Chapter 926 - 22: Competing with Me in Physicality?
Bayern Munich’s defensive midfielder, Gretzka, lowered his center of gravity and lunged forward, but Chen Zhong gently nudged the ball with the outside of his right foot, sending it through the German’s legs. A gasp erupted from the stands.
"Nutmeg dribble! Chen Zhong is advancing with the ball!"
At this moment, Bayern Munich’s defensive line experienced a momentary confusion.
Tah shouted instructions to his teammates on positioning, but had no choice but to leave his defensive zone to block the attack.
Chen Zhong keenly spotted this gap, and just before Tah closed in, executed a highly imaginative backheel pass, distributing the ball to the advancing Bellingham.
"Beautiful cooperation! Bellingham breaks into the penalty area!"
The England midfielder feigned a shot but instead delivered a horizontal pass near the penalty spot.
Chen Zhong somehow managed to shake off his defenders and struck the ball with a powerful shot upon receiving it!
"Bang!"
The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced into the net! Neuer didn’t even have time to make a save.
"GOOOOOAL!!!" the commentator screamed hoarsely, "Chen Zhong! It’s Chen Zhong again! In the 36th minute, Real Madrid scores another!"
The score changed to 0:2, with an aggregate score of 3:2.
The Allianz Arena fell into silence, except for the thunderous cheers from the visiting team’s stands.
A few Chinese exchange students excitedly waved their national flag, with one even crying out of emotion.
The broadcast camera zoomed in on Chen Zhong—a close-up showing him not celebrating, but instead running to retrieve the ball from the net, raising three fingers towards his teammates as he ran back: "Two more to go!"
Kompany was furious on the sideline, throwing his water bottle to the ground in frustration.
He yelled at Tah, "Mark him closely! Don’t let him shoot so easily!"
The German center-back lowered his head, sweat dripping continuously from his blonde hair.
Bayern Munich attempted a counterattack, but Real Madrid’s counter was swifter.
Chen Zhong retreated near the center circle to receive the ball, calmly maintaining possession in a three-player surround. He suddenly executed a "Cruyff turn" to break free of the defense, then followed with a precise long pass over 40 meters.
"Vinicius! A one-on-one chance!"
The Brazilian winger once again charged into the penalty area, opting for a chip shot against the advancing Neuer.
The ball sailed over the goalkeeper, but was cleared off the line by the running Tah with a flying kick!
"Oh my! Tah redeems himself!" the commentator exclaimed, "This is unquestionably a goal-line clearance!"
Chen Zhong approached the frustrated Vinicius, patting him on the shoulder: "It’s fine, we still have chances." He glanced at the big screen, where the 2-minute added time signal had already lit up.
Bayern Munich earned a corner kick opportunity.
Chen Zhong returned to the penalty area for defense, directly marking Tah.
The two wrestled with each other in the penalty box, forcing the referee to intervene with a warning.
"This corner is Bayern’s last opportunity in the first half!"
Kimmich took the corner, with Tah outjumping Rudiger to take the first touch.
His header flew towards the goal’s far corner! Courtois leaped, managing to tip the ball over the crossbar with one hand!
"A world-class save! Courtois saves Real Madrid!"
The referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half. The score remained 0:2, however, the suspense of the match was far from over.
The broadcast captured two intriguing images: Chen Zhong walked towards the players’ tunnel while motioning "stay calm" to the stands, and Tah pounded the turf in frustration, eyes burning with the fire of unwillingness as his teammates helped him up.
In the locker room, Alonso was quickly sketching lines on the tactical board: "They will certainly change their formation in the second half, we need to be cautious on their flanks..."
Simultaneously, shouts from Kompany echoed in the Bayern Munich locker room: "We can’t let him control the ball so easily! Tah, I need you to shadow him like his shadow!"