Chapter 137 Hook Shot
“Good evening, viewers, welcome back.”

“We are now broadcasting the second half of the match between Atletico Madrid and Chelsea.”

“Judging from the data in the first half, the intense back-and-forth between the two teams didn't create any chaos, which is truly amazing.”

“Which side will end the suspense next? Let’s wait and see.”

Before the commentator could finish speaking,

Chelsea, with the right to kick off, had already launched a fierce attack.

Li Kang received a pass from Drinkwater in the forty-meter zone, with his back to the goal.

He didn't pass the ball immediately.

The shadow in his brain spread wildly.

Facing pressure from Gabi, Saúl, and Koke simultaneously,

The Blues' number 10 continuously stepped on the ball with his left foot, adjusting his body's center of gravity and inclination, followed by a sudden half-turn.

“Unstoppable!”

“Atletico Madrid’s concentrated pressure in the middle has left huge gaps on their own flanks!”

“Li Kang seems to have a third eye!”

“An inswinging long pass finds Azpilicueta, who has a lot of space!”

This season, nearly 53% of Atletico Madrid's goals conceded in open play have come from crosses from the flanks.

Although they haven't conceded many goals in open play overall,

Azpilicueta's nickname is the "Cross-Crazy Demon."

Atletico Madrid’s defense quickly contracted.

Vrsaljko and Filipe Luís guarded the diagonal lines on both sides of the penalty area respectively.

Godín tightly marked Morata.

Giménez closely followed Moses, who cut inside to the center.

A somewhat rectangular defensive formation

gave Koke, Saúl, and Gabi ample time to fall back into position.

Atletico Madrid's forwards didn't drop back too deep, staying close to the Blues' second wave of attack on the periphery.

“Close-up shot of the upward-lifting foot shape.”

“Azpilicueta is about to cross the ball!”

“No!”

*Thwack!*

There was no expected spinning arc.

The Blues' full-back, located in the thirty-meter zone, laid the ball off horizontally to the center.

Li Kang rushed forward, meeting the ball.

Griezmann tried to pull and drag him back.

He couldn't hold him back.

He couldn't restrain him.

*Bang!*

A booming sound that echoed through the night sky.

The football howled towards Atletico Madrid’s goal!

Fierce and domineering.

Unstoppable.

The rectangular defensive line collapsed in an instant!

Atletico Madrid fans were horrified.

Burgos's "detector" was so hot that he couldn't open his eyes.

Oblak moved ahead of time again.

His action rate was almost synchronized with Li Kang's long shot.

His red gloves were clenched into fists.

While stretching out for a diving save, he punched at the black shadow in his field of vision.

*Bang!*

The football flew out of bounds like a kite with a broken string.

“Wow!!!”

“Wonderful!”

“The third goalkeeper in Europe who can block Li Kang's powerful shot with his fists!”

“A breathtaking legendary moment was born at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium!”

“The peak showdown between the world's number one midfielder and the world's number one goalkeeper!”

In the livestream room,

barrages of comments flew across the screen.

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[Awesome.]

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[Finally exerting force at this time, Chelsea, the fifteen-minute kings!]

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[Atletico Madrid is really tough.]

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[The match between Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, the possession rate isn't ball possession data, but the distribution of physical strength at different time nodes!]

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[Is it really that mysterious? But I'm really worried about Atletico Madrid's stamina collapsing. This season has been too miserable, with a large number of injuries.]

Chelsea fans looked incredulous.

Atletico Madrid fans cheered.

The Wanda Metropolitano Stadium erupted in applause.

Li Kang staggered a few steps.

Even with titanium alloy protection, his crotch was still slightly uncomfortable.

He rubbed the inside of his thigh and gave Azpilicueta a thumbs up.

Vaguely,

a golden phantom of the blue and white number 10 appeared in his vision.

The blurry phantom exuded a warlike, feverish emotion, almost madness.

Maradona?

Griezmann lay painfully on the turf, looking at Li Kang as if he were a monster.

In the distance,

Oblak's expression was as usual, relaxed. His right arm, behind his back, trembled slightly uncontrollably.

On the sidelines,

Simeone pulled up his trousers, turned to face the stands, and excitedly raised his hands, signaling the home fans to cheer even louder.

Burgos took off the hot "detector" and threw it hard on the turf.

While rubbing his eyes, he muttered, "I saw two monsters."

He didn't overthink it for too long.

He quickly made exaggerated adjustment gestures to the players.

On the other side,

Dino glanced over and said in a serious tone.

