Chapter 586: A Crazy Match, Crazy People!
Mbappé had been very frustrated after Real Madrid's goal, but when he saw that Lin Quan hadn't given up, he immediately lifted his spirits and jogged back to his position.
"Still got the energy to run?" Lin Quan asked, glancing at him.
"No problem!" Mbappé replied, trying to suppress his heavy breathing and pretend he wasn't tired at all.
"That's good. In a moment, don't think about anything else—just run forward!" Lin Quan instructed.
"Got it!" Mbappé didn't ask questions. Since his captain was giving orders, he'd just follow them to the letter. After all, it was Lin Quan who had assisted him earlier. With that success in mind, Mbappé trusted Lin Quan completely now.
Real Madrid's goal celebration lasted over a minute. If the referee hadn't reminded them, they might have kept celebrating even longer. They wanted to waste as much time as possible. Although their lead was significant and little time remained, playing against Manchester City—a team known for making miracles—meant nothing was guaranteed.
If City managed to score in the final minutes, Real Madrid's celebration would be in vain.
When the match resumed, only four minutes were left. Time was running out for Manchester City.
Whistle! The referee blew, and as soon as the match restarted, Mbappé passed the ball to Lin Quan and immediately sprinted towards Real Madrid's half.
Real Madrid's players, treating this like a last-ditch defense, swarmed towards Lin Quan to stop him from passing forward, forcing him to pass the ball back if possible. Meanwhile, their midfielders tightly marked Mbappé, giving him no space to receive the ball or get a running start.
They had already seen what Mbappé's speed could do. Against such a dangerous player, they had to lock him down early. If they let him get going, it might be impossible to stop him.
Even though Mbappé was surrounded, he remembered Lin Quan's words and didn't give up. He kept looking for an opening, desperately trying to create space for himself.
If Mbappé was hard to stop with the ball, marking him off the ball was even harder. The Real Madrid defenders tasked with guarding him were struggling, but the team's overall defensive coordination was good enough to prevent him from breaking free.
Manchester City was throwing everything they had into this attack—not just Mbappé. Although most of the players were physically spent, they pushed forward on sheer willpower, knowing the game was on the line.
Thanks to the time Real Madrid spent celebrating their goal, the City players had caught their breath, just enough to keep them going. Otherwise, they might not have been able to run at all.
With City's entire team pushing forward, Real Madrid started to panic. Almost every City player had crossed into their half, giving Real Madrid too many threats to handle. They couldn't afford to double-team both Lin Quan and Mbappé like before.
But even so, Real Madrid still prioritized marking the two biggest threats. They put one of their freshest players, Morata, on Lin Quan, hoping his energy and physicality would keep Lin in check. As for Mbappé, he was glued to by center-back Ramos, who stuck to him like glue, giving him no space.
With Lin Quan and Mbappé neutralized, it seemed like City's attack was stalling before it even began.
Who could step up to save the team now?
The answer: Leroy Sané!
Overshadowed by Mbappé's stunning performance, Sané had been virtually invisible during the match. He had rarely been shown on the broadcast, and even the players on both teams had almost forgotten about him.
Since coming on, Lin Quan hadn't passed the ball to Sané once, so Sané had barely bothered to move. If no one was passing to him, why waste the energy running?
Because Sané wasn't making runs, Real Madrid's players ignored him too, assuming he wasn't a threat.
As the game approached its end, Sané continued his lackadaisical approach, casually strolling up the field as City mounted their attack. By the time his teammates had pushed forward, Sané had reluctantly followed, slowly moving into position.
At this crucial moment, Real Madrid's defenders paid no attention to Sané. Lin Quan was still deeper on the field than Sané, and it didn't seem likely that he'd pass the ball backward. Why would City waste such a good chance to move forward by passing back?
Lin Quan didn't even look at Sané. Instead, he suddenly made a hand gesture.
The Real Madrid players didn't know what the signal meant, but City's players did. Immediately, several of them moved towards Lin Quan, looking to support him.
Was Lin asking for help?
Morata, marking Lin Quan, wasn't sure what was happening, but he wasn't about to let his guard down.
Morata had only recently come on as a substitute, so he was still full of energy. His task of marking Lin Quan, who had already played almost 120 minutes, seemed easy. Zidane had tasked Morata with locking down Lin Quan, who was exhausted and physically weaker.
From the start, Morata had dominated their physical duels. Lin Quan seemed exactly like what Morata expected—tired and running on fumes.
Confident he could prevent Lin from passing forward, Morata even started to get ambitious. He wanted to steal the ball from Lin and go on a solo run, maybe even score himself in the final minutes.
So when he saw Lin Quan preparing to pass backward, Morata made his move.
He stepped in front of Lin, aiming to intercept the ball. Before going for the steal, Morata leaned into Lin, intending to use his physical strength to push him off balance and secure the ball.
Morata's plan seemed solid, but he had underestimated Lin Quan's stamina.
Despite playing almost 120 minutes, Lin Quan wasn't as tired as he appeared. His weak posture had been a ruse, designed to lure Morata into making a mistake.
The moment Morata fell for the trap, Lin was thrilled. As Morata leaned in, Lin met him head-on, crashing into him.
