Messi stood in front of the penalty area.
Seeing the ball didn’t go in, he turned around expressionlessly.
He wanted to perform well in front of Kevin today, but Barcelona conceding a goal early made him a bit anxious.
He ran to the midfield to receive the ball.
This time, the feeling of dribbling and shooting was very good, but it was still a bit off.
If it were Kevin, he might have gotten past the defenders before shooting?
No, Kevin’s long shots from outside the penalty area are also very strong.
Messi shook his head and walked back.
He worked so hard, yet he still couldn’t keep up with Kevin’s pace. Sigh.
Casillas kicked a goal kick.
Ivanovic passed to Ramos, who looked up and, finding no opportunity, pushed the ball forward steadily.
De Jong received the ball and wanted to find Guti. Although both were defensive midfielders, Guti’s position was more advanced.
Seeing Deco next to Guti, he could only pass horizontally to the left.
Heinze lifted his foot to pass, and Xavi slid in to stop the ball on the sideline.
As he turned to get the ball, Robben ran into Xavi’s leg, which moved slightly, sending the ball out of bounds.
"It’s our ball, he pushed me from behind."
Xavi got up and rushed to the referee, Maxim Busacca, and said.
"That’s their problem."
Deco, standing beside the referee, spread his hands and said.
Busacca explained, "He didn’t intend to bump into you, he tripped on you, and this level of physical contact is not a foul."
"What are you talking about? Does it have to be a death blow to be a foul?"
Every match against Real Madrid was his revenge battle.
Getting the ball back again to Real Madrid made him very upset.
"Watch your words if you don’t want to be sent off!"
Busacca pointed at Xavi and said.
Arguing Barça players gave him a headache, and he lost his patience.
Max hugged Xavi and dragged him away.
Don’t get a yellow card over this.
After Barça’s players left, Heinze quickly ran to the sideline, picked up the ball, and threw it in.
Barça’s players were all on the left side of the midfield, leaving the right side fairly empty, providing a chance for a sneak attack.
Guti charged forward with the ball, while Barça players were still returning to their positions after arguing.
Cassano on the right wing waved his arms frantically; there was no one defending him.
But Guti completely ignored Cassano.
He took two diagonal steps forward before directly passing the ball with his right foot.
Kevin didn’t expect Guti to pass with his right foot and reacted half a beat slower. He quickly adjusted, stretching his left foot forward, the ball bounced off the inside of his left foot to the right.
Kevin then nudged the ball forward with his right foot towards the right side of the penalty area and accelerated to the right.
As soon as he started, Kevin left Thuram a body length behind.
Barça players who went up to argue hadn’t returned to their positions yet, leaving the right side very open.
Seeing this, the fans at Camp Nou Stadium did not hold back their pride and started booing Kevin.
Kevin reached the penalty area and got the ball, and Thuram, who couldn’t stop his full-speed run, crashed into him hard.
Guardiola clenched his fist, cursing in his heart.
This is going to concede a penalty!
But the following development was completely beyond his expectations.
The 185 cm, 84 kg Thuram crashed into the slightly taller but much lighter Kevin. Kevin staggered to the side, unloading the force, while Thuram stumbled into the penalty area.
Kevin, who steadied himself, didn’t hesitate, adjusting to place his left foot under the ball.
Valdes, who was positioned on the right to guard against Kevin, dived immediately, but his position was too far, and even though he gave his all, he couldn’t reach the ball, which quickly flew into the far corner of the goal.
Raul, who was preparing for a rebound shot, quickly turned and rushed toward Kevin.
Valdes sat in front of the goal, unwilling to get up for a long time.
"Kevin hasn’t scored such a simple goal for a long time. This time, he completely used his physical attributes to score, which doesn’t match Kevin’s identity as a green field artist. Although it made the once top defender Thuram look embarrassed, this goal was too ordinary for Kevin. I think the energy spent for this goal might be less than when Kevin goes to the sideline to pick up a water bottle and drink."
"Kevin doesn’t seem to be in good form today. Although he still scored, if it were Kevin in good form, he wouldn’t have given Thuram the chance to bump into him after entering the penalty area."
"But even an out-of-form Kevin can still easily win against Barcelona."
"While Barcelona debates which of their future players will win the Ballon d’Or, Kevin can already use a Ballon d’Or trophy as a doorstop at home. In another eight years, he might use them as bowling pins."
"Although Kaka is a Milan player, I have to say he is really lucky. Even with Kevin missing half a season due to injury, their vote difference was still very small. Only due to divine favor did he luckily win the Ballon d’Or in Kevin’s era of supremacy. By the way, everyone knows, Kevin is God."
In the stands, Zambrotta smiled.
He said Kevin would launch an attack from the side!
He knows Kevin the best.
But he quickly restrained his smile, afraid of being caught on camera like Messi.
The last time Messi smiled in the stands, it caused quite a stir.
That little guy is a super genius.