Chapter 129: Another Four-Goal Night! Yang Cheng: "How Can It Be Called Cheating If It's for Football?"
October 3rd, evening – Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany.
Champions League Group Stage, Matchday 2: Bayswater Chinese FC away vs. Werder Bremen.
Even before kickoff, media outlets were already buzzing with predictions.
What would happen when the most attack-minded team in the Premier League faced the highest-scoring side in the Bundesliga?
The German press was especially excited.
Though standing tickets weren't allowed for European matches, the Weserstadion still packed in 37,500 fans, turning the venue into a deafening fortress.
They wanted to give the visitors from England a taste of a proper German hell stadium.
But the match hadn't even settled in before Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf realized something was off.
All the pre-match talk, the bold declarations about "taking the fight to Bremen,"
And now? Bayswater Chinese FC were playing cautiously.
They even looked like they were preparing for counterattacks.
Schaaf was confused and frustrated.
They were at home. They had already lost 1–2 away to Real Madrid in the first round.
This match was a must-win.
So Schaaf set his team up to attack.
He had expected a toe-to-toe brawl.
He believed Bremen could hold their own.
Instead? The English side flinched.
Coward! he cursed internally.
Yaya Touré was back from injury and still Yang Cheng didn't dare go head-to-head?
And this was the guy preaching attacking football?
Werder Bremen lined up in their typical 4-4-2 diamond midfield,
with a front trio of Rosenberg, Almeida, and Diego.
From the opening whistle, they took turns hammering at Bayswater's defense.
But Yang Cheng's side stayed calm and waited for their chance.
11th minute — Werder's Brazilian playmaker Diego tried to dribble in from the left-central channel.
But he was swiftly dispossessed by Yaya Touré and Marcelo.
Yaya made the challenge, Marcelo took the ball and immediately slotted it forward.
Then, without missing a beat, the Brazilian sent a grounded long pass through the lines and into open space on the left flank.
Džeko chased it down, carried the ball forward with long, powerful strides.
Bremen's right-back Petri Pasanen, who had just pushed up, was no match in speed.
Džeko left him in the dust.
Even center-back Per Mertesacker was forced into full retreat.
Džeko drove into the box from the top left corner, one-on-one with the 2-meter-tall Mertesacker.
But the Bosnian was surprisingly nimble.
He used small, rapid touches to shift the ball, threw in a dummy move, nudged it sideways with his right foot,
then let loose a fierce, angled strike.
Goalkeeper Vander stretched for it—
but the shot flew over his head and into the net.
"GOAL!!!!"
"11th minute – Bayswater Chinese FC strike on the counter!"
"Edin Džeko, one-on-one against Mertesacker, unleashes a stunning drive to open the scoring!"
"1–0!"
Thomas Schaaf jumped to his feet, barking furiously at his players.
Yang Cheng stood at the visiting bench, applauding Džeko's brilliance—
then casually called Pepe over with a wave.
The Portuguese center-back gave Džeko a quick pat of congratulations, then jogged over.
"Tell Thiago," Yang Cheng said, "stay tight at the back. They're going to hit back hard now."
"Let's try to get a second goal and lock this down."
Pepe nodded and sprinted back to position.
As Yang Cheng turned around, he caught Thomas Schaaf staring at him with eyes full of resentment—
like a scorned lover abandoned in the rain.
Yang Cheng felt a chill and quickly returned to his bench.
October in Germany. Wasn't it a bit too cold this early?
"Schaaf must be fuming," Brian Kidd chuckled.
"You told him pre-match you'd go toe-to-toe, and now look—counterattacking football!"
Yang Cheng waved him off. "Correction, Brian—not counterattack. We're just stabilizing away from home."
It's not the same thing.
He grinned. "Honestly, Bremen aren't hard to play against.
You just have to survive their press and then hit back. Easy."
Under Schaaf, Werder Bremen were infamous across Europe for their "attack at all costs" style.
Last season in the Bundesliga, they scored 76 goals in 34 matches—league best.
They conceded 40—mid-table.
Schaaf was famously stubborn.
This season, they tried to go toe-to-toe with Bayern Munich at home—
got smacked 4–0.
