Chapter 124: A Fierce Battle on Two Fronts

The UEFA Champions League fire reignited midweek. In Group E, Villarreal currently tops the group with 5 points from 1 win and 2 draws, while their upcoming opponent, CSKA Moscow, sits bottom without a win, having drawn twice and lost once.

Based on this analysis, it seemed Villarreal should have little trouble securing an away victory against CSKA Moscow. However...

“What kind of weather is this? My feet are freezing!” Dai Zhiwei had not anticipated that while Villarreal still enjoyed the late summer scenery, temperatures in Moscow had plummeted to around zero degrees Celsius, dipping below freezing at night.

“Damn this weather!” Villarreal was somewhat unprepared; Dai Zhiwei wore only a short-sleeved jersey without any thermal layers. On match day, with the rain mixed with snow, he was completely frozen and stunned.

From the kickoff, Villarreal’s attacks were sluggish and thoroughly suppressed by CSKA Moscow, who surged wave after wave of offensive pressure.

In the 34th minute, through coordinated team play, Traoré-Rashina headed a goal inside the small penalty area to put CSKA Moscow ahead.

0-1!

Dai Zhiwei brushed his fringe dusted with ice and smiled wryly.

This was truly a fortress of hell!

Fortunately, CSKA Moscow’s strength was limited. After the interval, Villarreal’s players returned revitalized.

In the 68th minute, Russian international Denis Cheryshev stormed down the right flank and delivered a brilliant pass from the edge of the box. Dai Zhiwei timed his run perfectly to avoid offside, seized the opportunity, and scored to equalize.

1-1!

This marked Dai Zhiwei’s third goal in the Champions League group stage this season, placing him just behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the scoring chart.

The thrilling 90 minutes soon concluded with the score frozen at 1-1.

After securing a draw in frigid Moscow, Villarreal returned to their temperate home ground and triumphed 2-1 over Las Palmas in the league.

In the 31st minute, Las Palmas’ Tana executed a backheel volley from the right side of the box, and Boateng struck a powerful volley from twelve yards into the lower right corner, putting the visitors ahead 0-1.

However, the Yellow Submarine responded with two goals to overturn the deficit.

In the 64th minute, Las Palmas’ Mesa fouled Dai Zhiwei inside the box, and Dai confidently converted the resulting penalty to level the score 1-1.

Then, in the 92nd minute, Bakambu combined with Soriano in a wall pass and calmly slotted home from twelve yards.

2-1! Villarreal clinched the match with a last-gasp winner!

One week later, Villarreal traveled to face Eibar. To prepare for the midweek Champions League fixture, coach Escrivá rotated the starting lineup.

In the 41st minute, Eibar’s Lecointre fouled Dai Zhiwei inside the box. Once again, Dai converted the penalty, scoring his 13th goal of the La Liga season.

Villarreal maintained their lead until the 80th minute, when Escrivá substituted Dai Zhiwei to preserve his energy for the Champions League clash.

Unfortunately, Eibar scored twice in the final eight minutes to overturn the result. At the 84th minute, Lecointre’s free-kick was headed on during a scramble, and Rami volleyed it home from the edge of the box, leveling the match.

In the 91st minute, Enrique cut inside the left side and crossed for Pedro León, who thundered a shot from ten yards to complete the comeback.

Ultimately, Villarreal lost the away game and missed the chance to break into the top four. Yet Dai Zhiwei knew the Champions League was the stage where he must give his all.

There are no weak teams in the Champions League. This Moscow-based CSKA side, somewhat unfamiliar to most Spanish fans, had previously drawn at home against Villarreal.

Now, with the venues reversed, traveling thousands of miles to challenge Villarreal on their turf, what fate awaited them?

At present, Villarreal’s situation in Group E was less than ideal. After a win over Tottenham, they drew against Bayer Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow, amassing only 5 points from three games and sitting near the bottom — their chances of advancing were slim.

In this match, Villarreal faced a must-win scenario. Failure to secure full points against the group’s weakest opponent could spell early elimination.

Fortunately, the match took place at the Canción Stadium, Villarreal’s home ground. Coach Escrivá and his men had only one goal: to claim all three points.

Starting lineups:

CSKA Moscow:

Goalkeeper: Akinfeev

Defenders: Vasin, Vasily Berezutski, Alexei Berezutski

Midfielders: Kuchaev, Golovin, Weinbrom, Zagoev, Shennikov

Forwards: Vitinho, Oranare

Villarreal:

Goalkeeper: Asenjo

Defenders: Gaspar, Musacchio, Ruiz, Costa

Midfielders: Dos Santos, Trigueros, Bruno, Cheryshev

Forwards: Dai Zhiwei, Pato

From kickoff, Villarreal’s front line — Dai Zhiwei, Pato, Dos Santos on the right wing, and Cheryshev on the left — relentlessly pressured CSKA Moscow. Meanwhile, Trigueros worked diligently up front, pressing the Russian midfielders.

This tactic paid dividends. The Russian team’s style, quite different from La Liga’s, was rougher technically. Even a sharp attacking side like CSKA Moscow struggled to evade Villarreal’s pressing when playing out from the back.

As a result, CSKA often resorted to long clearances into the forward line, bypassing midfield control, causing the ball to fly back and forth rapidly, speeding up the game’s tempo. Both sides created some chances.

Dai Zhiwei battled energetically in the attacking third, constantly scanning teammates’ positions.

