Boom!
Zidane didn't even look up after receiving the ball. He immediately whipped a long pass with his right foot, switching play to Robinho on the right flank.
A massive switch of play!
From Beckham to Zidane—two consecutive long passes, sweeping the ball across the field.
In an instant, Barcelona's defensive shape was completely torn apart!
Robinho accelerated—again and again—giving Silvinho no chance whatsoever to catch up.
After a quick glance into the box, Robinho fired a low, driven cross across goal!
Van Nistelrooy charged toward the near post and went to ground with a full-stretch slide, but Puyol's interference slowed him just enough.
He missed the ball.
But almost at the same time Van Nistelrooy went down, Su Hang—arriving from behind—also launched himself into a slide, stabbing toward the ball.
The ball slipped past Van Nistelrooy's attempt, but it couldn't get past Su Hang.
Swish!
Su Hang slid into the goal with the ball.
He nearly took Valdés down with him in the process.
Valdés was at a complete loss.
He had reacted too slowly.
If he'd been even a fraction quicker—if he'd shifted just a little—this goal might not have counted at all. Because Su Hang would have taken him out first.
That would have been a collision with the goalkeeper.
"GOAL!"
"Four–two! A goal drought?! This is the Su Hang that Barcelona claimed was suffering a goal drought!"
"Seventeen minutes—Su Hang has scored twice!"
"A brilliant sliding finish! That was an extremely difficult goal!"
"Robinho's cross was too fast—even Van Nistelrooy couldn't reach it!"
"Su Hang made the right decision to go to ground. The ball had a slight bounce—if he didn't maximize the contact area, he could easily have missed it."
"Rather than saying Su Hang kicked it in, it's more accurate to say he smashed it in!"
"He drove it home with his left knee!"
"Ding! Congratulations on completing Star Path (Shooting)! You've broken through your limits, glimpsed the end point of shooting technique, and are now moving toward it!"
"You have obtained a reward: Shooting Effect – Tear."
"Shooting Effect – Tear: When you shoot with great force, there is a minuscule chance the ball explodes! When you shoot at full power, there is a small chance the ball tears through the net! When executing a violent shot, there is an extremely tiny chance the ball breaks the goalpost!"
???
This…
Kung Fu Soccer?
This is completely outrageous, guys!
These are actually visual effects!
They have no real practical impact, but they look absolutely insane.
Still, as absurd as it seems, there really have been cases in world football where balls were kicked open, nets were torn, or even goal frames were damaged.
They're just incredibly rare.
Even a player with 99 shooting technique and 99 leg strength might only experience a ball bursting once or twice in their entire career under normal conditions.
Don't let the words "minuscule," "small," and "extremely tiny" fool you. If you add everything up over Su Hang's entire career, the number of these so-called "supernatural incidents" definitely wouldn't be something you could count on one hand.
In the future world of football, this would be absolutely unique.
It was even more exaggerated than Shaq shattering dozens of backboards in a row.
At least Shaq used technique, and he benefited from manufacturing defects in those backboards.
In football, something like this is much harder to achieve.
After all, it's not Su Hang tearing the net himself—it's the ball doing it.
That's beyond imagination.
"Alright, we can see that Su Hang is extremely excited after scoring this goal," Derek Rae noticed the change in Su Hang's expression. "He's clearly fired up."
"It looks like Barcelona have triggered Su Hang's attacking instincts."
"They once dragged the score back to level, but that resistance only made Su Hang more energized."
"Su Hang seems to be saying something to his teammates."
On the pitch, Zidane, Beckham, Robinho, Van Nistelrooy, and the others were all somewhat stunned after hearing Su Hang's words.
It was the first time they had ever heard Su Hang make such a blunt request.
Su Hang: "Help me create chances! I want to shoot! Please, everyone!"
Everyone knew that Su Hang was not someone who demanded things from his teammates—unless the team was facing a life-or-death situation.
This clearly wasn't one.
Moreover, in Capello's tactical system, once the team went two goals ahead, the priority had to be defense.
Aside from Su Hang, no one else was supposed to commit to attacking.
And considering that Su Hang himself carried defensive attributes, it effectively meant the entire team was defending.
Sure enough, at that very moment, Capello was on the touchline, making clear defensive gestures.
"Zidane! Zidane! Defend!" Capello shouted repeatedly.
Zidane nodded, then turned and yelled to his teammates, "After kickoff, push up! Keep attacking! Put pressure on Barça!"
"Once we create chances, get the ball to Su Hang as much as possible! Let him complete his hat trick!"
"This is the only thing we can do to help Su Hang compete for the Ballon d'Or!"
"Attack!"
Zidane sounded the call to arms.
The rest of Real Madrid's players were fired up as well, raising their arms and shouting, "Attack!"
The Bernabéu responded in unison as the fans roared:
"Attack!"
"Attack!"
"Attack!"
The stadium boiled over.
The tension of the Spanish Clásico was pushed to its absolute limit.
The match commentator even blurted out something like, "Let's slaughter Barcelona once again!"
So it was no surprise that fights often broke out in derbies like this.
Because verbally, both sides truly lost control.
After that, Real Madrid launched wave after wave of relentless attacks.
Even Capello was left dumbfounded.
Was his pronunciation of "defend" really that bad? Had everyone heard it as "attack" instead?
Why was everyone attacking?
Why?
Capello looked toward the bench, hoping someone could give him an answer.
In the end, Modrić spoke up, "Boss, Su Hang has already scored twice. Maybe he wants to complete a hat trick."
Capello's face turned alternately pale and livid.
The once-seamless cooperation between him and Su Hang had just developed a crack.
Su Hang: Venus, just tell me—how deep is this grudge?
Modrić: SHIT!
But Real Madrid's all-out attacking approach ended up giving Barcelona an opportunity.
In the 88th minute, Iniesta and Messi played a quick one-two, after which Messi carried the ball into the penalty area.
He dropped his shoulder and feinted. Cannavaro stepped in first.
Cannavaro correctly anticipated Messi's next move.
But he hadn't expected Messi to take two rapid touches in an instant, forcibly changing direction.
So…
Beep!
The referee blew his whistle, pointed to the penalty spot, and showed Cannavaro a yellow card.
This…
Real Madrid's players immediately surrounded the referee.
But the referee stood firm on his decision.
Only after the referee had dispersed the Real Madrid players did Messi—who had been rolling around in the box for quite some time—suddenly recover, get to his feet, and walk out of the penalty area.
Ronaldinho stepped up to take the penalty.
Ten seconds later, the Barcelona fans erupted in wild celebration.
Ronaldinho and Messi both sprinted into the box to retrieve the ball.
Three–four!
Ronaldinho converted from the spot, completing his brace and once again pulling Barcelona closer on the scoreboard.
They seemed to see hope—hope of snatching a dramatic equalizer against Real Madrid.
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser