After scoring, Li Mingyu didn't celebrate. He noticed that all the Real Madrid players had gathered in Barcelona's penalty area, looking as if they were about to start a fight.
After signaling that Li Mingyu's goal counted, the referee immediately sprinted toward Barca's half again.
Referee: Damn it, do I have it easy? They keep giving me trouble!
The referee had been just outside Barca's penalty area and was jogging toward the halfway line when Li Mingyu scored. He couldn't help thinking how fast the kid was.
Only after the assistant referee alerted him did the referee realize that the Real Madrid players were already shoving Barcelona's players inside the penalty area.
The referee hurried back to Barcelona's half. That sprint left him badly out of breath.
In the penalty area, Ramos and Busquets were both clutching their arms and groaning on the ground.
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they'd both broken their arms!
But the experienced referee could tell at a glance that they were faking it. Damn, they were trying to con him!
Meanwhile, the Real Madrid players wouldn't leave Messi alone. They were accusing him of seeing someone injured and failing to kick the ball out, continuing to attack instead.
Messi couldn't be bothered with the furious Real Madrid players. He shook his head dismissively.
We scored, and the referee allowed the goal. What's the point of bringing this up now?
Besides, your players weren't the only ones injured. One of ours was down too. The chances were even, and there was nothing wrong with me attacking!
After hearing what had happened, the referee motioned for both teams' medical staff to come onto the pitch and check on the two actors before their injuries had a chance to heal.
Busquets was completely fine, of course. He'd been defending, and he was the one who'd used force.
Ramos, on the other hand, was in a bit of a state. His arm wasn't broken, but someone had twisted it while trapping it. That really did hurt!
When Ramos learned that the referee hadn't called a foul or awarded his team a penalty—and that the other side had scored on a quick counterattack—he completely lost it.
Ignoring the team doctor's attempts to stop him, Ramos rushed straight up to the referee, raised his arm, and said, "That was a fucking penalty! It's a miracle Busquets didn't tear my arm off! Look at it! I'm telling you, check VAR. That was definitely a penalty!"
The referee remained unmoved. He held out both hands, signaling for Ramos to calm down. "I hope you can settle down. The video assistant referee hasn't given me any indication, so there was nothing wrong with the play."
When Ramos kept arguing, the referee put a hand to the pocket on his chest and gave him a look that said, Keep running your mouth and I'll show you no mercy.
Seeing that he was about to get a yellow card if he kept it up, Ramos gave an exaggerated, unhappy wave of his hand and turned away.
Just then, Li Mingyu ran back into his own half.
Ramos walked up to him with a vicious look. Covering his mouth with one hand, he whispered, "Yellow-skinned monkey, looks like you haven't learned your lesson. Watch yourself from now on. Don't you dare give me an opening!"
Li Mingyu furrowed his brow and stared coldly at him. "I'll remember every word you just said."
Seeing the two of them arguing, Barca's players rushed over to protect their young teammate, who had just done them proud.
Ramos quickly started working his arm and left Barcelona's half.
That earlier incident hadn't injured him, but his arm had been twisted, and it still hurt quite a bit.
When Li Mingyu returned, Barca's players quickly crowded around him and celebrated wildly.
Even Messi, in his seventeen years with Barcelona, had never scored four goals against Real Madrid.
Li Mingyu had just done the unthinkable. In the long history of El Clasico, only Marti Ventolra of Barcelona had ever scored a poker, back in 1935.
Now Li Mingyu had joined him in that honor.
Looking thoroughly annoyed, Li Mingyu fixed his hair, rubbed his sore backside, and glared at every Barcelona player in turn.
Who was this butt-kicking fiend, anyway?
Play resumed.
Real Madrid's morale had taken a serious hit. They hadn't scored early on; instead, their opponents had caught them off guard. Now, trailing 0–4, the Real Madrid players were losing their composure.
One side had lost its composure and didn't know what to do, in either attack or defense.
The other was playing freely and in high spirits.
As the match went on, Real Madrid began making more mistakes. They also started committing more fouls after those mistakes, most of them aimed at the players themselves.
The referee became the busiest person on the pitch, appearing everywhere as his whistle kept interrupting the flow of the game.
The Yellow Gem War God Cards kept coming out. In twenty minutes, five Real Madrid players had received the blessing of a Yellow Gem War God Card, while two Barca players had received one as well.
But those seven Yellow Gem War God Cards did nothing to cool tempers on either side. The hostility only grew.
After Messi beat him with a dribble, Marcelo let his anger get the better of him. He came in from the side and behind and kicked Messi's heel, bringing him crashing to the ground.
A deafening chorus of boos erupted from the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. It wasn't clear who they were directed at!
Messi clutched his ankle, his face pale as beads of sweat broke out across his forehead.
Li Mingyu sprinted over from the other side of the pitch and crouched beside Messi, asking anxiously, "Captain, are you okay?"
Messi couldn't answer. The pain made him pound the ground hard with his other hand.
Oh no. It looked like he was badly hurt!
The referee was right there. Before the Barca players could crowd around, he pulled a Red Gem Promotion Card from his pocket and sent Marcelo straight to the locker room.
Marcelo knew he'd made everyone furious. He charged out through the crowd and ran toward the locker room.
Seeing Marcelo run off, Li Mingyu sprang up, furious, and was about to chase after him and beat him up. De Jong grabbed him tightly and held him back.
"Li, the captain is already injured. If you get sent off too, we're finished!"
Though De Jong hated Real Madrid, he had to keep his cool now.
Messi was down. Li Mingyu was Barcelona's only hope!
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