Li Mingyu heard a ripping sound too, but he was already sprinting and didn't have time to think about it.
Now, all he could see was Real Madrid's goal.
All he wanted was to score!
When center-back Varane saw Vazquez fall to the ground and Li Mingyu charge toward him as if riding on a cloud, he cursed under his breath and hurried over to defend.
But once Li Mingyu had built up speed, there was no stopping him.
Unless they fouled him.
But Li Mingyu had already stepped into the penalty area. Varane was wary of giving away a penalty and didn't dare foul him, so he could only hold his defensive position.
Li Mingyu showed no sign of slowing down as he raced forward. He struck a low, curling shot with the inside of his right foot. The ball flew past Varane's leg in a beautiful arc, heading straight for goal.
Varane completely blocked Courtois's view. By the time Courtois saw the ball, it was already too late. He could only fling out an arm and watch it fly into the net behind him.
0–1. At Real Madrid's home ground, the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Barcelona had taken the lead.
In the third minute, Li Mingyu went on a solo run and scored his first goal in El Clasico.
The Real Madrid fans fell instantly silent.
After Li Mingyu had beaten Valverde with a Marseille Turn in midfield, the Real Madrid fans hadn't stopped booing, hoping their deafening jeers would get to him.
But Li Mingyu had shut out everything around him, focused only on scoring against Real Madrid. Their jeers hadn't affected him at all. He accelerated in a straight line, leaving the charging full-back behind, then burst into the penalty area and, without even taking a moment to set himself against the defender, fired off a low shot that pierced Real Madrid's goal.
Clean and decisive. From receiving the ball to shooting, it had taken Li Mingyu less than ten seconds. The whole move had flowed seamlessly. It was terrifying.
But the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium stayed quiet for less than three seconds before erupting like a volcano. The earth-shaking boos made Chinese fans still watching TV in the middle of the night quickly turn down the volume.
After scoring, Li Mingyu stood frozen in place, unsure what to do.
He could hardly believe he had just scored against Real Madrid.
Li Mingyu had already scored 19 goals, many of them spectacular, but this one felt special.
A goal in El Clasico, scored under the eyes of the entire world. Li Mingyu was overcome with happiness.
As a Barcelona player, what could be better than scoring against Real Madrid?
Before Li Mingyu could roar in celebration, he felt a tremendous force hit him from behind, accompanied by Griezmann's excited shout: "Li, you're incredible!"
After Li Mingyu had dribbled past a player in midfield, Griezmann and Messi had raced forward in his wake. But both of them had watched in disbelief as Li Mingyu got past Vazquez and scored a spectacular goal worthy of El Clasico's history books, as if some demon god had descended.
Griezmann ran over to Li Mingyu like an excited child, leaped onto his back, and celebrated wildly.
The Barcelona players came sprinting over from their own half, celebrating like mad.
Even goalkeeper Ter Stegen, who hadn't touched the ball yet, ran all the way over and lifted his foot, ready to give Li Mingyu a kick in the backside.
Li Mingyu was already surrounded by his teammates. They had long since put him through the whole celebratory routine.
When they finally moved away, Li Mingyu felt a cool breeze behind him. Still haunted by the earlier incident, he hopped aside and dodged Ter Stegen's sneaky kick.
Li Mingyu turned around and looked at Ter Stegen, whose foot was still in the air. "What are you doing?"
Ter Stegen froze too. He lifted his foot higher and gave it a little shake. "Li, look at these shoes. Do you think they're nice?"
After Li Mingyu glared at him, Ter Stegen awkwardly ran back to his own half.
Watching Barcelona's players act so "arrogantly" in their home stadium, the Bernabeu fans were furious. Deafening boos rang out through the stadium.
Real Madrid's players stood in the center circle, scowling as they waited for Barcelona's players to return so they could restart the game.
But the referee ran over to Li Mingyu, pointed behind him, and gestured for him to leave the pitch immediately.
Li Mingyu felt around and discovered a huge tear in his jersey.
There was nothing for it. He had to go to the sideline and change into a spare jersey.
The whistle blew, and Real Madrid launched an attack like a pack of wolves.
Sure enough, after the ball was passed back, it went straight to Valverde.
Real Madrid's main attacking outlet today was the right wing.
Valverde looked at Li Mingyu, his expression sour. He was partly to blame for the goal they had just conceded.
He had been the first line of defense against Li Mingyu, but Li Mingyu had beaten him far too easily. That had left Vazquez out of position to defend.
Valverde looked at Li Mingyu, who was braced and ready, and a disdainful smile flickered at the corner of his mouth.
Valverde faked a move toward the wing, but Li Mingyu didn't budge, as if he had seen right through him.
Valverde turned the feint into a real move, knocking the ball ahead and trying to slip past Li Mingyu.
Li Mingyu's defensive skills might have been average, but he saw right through this kind of reckless dribble.
The man went past, but the ball didn't.
Valverde slipped past Li Mingyu, but Li Mingyu stuck out a foot and stopped the ball.
The attack switched hands.
After winning the ball, Li Mingyu immediately nudged it forward and entered the opposition's half.
Real Madrid hadn't expected Valverde to lose the ball so easily.
Li Mingyu's counterattack gathered speed in an instant.
Real Madrid's defenders were quick to retreat as well.
Three players had already begun closing in on Li Mingyu.
This time, Li Mingyu couldn't easily break through the opposition's defense. Two defenders pinched him between them and forced him toward the touchline.
Li Mingyu leaned his body against Varane and kept the ball under his right foot, shielding it from the defender's challenge.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Li Mingyu spotted someone in a yellow jersey nearby. Without even checking who it was, he deftly flicked the ball with his heel, sending it between Varane's legs.
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