I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Liverpool twice tried to simply burn past Real Madrid’s backline down the flanks with pure speed, but the retreating Chen Zhong read the play in advance, used his body to block the run, and snuffed out those attacks one by one.

Then in the 10th minute, on yet another counter, Chen Zhong even showed off his trademark long-range drive.

If not for Alisson’s full-stretch save, Liverpool might have conceded on this counter.

Even so, it still made the Liverpool fans watching this match break out in a cold sweat.

"Liverpool on the attack!"

"This is a great chance, let’s see how they make use of it!"

"Frimpong! His speed is blistering, he finds Wirtz."

"In the summer window Liverpool brought in Frimpong and Wirtz, both players Alonso knows very well."

Frimpong’s pace was electric; he slipped the ball to Wirtz, whose off-the-ball run was excellent, timing his move perfectly to beat the offside trap and create a clean one-on-one.

Slot went crazy on the touchline when he saw this, if this went in they would completely kill off the game and end the suspense.

Alonso also broke out in a cold sweat down his back, he started shouting at the top of his lungs, as if trying to disrupt Wirtz that way.

Wirtz took the ball, made a slight adjustment, but his teammates’ shouting distracted him a bit; before he could even focus on what they were yelling, the next second a long leg appeared in his field of vision and hooked the ball off his foot.

This is...

Chen Zhong!

When Wirtz looked up, all he saw was that familiar No.10 back sprinting away with the ball like the wind.

Anfield instantly erupted in panicked cries; every Reds fan remembered that Champions League final—this was the same man who had torn their Defense apart in exactly this way.

Even though he’s an old man now, the moment he pulled off the same move again, they could still feel that old fear of being dominated by Chen Zhong.

"Track back! Everyone get back!" Slot was almost shredding his throat on the sideline.

Liverpool’s players turned and chased like they’d been struck by lightning, but Chen Zhong had no intention of having a pure footrace with them; his Passing is pretty decent too.

Without the slightest hesitation, near the center circle, Chen Zhong sent a pinpoint 40-meter long ball.

On the left, Mbappe sprang out like a Cheetah; the French supercar took a little toe poke on the touchline, knocked the ball past his man, and then rocketed towards Liverpool’s goal.

"Danger!"

"A lightning counter from Real Madrid!" the commentator’s voice suddenly shot up: "Mbappe’s speed is outrageous, no one can catch him."

Chen Zhong slowed his own stride, watching the No.9-shirted Mbappe, a hint of expectation flickering in his eyes; clearly, Florentino wanted Mbappe to become the next leader of the dressing room.

Mbappe ghosted into the six-yard box and lashed a shot first-time at the keeper.

Alisson got a touch, but the shot had too much power; the ball still smashed into the back of the net!

0–1

Aggregate 2–1!

Anfield fell into a deathly silence, only the Real Madrid fans’ cheers pierced the sky.

Mbappe was absolutely buzzing after scoring, he sprinted to the corner flag, did his classic arms-folded, nodding celebration, and Chen Zhong jogged over to hug him.

"Nice job!" Chen Zhong patted Mbappe on the back: "Keep going, we need at least two more!"

"I’ll do my best!"

That goal completely ignited Real Madrid’s fighting spirit.

In the 28th minute, Chen Zhong evaded pressure in midfield with a series of moves, finishing with a Marseille Turn to break free from three Liverpool players surrounding him, then slid a precise through ball.

Vinicius understood exactly what was coming and cut into the box from the side.

Van Dijk reacted quickly, coming across and bringing Vinicius down.

At first it looked like a very clever tactical foul, but once people saw where Vinicius had fallen, every Liverpool supporter’s face suddenly turned pale.

"Penalty!" The referee pointed to the spot without a moment’s hesitation.

The Liverpool fans in the stands almost lost their minds—how can that be a penalty!

The referee’s gesture sliced through the heavy air of Anfield, and the broadcast camera immediately locked onto the man adjusting his captain’s armband.

Mbappe didn’t try to grab the penalty; the moment Chen Zhong made it clear he wanted to take it, Mbappe obediently placed the ball on the spot.

At Real Madrid, Chen Zhong is the biggest BOSS; even Mbappe has to fall in line.

As Chen Zhong walked to the spot, a piercing wave of boos erupted from the Liverpool fans in the stands; they were trying to rattle him, to push the script in a direction they were unfamiliar with—they did not want to see him score.

"This is the 27th Champions League penalty of Chen Zhong’s career," the commentator’s voice was trembling: "He’s converted all 26 before this, five of them against Liverpool."

Chen Zhong’s penalty success rate is terrifying; at first it was just pure power doing the damage— even if the keeper guessed right, he practically had no chance of keeping it out.

It was just that unreasonable.

And after Chen Zhong got older, he added more finesse and that massive big-game heart, more than enough to keep his penalty numbers sky-high.

Alisson kept shuffling sideways on the line, trying to distract him with exaggerated body movements.

But Chen Zhong simply took a deep, quiet breath and stared at Alisson; this bargaining specialist in goal was slowly starting to feel the pressure in front of Chen Zhong.

Chen Zhong took three steps back, even his breathing rhythm didn’t change.

When the whistle blew, every stride of his run-up felt like it landed in the gaps between the Reds fans’ heartbeats.

No, don’t go in!

Every Liverpool fan was silently screaming inside; in that instant, the air itself seemed to freeze.

Bang!

The ball exploded into the bottom-left corner like a shell; Alisson had guessed right, but the shot was so fast that his gloves had barely brushed the turf when the net was already rippling white.

0–2!

Aggregate 2–2

Real Madrid have drawn level!

"GOOOOOAL!" The Spanish commentator roared himself hoarse: "At 35, Chen Zhong shows what a big heart really is from the spot! Look at that angle—an absolutely perfect corner!"

The moment the ball slammed into the net, the Real Madrid section on the south stand of Anfield erupted like a volcano.

Chen Zhong didn’t choose his trademark knee-slide; instead, he stood there and slowly opened his arms, like a King surveying his realm.

That pose looked very familiar to the England fans.

Isn’t that just... Manchester United’s... Cantona, the King descending?

Alonso punched the air on the touchline; he knew Chen Zhong always had a miracle in him, while over in Liverpool’s technical area, Slot slammed his water bottle to the ground, and as the spray flew up, the Netherlands coach suddenly seemed to remember something, hurriedly explaining to the fourth official: "I’m not protesting the decision, I just knocked it over by accident."

The fourth official looked at Slot and said nothing, but his eyes seemed to say, I’ve taken note—watch yourself.

The game wasn’t over yet; Liverpool still had a chance. This was only the first half, and right now Real Madrid were playing everything through Chen Zhong—what if he got tired?

What if he couldn’t run anymore?

After all, Chen Zhong is already 35.

He’s not young anymore.

In the stands, the two sets of fans started going at it again; they were still on the same starting line, and everything was still up for grabs. In the time that followed, Liverpool stuck to their coach’s Defense-first plan and stopped giving Chen Zhong too many openings.

Chen Zhong didn’t add another assist, nor did he score again, but he did force Liverpool into three yellow cards.

When the half-time whistle blew, both teams’ players hurried back to the dressing rooms, clearly valuing every second of rest and adjustment.

Alonso and Slot exchanged a glance, each seeing tension in the other’s eyes.

"That’s the end of the first half!"

"Real Madrid lead by two!"

"The aggregate score is level."

"Let’s see what changes we get in the second half!"