Chapter 7: Another Goal

After the substitute team finished celebrating, Lin Quan, who was lying on the ground, was pulled up by his teammates.

A few close teammates even ruffled his hair before returning to their positions.

Not only did substitute players, but also several main team players, congratulated Lin Quan.

Duoluo Feiwu even gave Lin Quan a big hug:

"Lin, how did you just do that?"

Bursting through an entire defensive line is something even he, a regular winger, can't accomplish.

Unexpectedly, it was achieved by his good friend who plays defensive midfielder, which left Duoluo Feiwu feeling incredibly astonished.

"Wanna learn?"

"Yeah!"

Duoluo Feiwu nodded eagerly.

"I learned from Messi too. If you want to learn, just watch more Messi games, learn more, and you'll naturally get it!"

Lin Quan said earnestly.

Originally just teasing, Lin Quan didn't expect Duoluo Feiwu to take it seriously.

"I see, no wonder I felt your dribbling style was familiar!"

Duoluo Feiwu secretly decided that after the training session with the youth team ended, he would go to the first team and learn from Messi up close.

As long as he persisted and went to learn every day, he believed he could do it!

Lin Quan was speechless for a moment, seeing Duoluo Feiwu's eager appearance, he didn't want to discourage his enthusiasm.

However, it wouldn't hurt for Duoluo Feiwu to show up more in the first team; it might leave a good impression on the coaches. When it comes to promoting players from the youth team in the future, they might think of him more easily.

...

As the game continued, because they were behind in score, the main team was very dissatisfied, so they increased their attacking intensity from the beginning.

They started using the first team's possession tactics, increased pressure in the middle and front, pushed the defense line forward, and piled up a large number of players in the middle and front.

The advantage of this approach was that it effectively intercepted and compressed the opponent's passing space and routes, increasing the opponent's mistakes.

And once the opponent made a mistake, they could immediately counterattack in a threatening way.

The downside, however, was that if they encountered the opponent's quick counterattack and failed to intercept the ball in the opponent's half, the weakness of the empty defense line would become a fatal flaw.

Guardiola's possession tactics didn't improve defense much; fundamentally, it was a revolutionary defensive tactic.

The defensive method was to prevent the opponent from touching the ball.

Without possession, the opponent naturally couldn't score.

So, they would collapse under Barcelona's siege.

After all, holding on for too long would lead to conceding a goal!

To deal with this tactic, Mourinho developed a fast counterattack tactic during his time at Real Madrid.

The core of this tactic was to minimize the number of passes; players couldn't dribble, they had to release the ball quickly, preferably with a single pass.

Moreover, the pass couldn't be lateral or backward; it had to be forward.

The two wingers had to be fast during the counterattack, able to get into position, providing suitable passing options for the players behind.

Transition as quickly as possible, avoid directly confronting Barcelona in the midfield.

Bypass the midfield directly, pass from the back, quickly transition two or three passes to the front, threatening the opponent's goal within seconds.

Once this kind of counterattack succeeded, even if they didn't score in the end, it would still cause great intimidation to the opponent, making them hesitant to commit too many troops to the front.

To achieve such an effect, the defensive side needed a backcourt player who could deliver good passes and one or two fast, skilled wingers.

And coincidentally, the youth team had such a player!

That was Lin Quan, who had obtained Messi's attributes!

In the 18th minute of the game, the main team pressed high in the front, and the substitute team made consecutive mistakes.

After regaining possession, the main team besieged the substitute team's goal.

But because there were too many people in the penalty area, their shots did not pose a threat.

The ball was caught by the goalkeeper.

Lin Quan glanced at the empty half of the main team's field and immediately reached out for the ball.

As the team's main midfielder, the substitute team's players naturally treated him like a big brother!

Without hesitation, the goalkeeper passed the ball to him.

The ball reached Lin Quan's feet. Two main team players immediately rushed forward, trying to intercept Lin Quan's ball as they did with other substitute players before.

But Lin Quan stopped the ball and turned, effortlessly evading one defender.

Then, using the other defender as a shield, he blocked the path of the second player trying to tackle him.

This move was beautifully executed, with fluid motions that quickly created space.

Without hesitation, he swiftly passed diagonally to the substitute team's right winger, signaling the tactical cooperation as he did so.

The right winger, upon receiving the ball, immediately surged forward into the main team's half.

With only three defenders in the main team's backline, one of them sensed danger and rushed to intercept, intending to stop the substitute team's right winger.

The other two defenders retreated while preparing to cover for the advancing defender.

The substitute team's right winger didn't dare to dribble. Seeing the defender blocking his path, he immediately passed the ball to his teammate to his right.

The pass seemed to be a mistake as there was no one in that direction.

But soon, a yellow figure flashed by and took the ball.

The one who received the ball was none other than Lin Quan!

"Stop him!"

The main team's center-back panicked upon seeing Lin Quan with the ball!

After completing the pass, Lin Quan quickly sprinted forward, reaching the ball before the defending player.

However, Lin Quan's speed advantage wasn't significant, and the main team's midfielder caught up to him.

At a distance of about 35 meters from the goal, allowing him to continue dribbling would likely result in a shot.

So, the main team's midfielder immediately engaged, grabbing Lin Quan's jersey and using his body to push against him, intending to bring him down.

If it were a formal match, he would have tackled him by now.

Even if he didn't get the ball, he would at least bring him down.

But this was just an internal training match, and such a tackle could potentially cause injury to the opponent, so he didn't dare to tackle lightly.

Lin Quan was shorter and lighter than his opponent, completely at a disadvantage in physical confrontations.

Being pushed like this, he immediately became a bit unsteady.

Fortunately, the substitute team's left winger had already positioned himself, so Lin Quan passed the ball before falling.

After receiving the ball, the left winger quickly cut inside, approaching the penalty area.

Two defenders had to split to defend him, but before they could get close, he passed the ball to the right.

A following attacking player took a shot, which was a bit straight, and the goalkeeper was ready to save it.

But as the ball flew, it grazed off the leg of a main team defender, deflecting into the net.

At this moment, the main team players had just run back into the penalty area.

The score became 2-0!