****

9:55 p.m.

Only six minutes into the second half.

The QPR completely overwhelmed the opponent in those six minutes, and it was different from the first half. Thanks to the direct opening of the wings after the change of formation, Phil Beasley's ability to play high balls is directly reflected. Phil had already made two tackles at the start of the second half, one with his head and one with his feet.

In addition, QPR was followed by León who came very close to opening the net, after Phil drew away Varane from the first point. The Uruguayan followed up with a right-footed shot that was saved by Diaz.

Everyone could tell that QPR had a complete start in the second half and came closer to scoring each time. Opposite the players, the Camp Nou stands are the blue and white fan camp, who turned Real Madrid's half into their home stadium amid an overwhelming roar of frenzied shouts.

Lu Ling, who was standing on the sideline, stared at the situation on the field. The rain kept falling on her head and shoulders. She kind of regretted not taking the coat that Tim had handed her. It wasn't because of the cold, she was still steaming. But the rain soaked her shirt and it was uncomfortable against her skin. She decided to ignore this for now.

According to her request, as soon as the offensive end loses the ball, the two forwards, Leon and Phil, take the lead in frantically leading the frontcourt pressing. Jake worked tirelessly between the right and the centre, using his movement to cover almost a semi-average player, while Gonzalo kept going back and forth between the centre and the left, and did his best to keep the formation tight.

It was a premeditated outbreak. He used the fifteen minutes of halftime to accumulate energy and released it strongly at the beginning of the second half.

Pat galloped on the left. This undermined Real Madrid's intention to put Carvajal on top of the attack, and the Spanish right-back had to recover and could no longer support the attack. After this suppressive force brought by Pat pushed Carvajal back, Phil was able to use his body to come along the way to further suppress Carvajal.

On the other hand, John O'Connor was completely used on the right side for attacking, and from the current situation of the game, the decision was quite successful.

Just now, John and Zixiang had a direct side conversation.

John sprinted behind Zixiang at high speed, and Zixiang turned around and chased. On the sideline, two powerful fullbacks of the former QPR collided with sparks on the same road - Zixiang forced a kick to clear the siege, but the ball was still taken by QPR.

Lu Ling knew that Zixiang's physical fitness was extremely good and his foot skills were better, but not to the point where he could completely suppress John. Instead, through Ben's clever use of space, John Lingzixiang, who was also fast and more threatening with his crosses, continued to be in a state where he could not press it sufficiently.

In this way, because Real Madrid's two full-backs Zixiang and Carvajal could not press, their wings became thin and could not form a situation of cascading and supporting the inside line. And this is the important reason why Real Madrid was able to play a magnificent counterattack at the beginning of the first half.

Gonzalo, who has enriched the backcourt level after adduction, is her important tactical pawn. He got on the ball near the centre circle and Toni Kroos pressed on, but the deft Spaniard easily got away from the German in a single spin and was immediately reconnected with Ben.

Ben immediately played down the left and Pat burst on the ball and sent in a cross – this time Phil's forward pressure almost grazed the ball into the back of the net, but unfortunately the ball just grazed his scalp and flew off the other side.

Oh, another missed opportunity. Lu Ling clenched his fists.

Still, she is waiting for something other than a goal that could come at any time.

In between kick-offs, she looked at the bench on the other side.

The corners of Lu Ling's mouth moved slightly, but he immediately returned to his original state. Of course, she couldn't have known that this scene was exactly captured by the cameras on the scene, but neither did the coach on the other side.

****

9:56 p.m.

The game was just 52 minutes into it.

As the ball went out of bounds, Benjamin looked to the touchline. The stout figure rose from the leather seat on the side of the Camp Nou. Theofanis Gianakopoulos took off his biggest training jersey to reveal the black Real Madrid jersey.

The Greek midfielder, known as the "Titan", is 6'5" (196) tall and joined Real Madrid from Olympiacos last summer. Benjamin has seen his video and knows that this is a "secret weapon" that Real Madrid often sacrifices in strong dialogues.

The power of the Greeks was terrifying. Knotted muscles, extremely broad shoulders, and thick and stiff legs under the boulder-like torso. The Titan, who is only twenty years old this year, has already stood on the sidelines. The fourth official played the substitution card, and the Real Madrid player who was replaced was Toni Kroos.

