Fox in the Penalty Area

Chapter 2031 Dream Start

Joaquin Bella, captain of the Madrid Pirates, won the kick-off before the game.

When Houlai stood in the center circle with the football under his feet, he looked up at Vesuvius' goal and saw the opposing goalkeeper Jacobs Persson standing on the goal line.

Someone asked on a well-known domestic pretentious website before:

"Why hasn't Hu Lai scored a kick-off from the center circle since the 2030 World Cup?"

Why?

Open your eyes and see for yourself, this is the reason!

Now as long as the Madrid Pirates or the Chinese team kick off, the standard position of the opponent's goalkeeper is on the goal line.

This has become a fixed tactic.

Even though Hu Lai repeatedly emphasized in the interview that he was able to score goals in the middle circle due to luck and blindness, and it was not reproducible at all, so everyone can rest assured.

But as the saying goes, "Hu Lai's mouth is a deceiving ghost".

The more he emphasized, the less everyone believed it.

So Hu Lai was also very helpless.

After both players were in position, the referee raised his wrist to look at his watch, and then blew the opening whistle against the time.

"Game start!"

Hou Lai turned and passed the football to the backfield, and the ball flew straight to the central defender Danny Drew.

Meanwhile, Vesuvius striker Merlin Ulrich chased the ball towards the Dutch centre-back.

Other Vesuvius players also swarmed over the halfway line.

Facing the aggressive Ulrich, Drew passed the football diagonally to the left with a big foot.

It was given to Farias who was standing close to the sideline.

Because he was too close to the sideline, Farias stopped the ball directly out of the sideline under the interference of Vesuvius right-back Roberto Acardi.

The Vesuvius fans in the stands let out a burst of gloating laughter.

During the recent period, Farias is also responsible for the flow of European football.

Regarding the fact that he liked the tweet that the fans scolded the coach, the fans of other European teams did not have as clear a position as the Madrid Pirates fans. Mentality, booing on both sides.

Now that they saw Farias making a mistake, of course they had to laugh at it to their heart's content. It would be even better if they could make this kid lose his mind.

※※※

Vesuvius, who won the ball, attacked the goal of the Madrid Pirates.

However, their offense was not successful, and they were quickly defended by the Madrid Pirates.

When the football was at the feet of centre-back Riva Moreno, only one Vesuvius player rushed up.

Once the football was passed to Tonini by Moreno, two Vesuvius players rushed towards Tonini from different angles.

Under their pressure, Tonini couldn't even control the ball and could only choose to pass back directly to the goalkeeper.

And under the pressure of the opponent, the strength of his return kick is not light.

Heywell didn't dare to stop casually, for fear that if he didn't stop the ball well, the opponent's players would seize the opportunity. At the same time that Tonini passed the ball, Vesuvio's striker Ulrich also caught up.

Hewell chose to pass the ball directly.

Instead of passing the ball to the concentrated left, he moved to the right.

There were few people there, and right-back Ettore Navarro could receive the ball with relative ease.

But just after Navarro received the ball, Vesuvio's players had already reached the front!

"The Vesuvius players are really tight!" He Feng exclaimed.

When Navarro saw this, he planned to pass the football to the center, but was seen through by Vesuvius' players. He stretched out his foot and blocked the football from the sideline.

Pirates of Madrid win a throw in.

Navarro came to throw, and Tonini stepped forward to respond.

Navarro threw him the football, and immediately a Vesuvius player came up to him.

Tonini turned around following the trajectory of the football flying, trying to turn around and stop the ball in one go, but just as he turned around, he saw that there was also a Vesuvius player here, the striker Merlin Ulrich!

He was a little hesitant and didn't pass the football back to Navarro who was meeting him on the touchline immediately.

Betra quickly stepped forward to press down.

Tonini tried to take the football away, but let the opponent go first and poke the football away!

The football was stabbed in the middle!

There are no players from the Pirates of Madrid!

Vesuvius captain Victor Montero strode up and intercepted the football!

Then he passed the ball straight forward into the penalty area of ​​the Madrid Pirates!

Vesuvius striker Ulrich, who had just stabbed the football away, has now entered the penalty area horizontally and received the ball!

