Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 517: The Monkey King Soars—Bale's Stunning Comeback!

When Marcelo kicked Lin Quan in the leg, the crowd gasped in shock.

However, when they saw Lin Quan, who was about to fall, take an unorthodox shot and send the ball into Real Madrid's goal once again, everyone was stunned.

They forgot to even celebrate!

"Did that really just happen?"

Real Madrid fans were devastated. At 3-2, they could still fantasize about equalizing and forcing extra time.

But now the score was 4-2, and with only four minutes left, what could they do?

How could they possibly turn it around in such a short time?

To make things worse, Marcelo's failed clearance not only missed the ball but fouled Lin Quan. If the referee didn't go easy on him, Marcelo was definitely facing a red card!

Down by two goals and possibly a man down—this was turning into a nightmare.

Real Madrid fans fell into despair, but Manchester City's fans couldn't fully rejoice either.

Yes, they had scored, but if it came at the cost of their star player being seriously injured, they would rather have not scored that goal at all!

"Medic! Hurry, get out there!"

On the sidelines, Pep Guardiola was like an anxious ant on a hot stove, unable to sit still. He was so worried about Lin Quan that he looked ready to sprint onto the pitch himself to check on him.

If Lin Quan were seriously injured, winning this match wouldn't bring Guardiola any joy.

A trophy meant nothing compared to his son's health.

"Marcelo, if anything happens to my son, I'll kill you!" Guardiola glared at Marcelo with a murderous look, while Marcelo, like a guilty schoolboy, desperately tried to explain himself to the referee.

Mark Clattenburg, though sometimes mockingly called "blind" by Premier League fans, wasn't actually blind.

Besides, this was Manchester City, not Manchester United—there was no reason for bias.

Moreover, with so many cameras and fans clearly seeing Marcelo's foul, Clattenburg couldn't possibly turn a blind eye.

If he didn't make the right call, he would face a backlash from Manchester City and Lin Quan's fans, and worse, be accused of taking bribes to rig the match.

So, for the sake of his reputation and career, he had to call it fairly.

Ignoring Marcelo's pleading, Clattenburg pulled out a red card and showed it to him.

But the Manchester City players weren't focused on the referee's decision; they were all gathered around Lin Quan, concerned about his injury.

Marcelo's attempted clearance had been a powerful kick, enough to threaten a broken leg if it hit a regular person.

Even professional players, despite wearing shin guards, weren't immune to injury.

On the sidelines, Guardiola had already asked Gabriel Jesus to warm up, ready to replace Lin Quan if necessary.

The team doctor rushed onto the pitch with a stretcher, checking Lin Quan's left leg before carefully lifting him onto the stretcher.

Though Lin Quan wasn't seriously hurt—thanks to his injury-resistance ability—the impact had caused such intense pain that he nearly blacked out.

The shin is a particularly sensitive area, and most people have experienced the sharp pain from bumping it.

Just watching Marcelo's kick was enough to make people wince in sympathy.

"Did he really have to go that far?"

Even if Lin Quan hadn't scored, Manchester City was already leading!

Why did it feel like they were the ones behind, not Real Madrid?

"Lin Quan is playing too hard!"

"Yeah, that goal wasn't necessary. If he got injured because of it, it's just not worth it!"

"The Euros are just around the corner. If Lin Quan is injured now, it's bad news for Spain!"

Online, fans were equally shocked by the play.

No one could believe that a player of Lin Quan's caliber would risk so much for a single goal.

Was it really worth it?

"Let's hope Lin Quan's injury isn't too serious!"

"Lin Quan will be fine! He's been fouled so many times before and always came through without major injuries. He'll get through this one too!"

"Let's hope so. Without Lin Quan, who would give us such beautiful football?"

Many watching the game were Lin Quan fans. Even those who weren't had likely seen highlight reels of him online.

Like Lionel Messi, Lin Quan was the type of player who didn't need fancy editing—every match was a highlight reel in itself.

Watching him play was like appreciating a work of art, a feeling no other player could replicate.

"Football can't lose Lin Quan, just like the West can't lose Jerusalem!"

Spain's coach, Vicente del Bosque, was at the match, quietly praying before the game that none of the players, especially his Spanish internationals, would get injured.

Between Real Madrid and Manchester City, there were five or six Spanish players, many of them key starters.

If any of them got hurt, it would severely impact Spain's lineup at the Euros.

In the 2014 World Cup, Diego Costa's injury in the Champions League final caused him to miss most of Spain's group-stage matches and several knockout games.

Luckily, Spain had Lin Quan to carry the team's attack at that time. Without him, Costa's absence would have made it much harder for Spain to defend their title, and they might have been swept out by the Netherlands in the group stage.

But now, the worst had happened—Lin Quan was injured!

Lin Quan was irreplaceable.

He was Spain's field general, their absolute core. Without him, the team's tactics would collapse.

Their entire strategy was built around Lin Quan—how could they play without their centerpiece?

"Damn Brazilian! Is he trying to take Lin out of the game?"

Del Bosque couldn't sit still. He didn't care about the rest of the match; he just wanted to find out about Lin Quan's condition immediately.

Please, don't let it be a serious injury!

Lin Quan was still young. If this injury derailed his career, it would be a huge loss for Spain—and for world football as a whole!

Seeing Lin Quan being carried off on a stretcher, Cristiano Ronaldo felt conflicted.

On one hand, he felt the absence of his greatest rival would be a relief, but on the other, he couldn't shake a sense of loneliness without him.

But when he glanced at the scoreboard and saw the glaring 4-2 scoreline, Ronaldo's heart sank.