Benjamin quickly reflected on the last few minutes of the game, and the entire 52 minutes that had preceded it. He likes to constantly review the momentum of the game during the game, as if looking at the stock market before making the next investment decision, which helps him to always have a clear grasp of the situation.

The first half was very clear.

Interestingly, when QPR was in possession, Real Madrid completed a counter-attack goal to take the lead, and when Real Madrid dominated possession, QPR scored again to equalize. This may indicate that, under normal circumstances, it is difficult for both teams to penetrate the opponent's goal in positional battles, so counter-attacking is the best way.

Of course, that's just under "normal circumstances". But as soon as it came up in the second half, the baby took the lead in leading the game to an "abnormal" situation. Pat and John's style of play on the wings is one thing, and on the other hand, multiple members of the team need to put in a lot of physical output.

Benjamin knew that this strategy couldn't be taken lightly. The timing of this wave of concentrated physical resources must be grasped precisely.

Both Leon and Phil have taken their energy up a notch in the last few minutes, sprinting and creating the most direct pressure at the very front of the middle, which combined with the wings to force Real Madrid to drop back and get the ball out of the way.

Unlike Pat's abrupt pullback in the first half, Gabriel Jesus doesn't look allowed to go deeper. However, neither Gabriel Jesus, Kylian Mbappe nor Vi/Nicius could get enough of it, as the inverted trapezoidal formation of the QPR perfectly covered Real Madrid's position.

As a result, this seven-minute game has also become the first time in this game that one side has absolutely suppressed one side to the other. It looks like the goal from QPR is just around the corner.

The Real Madrid boss was apparently quick to react and immediately decided to make a change.

Benjamin's eyes drifted first to the Greek, then to Toni Kroos as he was walking off the pitch, then to the Real Madrid boss and finally to her. Benjamin saw her go to the dugout and get a coat to put on.

She didn't explain to the players the purpose of the second half, she just told them what to do. But for Benjamin, there is one known condition: she knows Nicolas Flores very, very well.

Vice versa.

Titan walked past Benjamin Hamilton and walked to the touchline near the right side of the QPR.

Real Madrid prepare to send a touchline ball. Zixiang threw the ball vigorously -

The Greek giant took two steps, and John subconsciously moved over there, but after hitting the rock-like back, he was directly bounced away. Theophanes-Gianakopoulos didn't seem to feel the impact at all, and he used his chest to stop the ball that Zixiang threw easily.

To the left of the Titan, Jake had already pounced, but even Jake had a height gap of nearly four inches to the Greek.

The Titan strained this time, his shoulders against Jake and pressed down, and since the Greeks were taller and wider, Jake could barely make a movement.

The Real Madrid midfielder then distributed the ball to Pierre Junkai, who came up next to him.

Benjamin realized when Jake pounced that he had to defend right away. Although, this is a violation of one's own position in this style of play, the situation has changed.

Sure enough, Ian moved laterally to block Pierre's forward passage, but Benjamin retreated in time to block the gap in the middle.

Pierre didn't continue forward, but calmly controlled the ball and then transferred a long diagonal pass to Mbappe to the right.

In this way, Real Madrid's formation is pressed again.

Benjamin temporarily recycled and switched to defensive form. The mud was starting to start beneath their feet, the rain was unabated, and the pre-match weather forecast was indeed inaccurate, and they only got the exact information at the end of the half, that it would rain in the second half.

But it's no match for London, Benjamin thought. The lights at the Camp Nou amplified the rain.

****

10:02 p.m.

In those five minutes, the situation spiraled out of control.

After seven minutes of QPR's absolute dominance, the appearance of "Titan" Theophanis Giannakopoulos forced a turnaround for Real Madrid. As the team's last line of defence, Hans Bachmeier can see the most comprehensive situation on the field. He knew that the situation was complicated again.

At this time, behind him is no longer the QPR's own fans in the first half, but the Real Madrid fans who are constantly abusing and shouting. Hans didn't feel anything about it, he was more concerned about what was happening in front of him.