Then away at Dortmund—
lost 3–0 again.
But they were also capable of brilliance.
Before facing Bayswater, they had destroyed Arminia Bielefeld 8–1 at home.
So Yang Cheng simply poked them a little, said a few bold words—
and just like that, he had them fired up and charging into a trap.
Besides, they'd already lost to Real Madrid.
If they couldn't beat Bayswater at home, their campaign was in trouble.
"Sounds easy, but not many teams can pull that off," Kidd remarked.
"That's in the Bundesliga," Yang Cheng snorted.
"The Bundesliga lacks real competition. Teams like Werder get taught a lesson the moment they hit Europe."
Yang Cheng wasn't dumb.
Why go blow-for-blow with a team like Bremen, when there was a more efficient way to win?
Just to prove you're "attacking-minded"?
Please.
Our goal tally speaks for itself. Our style speaks for itself. One match doesn't define us.
Any Champions League team that's tactically rigid and stubborn—
will get crushed.
Even Pep Guardiola's sides.
…
After conceding in the 11th, Werder kept pushing for the equalizer.
Bayswater stayed compact and focused on disciplined counterattacks.
To be fair, Werder's offense was threatening.
28th minute—
Bayswater lost possession during a counter, Marcelo was caught upfield.
Rosenberg surged down the right, flew past the line and crossed into the box for Almeida.
But Thiago Silva stepped in with a crucial clearance.
Had Almeida connected, it would've been a sure goal.
Yes, Marcelo's defense was still a concern—
but Yang Cheng had said it before:
he plays Marcelo for his attacking value.
Defensive issues? They'll manage.
Bayswater soon answered back.
Yaya Touré, fresh off a two-week injury, was fired up.
Truthfully, he'd been fit for days, but Yang Cheng forced him to wait just to be sure.
Seeing Werder Bremen step up the pressure, Yaya Touré responded in kind.
In the 32nd minute, he drove forward from midfield, bulldozing through Bremen's lines.
He even muscled past Frings with sheer force, surged to the edge of the box, and chipped a brilliant ball behind the defense.
Džeko dragged a defender wide, and Arshavin darted into the space.
He chested it down and volleyed with his left—goal.
2–0!
That was the moment Werder Bremen had to cool down.
The first half ended with Bayswater Chinese FC up by two.
In the second half, Yang Cheng's side came out aggressively, flipping the script and pressing Bremen to pin them back.
The game grew tense, with both sides locking horns.
Schaaf didn't dare to keep pressing forward recklessly.
Not until the 75th minute did he bring on forward Sanogo for midfielder Fritz, pushing for a more offensive setup.
In the 82nd minute, Rosenberg beat Marcelo on the right and whipped in a cross.
Sanogo leapt above Thiago Silva and headed it into the net.
1–2!
In the end, Bayswater Chinese FC held on to win away from home, securing back-to-back group victories.
In the other match, at the Olimpico in Rome, Real Madrid led twice but were pegged back twice by Lazio.
Van Nistelrooy and Pandev each scored braces, and the match ended 2–2.
After two rounds, Bayswater Chinese FC sat top of the group with 2 wins.
Real Madrid followed with 1 win and 1 draw.
Lazio had 1 point, and Werder Bremen had lost both.
Yang Cheng even took time to watch the Real Madrid–Lazio game.
Just as he predicted—Madrid's defense was still as shaky as ever.
...
October 7, noon – Wembley Stadium, London.
Premier League Matchday 9: Bayswater Chinese FC vs. Derby County.
Derby County had become the Premier League's punching bag this season—
a walking goal difference booster.
But Yang Cheng still showed full respect, constantly warning his players not to get complacent and fall into an upset trap.
The gap in strength was massive, but Yang Cheng was more cautious precisely for that reason.
Still, with the midweek Champions League fixture, he rotated the lineup accordingly.
From the kickoff, Bayswater Chinese FC completely took control.
Derby parked the bus with a 4-5-1 and bunkered in.
In the 20th minute, Di María slipped a through pass—Lambert beat the offside trap, burst into the box and slotted it home.
1–0!
28th minute, Modrić's pass found Arshavin bursting down the right.
A delicate finish—2–0!
