Chapter 457. Has Atlético Madrid Lost Their Desire to Win?

“CCTV, CCTV, dear viewers, we are live at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in the capital!

Bringing you the 2016 Spanish Super Cup match between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid!

Because during the 2015/16 season, Atlético Madrid won the La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champions League treble.

According to the Royal Spanish Football Federation rules, the two teams participating in the Super Cup are the runner-up of La Liga, which is Barcelona… facing the La Liga champion and Copa del Rey champion, Atlético Madrid… Wait, wait, wait! Look at the ball!!

Iniesta!! A through pass to the left!

Griezmann, beautiful!! He changes pace to shake off Juanfran and crosses the ball!!”

“Messi!!! Shot with his left foot!! It’s in!!”

“The match has just started for 29 seconds, and Barcelona achieves a dream start!”

August 15, 2016.

Bird’s Nest Stadium, capital, 7:30:29 PM.

Messi sprints excitedly across the field with his arms wide open, happily hugging his Barcelona teammates.

Many fans had just finished watching the Xinwen Lianbo or had other arrangements, and turned on their TVs right on time.

Normally, it’s hard to score in most matches; even tuning in 10 minutes late might not mean missing anything.

But the fans were stunned.

They were less than 30 seconds late,

And a goal was already scored?

“What happened?”

“How is Barcelona already leading?”

“Huh?”

“What’s going on, I just got here?”

In the CCTV Video online live stream, the bullet comments were full of question marks.

Just like the expressions on the faces of the Atlético Madrid players right now.

Only Lance had anticipated this.

Last season, it was hard to score against Atlético Madrid, but this season their defense has become much looser.

The former Iron Wall is nowhere to be seen.

Lance could sense that, after the team won the treble, some teammates lacked sufficient ambition and a sense of honor.

There seemed to be a sense of emptiness after achieving a life goal.

No matter how intense the match or how strong the opponent, they couldn’t muster enthusiasm.

Juanfran and Godín were still fairly serious,

Giménez, Gabi, Filipe Luís, Saúl, and even the usually steady midfielder Koke… Why was Atlético Madrid able to win the treble last season?

Wasn’t it relying on running like wild dogs?

Wasn’t it relying on the temperament of Desperate Fighters?

When those traits are lost,

Atlético Madrid is no different from an average mid-table La Liga team.

No matter how much Lance wanted to win, he was fighting alone.

In contrast, the entire Barcelona team was fueled by a desire for revenge, determined to win.

Griezmann, meanwhile, wanted to prove himself,

proving that his choice was not wrong.

Therefore, the team that performed better was more likely to score.

29 seconds into the match,

Lance was thoroughly blindsided by the opponent.

It was similar to the UEFA Super Cup match against Sevilla;

one could only say that Sevilla was too weak, only scoring 30 minutes into the first half.

Look at Barcelona, they scored 30 seconds after kickoff!

Lance could only find humor in his misery now,

just as Griezmann walked past him.

Griezmann hadn’t celebrated just now, even though he assisted Messi’s goal and was one of the key contributors.

Griezmann was just happy that he could quickly integrate into Barcelona,

but scoring against his former club didn’t make him overly joyful.

“If you want to be happy, just smile.”

Lance couldn’t help but complain.

“No, Lance. I don’t feel like you guys are playing seriously, so I’m not happy.”

“It’s enough if I’m serious.”

“Lance, football is a game of 11 players. I’m sorry to ruin your sextuple winner attempt today.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Lance nodded to Griezmann and turned away.

They were good friends privately, but on the field, they were mortal enemies!

Lance wouldn’t show any mercy, and he believed Griezmann wouldn’t either… The match resumed, and Barcelona, leading 1-0, became increasingly organized.

What was most outrageous was that Barcelona today wasn’t blindly passing the ball outside the box like before.

Today’s Barcelona focused more on efficiency; possession was primarily for organization and coordination, and as soon as a gap was found, the ball was delivered to the position at maximum speed.

Up front, Griezmann, Suárez, and Messi constantly interchanged positions.

“Suárez! Pulled to the left wing! Cutback pass!”

“Griezmann’s shot!! No, a feigned pass!”

“Messi!! Shot with his left foot!”

“Oblak blocks the ball out for a corner! Barcelona’s continuous bombardment at the start is putting Atlético Madrid’s defense under critical pressure!”

Duan Xuan also noticed.

The previous UEFA Super Cup match against Sevilla was not a cliché comeback from behind.

Atlético Madrid genuinely wasn’t performing well anymore.

Without Lance, they would definitely lose.

“Atlético Madrid’s defense was a bit rigid just now, constantly being pulled out of position by Barcelona…”

Instructor Xu Yang also felt frustrated by their lack of progress.