"Boss, Atletico Madrid won't focus on transition attacks next..."

Tuchel nodded.

"Don't panic, Simeone's tactical evolution missed the batch of players with the highest compatibility."

The Chelsea coach's deployment in this game was more conservative.

Instead of starting offensive weapons such as Hazard, Pedro, and Willian, he reused the "hybrid workhorse midfielders" Drinkwater and Moses to engage in a physical battle with Atletico Madrid's midfield.

The Mattress Makers were limited by the transfer ban and couldn't complete the changing of the guard at the most appropriate time.

The healthy lineup, finally presented in the Champions League quarter-finals, was more like a "flash in the pan."

The most dangerous, but also the least threatening, spent force.

There's a kind of regret in life, meeting the right person at the wrong time.

Simeone's tactical evolution was just like that.

In the 2017/18 season, he improved the Mattress Makers' autonomous attacking design.

Unfortunately, the old were old, and the injured were injured.

Atletico Madrid's regret was: the "old, weak, sick, and disabled" healthy lineup encountered the perfect autonomous attacking deployment.

Marcos threw in a boundary ball.

This time, he didn't succeed.

Godín defeated Morata, controlled the ball, and passed it back to the goalkeeper - Oblak.

"Chelsea's overall defensive retreat is very fast."

"Preventing Atletico Madrid from completing the transition attack."

"Hmm, this rhythm?"

"The Cholo-taka mentioned in 《442》 magazine!!!"

Oblak passed the ball to Giménez.

The latter was only 23 years old this year. He was entrusted with an important task in the key battles of the previous season, but unfortunately, he made mistakes due to being too young. Now, he is growing vigorously, especially in psychological warfare.

He would ask the opposing forward players what they ate today, how many people are in their family, what kind of car they drive, the color of the club's flag, who their idols are... After the other party answered, he would repeat the question again.

Atletico Madrid's formation in the autonomous attacking phase became 3-5-2.

Giménez passed the ball to Filipe Luís.

"33-year-old Luis Filipe, who has broken his leg twice."

"In this era, several top clubs in La Liga have produced several full-backs who can take on the entire flank!"

"Pulling apart the attacking width."

"Going inside."

"Preventing Chelsea from cutting off the connection between the flanks and the center like they did in the first half."

"The essence of Cholo-taka, facing the Cruyff Triangle defense, they form a triangle passing position locally."

"Filipe Luís charges all the way, always has two passing options."

"No."

"There are three, including Griezmann, who's dropping deep."

"Starting to play one-twos."

Atletico Madrid's advancing speed isn't fast.

Continuous one-twos.

Griezmann, as the central hub, is very slow.

Most of the time, he's in a back-to-goal state, becoming the fourth point, performing layoffs and distributing the ball.

Back-to-goal,

half-turn,

then back-to-goal again.

It has to be said that as long as he's still within the Atletico Madrid system, he's the most comprehensive "world's fourth-best player" of his era.

Drinkwater and Moses were very passive.

They repeatedly tried to suppress Griezmann, who "lacked physical confrontation."

But they were always cleverly avoided by the little dwarf using his skillful reception followed by a half-turn diagonal run.

Can the little dwarf also play with his back to the goal?

"Saúl has topped the forward line."

"A forward spearhead, a deep-lying forward, an inverted winger!"

"It's so pleasing to the eye! A slow and smooth beauty!"

"Who says Atletico Madrid's autonomous attack is ugly!"

Li Kang's God's perspective had already entered a state of high-speed operation.

Countless red lines spread wildly in the grid.

Cruyff Triangle.

The "slow and perfect" timing of the fourth point's reception.

The constantly switching roles of the fourth point.

Li Kang quickly supported his teammates.

The golden phantom of the orange number 14 gathered with the wind.

The young Cruyff looked at the Cholo-taka in front of him with disdain.

"The football has been handed over to Filipe Luís again."

"Griezmann is currently lurking between Chelsea's lines."

"It's leaked through."

"Carrasco on the outside lays it back again."

"Griezmann leaks it again."

"Beautiful triangular cut."

"The fourth point is out again!"

"Koke."

At this moment, Chelsea's midfield and defensive lines had overlapped.

Koke wasn't in a hurry.

He was like an assassin detached from the battle.

Suddenly entering the field, creating a killing opportunity.

He pushed the ball forward to meet it.

The football skimmed along the turf, penetrating the Blues' defense that had been stretched open by Cholo-taka.

Griezmann had already turned and moved forward in advance, breaking into the penalty area.

