Chapter 527: Chase after the victory

When the football rolled into the net, thousands of Atletico Madrid fans who had already gotten up in advance either waved their arms excitedly and chanted Fengquan's name, or hugged their relatives, friends and lovers passionately and cried with joy.

Because counterattacking goals are Feng Quan's best offensive means, even if he broke through the goal of the strong rival Barcelona in such an important Champions League knockout round, it did not make many waves in Feng Quan's heart.

However, the enthusiastic cheers of thousands of Atletico Madrid fans after Fengquan's goal instantly ignited the blood in his heart. Immediately, Feng Quan ran in front of the stands where the team's supporters were in a 100-meter sprint, hammering his left chest with his right hand while shouting at the stands: "We are the strongest!" ”

In stark contrast to the passionate celebrations on the side of Atletico Madrid, there was a deathly silence in the rest of the stands. These outnumbered home fans couldn't believe that Barcelona, who dominated the pitch, would be the first to break the deadlock.

You know, Feng Quan's shot was the first time that Atletico Madrid hit the goal in the first half, and it put Barcelona in a situation where they fell behind.

That's the real charm of football.

Like the home fans in the stands, the Barcelona players were equally reluctant to believe what was happening in front of them. Once upon a time, even the Real Madrid team, known as the "Galaxy Battleship", lost more than won in direct confrontation with itself.

However, Atletico Madrid, who had been at their own mercy in previous seasons, took the lead in both of their own competitions.

That's right, the comprehensive strength of Messi and Neymar in the Barcelona team is even faintly higher than the wind line, but the most terrifying thing about the wind is that whether it is speed, body or foot technology, all of them have reached the world's top level. Even his idol "Alien" Ronaldo may be slightly inferior in terms of comprehensiveness of ability.

It is precisely because of the existence of Fengquan that the Atletico Madrid team, which has already forged a steel defensive line, can advance all the way on all fronts, and can easily switch between the tactics of pressing and attacking in the front court or stabilizing the defense and counterattack in the backcourt.

Maybe Barcelona fans will be very unconvinced when they hear this, but if you talk about the ability to turn the tide of the game on your own, Messi, who has experienced many injuries this season, and Neymar, who still likes to play tricks on the field, are indeed slightly inferior to Fengquan.

In addition to Feng Quan's goal, what made Barcelona fans even more depressed was that Pique, who had fallen heavily on the pitch while competing for a high ball with Diego Costa, was slowly walking off the pitch with the support of teammate Sergio Busquets after barely supporting himself to play the last two minutes of the first half.

Even after returning to the dressing room and receiving emergency treatment from the team doctor, Pique's injury shows no signs of improving. In desperation, the team's coach Martino had to send young Bartra to replace Pique in the second half.

…………

After the two sides changed sides, Atletico Madrid, who had been huddled in their own half of the game and took a defensive position, unexpectedly launched a ferocious high press in the front.

Although Martino's adjustment at half-time allowed the morale of the Barcelona players to recover a few points. But Atletico Madrid's unexpectedly high pressing caught them off guard.

Because Atletico Madrid took the initiative to "concede" control of the midfield in the first half of the game, the Barcelona players were able to organize the pass relatively calmly in the midfield.

When the overall formation of Atletico Madrid suddenly moved forward and launched a ferocious press in the midfield, the Barcelona players, who were still immersed in the relatively relaxed confrontation environment in the first half of the game, were in a hurry for a while.

And the morale of the Atletico Madrid team took advantage of the opponent's "scramble" in the opening stage to further expand the lead.

In the 4th minute of the second half, Feng Quan forced his way through the defense of Andres Iniesta and Alba on the right flank, cut inside to the edge of the penalty area and then made a long-range shot from the outside.

Since Feng Quan's long-range shooting ability has long been known, Mascherano and Busquets immediately pounced from the left and right flanks.

However, just when the two of them were ready to block the gun's hole, Feng Quan's previously high left foot picked up the football from the gap between the two to the space on the right side of the penalty area.

Juanfran stopped the ball at high speed and swept it towards the middle of the box, where Diego Costa, who had been ambushed in the box, first used his strength to keep Baltara firmly behind him, and then extended the score to 2-0 with a volley before Valdés made a falling save.

Under normal circumstances, when his team faces a similar opponent on the road and has a two-goal advantage or more, Diego Simeone will not hesitate to choose to retract the defense and then wait for the opportunity to launch a quick counter-attack.

But today, even though Atletico Madrid had already taken a two-goal lead at the Camp Nou, Simeone kept his players pressed high up front.

Simeone's reason for this is not that he thinks that Barcelona is now clearly inferior to his own team. On the contrary, it is precisely because of the fear of Barcelona, or more precisely, the backbone of Barcelona's team such as Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta, that he did not dare to let his team immediately switch to a defensive contraction.

After all, after Atletico Madrid fully retreated in the first half of the game and completely handed over control of the midfield to the other side, the dangerous scenes in front of the goal are still deeply imprinted in Diego Simeone's mind. If it weren't for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois's many saves, as well as the sacrifice of the defenders, it would have been really difficult for the team to maintain a one-goal advantage until the end of the half-time.

Therefore, when Barcelona had not yet adapted to their pressing tactics up front, Simeone decided to take a moment of distraction when the opponent conceded again early in the opening period, in order to extend the lead again and add important weight to the final victory.

Even if you can't extend the lead before the opponent adjusts to the pressing tactics, the opposing players will become more and more impatient as the game goes by, and they will not be able to play as well as they should in the game.

And most importantly, Pique's departure due to injury allowed Simeone to find the shortest "plank" on the "bucket" of Barcelona's backline. This shortest "plank" is an important breakthrough for Atletico Madrid to extend its lead.

In the 9th minute of the second half, Feng Quan took the ball near the corner of the penalty area on the right side to attract the attention of many defenders of the opposing team, and suddenly aimed at the position near the penalty spot and sent a cross with a large arc.

Diego Costa, who was originally ambushed at the top of the penalty area, suddenly began to step forward when he saw Feng Quan's right leg swinging back. As the ball flew near the penalty spot, Diego Costa arrived just in time to unload the ball with his chest.

Although Bartra, who was half a beat slower to turn, kept interfering with Diego Costa's back, it only made the opponent's body lose his balance a little, but it was not able to prevent Diego Costa from sending the ball into the top right corner of the goal.