Having watched Atlético Madrid for a season, they’ve declined this much after winning the treble!

It inevitably reminds people of Inter Milan in 2010,

where the fighting strength changed drastically between two seasons in the same year.

That year, Inter Milan fell short, winning only the quintuple.

Just like Atlético Madrid now.

If it were just a domestic Spanish match, that would be one thing,

but here at the Bird’s Nest Stadium, thousands of miles away,

Lance might lose in front of tens of thousands of fans who had come out just for him.

“Come on, Lance!!”

Duan Xuan couldn’t help but shout that during the match.

Forget commentary neutrality, I just want to cheer on Lance.

When the entire Atlético Madrid team had no one to rely on,

Lance was essentially fighting the restructured Barcelona single-handedly!

…”What should I do now? Calm down, calm down!”

Lance tried his best to keep himself composed.

This was probably the most dangerous match he had faced in the past two years,

even the period when his System was disabled wasn’t as dangerous as today.

No matter how strong the Template he carried was,

even if his Rage Value increased to 100%,

it would be difficult for him to fight the entire Barcelona team alone.

Barcelona actually looked more and more like the Paris Saint-Germain team that won the Champions League in 2025!

Passing and running movements were seamless,

everyone was pressing high, with high-intensity defense across the entire field.

Even the “strolling” Messi started sprinting wildly,

which shows,

how much Messi wanted to defeat his nemesis, Lance!

Even just once!

Today was the best chance for revenge!

“Messi!! Taking the ball in the center… Yes! He’s past him!! Past another player!!”

“Oh oh oh!! Lance!! What a beautiful tackle!!”

When Messi bypassed two players in the front field, Lance couldn’t hold back anymore,

chasing all the way back from the leading striker position, sprinting desperately to the defensive midfield spot,

using the muscle memory of [Shō Shunko], he executed a perfect side tackle, accurately hitting the ball and sending it out of bounds, disrupting Messi’s dribble.

Otherwise, if Messi truly broke into the box, they would concede again.

“What are you guys doing?”

After the tackle, Lance couldn’t help but roar at his teammates.

This was the first time Atlético Madrid players had seen Lance lose his temper.

Koke and Filipe Luís, who had been beaten by Messi, were stunned and lowered their heads in embarrassment.

“Sorry, Lance, I…”

“Stop talking, be serious!”

Lance didn’t have time to scold Koke; he just gave the instruction and ran back to his position.

The good news was that the tackle and his teammates’ laziness caused Lance’s Rage Value to instantly skyrocket.

Only 30 minutes into the first half, the Rage Value had already reached 100%!

He couldn’t worry about anything else; he had to retaliate!

A Barcelona attack concluded,

Suárez’s shot, slightly interfered with by Godín, was hit a bit too centrally and was caught by goalkeeper Oblak.

Oblak was still lying on the ground, holding the ball and catching his breath,

Lance signaled to goalkeeper Oblak and immediately sprinted forward to the opposing half.

“Oh?”

Seeing this, Oblak suddenly brightened up!

Even with his teammates checked out, Lance was still fighting!

Happily, he quickly scrambled to his feet, and while the Barcelona players were still organizing their high press, he suddenly did the opposite, launching a long ball toward the front field!

“What?”

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique realized something was wrong and stood up.

Theoretically, the purpose of a high press is to force the opponent to dispose of the ball carelessly.

A long clearance often results in conceding possession, allowing the pressing team to regain control and continue attacking, giving the opponent no time to breathe.

If Atlético Madrid voluntarily played a long ball, did they have great confidence?

“Damn it!!”

Only then did Luis Enrique see Lance sprinting forward at high speed!

The moment the youngster suddenly appeared among the crowd,

made Luis Enrique’s heart clench!

Messi and Griezmann also flinched simultaneously!

“Mala!!”

“Shit!!”

Amidst their simultaneous cries of alarm!

Lance jumped almost simultaneously with Piqué!

Lance, at 185 cm, somehow jumped higher than the 194 cm center-back Piqué!

He completed a [Aerial Catch] right over Piqué’s head!

“Beautiful!! Lance!!!”

Duan Xuan stood up excitedly and shouted.

“How is that possible?”

Piqué landed in astonishment, quickly turned around and lunged at Lance, grabbing his jersey.

Even if it meant getting a card, he had to pull Lance down!

However, just before Lance was pulled backward by Piqué and completely lost his balance,

the moment the ball bounced off the ground, Lance’s right foot struck the ball!

“Hiss…”

Spectators worldwide who witnessed this couldn’t help but gasp in shock!

Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen was still sprinting back to the box; the goal behind him was completely empty!!

“Lance!! Right-footed volley!!”

In desperate times, you can always trust this man!

The trajectory of the ball flew across the halfway line, capturing the hearts of fans worldwide!