No one ever dares to underestimate Real Madrid.
Most of the reasons they had been in a weak position had to do with themselves.
But when this team became united, when everyone's goal became the same,
the energy they could unleash was terrifying.
Once the second half began,
everyone could feel Madrid's madness.
The frenzied Real Madrid attack poured forward like a flood with the dam broken.
It crashed relentlessly into Atlético Madrid's defense.
And under that kind of pressure,
no defense in the world could say for certain that it would hold.
Under the force of that wave,
Real Madrid scored in the 50th minute.
...
"Cristiano..."
On the commentary box,
the Real Madrid radio announcer stretched the name out in a roar.
In front of every screen,
Real Madrid fans all looked up at once.
"Ronaldo!!!!!"
The shout echoed across half of Madrid.
"Two-one! Real Madrid pull one back! The suspense is back in this match!"
"Five minutes of pressure, five minutes of relentless attack, and Madrid have scored! This is Real Madrid! This is—Real Madrid!"
Madrid fans were in a frenzy.
The replay on TV showed the goal.
There was nothing much to analyze.
It was just Ronaldo smashing in a violent long-range shot from outside the box.
A pure world-class strike.
But if you had watched the previous five minutes,
you would not have been surprised at all.
Right after the second half started,
Real Madrid had already been pressing hard.
Their furious attacking was astonishing.
On the pitch,
after scoring, Ronaldo pounded the Real Madrid crest on his chest and roared as he ran to the sideline.
He embraced Casillas and the other Madrid substitutes who had rushed over from the bench.
Mourinho joined the celebration too.
The eleven players on the pitch, the substitutes, the coaching staff—
all of them formed one mass of bodies.
At that moment,
that was a team.
And that was also why the goal came.
"No one knows what happened at halftime, but I can guarantee something must have happened, otherwise Real Madrid would not have changed like this!"
"Real Madrid look like a completely different team in the second half."
"If they could have played like this from the start, none of this would have happened."
"The suspense is back!"
The commentators were stunned by the contrast between Madrid's first and second halves.
Simeone was a little surprised too.
He could not sit still anymore.
Real Madrid's performance genuinely alarmed him.
At the end of the day,
their squad was still their squad.
If they attacked like this, no team could comfortably absorb it.
Now that they had pulled one back, they would likely become even more frantic.
Atlético would have to deal with that carefully.
He looked out at the pitch.
Shane Carter was holding a quick huddle with his teammates.
Simeone relaxed a little.
He returned to the bench.
...
Shane did feel the threat.
Real Madrid were attacking too furiously.
And they had just scored a spectacular long-range goal.
He could already foresee that after pulling one back,
Madrid would become even more reckless.
But at the same time...
to Shane,
their madness also meant opportunity.
The problem was that taking that opportunity would not be easy.
"Don't rush. Keep the ball. Stretch their shape. They will come up to press. Don't panic. Pass according to my position. We will get our chance!"
Shane quickly gave out instructions.
.....
Amid the anticipation of Real Madrid fans,
the match restarted.
As soon as Atlético kicked off,
Madrid's players rushed forward with immediate urgency.
Their momentum was aggressive and oppressive.
An ordinary player might really have been frightened by that kind of pressure.
But Shane stayed calm.
He passed the ball back to center-back Godín, then pulled into space to offer an angle.
Godín returned it to him.
Modrić and Ronaldo both closed him down.
Shane looked as if he had no choice but to pass back.
Instead, he used pure individual skill to slip away from both men, turned, and then played the ball out to the wing.
Koke received it, but immediately found himself under pressure.
At that point,
Shane had already created the space again, and Koke played it back to him.
Under Shane's control,
Atlético kept circulating the ball in the back under Real Madrid's intense press.
That made Atlético's fans nervous.
After all,
it looked like dancing on the edge of a blade.
One mistake,
and everything could collapse.
The Madrid fans in the stands were roaring.
The Madrid players saw the chance too.
Their whole shape pushed higher and higher.
And that...
was exactly the scene Shane wanted.
When the ball came back to his feet again,
he made a fake motion as if he would continue the lateral pass, then suddenly accelerated.
"Shane... carrying the ball across midfield!"
The commentators shouted.
The Calderón erupted at once.
"Go! Shane!!"
Amid the cheers,
Shane drew the defenders in, then suddenly slipped a low pass with the inside of his foot.
The ball went to the left!!
"Shane... he switched it to the left, Koke has it... Atlético's attack has now reached the 30-meter zone of Real Madrid's defense!!"
The commentators raised their voices.
Koke took a small touch.
Then he crossed it!
"Koke crosses... danger!"
The Real Madrid radio commentator sucked in a sharp breath.
Inside the box,
Costa and Griezmann were up against Ramos and Pepe.
Two against two!
Under pressure,
Diego López came out.
He jumped high and punched the ball clear toward the edge of the area.
The camera followed the ball out of the box.
And then,
a red-and-white figure burst into the frame.
"Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
The commentators all gasped.
Their eyes widened.
As the ball dropped, Shane Carter was already adjusting his steps.
He looked ready to strike it first time.
"Shane... volley..."
commentator Mario murmured.
Behind Shane,
Khedira and Xabi Alonso were chasing hard.
Inside the box,
Ramos gritted his teeth and charged out.
At that exact moment,
surrounded by three Real Madrid players,
Shane took his final step.
His right arm lifted.
His right leg cocked back high.
For a split second,
his body looked like a taut bow.
The ball dropped from the air.
Shane's right foot whipped through it like a lash.
Bang!
The instep smashed into the lower half of the ball.
It rebounded and shot upward.
As his foot struck, there was also a lifting motion through the ankle.
The moment the ball left his boot,
the Madrid fans first relaxed—
and then immediately tensed up again.
It looked like the ball was flying straight up into the sky.
But very quickly,
it dipped.
It was a strange, looping parabola.
Diego López had not reacted yet.
The ball brushed under the crossbar and dropped down into the goal...
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