Chapter 262
Ancelotti quickly established himself in the Real Madrid dressing room.
He seemed to know every player well. He was able to keenly perceive the emotions and demands of the players in the team, and was able to find a way to balance his tactical choices with Florentino's love of intervention.
This is the incredible thing about Ancelotti. He quickly figured out a set of tactics suitable for this new team in just a short pre-season.
"All I have to do is fully trust my players," Ancenotti said with a smile in an interview. "You can see that I have made some adjustments. Cristiano is no longer a winger. He is the main spearhead of the attack. I think such adjustments are necessary. The current winning streak has also proved to me that my decision was not wrong."
In the new season of La Liga, Real Madrid swept away the slump of last season and started with 21 consecutive wins with incredibly efficient offense.
This can't even be considered a start, the competition is already halfway through, and almost everyone is optimistic that this team will win the La Liga championship this year.
"The club I coach has the best striker of the 21st century, the best midfielder, aggressive and strong defenders and a goalkeeper who is like a goalkeeper. I think these are our confidence."
In the pre-match interview against the Barcelona national derby, Ancelotti said to the reporters who were asking questions in the audience.
Florentino was very satisfied with this. This is the art of speaking. He did not like Mourinho's art of speaking with a sarcastic tone. That was not in the interests of a businessman. Ancelotti was a smart man. He knew clearly what he wanted and could achieve this.
Florentino's satisfaction continued into the game.
He watched the game from the VIP seats. The match was played at Barcelona's home ground and the outside world was talking about whether this match could become the one in the record-breaking 22-game winning streak. The Nou Camp was packed.
Ancenotti still fielded his main lineup, and the combination of Cristiano, Benzema and Bale as forwards became more and more outstanding after continuous competitions.
Benzema and Cristiano's cooperation in the penalty area is like each other's shadow, always shooting unexpectedly to catch the opponent off guard;
Bale, on the other hand, is more of a typical opportunist. He has greater ambitions to take the lead in attack, and his frequent shots in the game put crazy pressure on the opponent's goalkeeper and defense.
"Bale made a direct shot!! The ball went wide."
"Bale didn't pass the ball to Ronaldo, but that's normal. He was in a more advantageous position, but the Welshman failed to seize the opportunity!"
Cristiano was upset about the missed attacking opportunity. He frowned and stomped his feet in frustration. Such childish action made the fans in the stands laugh and boo even louder.
But Cristiano ignored them. He seemed to be angry with himself. He kept his head down and ignored everyone.
Seeing this, the commentator said: "Ronaldo is a little emotional and angry again, just like he was in Manchester!"
"The boos from the fans on the sidelines were very loud. Bale was under a lot of pressure, especially when he missed the goal that was sure to be scored. It reminded people of his three shots on target in regular time in the Champions League final last season, which were also three very good chances!"
"Perhaps Ronaldo thought that the ball should have been passed to him?"
楀慀筝厘Ｒ
"No, I think he was just mad that the ball didn't go in."
"He is like a child, throwing tantrums on the field and needing others to coax him. At Manchester United, Ferguson, Giggs and Neville will take on these roles, but this is Spain, and the bad-tempered Portuguese superstar may have to get familiar with the environment here as soon as possible..."
"Benzema came to coax him."
“…”
The commentators in the broadcast room were talking at once, but finally they all fell silent.
Benzema walked quickly to Cristiano, put his arm around his shoulders and walked forward, covering his mouth with his hands and whispering a few words to comfort him. Then he turned to the fans in the stands behind him, frowned and gestured downwards, signaling them to be quiet.
Cristiano trotted over, and Kaka, who was not far away, came over, ruffled Cristiano's hair, and patted the Portuguese on the waist, as if he was coaxing a child.
The guests in the broadcast room were speechless for a moment. God knows what’s wrong with these people! Is Ronaldo some kind of princess? Do you need to coax someone when they are unhappy?
It’s all Ferguson’s fault!
The guests in the broadcast room all changed the subject.
The stadium stands were still bustling with people.
For these fans, it is Cristiano's emotional feedback, which he never bothers to conceal, that they love to see the most, and it is also the reason why they are always so happy to stimulate and provoke the Portuguese frequently.
Only Cristiano would not hide his emotions. Those happy, frustrated, vulnerable, embarrassing, whether positive or negative, would be presented in front of them all at once, always passionately.
When the first half was about to end, the two teams still could not open up a gap. If either side scored a goal at this moment, the pressure in the second half would suddenly decrease, and conversely, the pressure on the opposing team would double.
Everyone was waiting seriously.
Coentrao made a long pass to Cristiano on the wing. Real Madrid's number seven did not bring the ball into the penalty area, but directly fired from outside the penalty area and shot!
The ball fell rapidly in front of the goal, slipped out of the goalkeeper's hands and flew directly into the net.
Valdes turned his head to look at the ball in the net and closed his mouth helplessly.
"Elevator ball!! Ronaldo kicked an elevator ball from outside the penalty area! Valdes lost the ball!"
