Football: Starting with the Crescent Moon Slash

Chapter 2 The Crescent Moon Blade Shines at the Bernabéu

Real Madrid has many free-kick specialists in their squad, so even if Ronaldo isn't allowed to take free kicks, it won't be his turn.

However, to complete the system's task, you must utilize your free-kick attributes.

Cristiano Ronaldo stood two meters away from the ball, his legs taut, his eyes fixed on the Barcelona goal.

His eyes were piercing, filled with a burning desire to score.

As the king of the Bernabéu, he was determined to score this goal and save face for Real Madrid.

Seeing Ronaldo's resolute expression, Jiang Yan mustered his courage and went up to discuss it with Ronaldo.

Although he is now 80% confident of putting the ball in Barcelona's goal, he still needs a suitable reason.

"Hey, Luo, how about we play a tactic for this ball? I'll fake a free kick to distract them, and then you can shoot."

Upon hearing this, Ronaldo first glanced at Jiang Yan warily, after all, he had heard similar words before, but the latter had still managed to miss the pass.

But this time...

Seeing that Jiang Yan didn't seem to have any desire to score, he agreed to the tactic.

Seeing that Ronaldo agreed, he could only silently apologize to Ronaldo in his heart.

If you have to blame someone, blame that damn system!

The Barcelona players formed a human wall under the direction of goalkeeper Bravo.

Alves looked at Ronaldo and Jiang Yan standing next to the penalty spot with disdain.

Even a fool would know that Ronaldo should take this free kick, after all, what coach would give the opportunity to take a free kick to a youth academy player?

Do you think you're Beckham?

With that in mind, Alves kept a close eye on Ronaldo's every move, ready to jump at any moment.

Not only Alves, but Bravo on the goal line was also keeping a close eye on Ronaldo's movements, ready to make a save at any moment.

"Beep!!!"

As soon as the referee blew his whistle, Jiang Yan ran towards the ball, each movement as practiced as if he had repeated it thousands of times.

The entire stadium held its breath, all eyes focused on the free kick.

He stopped about 20cm away from the ball.

Knees slightly bent.

Swing your thighs to move your calves.

Ankle locked.

The right instep struck the lower middle part of the ball with force.

With a bang, the ball flew out like a cannonball under the incredulous gazes of both teams, curving in an uncanny arc and heading straight for the top right corner of the goal.

Beep!

The referee blew his whistle and pointed to the center circle with his left hand.

Goal!

The first to erupt in excitement were the die-hard Real Madrid fans in the stands. A young academy player dared to steal Ronaldo's free kick and, incredibly, scored!

The players on the field couldn't believe it.

A young Asian player from Real Madrid's youth academy.

This marks their first appearance in La Liga.

The first El Clásico.

First shot.

What an unbelievable goal!

"A round...curved moon blade!"

It's unclear who shouted those four words from the stands, but the fans became even more excited.

They were all too aware of the significance of the phrase "Crescent Moon Scimitar".

Thinking back on it carefully, that goal really did have a resemblance to Beckham's style back in the day.

On the field, seeing Jiang Yan's free kick go directly into the goal, even Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't contain his excitement. He completely forgot the free kick tactics the two had just agreed on and started celebrating with Jiang Yan.

"Jiang, that was a really cool kick! How did you feel about it?"

"I never expected this, Jiang, our team has a hidden free-kick expert."

"That free kick went straight into the net, very much in the style of Beckham back in the day."

"Score two more goals! We absolutely cannot let them leave the Bernabéu unscathed!"

Although they were still trailing, this goal undoubtedly gave Real Madrid players a much-needed boost.

And at this moment, the scales that determine victory or defeat began to tip.

The 70th minute of the match.

Barcelona's players held onto the ball tightly, passing it around in their own half.

They currently hold a two-goal advantage and are not in a hurry to attack.

This behavior angered the Real Madrid fans in the stands, and boos immediately filled the Bernabéu stadium.