Just a minute earlier, the Greek had headed to Vi/Nicius and the Brazilian winger had passed to his compatriot Gabriel Jesus, who had barely paused to cut through the JT gear and into the box. Glenn leaned in from the side to try to influence Gabriel Jesus, but the Brazilian fired a deceitful shot.

Hans could feel that, in that moment, Jesus was deliberately waiting for Glenn to come up. But when Glenn got close and couldn't fully stick his foot out, Jesus opted to shoot, which hit the far corner, but the leg was a little softer.

Hans has all the instincts of a super goalkeeper. Growing up, Mr. Beltz included this part in his militarized training – he told him to judge the choice of strikers by feeling in actual combat, and to stand until the last minute.

Hans moved instinctively thanks to Gabriel Jesus' kick. Since he had already noticed the abnormality, he subconsciously tensed his waist and abdomen and did not completely throw his body out. Glenn also reached out to block the moment Jesus made a move.

As a result, the ball hit the underside of Glenn's calf and bounced.

Instead of flying towards the far corner, the ball slowly folded towards the near corner, and Hans pulled his body back with all his waist and abdominal muscles, and then struck the ball with his left palm - the ball grazed the post.

Jesus did it on purpose.

While the trajectory of the refracted ball is uncontrollable, it's not completely impossible – in practice, Pat and Leon have done something similar, except that they use another ball as an obstacle and then try to shoot both balls in one shot.

Gabriel Jesus mastered the timing to the extreme, and the power of his right-footed shot was important, not too hard, but it kept the ball down so that it was more likely to bounce off Glenn's leg and then hit the ground, which could bounce irregularly towards goal. Hans's nerves were tense, but not overly tense, and he was alert enough for possible emergencies.

But that's not all.

Before that "Titan" came on the field, QPR was in complete control, but now the possession rate is basically fifty to fifty. Hans knows his team-mates are strong, Real Madrid's players are strong, and both teams have real superstars to lead the way – although Hans thinks Pate is better than Gabriel Jesus, but QPR's centre-backs do have their shortcomings, which makes the two teams almost even.

At this point – and Hans thought the 52-minute substitution was an early point in time – the Real Madrid boss was the first to introduce an X-factor that upset the balance on the pitch.

Once upon a time, was Hans like Benjamin now, or was it different? Hans wasn't sure. But he did study Nick Flores. He wondered what kind of man she would fall in love with, and until now, Hans couldn't give an exact answer. But with Flores' side playing against them many times, the Germans are at least certain that the Spaniards are very proactive and decisive. Hans sometimes thinks that this may be the biggest difference between him and Flores and Patter. He is only in front of goal, he is proactive and decisive. Emotionally, he has always been an introverted person. He hadn't told Mia about his hazy, up-and-down admiration for Christine. In fact, he didn't tell anyone. However, liking is like a cough that is difficult to hide. Or, he doesn't want to hide it deliberately, and it's not a shame to like Christine Lu. He had asked her strange questions and invited her to do a dance. But she rejected him. She had never spoken to Patrick in the same tone she had spoken to, nor had she ever looked at him the way she had seen Pat. What could he do? That morning, in Harrington, when Ian told him that, he wasn't surprised, but still sad. Later, he meets Mia. A beautiful funny German girl. The girl was sitting in the stands watching him. He knows that he has his story.

Hans stared at the field.

The Titans are a tough guy to mess with. This tall and powerful player made Real Madrid's advance smooth. They can use the most direct way to secure a position up front from the air and on the ground, using the Greeks as a steady point of contact, and then force the QPR players to retreat. After several times, the control of the QPR seemed to be untenable.

Hans thought of what Mr. Beltz had said to himself, when he was about ten or eleven years old.

"A goalkeeper is first and foremost a player. You have to have a good ability to play with your feet, you've seen the recent trends in football, have you seen Barça's Valdés, how good he is with the ball and how good he is with his passing. The Germans can do the same, that Manuel Neuer from Schalke 04, do you see the technique at his feet?"

Hans has full trust in Mr. Beltz. He has never slackened his efforts to hone his skills at his feet, but he also pays great attention to other goalkeepers who are skilled at his feet. The Real Madrid goalkeeper on the opposite side, Matteo Diaz, clearly has the skill of his feet, and Hans knows that the short Spanish goalkeeper is more than just a master of saves.

