Chapter 467: Chapter 467

Having drawn players like Aimar before, Huang Kaiwen learned to protect the ball with frequent footwork and dribble past opponents. Lahm had been shadowing Huang Kaiwen closely but hadn’t found an opportunity to tackle.

The two were entangled and getting closer to the corner flag area.

Huang Kaiwen made another abrupt stop and pulled the ball back, pressing Lahm into sticking a foot out and poking the ball out of the end line.

Huang Kaiwen walked directly into the box, waving at Beckham.

Beckham jogged towards the corner flag area on the left.

Rushing into the box, Ramos turned his head and said, "Kevin, don’t go for the header this time, stay outside the large penalty area. It’s easy to get injured in a tussle."

Huang Kaiwen nodded in response.

He hadn’t planned on competing for a header anyway.

Huang Kaiwen positioned himself on the left side of the penalty area, and Van Bommel marked him again.

Huang Kaiwen sighed and asked, "You’re going to defend against this too?"

"It’s the coach’s arrangement, can’t help it."

Van Bommel said with a smile.

Today, he was proud of his "good performance" in defending against Huang Kaiwen.

Although he would never win the Ballon d’Or, potentially stopping the Ballon d’Or winner, he could go home and tell his 3-year-old son that his dad had also directly defended against Kevin!

Beckham sent the ball to the middle with a kick.

Ramos and Van Bommel both jumped for the ball at the same time, sending it high into the air, while players from both teams craned their necks waiting for it to come down.

In the midst of the crowd, Kahn jumped up and punched the ball from below with a single fist.

His arm was blocked by someone, and the ball didn’t go far.

Huang Kaiwen quickly turned and darted toward the landing spot, with Van Bommel running alongside him.

While running, Huang Kaiwen deliberately veered away from the landing spot, and it took Van Bommel a few steps to realize he’d been misled.

Guti, having reached the edge of the area, had already wound up his left foot and struck.

Kahn didn’t even have time to make a save with his view obstructed, as the ball was already in front of the goal.

Just as the ball looked to be on its way into the net, Lahm emerged from the crowd and blocked Guti’s shot with his foot; Hargreaves then cleared the ball with a powerful kick from the center, and the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

"Today, Huang Kaiwen’s performance was a bit worse than before, but it’s understandable since he’s just come back from an injury, and his speed has been notably affected."

"Yes, but Huang Kaiwen still played a key role. Aside from tactic corner kicks, his runs have created several opportunities, and that through ball nearly allowed Higuain to go one-on-one; it’s a pity Higuain didn’t put the ball in the net."

"Higuain is a youngster that Real Madrid spent 13 million Euros on, showing he has potential. His biggest issue right now is his lack of experience and his lack of chemistry with the team. The UEFA Champions League and the Argentine league are completely different levels; he needs to adapt to Real Madrid’s gameplay as soon as possible."

Real Madrid doesn’t have many strikers available right now.

Both Emerson and Cannavaro have failed to display the strength they had at Juventus.

Especially Emerson, he’s almost been abandoned by Capello now.

With this situation, both Guti and Raul have dropped back, leaving a need for someone up front.

Capello shook his head repeatedly.

He didn’t regret letting go of Ronaldo, but the biggest problem was Calderon not buying the striker he wanted.

This Higuain is a far cry from Torres.

Even if it wasn’t Torres, Drogba would have been good.

The transfers at Real Madrid are inexplicable.

Seeing Huang Kaiwen come off the pitch, Capello quickly picked up a towel and water bottle and went to meet him, asking, "Are you feeling unwell today, Kevin?"

Otherwise, it would be tough to explain.

"I’ll pull you off early then, don’t want you getting injured again."

Capello said with concern.

They still hadn’t found the Wizard mingling on the field, and even if they were behind, he didn’t want Huang Kaiwen to take any risks.

They could always counter-attack in the second leg.

"No need, I’m fine, I’ll let you know if there’s an issue."

"Alright, just be careful then."

Capello nodded and turned to look at Hisfield.

He wanted to see through this German bastard and find out what method he used to affect Kevin.

Back in the locker room.

Several teammates gathered around Huang Kaiwen.

Raul said, "Why don’t you sit the next one out, don’t play injured."

"Yeah, it would be bad to get injured again."

