"But fortunately, we finally held onto the goal."

On the other side, Chen Zhong also accepted interviews from the media.

Facing the camera, he expressed his confidence for the next match, and at the same time, he regretted not winning this game.

When a reporter mentioned Kanoute and the incident of fans throwing objects, Chen Zhong responded.

"Kanoute?"

"I know him, very memorable, back then I was still a central defender, and I was defending against him. He tried to provoke me, but I didn’t let him succeed."

"At that time, he was much more famous than me, one of the top forwards in the league."

"Of course, now I am also very outstanding."

When mentioning Kanoute, Chen Zhong did not belittle him, because respecting your opponent is also respecting yourself.

When discussing the fans throwing a water bottle at him and why he didn’t fall down, Chen Zhong raised his head and said bluntly, "Why fall down? In fact, I was a bit thirsty at that time!"

...

This match that Real Madrid didn’t win surprised many fans, as they were already used to seeing news of Real Madrid’s victory the next day.

But after watching the highlights or reviewing the match, they felt that in such an unlucky scenario for both teams, either winning or losing seemed normal.

Sevilla had two players injured, while Real Madrid faced a brick-wall defense from Sevilla, making it difficult to deliver a "critical hit" and seal the victory.

To tackle such a bus strategy team, just one goal could change the situation.

However, in this match, Chen Zhong, usually the team’s uncorker, didn’t seem to be the Icebreaker as he used to be.

Of course, some people focused on the issues between Valdano and Mourinho, but this time, Valdano seemed to have become smarter.

Everyone could clearly sense that Real Madrid’s General Manager Valdano wanted to handle his gap with coach Mourinho discreetly.

Facing media interviews, this time the Real Madrid General Manager changed his usual style, stating in front of cameras, "Mourinho seems to want more independent autonomy, and the club intends to meet his demands."

"From my responsibility perspective, it’s important for the club’s internal atmosphere to be harmonious, not tense, allowing the coach to work freely. It’s normal for him to communicate more with the chairman."

"Many times, enemies and opponents are fierce, just like this time when we encountered Sevilla in the King’s Cup."

"Thus, we must concentrate on allowing people at the club to freely demonstrate their abilities, to better realize our goals. Every Real Madrid person doesn’t want to see discordant voices within the club,"

Valdano talked eloquently to the reporters, and what he said made one feel he seemed like a fake Valdano.

If you criticize Mourinho this time for his tactical failure, criticize him for not winning the matches he should, or talk about the team’s operations and so on, then that would be normal, but now, are you surrendering to Mourinho?

Look at this humble tone.

If you have been kidnapped, please blink your eyes, okay?

Regarding the match result, Valdano expressed a satisfied attitude in front of the media, believing that the knockout stages were far from over.

In Sevilla’s home ground, achieving such a score, Valdano thought it was acceptable.

He stated, "We originally had the chance to win, but this result is fair."

"We played very seriously in this match and always controlled the initiative."

"Although we haven’t confirmed progression yet, with the second leg being at home, the fans will help us reach the finals."

Valdano’s remarks also served as a goodwill gesture to the Real Madrid fans, hinting at unleashing a home ground storm at the upcoming match in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Some reporters also discussed the incident where Sevilla fans threw objects at Chen Zhong during the match.

Valdano expressed anger at this and also expressed regret, saying, "We will not allow anyone to harm our players, especially when this player is our captain and leader."

"But this incident’s responsibility lies with the individual who threw the object, not all Sevilla fans."

"Throughout the match, Sevilla fans behaved well, so this is merely an isolated incident."

"I regret this, such things should not happen again."

Finally, Valdano talked about the newly joined Real Madrid forward Adebayor, saying, "Bringing in Adebayor was a decision made after club discussions. Ever since Higuain got injured, we’ve been considering solutions to the striker shortage, and ultimately, we brought in a player the coach likes."

A player liked by the coach!

This statement also drew a curtain on the recent turbulence.

With Adebayor’s arrival, Mourinho now has the striker he has longed for.

However, before completing this hot acquisition, Real Madrid also experienced a crisis, a crisis that even shook the foundation of the Real Madrid Club.

In Real Madrid Club’s history, it was the first time the club president distributed power to a coach wanting to be on equal footing with him.