Chapter 105: The Decisive Battle (1)
It wasn't until the two sides were ready to take sides that the loud cries stopped. But the aftermath still seemed to be echoing in everyone's ears, echoing in everyone's hearts. Xiao Xiaoluo and Quaresma both showed envious eyes behind Lao Lei, although they are also the darlings of the fans and talented players in the eyes of everyone, but they have not received this kind of treatment in Sporting Lisbon. At least this season, the accolade belongs to Jadel, the main Indian striker of Sporting Lisbon, and the two youngsters are only supporting roles.
Lao Lei's heart was quite unsettled at this time, and the cheer for himself just now turned from shock at the beginning to a trace of guilt later. They won't know that this is their swan song as a Leiria player at the Magalhays Stadium, and to be honest, Ray feels deserved. At this time, Lao Lei only has two words in his heart: champion, and only the champion may be able to reduce his guilt for these lovely fans.
Taking advantage of the time when Ben was exchanging flags with the captain of Sporting Lisbon, Lao Lei exhaled a few deep breaths, quickly calmed his mood, and refocused his attention on the game. The camera focused on Ray and Jardel, clearly telling fans that these were the two most crucial players in the game.
A big war is inevitable.
In the centre circle McCarthy was stepping on a football and Leiria won the tee-off. Players from both sides, managers, fans were waiting for the referee's whistle. Calaba looked at the excited looks of his fans in the stands and sighed: "That's great! Lao Lei, who was standing beside him, did not answer or say a word.
He turned his head to look over and saw that the elder Lei was staring intently at the goal guarded by Sporting Lisbon goalkeeper Patricio. Perhaps to ease his nervousness, he asked, "What do you think?" Reima, the race is about to begin. “
"Huh?" After coming back to his senses, Lao Lei smiled and said, "I was thinking about how I should celebrate if I scored a goal?" “
"You're thinking too far ahead, the game hasn't started yet."
"Not far, not far. Rhein, I didn't think I would win the championship, how should I celebrate. And, I'm telling you, I'm going to score a goal in this game. And it would be a great goal. Lao Lei said half-jokingly and half-seriously. The expression on his face made Calaba unable to tell whether Lao Lei was serious or joking. He could only shake his head, concentrating on the game that was about to start, but at this time he felt that he was not so nervous, and he didn't know if Lao Dao's words had played a role.
It was at this time that the referee blew the whistle for the start of the game. The passionate voice of the on-site commentator Volono: "The game has begun, this is the last round of the Portuguese Super League in the 01-02 season. It's a life-and-death battle, with the winner winning the championship and the loser empty-handed. Let's cheer for our boys and heroes! “
This direct battle for the Portuguese Super League championship has finally begun.
Lao Lei was the first to receive the football from McCarthy, and Lao Lei did not choose to pass back in the face of Jadel, who was pressing, but unexpectedly passed directly forward to Andre, and then quickly bypassed Jadel's side. Jadel just meant it, he didn't really mean to defend Lao Lei, he didn't chase Lao Lei. But it was a signal for Leiria to play a surprise attack at the opening time, which was Mourinho's set-up. And Lao Lei's move undoubtedly means that the lightning attack has begun, and the three people in front of Ugo, Bruno and McCarthy began to accelerate forward.
With the game just getting underway, Sporting Lisbon's midfielders don't seem to be in the groove yet. Lao Lei, who re-received Andre's pass, was not disturbed by the Sporting Lisbon players for a while, but easily completed the wide-side pass with a big foot. Then he began to thrust forward quickly to support McCarthy in front.
After running wildly down the left, Ugo got the ball and then went straight to his feet and played a diagonal 45-degree pass. At this time, McCarthy was smart enough to grab the point, but this time it was just to shake off the players of Sporting Lisbon. These few quick passes made the players of Sporting Lisbon who were not mentally prepared in a hurry, and at this time they could only instinctively follow the ball, and the defense line was not arranged at all.
McCarthy headed the ball back and flicked the ball to the back and out of the box. At this time, Lao Lei had already rushed to the front of the football team, which was about 28 meters away from the goal, and there was no one to defend and interfere. I saw Lao Lei stop the football that McCarthy was ferrying with his right foot, then adjusted two steps, and waved his long legs, which was a powerful shot.
"Danger!" With the exclamation of the commentator on the Sporting Lisbon side, their goalkeeper Patricio moved quickly, but because of the speed of Lao Lei's shot, he did not dare to grab it with his hands, but hit it with his own fists. With a dull "bang", the football was knocked out of the penalty area again, and the defender of Sporting Lisbon rushed to drive a big foot out of the sideline before Lao Lei could take a long shot again. The crisis at Sporting Lisbon has been lifted for the time being, accompanied by the regretful exclamations of Leiria fans and the sound of scolding girls in local bars.
