Messi was a little curious too, but he thought Li Mingyu was going to shield him, so he waved him forward. There might be a chance for a second attack!
With his back to the defenders, Li Mingyu muttered something under his breath.
Messi's eyes widened, and a surprised smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Messi gave a slight nod. His expression didn't change as he took a few steps back.
Real Madrid's defenders all grew more alert. In today's footballing world, Messi's free-kick ability was unquestionably among the top three.
It was just that Messi's spectacular goals from open play had overshadowed his free kicks.
What left Real Madrid's players at a loss, however, was that Li Mingyu had also positioned himself in front of the ball, standing very close to it. If he were to take the kick, he'd have room for only one step before striking it. That would require tremendous explosive power in his legs.
Usually, only indirect free kicks had a player standing in front of the ball. Generally, two players would work together: one would tap it, the other would step on it, and then the designated kicker would shoot directly.
So Real Madrid's players didn't give Li Mingyu a second thought. They focused all their attention on Messi, who wore a determined expression.
As usual, Messi lowered his head slightly, his eyes scanning the opposing wall like a hawk.
But Real Madrid's players didn't realize that Messi was standing a meter farther from the ball than he usually did when taking a free kick.
After all, most players kept the same distance from the ball every time they took a penalty or a free kick. They needed to use the run-up they knew best to strike the ball comfortably.
Real Madrid had studied Messi closely, but in such a tense moment, details this small were genuinely hard to notice.
The referee blew his whistle, signaling that Barcelona could take the free kick.
At once, the defenders in the wall and the goalkeeper focused intently on Messi as he began his approach.
With a bang, Real Madrid's players and goalkeeper stared in bewilderment as the ball curled around the edge of the wall and flew into the near corner of the net.
The wall hadn't moved at all. Neither had the goalkeeper.
Messi was still running, about two meters from the spot where the ball had been placed.
But the ball was already in!
"Let's take a look at this free kick. The position is a little off-center, but for a left-footed player like Messi, it's a very good spot."
"Li Mingyu is standing in front of the ball too. Looks like he's going to shield Messi, but he's standing a little too close. He might interfere with Messi's shot!"
"The referee blows his whistle, and Messi starts his run-up. Let's see—wait! That's not right. How did the ball go in?"
"My God, it was Li Mingyu! It really was Li Mingyu! He launched a 'Pearl Harbor Attack' on Real Madrid! Let's take a look at the replay. My goodness, Li Mingyu struck the ball without even taking a step. It traced a beautiful arc, sailing past Ramos's ear. Look at Ramos's expression—haha, he's completely stunned, just watching the ball pass his ear and tuck inside the post. Courtois still hadn't reacted even after the ball crossed the line!"
"That was a sneaky shot from Li Mingyu. He took advantage of Real Madrid's lapse in concentration. They'd focused all their attention on Messi, and he stole a goal. But there's no denying it was a beautiful strike!"
"In the fortieth minute of the first half, Li Mingyu scored from a free kick to complete his hat trick. If I'm not mistaken, he's only 19 years, 3 months, and 23 days old. He's broken the record for the youngest player to score a hat trick in El Clasico. Some of you may remember that Messi completed a hat trick in El Clasico at the age of 19 years, 8 months, and 26 days. But that wasn't the youngest record. That goes back more than a century, to a match in 1916, when Barcelona drew 6–6 with Real Madrid. Barcelona legend Alcantara scored a hat trick, the first recorded hat trick in El Clasico history. He was just 19 years, 6 months, and 7 days old. Today, that record, which had stood for more than a hundred years, has finally been broken. The new record holder is Li Mingyu!"
"Li Mingyu is terrifying—a cold-blooded killer who cleverly took advantage of Real Madrid underestimating him. That brilliant free kick has sent Real Madrid plunging into the abyss!"
After scoring, Li Mingyu didn't celebrate wildly. Instead, he raised both hands high and stared domineeringly at the Real Madrid fans across the stadium.
For a moment, the entire Santiago Bernabeu fell silent. The Real Madrid fans watched this arrogant young man celebrate on their home turf, their hearts aching with bitterness.
If our Cristiano Ronaldo were still here, how could you act so cocky?
Damn it, Real Madrid president Florentino had really screwed them over!
In the VIP box, Florentino coldly watched the Barcelona players celebrating below. Beside him, Barcelona president Laporta gave him a restrained little gesture with his glass of red wine.
Florentino forced a smile. As he watched Li Mingyu surrounded by Barcelona players, who were ruffling his hair, patting his back, and kicking his backside, a steely look of determination flashed across his face.
Laporta saw what Florentino was planning and felt a little uneasy.
A €180 million release clause was nothing to Florentino. And the player would be poached from Barcelona, their bitter rivals. It would weaken Barcelona and strengthen his own team. For €180 million, it was a bargain!
Florentino had already made up his mind. As soon as the match was over, he would send someone to approach Li Mingyu. He would offer him a contract too tempting to refuse.
Cristiano Ronaldo's departure had brought Florentino a storm of criticism and immense pressure. But at the start of the year, he and head coach Zidane had announced that they would bring Haaland from Bundesliga side Dortmund to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Erling Haaland was Norwegian and currently played for Bundesliga powerhouse Dortmund.
Last month, UEFA compiled a list of the youngest players in Champions League history to score 20 goals.
Haaland topped the list at 20 years and 226 days old.
In the Champions League round-of-16 tie that had just ended, Haaland scored twice in each leg, home and away, helping his team defeat Sevilla. He also became the seventh player since the competition's reformatting to score at least four goals across both legs of a round-of-16 tie.
If Li Mingyu hadn't burst onto the scene, Haaland would have been the hottest young prospect in football right now!
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