The pitch at Anduva Municipal Stadium was appallingly bad.
Lu Chuan stepped on it, and the feeling under his feet was like treading on a freshly tilled vegetable patch.
The uneven surface made him cautious with every step, fearing a misstep would twist his ankle.
"What kind of hellhole is this?" Álvaro García kicked the turf under his foot, sending up a spray of dirt.
Paco Jémez stood on the sidelines, his brows furrowed.
Rayo Vallecano, with their technical style, would find their advantage completely gone on such a pitch. He knew in his heart that this would be a tough battle.
Match: Segunda División Round 26
Fixture: Mirandés vs. Rayo Vallecano
Stadium: Anduva Municipal Stadium (Away)
Mirandés
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper: Limonens
Defenders: Alexander González, Odei Onaindia, Sergio González, Franquesa
Defensive Midfielders: Antonio Sánchez, Mikel Vesga
Midfielders: Álvaro Rey, Martín Merquelanz, Álvaro Peña
Forward: Marcos André
Rayo Vallecano
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper: Stole Dimitrievski
Defenders: Luis Advíncula, Alejandro Catena, Esteban Savić, Antonio Luna
Defensive Midfielders: Santi Comesaña, Mario Suárez
Midfielders: Isi Palazón, Óscar Trejo, Álvaro García
Forward: Lu Chuan
As the whistle for the start of the match blew, Lu Chuan immediately felt the "special treatment" from his opponents.
Mirandés's defensive midfielder, Mikel Vesga, stuck to him like a plaster. Whenever Lu Chuan received the ball, Vesga would bump him with his shoulder and pull his jersey with his arm.
"You're not going anywhere today," Vesga whispered threateningly in Lu Chuan's ear.
Lu Chuan tried to use his speed to break free, but his feet slipped. The wet turf made his acceleration sluggish, and his usual explosive bursts of speed were completely ineffective.
He was like an eagle with clipped wings, possessing great skill but unable to display it.
In the 12th minute, Lu Chuan received a pass from Trejo and prepared to control the ball and turn.
The ball bounced erratically on the uneven ground, completely defying expectations. He stretched his foot to reach it, but the ball bounced in another direction.
Vesga seized the opportunity to steal the ball, and also gave Lu Chuan a push.
"Damn it!" Lu Chuan lost his balance, knelt on one knee, and placed his palm on the muddy grass.
Paco on the sidelines shook his head. Such pitch conditions rendered Rayo Vallecano's passing and control tactics useless.
Mirandés's key player, Martín Merquelanz, was in his element.
He knew this pitch inside out, aware of where the ball would bounce strangely and where the turf was most slippery.
In the 28th minute, he received the ball near the center circle, executed an elegant turn to shake off Santi Comesaña's pressure, and then unleashed a long-range shot.
The ball arced dangerously through the air, heading straight for the top right corner of the goal.
Goalkeeper Dimitrievski made a full-stretch dive, his fingertips touching the ball, tipping it slightly.
"Clang!"
The ball hit the crossbar with a dull thud.
Rayo Vallecano's players were relieved; if that goal had gone in, the course of the match would have been completely different.
The anger in Lu Chuan's heart burned brighter. The shadow of the national team's internal politics had not yet dissipated, and now he had to struggle for survival in this muddy field.
He was eager to prove himself with a goal, but his movements became increasingly impatient.
In the 35th minute, Isi Palazón crossed from the right, and Lu Chuan prepared to head the ball in the penalty area.
He had judged the ball's landing spot well, and his timing for the jump was also perfect. Mirandés's center-back, Odei Onaindia, also jumped, and the two collided in the air.
Lu Chuan didn't land steadily, stumbling and falling to the ground. He brushed the dirt off himself, his mood growing even more irritable.
"Calm down, Lu!" Trejo ran over and patted his shoulder, "Impatience won't solve anything."
Lu Chuan nodded, trying to adjust his mindset. He closed his eyes, activating the Full Field Vision skill, hoping to find a breakthrough from a tactical perspective.