'Our players are too loose and we have to get up and spirited right away. You must know that they are not facing a fish belly team, but their direct opponent for the championship. If it hadn't been for Patricio's timely save, he would have conceded the goal just after the start. It's not a good thing to concede a goal at home to Leiria, who is the toughest to play against, and that's what the Portuguese Super League team is known for. Looking at the angry look on the head coach of Jardin, he must have been unhappy with his lack of concentration in the opening stages, and Remaier's shot must have made him break out in a cold sweat. The commentator on the Sporting Lisbon side criticized mercilessly, and in fact he was also sweating.
And Mourinho on the sidelines also waved his hand regretfully after seeing Lao Lei's shot blocked. It was a surprise attack that he orchestrated before the game, and he almost got the best result. However, it is not too regrettable, the main purpose of this surprise attack is to boost the morale of Leiria's players, and as for the goal, it depends on a little luck.
And from the next few minutes of the game, there is no doubt that Mourinho has achieved his goal. The first threatening shot of the game seemed to set the tone for the game just after the opening kick-off. Next, the two sides did not give in to each other, and the fight was wide open and fierce. And Leiria, whose morale prevailed in the opening stages, was clearly more threatening than Sporting Lisbon.
In the fifth minute of the first half, Lao Lei was again active in assisting the edge of the penalty area, and this time Lao Lei attracted the attention of enough Sporting Lisbon players thanks to the opening shot. McCarthy, who was in the box, took the opportunity to get Bruno's low ball across and shoot from the spot. This time, McCarthy's shot went just over the crossbar. Two shots in quick succession came close to scoring, which made Sporting Lisbon fans raise their hearts in their throats at the opening stage.
And Jardim couldn't sit still, stood up and came to the sidelines, looking at the situation on the field with his hands on his chest, his face was very stinky. He was very vocal about his displeasure, which was a signal to his players. A few minutes later, Sporting Lisbon, who began to stand on their feet, immediately began to launch a counterattack.
Quaresma was on the left and played a fancy lob past Calabar. Seeing that his defense was about to be breached, Calaba did not hesitate to pull down Quaresma directly. Sporting Lisbon relied on Quaresma's breakthrough to win a free-kick from about 27 yards out of goal. For this ball, Quaresma directly chose to hit the goal with his feet, but it was directly confiscated by Lemato and played too right.
Five minutes later, Sporting Lisbon was back in the picture. It was Quaresma's precise diagonal pass from the left that found Jadel cruising in the box. Jardel didn't stop the ball, and volleyed directly with his right foot, the ball didn't hit the ground, and flew directly and quickly towards the goal. Lemato made the crucial save and took the ball off his fingertips to change its trajectory. It was slightly off the post of the goal. Jardel, Sporting Lisbon's biggest threat, came close to giving his team the lead with his first shot on goal.
It was Sporting Lisbon's most threatening attack since the opening. This time it was Mourinho's turn to break out in a cold sweat, and he came to the sidelines and instructed Lao Lei: "Remado helps Calaba, he is a little struggling." Lao Lei nodded, even if Mourinho didn't say it, he was ready to do it. After the opening, Xiao Xiaoluo, who was in charge of his side, was not active. Lao Lei himself wanted to take care of Quaresma, but Mourinho considered that Lao Lei had to play more on the offensive end, so he handed Quaresma to Caraba, who was fully defending. However, it seems that this arrangement did not work out for a while in the opening period. Of course, the two masters and apprentices didn't see Xiao Xiaoluo, who was beside Lao Lei and heard it clearly, quickly darkened his face. There is no doubt that he feels that he is being slighted and underestimated, which is the hardest thing for a young genius to bear.
In the next attack of Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo began to actively ask for the ball, as if he wanted to prove himself urgently. He got his wish to get a pass from his teammate, and immediately began to dazzle and peddle his bicycle with a fast frequency. This caused an exclamation from Leiria fans, and such a beautiful bicycle is still rare.
Xiao Xiaoluo, who heard the exclamation, was about to show a smug smile, but he didn't see Lao Lei looking at his old Lei like a stupid person. Lao Lei's football concept accepts Mourinho's football concept, all actions are to be done for victory, and no superfluous actions are made. Even if Lao Lei wants to make some more exaggerated moves, it is because of the situation and the consideration of victory. But looking at the little Luo in front of him, he said in his heart that if this person was under the hands of the head, he would definitely be scolded and cried, how long has it been delayed.
After Xiao Xiao Luo finally cut inside, Lao Lei has been in a horizontal position, and squeezed the thin Xiao Luo back a few steps, and easily broke the ball. After learning from Gattuso in the system for so long, Lao Lei has made great progress in card positions and ball breaks, at least it is not a big problem to deal with the current Xiao Xiaoluo.
Ignoring Xiao Xiaoluo, who fell to the ground and complained to the referee, Lao Lei moved forward quickly with the ball, which was an opportunity to counterattack.