Just before halftime, Arshavin danced past two defenders and squared it to an unmarked Di María.
A clean left-foot strike made it 3–0!
Halftime: 3–0.
Second half resumed.
Barely two minutes in, Lambert dropped deep and sent a clever pass through the channel.
Di María latched onto it near the right edge of the box and fed it back to Arshavin.
The Russian calmly side-footed it in—his second goal, 4–0!
54th minute, Matić sent a direct pass forward.
Lambert beat the line again and shot near the penalty spot, but the keeper saved it.
Substitute Gareth Bale pounced on the rebound and tapped into the empty net.
5–0!
Just two minutes later, Bale broke down the left and sent in a pinpoint pass.
Arshavin met it with a rocket—hat-trick complete, 6–0!
62nd minute, another through ball from Modrić.
Arshavin darted into the box on the left and slotted home a low shot.
7–0!
Four goals! Another incredible performance from the Russian star.
The whole stadium was on its feet, reveling in the one-sided demolition.
Once Yang Cheng subbed off his starters, the team eased off slightly.
Even so, in the 86th minute, Lambert fired a long-range effort from outside the box—
off the right post.
Final score: 7–0.
Bayswater Chinese FC tallied 28 shots, 13 on target, scoring 7 goals.
Derby County?
Only 2 shots, 0 on target, and not a single corner.
Ridiculous.
Yet Derby had spent over £10 million in the summer.
And based on their performances, survival looked unlikely.
At this rate, they'd be lucky to win another match.
But for Derby, a season in the Premier League meant cashing in—
£30 million in revenue, plus parachute payments after relegation.
More than enough to survive comfortably in the Championship for a few years.
With smart management, they might even return stronger.
...
Every time the international break came, Yang Cheng felt the headache start.
As Bayswater Chinese FC got stronger, more of his players were getting called up.
The problem with this kind of international squad?
Players were spread all over the globe.
Guess how many internationals Bayswater had now?
17!
The most in the Premier League.
Possibly the most across all five top European leagues.
Some were core national team players—Modrić, Arshavin, Džeko.
Others were newcomers—Lewandowski, Piszczek, Matić, José Fonte, Aaron Ramsey.
That didn't even include youth internationals like Walcott, Matuidi, or Marcelo.
If you added in youth call-ups, Bayswater's training ground during breaks was practically deserted.
Only Begović, Koscielny, and Lambert were left.
Yang Cheng joked—maybe they should just play cards?
But the real issue wasn't the empty camp—
it was the travel.
And especially the chaos that came with away international fixtures.
England's Leighton Baines wasn't a starter but was now a regular squad member behind Ashley Cole.
England had two October matches—home to Estonia, then away to Russia.
Russia was fine—Arshavin had only a home match.
Poland and Croatia also had both games at home.
But Bosnia was a mess.
Džeko had to go from Bosnia to Greece for an away match, then back home to face Hungary.
Wales? The worst.
Both matches were away—first to Cyprus, then to San Marino. Brutal schedule.
Yang Cheng had worried about African call-ups too—
but Ivory Coast was holding camp in Austria.
Still, in January 2008, the African Cup of Nations was coming, and Yaya Touré would be gone for a while.
Worst of all? Maicon.
He had to fly to Brazil for camp, then play away in Colombia, and then back to Brazil to face Ecuador.
Maicon was still Brazil's starting right-back, after all.
One of the coaches even made a map of all the call-ups—
17 players, nearly 15,000 kilometers in travel.
It was insane.
But Yang Cheng had no choice.
These were Euro qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers—
what reason did he have to stop them from going?
The only player Yang Cheng could stop from traveling was Yaya Touré heading to Austria for training.
But come on—Ivory Coast had already arranged their training camp in Austria. How could he refuse?
That would've been a bit too much, wouldn't it?
In short—annoying!
And to make matters worse, most national teams were anything but polite when it came to calling up players.
Yang Cheng had no choice but to have his coaching and medical staff closely monitor everything.
Of course, Bayswater Chinese FC weren't the only ones complaining.
Nearly all top clubs were grumbling about the same thing.
