I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 736 - 23: Unconventional Door God? (Part 2)

The first half of the match has ended, Real Madrid, despite being one man down, is leading the opponent by one goal.The one-goal lead is not safe, and after halftime, the Spanish team is sure to strive to equalize or even surpass the score in the second half.

During the halftime break, Mourinho made tactical adjustments, hoping the team would strengthen their defense in the second half.

This is part of Mourinho’s style.

He’s not the young man of attack-oriented football anymore; championships and victories are what matter. Whether offensive or practical, it doesn’t matter as long as victory and championships are achieved.

"Real Madrid has strengthened its defense in the second half."

"With one man down."

"Perhaps this is a correct choice."

Real Madrid firmly controlled the ball possession, using various methods to waste time. This style and situation also made some Real Madrid fans discontent.

Please! We are Real Madrid!

The opponents are merely the small Spanish team.

Real Madrid’s time-wasting tactics also irritated Spanish players, as evidenced by the noticeable increase in their fouls.

First, in the 50th minute, Spanish player Cica fouled Marcelo and was penalized by the referee with a yellow card.

Two minutes later, Amat pulled Cristiano Ronaldo in front of the penalty area and committed a foul, also receiving a yellow card warning. Two consecutive yellow cards were enough to show their current impatience.

Cristiano Ronaldo took the free kick this time and opted for a direct shot, which unfortunately hit the wall of players.

In the 59th minute, Belldu made a straight pass, and Sergio Garcia’s shot from the left side of the penalty area missed wide, not testing Chen Zhong. It can only be said that when Chen Zhong is goalkeeping, Real Madrid’s defenders truly defend with their "lives."

And this made the Spanish team attempt long shots multiple times to try their luck.

There was a statistic showing that in this match, most of the Spanish team’s shots were blocked by Real Madrid players.

Time quickly passed more than halfway; when the commentator uttered the familiar line, "Time is running out for the Spanish team," the Spanish team encountered their best chance of the second half.

It was an opportunity for a corner after Real Madrid defender Pepe blocked a shot. After the corner was taken, Garcia attempted a volley from outside the penalty area; the ball’s angle was not sharp, but Chen Zhong’s handling had issues, and the ball hit the crossbar. If it weren’t for Chen Zhong’s quick reaction preventing the ball from completely crossing the goal line, it would have been a ridiculous "butter fingers" incident.

Of course, some Spanish players believed the ball did cross the goal line.

They loudly protested to the referee, but the referee showed no indication of agreeing.

This "error" by Chen Zhong also made Real Madrid a bit nervous, prompting Mourinho to have Real Madrid start attacking.

If due to Chen Zhong’s instability, a goal was lost at the last minute and the three points were dropped, Mourinho would certainly go crazy.

In the 73rd minute, Chen Zhong received a back pass from a teammate in the defensive zone, then made a long run-up pass accurately finding Cristiano Ronaldo in the front zone. Cristiano Ronaldo dribbled and rushed into the left side of the penalty area, crossing the ball. The Portuguese’s pass was very precise, but Adebayor was evidently somewhat unprepared.

Adebayor missed the ball in front of the small penalty area, causing Real Madrid to squander a great chance.

Cristiano Ronaldo grumbled in annoyance, while Adebayor also looked dissatisfied at Cristiano Ronaldo.

Yes, he passed the ball!

But he must have done it on purpose!

Just wanting to see me make a fool of myself!

In the 82nd minute, Real Madrid once again missed a good opportunity. After Adebayor intercepted the ball in the front zone and distributed it, Cristiano Ronaldo crossed from the left side of the penalty area, and Adebayor’s single push shot from 11 yards was blocked by Cameni. Mourinho, on the sidelines, couldn’t hide his disappointment.

At that moment, he first thought of Chen Zhong.

If Chen Zhong were still in the front zone, a ball like this would practically be a surefire goal.

Or, his former favorite Magic Beast Drogba at Chelsea, would hardly miss such an opportunity, but Adebayor is different; although his nickname is Little Magic Beast, he’s not the Magic Beast...

In the 85th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo made a diagonal pass, Adebayor’s powerful shot from 12 yards on the right side of the penalty area was once again heroically blocked by Cameni.

Of course, saying it was heroically blocked, actually Adebayor’s shot was too straight, and he should be blamed; it was essentially a shot directed right at the goalkeeper.

Mourinho had run out of patience with Adebayor.

He directly substituted Ramos for Adebayor, strengthening the team’s defensive capability.

In the end, away from home, Real Madrid, with ten men, won 0:1 against the Spanish team.

After the match, in the post-match press conference, Mourinho expressed satisfaction with this match but didn’t become overly proud, a typical reaction after enduring hardship to win against Spanish opponents.

The Portuguese coach believes Real Madrid is definitely a top contender for the championship, although Barcelona has narrowed the gap with Real Madrid, now Real Madrid is full of fighting spirit.

Regarding Real Madrid’s situation of playing with ten men in the match, Mourinho commented, "In terms of the match itself, Real Madrid has many aspects worth praising."

"The match was difficult, the opponent was strong, and the other side played at home, with decent home performance and fan support. In the second minute of the match, we lost our goalkeeper, and could only have another goalkeeper debut in the league."

"But unfortunately, this goalkeeper’s debut ended without getting on the field, as he unluckily pulled a muscle on the sideline, so we ultimately had to choose to let Chen put on the gloves and stand at the goal, which was a very risky attempt."

"But it’s not without benefits; first, we didn’t lose a substitution opportunity, and also, Kaka remained on the pitch. Although he didn’t score, he distracted the Spanish team a lot."

"Oh! I can only say there were too many unfavorable scenarios. It’s imaginable that Spanish fans before their TVs thought Real Madrid couldn’t win, but we won the match victory and deserved the win."

Mourinho stated, "I certainly don’t like playing the match long with only ten players, dislike losing Casillas, dislike that Chen Zhong couldn’t contribute in the midfield or the front and had to stand at the goal, but what can you do?"

"Our captain, even at the goal, still contributed to the team’s victory. He made several good saves, well, unconventional saves, maybe we could call him the unconventional Door God?"

Regarding referee Mateu Lahoz, Mourinho, instead of criticizing, praised him: "In all matches, we consistently like him. I don’t know if there should’ve been a red card, maybe he was wrong, maybe not."

"It’s the same with should there be a penalty or not. But for me, he’s an extremely outstanding referee; his philosophy is something I really like, he maintains a high tempo in the matches he officiates."

"He keeps the match going, his whistle is infrequent. I like this referee, he’s great, he has the right to make mistakes."

"He’s a referee who doesn’t like ’diving artists’ (referring to fakers), my team has no such artists, so I particularly like him."

Mourinho also praised his players: "Pepe played an extraordinarily brilliant match. Adebayor put in three times the effort, but in fact, the whole team made sacrifices. My players thoroughly understood the match; after Casillas was sent off, after Chen Zhong was in goal, I talked with Alonso, and the players quickly understood what I meant."

"Facing a strong opponent—they have two very fast forwards who always seek to break the offside trap, but we encountered no issues."

"Chen’s first appearance in La Liga as a goalkeeper was unexpectedly, outstandingly performed."