Chapter 520 First Shot

Carlo had no opinion on Wang Li's training, because he was in no position to offer any opinions. As a coach, with his qualifications, even if he had any thoughts, he would have reservations about players like Wang Li. After all, he was not yet at the point where his words were final in Real Madrid.

Therefore, in the team, Wang Li became an independent existence. This does not mean that he is not sociable, it only refers to his training.

Few Real Madrid players know what kind of training Wang Li did before the game, but they don't care. They will not be surprised at what this almost omnipotent black-haired boy can do on the court.

Who can score five goals against Barcelona? - Alan Wang

Who can average three goals per game? -Alan Wang.

Who can always score a goal? -Alan Wang.

Such teammates may be bad news for competitive players, because they simply cannot compete with Wang Li. But in fact, although Real Madrid's front line is crowded, Raul and Ronaldo have long passed their peak. They are more of a slacker. They can stay in Real Madrid for one more day, as long as they maintain their form.

Because even if they transfer, there won't be much money left.

The most serious competition was from several young players such as Robinho and Baptista. After Wang Li and Robinho secured their starting positions, Baptista returned to the middle. He was also a starting player. As for the other young players? They had no strength and were almost all sent to the second team by Carlo.

This is the reality of Real Madrid's frontcourt. The young players are the main players, while the veteran players are all substitutes.

This situation is welcomed by Real Madrid fans because it means the team is moving towards younger age, which is a good thing because the Galacticos can last longer without too many changes in the middle.

For President Florentino, the current forward line is already saturated. If Real Madrid makes any more moves in the summer, they will probably have to work on the defense.

Although Real Madrid has always insisted on the superstar plan, in fact, after Wang Li came to Real Madrid and stabilized his condition, Real Madrid was no longer attractive to some striker stars because they could not find hope of getting a starting position.

Of course, all this is a bit far-fetched. What’s important is the game at hand.

On this day, all the members of Benfica had arrived in Madrid by plane. The fans of Real Madrid gave a "warm" welcome to the Benfica team. According to the Madrid Evening News, Benfica's bus was stuck in the center of Madrid for three hours before it successfully drove to the hotel with the help of riot police.

That night, many fans gathered around the hotel, shouting and yelling, trying to disturb the rest of the Benfica players.

Fortunately, Koeman had some foresight and the hotel he chose has excellent sound insulation, otherwise the Benfica players would have to go to the game the next day with dark circles under their eyes.

In short, Benfica has just arrived in Madrid and has enjoyed the "enthusiasm" of Madrid fans.

In fact, Real Madrid's players are generally of high quality, but in the first round of the game, Koeman's tactics annoyed them. They felt that Benfica was playing completely utilitarian football and lacked the spirit of artistic football. This is the most important thing.

Why has Real Madrid been ridiculed before?

Some of the reasons are Real Madrid's poor performance, but more of them are Luxemburg's defensive tactics, which are closer to utilitarian football. This is not to say that utilitarian football is bad, winning is of course important, but for European fans who like a club, the team's style is also very important, especially for fans of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

In the past, Barcelona fans have always ridiculed Real Madrid's football as being barbaric and utilitarian, which Real Madrid fans could not refute, and they could only hit back at Barcelona with "You rely on your godfather".

Now, after Wang Li's comeback, Real Madrid fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief. They can say that the team is art, offensive football, which is also the century-old football tradition of Real Madrid.

And now Benfica used utilitarian football and beat Real Madrid 0:0 at home, which made Real Madrid fans angry!

The score of 0:0, is this really a football match? Is this really a confrontation between two giants?

No one can tell, but it is undeniable that such a game is not worth watching. For Real Madrid fans, victory is as important as football, and they hate it when their opponents do this.

Of course, a big part of the reason is that it is very difficult for Real Madrid to win easily.

The next morning, Wang Li trotted to the Real Madrid Club again.

It was a match day, and Real Madrid's players would take a bus to the Bernabeu Stadium at noon. Before that, they would have simple training in the club.

Wang Li arrived quite early. The team's normal gathering time is 9:30 in the morning, but it is only a little after 8 o'clock now. He has been coming so early every day recently in order to adjust his physical condition to the best.

Perhaps, today is a meaningful day for him, because just last night, Cole, who was in London preparing for his wedding with Angela, informed him that he had chosen a date for the wedding, which is half a month after the end of the World Cup in Germany. In that month, the competitions of various clubs have just begun and there is a lot of free time.

This was the result of discussions between Cole, the representative of the English royal family, and Wang Hai and his wife.

Wang Li was surprised by the result, because it was too fast. It was only about 3 months away from now. But he didn't say anything. He didn't do anything. Others had arranged everything. He just had to do it, right?

"Maybe it's because of Ellis..." Wang Li thought.