To placate them, FIFA even set up a committee to explore possible solutions—
offering clubs compensation for international call-ups, insurance for injuries during national duty, and so on.
But for Yang Cheng, none of that was the real issue.
…
During the international break, Adam Crozier brought some good news to Yang Cheng.
This season, Wembley had sold 20 more VIP boxes.
Not a huge number, but Crozier was still thrilled.
What surprised Yang Cheng even more—six of those were purchased by people from the entertainment industry, specifically the music world.
Yang Cheng was stunned. "What's going on?"
"Well," Crozier smiled, "we really ought to thank Adele for that."
"What do you mean?" Yang Cheng was confused.
"She's still singing at our home matches, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, she's been working on her album lately. Her record label wanted her to suspend the performances here—but she refused."
"Because of the contract?" Yang Cheng asked.
Crozier shook his head. "No. She said the club brought her good luck. That we gave her a stage to sing on. So she's going to keep performing until the end of the season."
Yang Cheng thought about it. Makes sense.
They'd only signed Adele on a year-by-year basis anyway.
No long-term deals—her record label wouldn't allow that, and rightly so.
Besides, for someone like Adele, a future superstar,
maintaining a good relationship was far more valuable than locking her into a gig.
So Yang Cheng always made sure Adele was well looked after.
"And apparently," Crozier added,
"Adele talked about us quite a bit—told her label and friends how we brought her good luck, called us her lucky star."
"Some people at the label heard it and decided to book boxes through her."
Now it all made sense.
As Yang Cheng saw it, this was the entertainment industry's version of believing in feng shui.
Maybe the British didn't have a formal concept of it,
but how else would you explain all those superstitions in English football?
The endless "curses" and "jinxes"?
An idea sparked in Yang Cheng's mind.
"Adam, do you think we could… push this angle a bit in our marketing?" he asked with a sly smile.
Crozier blinked. "Push what angle?"
Even Xia Qing, standing nearby, looked confused. "What angle?"
Yang Cheng sighed.
Come on, Adam, our telepathy's been slipping lately.
"You know… celebrities, luck, 'lucky star'…"
"Oh!" Crozier finally caught on. "You mean…"
"Exactly!" Yang Cheng grinned.
"But… would anyone really believe that?"
"It's simple," Yang Cheng shrugged.
"As long as Adele keeps blowing up, we're good."
What he meant was this:
The deeper your ties to Bayswater Chinese FC, the luckier you become.
Don't believe it?
Look at Adele.
The hardest part of these kinds of things is always how to get started—how to convince people.
Yang Cheng recalled a report from his past life:
Adele saved the British music industry.
Her debut album exploded—nearly 10 million global sales, Grammy nominations, the whole deal.
Her second album? Over 30 million copies worldwide. An absolute monster.
So why not push the narrative?
The club had sold a few VIP boxes to music labels.
The UK music industry had been struggling for years—
and then Adele came along, and suddenly things looked up.
Coincidence?
Of course not.
Adele herself kept saying Bayswater Chinese FC brought her luck.
So, wouldn't people believe it?
Did all of them strike gold?
No—but the ones who didn't?
That was on them. Not the club.
The key is, people only remember the winners—the ones who got lucky, who succeeded.
And Adele was the biggest name of them all.
Her continued loyalty to the club, her visible performances,
made her the perfect symbol.
Besides, folks from the entertainment world weren't going to sit with regular fans.
They were tailor-made for VIP boxes.
"Isn't this kind of… deceptive?" Xia Qing asked, half laughing.
A scam? A superstition?
"Whoa, whoa, senior," Yang Cheng held up his hands.
"In the football industry, we don't call it scamming—it's marketing."
"Exactly," Adam Crozier chimed in.
Xia Qing nearly rolled her eyes.
She felt like Adam Crozier had turned into Yang Cheng's yes-man.
Was this really the same guy who used to be Royal Mail's CEO?
The highest-paid public executive in Britain?
The man who ran the FA?
"But Yang, how can you be so sure Adele will get famous?" Crozier asked the million-pound question.
If Adele flopped, wouldn't this whole plan collapse?
"Come on, listen to that voice. If she doesn't blow up, then I'll…"
Yang Cheng paused, then grinned.
