When the score settled at 9-0, both teams were generally satisfied with the result.
Leeds United began to slow their attacks, while Barcelona focused on organizing their defense, and the match entered a stalemate.
Almost everyone believed the game would end here.
The scoreline was already outrageous.
Surely they wouldn't actually let Leeds United hit double digits?
It all seemed rather unrealistic.
Especially after Leeds slowed down the tempo, everyone assumed it would finish like this.
Nine to zero was already a massive score.
Leeds United made a series of substitutions, essentially dragging the game into garbage time.
The players on both sides shared the same mentality.
In the stands, fans began to leave one after another, clearly frustrated with the result.
Time quickly reached the 89th minute, and the fourth official on the sideline raised the board to indicate two minutes of added time.
It was a bit amusing, considering how smoothly the match had gone. Only 2 minutes of stoppage time.
All the Barcelona fans in the stadium, and the players on the pitch, visibly let out a sigh of relief.
This nightmare was finally about to end.
Just then, after Leeds United intercepted the ball in midfield, Bellingham, who had come on as a substitute for Enzo Fernández, sent a through pass into the attacking third to Vinícius.
The Brazilian prodigy had his back to goal, with Barcelona's right-back Dest marking him from behind.
Vinícius was young, but fearless.
He suddenly turned while receiving the ball, then dribbled diagonally down the left flank, trying to use his pace to burst past Dest.
Dest reacted quickly and stuck with him, matching his stops and starts, all the way to the left side of the penalty area, forcing Vinícius to halt.
Vinícius is right-footed, while Dest, who had played the entire game, was already breathing heavily from the constant defending.
After stopping, the Brazilian winger suddenly accelerated again, this time cutting inside with the ball.
Dest had no choice but to stay close, preventing him from getting a shot off or breaking into the box.
Vinícius glanced into the penalty area.
In the center, Rashford, who had shifted into the striker role, was positioned on the left side of the arc, preparing to either break into the box or support Vinícius. But Frenkie de Jong had already dropped back to cover the edge of the area.
At the far post, Rodrygo, who replaced Sancho, was making a run from the edge of the area toward goal.
Vinícius could have easily whipped in a cross with his right foot for Rodrygo.
But with Lenglet and Alba marking him, even if the pass reached Rodrygo, it might not pose much of a threat.
Vinícius immediately adjusted.
When he approached the left corner of the penalty area and looked to the right, he noticed Barcelona's defense had dropped too deep, leaving the area in front of the box completely exposed.
In the distance, a white figure appeared.
He feinted, then fired a low, skimming pass with his right foot.
The ball ran almost along the penalty area line, slipping past Rashford and landing at the right side of the edge of the box.
Just then, Valverde surged forward and controlled it inside the penalty area.
Alba lunged immediately, attempting to block his shooting angle.
The Barcelona left-back remembered clearly that Valverde was right-footed, so he rushed over to block that side. If Valverde shot with his right, all the angles were cut off.
To Alba's surprise, Valverde caught up with the ball, made a sudden stop, then cut it back with his right foot, changing his body position from running down the byline to facing the goal at a diagonal angle.
Almost instantly, both Busquets and Alba had the same thought flash through their minds.
Left foot!
Valverde's cut inside exposed a gap in Alba's coverage, and he immediately unleashed a powerful left-footed shot toward the left side of the goal.
If time stopped at that moment, it would be exactly 90 minutes and 4 seconds.
Valverde's shot was thunderous and perfectly placed, leaving the goalkeeper completely helpless.
The ball crashed into the left side of Barcelona's goal.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Valverde!"
"My God, the tenth goal!"
"Leeds United's tenth goal of the night at Camp Nou!"
"It has finally arrived!"
"Just when we thought Leeds had slowed down and would finish with nine goals, we were proven wrong!"
"The tenth goal has come!"
"This is the most humiliating defeat in Barcelona's history!"
"They allowed their opponents to score ten goals at Camp Nou!"
"And the worst part is, Barcelona couldn't even break through Leeds United's defense the entire match."
"This was a total and complete defeat!"
"To all viewers at home, I can't even describe what I'm feeling right now. All I can say is, this is the worst Barcelona I've seen in recent years."