In the second half, their team-mates used a lot of high pressing, so that the opponent's ball was often forced back at the feet of goalkeeper Diaz. Diaz doesn't make too many short passes with his team-mates, and when the Greek comes up, he will go straight to the tall Titans. Such a long connection distance actually adds a lot of difficulty, but Diaz's long pass is very accurate and his feet are fast enough.

Hans remembers that Christine had used this style of play as well, whether it was the first cold Russian big man Dzyuba or Batshuayi or Phil, who had taken on similar tasks. But those guys are all forwards, and the Titans are a midfielder. Maybe more like Belgian tall midfielder Fellaini, but this guy is stronger than Fellaini, and the basic skills of stopping and passing the ball are at least the same level.

Now, this guy has actually started to charge.

Hans kept his eyes on the situation in front of him, and at the same time kept moving his feet and adjusting his position with reference to the penalty spot and the white line in the small penalty area. He has an excellent sense of goal and knows the exact position of the two posts without looking back, thanks to Mr. Bertz's special training: while other goalkeepers are still practising with small goals, Hans is using an adult goal more than seven metres wide.

But this ball is a little difficult.

Zixiang played a match with Pierre Rongkai from the left and went down to the bottom line, John didn't follow, Zixiang could easily cross. If he had allowed his opponent to jump up and head in the air, then Hans would almost certainly have no one in the QPR box to stop the Titans. The Greeks are undoubtedly taller and heavier than themselves, rushing towards you like an angry rhinoceros.

The big man was already ready to take off by the inertia after the previous 20-meter sprint.

You can't wait for him to jump.

Hans stepped out of the small penalty area and jumped first.

The taller and stronger Greek leaned forward and leaped into the air, and the two were about to collide—

Hans stretched out his arms and pinned the high-speed ball in the air!

As the position was close to the penalty spot, where the goalkeeper was not protected by the ramming rule, Hans did not reach forward in the air to prevent a foul.

So the two huge bodies collided in the air.

Hans and Titan fall to the ground at the same time.

Hans felt pain in his ribs and a burning forearm—the Greek battering ram's head was pressed against the outside of his left arm, near his elbow.

However, Hans kept clutching the ball and did not let go.

The Titan also looked in pain, and the referee blew for a halt to the game, leaving the team doctors on both sides running up.

Alice asked, she was very sweet and spoke in German. Hans didn't say anything, just pointed to his forearm. The refrigerant was sprayed immediately. Hans pointed to the position of his ribs again. Alice squirted a little more there.

Still in German, Alice asked, "How much does it hurt?"

Hans, who was sitting on the ground, stood up. "I'm fine. He caught a glimpse of the other side, and the Greeks also got up.

Alice tried to touch his ribs for a quick palpation, but Hans pushed the team doctor's hand away. "It's alright, Alice. He grinned.

Alice looked at him and smiled, "He's a 'Titan', but you're a 'Caesar'." Then she and her assistant walked off the field with the medicine kit.

Hans thinks that Christine's best friend is as cute as she is. Actually, Mia is like this too.

The game resumed after only a short pause.

Hans stood back on the goal line and felt the pain in his forearm lessen. However, there is still some pain in the position of the ribs. But as a goalkeeper, sometimes that's the case, after colliding with this big man, Hans feels more motivated.

What he remembered was no longer what Mr. Beltz had told him, but what Christine had told him. It was in the summer of 2017 when he was playing the World Junior Championships in Seoul and he met her for the first time.

'You can choose to join Bayern, Real Madrid, Barcelona, but if your goal is to be number one in the world, unfortunately, Hans, you are wrong. Anyone can boast that they are the best. But what you have in front of you now and in the future is undoubtedly the best manager in the world. I can lead the 'small club' to beat Pep Guardiola and go toe with Jose Mourinho, so I'm going to crush your team wherever you are. ”

That was when he decided to join QPR.

Hans raised his chin and glanced at the sideline. Four years on, we're fighting side by side. Together, we've defeated countless opponents, including the one in front of us. 166 Reading Network