Mundo Deportivo: "Halftime News! Real Madrid Trail Bayern Away, Concede Two More Goals! A Humiliating 2–5 Defeat Over Two Legs!"
Sport: "Barcelona Win 1–0 Away at Liverpool! Another Goal After the Break Should All but Secure Qualification!"
It was hard to understand why Barcelona always felt compelled to devote part of their attention to Real Madrid.
Yet with the combined efforts of the Catalan media and Barça fans, many viewers who had originally been watching other matches were gradually drawn toward Real Madrid's game.
After all, early in the season, Real Madrid had been so strong they inspired genuine fear.
Su Hang's goal-scoring run during that period had been nothing short of shocking.
"Milan fan checking in! Wasn't Su Hang supposed to be insanely strong? What's going on now?"
"Roma supporter here. Su Hang really is strong. He might not necessarily be the world's number one striker, but he's definitely one of the candidates at that level. Real Madrid are losing because the others aren't performing."
"As a Chelsea fan, we've always scoffed at Real Madrid's self-hype about having the 'best number nine' and the 'best number ten'."
"As a Manchester United fan, I've lamented countless times that United missed the best chance to sign Su Hang. His current form speaks for itself—the Ballon d'Or is fully deserved. Real Madrid's real problem is losing their midfield core."
"Zidane's injury hit Real Madrid far too hard. They dropped from second to fourth in the league and are about to be knocked out of the Champions League. That's why we at Inter absolutely have to keep strengthening our midfield depth!"
"As an Arsenal fan, I've followed Real Madrid all season. Their biggest issue is that Zidane is the only true core. The rest are excellent role players, but none of them are qualified to be the centerpiece."
"Even without a core, Su Hang managed to keep an insanely high scoring output for an entire month—that's already incredible. He's scored over fifty goals across all competitions this year! That's just outrageous!"
"Sigh… what a shame. The defending Champions League winners are cursed. No one has ever successfully defended the title—not even when the Ballon d'Or winner and the World Footballer of the Year are on the same team!"
Related discussions spread nonstop across social media.
For a time, fans all over Europe turned on their televisions to watch what was shaping up to be the biggest tragedy of the season.
The viewership for this match skyrocketed, nearly surpassing the combined ratings of the other Champions League fixtures.
Everyone wanted to witness the painful defeat in the final season of the football king Zidane, and in the first season after Su Hang—the world's top striker—had won the Ballon d'Or.
As the saying goes: When a Giant Falls, the World Awakens
This god-fall battle was destined to leave a deep and indelible mark on world football.
Whether in documentaries about Zidane or about Su Hang, this scene would surely appear.
This was the process of understanding history, witnessing history, and becoming history.
Many club executives took this as a warning to themselves and others: never rely too heavily on veterans, and at the very least, never casually assign them the role of the core.
They may be effective, but once they go down, everything can collapse completely.
Zidane: So… you're blaming me?
...
Soon, the second half began.
Beckham sat on the bench, fully focused on observing the situation on the pitch.
During halftime, Su Hang had gone to Beckham and told him that he would definitely come on in the second half.
So before that, Beckham needed to analyze Bayern as much as possible and try to find their weak points.
And in Beckham's view, that weakness most likely lay with Bayern's left back, Lahm.
Lahm was an outstanding young player, just over twenty-three years old.
He was the most impressive talent of Bayern's youth system from his generation.
Even Schweinsteiger paled in comparison to Lahm.
Whether in the previous match or this one, Lahm frequently played a decisive role in Bayern's attacks.
But to Beckham, that was precisely an opportunity.
Lahm's forward surges naturally conflicted with Beckham's positioning out on the weak side.
Beckham could maximize the team's width, using the pitch's horizontal space to create chances.
To put it simply, Beckham liked to stay glued to the touchline. If Lahm chose to defend Beckham, it would disrupt Bayern's overall defensive shape and prevent him from pushing forward to support the attack.
But if Lahm didn't defend Beckham, Real Madrid could always switch the ball to him. Lahm would be far too distant to contest it.
And given Beckham's ability, as long as the ball reached his feet, he could deliver a cross.
It might not be the most spectacular chance, but it was extremely efficient.
Once the number of attacks went up, Beckham believed that with Su Hang's efficiency in front of goal, Real Madrid would definitely score.
Even with Bayern's back line combining height (Van Buyten) and speed (Lucio).
In the 48th minute, Diarra played the ball back to Ramos.
After receiving it, Ramos surged toward Diarra, using Diarra's positioning as a natural screen and driving straight through the center.
It was a move full of ingenuity, instantly breaking Bayern's midfield press.
Ramos then released the ball to Raúl.
Without stopping it, Raúl laid it off to the dropping Su Hang.
Su Hang took the ball, turned, accelerated, and slipped past Van Bommel with a quick change of direction.
Van Bommel failed to close him down immediately, giving Su Hang the space to turn—this was the main reason his defense broke down.
Bang!
Just outside the box, Su Hang lightly tapped out two stepovers, shifted Lucio's center of gravity, and suddenly unleashed a low shot!
The ball screamed toward the far corner.
It was a shot of such quality that missing would have been unforgivable.
Yet…
Clang!
A huge hand rejected the ball!
Kahn produced a godlike save.
"Oh! That was incredibly dangerous! Kahn's save was absolutely perfect!"
"He got a hand to it and changed the ball's trajectory, sending it into the post and back out!"
"If Kahn had started for Germany instead of Lehmann at last year's World Cup, maybe Germany could have beaten Spain."
"At the very least, judging by this match, Kahn has completely shut Su Hang down!"
This was indeed a lingering regret for German fans.
Although Lehmann had performed very well last year and earned the starting goalkeeper spot for the national team,
just a month before the World Cup, he had lost to Su Hang in the Champions League final.
From a psychological standpoint, starting Kahn might actually have been the better choice. Even though Kahn wasn't in great form at the time, legendary goalkeepers can sometimes be more reliable in decisive moments.
Wasn't this match proving exactly that?
In the 56th minute, Robinho failed to break through on the wing and passed the ball to Su Hang. He then sprinted wide off the ball, drawing defenders away.
But Su Hang chose to carry the ball inside himself.
Van Buyten didn't dare take any chances and stepped out early to defend.
Su Hang flicked his right foot—and Van Buyten was frozen in place.
Ronaldinho's Elastico!
The famous "cow's tail" dribble!
The ball clearly flew left, yet in the end snapped sharply to the right.
Van Buyten's weakness in lateral movement was exploited to the fullest.
Lucio immediately moved in to cover.
Before Lucio could arrive, Su Hang nudged the ball sideways with his left foot.
An unmarked Cassano rushed in to meet it, pushing a shot straight on goal, face to face with Kahn.
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
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