Scoring Another Goal

After the substitute team finished celebrating, a few teammates pulled Lin Quan up from the ground.

Some of his closer friends ruffled his hair before heading back to their positions.

It wasn't just the substitutes—a few players from the main team also came over to congratulate Lin Quan.

Deulofeu even gave him a big hug:

"Lin, how did you just do that?"

Taking down an entire defensive line by himself was something even he, a proper winger, couldn't pull off.

Yet his friend, who played as a defensive midfielder, had just done it. Deulofeu found it utterly unbelievable.

"Want to learn?"

"Mm-hmm!"

Deulofeu nodded eagerly.

"I learned it from Messi. If you want to learn, just watch more of his games. Watch more, learn more, and you'll get it naturally!" Lin Quan said with a serious face.

He was just messing with the guy, but to his surprise, Deulofeu actually bought it.

"No wonder—I thought your dribbling looked familiar!"

Deulofeu made up his mind: once the youth team's training was over, he'd head over to the first team and secretly study Messi up close.

If he kept at it day after day, there was no way he wouldn't pick it up!

Lin Quan was speechless. Seeing the guy all fired up, he didn't have the heart to crush his enthusiasm.

Still, Deulofeu showing his face more often at the first team wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

It might leave some impression on the coaches. When the time came to promote players from the youth team, they'd be more likely to think of him.

The match continued. The main team, unhappy about being behind, ramped up their attack right from the restart.

They started using the first team's Tiki-taka tactics, pressing hard in the midfield and forward areas, pushing their defensive line up and packing the midfield with numbers.

The upside was that it effectively cut off the opponent's passing lanes and space, forcing more mistakes.

And once a mistake happened, they could steal the ball in the opponent's half and launch a dangerous attack immediately.

The downside was that if the opponent launched a quick counter and they failed to intercept the ball during the advance, the gaping hole in their defense would become a fatal weakness.

Guardiola's Tiki-taka didn't actually boost offense as much as it boosted defense—it was, at its core, a revolutionary defensive tactic.

The way to defend was simple: don't let the opponent touch the ball.

Without possession, the opponent couldn't score.

And so they'd crumble under Barca's siege.

After all, defend long enough, and you'll eventually slip!

To counter this tactic, Mourinho had developed a specific fast-break strategy during his time at Real Madrid.

The core of that tactic was to minimize the number of passes. Players couldn't dribble; they had to release the ball quickly, ideally with one-touch passes.

And the passes couldn't be sideways or backward—they had to go forward.

The wingers had to be fast on the counter, sprinting into position so the players behind them had clear passing options.

Keep it simple, don't get bogged down in midfield against Barca.

Bypass the midfield entirely—send the ball from the back, two or three touches to get it up front, threatening the opponent's goal within seconds.

If such a counter succeeded, even if it didn't result in a goal, it would put serious fear into the opponent, making them hesitant to commit too many players forward.

To pull that off, the defending side needed a backline player who could deliver good long passes, plus one or two fast, skilled wingers.

And as it happened, the substitute team had exactly that!

Lin Quan, now equipped with Messi's attributes!

In the 18th minute, the main team pressed hard up front, and the substitutes made a series of mistakes.

The main team grabbed the ball and laid siege to the substitutes' goal.

But with too many bodies crammed into the box, their shots failed to pose any real threat.

The ball was caught by the goalkeeper.

Lin Quan glanced at the main team's empty half and immediately signaled for the ball.

As the team's key midfielder, the substitutes naturally treated him like their big brother!

The goalkeeper didn't hesitate and passed the ball to him.

The ball reached Lin Quan's feet. Two main-team players rushed in to double-team him, hoping to strip the ball like they had with the other subs.

But Lin Quan stopped the ball, turned, and elegantly slipped past one defender.

Then he used that defender as a screen to block the other charging player.

This escape was executed beautifully, the movement smooth and fluid, instantly creating an angle.

Without hesitation, he sent a diagonal long pass to the substitute team's right winger, flashing a tactical hand signal as he released the ball.

The right winger received it and immediately burst forward, charging into the main team's half.

Only three defenders remained in the main team's backline. One of them, sensing danger, rushed up to block the substitute team's right winger.

The other two defenders retreated, ready to cover any gaps.

The substitute team's right winger didn't dare to dribble. Seeing the defender cutting off his advance, he quickly passed the ball diagonally forward.

The pass landed in an empty space, looking like a mistake.

But soon, a yellow figure flashed by and collected the ball.

The one receiving it was none other than Lin Quan!

"Stop him!"

The main team's center-back panicked the moment he saw Lin Quan with the ball.

After completing his pass, Lin Quan had sprinted forward, beating the defenders to the ball.

However, Lin Quan's speed advantage wasn't overwhelming. The main team's central midfielder caught up to him.

This position was about 35 meters from the goal. If Lin Quan kept dribbling forward, he'd likely take a shot.

So the main team's central midfielder immediately grabbed Lin Quan's jersey and slammed into him, trying to bring him down.

In a real match, he would have slid in for a tackle.

Even if he missed the ball, he'd at least take down the man.

But this was just an internal training match, and such a tackle could easily injure the opponent, so he didn't dare go for it.

Lin Quan was outmatched in both height and weight, completely losing the physical battle.

The collision left him unsteady on his feet.

Fortunately, the substitute team's left winger had already found his position. Lin Quan passed the ball just before falling.

The left winger received it and cut inside, closing in on the penalty area.

The two defenders had to split up, with one moving to guard him, but before the defender could close in, the left winger passed to the right.

A following attacker struck a volley. The shot was a bit too central, and the goalkeeper was ready to save.

But the ball grazed the main team's defender's leg mid-flight, deflecting into the net.

By then, the main team's players had only just rushed back into the box.

The score became 2-0!