Athletic Bilbao.
Spain's most distinctive team.
The 39,750-capacity San Mames Stadium welcomed a fired-up FC Barcelona.
The stadium was packed to the rafters.
As one of Europe's most renowned fortress grounds, Athletic Bilbao's fans feared no opponent. Even against the in-form FC Barcelona, their songs held not a hint of retreat.
In the away team's dressing room, Li Mingyu listened to the deafening chants and shouts outside. A chill ran down his spine.
Athletic Bilbao's home ground truly lived up to its reputation.
The other players, however, looked unruffled. They were used to it.
They came to this stadium at least once every year. Besides, they were FC Barcelona. A scene like this would never scare them.
Messi stepped forward, his gaze firm. "Two months ago, right here, we lost our first trophy of the year. They took away an honor that should have been ours through despicable means. Of course, I was at fault."
Messi looked around at his teammates, some seated and some standing. The fury in his eyes seemed ready to set the whole world ablaze. He said coldly, "This time, we've returned to San Mames Stadium. We'll prove here that FC Barcelona will never fall twice in the same place."
"Barca cannot be humiliated!"
The players all sprang to their feet, fired up, and shouted, "Barca cannot be humiliated!"
Li Mingyu pumped his fist excitedly, his face flushed as he joined in.
Koeman, standing outside the door, smiled with satisfaction. It looked like the team was united and its morale was high.
After the noise inside had died down, Koeman gently pushed open the dressing-room door and walked in with his assistants.
"Today's lineup is unchanged. We'll stick to the tactics we discussed earlier, so I won't say much more. Warriors, go take back what you lost!"
Koeman clapped his hands, rallying the team.
The players let out a series of excited shouts. The atmosphere in the team was excellent.
At 8:00 p.m., the referee's whistle signaled the start of this eagerly anticipated match.
Seated on the bench, Li Mingyu nervously chewed his fingernails as he watched the action with excitement.
Athletic Bilbao's tactics were simple and direct. From the opening whistle, they retreated into their own half and set up a defensive wall.
After all, Athletic Bilbao were eighth in the league and had a chance to break into the top six and qualify for European competition.
But they were still very cautious against FC Barcelona. Their Spanish Super Cup win over them last time hadn't made them think they could now go toe-to-toe with their opponents.
Still, their defense against FC Barcelona's spearhead, Messi, was as blunt and physical as ever.
In the previous match, Messi had let the opponent's taunts get under his skin and made the wrong choice, costing his team the game.
This time, Messi stayed calm. He rarely held onto the ball, releasing it with one touch and giving his opponents no chance to close in on him.
That left Athletic Bilbao's defense at a loss.
After all, fouling someone who had the ball was a very different matter from fouling someone without it.
Messi roamed all over the opposition's half, throwing their defensive line into disarray, but he didn't hold onto the ball for long. He simply laid it off with a quick pass.
This left Athletic Bilbao's defense without a clear focus.
Sure enough, ten minutes into the match, Messi dropped back to receive the ball, and Athletic Bilbao's defensive midfielder, Garcia, hurried after him.
Messi suddenly laid the ball off, then made a run in the opposite direction, leaving Garcia behind.
Garcia was caught off guard. Messi hadn't shown any attacking intent until then, so his sudden burst had taken Garcia by surprise.
FC Barcelona's attack sprang to life. De Jong received Messi's return pass and immediately chipped the ball over Garcia's head. Messi arrived right on cue, stretched out a foot, and brought the ball under control.
Garcia turned to chase him, but Messi had already accelerated toward Athletic Bilbao's back line.
The defensive midfielder was out of position.
That was the most dangerous situation on the pitch.
Without a defensive midfielder, the back line was left facing the opposing attackers directly.
It put the defenders in an impossible position.
Athletic Bilbao's two center-backs were no different. Seeing Messi charging toward them, they had no choice but to step up.
Balenziaga shouted, "Nunez, go! Force him to the right. Don't let him cut inside!"
Everyone knew Messi's left foot was unmatched. So if they could force him onto his right, they'd have done half the defensive work.
But to everyone's surprise, after receiving the ball, Messi took one touch toward the middle. With the goal still nearly forty meters away, he struck.
Balenziaga and Nunez heard a sound like a crack of thunder.
"BOMM!"
The ball shot past them in a flash.
They turned around in alarm, just in time to see their goalkeeper rooted to the spot. The ball had already thundered into the net, sending up a white spray.
The entire stadium fell silent in an instant.
Everyone stared in disbelief at Messi, standing tall with clenched fists as he roared.
A world-class screamer.
With that strike, Messi unleashed all the fury he'd bottled up for two months.
Barca's players charged toward Messi as if they'd gone wild, surrounding him. They didn't kick him in the butt like they did Li Mingyu, of course, but ruffling his hair and slapping his back were fair game.
The moment Messi took that touch, Li Mingyu had already risen from his seat on the bench. He'd somehow sensed that Messi was about to shoot.
Sure enough, the worldie sent a shiver through Li Mingyu and set the whole stadium ablaze.
Li Mingyu pumped his fist, shouting a string of nonsense even he didn't understand.
"Unbelievable!"
"Holy crap!"
"Messi, you're a beast!"
Right from the start, Messi had delivered a crushing warning to Athletic Bilbao.
With that strike, he announced his return.
After the restart, Messi charged back into the match, burning with determination as he continued to dominate the opposition's half.
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