Barca's training ground.
"Everyone, we have 11 league matches left. At the moment, we're five points behind Atletico Madrid, though they've played one fewer match. But we still have a head-to-head clash with them worth six points. For now, though, we need to focus on what's in front of us and win every match."
Head coach Koeman wore a very serious expression. Barca had won two in a row, but they were still five points behind Atletico Madrid, who had played one fewer match. At this late stage of the season, that was an almost insurmountable gap.
What was more, Atletico Madrid had been remarkably consistent at both ends of the pitch this year, especially in defense. They were now the only team to have conceded fewer than 20 goals, a testament to just how solid they were at the back.
Although Atletico Madrid had lost their most powerful forward, Griezmann, they had poached a top striker from Barca: Suarez.
Barca had thought Suarez was past his prime and no longer much of a threat, which was why they had practically given him away to Atletico Madrid.
But after seeing Suarez's performances for Atletico Madrid, the club's executives must have been kicking themselves.
Suarez was currently second in the scoring charts with 16 goals, behind Barca's Messi. The gap between them, however, was only three goals.
Letting go of a striker who scored for fun was a disaster for Barca. Worse still, they now had to compete with Atletico Madrid for the La Liga title. It was like twisting the knife in Barca's heart.
The competition in La Liga had indeed weakened considerably this year. You could see it in the scoring charts.
And an unexpected name had quietly appeared among the league's top scorers.
14th place, Li Mingyu, Barcelona, 7 (0).
In just two matches, Li Mingyu had made his way into the top twenty of the scoring charts.
Looking further up, if Li Mingyu scored one more goal, he would reach 11th place. Two more goals would send him straight into the top ten.
Others had needed a whole season just to break into the top ten. Li Mingyu might need only three matches.
"In our next match, we'll face Osasuna at home. They're in mid-table right now, but they need a win to pull clear of the relegation zone. So this match won't be as easy as we might think!"
Seeing how relaxed everyone looked, Koeman furrowed his brow and said sternly, "It's only been a few days since the Huesca match. Have you forgotten? If not for Li's hat trick, all of Spain would be laughing at us by now!"
Li Mingyu was caught off guard when he suddenly got called out.
When he saw everyone looking at him, he gave them a slightly silly grin.
Seeing everyone perk up, Koeman nodded with satisfaction. "Messi will be back in the starting lineup tomorrow. Li, you'll be on the bench for this one!"
Li Mingyu was a little unhappy, but he still acknowledged the decision.
The corner of Koeman's mouth lifted slightly. It was normal for a young man to have a temper.
But now that he was in charge of Barca, starting Li Mingyu last match had been a stopgap measure. He couldn't leave a whole group of highly paid forwards on the bench just to pick Li Mingyu, who had only just signed.
If Li Mingyu could keep up his performances from the previous two matches, that would be fine. But if he played averagely, it would be bad for Koeman, the team, and Li Mingyu himself.
Young players still needed to wait for their chance to come.
Although he hadn't made the starting lineup, Li Mingyu didn't slack off at training. If anything, he worked even harder.
With Li Mingyu in the reserves, the first team's back line finally got a taste of what the Huesca and Sevilla defenders had gone through.
That feeling wasn't unfamiliar, though. Real Madrid had a pacey attacking player like him: Bale.
Back in the day, Barca had been one of Bale's victims.
In the 2013–14 Copa del Rey final, Bale had raced around the outside, passed the ball to his future self five seconds later, surged past Barca's center-back from the touchline, and scored from a tight angle to seal Barca's fate.
Like a demon, Bale had made every team in La Liga pay special attention to "the Welsh Dragon" whenever they faced Real Madrid.
But Bale had long since lost his former glory. Who would have thought that a young Chinese-born player would take over "the Welsh Dragon's" keys and race across La Liga once again?
March 7, 2021, 10:00 p.m. local time in Spain.
Camp Nou was packed to capacity.
The stands were a sea of red and blue.
The two big wins had once again given Barca fans hope of winning the league title, and excitement swept over Camp Nou.
Li Mingyu sat on the bench, looking glum.
Koeman stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, wearing a deeply troubled expression.
The whistle blew, and the match began.
Osasuna had scored just 23 goals in total, while Messi alone had scored 19. The two teams' attacking strength wasn't even in the same league.
So Osasuna started resolutely, defending with their entire team.
But Barca were used to facing this sort of parked-bus defense and handled it with ease.
After sitting out one match through suspension, Messi was eager to attack. Just five minutes into the game, he had already shaken off defenders twice outside the box and taken two impressive long-range shots, though neither was particularly well struck.
The opposing goalkeeper was furious. As an experienced player, he knew Messi was trying to find his shooting touch. If they let him have another one or two chances, his team would probably concede.
Osasuna simply couldn't put together a decent attack against Barca.
Whenever they lost the ball, Barca pressed immediately to win it back, making life miserable for Osasuna.
Osasuna would often hold the ball for less than ten seconds before losing possession.
Possession: 81%–19%.
That was utterly overwhelming.
But football wasn't about who had the ball longer. In the end, it came down to scoring goals.
Barca kept moving the ball around in the opposition's final third. Starting on the left, they stretched the defense, then worked the ball through midfield and passed it to the right, making full use of the width of the pitch and forcing Osasuna's players to run themselves ragged.
Given enough time, even the tightest defense would eventually show a tiny opening.
For years, Barca had dominated matches with attacks that flowed like mercury.
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