Chapter 617: Defeating Real Madrid, Reclaiming the Title – We Are Champions!
Manchester City's intentions were too obvious, and Real Madrid's players quickly caught on.
"Foul him, quickly!" "Tackle him!"
Seeing Manchester City attempting to control possession, Real Madrid fans anxiously yelled out from the stands.
Casemiro immediately went for a slide tackle, and seeing how aggressive it was, Lin Quan chose not to protect the ball, letting it go out of bounds.
The ball still belonged to Manchester City, and by now, the City players understood the intentions of their captain and coach.
When the linesman raised the flag, signaling the ball was still theirs, City players didn't rush. They took their time, jogging slowly to pick up the ball and prepare for a throw-in.
Real Madrid's players quickly positioned themselves to defend, preparing to intercept the ball and launch an attack.
But the City player throwing in looked left, then right, and eventually tossed the ball back to his own full-back deep in their half.
Kyle Walker received the ball, and Karim Benzema immediately charged at him. Walker passed it back to the goalkeeper, and Benzema shifted his focus, rushing toward the keeper instead.
In Manchester City's previous match against Liverpool, Lin Quan had capitalized on a mistake by Liverpool's goalkeeper, Karius, which had inspired other forwards.
Sometimes, just making that extra run can lead to an unexpected goal—after all, not every goalkeeper has nerves of steel.
If a goalkeeper panics or fails to notice the pressure, a mistake could hand the opponent an easy goal.
Benzema had this idea in mind, but unfortunately for him, the goalkeeper in front of him wasn't Karius—it was Ederson.
As Benzema closed in, Ederson calmly shifted the ball to the left, waiting until Benzema was almost on him before passing the ball away.
Van Dijk received the pass, and Cristiano Ronaldo immediately pressured him. Meanwhile, on the other side, Bale positioned himself between Van Dijk and Laporte, blocking a pass to City's left-back.
Real Madrid had clearly practiced this high press. Their three forwards used relentless running and pressing to squeeze City's space for holding and passing the ball, hoping to force an error and quickly counterattack.
It was a solid strategy, but Van Dijk, facing his own goal, saw that his passing lane to the wing was blocked. So, he turned toward the goal and kicked the ball to the right wing.
Since Benzema had abandoned his position, Kyle Walker found himself with plenty of space.
Walker had intentionally dropped deep to offer support, positioning himself so far back that Real Madrid's midfield couldn't commit a player to press him. Even their forwards were hesitant to chase him all the way to the edge of the pitch.
Real Madrid's high press had failed.
"Benzema, you fool! You let them pass around you. Why didn't you mark Walker?"
"It's all Benzema's fault! We just wasted another minute!"
"I can't take it anymore. When are they going to sub off this donkey?"
Some of the more impatient fans, frustrated by Real Madrid's wasted time and energy, began cursing loudly.
Though it wasn't entirely Benzema's fault, the fact that Walker, his counterpart, had received the ball meant he had to shoulder the blame.
After receiving Van Dijk's pass, Walker noticed Real Madrid had pushed their formation up high, leaving huge gaps in their defense. Seizing the opportunity, he decided to send a long ball over the top.
As Walker prepared to launch it, Manchester City's forwards halted their movements, turned, and sprinted toward Real Madrid's half.
Real Madrid's players also realized the danger, quickly retreating to defend.
At this point, Walker sent the ball flying. Instead of aiming for Mbappé ahead of him, he sent a diagonal pass to the other side—to Lin Quan.
Instinctively, Walker felt safer passing to Lin Quan.
Although theoretically, sending it to Mbappé, with his speed, could have been a more dangerous option, Manchester City's mentality was to play it safe. Walker didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
Lin Quan hadn't expected Walker to pass to him, as he wasn't particularly fast. By the time he controlled the ball, Real Madrid's defenders would have time to get back into position.
But that was fine. If necessary, they could just repeat the process of slowing down play.
As Lin Quan controlled the ball, Real Madrid's full-back Nacho and midfielder Modric closed in, planning to double-team and take the ball from him.
Their intent was clear, so when Lin saw Modric abandon his position, he quickly passed the ball to Gündoğan in the middle.
