In an instant, Yunus Musah had already driven to the edge of Real Madrid's penalty area.
It looked as though he wanted to imitate Vinícius and take a shot from that position.
But Real Madrid's midfield defense was far tougher than Valencia's.
Luka Modrić slid in directly in front of Musah.
Although Modrić's challenge touched the ball first, his momentum carried through and brought Musah down.
In the name of fairness, the referee blew for a foul and showed Modrić a yellow card.
At the same time, Valencia were awarded a set-piece opportunity.
The position of Valencia's free kick was almost identical to the one Real Madrid had just scored from.
Standing over the ball were Lee Kang-in and Carlos Soler.
Before taking it, the two covered their mouths and exchanged a few words. After that, Soler walked away from the ball with anger written on his face.
Clearly, Lee Kang-in had no intention of giving up the right to take this set piece.
Peep!
The referee blew the whistle.
At that moment, every Valencia fan inside Mestalla placed their hopes on Lee Kang-in.
They were waiting for the young South Korean talent to break through Real Madrid's goal!
...
Far away in East Asia, South Korean commentators were shouting Lee Kang-in's name with wild excitement.
"Oh! Lee Kang-in will personally take this set piece! Soler has stepped away. This is Lee Kang-in's influence. His status at Valencia is clearly respected!"
"We can hear it clearly—every fan inside Mestalla is cheering for Lee Kang-in!"
"Lee Kang-in's technique is top level. Since Theodore Bjorn could score directly from this position, Lee Kang-in can do the same!"
On the global live streams, South Korean fans had already begun celebrating.
"Lee oppa's free kick is definitely going in! Courtois won't be able to save it!"
"Shut those arrogant Madrid fans up! Lee Kang-in, we believe you can do it!"
"Lee Kang-in will score against Real Madrid with a stunning strike!"
…
While the South Korean fans posted their comments, Lee Kang-in began his shooting motion inside Mestalla.
Before taking the shot, he observed Courtois' positioning.
Judging by his expression, he was full of confidence in his technique.
Unfortunately, it was blind confidence.
Bang!
Lee Kang-in's shot was blocked directly by Real Madrid's wall. He had wasted the chance.
Inside the broadcast booth, Rob Palmer could not help but analyze the situation.
"Before shooting, Lee Kang-in's expression gave off complete confidence. Who would have thought his strike wouldn't even clear the wall?"
Terry Gibson added, "He's a young player with talent, but perhaps the occasion is getting to him. You have to beat the first man from there."
After the ball was blocked by the wall, the second ball was controlled by Modrić.
In the blink of an eye, Real Madrid had a counterattacking chance.
A second earlier, Theodore had been standing in the wall. Now, he was sprinting toward Valencia's penalty area.
At the same time, Martin Ødegaard had rushed into the attacking third.
Seeing this, Modrić played the ball out to Ødegaard on the left.
After receiving it, Ødegaard suddenly slowed his dribbling rhythm. Two Valencia defenders were rushing toward him.
Just as Ødegaard was about to be surrounded, he crossed with his left foot.
The ball flashed past the Valencia players and dropped into the penalty area.
Benzema, Theodore, and Hazard were ready to attack the header.
Ødegaard aimed the ball toward Theodore.
At the far post, Theodore rose into the air, powering a header over Gabriel Paulista.
"A headed effort!" Palmer called out. "The ball smashes past Doménech's hands!"
"Theodore has scored his third goal of the match!"
"In the 40th minute, Theodore completes his hat-trick!"
In the Mestalla stands, Valencia fans held their heads in despair.
Before the match began, most Valencia supporters had not placed much hope in winning. Their expectation had been a narrow defeat or a draw.
The current scoreline was something they could not accept.
While the Valencia fans sank into sorrow, the Real Madrid supporters were celebrating wildly. More than five thousand Madrid fans had traveled to Mestalla.
After Theodore scored his third goal, those five thousand Madridistas screamed his name, turning Mestalla into the Bernabéu.
Once the score became 3–0, the mentality of the Valencia players suffered a heavy blow.
Although there were five minutes left before halftime, most Valencia players had lost their fighting spirit.
Yet just when every Valencia player seemed to have given up, they received a chance to score.
In the 44th minute, Real Madrid were circulating the ball at the back.
After going 3–0 up, Madrid wanted to use passes in their own half to run down the remaining time.
When Modrić passed the ball back to Sergio Ramos, the legendary Madrid captain made a mistake with his first touch.
He failed to receive the ball and it rolled straight to Lee Kang-in.
Faced with this sudden gift, Lee Kang-in was caught off guard.
After receiving Modrić's back pass inside the box, he pushed the ball forward with his left foot, trying to create a better shooting angle.
But that touch gave Courtois a chance.