Fortunately, Danny Drew arrived in time and used his body to interfere, so that Ulrich could not maintain his balance when receiving the ball and adjusted a little more.

When he took another shot, he had already lost the space to shoot.

The football bounced off Drew's leg.

Tonini made up for it, appeared near the top of the free throw arc, turned around and passed the football away, and then passed it to Vukovic who retreated in front.

Vukovic used a "fried ball" to temporarily get rid of the pressure of the Vesuvius players, but he couldn't pass the football forward, so he could only pass the football to the side.

Pass to the dropped right winger Wesley Hodt.

Also in the process of passing the ball, Vesuvius' players rushed to Hodt for the first time.

Forcing Hodt not to stop the ball, he could only pass Navarro back directly.

Vesuvius midfielder Hassan Isidy, who was chasing Vukovic, immediately dropped the Serbian midfielder and turned to Navarro.

It forced Navarro to drive the football forward with his big feet.

Naturally, this kind of offense is not of high quality, and the possession of the ball is easy to change hands.

"Vesuvio was very proactive in their home court! They used a high press, pressing the Madrid Pirates' ball holders and passing points up front... Vesuvio, as an Italian team, has Italian football The tradition of emphasizing defense, and being more passionate on offense..."

Hearing what He Feng said, Yan Kang beside him said with emotion: "So it makes sense for Vesuvius to be able to lead the Turin Bulls and Insubrem by so many points in the league this season!"

※※※

When Hassan Isidy dribbled the ball through midfield, Tonini followed him and tried a few times but couldn't break the ball.

Isidy tried a through pass, looking for the front striker Ulrich.

Fortunately, Ion Martinez decisively retracted while defending, blocked Easty's passing route, and kicked the incoming ball back with his feet.

The football throws a parabola and flies back to the middle circle.

Vesuvius' midfielder and captain Victor Montero appeared again at the ball's landing point, stopping the ball with his chest first, and then passing the ball to the right with the outside instep of his right foot.

There was Vesuvius right-back Roberto Acardi who stepped in to meet him.

When Acardi received the ball, because the defensive players of the Madrid Pirates recovered relatively deep, there was no Pirates player around him.

Left winger Farias is still in front and did not come back.

After receiving the ball, Arkady calmly adjusted and observed, and then passed the football back to Ulrich, who was on the side to meet him.

Then he speeded up and circled forward from behind Ulrich, making a posture that he wanted to cooperate with Ulrich in a shingle attack.

His running position attracted Madrid Pirates' left-back Ion Martinez, who was afraid to pounce on Ulrich who had the ball easily - he had to guard against Ulrich passing the ball to the forward after he went up. Acardi.

Taking advantage of Acardi's opportunity to attract the Pirates' defensive attention, Ulrich dribbled the ball diagonally to the corner of the Madrid Pirates' big penalty area.

After attracting Madrid Pirates central defender Danny Drew to press forward, he made a sudden pass, which was the space behind Drew!

Vesuvius' Türkiye international midfielder Hassan Isidy is cutting in!

Meanwhile another striker, Valerio Bertra, is holding Pirates center back Riva Moreno down the middle...

No one can rush over to defend Isidy!

The latter inserted into the space and when he received the ball, he turned around and shot!

The football went straight to the far corner!

Facing this close shot, the goalkeeper Heywell was still a little slow to get off the ground, and his hand couldn't reach the football!

He could only watch the football fly into the goal he was guarding from the back corner!

Deafening cheers erupted from Vesuvio's home stadium, South Stadium!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The Italian commentator had to raise his volume and yell desperately, feeling that he could overwhelm the shouts from the stands of the South Stadium.

"Isidy! Isidy! Hassan Isidy! Vesuvius scored! The game has just started less than four minutes! To be exact, it is three minutes and twenty-eight seconds! The best time in the Champions League this season The quick goal was born! At the same time, it is the fastest UEFA Champions League goal in the history of Vesuvius! Fantastic start!"

"Hey, this ball... this ball?"

When he saw the football flying into the goal, He Feng froze for a moment. Faced with conceding the ball so quickly, he seemed unprepared.

But how many people can have such preparations?