Guti followed with a nod as well.

"I’m really fine, just not in good form,"

His status as the Yellow Ball King was indeed lofty.

From the coach to the captain and the vice-captain, everyone was concerned about him getting injured.

Having such a status in Real Madrid, Huang Kaiwen felt there were not many in the entire history of the team.

Ramos wanted to offer more words but, seeing Huang Kaiwen in deep thought sitting there, he quietly sat down without disturbing him.

Huang Kaiwen was thinking about how he should play.

He, Huang someone, was too crucial.

Because Van Nistelrooy didn’t have the chance to play, Real Madrid’s tactics were heavily skewed to the left flank; at such times, his role in just linking up the attack was insufficient.

The current Real Madrid resembled the previous Villarreal, with the team playing around Riquelme.

Once Riquelme was off-form, the Yellow Submarine’s attacking power would drop a notch.

So he had to get more involved in the offense, even taking shots at goal.

Huang Kaiwen said to Raul, "Let’s switch positions more later, I’ll look for chances to shoot."

In the midfield, with "Long-Range Surge" and "Midfield Sniper" at his disposal, Huang Kaiwen felt that long shots from outside the box might offer an opportunity.

Raul responded with a nod.

If swapping positions could help Huang Kaiwen find his form, Raul would be very pleased.

Capello, afraid to disturb Huang Kaiwen, had been standing in the changing room for several minutes without speaking.

After seeing Huang Kaiwen speaking, he finally said, "In the second half, let’s still strengthen our attack on the left, and pass the ball to Kevin more when you get it."

After the halftime break.

Huang Kaiwen walked out of the stadium together with his teammates.

Cheers erupted in the Bernabéu Stadium.

The fans also noticed Huang Kaiwen was off-form, but at times like these, the Real Madrid fans chose to encourage their star player.

The shouts of over eighty thousand people shot straight into the sky, scaring the moon that had just risen for work to hide behind the clouds.

Bayern initiated an attack immediately after they kicked off, with Schweinsteiger quickly moving the ball from the left flank to the right. Van Bommel didn’t control the ball well when trapping it, allowing Huang Kaiwen to poke the ball out to the sidelines with his foot.

The Real Madrid fans near the stands applauded Huang Kaiwen.

Van Bommel threw the ball in from the touchline, Podolski turned around only to have the ball poked away by Cannavaro, and Guti immediately passed it to the left flank.

Huang Kaiwen received the ball and heel-passed it back at the same time.

Carlos advanced with the ball at high speed.

In an instant, the entire Real Madrid formation was charging towards Bayern’s half.

The passion of the Meringues was ignited, and they started singing the team anthem out loud in the stands.

After reaching the halfway line with the ball, Carlos immediately lofted it forward.

Huang Kaiwen received the ball, knocked it outwards with his left foot, and quickly pulled back with his right.

Van Bommel, who hadn’t seen Huang Kaiwen display his technical moves during the first half, was fooled and shifted his weight, allowing Huang Kaiwen to find an opportunity to surge forward rapidly through the middle.

Hargreaves, having joined the attack, had not returned to Bayern’s half; there was no better opportunity than this.

Lucio decisively charged towards Huang Kaiwen.

The broad-backed Lucio bent over and sprinted like a migrating rhinoceros, alone manifesting the momentum of a thousand troops.

Huang Kaiwen didn’t stick with the ball for long and quickly knocked it laterally to the left with the outside of his foot. Raul received the ball and passed it on to the advancing Carlos.

Lahm, seeing Hargreaves chasing behind Carlos, didn’t rush forward but waited in place.

This position allowed him to support the left side and defend in the penalty area.

After a 60-meter sprint, Hargreaves had reached his limit and, feeling he couldn’t run anymore, he dove in for a sliding tackle.

Carlos saw the opportunity and delivered a cross with his left foot.

The ball flew from Hargreaves’ foot into the penalty box, over Lucio’s head, and towards the far post.

Huang Kaiwen timed it perfectly, launching off his right foot for a side volley.

He chested the ball forward and, without waiting for it to touch the ground, wound up his left foot and struck the top of the ball.

With his center of balance unstable, Huang Kaiwen knelt to the ground as he took the shot, and as his bent right leg touched the turf, the ball also flew into the goal nearby.