Chapter 837 - 150: Wondergoal! Advancing to the Semi-Finals! Disruptor Wang Shuo! Bloody Battle at Camp Nou! Classic Goal Fest!

If one were to map out every passing route Bar?a executed during a match, the result would be a dense, overlapping web. And within these intricate passing chains, there are always crucial nodes. Sometimes the node is Busquets, while other times it might be Harvey, Pique, Messi, or Iniesta.

What made Bar?a so incredibly difficult to withstand was that their passing and possession game operated as a cohesive system, rather than relying on individual brilliance. Yet, Wang Shuo always seemed capable of instantly pinpointing that exact node. Just a moment ago, for instance, he had aggressively pressed Busquets, forcing a backpass before immediately sprinting to close down Pique.

It was an incredibly intangible sense of anticipation, but Guardiola believed in it completely.

"He’s truly going all out! He fights for absolutely every ball!" Guardiola sighed. Deep down, he even found himself envying Wenger a little.

Arsenal didn’t dare challenge Bar?a for possession, which was exactly why Wang Shuo needed to run so relentlessly. But on the flip side, what if he had joined Bar?a? With his incredible work rate, just imagine the astonishing heights their passing system could reach. Combined with his scoring prowess, pairing him alongside Messi would create an unstoppable duo. Bar?a would be absolutely invincible!

In the eighty-seventh minute, just as Bar?a completed a steal near an opposing midfielder and Harvey took the ball to launch a rapid counterattack, Wang Shuo suddenly appeared right beside him. With a forceful shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, he bodily knocked Harvey off the ball.

Wang Shuo’s physique was considered merely average in the Premier League—sturdy enough to hold his own, but nothing extraordinary. However, when it came to bullying this group of diminutive Bar?a players, it was a piece of cake. He outmuscled them with zero difficulty.

Referee Eriksen immediately blew his whistle. Foul! Free kick!

This sent Guardiola into a roaring fit on the sidelines.

"That’s a yellow card! You have to give him a yellow at the very least!

"That was a cynical tactical foul!"

The Bar?a players immediately surrounded the referee to protest. However, just late last August, UEFA had officially announced a strict ban on players mobbing referees. Because of this, the Bar?a players kept their pressure somewhat restrained, not daring to be too blatant about it.

Eriksen firmly stood his ground, emphasizing that it was merely a physical challenge and that Wang Shuo’s clear intention was to win the ball. The underlying implication was obvious: if they were tough enough, they shouldn’t go flying the second someone bumped into them. Did losing a physical challenge automatically warrant a yellow card for the opponent? If that were the case, they might as well just flop to the ground at the slightest hint of contact and get the entire opposing team sent off. They might as well just make a living out of flopping! It simply made no sense.

Despite the referee’s ruling, everyone could plainly see that this had been a golden opportunity for a Bar?a counterattack. Bar?a had four players committed forward; Iniesta, Fabregas, Messi, and Sanchez had all been perfectly positioned to launch a rapid break. Meanwhile, Arsenal was caught in the middle of transitioning from attack to defense. Their fullbacks hadn’t tracked back yet, and their defensive formation was completely out of position. If Bar?a had managed to push into their final third, it would have been incredibly dangerous.

Yet, at that critical, do-or-die moment, Wang Shuo had stepped up and perfectly neutralized Harvey. The most frustrating part for Bar?a was that after knocking him over, Wang Shuo calmly walked up, extended a hand in a show of goodwill, and tried to help Harvey to his feet.

Seeing this, a furious Fabregas sprinted back from the front line and violently shoved Wang Shuo away. This aggressive action instantly triggered a deafening chorus of boos from the fans inside Emirates Stadium. The crowd felt they had already been polite enough by not booing him relentlessly from the start, and now he had the audacity to shove their beloved Wang Shuo? Did he want to make it back to Spain in one piece or not?

"What are you doing?" Messi intervened at the critical moment, grabbing Fabregas and physically separating him from Wang Shuo.

"This guy is acting all innocent after committing a cynical foul!" Fabregas was truly losing his temper.

One of the main reasons he had left Arsenal to return to Bar?a was to win trophies. He had genuinely believed that he could never win titles while playing for the Gunners. But who could have anticipated that the moment he left, the Gunners would instantly be on the verge of winning the Premier League? Now, they were even threatening to snipe Bar?a out of the Champions League. How could he not be furious?

"Are you crazy? If he had taken the opportunity to flop to the ground, you’d be looking at a straight red card right now!" Messi forcefully shoved Fabregas back.

That single sentence was like a bucket of ice water dumped over the heads of every Bar?a player on the pitch. Was this sort of theatrical routine unfamiliar to them? Not at all—it was a tactic Bar?a used frequently! They knew full well that fans absolutely despised these underhanded antics. But wasn’t professional football all about putting victory above all else? Doing whatever it took to secure a win—wasn’t that the true morality of a professional player?

Yet, hearing Messi put it so bluntly left the entire Bar?a squad feeling a profound sense of shame. When it came to sportsmanship, Wang Shuo’s impeccable reputation was universally recognized!

The moment this realization set in, the Bar?a players felt as though the last of their strength had been siphoned away. A heavy, overwhelming wave of exhaustion washed over their bodies. They were losing the match, their legs were giving out, and to make matters worse, their opponents were winning entirely fair and square!

This collective deflation meant that in the final few minutes of the match, Bar?a failed to generate a single threatening attack. It was clear that they had resigned themselves to deciding the tie in the second leg.

Ultimately, referee Eriksen blew his whistle to signal the end of the match.

1-0!

Thanks to Wang Shuo’s spectacular opening bicycle kick, the Gunners secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Bar?a in the first leg on their home turf!

The moment the final whistle echoed through the stadium, Wang Shuo stopped in his tracks and stood rooted to the spot. In truth, he was utterly exhausted. Even with the enhancements from the Ball God System, all that relentless running still drained his stamina. He still experienced the burning fatigue, and he still felt the temptation to just give up. Playing against a team like Bar?a—chasing the ball while facing a massive deficit in possession—was simply too draining!

After the whistle blew, scattered applause and cheers began to ripple through Emirates Stadium. Then, like a contagion, the noise rapidly spread until it engulfed the entire venue. Finally, all sixty thousand Gunners fans in the stands rose to their feet in a thunderous standing ovation, cheering wildly.

"The match is over!

"1-0!

"Arsenal has successfully defended this excellent scoreline, denying Bar?a a crucial away goal here on their home turf!"