354 Round One: City Ground Part 2 (2/2)

The Forest Team, who had gained a lead, conversely became suppressed by Real Madrid and appeared to be in a sorry state.

Before the end of the first half, Real Madrid equalized the score. The scorer was neither Raúl nor Ronaldo. It was the midfield player David Beckham, who shot off his signature move: a Full Moon Scimitar free kick.

Beckham's popularity in the UK was immense; after his goal, applause from the home team fans could be heard in City Ground.

Tang En could do little against such losses. Before the match, he had already emphasized not giving Real Madrid too many free kick opportunities at the front of the penalty area. His players had all taken the job seriously. Faced with Real Madrid's tidal wave of attacks, they only gave them two such opportunities in the danger zone; the first was kicked out by Beckham, while the second was a goal.

The goal was not a loss due to their strategy. It was a loss because of the individual capability of a football star.

”David Beckham! A flawless goal! Edwin van der Sar had no cards to play!”

Seeing Beckham hug his teammates in celebration on the field, Tang En suddenly remembered that that person would be heading to America, a football desert, two years later, and end his professional career there. Whatever the reason for it, it still felt regrettable.

The situation did not take a turn for the better in the second half. Real Madrid continued their domination of both sides of the field in the away arena. No one usually felt anything special, but when Wood was absent from the match, everyone could feel the difference. It was not a problem of having one less player; they felt as if they had two less.

Pepe could not defend against Zidane at all. Other than having a large skill difference, the demands of a defensive midfielder were completely different from a center back; he found the position quite challenging.

Tang En decided to go all in. Taking Wes Morgan off, he moved Pepe back to his position of center back, into familiar territory and one that Pepe excelled at. Then, he substituted in a forward - Bendtner. That way, Forest changed their formation to 4:3:3. Basically, they gave up on midfield defense in the hopes that a crazy enough offense would be able to force back Real Madrid's bluster, allowing them to score another goal and gain an edge in the situation.

Tang En half-succeeded. Forest, who had just adjusted, displayed an imposing spirit that was unexpected by Real Madrid players; they managed to push back Real Madrid's offense.

Facing Forest's wave after wave of attacks, even Real Madrid could not afford to be too careless; after all, their defensive line had never put anyone at ease. Luxemburgo's team started to focus heavily on their defense. For a long period, there were no changes to the score.

The match looked as if it would end with a draw. Tang En thought that would not be too bad if it were to be the case. At least they could not be losing points first.

What was the difference between powerhouses and normal football teams? It could not be said that they had brilliant managers, or that their strategies were better than a normal team's. However, they had superstars: players who could, on their own, be a deciding factor of the match.

In the final five minutes of the match, Ronaldo, who had been on a stroll for the past 85 minutes, suddenly sprang into action. He successfully reversed an offside and received a long pass to the backfield from Beckham. Breaking through into the penalty area, he easily got past Edwin van der Sar and, with a push, shot into the open goal. The score became 1:2. Forest had fallen behind on their home ground.

”Five minutes! It's not over yet!” With a wave of Tang En's hands, the whole team pressed forward. Whether they lost by a goal, two goals, or even three made little difference; a loss was a loss. This was not an elimination match, so there was no away goal rule. With the whole team pressing forward, perhaps they might be able to even the score.

Tang En's aim had gone from winning the match to equalizing the score.

In the end, things did not go as he wished. Reality was cruel. On their home ground, Nottingham Forest lost 1:2 to the ”Galácticos,” Real Madrid.

Real Madrid had a great opening for their new season of the Champions League. Meanwhile, Forest Team's prospects of advancing had a shadow cast on them.

In the press conference after the match, Tang En expressed his indignance at their loss. He continually emphasized that his team had lost to two people, Beckham and Ronaldo; in other words, what he meant was that Real Madrid did not truly defeat Forest.

”I acknowledge that Wood's absence has brought us tremendous trouble. I will give everyone a surprise the next time we go to Bernabéu.”

This fitted Tang En's style of never losing the verbal battle despite losing the game. But, how many would take his words seriously?

Some of the reporters from Spain started laughing, and so did a few of England's media. The prior laughed disdainfully, but the latter… That was a little more complicated; Pierce Brosnan was also among the laughing members.