ALL NOVEL
Chapter 774: Crisis of Real Madrid
Another midweek after the Chelsea match, Manchester City welcomed the final round of the Champions League group stage, facing the hopeless Celtic.
Manchester City, almost securing the top spot in the group, decisively rotated their squad to face the opponents, and in the end, both sides shook hands with a 1-1 draw.
With this, the Champions League round of 16 was all decided, with Premier League teams, except Tottenham, performing impressively. Arsenal and Leicester City successfully advanced.
La Liga continued its dominance with four spots, occupied by Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla.
Three Bundesliga teams advanced, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayer Leverkusen, while Serie A had two teams, Juventus and Napoli, making it through.
Ligue 1 and Primeira Liga also had two teams each enter the knockout stage, namely Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Benfica, and Porto.
The rest of the smaller league teams were completely eliminated, unable to create any miracles.
After the draw, the Sky Blues were set to face the equally wealthy Paris Saint-Germain in the next round, leading to speculation whether UEFA could only tolerate one capital club advancing.
Regardless, getting the top spot in the group was still advantageous for Manchester City, and Paris Saint-Germain wasn't as formidable as traditional powerhouses.
Compared to the flourishing Sky Blues, the Galacticos had a tough time recently. They had two draws and one loss in the league, falling behind Barcelona by a staggering 9 points at the top of the table, even ranking third after Atletico Madrid.
Such a significant disadvantage was the first time in nearly 10 years! Furthermore, they suffered defeats in their clashes with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, making matters worse.
Many Spanish media outlets asserted that Real Madrid's streak of titles would end at 10, and in Catalonia, celebrations began prematurely. They were simply being suppressed too harshly!
What saddened Real Madrid fans even more was that their team lost its dominance on the Champions League stage as well. They unexpectedly lost twice to Borussia Dortmund, barely making it through as group runners-up.
Although they advanced, the entire process undoubtedly cast a shadow over their title aspirations. They no longer had the confidence to overpower their rivals.
Apart from Wang Feng and Iguain leaving, Real Madrid had almost entirely retained their previous star-studded lineup, plus the additions of Ronaldo and Benzema. They shouldn't be too bad, right?
However, reality showed that the highly anticipated frontline always came out swinging against weaker opponents, such as their 7-0 thrashing of Sporting Gijon and 8-2 victory over Deportivo La Coruna.
Yet, they repeatedly failed against strong opponents. Setting aside Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, even in battles against teams like Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao, they struggled to breach the opponent's defense.
Naris, the Sevilla midfielder who had just defeated the Galacticos, said in an interview, "Real Madrid is undoubtedly a strong team, but their ability to seize opportunities is too poor."
"This is evident from the post-match statistics. They had 27 shots in total, but only 7 were on target."
"The attackers, led by Ronaldo, are very impatient. They try to shoot at the slightest opportunity, regardless of whether the timing is right."
Naris shrugged, "Honestly, we used to face Real Madrid with great caution because, under Wang Feng's leadership, their attacks were always full of pressure and threat."
"But now, we don't feel that way anymore. We have plenty of time to think about how to organize counterattacks, and everything has become much easier."
"In addition, because the forward line hardly retreats to participate in defense, I don't think Real Madrid's defense is as solid as imagined. Several times, we scored goals under their repeated attacks."
62-year-old Argentine coach Sampaoli took over the helm of the Legion from Emery just this summer and has helped the team reach the Champions League round of 16 and defeat the Galacticos. It's a time of great pride for him.
He admitted, "Real Madrid is not scary, at least the team I faced is not scary. Even though they have talented players in all positions, they fail to come together as a whole."
"Although Sevilla lagged behind in all aspects of statistics, one thing stood out, which is the distance covered. We covered much more ground than our opponents, and it was this advantage that helped us win."
"I've just entered La Liga, so I haven't experienced the invincible era of the Real Madrid dynasty, but it's definitely not like today."
"I remember watching a Champions League final that left a deep impression on me. Wang Feng running all over the field, not only driving all defensive forces to create opportunities for his teammates but also frequently intercepting threatening attacks. That Galacticos team was truly terrifying!"
The interviews of Sevilla's coach and players were quickly reported by all Spanish media outlets, causing a huge reaction.
Many people agreed with their points, and even Real Madrid's mouthpieces, Marca and AS, felt that the club had problems.
The players lacked enthusiasm on the field, there were delays in transitioning between offense and defense, and the offensive efficiency was low.
Especially regarding the offensive issue, Marca stated that although Ronaldo currently ranks second in La Liga's top scorers with 11 goals, second only to Messi's 14 goals.
But his total number of shots has reached 63, with an average of one goal scored for every 5.7 shots.
Leaving Wang Feng aside, Messi scores once every 3.6 shots, far more efficient than the Portuguese superstar.
"Cristiano Ronaldo needs to make changes. While creating opportunities for the team, he also needs to stay calm and not attempt shots in unnecessary difficult situations."
"Darn it, are these Sevilla guys trying to kill us? Does that mean Real Madrid has no chance of a comeback anymore?" Inside the Valdebebas training base, Ronaldo angrily threw his phone to the ground.
Many teammates were startled, with Kroos, Casemiro, and others watching coldly from the side, Ramos putting away his usual playful demeanor and remaining silent, and Modric hesitating whether he should go forward to console the Portuguese.
After an awkward moment, it was Pepe who stepped forward to comfort Ronaldo, "Ronnie, you don't need to be angry with them. They just took advantage of the home advantage and a defensive strategy to steal three points. We'll teach them a lesson when they come to the Bernabeu."
The Portuguese star forcefully suppressed his volatile emotions, barely showing a smile and inviting his teammates over. Speaking passionately to inspire everyone, he believed it wasn't time to give up yet; anything was possible.
His urgent desire to perform was all for the end-of-year Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best Player awards, the closest he's been to winning both!
In order to boost his statistics, he didn't hesitate to forcefully shoot multiple times on the field and even entrusted his agent Mendes to pressure the club, using all available resources to help himself.
In the president's office on the top floor of the training base administrative building, Florentino rubbed his temples helplessly and said, "Mendes is still working hard?"
"Yes, apart from us, he has approached many high-level executives. I have to say, Mendes is very well-informed, knowing the extent of our power." Bernaldo replied.
"Then he should understand that we can only do so much, and we absolutely cannot change the situation!" Florentino said angrily, "For this trivial matter, the club has used all its connections and even risked alienating Wang Feng. It's simply ridiculous!"
"Wang should understand our difficulties. After all, Cristiano is now the core of the Galacticos, and we have to fully support him."
"Yeah, he has always been very smart and should understand, but understanding and accepting are two different things, and I'm afraid of offending both sides if things don't work out." Bernaldo sighed.