Since two years ago, the English noble lady had always wanted to have a grandson and kept urging Wang Li to find a girlfriend and get married quickly. Wang Li was helpless about this. If it were normal, his wedding with Angela would have to be postponed for at least half a year. After all, the wedding would have to invite many guests and people from all walks of life, not just football.

Both his own and Angela's identities are too eye-catching!

So what can you do in three months?

"Who cares!"

Thinking about these things randomly, Wang Li shook his head and thought that he didn't need to worry about it anyway. He just had to do what Cole and his parents asked.

This thought made Wang Li feel relaxed again. He was very annoyed with these trivial matters, and it would be best if someone else could do it for him.

As he was thinking, Wang Li had already run to the gate of Real Madrid Club. At this moment, he turned his head and saw a large group of reporters rushing towards him.

Wang Li didn't leave immediately. It was still early, so it didn't matter if he answered the reporters' questions, right? After all, the team was about to play, and accepting the interview would also improve his image and that of Real Madrid in the eyes of the public.

After a while, these crazy reporters put microphones to Wang Li's mouth and the flash lights kept flashing. Even though the sun was already high in the sky, this scene still made Wang Li blink many times before he could get used to it.

"Alan, what do you think of Benfica's tactics in the last game?" the reporter from Marca asked first.

Wang Li's heart moved, and he said, "It's nothing. They want to win, and so do we. This is the tactical method of the two teams. I have to say that they succeeded last time, and this is the first time I failed to score."

"So aren't you angry about their tactics?" The reporter from Royal Sports obviously wanted to hear Wang Li's sarcasm against Benfica.

But Wang Li didn't care. He just said calmly: "It's nothing. On the contrary, I think it's a challenge. They didn't break the rules of the football game. The other coach is very good at using the rules. I hope they still play like this in this game. It's a challenge for me. If I can score a goal against such an opponent, it will be very exciting."

"Okay, so Alan, what do you think of the upcoming second round?"

This time, Wang Li finally had a faint smile on his face, because he remembered his new shooting method and he was very satisfied with it.

“I think we will be the final winners.”

Wang Li said: "Football will definitely develop towards technical football. Although utilitarian football is good, it will definitely be eliminated by the times. So, we will use the game to prove this point. I think I will definitely score this time. If they still use this defensive method, they will not be able to defend until the last minute of the game."

Wang Li's words gave great psychological pressure to the Madrid media and fans, and the Portuguese journalists who followed Benfica to Madrid were in a state of dissatisfaction. They were dissatisfied with Wang Li, but they had no choice. Almost every word of Wang Li's words was true. Benfica was playing utilitarian football, and they had no way to refute this.

As for whether artistic football will defeat utilitarian football?

They dare not say no, because they will be spitted at by the fans. All fans like good football matches, there is no doubt about that. If Benfica wins, I am afraid that except the local fans of Benfica, no fans in the world will be satisfied.

UEFA will not be satisfied.

This is the price of utilitarian football.

In this noisy situation, time quickly ran out, and the players from Benfica and Real Madrid entered the Bernabeu Stadium, while the square in front of the Bernabeu Stadium was also surrounded by fans.

Unlike the previous round, this time, the vast majority of fans supported Real Madrid, while there were only a pitiful 3,000 people who followed Benfica to Madrid, and a small number of them did not have tickets. This shows the gap between the home and away teams.

"I have nothing to say, the results will prove everything!"

At the pre-match press conference, facing the difficulties of many media, Koeman remained calm and said bluntly: "Maybe no one likes my style of play, but in order to win, this is necessary."

Carlo did not say anything about Benfica's style of play. He just emphasized like Wang Li that Real Madrid would definitely be the winner: "Before the game, we did a lot of targeted training. I think if they still use the same tactics, it will be very difficult to win a game at the Bernabeu, and we will not let that happen."

"We will be the winners, there is no doubt about it!"

Carlo is rarely so tough, but this time he showed his confidence in the team: "Their defense is strong, but our offense is not weak either. I don't think they can stop us from competing for the championship."

In response to the question of the score of the last game raised by the Portuguese reporter, Carlo said: "... No one can avoid mistakes. The knockout rounds of the Champions League are played in two rounds to reduce the emergence of dark horses and the mistakes of strong teams. In this way, in the final, there will be two strongest teams."

"You mean Real Madrid is better than Benfica?"

Carlo smiled and said, "There is no doubt about it. We are first in the La Liga, and they are only third in the Portuguese league."

This sentence left the Portuguese media speechless, and they kept cursing Koeman in their hearts why he played so badly in the league.

At the press conference, Carlo's tough attitude made the media and fans who support Real Madrid see another side of Carlo. Only then did they realize that this coach who has always been weak has such a tough side. This is what everyone wants to see. As a coach of a wealthy team, if he always has a weak attitude, then he obviously does not have the potential to become a top coach.