Spanish commentator Alvarez Sanchez fell silent for about ten seconds after the goal was conceded.

After ten seconds, he sighed: "The Madrid Pirates conceded the ball too quickly... Vesuvio's start was too smooth! This ball... After the opening, the Madrid Pirates were a bit overwhelmed by Vesuvius' high position. The defense line was further flattened, losing its flexibility and depth, and it turned out that Ulrich's diagonal pass was so easy to penetrate... Sigh!"

※※※

A goal was scored in the opening three minutes, and the cheers in the South Stadium lasted for a long time.

The Vesuvius players also celebrated for a long time.

By the time they returned to their own half, it was already two minutes later.

As they walked back into their own half, coach Tommaso Renzetti was gesturing to them, reminding them to keep pressing high even though they were ahead.

They are only one goal ahead after all...

And a goal lead is almost equal to no lead.

So when the game restarted, everything was the same as it was three minutes before kick-off:

The Madrid Pirates players pass back, and the Vesuvius players chase the football forward.

"Vesuvius continues to press high!"

Vesuvius' high-position pressing not only focused on Tonini, but also on Farias.

For Tonini, he wanted to grab Tonini's ball and launch a counterattack directly.

As for Farias, he hoped to irritate him, make him lose his mind and calmness, and completely ignite the bomb.

So when Farias received the ball, Vesuvius' players immediately came up to siege.

Facing the siege of Vesuvius players, Farias tried to use his excellent personal skills to take the football out of the encirclement.

However, the Vesuvius players "do not talk about martial arts" and have no intention of "competing fairly" with Farias. After seeing that they could not keep the opponent, they stretched out their hands and pulled down the Argentine winger.

The whistle sounded, and the cheers followed.

Anyway, as long as Farias is deflated, the Vesuvius fans in the stands are very happy.

Players and fans put double pressure on Farias, hoping to break through the psychological defense of this Argentine kid as soon as possible.

Judging from the "likes", Farias is obviously not the kind of person who can hold fire, and it should be easy to make him lose his cool.

Sure enough, in the face of this foul by Vesuvius players, Farias reacted fiercely.

After he got up from the ground, he yelled at the referee angrily, protesting and complaining-he thought that the opponent's foul player should receive a yellow card instead of showing nothing like he is now.

But his reaction only ushered in more crazy boos and laughter from the Vesuvius fans in the stands.

And the Vesuvius fans near his touchline yelled at him: "We support Parotti too! Get out! Haha!"

As for their Italian, whether Farias could understand it was another matter.

If Farias interprets it as Vesuvius fans mocking him and scolding him, that's fine.

Because they were indeed mocking him.

※※※

Vesuvius was not only targeting Farias and Tonini, they were also actively looking for offensive opportunities.

In the tenth minute, Vesuvius successfully defended against the attack of the Madrid Pirates in the backcourt.

At that time, the Madrid Pirates tried to break fast from the right, but Vukovic's ball was interfered by the Vesuvius player, and the pass was wide.

The central defender Wang Guangwei pulled horizontally to the side to steal the ball.

Using his body, he cross-cuts in front of Hodt, protecting the football and keeping the Dutchman behind.

Then he didn't rush to clear the football with a big foot, but held the opponent and tried to turn around!

Vesuvius fans in the stands cheered him on as he changed directions in an attempt to get rid of Hodt.

This is actually a bit dangerous, because he is likely to be intercepted by the opponent and directly threaten the goal.

However, risks and benefits are proportional.

Although it is a bit dangerous to do so, if you just clear the football out of bounds, you still hand over the ball to the Madrid Pirates.

Wang Guangwei is unwilling to do this. He still wants to try his best to defend successfully, and then hand over the football to his teammates, so that the team can smoothly switch from defense to offense.

Finally, when he was about to bring the football out of the sideline, Wang Guangwei finally gained enough space. At the cost of losing his balance, he turned around and swept the football towards the midfield.

The football is picked up by the dropped striker Valerio Bertra.

The Vesuvius fans in the stands gave cheers and applause for Wang Guangwei's handling.

Betra catches the ball and turns around, dribbling the ball laterally.

Tonini followed him, trying to reach out and pull.