Jiang Yan's sudden emergence was clearly unexpected by Enrique, who immediately devised a strategy to lock down Jiang Yan as the sole point of attack.

"No matter how strong he is, he's still just an 18-year-old kid. Let him experience the terror of La Liga."

Enrique gestured to Iniesta, who was approaching him from the sidelines, and the latter nodded and began to dribble forward.

Benitez, standing on the sidelines, keenly sensed Enrique's tactical intentions and then looked with some concern at the thin figure on the field.

"Isco, go warm up. That kid Jiang Yan is going to be in trouble."

Just as he expected, Barcelona's number 4, Rakitic, had closely marked Jiang Yan.

Iniesta passes the ball.

Rakitic blew past Jiang Yan in one step.

Modric was facing a pressing challenge.

A surgical through ball found Messi in the attacking third.

Messi received the ball and dribbled past two Real Madrid players before Varane made a decisive tackle from outside the penalty area.

A yellow card saved Messi's one-on-one chance.

Although Jiang Yan did score a good free kick, the defensive lapses were irreparable.

Playing him as a lone attacking midfielder is too risky.

Messi's free kick was easily caught by Navas.

Barcelona fans in the away stands spread their arms wide in disappointment at the goal.

Is their Messi really inferior to a young Chinese player who just came on the field?

Seventy-two minutes.

Real Madrid made a substitution, with Isco (number 22) replacing Benzema (number 9), switching to a 4-4-2 formation.

With Isco providing midfield protection, Jiang Yan's pressure was somewhat relieved.

Rakitic remained close to Jiang Yan, but as soon as the latter received the pass, Isco arrived in time to support him.

Isco dribbled past the onrushing Suarez and passed the ball to Bale on the wing.

After receiving the ball, Bale accelerated instantly and sprinted down the wing. Alba, seeing Bale about to break into the penalty area, didn't care about anything else and pulled him down.

The referee blew his whistle, and Real Madrid were awarded a free kick in a good position.

Bale got up and picked up the ball.

Despite his arrogant nature, he surprisingly handed the ball to this young Chinese player after seeing Jiang Yan.

"Hey Jiang, let's do it again."

Jiang Yan received the ball, looked around, and surprisingly, the Real Madrid bigwigs all tacitly approved of Bale's actions.

It's not that they didn't want to score.

Rather, Jiang Yan's crescent-shaped blade strike just now was truly spectacular, and it wouldn't hurt to trust him this once.

"Don't worry, Gareth, I will make the Crescent Moon shine at the Bernabéu."

Jiang Yan placed the ball steadily on the ground.

He took two steps back, his eyes fixed on the Barcelona wall of players.

The Barcelona players looked very serious, even Alves had put away his smiling face, still vividly remembering Jiang Yan's crescent moon scimitar strike.

"He was on the left before, and now he's on the right. He can't possibly score again, can he?"

Alves thought to himself.

Not only him, but goalkeeper Bravo had the same thought, but still remained on high alert.

The entire Bernabéu stadium was eerily quiet at that moment, with everyone focused on the free kick.

Everyone wants to know.

Was it luck, or the arrival of a superstar?

Benitez, sitting on the sidelines, was watching Jiang Yan's every move intently.

This substitution, which is a gamble on his coaching career, could either solidify his position or lead to his dismissal. Success or failure hinges on this decision.

Jiang Yan exhaled a breath of stale air.

Take two running steps.

Swing your right leg.

"Another right-footed free kick?"

On the right side of the goal, a free kick with his right foot—nobody knows what Jiang Yan was thinking.

The Real Madrid players on the field were also holding their breath for him.

There was a loud "bang".

Jiang Yan touched the ball with the outside of his right foot.

The ball shot like an arrow, soaring over the wall of players and flying toward the goal with a strange arc.

Bravo watched the ball's flight path, secretly pleased.

"The Chinese are nothing special!"

In his view, although the ball had a slight curve, it was flying straight toward him.