Chapter 195: 32-Second Counter and an Age-Old Injustice
On the same day's other semi-final, Real Madrid thrashed Borussia Dortmund 3–0 away, all but sealing a place in the final.
Some La Liga media popped champagne at half-time and loudly proclaimed: the Champions League final will be a Madrid Derby.
The hook was intoxicating — in Champions League history there had never been a final between two clubs from the same city.
There have been four same-city derbies in the competition's history, but never as the final.
UEFA was pleased — every round drew interest.
The second leg of the Champions League semi-finals would begin a week later.
Arsenal faced a grueling week of three matches.
They had to play Premier League Round 26 and 27 on Saturday and next Tuesday, against Manchester United and Sunderland respectively.
Only next Friday would the Champions League second leg versus Atlético take place.
The league was important to Arsenal: they led Manchester City and Chelsea by just three points and had little margin for error.
City and Chelsea, freed from Champions League and FA Cup commitments, were favorites to chase the title.
Arsenal requested the FA postpone Round 27 and received approval.
For Round 26 Arsenal hosted old rivals Manchester United.
Wenger intended to rest key players, but with the title race tight and after listening to the fitness staff and players eager to play,
he still started his main men.
But Murphy's law seemed omnipresent.
What you fear comes to pass.
In that match against Manchester United everyone but Xia Qi was exhausted.
Arsenal played well for only about ten-odd minutes — in that span Xia Qi scored twice — but United then scored three to take the lead.
If not for Xia Qi's heroics, salvaging a last-gasp equalizer,
the match would not have ended 3–3, and Arsenal would not have collected that critical point to keep leading the league.
Chelsea and City remained just a single point behind.
In Round 27 Arsenal had a bye.
Chelsea and City each claimed 1–0 wins over Everton and Stoke.
With Arsenal having played one game fewer, they sat two points behind in third.
After Round 27, the Arsenal squad arrived in Madrid a day early.
These days, the players' fitness condition was the chief concern of Arsenal fans,
who even chanted "Abandon the FA Cup" in frustration.
Late in the season only Arsenal the big five leagues remained competing on three fronts.
Atlético had been knocked out of the Copa del Rey; Real Madrid trailed Atlético by 7 points in La Liga and had little chance of catching them — Carlo Ancelotti had not prioritized the league. The BBC trio and other starters had begun to be rested.
Barcelona and Bayern were out of the Champions League.
So Arsenal's players were the tightest in terms of fitness among the big five. Abandoning the FA Cup might be a good idea.
Whether or not they abandoned the FA Cup, the Champions League had to be fought for. To avoid Atlético's home advantage, some twenty thousand Arsenal fans planned to travel to the Calderón.
The Vicente Calderón, beside the Manzanares River, has no metro access — only buses.
A single bus can't carry many fans, so with a 16-kilometer trip ahead, some walked.
Over the route these passionate crowds became a unique sight in Madrid.
Some Real Madrid fans saluted and shouted: "See you in Lisbon!" — the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon being the host venue for that season's final.
If they ran into Atlético fans it could get abusive, but Madrid mounted riot police escorted them and no serious scuffles occurred.
…
The 58,000-plus seats at the Calderón were full. Xia Qi faced huge jeers as he warmed up.
It wasn't the first time; Xia Qi wasn't affected, or if he was it didn't matter.
After all, he was "watching the game without paying."
This was Xia Qi's first match at the Calderón.
He studied the well-known stadium carefully.
It didn't have the grandeur of the Santiago Bernabéu — the Calderón was a bit smaller with lower stands, allowing more fans to be packed in the environment.
But because of that, fans were closer to the players and their fervor affected players more.
No wonder it was easy to pick up cards in this stadium.
Passion is contagious!!!
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With the referee's whistle!
The 2013–2014 Champions League semi-final second leg kicked off.
Arsenal started.
Xia Qi passed to Mario Balotelli, who knocked it back to the defense.
Atlético, at the whistle, spread out like a field of stars and immediately pressed actively toward targets.
De Bruyne, having the ball, couldn't find an outlet and, to avoid being robbed, passed back to goalkeeper Martínez.
Arsenal's retreating play only fed Atlético's high press; Diego Costa led the charge toward Martínez.
They wanted to force Martínez into a "butter hands" mistake — he'd had one earlier.
Martínez understood Diego Costa's plan and denied the striker the chance to get close by rushing out with a big boot.
The ball flew over mountains toward Arsenal's frontman Balotelli.
Balotelli looked at Xia Qi's run and leaped to contest the header.
He planned to link with Xia Qi.
As Xia Qi's close friend, Balotelli knew the iceberg Xia Qi was like a nuclear device, and his job was to press the detonation button.
Reality, however, is harsh.
Balotelli failed to win the header.
Though he missed the ball, his contest distracted Atlético's Thiago and skewed Thiago's header.
What should have been a flick-on toward the Arsenal goal became a "flak shot," almost straight up and down — gone from sight.
Xia Qi was delighted. He burst from an angle like a bulldozer, shoved Thiago aside and leapt for the ball's landing spot.
Xia Qi's acceleration was explosive!
Defenders García and Thiago beneath the ball hadn't reacted in time,
and Xia Qi easily seized the drop.
High in the air Xia Qi didn't intend to control and carry forward; instead he headed the ball over Godín, into the path of the arriving Mario Balotelli.
At the same instant, "Ding dong! [Telepathy] triggered!"
Balotelli seemed as if he'd known Xia Qi would head behind Godín; he shot forward like an arrow.
"Xia Qi's headed flick, Balotelli times the run offside! A brilliantly executed move."
At that moment the live broadcast was still rolling through team lineups; because both sides used the same starting XI as the previous match,
Zhang Lu was mixing his lineup comments with his evaluation of their performances in the last game.
He had just been talking about Martínez's butter-hands when he saw the deadly combination between Xia Qi and Balotelli and cut his line into a thunderous shout.
At home people paused whatever they were doing — getting up to use the restroom, settling a child, fetching takeaway or beer — all stopped to watch.
"No offside, Godín turns and chases back, Miranda slides… Balotelli! Shoot!!"
"Goal! My God! After only 31 seconds, Arsenal have scored."
"Balotelli timed his run to beat the offside trap, ignored Miranda's challenge, got his shot off first; the ball nestles in the far corner. The angle was wicked and the power immense—Thibaut Courtois was helpless."
Arsenal fans at home cheered; in that moment nobody left the TV — even bladder calls could wait, school runs could be late, deliveries could hold — no one wanted to miss the replay.
After Balotelli's shot he was fouled by Miranda and went down, but his gaze never left the ball.
When the ball hit the net he sprang from the turf and slid on his knees toward the Arsenal fans.
Xia Qi, who provided the assist, strolled nonchalantly toward the center circle.
For some reason Atlético fans didn't hate Balotelli that much after the goal; they screamed at Xia Qi: "You're no Cristiano Ronaldo — he's the true Champions League king; you stole his Ballon d'Or."
But Xia Qi at the center circle ignored them, staring forward with deep eyes.
The cameras followed his gaze and panned the stands.
There stood a formation of beautiful women, led by Xia Qi's "roommate" — Alice.
Wenger and the others broke into proud smiles.
Heavens!
Would AI-mode Xia Qi have such thoughts?
What an eternal injustice!
(END CHAPTER)
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