But Valerio Betra, an Italian striker, doesn't look tall, only 1.83 meters, but has strong confrontation ability and a very stable foot.

Tonini pulled a few times, but failed to make Betra lose his balance and lose the ball.

He didn't dare to continue pulling—as a defensive midfielder, if he fouled rashly and got himself a yellow card, he would be passive in the next game—he could only run with Betra, trying to see the timing Steal the ball with one foot.

But Beitra didn't give him such a chance. After separating Tonini with his hand, he quickly passed the football to another striker, Merlin Ulrich, who was supporting him.

As a Swiss international, Ulrich is only 1.78 meters tall, but he has excellent skills at his feet, is good at dribbling, and has strong individual combat capabilities.

After receiving the ball, Ulrich dribbled the ball towards Madrid Pirates left back Ion Martinez.

The combination of man and ball was so good that Ion didn't dare to make a move easily, so he could only follow and fight and retreat.

All the way back into the restricted area...

"Ulrich!"

The cheers in the stands grew louder, culminating in Ulrich's shot.

However, although Ion Martinez failed to stop Ulrich, he was always stuck in front of Ulrich and interfered with the Swiss striker's shot.

So the football goes out of the near corner...

Although no goal was scored, there were still applause and cheers from Vesuvius fans in the stands.

They have already seen that Vesuvius, after leading by one goal, is gradually gaining the upper hand, completely suppressing the visiting team Madrid Pirates.

"It's really dangerous in front of the Madrid Pirates... If you keep playing like this, the Pirates may continue to lose the ball!"

When Hu Lixin heard what He Feng said, he secretly glanced at his wife, and found that she had no response to He Feng's words.

Do you really think it doesn't matter if you are eliminated?

"Why?" Xie Lan noticed her husband secretly looking at her.

"Uh, it's nothing, it's nothing..." Hu Lixin quickly turned his gaze back to the live TV screen.

※※※

This is the first time that Tonini has played as a defensive midfielder in a game. I have to say that for a player who is used to playing on the wing, suddenly put him in the middle, there are indeed many places that are uncomfortable.

When he was active on the left side before, because one side is the sideline, he only needs to pay attention to three directions.

The habit of playing football like this for a long time made him lack a full 360-degree perspective.

Sometimes you don't notice what's in your blind spot...

Just like this time.

With the ball under his feet, he raised his head to observe the situation in front of him, but forgot that what was behind him was not the sideline...

Hassan Easty suddenly came out of his blind spot, stepped forward to squeeze him away, and stabbed the football out!

"Tognini is stealing the ball!"

The cheers in the stands suddenly exploded.

Tonini realized that he had lost the ball, and immediately turned around and stretched out his hand to hold Easty's hand, and counter-robbed!

Or he wanted to use fouls to delay Vesuvius' offense-at this time, he couldn't care less about whether to get a yellow card or not.

However, before being pulled to the ground by him, Easty passed the football to his teammate, left midfielder Michel De Bruyne.

The referee stretched out his hands and made a gesture of "favorable offense, the game continues".

The cheers in the stands grew louder.

"Vesuvius counterattacked on the spot!"

De Bruyne received the ball, adjusted slightly, and shot from the penalty area line!

Joaquin Bella rushed to block his shot, but the ball hit his calf instead, changing lanes slightly!

It was this change of direction that caught goalkeeper Jonathan Hewell by surprise!

The football bypassed his fingers and flew towards the far corner of the goal!

"De Bruyne - GOOOOOOOOOOL!! OMG!"

Even the Italian narrator was shocked.

"Only sixteen minutes into the game, Vesuvius has taken a two-goal lead at home! Unbelievable! It's unbelievable! What kind of dream start is this!"

※※※

"De Bruyne's shot hit Joaquin Bella's leg. There was a slight change in the line, and it was this change that prevented Hywell from jumping... Alas!"

After watching the replay of Vesuvius' second ball, He Feng and Yan Kang sighed together.

It stands to reason that this game is a "Chinese derby". No matter who wins or loses, there will definitely be a Chinese player who will reach the Champions League final.

So they shouldn't have any obvious inclinations.

However, as a person who has won enough face for Chinese football in European football, Hu Lai is still different from other Chinese players, and his status in the hearts of He Feng and Yan Kang is not comparable to others.