As soon as Gündoğan received the ball, Casemiro rushed at him, forcing him to pass to De Bruyne, who was further upfield. Gündoğan continued his forward run.
De Bruyne, with Kroos behind him, couldn't turn, so he quickly passed the ball out to Mbappé on the wing.
By now, Mbappé had slowed down. In these set-piece situations, his threat was greatly diminished, and Marcelo no longer feared him as much as before.
Marcelo pressed aggressively, clearly hoping to intercept the ball and launch his own counterattack, seeking to make a match-defining assist down the wing.
His idea wasn't bad, but he underestimated Mbappé.
Originally, Mbappé had little chance of advancing, but Marcelo's aggressive move gave him an opportunity.
Seeing Marcelo overcommit, Mbappé saw his opening, slipping the ball through Marcelo's legs with a nutmeg and then blasting past him with rocket-like acceleration toward Real Madrid's penalty area.
Marcelo, stunned that Mbappé had gotten past him, desperately tried to pull him back to stop the break.
But Mbappé's explosive speed was too much. Marcelo's hand grabbed nothing but air, not even close to touching Mbappé's jersey.
The sudden change on the pitch caught both teams by surprise.
Real Madrid had just stabilized their defense and were looking to press for the ball to launch their next attack.
But unexpectedly, City had broken through on the wing, leaving Real Madrid's goal in imminent danger.
Reacting first were Real Madrid's two central defenders, Ramos and Varane.
They gritted their teeth and sprinted back, hoping to cut off Mbappé before he entered the box.
But by now, Mbappé was at full speed, flying down the field like lightning. Compared to him, Ramos and Varane looked like they were moving in slow motion.
Not only could they not catch up to Mbappé, but the distance between them continued to grow.
Even though they were running straight while Mbappé was running at an angle, the gap between them visibly widened.
Courtois realized he had no choice but to come off his line. He couldn't just stay in the goal with no teammates around to help him. It was up to him to stop this attack.
Bring it on!
Courtois spread his arms wide, bent his knees, and kept his eyes locked on Mbappé, ready to make the save.
But Mbappé wasn't intimidated by Courtois' imposing stance. As soon as he entered the box, he gave Courtois a quick glance, and then, right in front of tens of thousands of fans, he pulled off an incredible move—a perfectly timed feint.
Courtois hadn't expected that at all, and Mbappé's fake-out was so convincing that Courtois lost his balance, collapsing to the ground.
Thud!
Courtois fell onto the pitch, completely off-balance, while at the same moment, the sound of the ball hitting the back of the net rang out.
In despair, Courtois turned around, only to see the ball resting inside his own goal.
Manchester City had scored again!
Mbappé had just netted a critical goal, one that essentially sealed the victory.
The score was now 4-2, with City re-establishing their two-goal lead.
In the stands, Manchester City fans went wild. Some even ripped off their shirts, jumping onto their seats, waving their clothes and shouting in joy.
Some were even more excited, climbing over the barriers and trying to rush onto the pitch.
On the field, after confirming that the goal stood, Mbappé sprinted to the sideline, slid to his knees in celebration, covering his face as tears flowed.
I did it! I really did it!
For the past year, he had been haunted by the loss in last year's final, swearing to avenge that defeat and reclaim the title that was rightfully theirs.
Today, his dream had finally come true. And it was he who had made it happen. How could he not be overwhelmed with emotion?
"That was a beautiful move!"
"Kylian, you did it!"
"You're incredible!"
"Haha, I knew you could do it!"
His teammates rushed in from all directions, surrounding Mbappé and showering him with praise.
"Thank you, thank you, everyone!"
"I'll remember this forever!"
With tears in his eyes, Mbappé smiled and took in the faces of all his teammates, determined to remember this moment for the rest of his life.
Lin Quan glanced at him, sensing that Mbappé's tone sounded like a farewell.
And it made sense. With his desire for revenge fulfilled, there wasn't much holding him back now.
Paris Saint-Germain's offer was far too generous, and for a 19-year-old player, it was hard to resist such a tempting deal.
At PSG, he could be the main man, while at City, he would never be the star and would have to constantly compete for a starting spot.
The better deal was clear.
Lin Quan had always respected others' choices, never interfering in others' decisions. He simply accepted them with respect and best wishes.