The Belgian goalkeeper rushed off his line and charged straight toward Lee Kang-in.
The highly touted South Korean talent failed to make proper use of his shooting technique.
The ball struck Courtois directly on the calf.
Lee Kang-in wasted a must-score chance!
"Lee Kang-in! His shot is blocked by Courtois' calf! That didn't go in! A golden opportunity wasted," Palmer noted.
The Valencia fans inside the stadium began showing their frustration.
Lee Kang-in had been given quite a few chances tonight. Unfortunately, he had ruined every shooting opportunity.
After forty-five minutes, the score remained 3–0.
Madrid led at halftime.
...
After returning to the dressing room, Valencia head coach Javi Gracia made substitutions.
Lee Kang-in and fellow forward Maxi Gómez were taken off.
The two players replacing them were Kevin Gameiro and Gonçalo Guedes.
Gameiro and Gonçalo Guedes were two of the most dangerous finishers in Valencia's squad.
Javi Gracia was ready to gamble.
Fifteen minutes later, the second half began.
When Gameiro and Gonçalo Guedes came on together, they earned cheers from the Valencia supporters. The Valencia fans supported the change.
After the restart, Valencia showed great intensity.
They looked like a completely different team.
In the 50th minute, Valencia midfielder Soler successfully found Gameiro with a pass.
On the left side of the penalty area, the French striker brought the ball under control with his right foot, then suddenly knocked it forward.
Although Gameiro was thirty-three, his shooting touch was still sharp.
After creating space, Gameiro unleashed a fierce shot.
Bang!
The ball struck the post. Gameiro had come within inches of breaching Courtois' goal.
"Another shot missed by the finest of margins!" Palmer said. "After Gameiro and Gonçalo Guedes came on, Valencia's attack has undergone a real transformation!"
The match continued.
Although Gameiro's shot had not broken through Real Madrid's goal, it had lifted the morale of the fans.
In the Mestalla stands, Valencia supporters began singing the club anthem.
On the pitch, Valencia's pressing became more aggressive.
In the 58th minute, Valencia's second wave of attack arrived.
This time, Soler gave the ball to Gonçalo Guedes.
At twenty-four, Gonçalo Guedes had already been selected for the Portugal national team.
This player possessed excellent pace, dribbling ability, and shooting technique.
This time, Gonçalo Guedes picked up Soler's pass on the left side of the penalty area.
He cut inside directly. It seemed the Portuguese international wanted to do it himself.
Real Madrid full-back Lucas Vázquez rushed in front of Gonçalo Guedes. However, Vázquez was not a natural full-back, and there were issues with his defensive positioning.
Gonçalo Guedes spotted the gap in Vázquez's defending.
As Guedes suddenly accelerated, the Real Madrid full-back was left behind.
Gonçalo Guedes reached the edge of Madrid's penalty area. He lifted his leg as if to shoot. Seeing this, Ramos stretched out a leg to interfere.
But Guedes quickly changed his movement, turning the shot into a touch forward.
Gonçalo Guedes broke into Real Madrid's penalty area.
Bang!
"Goal!" Palmer announced. "Gonçalo Guedes has breached Real Madrid's goal!"
"The twenty-four-year-old Portuguese international has helped Valencia score through his individual ability!"
"The score is now 3–1! Real Madrid still lead by two goals."
"If Lee Kang-in had taken that one-on-one chance near the end of the first half, the score would now be 3–2," Gibson observed. "What a pity! Valencia are growing into this match."
In the Mestalla stands, the Valencia supporters could finally celebrate.
Although Valencia were still behind, breaching Real Madrid's goal meant hope had been born.
After the restart, Real Madrid controlled possession.
During this spell, Theodore Bjorn had not shown much.
Theodore felt the match had already lost its suspense, and he wanted to conserve energy for the next battle against Villarreal.
Who would have thought Valencia would actually dare to fight back?
So Theodore decided to deliver the fatal blow.
In the 68th minute, Theodore actively dropped back into his own half.
After receiving Ramos' pass, he opened up his long stride. He carried the ball toward Valencia's penalty area.
Once Theodore got going, there was no chance of stopping him with only one player.
Javi Gracia naturally understood this.
On the touchline, he shouted for every midfielder to defend Theodore.
Theodore was not foolish enough to force a one-versus-four.
The moment Valencia's midfielders rushed in front of him, Theodore released the pass.
Bang!
A trademark long ball!
Theodore's pass traveled across half the pitch and dropped perfectly at Ødegaard's feet.
At that moment, there was only one Valencia defender in front of Ødegaard—Daniel Wass.
After undergoing Theodore's special training, Ødegaard's dribbling ability had improved.
Clearly, a single defender was not enough to stop him.
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