"Real Madrid leads Barcelona 1-0!"
Florentino smiled with satisfaction in the stands.
Cristiano was pressed against the chest by his teammates to celebrate. He caught Kaka accurately, grinned and raised his eyebrows proudly at his lover.
Kaka saw this and kissed his lover's heart in the muddy waters between his teammates.
With this goal lead, the pressure on Real Madrid in the second half suddenly eased, and the offensive momentum became more smooth and open. The attempts at shooting were endless, leaving Valdes with almost no chance to breathe.
Bale headed the ball from a small angle, overpowering Barcelona's iron-blooded defender and captain Puyol, and blasted the ball into the goal.
However, before he could run off to celebrate, the referee blew a quick whistle and canceled the goal.
"The goal was fouled!" the commentator exclaimed, "The score is back to 1-0! What a pity!"
Ancenotti, standing in the coaching area on the sidelines, watched the scene on the field with a sullen face. He calmly gave orders to the players, while Bale was obviously emotional and wanted to run to the referee to argue.
Di Maria and Ramos stopped him, and Bale angrily asked the referee: "You have to give me a reason! A standard!"
The referee ignored it and just signaled the game to continue.
Bell ran away angrily, his face red like an angry baboon.
The opportunity soon returned to Real Madrid. After Benzema dribbled into the penalty area, the shooting angle in front of him was completely blocked. He immediately passed the ball to the left and kicked the ball high, and a high arc was passed to Cristiano on the left.
Cristiano hesitated for a moment when he jumped, and the sound of Bale's goal being blown off rang out. Then he quickly stopped the ball with his chest and quickly brought the ball into his control.
"Ronaldo made a small adjustment in ball control! He shot directly from a small angle outside the penalty area! The ball went in!!!"
"This goal is impeccable! It can't be a foul!!"
"Real Madrid scored another goal in the second half of the game! They extended their lead to 2-0! There is not much time left for Barcelona."
Cristiano raised his arms and shouted excitedly. He took off his jersey and cheered in celebration. As if to prove something, he ran to the fans' stands. Then Benzema, Kaka, Coentrao and a group of people rushed up and hugged Cristiano in a circle.
Cristiano, who was surrounded in the middle, had his head rubbed by several hands without knowing how hard to do it. He grinned and laughed happily, without any sign of dissatisfaction with his messed up hair - even though he had spent several minutes deliberately styling this hair during the halftime break.
"Ronaldo is so happy every time he scores a goal as if it is his first," the commentator commented.
"His smile was also silly, as simple as a kid who got a lollipop." A guest on the side added, "Although he had to take off his clothes and got a yellow card for it."
"In fact, I think he has always been like a kid in football. I mean, he is always enthusiastic, always simple and pure. He cries when he wants to cry and laughs when he wants to laugh. It's cute."
Others said: "Attention, gentlemen, you are evaluating a grown man, a man who has twice defended the Champions League. Are you sure you want to describe him like this?"
"And he's the top scorer for two different clubs in the Champions League." Someone added, "Honestly, a man who can do this, look at those muscles on his body, it doesn't have anything to do with cuteness, right?"
"Don't you think these muscles are like works of art? And his face is so beautiful, like a goddess of beauty, but I guarantee that when he smiles, the light in his eyes is absolutely adorable."
"Gentlemen, it is clear that there is a Ronaldo fan among us, perhaps more than one."
"Ha ha!……"
The broadcast room was filled with a lot of banter and it was extremely lively.
Real Madrid extended their lead at home at Camp Nou, causing Barcelona's attack speed and rhythm to suddenly increase.
In the 80th minute of the game, Ancenotti replaced Kaka with a defender to strengthen the defense.
Cristiano dribbled the ball into the penalty area, and Puyol and Pique immediately surrounded him from the left and right. The short and rapid collision and entanglement under his feet made the Portuguese lose his balance. He staggered forward two steps subconsciously and fell to the ground.
"Ronaldo fell in the penalty area!"
"The game is eighty-seven minutes in! Is Barcelona going to give away another point?!"
"Ronaldo lost his balance and ran a few steps before falling. This should be a continuous inertial movement. It is basically certain that the defender had some 'interfering defensive action' against the attacker. However, if the action was concealed, the referee might not give a penalty."
In view of the referee's many decisions on the field, one guest made a tactful prediction.
In the short few tens of seconds that the referee made the decision, the commentators and guests in the broadcast room all leaned forward and looked nervously at the big screen.
Cristiano fell to the ground, opened his arms to show the referee how the two defenders had violated him, and the Barcelona fans in the stands behind him booed him loudly.
"Dive! Dive! Dive!"
The fans seemed to be organized and booed in unison.
Cristiano ignored the fans and looked at the referee.
"The referee seems to have made a decision—"
"Uh—the referee pulled out a yellow card! And gave it to Ronaldo!?!"
"That's right! The referee showed Ronaldo a yellow card! Is this a ruling that he dived?! This is incredible!"