"Tell you what, let's make a bet. I say this album sells at least five million copies. You in?"
"Five million?" Crozier was stunned.
In this market? That was insane.
"I'm talking global sales, by the way."
"Even so… she's still a newcomer!"
Yang Cheng just smiled.
No point telling him now that she would eventually sell over nine million.
…
In the end, based on Yang Cheng's track record and credibility,
Adam Crozier didn't dare take the bet.
But he was definitely intrigued by the marketing idea.
The two of them huddled together, whispering like scheming devils,
and eventually agreed—call Adele over.
She was busy with her album, but the moment she got Yang Cheng's call,
she made time that very day.
Yang Cheng, knowing she was busy, didn't beat around the bush.
He told her straight up:
"Thank you for everything you've done for us. So, the club's decided to gift you a VIP executive box at Wembley for the season."
If he hadn't been afraid of scaring the poor girl,
he'd have gone a step further and named the box after her.
"The Adele Suite."
The slightly chubby British girl?
She was genuinely touched.
At this point, Adele wasn't even a star yet—her debut album hadn't even dropped.
Whatever recognition she had came entirely from her performances at Bayswater Chinese FC.
Now, with Yang Cheng being this generous to her, she was truly touched.
If not for the stunning Xia Qing sitting beside him, Adele might have wondered if this coach had, well… other intentions.
"We really just want to thank you for the exposure you've brought us," Adam Crozier said sincerely.
"Your friends have already booked several of our VIP boxes thanks to you."
Yang Cheng nodded. "You don't have to worry about anything on our end. Just focus on your album. When you get famous, help promote us even more."
He said it all with a beaming, wholesome smile—
so bright that Xia Qing almost couldn't keep a straight face.
Who is this guy, really?
What spell was I under to fall for someone like this?
Did he use the same trick on me...?
Adele, meanwhile, was deeply moved, thinking Yang Cheng was genuinely concerned for her well-being. She thanked him profusely.
Then she brought up something her label had proposed:
Including Bayswater Chinese FC's club anthem in her debut album.
"Really?" Yang Cheng was surprised.
"I was worried you'd say no," Adele admitted.
Well, it made sense.
Right now, Bayswater Chinese FC was far more well-known than Adele.
It was very possible the record label wanted to ride their coattails.
In fact—that's exactly what they were doing.
One of the label's album promotion strategies included having Adele debut her new songs live at Wembley Stadium.
Yang Cheng didn't hesitate.
"Of course we don't mind."
As for licensing fees?
"No problem at all—go ahead and use it. If it helps your album, we're thrilled.
When the sales come in, we'll talk revenue sharing later."
Yang Cheng played it off as generous—and Adele was genuinely touched.
What a great guy!
Handsome, talented, and so considerate!
If only he didn't already have a girlfriend...
Cough!
…
"Ah Cheng, how come I never noticed how good you are at... spinning things?"
After Adele and Adam Crozier left, Xia Qing looked at Yang Cheng like she was seeing a new man.
"Me? Spinning?" Yang Cheng gasped. "Senior, come on, I'm known for being honest to a fault!"
"Honest? Just now you—"
"I was generous!" Yang Cheng cut her off, all righteous indignation.
"She's using our club's anthem in her album—milking our popularity! And I said, go ahead, milk it all you want, no charge!"
"She brought a few friends who bought our VIP boxes, and what did I do?
I gave her one for free! Sure, it's just one season, and we're a small club—
even a six-person box isn't cheap, with catering and service costs... it breaks my heart!"
"Sis, think about it. I'm making all these selfless contributions!"
Yang Cheng was nearly moved to tears by his own "internationalist spirit."
Surely, he deserved a certificate from Westminster City declaring him a "Model Youth of the New Era"?
Xia Qing was laughing so hard she couldn't stop.
This guy—what a piece of work.
And if she didn't know him better, she might've actually bought it.
"Senior," Yang Cheng suddenly said, more serious now,
"I just thought of something... serious."
"Go on."
"What if—just hypothetically—one day the UK government decides to sanction China?
And they try to seize this club... or our villa? What do we do then?"
"That's impossible. Private property is protected under British law," Xia Qing replied flatly.
