Chapter 595: Second in the Group is Not Doomsday

Chapter 595: Second in the Group is Not Doomsday

Alonso Returns from Injury!

This piece of news was like a welcome rain for the struggling Real Madrid. Although he visibly circled around, he needed a long recovery training to reach his best condition, but there was finally more hope for the second half of the season.

"Welcome back." Wang Feng gave him a big hug on behalf of all his teammates, and the Spaniard joked, "You, my friend, don't know where the limit is until you're pushed."

"After being your teammate for so many years, I didn't even know you had the talent to play as a defensive midfielder. I watch every game of our team, and you're just too competent."

The Chinese superstar rolled his eyes. "I'd rather never have this kind of forced feeling."

On November 17th, in the 12th round of La Liga, Real Madrid faced Athletic Bilbao away.

In the 12th minute of the match, Wang Feng sent a long pass from midfield, and after controlling the ball, Iguain smoothly entered the penalty area and calmly lobbed the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper to open the scoring for the Galacticos.

Seven minutes later, Marcelo made a quick run down the wing and crossed from the baseline. Ramos, unmarked at the edge of the small penalty area, headed the ball into the net. The two defenders combined to contribute a brilliant goal, indicating not only their excellent attacking ability but also Athletic Bilbao's almost complete inability to threaten the Real Madrid defense.

In the 41st minute, Carvajal passed from the right, and Iguain retreated to the top of the penalty arc, receiving the ball with his back to the goal before laying it off to Wang Feng, who was making a run. The Chinese superstar, facing the goal, unleashed a powerful shot with his right foot into the top corner, making it 3-0! The Galacticos completely sealed the victory!

At the start of the second half, in the 51st minute, Wang Feng suddenly accelerated with the ball, shaking off three defenders with successive changes of direction as he charged into the penalty area. Faced with the goalkeeper, he calmly slotted the ball into the far corner, and it ricocheted into the net off the inside of the post.

With a brace! The Chinese superstar always capitalized on the few chances he got to score. In the 12 rounds of the league, he had scored 9 goals, quietly climbing to fourth place in the top scorer list.

Forced into a corner, Manchester City launched a desperate attack like a storm, constantly surging towards the Galacticos' defense, but led by the Chinese superstar, they stood firm.

In the 27th minute, Jovetic suddenly accelerated forward and then abruptly stopped to try to shake off Wang Feng, who was closely marking him. However, the Chinese superstar's turning speed far exceeded his expectations. Before he could stabilize himself, he only saw a blur before him, and a white figure flashed past, taking the ball from under his feet.

Six minutes later, Silva sprinted down the wing, pretending to force his way to the byline but suddenly decelerating to evade Ramos' tackle. Just as he was about to cut inside towards the penalty area, Wang Feng, who was covering inside, slid in again and won the ball.

As time passed without yielding any results, the home fans in the stands expressed their dissatisfaction, chanting slogans for Mancini to be sacked. In order to further strengthen their attack, the Sky Blues substituted attacking players Tevez and Garcia successively.

Just when everyone thought Real Madrid would win by a narrow margin, a sudden turn of events occurred on the field. Awaloha and Aguero had a physical altercation when defending against each other, which escalated into a verbal argument. The irrational Awaloha directly pushed Aguero down, and the Argentine fell to the ground in apparent pain.

The referee didn't hesitate to show a red card to the Spanish defender! With one man down, the pressure on the Galacticos increased significantly, and finally, in the 79th minute, the defense was breached as Jovetic scored from close range inside the penalty area.

1-1, the final score left both sets of players dissatisfied, especially upon learning the result of the other group match, with Borussia Dortmund winning 4-1 against Ajax.

With a total of 13 points, the German club secured the top spot in the group, while Real Madrid accumulated 8 points. Although they also secured advancement to the next round, finishing second in the group was the first time in nearly seven years.

Ajax with 4 points and Manchester City with 3 points would fight for a Europa League spot in the final round.

Since the Champions League was revamped, no team had ever won the final as the second-placed team in the group. Therefore, most of the media were very pessimistic about the Galacticos, especially some conspiracy theorists who believed that although UEFA didn't directly thwart Real Madrid's wishes, they successfully prevented them from defending their title.

However, Ancelotti and Wang Feng disagreed with this view, especially the Chinese superstar, who said bluntly, "Second in the group is not doomsday." He stated that the Galacticos had built an immortal legacy throughout their journey, and none of the opponents standing in their way were easy ones.

"The road must be taken step by step, and the matches must be played one by one. Since we've secured qualification, regardless of our ranking or our opponents, we won't be afraid."

As for Manchester City, Sky Sports commentator Smith believed that Mansour was too lenient. If it were Abramovich, Mancini would have been sacked hundreds of times by now.