They saw with their own eyes how the pirate dynasty was established step by step.

This dynasty is no longer just a matter of the Madrid Pirates, but also entrusts the feelings of countless Chinese fans.

Now they want them to see the pirate dynasty collapse in front of them, they still can't bear it.

Although there are two rounds in the semi-finals, the current score does not mean that the Madrid Pirates will definitely lose in the end.

But the team that once swept Europe was completely stunned by the opponent scoring two goals in the first 16 minutes.

Such a scene was enough to make He Feng and the others feel heartbroken.

Infighting in the team, being beaten by opponents on the court.

The king of the Madrid pirates was not just pulled from the throne, but also stepped on the face by his opponent, which is really embarrassing.

Anyone who still has feelings for this team, I'm afraid they don't want to see this scene, right?

In the second round of the quarter-finals, they reversed and eliminated the Catalan United after falling behind by three goals, which made people very excited. Many people even had the idea of ​​"this is the pirate dynasty ZTE"...

Now it seems that it is actually just the last flashback of this dynasty.

While the Vesuvius players were wildly celebrating the lead, the telecast took a moment to give Tonini a close-up.

In the close-up, Tonini stands at the front of the penalty area with his hands on his hips.

This conceded goal was caused by his loss of possession.

As a midfielder, his performance in these 16 minutes can be called "unqualified".

Joaquin Bella, with the captain's armband on his arm, comforted Tonini: "Don't take it personally, Cardoso. They're targeting you..."

Tonini didn't speak either, just nodded.

He was dissatisfied with his sixteen minutes of performance, but he wasn't overwhelmed yet.

After all, he is also a thirty-four-year-old veteran. He has experienced many battles and has rich experience, and he is not a kid...

※※※

Seeing Tonini being comforted by Joaquin Bella in the distance, Farias did not feel gloating.

It stands to reason that the worse Tonini performed, the better it was for Farias.

Because after the game, everyone would only scold Tonini and regard him as the culprit for the team's elimination, and the firepower on him was naturally reduced.

But Farias didn't think so.

In his opinion, Tonini's poor performance is due to the unfamiliar position, which is nothing to laugh at.

He believes that Tonini must also know this, so in fact he can refuse to play a cameo as a defensive midfielder. In that case, even if the team is really eliminated, no one will blame him. After all, it is not his fault that the captain was injured during training...

But he said yes anyway.

Because the current team really has no suitable candidates for the midfielder position.

As a pirate player, Farias knew inside information that outsiders did not know.

In fact, Tonini did not simply replace Juan Ramirez as a midfielder.

Technically speaking, he was actually replacing Joaquin Bella.

After Ramirez was injured, Joaquin Bella not only took over Ramirez's captain's armband, but also took over the captain's position. He's the guy who goes on defense full-time.

And Tonini replaced Joaquin Bella's original position. While helping Bella defend, he should also use his skills to assist the team's offense, connecting the front, center and backcourt.

This is why Parrotti chose to let Tonini start in this game-at first when the news was announced, there were still many people in the outside world who were puzzled by it. They think that Tonini is not a pure defensive player, and Parotti let Tonini start as a midfielder, which is completely in a hurry.

Presumably there are many people complaining about Parotti's staffing arrangement on the Internet right now? These two goals, especially the second one, just gave them the courage and evidence to criticize.

Farias didn't think there was anything wrong with Parotti's actions. He knew the reason why the head coach chose Tonini. Let's think about it and look at it.

※※※

"When Parotti announced before the game that Tonini would replace Ramirez as the starting midfielder, it aroused many people's doubts. Now it seems that those doubts are justified...Obviously, the temporary cameo The Brazilian winger in the midfielder is not very good at his job. So he has become the biggest loophole and Achilles heel of the Madrid Pirates in the middle."

The Italian commentator pointedly pointed out the biggest problem of the Madrid Pirates game.

"I don't know what kind of psychology Parotti made this decision... He has been criticized this season because he is too partial to old players. He will be punished again for this problem in this game! However, on the other hand, these old players are all meritorious players who helped him achieve three consecutive Champions League championships. It seems normal to be partial to them. It’s just that these old players who are getting older and their desire to win have faded are a little sorry Parotti's trust..."