Yang Cheng rolled his eyes.
Exactly—nobody believes it until it actually happens.
"Besides, this is a globalized economy. Even if there are trade disputes, it's not like they'll start sanctioning regular folks.
If any government official did something that outrageous, we'd sue!"
Yang Cheng bit his tongue.
He really wanted to say: Then go help Abramovich sue the British government.
But he knew there was no way to explain it.
He simply said it was a random worry, but one worth preparing for.
"Use offshore companies," Xia Qing said after a moment's thought.
"Most London properties are owned by offshore entities anyway."
"If a country's government really wants to come after us, we can't stop them.
But this would be our best safeguard."
Yang Cheng nodded.
He didn't know the details, but it sounded powerful.
All he wanted was a fallback plan—just in case.
Xia Qing didn't quite understand why Yang Cheng was so obsessed with such an unlikely scenario.
But since he insisted, she agreed to look into it.
After all—she used to work at Goldman Sachs.
…
During the two-week international break, another headline emerged:
FIFA announced the nominees for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year.
Despite being the reigning Premier League champions,
not a single Bayswater Chinese FC player made the list.
There was one before—Ribéry, but he'd been sold to Bayern Munich.
So now—nothing.
It was honestly baffling.
But unless you played for a legacy club, dreaming of these awards was basically a joke.
England had four nominees: Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney, and Terry.
Still, Yang Cheng didn't take it too seriously.
His players were still young.
One day, not only would his players be on that shortlist—
he'd have one win the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year!
…
After the break, players returned one by one.
Thankfully, Yang Cheng's biggest fear didn't come true—
no injuries during the international window.
He breathed a huge sigh of relief.
But the travel, the fatigue, the miles piled up.
That weekend: away at Blackburn.
Next Wednesday: away at Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The Madrid match was far more important,
so for the Blackburn game, Yang Cheng rotated his squad slightly.
And in the 22nd minute, David Dunn assisted Paraguayan striker Santa Cruz to beat Neuer.
The only goal of the match.
Bayswater Chinese FC suffered their first loss of the season,
falling 0–1 away to Blackburn.
Their 16-match unbeaten run ended:
9 games this season, 7 carried over from last.
Elsewhere in the round:
Liverpool beat Everton 2–1 awayChelsea won 2–0 away at MiddlesbroughArsenal beat Bolton 2–0 at homeManchester United crushed Aston Villa 4–1 away
In the standings:
Bayswater Chinese FC, with 7 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss, dropped to second.
Top of the table?
Arsène Wenger's Arsenal.
The Gunners had 8 wins, 2 draws—still undefeated.
But there was no need to overpraise Arsenal.
So far, after 10 rounds, they hadn't faced any of the big four:
No United, Chelsea, Liverpool, or Bayswater.
That stretch was coming.
Round 11: away to Liverpool
Round 12: home to Manchester United
Matchday 13 — Away to Bayswater Chinese FC.
That would be Wenger's team's real test.
...
October 24th, evening — Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid.
Champions League Group Stage, Matchday 3: Bayswater Chinese FC away at Real Madrid.
As Norwegian referee Tom Henning Øvrebø led both teams onto the pitch, Yang Cheng happened to be walking out from the tunnel.
From outside, the Bernabéu erupted in roaring cheers—
Real Madrid fans welcoming their team with deafening passion.
But the moment Yang Cheng emerged…
The cheers turned into a tsunami of jeers.
He paused, stunned, glancing around.
It wasn't until he saw his face on the giant screen that he realized—
the boos were for him.
So… he'd officially become Public Enemy No. 1 at the Bernabéu.
"You did humiliate them last season, beat them 4–0 here," Brian Kidd said with a grin, seeing Yang Cheng's reaction.
"What did you expect? A round of applause?"
"Oh come on, that was the media hyping it up. I never said anything," Yang Cheng protested innocently.
"Doesn't matter. Unless you lose tonight, they'll boo you again next time."
Yang Cheng chuckled, "Fine, let them boo—just don't throw a pig's head at me."
The coaching staff around them burst into laughter.