"10-0!"
"We've just seen the referee confirm the goal with VAR and blow his whistle to signal it stands."
"There were no issues with that goal."
"Leeds United have beaten Barcelona 10-0 away from home!"
"Double digits! My God, this will send shockwaves around the world!"
"Who can rack up the kind of score you'd expect in a volleyball match?"
"Leeds United can!"
...
Gao Shen stared at the pitch in disbelief.
Even he couldn't believe it, because he truly didn't expect to score ten.
It was outrageous, absolutely unbelievable.
"Good heavens, I was just joking," Gao Shen said with a smile.
But the people around him were already cheering and jumping with joy.
Many Barcelona fans who had been walking out stopped in their tracks, looking back with expressions of pain and numbness.
In recent years, Barcelona's humiliations had become more frequent.
Only tonight, they lost even worse.
Ferguson and Wenger exchanged a glance and shook their heads helplessly.
10-0!
God, when would they ever see a match like this again?
And even more incredible, it happened in the Champions League knockout stage.
Even if it was just the round of 16, this result was absolutely shocking.
"Tonight's crushing defeat might actually be a good thing for Barcelona," Ferguson said with a wry smile.
Wenger nodded. "Yes, a complete overhaul is needed. Maybe this humiliation will help them make the right decision."
"It's just a bit tragic," Ferguson added suddenly.
Everyone laughed.
It was beyond tragic.
Losing 10-0 wasn't just about being eliminated. It completely shattered the team's morale and spirit.
Even their backbone was completely broken.
"To be honest, I didn't expect it either," Gao Shen said, laughing.
He'd said he wanted to hit double digits, but it was just a joke. He wasn't a prophet.
"But tonight, Leeds United played brilliantly, and Barcelona were awful," Ferguson said.
That was the biggest reason for such a result.
More importantly, Barcelona's morale and energy were extremely low, and they grew more sluggish as the match progressed.
Sure enough, the game resumed, and Leeds United continued attacking. Barcelona, meanwhile, remained lifeless.
It truly felt like they had accepted the defeat, and letting in one or two more wouldn't make a difference.
That was a very dangerous mentality.
"I feel like there's still a chance for another," Wenger said with a wry smile.
Ferguson agreed completely. He felt the same.
At that moment, just over a minute into added time, the referee blew the final whistle.
Leeds United had just won the ball and were preparing for another attack when the referee ended it.
Even the Leeds players seemed a little helpless.
What could they do?
It was already 10-0. Did they really need to score one more?
That would be too much.
Gao Shen, Ferguson, Wenger, and the others all smiled wryly.
Turns out, they weren't the only ones thinking that. The referee was clearly worried Leeds United might score again.
In a game like this, anything could happen. Two more goals in the final minute wouldn't be that far-fetched.
Sometimes, it's better to stop while you're ahead.
10-0 was more than enough.
...
The moment the referee blew the whistle, Leeds United's players erupted in wild celebration on the pitch.
This result would go down in history as the biggest win in the Champions League knockout stage.
Coupled with Haaland's historic performance, this match was destined to be immortalized.
Even more unbelievably, Leeds United had humiliated Barcelona at Camp Nou last season. Now, they had delivered an even heavier defeat.
Having destroyed Barcelona at Camp Nou for two straight years, Leeds United had clearly instilled deep psychological trauma.
This season, Leeds United crushed Manchester United, and now they had crushed Barcelona, displaying terrifying form.
Especially their star striker, Haaland, who scored six goals in a single match, becoming the first player in Champions League history to achieve such a feat.
And he was only 20 years old!
On the pitch, the Leeds United players celebrated wildly. On the other side, Barcelona's players walked off dejectedly.
In the Camp Nou stands, a deafening chorus of boos rang out, not directed at Leeds United, but at Barcelona themselves.
Some Barcelona players' names were being called out in anger by the fans.
They were furious about the result and deeply disappointed in the team's performance.
Camp Nou had completely erupted in fury.
Gao Shen and his Leeds United had ignited the flame, but no one knew how far this fire would spread, or how fiercely it would burn.
The sky had completely collapsed over Camp Nou!
(To be continued.)