Gaining a Huge Improvement, Sideline Skills (Seeking Collection, Seeking Recommendation)

The first half came to an end.

The score was locked at 3:0.

Although Athletic Bilbao was down a man, their desperate defensive maneuvers and tenacious spirit kept FC Barcelona from adding to their tally during the final ten minutes of the half.

What shocked Li Mingyu the most was that even when the team was backed into a corner, the fans in the stands never stopped singing, their cheers of encouragement rising one after another.

What kind of team was this?

Most La Liga teams would have essentially surrendered by this point.

But for Athletic Bilbao, even if you score a mountain of goals against us, we are going to bite a piece of flesh off you before we go down.

Back in the locker room.

Koeman specifically instructed everyone to ease off a little in the second half.

After all, the fouls Li Mingyu suffered in the previous match still left Koeman feeling lingering fear.

With the current score and momentum, the match was essentially in the bag, and there was no need to risk life and limb in the second half.

Messi's temper had also cooled down; with three goals and an opponent sent off, he felt satisfied.

The fifteen-minute break passed in a flash.

The referee blew his whistle.

The sides switched ends to resume the battle.

It was clear that FC Barcelona's attack had slowed down.

However, Athletic Bilbao did not take the bait; the tiger refused to leave its den.

FC Barcelona, passing the ball around in midfield, felt somewhat awkward as they watched Athletic Bilbao refuse to press forward.

Amidst the thunderous jeers of the home crowd, FC Barcelona had no choice but to push their attacking line forward again.

However, the players in the front court clearly felt that Athletic Bilbao's defense had become incredibly aggressive.

"They are made of porcelain; they don't dare to go toe-to-toe with us. In the second half, I need your defense to be tough. I don't believe the referee would dare to send you all off!"

"In the second half, I want to make sure they don't dare to enter our penalty area!"

"You must remember, this is San Mames Stadium; this is the territory of the Basque people."

"Have you all forgotten how we beat them here two months ago?"

"What does being a man down matter? We Basque people have never been afraid of a fight!"

"Let them witness the mettle of the Basque people!"

During the halftime break, Athletic Bilbao's manager Marcelino shouted in a fit of rage.

A deafening roar erupted from the home team's locker room, echoing the chants of the fans in the stadium.

Faced with such tough defensive tactics, FC Barcelona did indeed become somewhat timid.

In attack, FC Barcelona simply could not organize any forward momentum.

Even Dembele, who had performed exceptionally well in the first half, stopped attempting reckless dribbles after being ruthlessly brought to the ground twice in the second half.

On the sidelines, Koeman watched the situation on the pitch, his brows furrowed tightly.

With Dembele neutralized, Messi felt isolated. After several failed attacks, he began to grow impatient and started attempting long-range shots.

But world-class screamers aren't something you can just conjure up at will.

After one long-range effort sailed several meters over the crossbar, Messi kicked the turf hard and spat on the ground.

In the 70th minute of the second half, Koeman made his first tactical adjustment.

Li Mingyu replaced Dembele, who had lost his desire to attack, and took up the position of left winger.

[Congratulations to the host, successful check-in at San Mames Stadium. Obtained the wing skills of Athletic Bilbao legend Lizarazu.]

Attacking Ability: 85(92)--86(93)
Ball Control: 80(85)--82(87)
Dribbling: 80(92)--82(93)
Speed: 88(99)--89(99)
Passing: 80(85)--82(87)
Explosiveness: 80(85)--82(87)
Physical Contact: 70(80)--73(82)
Strength: 75(80)--77(83)
Stamina: 70(75)--75(80)
Defensive Ability: 40(50)--60(80)
Tackling: 50(60)--60(75)

This time, the skill upgrade obtained was incredibly comprehensive. After all, Lizarazu was a remarkably well-rounded player himself.

Lizarazu, a Frenchman, held down the left-back position for the French national team for years, standing as one of the best left-backs in the world at the time and a player who had achieved a Grand Slam of football honors.

Although Lizarazu was French, his appearance for Athletic Bilbao was not because the team had abandoned its traditions, but because Lizarazu was, in fact, one of the Basque people.

The place where Lizarazu was born, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, is only about a twenty-minute drive from the Basque region of Spain.

This is the reason why Lizarazu, despite being French, appeared in the Athletic Bilbao squad.

In the past, Li Mingyu had always played as a center-forward, whether in the youth team or the reserve team.

However, upon arriving at the Barcelona first team, the central positions were firmly occupied by Griezmann and Messi, leaving him to roam the flanks.

Yet, he still preferred to cut inside toward the center; he lacked the natural instincts of a winger and often found his positioning overlapping with his teammates.

But when he acquired the flank attacking skills of Lizarazu, a golden path suddenly appeared beneath his feet.

As soon as he stepped onto the pitch, Li Mingyu received a pass from the midfielder De Jong.

Because the team had been somewhat hesitant to attack due to the opponent's defense, Messi had retreated to his familiar right flank, leaving the center to Griezmann.

Seeing Li Mingyu on the ball, Griezmann drifted over, preparing to offer support.

But Li Mingyu sensed that the opposing full-back had let his guard down.

After all, he had already made it clear to Barcelona with his aggressive defense: "This side is closed."

Little did he know, someone like Li Mingyu was a newborn calf that did not fear the tiger.

Having sat on the bench for 70 minutes, Li Mingyu felt as though he had gone numb.

The moment he entered the game, Li Mingyu began to charge at the opponent's defensive line with the ball.

Lekue, the right-back for Athletic Bilbao, sneered upon seeing Li Mingyu dare to confront him so brazenly, preparing to hit him hard and show him that this path was a dead end.

Before the match, Lekue knew he would have to face two opposing players: Dembele and Li Mingyu, who might come off the bench.

Both were fast players, but to Lekue, although Li Mingyu was becoming increasingly famous, Dembele was clearly more difficult to handle, as Dembele was more well-rounded.

He was also very familiar with Li Mingyu's attacking patterns; most of the time, he would cut inside, with his attempts to go down the flank being few and far between, and his passing technique could only be described as average.

Therefore, Lekue directly blocked Li Mingyu's path to cut inside, hoping to force him toward the sideline, where he could compress his space and wait for an opportunity to steal the ball.