This match was lost.

Even with Lin Quan off the field, Ronaldo still couldn't beat him.

Ronaldo was filled with frustration, unwilling to accept this outcome.

Sharing that same frustration was Gareth Bale, another one of Real Madrid's hundred-million-euro stars.

As Lin Quan was carried off the pitch, Bale quietly retrieved the ball from the net and brought it back to the center circle.

He then approached the referee, reminding him to add extra stoppage time to account for Lin Quan's injury.

Clattenburg nodded, signaling that he would indeed extend stoppage time.

With that, Bale returned to his position, quietly waiting for the game to resume.

Four minutes?

That's enough!

After almost two minutes of delay, the match resumed at the referee's whistle.

With Lin Quan off the field, Manchester City made a forced substitution.

Guardiola chose to take off Toni Kroos and bring on Fernandinho.

It was a clear move to strengthen the defense.

City had now used two substitutions, with one left.

But Guardiola wasn't in a hurry to use his last sub. He planned to wait for a dead-ball situation to use it, to waste more time.

A two-goal lead was significant, but without their star player, Guardiola couldn't shake a lingering sense of worry, so he needed to be cautious.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, were going all out.

Zidane used his final substitution, taking off Casemiro and bringing on Jesé, who was often touted as Ronaldo's successor.

Casemiro was responsible for much of Real Madrid's midfield defense. By taking him off, Zidane was signaling a total focus on attack, abandoning defense altogether.

At the referee's whistle, the game restarted.

Karim Benzema passed the ball to Ronaldo and immediately sprinted forward, charging into the opponent's half.

Ronaldo didn't risk passing to the advancing Benzema, opting instead to pass back to Luka Modrić.

As Modrić received the ball, the rest of Real Madrid's midfield surged forward.

Modrić didn't linger on the ball. He quickly passed it to James Rodríguez and then sprinted ahead to support the play.

With the numbers advantage created by pushing defenders forward, Manchester City's players were forced to retreat to avoid being outnumbered.

At this point, both Ronaldo and Benzema had positioned themselves just behind Manchester City's defensive midfielders, in a dangerous spot.

Modrić was about ten meters behind them, perfectly positioned to make a pass.

Kanté, remembering Guardiola's instructions, abandoned James and charged toward Modrić, determined to stop the most dangerous threat.

Kevin De Bruyne had the same thought, moving closer to Modrić, ready to press him as soon as he received the pass.

James knew Modrić's ability well and initially intended to pass to him so that Modrić could feed the ball to Ronaldo and Benzema, both of whom were capable of finishing the play.

However, seeing that Modrić was being marked, James quickly changed his mind.

Just then, Jesé, who had just been subbed on, was sprinting up the flank.

James immediately passed the ball out wide to Jesé.

Jesé was supported by Bale behind him and James to his side, creating a triangular formation for Real Madrid.

David Silva found himself in a tough spot, forced to defend two players at once. He urgently called for help.

Pablo Zabaleta rushed over, joining Silva and Fernandinho to try and block Real Madrid's wing play.

"Pass it to me!"

Just as Zabaleta and Silva closed in, a white blur streaked past, overtaking both Jesé and Silva in a flash.

It was so fast that David Silva barely saw it—a gust of wind, and suddenly it was gone.

Instinctively, he turned to look and saw only a glimpse of a jersey number: 11.

Gareth Bale!

Yes, it was Bale who had just called for the ball.

Because of his deeper positioning, most players on the field, even his own teammates, had momentarily overlooked him.

But this worked to Bale's advantage, creating an opportunity for him to burst into the attack!

The most dangerous weapon is the one that goes unnoticed.

With the ball at his feet, Bale's pace was already lethal, but without the ball, sprinting at full throttle, who could stop him?

The answer: no one!

Zabaleta tried to block him, but Bale was like a tank—impossible to push off course or slow down.

Despite using all his strength, Zabaleta couldn't knock Bale off balance and instead lost his own, crashing to the ground.

As Bale surged forward, Jesé's pass arrived at his feet.

Now, with an open field ahead of him, no one could stop Bale!

Manchester City's captain, Vincent Kompany, raced to intercept him, and goalkeeper Navas nervously adjusted his position, preparing to block either a shot or a cross.

Ronaldo and Benzema, seeing Bale's breakthrough, sprinted toward the goal, eager to receive his cross and finish the play.

But Bale moved faster than anyone.

Before Kompany could close him down, Bale broke into the box. Without cutting inside or adjusting his angle, he glanced at the keeper and fired a shot at the far post, despite the tight angle.

The shot was too quick for Kompany to react or block.

Navas, positioned near the near post to block a close-range shot, could only dive desperately to reach the far post.

But it was hopeless—the ball flew faster than he could move!

Swoosh!

The ball crashed into the far corner of the net, and the scoreline changed to 3-4. Real Madrid was now just one goal behind!

After his shot found the net, Bale clenched his fist and let out a roar, his fierce expression resembling that of the Monkey King from Journey to the West.

From that day forward, fans in China would give Bale a new nickname—Sun Wukong (The Monkey King).

"Incredible goal, absolutely incredible!"

"In the team's most desperate moment, Gareth Bale stepped up and proved to the world that he's the best winger on the planet. Real Madrid's hundred-million-euro investment was worth every penny!"

As Bale's shot hit the net, Real Madrid fans and many neutral spectators erupted in celebration.

A goal like that made the blood boil, making everyone want to jump onto the pitch themselves!

Commentators from all over the world were already showering Bale with praise.

"The match isn't over yet—there's still hope!"

(End of Chapter)

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