The moment the skill was activated, his vision did expand.
The entire situation of the field was clearly presented in his mind.
His teammates' running paths, the opponents' defensive positions, everything was clear at a glance.
However, when he opened his eyes and prepared to act, reality dealt him a heavy blow.
The slippery pitch made the ball's rolling unpredictable, and his teammates' runs also became less precise due to the pitch conditions.
The perfect picture that Full Field Vision painted for him was simply impossible to achieve on this "vegetable patch."
He was like a craftsman with precise instruments, forced to work on a bumpy truck.
The first half ended with the score still 0-0. Rayo Vallecano's players trudged to the locker room with tired bodies, each of their jerseys covered in mud.
Paco Jémez paced back and forth in the locker room, his gaze serious and focused.
"Forget your passing and control!" he suddenly exclaimed, his voice full of determination, "This pitch is not suitable for our technical style of play. In the second half, we change our strategy!"
He walked to the tactics board and started drawing.
"Play more long balls and crosses from the wings! Álvaro, Isi, you two wingers need to get the ball in constantly!"
Paco's marker pen drew arrows on the tactics board, "Lu, don't wait for the ball in place, go charge into their penalty area, fight with your body and your head!"
Lu Chuan was startled, then understood the coach's intention. If the needle wasn't working, then it was time for a sledgehammer.
"Understood, Coach."
The second half restarted, and the rhythm of the game completely changed.
Rayo Vallecano abandoned their intricate ground passes and began to frequently loft the ball into the penalty area.
Álvaro García and Isi Palazón took turns attacking from both wings, repeatedly sending the ball into Mirandés's penalty area.
Lu Chuan engaged in fierce physical confrontations with the opposing center-backs in the penalty area.
Odei Onaindia and Sergio González were both tall defenders, and their aerial ability was extremely strong.
Whenever Rayo Vallecano's crosses came in, they always managed to head the ball away before Lu Chuan.
In the 55th minute, Isi Palazón crossed from the right, and Lu Chuan leaped high, attempting to head the ball.
Onaindia crashed into him from the side, and the two collided violently in the air. Lu Chuan lost his balance and fell heavily onto the muddy ground.
When he got up, he found that his elbow was scraped, and blood was seeping out.
"Are you okay?" Mario Suárez ran over, asking with concern.
"I'm fine." Lu Chuan wiped away the blood, his eyes becoming even more determined.
The match was incredibly intense, with both sets of players fighting tooth and nail in the mud.
The terrible pitch conditions made every sprint exceptionally draining and every challenge potentially injurious.
By the 70th minute, Lu Chuan felt his legs starting to get heavy.
His thigh muscles were tight, and his calves were aching. This feeling was like having lead poured into them, making every step difficult.
"Hey! Mr. International!" Álvaro García shouted from the sidelines, "Show the same spirit you had against Betis! Don't be a damn wimp!"
These words stung Lu Chuan's nerves. He remembered that night, the volley in front of Betis's goal, the cheers of the entire stadium.
He gritted his teeth, remembering Esther's words, "I'll wait for you to come back," and his father's instructions on the phone. Damn it, he couldn't just give up.
A surge of unyielding will rose from his heart, and he forced himself to sprint again.
In the 81st minute, Rayo Vallecano finally got a valuable counter-attacking opportunity.
Mario Suárez successfully intercepted the ball in midfield and immediately passed it to captain Trejo.
Trejo dribbled forward quickly, looking up to assess the situation ahead.
Lu Chuan was locked in a fierce struggle with Mirandés's last defender, Odei Onaindia. Their shoulders collided as they sprinted forward, neither giving an inch.
Trejo glimpsed Lu Chuan's run and his heart tightened.
Passing the ball there was too risky, the pitch was too poor.
But he saw Lu Chuan's eyes, a command that said, "Give me the ball."
Trejo's foot hovered in the air, hesitating for a second.
Ultimately, he chose to trust his teammate.
With a powerful swing of his right foot, the ball arced through the air, heading straight for Lu Chuan!