"Two yellow cards turned into one red card! Ronaldo was sent off the field!"
Cristiano was stunned when he saw this. Before he could react, Ramos, Coentrao and others all rushed to the referee. This yellow card was given too easily and too outrageous!
Cristiano quickly got up and tried to squeeze into the crowd angrily, explaining loudly to the referee, but the referee just lowered his head and wrote something on the yellow card, which was of no use.
His teammates also tried to crowd around the referee to explain, but the referee never took back the yellow cards he had taken out.
Cristiano pushed forward angrily, but was immediately stopped.
Pique stopped Cristiano and whispered, "Ronnie, do you want to get a worse punishment? This is not a wise move!"
Cristiano looked at Pique, his eyes widened with anger. He put his hands on the shoulders of the tall Barcelona defender and said in a low voice angrily: "You know I didn't dive! It was obviously Puyol!"
"I can't say anything." Pique held Cristiano's shoulders and said softly, lowering his head against Cristiano's sweaty forehead. He noticed that Cristiano's eyes were red, probably because of anxiety or anger.
Pique frowned slightly and put his hand on the back of Cristiano's neck soothingly. He didn't know what else he could say. Their positions would never be the same again.
Cristiano looked at Pique, he lowered his eyes and pursed his lips.
He didn't expect Pique to say anything. He knew Pique's position. He was just too angry at the moment.
He tilted his head to adjust his breathing and gasped for air, no longer wasting energy on speaking.
"Ronnie, I'm very sad, really." Seeing this, Pique rubbed Cristiano's forehead again. He looked at the Portuguese and said seriously and eagerly. He could only seize the few seconds of blinking to say something.
Then quickly, he let go of his hand, returned to the Red and Blue Army, and relying on his sturdy body advantage, he pushed away Ramos and others like a wall.
Ramos gave Pique the middle finger.
Pique responded without giving in.
"Ronaldo got a yellow card! Before this game, Ronaldo had already received a yellow card. Now, he will face a straight red card and a suspension. This is really bad!"
"Ronaldo has scored 26 goals in 22 games! He is in hot form! The suspension may interrupt his form!"
Cristiano wiped his face, and Coentrao ran up and hugged his captain tightly. He scratched the curly hair on the back of Cristiano's head and whispered, "It's okay, Chris, it's okay."
Cristiano responded.
He said nothing more, had to leave the court and march down the tunnel.
The yellow card incident extended the injury time to seven minutes. Barcelona played with 11 players against Real Madrid, which had only 10 players left, but still got nothing. Messi's two shots missed the goal.
"The pressure was on Messi! The pressure was too great. Messi missed two consecutive shots and missed the chance to equalize the score for Barcelona!"
“The game is over!”
"Real Madrid ended the game 2-0!!"
"Ronaldo scored twice to seal the victory for Real Madrid. This is Real Madrid's 22nd consecutive victory! An unparalleled record-breaking winning streak!!"
"But Ronaldo, the best player of the match, was sent off because of two yellow cards plus a red card. Real Madrid's future situation is not clear."
"Don't forget the move he made towards the referee. You have to know that he has not received any favoritism from the Football Association. This is a very dangerous move."
“…”
After the game was over, Kaka walked directly into the player tunnel with a blank expression on his face. The cameras on both sides captured the Brazilian's unhappy expression.
Ancenotti also looked a little gloomy, but in the subsequent post-match interview, he did not say much, just avoided the topic and said:
"Having Cristiano will undoubtedly make the game much easier. With him in the game, the goal is always the guarantee."
"But in the next games, we will still maintain this momentum, I believe we can."
On the other side, Barcelona had the shadow of losing hanging over their heads, so reporters naturally would not let go of this topic.
"Will Ronaldo's yellow card change the current league standings? Ronaldo got a yellow card, and the captain and players of Real Madrid expressed dissatisfaction and opposition to this. What do you think?..."
Puyol took the microphone first. He said: "Ronaldo's yellow card was given by the referee. Maybe it was because of his previous performance in the game that the referee made such a judgment. But who knows? I don't think there is any problem with the referee's judgment. If there is, then maybe they should appeal to the Football Federation."
"So what do you think, Pique? You and Ronaldo were teammates at Manchester United, so you know him very well, right?" The reporter reluctantly handed the microphone to Pique again.
Pique paused, he received a look from Puyol, which seemed to warn him to speak carefully.
He took the microphone, and his friend's angry and aggrieved eyes appeared in his mind. He paused and said: "I know him. His attitude towards football is very pure and simple. He loves football. I feel sad and sorry for him getting this yellow card. That's all."
The reporters were not happy, as Pique's answer seemed to say something and yet also seemed to say nothing.
But Pique refused to say another word.
Cristiano unexpectedly saw Pique's post-match interview about himself. He didn't expect that the other party would say this after the game. He sent a message to Pique, and soon, he received a reply from the other party:
[Geri: I really mean what I say, Ronnie, but that's all I can say]
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