There are many paths in this world, and everyone has their own.
Mbappé's goal was a huge blow to Real Madrid's morale. He had scored with just three minutes left in regulation.
By the time City's celebration ended, the clock read 89 minutes.
The fourth official indicated there would be six minutes of stoppage time, meaning Real Madrid had just seven minutes left to score two goals.
Scoring two goals in seven minutes was an almost impossible task.
As soon as the game resumed, Real Madrid threw everything they had into the attack.
Their BBC trio (Bale, Benzema, and Cristiano) were running tirelessly, making runs, pulling defenders out of position, and trying to find any opportunity to shoot.
But it was all in vain. Real Madrid's attacks couldn't penetrate City's defense, and their long-range shots either missed the target or were blocked by defenders.
City's goal was like a fortress, and their defense was solid, well-organized, and showing no signs of panic.
Zidane let out a deep sigh. Against a team that was so composed under pressure, Real Madrid's desperate attacks seemed futile.
In the 92nd minute, Kroos fired a long-range shot that missed wide.
In the 94th minute, Ronaldo's header was saved by Ederson.
In the 95th minute, Benzema turned and shot from inside the box but was blocked by Ederson again.
Real Madrid's corner was cleared by Van Dijk.
In the stands, both sets of fans were now standing, unable to remain seated any longer.
Time was almost up, and the referee was already glancing at his watch frequently.
Still, Real Madrid hadn't given up, trying to make the most of every opportunity to attack City's goal.
"They're such a tenacious team."
"Yeah, Real Madrid didn't play badly, but they just came up against a stronger opponent."
"Such a strong Real Madrid, but they had to face an even stronger Manchester City. If this were any other time, maybe they could've completed a Champions League three-peat."
Neutral fans, and even some City supporters, couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Real Madrid.
Making it to the Champions League final three years in a row was a testament to Real Madrid's immense strength.
And managing to take a Champions League trophy from Manchester City last year was no small feat.
But unfortunately for them, their opponents this year were even stronger—so strong that Real Madrid's performance, as good as it was, paled in comparison.
In the 97th minute, after Bale's final bicycle kick attempt failed, the referee finally blew the whistle, ending the match.
Lin Quan kicked the ball into the stands, stretched his arms wide, and ran toward the sidelines, embracing Guardiola in a bear hug.
The force of the hug knocked Guardiola to the ground, and the rest of the team piled on top of them, one after the other.
"It's going to break! Get off, or I'll break!"
"Haaland, you big oaf, you're the heaviest! Get up!"
"Foden, stop jumping on top! You're going to crush me!"
The usually calm and composed Guardiola was genuinely angry for once, calling out his players by name, his words coming out in rapid-fire bursts like a machine gun.
The players laughed heartily, but after a bit more roughhousing, they pulled the coach up from the ground.
Just as Guardiola got to his feet, with no time to even scold them for the dogpile, the players grabbed his arms and legs, and with a shout of "One, two, three!", they tossed him into the air.
"Ahhh! I'm afraid of heights! Stop throwing me!"
"Put me down now!"
Guardiola's high-pitched screams echoed through the air.
The players were having a blast and were about to toss him a few more times when they noticed a massive wave of fans pouring over the barriers, rushing toward the field.
Panicked, the players took off running, leaving Guardiola behind on the ground.
Guardiola felt like his tailbone had shattered as he slowly got to his feet, rubbing his sore backside and grumbling.
That's when the fans surrounded him, and...
His clothes were torn right off!
Lin Quan, watching from a distance, facepalmed. Guardiola's image was completely ruined now!
"There's Lin Quan!"
"Don't let him get away!"
Just as Lin Quan was enjoying the spectacle, he suddenly realized the fans had switched their focus and were now charging toward him.
Startled, Lin Quan bolted, following his teammates.
But his mischievous teammates had already locked themselves inside the locker room, leaving Lin Quan stranded outside.
Whether it was on purpose or not, no one knew.
Now, Lin Quan was all alone, with a horde of crazed fans storming the tunnel, and security failing to stop them.
And so, Lin Quan was left helplessly bewildered, standing alone as the chaos unfolded.
(End of Chapter)