The fourth point role switched again!

The Wanda Metropolitano Stadium suddenly erupted!

Saúl was poaching at the far post.

The positioning of Atletico Madrid's forwards seemed to "clamp" Chelsea's goalkeeper - Buffon!

*Bang!*

Griezmann forcefully pushed the ball, a shot-cross.

Buffon reacted quickly.

Diving down.

His pink gloves hooked the ball.

Vitolo, trying to follow up with a shot, crashed heavily into the net.

"Dangerous!"

"Buffon is experienced, his positioning is too reasonable."

"Griezmann didn't master the power of this ball."

"Did he want to pass the ball? Or shoot?"

Griezmann scratched his head in frustration.

Simeone shook his head helplessly and made a gesture of pressing down with both hands to his disciples.

Stamina.

This historical period's Cholo-taka placed a heavy burden on the players' stamina.

Its current significance may be: because the degree of completion is too low, it hasn't yet become a research topic for the coaching staff of various clubs.

Dino's eyes were burning, and he was frantically taking notes in his notebook.

"The past base is too small. I finally saw the detailed changes in Atletico Madrid's autonomous attack in this game."

Tuchel couldn't hold back and took off his baseball cap.

Pretending to be calm was too uncomfortable.

He was now a little panicked.

Li Kang shook his head.

God's perspective stopped deconstructing.

He wouldn't be as obsessed with breaking the situation as he had been in the past.

Because the Atletico Madrid in front of him had created another football paradox.

The eternal 4-4-2 formation, Cholo-taka, and the current player styles were completely incompatible.

The last link in the attacking chain was still the common routine.

In the livestream room,

the big screen replayed the entire attacking process.

-

[Are they about to score? Both sides have missed excellent scoring opportunities!]

-

[No way, their so-called taka requires compatible players. Atletico Madrid's Cholo is still in its nascent stage, just hatching.]

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[Good luck pulling off a complete attacking chain. Three local teammates are exhausted, while the fourth point strolls around. Why is it slow? Speeding it up would affect the stability of the passing.]

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[What are you guys talking about? Is there still a chance for a big goal?]

-

[No chance. It's still the same old saying, Atletico Madrid's possession rate is low, they're not controlling the ball, they're controlling their stamina.]

The game resumed.

Time passed.

The scene became increasingly intense.

Atletico Madrid failed to produce a perfect Cholo-taka again.

Li Kang was always able to restrain the "fourth point role" in different battle situations.

It wasn't that the system was bad, but that the players in the current lineup weren't compatible, and the eternal 4-4-2 formation was even less compatible.

The current Mattress Makers couldn't perfectly utilize the advantages of the "fourth point role."

Correspondingly, the stamina of Atletico Madrid's veterans couldn't support high-intensity shuttle runs.

With a decline in stamina,

they often had to resort to fouls to stop attacks.

Drinkwater and Moses's roles were highlighted.

The two durable and beatable midfield sandbags became more and more courageous as they fought.

Chelsea's frontcourt repeatedly obtained free-kick opportunities, and all the killing opportunities created were resolved by Oblak, who descended to earth as a god.

Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Atletico Madrid fans' cheering slogans resounded through the night sky.

"Aupa Atleti!!!"

The Mattress Makers' fan culture is very unique.

Juanfran was the "culprit" of the penalty kick in the 15/16 Champions League final. After the game, he didn't become the target of Atletico Madrid fans' criticism, but became a hero instead, with his jersey sales soaring 20 times...

88th minute of the match.

Atletico Madrid completed an interception in their own half.

The football was distributed to Koke.

Griezmann ran horizontally, and the captain - Gabi cut forward to support.

Three points formed.

The football was passed between the red and white striped jerseys.

What about the fourth point?

Saúl was blocked by Li Kang.

Kanté easily tackled the ball at Griezmann's feet.

It was Drinkwater again.

A powerful kick forward!

Still finding Azpilicueta.

"Why is Atletico Madrid's defensive retreat so slow this time?"

"Godín and Gabi are tired."

"Filipe Luís is also tired."

"Morata rushes forward at high speed!"

"Li Kang is even faster, running to the back point of the penalty area!"

"Atletico Madrid's midfield doesn't have speedy players."

"Azpilicueta, what are you waiting for?"

*Bang!*

The Blues' full-back's foot shape was finally truly lifting upwards.

The football stirred up grass clippings and lifted off the ground.

Spinning violently in mid-air, it looped towards Atletico Madrid's penalty area.