Thud!
It felt like Morata had run into a brick wall. Not only did the collision knock the wind out of him, but it also left him wobbling, nearly falling over.
How was this possible?
How did Lin Quan still have this much strength?
Morata's eyes widened in disbelief. Realizing he'd been tricked, he cursed himself. He knew from their time on the national team that Lin Quan was incredibly strong.
In hindsight, Morata remembered that Lin Quan had never had stamina issues. He should've known better.
But it was too late.
Lin shook off Morata's challenge and surged forward, dribbling into Real Madrid's half.
Real Madrid's midfielders were shocked. He got past Morata? How did he still have this much energy?
There was no time for hesitation. With the forwards unable to stop Lin, the midfielders had to hold the line. Kovacic, Modric, and even Asensio all rushed to intercept him.
At this moment, Lin Quan was by far the biggest threat on the field. They had seen him tear apart defenses single-handedly before. If they didn't stop him now, he might just do it again.
As Lin charged towards Real Madrid's penalty area, the fans in the stadium and watching at home held their breath. Could he really do it? Was he about to single-handedly dismantle Real Madrid's defense in the Champions League final?
No way—it couldn't happen, right?
The fans knew it sounded crazy, but they couldn't help but hope for another miracle.
Lin's performance began in earnest as Kovacic rushed in to challenge him.
In less than a second, Lin used a perfectly executed "Roulette" move to spin past Kovacic.
The "Roulette" wasn't a flashy or complicated dribbling trick, but when mastered, it was just as effective as anything else.
Seeing Kovacic get beaten so easily, Real Madrid's fans gasped, their sense of dread growing.
Could it be? Was Lin really about to break through the entire defense?
After Kovacic came Modric.
But Modric was completely exhausted by now. He didn't have Lin's freakish stamina. The fact that he had lasted 120 minutes was already a testament to his endurance, but he had nothing left in the tank.
With Modric's energy gone, Lin passed him easily with a simple change of direction. Modric couldn't keep up, standing helpless as Lin breezed by.
Seeing Modric get beaten, Real Madrid's fans began to panic.
Modric had been the backbone of Real Madrid's midfield, constantly breaking up attacks and helping the team launch counters that led to goals.
But now, he was powerless against Lin.
Watching Lin sprint away, Modric could only gasp for air and sigh to himself.
"What a monster," he thought. "How does he still have this much stamina?"
No wonder Morata had struggled to stop him.
Seeing two teammates beaten in quick succession, the rest of the Real Madrid players were now in full panic mode. They were no longer focused on anyone else—Lin had their complete attention.
"Stop him!" Ramos shouted, abandoning his mark on Mbappé to rush towards Lin.
Nearby, Casemiro and Asensio also charged in to help.
Lin was nearing the penalty area now. If he got any closer, the consequences would be disastrous.
At all costs, they had to stop him—even if it meant committing a foul.
Ramos hadn't reached him yet, but Casemiro had. Desperate, Casemiro slid in for a tackle.
He already had a yellow card and knew that another foul could see him sent off with a red. But at this point, he had no choice.
However, Lin had anticipated Casemiro's move. He deftly flicked the ball up and leaped over the sliding tackle, avoiding the foul completely.
What an opportunity!
Though Casemiro had failed to commit a tactical foul, his tackle had slowed Lin down, disrupting his rhythm.
Seizing the moment, Asensio rushed in to try and poke the ball away.
But Lin was quicker, getting to the ball first and kicking it ahead.
The problem was, Lin seemed to have kicked the ball too hard—it was now beyond his control.
Wait, did he mess up?
It looked like Lin had over-hit the ball under pressure. Some fans who had been holding their breath in anticipation of witnessing another miracle sighed in disappointment.
But on the other side of the stadium, Real Madrid fans gasped in shock.
"Watch out!" they screamed.
As the cries rang out, a blur of blue darted into the penalty area. Without even stopping the ball, he fired a shot directly into the bottom right corner before the goalkeeper could react.
The scorer was—Leroy Sané!
He had been like an unnoticed assassin, suddenly appearing and delivering a deadly strike!
In the 118th minute of extra time, Manchester City had fought back to equalize once again.
The score was now 4-4, bringing the two teams level yet again.
With less than two minutes remaining, it looked like the match was headed for a penalty shootout!
Sané's goal sent Manchester City's fans into a frenzy.
It was as if City had been pronounced dead, only to miraculously come back to life.
Sané's goal had saved the team!
City's fans celebrated wildly, as did the players on the field, the coaching staff, and the substitutes on the bench.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid's fans were left in disbelief, their faces etched with disappointment.
What an insane match this had been!
Four times Real Madrid had taken the lead, and four times City had fought back to equalize!
It wasn't that Real Madrid hadn't played well—their opponents had just been unbelievably resilient.
Each time it seemed like Real Madrid was on the verge of victory, Manchester City would find a way, through seemingly impossible means, to snatch it away.
There had been no winner in regular time, and now, even after extra time, it looked like neither side would emerge victorious.
It seemed this match would be decided by a penalty shootout, where only fate would determine the victor!
(End of chapter)
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