Chapter 553 - 32: Unparalleled Beauty
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
In front of Atletico Madrid’s goal.
David De Gea, the brilliant Spanish goalkeeper, was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
He didn’t expect Chen Zhong to take it so seriously, that he would snatch the free kick from the Portuguese just after a slight provocation.
So, if he regrets it now and admits his mistake, could Cristiano Ronaldo be allowed to take the free kick?
It wasn’t just De Gea, even the Atletico Madrid players lining up the wall were full of resentment.
Once, Carlos who played for Real Madrid, his free kicks were nightmares for everyone, that heavy cannon was once jokingly said by fans that receiving one would be the end.
Ever since Chen Zhong broke a daring goalkeeper’s leg with a single heavy kick, Chen Zhong gradually displayed the "style" of Carlos.
And now, they were to act as the wall, and the one taking the free kick was Chen Zhong!
"Chen Zhong stood before the ball."
"Not even bothering to let C. Ronaldo provide a diversion."
"It seems to be a response to De Gea’s provocation."
"Chen Zhong has scored from free kicks before."
"He hasn’t scored a free kick in a long time."
In the stands, Real Madrid fans loudly chanted Chen Zhong’s name, while Atletico Madrid fans tried to disrupt Chen Zhong with boos.
Yet Chen Zhong remained unfazed.
Chen Zhong took a deep breath, then slowly stepped back, each step seemingly measuring the ground.
His gaze "cold" and "merciless".
That look made Atletico Madrid’s wall nervous and uneasy.
Seeing Chen Zhong’s determined stance, Atletico Madrid’s players kept shifting; if there were a song to aptly describe their feelings, it would be: "I really want to escape~ yet can’t escape~"
Chen Zhong took a deep breath to calm his nerves, his strong thigh pressed against the ground, made the ball tremble slightly.
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, the ball soared with grass blades off the ground.
Atletico Madrid’s wall leaped high, although scared beforehand, when it came down to it, they were willing to compare the hardness of their heads with the ball.
However, Chen Zhong’s ball carried an arc, circumventing Goding from the side as he jumped.
De Gea was originally fully focused at the goalpost, as Chen Zhong’s free kick launched, his alertness hit its peak, yet at the moment the wall jumped.
His vision was inevitably obstructed.
"Did it hit Goding?"
"Must hurt, right?"
De Gea watching Goding leap, blocked the ball from his sight.
As he breathed a sigh of relief inside, worrying slightly for his teammate, but quickly, De Gea’s pupils shrank, his previously relaxed body tensed up.
The ball merely grazed Goding’s hair, bypassed him, "wavering" towards the goal.
Such "wavering" looked different from various angles.
And from De Gea’s perspective, it was surely filled with uncertainty, at the moment, leaving him unable to correctly determine the ball’s landing point.
Yet, De Gea was indeed a brilliant Spanish goalkeeper.
After a brief hesitation, he swiftly judged the ball’s landing point.
He leapt high in the air, making a classic save attempt.
Knowing he couldn’t catch it, he opted to deflect it with a single hand.
But that very choice contributed to one of the "iconic scenes" De Gea most wished to erase from his career.
"Chen’s Arc!"
"Circumvented the wall."
"De Gea made a save attempt."
"The ball struck under the crossbar."
"Hahaha~"
"Hit De Gea’s back, rolled into the net~"
Unquestionably, De Gea experienced a "momentary lapse", the ball shot straight up after hitting his hand, smashed under the crossbar.
De Gea, proving his worth as a goalkeeper, responded quickly, got up swiftly from the ground to attempt another save.
But precisely due to his eagerness, the ball had intimate contact with his upright back.
Ultimately helping Chen Zhong score the goal.
"The ball is in!"
"2:0"
"Chen Zhong scores a brace."
"De Gea slipped again."
"Since De Gea first encountered Chen Zhong, and was caused by Chen’s heavy cannon to slip."
"This brilliant goalkeeper has been tagged with the ’butterfingers’ label ever since."
"There is even a joke among the fans."
"That is Chen Zhong’s one heavy kick, reduced De Gea’s market value by at least half."
"And after two or three years, De Gea’s value finally returned to its former glory, even surpassed it a bit."
"But after this match ends."
"His market value might drop again due to these two goals."
De Gea is a line-style goalkeeper, his rising market value comes from his excellent line keeping skills, and the key to a goalkeeper’s position is stability.
The original De Gea, although young, gradually displayed the "stability" a top-tier goalkeeper should have.
But in this match, facing Chen Zhong’s heavy cannon, his embarrassment, once again, pasted the "butterfingers" label back onto him.
Trailing by two goals, even the most optimistic Atletico Madrid fans couldn’t stay positive.
Also, the team just got a new coach, facing a resurgent Real Madrid, what could be done?
And Diego Simeone stood by the sidelines, gnashing his teeth, watching Chen Zhong sprinting on the field in celebration, wishing he could personally slide tackle him.