Though not a Barcelona fan, he envied their collective attacking style. Yet he knew Villarreal’s current squad couldn’t replicate such fluidity. So he worked harder, running tirelessly between forward and midfield lines, assisting teammates with passes.

After Bruno passed to him and darted forward, one defender followed Bruno, leaving Dai Zhiwei less marked.

He feinted with his back to goal, then quickly turned sharply; as the defender rushed to block, Dai deftly dribbled around him with a quick flick.

Such close-control dribbling skills are rare in today’s football world.

“Dai, here!” Pato shouted from the right flank.

CSKA immediately tightened their marking on Dai, but he cleverly feigned a break toward Pato, then cut inside from the right side of the box, turning Pato’s call into a decoy.

Vasily Berezutski, assigned to mark Pato, was drawn toward the flank by Pato’s shout. As he instinctively shifted wide, Dai exploited the gap on his inside.

CSKA Moscow’s starting formation was an adventurous three-man backline. Upon Dai’s penetration into the box, he faced only goalkeeper Akinfeev.

Would he hesitate?

Before defenders could recover, Dai struck a powerful shot as soon as he stepped into the penalty area, blasting toward CSKA’s goal.

Akinfeev guessed a shot was coming but reacted too late. His frantic grasping caught only air.

“Gooooooooooooooal!”

The match was barely five minutes old when the Yellow Submarine took the lead through Dai Zhiwei’s goal. No one expected Villarreal to score so early in such a crucial encounter.

Many fans hadn’t even warmed their seats before jumping up in celebration.

“Dai! Dai! Dai!” Villarreal supporters on the stands chanted in unison, bouncing with excitement in praise of their star.

Dai laughed and ran toward Pato, intending to tackle him in celebration, but the Brazilian couldn’t withstand the impact. Both tumbled to the ground.

Soon, other Villarreal teammates piled on in celebration, and Dai experienced the thrill of a human pyramid for the first time.

“Ah! My back!” Dai groaned, rising to his feet after the commotion. “Luckily, I wasn’t at the bottom. It’d be tragic to get injured celebrating. Poor Alexander.”

Pato sighed and tapped his forehead. “If you hadn’t tackled me like that, would I be suffering this undeservedly?”

After scoring, Villarreal suddenly shifted tactics. Dai reduced his roaming, confining himself to the box and its edge, refusing to leave. CSKA’s two center backs hesitated to step out.

Meanwhile, Bruno and Trigueros distributed the ball wide in midfield, with wingbacks and wingers seeking forward openings.

Alexei Berezutski chose to fall back and mark Dai tightly, having failed to cover earlier when Dai scored.

Compared to Villarreal’s midfield, CSKA’s forward line—especially Dai Zhiwei—was far more menacing.

Dos Santos and Cheryshev dropped deep, crisscrossing with teammates behind to penetrate CSKA’s flank defenses.

Suddenly, Trigueros made a forward run through the middle. Dos Santos passed to him, and with a simple one-two with Cheryshev, they shook off CSKA’s midfielder Litov’s marking.

The CSKA midfield was left exposed. Trigueros cut diagonally toward their goal.

Alexei Berezutski abandoned Dai to close down Trigueros, who, not wanting a duel, passed to Dai.

Unexpectedly, at the moment of the pass, Alexei turned back and raced toward Dai again.

Yet Dai had no intention of controlling the ball; instead, with a subtle push of his instep, he flicked the ball toward the overlapping Dos Santos.

Dos Santos, having used his pace to shake off Kuchaev’s defense, prepared to cross as Pato and Dai raised their arms, sprinting into the box.

Dos Santos adjusted and whipped in a cross while CSKA’s defense remained unsettled.

Dai seized the ball at the near post, but goalkeeper Akinfeev covered the near corner tightly.

Dai quickly changed tactics, flicking the ball with the heel of his foot, altering its trajectory and causing chaos in the CSKA penalty area.

Amid the confusion, the ball darted like a shadow past defenders and into the net. Pato raced to the sidelines, celebrating wildly.

2-0!

Within less than 20 minutes, Villarreal had essentially sealed the victory.

The stands at Canción Stadium erupted in joy. With a two-goal lead so early, many believed the game was in the bag, some even began celebrating prematurely.

Trailing by two, CSKA Moscow grew restless. Without a goal to close the gap, they faced the grim prospect of elimination, unable even to qualify for the Europa League.

At this critical juncture, CSKA’s talisman Golovin stepped up. His surging runs compressed Villarreal’s defense, and several high-quality long-range shots tested Asenjo, prompting excited shouts from Villarreal’s fans.

But Villarreal met CSKA’s pressing attack head-on, making clear that this was their home turf.

By the 40th minute, both sides had created chances but failed to convert. Vitinho’s shot was comfortably saved by Asenjo, while Pato, in a show of reciprocity, squandered a one-on-one chance by shooting wide into the stands.

The score remained 2-0—a situation CSKA supporters found intolerable. They had to score soon to restore hope.

Yet unexpectedly, it was Villarreal, the home side, who fashioned another golden opportunity first.

A rare midfield error from CSKA: Golovin received a long ball from Vasily Berezutski and raced past Trigueros along the right flank. Approaching Villarreal’s box, Bruno pursued and deftly poked the ball away.

Musacchio quickly passed to Trigueros near the center circle, who controlled and launched a near half-field pass.

Target: Dai Zhiwei!

(End of chapter)