The most outstanding player in this regard is Mourinho. He is very tough in front of reporters and the media, so his players are almost all in awe of Mourinho, and few players dare to refute Mourinho's words.

And now, Carlo has shown some potential in this area, and the media's evaluation of him has risen to a higher level.

"Real Madrid, come on! Come on!!"

"Alan, come on! Come on!!"

Before the game started, the entire Bernabeu Stadium was already filled with these two voices. From this we can see Wang Li's status in the hearts of Real Madrid fans. In the eyes of the fans, he is almost equivalent to Real Madrid. It should be said that Wang Li now almost represents Real Madrid.

This is the confidence and support that Wang Li's goal brought to the fans!!

Before this game, Carlo roughly estimated that Koeman would definitely let Benfica play like the last game. This was obvious to even the most ordinary fans. What everyone was concerned about was whether Real Madrid could break this tight iron bucket formation.

As a result, the game seemed to have lost suspense, but in fact, according to statistics from various media, the game received more attention. Even UEFA was very concerned about the game, because many media had hyped it up as the "collision between utilitarian football and technical football in the 21st century."

Ordinary fans and UEFA certainly hope that Real Madrid can win. There are indeed few people who support Benfica, but it is undeniable that in many people's minds, Benfica's chances of winning are still very high. The victory here does not refer to the final result, but whether Benfica can defend the goal in regular time.

Real Madrid's lineup did not surprise everyone. In this game, Robinho and Ronaldo were unable to play. The starting strikers were Raul and Wang Li. The midfielders were still Baptista, Beckham, Pablo Garcia and Gravesen. The backcourt was Ruben, Ramos, Carlos and Minambres, and the formation was still 442.

However, everyone can see from the starting lineup that Real Madrid's 442 in this game is a completely offensive formation.

Looking at the defensive line, the two wingers Carlos and Minambres are both very good at attacking, and Carlos also has a good long-range shot and free kick technique; Pablo Garcia's long passes in the midfield are well-known in Spain, and his footwork is no less than David Beckham. Perhaps only Gravesen and Baptista came on the field to respond.

Looking at this lineup and then looking at the golden boy Raul on the striker line, it is obvious that Real Madrid is preparing to threaten Benfica's goal with high balls.

And Coman is even more single!!

There was no starting striker in Benfica's lineup. Except for Simao who symbolically sat on the bench, Gomez did not even come to Madrid. This move surprised the audience, and they had to give a thumbs up to Koeman.

"force......"

Soon, with a double-meaning whistle from the referee, the game finally began.

"I'm going to the penalty area, David, pass the ball more!!"

Just after the start of the game, Wang Li kicked the ball back, said something to David Beckham, and then rushed directly to the Benfica penalty area.

Benfica players were absolutely 120% serious about Wang Li. When they saw him rushing over, even though they didn't have the ball at their feet, three players still followed him. Their purpose was to stop Wang Li's performance.

But Wang Li did not stop halfway, but stood directly at the back of Benfica's defense line, just slightly offside. Such a position made Benfica players even more nervous, because as long as they received the ball in this position, the threat to Benfica's goal would be too great.

A minute later, after the ball was passed back and forth several times, Gravesen received a pass from Carlos in the middle and passed it directly to Baptista, sounding the clarion call for Real Madrid's attack.

Seeing this scene, Benfica players immediately ran back in a large number and set up a tight iron bucket formation in the penalty area. They wanted to use this method to defend Real Madrid's attack.

Just as all the fans thought, the ball finally reached David Beckham's feet. Beckham then looked towards the penalty area, and with a long pass, the ball went straight to Wang Li's point in the penalty area.

"Beautiful!!" At the same time, the commentator of the Bernabeu said excitedly.

This pass was indeed beautiful, and the ball landed very accurately. Wang Li looked at the landing point of the football, his eyes lit up, and he took a few steps and dodged. Before the Benfica fans noticed, he jumped up directly from the spot, but he did not jump straight up. Instead, he used his left foot to kick hard, and his body naturally tilted downward with the force, while his right foot was raised high---

The next moment, he made a sideways posture in the air, but his right foot was already above his head. Then he kicked the ball directly with his right foot. Under this force, the football flew into the net. The Benfica goalkeeper had no reaction.

Everyone in the audience was stunned. They stared at the black-haired boy who had just performed this scene, their faces full of disbelief.

At this time, the referee only blew a short whistle, and did not signal that the goal was valid, but---

"Lifting your leg too high, foul!"

Seeing the referee's decision, Wang Li chuckled at his teammates and shook his head helplessly. It was just a test just now. He jumped a little low, so it was normal to be penalized for a foul.

.........