Kidd spotted Bernd Schuster walking over and nudged Yang Cheng—
home managers were supposed to greet the visitors before the match.
Schuster had a reputation for being temperamental.
Yang Cheng had heard the rumors.
But even he didn't expect this level of weird.
A pre-match handshake is tradition—politeness, if nothing else.
Even if you hate the other guy, shake hands, turn, walk away.
But Schuster didn't stop there.
After shaking Yang Cheng's hand, he stared him down.
"Before this match, a lot of people reminded me of last season's 0–4."
Yang Cheng didn't respond, waiting calmly.
"Even though I wasn't coaching that day," Schuster continued, "I still have a duty to defend our honor—right here at home."
Yang Cheng now understood. He smiled slightly.
"So?"
"Tonight, you will lose. No doubt." Schuster jabbed a finger at him.
An incredibly disrespectful move.
But Yang Cheng kept his cool.
Still smiling, he countered, "You sure you're capable of that?"
"Just wait and see."
Then Schuster turned and walked away.
...
The Bernabéu showdown began with a long-range rocket from Yaya Touré.
Bayswater Chinese FC immediately seized the initiative.
Real Madrid lined up in their usual 4-4-2:
GK: Casillas
Defense: Drenthe, Metzelder, Cannavaro, Ramos
Midfield: Robinho, Gago, Guti, Sneijder
Forwards: Van Nistelrooy, Raúl
Škrtel was injured and missed the match.
So did Diarra and Robben.
Yang Cheng sent out his full-strength 4-3-3:
GK: Neuer
Defense: Baines, Thiago Silva, Pepe, Maicon
Midfield: Yaya Touré (holding), Modrić, Lass Diarra
Forwards: Di María, Džeko, Arshavin
Unlike Madrid, most of Bayswater's key players had been rested in the weekend league match.
So they came in fresher, sharper.
After that thunderous opening shot, Bayswater pressed forward with confidence, especially with their midfield and forward press.
Yang Cheng's backline—Silva and Pepe—was tasked with pushing high,
compressing the space and engaging Real Madrid in their own half.
Madrid had no intention of backing down either.
Schuster wanted to leverage the home crowd and start fast.
Just two minutes in, Guti played a killer through ball.
The man had plenty of flaws, but his vision and final pass were world-class.
That pass was surgical—cutting through two layers of defense.
Raúl made a sharp run toward it—
but Neuer rushed out of the box, stopped it with his foot, and quickly passed to Thiago Silva.
"The keeper came way off his line!"
"Bayswater's back line is sitting very high."
"Robben's out with injury, but don't forget Robinho—he's still fast."
The Bernabéu crowd kept booing.
Clearly, their memory of last year's 0–4 was still burning.
That loss had been a humiliation—and the media hadn't let them forget it.
Tonight, they saw this match as a chance to settle the score.
Yang Cheng ignored the jeers and watched Madrid's tactics closely.
Even against a side like Bayswater, Madrid's full-backs pushed up aggressively.
Yang Cheng had to admire Schuster's boldness.
But then again—it made sense.
In a 4-4-2, Van Nistelrooy played the classic striker role,
and Raúl was no playmaker.
With Robinho on the left and Sneijder on the right,
Madrid's creativity had to come from the full-backs.
Especially Drenthe.
Many saw him as the heir to Edgar Davids—an all-action left-back who played like a winger.
He was everywhere, practically playing as a second left winger.
Clearly, Schuster wanted to attack down the left, combining Drenthe and Robinho to break through Maicon.
And in the 13th minute, it worked.
Drenthe pushed high, linked up with Robinho, and drew a foul from Maicon—a dangerous free kick.
Guti took it, but the ball slammed into the wall.
Two minutes later, Robinho showed his quality, dancing into the box and facing his Brazil teammate Maicon.
After a series of stepovers, he cut in and fired a low cross.
Pepe was there—perfect positioning—
cleared the danger before Robinho could find a target.
Guti recovered the loose ball and fired a long-range shot…
high and wide.
Early on, Madrid were threatening.
Meanwhile, Bayswater? Aside from that one opening blast from Yaya Touré,
they'd shown very little.
The Bernabéu crowd was fired up.
They believed—tonight was redemption.
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