After 34 rounds, there had been no changes among the top teams in La Liga.
Atletico Madrid had 26 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses, with 83 points, putting them in first place.
Barcelona had 25 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses, with 80 points, putting them in second place.
Real Madrid had 22 wins, 7 draws, and 5 losses, with 73 points, putting them in third place.
After losing this El Clasico, Real Madrid had essentially lost any chance of winning the league title. All they could do now was focus wholeheartedly on the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, had maintained their usual consistency, beating Real Sociedad 1–0 away and keeping their place at the top of the table.
In the Champions League quarterfinals in midweek, both members of the Madrid Duo had been eliminated at home by late goals from their opponents, drawing fierce criticism from Spanish fans.
Two glaring 0–1 scores.
In the final moments of the match, Liverpool, the Premier League's Reds, had snatched a win and a precious away goal at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with a stunning strike from their king, Salah.
Atletico Madrid had also suffered the same fate in stoppage time, when Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe made a forty-meter solo run to claim a win and an away goal.
For a while, the mood throughout Spanish football was extremely gloomy.
Amid this somber atmosphere, Li Mingyu led FC Barcelona, now without Messi, onto their home field to face the Yellow Submarine, Villarreal.
Villarreal were considered one of La Liga's strong teams. Although they had never won the league title, they had earned a string of honors, including La Liga runners-up, a Champions League semifinal appearance, a Europa League semifinal appearance, and the UEFA Intertoto Cup title. No one could afford to underestimate them.
Villarreal had now climbed to fifth place in the league with three consecutive wins. However, they were still five points behind fourth-place Sevilla, and with only four rounds remaining, their chances of reaching the Champions League were slim.
Still, that motivation meant Villarreal weren't about to give up on attacking against FC Barcelona.
Without Messi, Barcelona had lost a focal point in their attack, and their attacking threat had fallen considerably.
But Messi's absence also brought Barcelona one advantage: their opponents dared to come forward and attack.
In the fifteenth minute of the first half, Li Mingyu received a through ball from De Jong from thirty meters out. After controlling it, he used a Croqueta to leave the opposing defender in the dust. Then, facing the advancing goalkeeper, he pulled off a Pendulum Dribble, sending him sprawling, and calmly slotted the ball home.
After scoring, Li Mingyu proudly patted the blue knee pads on his knee, revealing a smile no one else understood.
Actually, the first time Li Mingyu had used Ronaldo's Pendulum Dribble in a match, his head coach had warned him to avoid doing it too often because it could damage his knees.
Li Mingyu had relied on his youth, but after a few matches, he too had felt the strain on his knees was simply too much. He decided he would never use that move away from home again.
After all, at home, the system protected him, and he would never get injured.
But as the match began today, Li Mingyu heard a familiar voice.
[Congratulations, host, for successfully checking in at Camp Nou. You have received Ibrahimovic's Knee Pads.] [Ibrahimovic's Knee Pads: They provide all-around protection for the host's knees, giving you knees as strong as Ibrahimovic's.]
Great Fengxian!
Holy crap!
This is awesome!
Li Mingyu felt the knee pads fit snugly around his knees, as though some mysterious force were protecting them.
During the match, Li Mingyu found that his legs had even more energy. With sudden stops, sharp turns, and all kinds of tricks, he threw the opposition's flank into chaos.
But Koeman, watching from the sidelines, was on edge. He kept roaring at Li Mingyu, telling him to stop making those dangerous moves that were sending his blood pressure through the roof.
Messi was already injured. If Li Mingyu got injured too, Koeman would probably jump off a building!
Li Mingyu had only just gotten this new gear, so he'd gotten carried away playing with it. After Koeman's furious shouts, he obediently got back to playing properly.
But Li Mingyu playing properly only made Villarreal even more miserable.
With the ball constantly at Li Mingyu's feet, Villarreal's defense had already been able to focus on him.
Now Li Mingyu started moving, supporting his teammates, and passing the ball, and Villarreal's players realized in despair: wasn't this just Messi?
The first goal came right on cue in the fifteenth minute.
In the thirty-fifth minute, Li Mingyu and Griezmann played a quick give-and-go in the middle. Villarreal's defenders stood there like wooden posts, staring blankly as the two exchanged rapid passes. At last, Li Mingyu feinted with his left foot inside the box, sending the final defender tumbling to the ground, then fired a low shot with his right, beating the goalkeeper.
2–0.
In stoppage time at the end of the first half, Li Mingyu had a chance to complete his hat trick.
Griezmann powered his way forward and fired a shot, but the opposing goalkeeper made a spectacular save, pushing the ball out for a corner.
A corner for FC Barcelona.
The referee glanced at his watch and saw that stoppage time was almost over.
De Jong sent in the corner, and chaos erupted in the box. The opposing goalkeeper punched the ball clear.
The referee already had his whistle at his lips, but when he saw the ball flying toward Li Mingyu, he held off on blowing it.
Li Mingyu stood just outside the box. As the ball came toward him, he immediately controlled it with his chest, then, with an opposing defender charging at him, struck a volley.
The ball shot toward the corner of the goal like a cannonball.
The opposing goalkeeper desperately dived for it, but couldn't even reach it with his fingertips.
With a loud bang, the entire Camp Nou let out a collective sigh of disappointment.
The shot had been incredibly precise, striking the junction of the post and crossbar. But it had been just a little too far off, so the ball didn't rebound into play. Instead, it flew high and went out over the end line.
The referee quickly blew the whistle to end the first half.
Li Mingyu shook his head in disappointment and touched the Lucky Bracelet on his wrist.
Had the Lucky Bracelet failed to work this time?
The Villarreal players, who'd narrowly escaped further damage, stared at the young man in alarm. He was terrifying. In the first half alone, Li Mingyu had single-handedly torn their back line apart.
Wasn't this just another Messi?
Good thing the real Messi was injured!
Otherwise, what would it be like to face two Messis? How could anyone play football against that?
Before you continue