's back, Lin Quan sighed.
If nothing unexpected happens, Messi's goal just now will become the best goal of this round of the Champions League.
Even a player as strong as Messi cannot perform this kind of magical ball every time.
If he were to try, he would only succeed once or twice out of ten times.
But the other party succeeded in this situation and at this time.
Although the game was not over yet, after Messi scored such an incredible goal, Lin Quan already knew in his heart that Manchester City had lost the game and had no chance.
This kind of ball has a huge impact on morale. Barcelona's morale is unprecedentedly high, while Manchester City's morale is severely hit. In addition, there is not much time left in the game, so Manchester City players will inevitably become impatient.
It is hard to say whether you can score a goal if you play football with this mentality, but it is very easy to lose the ball.
As expected, after the game resumed, Manchester City was ambushed by the opponent because they pressed too far forward. Suarez's goal locked the score of the game at 5:2. Since Lin Quan joined Manchester City in 2013, the team has never lost so badly in the Champions League.
After the game, the team's morale was low and the players were frustrated. Some collapsed on the grass, while others looked at the bright red numbers on the scoreboard in confusion.
In the past few seasons, Manchester City has won so many games that the players rarely have the opportunity to experience the feeling of failure.
But Lin Quan knew that with the Premier League launching a new round of arms ban, when Liverpool, Tottenham and even Manchester United were beginning to rise again, their next games would become increasingly difficult.
And not just in the league, but in the Champions League as well.
After being tied by Celtic in the last game and losing to Barcelona in this round, Manchester City is already 5 points behind Barcelona in the group.
There are three group matches left, and it will not be easy to recover these five points. Even if they beat Barcelona at home in the next game, they may not be able to regain the top spot.
If they fail to qualify as the first in the group, they will face the first place in other groups in the second round.
This means that the round of 16 is more difficult than ever.
…
After the game, the Manchester City team did not stay in Barcelona and flew back to Manchester overnight.
Due to the loss, the team's morale was low. During the training the next day, the players were generally silent and almost no one spoke on the training ground.
After detailed examinations, De Bruyne and David Silva will need to rest for 4 and 6 weeks respectively.
For Manchester City, this is a blessing in disguise.
Fortunately, neither of them suffered serious injuries, otherwise, they would probably be absent for several months.
However, the absence of these two players has had a huge impact. Manchester City has fewer options in the midfield and frontcourt, and without De Bruyne's key passes, Manchester City's offensive firepower will further decline.
For this reason, Guardiola had to try to change the formation, moving Gundogan's position forward and trying to use him to replace De Bruyne.
It turns out that this doesn't work very well.
On October 23, in the ninth round of the Premier League, Manchester City drew 1:1 with the visiting Southampton at home!
This is Manchester City's three consecutive defeats in the Premier League. If the Champions League is included, Manchester City's record in the last five games is 3 draws and 2 losses, and its form is extremely poor.
What's even worse is that the team is full of injuries. In addition to David Silva and De Bruyne who were injured in the last game, the main central defender Kompany was also injured in this game.
Three players have been injured in a row, all of whom are absolute main players, which is very fatal for Manchester City.
The performances of the new players promoted by Guardiola did not satisfy him.
Sane is very fast, but he plays very individually and not as a team at all.
Son Heung-min has good shooting skills, but his dribbling and speed are not outstanding enough.
However, Guardiola was somewhat surprised by the performance of young player Mbappe. This kid is not only fast, but his shooting skills are also improving rapidly. Since he started practicing shooting with Lin Quan, his progress has been visible to the naked eye.
Of course, Mbappe does have shortcomings. He now has too few tricks to use, and he relies on only one trick to succeed in everything. Moreover, he is not proficient enough in the technique of cutting inside and shooting, and his footwork for crossing the ball from the bottom also needs to be improved.
Since Manchester City has stockpiled a lot of wingers in the past few seasons, the problem on the wing is not so serious.
The most crucial position is the offensive midfielder, no one can replace De Bruyne!
In this game, Gundogan did not perform well and made several mistakes, and Southampton's goal was caused by his mistakes.
Guardiola is very troubled. It seems that the attacking midfielder position must be strengthened.
Mahrez of Leicester City or B Silva of Monaco, these two people have become his focus, and he must get one of them during the winter break.
(End of this chapter)