Morata, while moving, judged the trajectory of the ball, and unconsciously placed his hands on Giménez's chest.

When the two predicted the landing point,

the football had already entered a state of descent.

Suddenly, the eyes of more than 60,000 spectators in the stadium converged on Chelsea's number 10.

Two golden phantoms simultaneously appeared in Li Kang's vision.

Orange number 14.

Blue and white number 10.

Cruyff, Maradona.

The next moment.

He made an unbelievable move.

Simeone was stunned.

Tuchel looked dumbfounded.

Li Kang was facing away from the goal.

His feet stomped hard on the turf.

Leaping high.

His figure stretched out.

An echo in the sky.

A bicycle kick.

Despair rose in the hearts of Godín and Gabi. They were so close to preventing the birth of a legendary moment.

Watching the black-haired figure in mid-air like an eagle spreading its wings.

Oblak paused: That kid seems to be...glowing.

*Bang!*

Ultimate ball feel.

A bicycle kick cannonball!

The football drew a "V" trajectory in Atletico Madrid's penalty area.

Diagonal spin.

Bouncing on the ground.

Oblak was too slow.

In the name of the world's number one goalkeeper, he still couldn't stop this crystallization full of consciousness, inspiration, imagination, and flexibility!

0:1!!!

The Mattress Makers' net was lifted high.

Desperate sighs echoed in the skies above Madrid.

The 21 districts and 1,100 zebra crossings in the Spanish capital were filled with various forms of poetry.

Almost all of the 60,000 spectators on the scene simultaneously thought of one of them.

"Your wings guide my soul."

"Wow! A goal!"

"A great moment!"

"Magnificent!"

"A world-famous painting!"

"It's as if he has a pair of wings on his body!"

"Incredible hang time, unbelievable flexibility, shocking touch precision..."

"A bicycle kick cannonball!"

"The helmsman of the Bullfighting Fleet finally pointed his sword at his own people."

In the livestream room,

the barrage was silent for 1 second, then swept across the big screen like a storm.

-

[Will it be a last-minute winner?]

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[Too handsome!]

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[Fucking awesome!]

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[Li Mingdeng is awesome!]

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[I'd call him the strongest!]

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[It feels like watching a sci-fi movie, why doesn't he participate in the pole vault!]

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[Finally broke the duck egg, a lifetime fan!]

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[Atletico Madrid's veterans' stamina... their lamps are running out of oil, and quite a few players are injured.]

-

[Who said that? If Li Mingdeng had stopped the ball, adjusted, and then shot, Godín and Gabi would have pounced on him.]

Li Kang lay on the turf.

Morata pounced on him at the first moment.

Followed by Moses, Azpilicueta, Drinkwater...

The Blues players stacked a high arhat in Atletico Madrid's penalty area.

Buffon really wanted to go.

But according to the rules, one person had to stay in their own half.

The Italian goalkeeper could only lie alone on the turf, celebrating in sync.

The Chelsea fans who had traveled with the team weren't loud, but they were full of power.

"Lee!!!"

"Carefree!!!"

The sound was quickly drowned out.

Atletico Madrid fans, with their numerical advantage, encouraged the lagging Mattress Makers.

Oblak picked up the football and threw it to Gabi.

The Atletico Madrid captain ran towards the center circle while loudly encouraging his teammates.

On the sidelines,

Burgos broke the detector in frustration: "What's the use of this thing!"

Simeone tried to calm himself down.

He didn't show the slightest hint of frustration.

There was still a chance.

It was only a one-goal deficit.

Everything was possible in a two-legged knockout match.

On the other side,

Dino put away his notebook.

"Boss, some things are beyond the scope of tactics."

Tuchel agreed deeply: "Let tactical ideals go to hell!"

The fourth official raised the Led number plate, 3 minutes of injury time.

The time left for the Mattress Makers was running out.

They didn't give up.

Seizing the last two attacking opportunities, let Cholo go to hell.

Lifting high balls, smashing into the penalty area!

Godín and Giménez, two center-backs, took turns becoming the focal point of the attack!

Buffon wasn't panicked at all.

He calmly directed the defensive line.

One early take.

One block of Saúl's close-range shot.

Both sets of fans were suffering.

One side hoped time would pass faster.

The other side hoped time would pass slower.

Finally.

*Beep! Beep, beep~*

When the referee blew the whistle to end the match,

all emotions could be released through uninhibited breathing.

The match ended.

Atletico Madrid 0:1 Chelsea.

(End of chapter)