While he was criticizing, the TV broadcast also clearly showed the camera to the coach of the Madrid Pirates.

Parotti was chatting with his assistant, but both of them covered their mouths with their hands, and no one could understand what they said by reading the shape of their mouths.

They were indeed talking about Tonini too.

"It's really difficult for a left winger to play as a midfielder..." the first assistant coach Jesús Valentine sighed. "Do you want to make adjustments?"

"Adjustment?" Parotti asked back, "What other adjustments can be made? Vesuvius is obviously targeting him. Unless we replace him, there is no way to make effective adjustments."

Having said that, he paused for a moment, and then continued: "I still believe in Tonini. Although it was his first time playing as a defensive midfielder. But before that, he also did a good job in defense. How did he defend in training? We all saw Farias, too, didn't we?"

Valentine nodded.

Although he is a winger, Tonini has actually taken on more defensive work on the court since he was injured at the beginning of the season. Sometimes he was even able to retreat to the full-back position.

His advantage on defense is experience and tenacious dogfighting, and he will not be easily thrown off by his opponent.

This is also an important reason why Parrotti chose to let Tonini come as a midfielder.

The outside world seems to be "rushing ducks to the shelves", but in fact Parrotti is very clear that Tonini can complete the defensive work.

"What he needs is to adapt. As long as he adapts, he will get better... We all know how far he can go."

※※※

The celebration of Vesuvius' second goal was noticeably longer than the first.

This may be because the psychological feelings brought to them by leading by one goal and leading by two goals are different.

They don't feel very safe when they are one goal ahead.

It's different now.

Not only leading by two goals, this second goal also proved that they have found the biggest breakthrough in the Madrid Pirates.

That's Tonini.

This is a goal path that can be copied - in the next game, as long as you continue to surround Tonini and put pressure on him, he will definitely make mistakes. Vesuvius can also get more offensive opportunities from here, even if he catches one of them again, he can rewrite the score to 3:0.

With a three-goal lead, Vesuvius is half in the Champions League final.

What?

Do you think the Catalan United think so too?

Can that be the same?

Indeed, in the second round of the quarter-finals, Catalan once led the Madrid Pirates 3-0 on aggregate.

The subsequent reversal of the Madrid Pirates was a miracle.

But you said it was a "miracle".

Since it is a miracle, can it still happen often?

Therefore, the Madrid Pirates can reverse the Catalan United once, but it does not prove that they can reverse it again, especially two consecutive miracles in a short period of time, which is almost unheard of.

Based on this idea, when Vesuvius' players celebrated, they were much more excited than when they were leading by a goal.

While they were celebrating, Hu Lai was gesturing to his teammates, reminding them loudly:

"Keep calm! No big deal, just two goals behind! The game has just started, which means we still have a lot of time to equalize!"

He kept pointing to his temples, and at the same time kept pressing down with his hands, signaling everyone not to panic.

In fact, the second conceded goal was the result of panic after conceding the first goal.

If the morale of the army is no longer stable, I am afraid that the team will continue to lose goals.

Although Hu Lai is not the captain of the team~www.novelmt.com~ and he doesn't wear an armband on his arm, but at this time, regardless of whether he is the captain or not, as a veteran player, he should stand up.

Wang Guangwei, who ran back to his own half after the celebration, happened to see this scene.

The smile that was still on his face disappeared in an instant. He turned his head and said to his teammates who ran back side by side with him:

"Although we lead by two goals, don't be too happy. You must be vigilant and defend carefully!"

When he said that, he pointed his finger at Hu Lai.

His teammates followed the hand and saw Hu Lai comforting his teammates.

Many people also nodded.

In fact, no matter whether there is such a thing or not, they will not relax their defense against Hu Lai.

Even if the current Madrid Pirates no longer have the dominance they had before, Hu Lai is still the only one in the scorer list, and he is high above them.

Doubt nothing, and don't doubt Hu Lai's scoring ability.

A 2:0 lead is good, but if Hu Lai is allowed to pull back a goal and become 2:1, then the situation will be completely different.

(end of this chapter)