Chapter 158: Return!!
It's been 20 days since the game against the Nationals, and the matter is finally slowly leaving the public event. During this period, Lao Lei, who did not have league games, played a few warm-up games in the national team, which allowed him to maintain his condition well. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Scolari also rehearsed the tactics based on Lao Lei, and several warm-up games were all good results. This also reduced some negative reports about Lao Lei from the side, and Lao Lei finally officially got rid of the impact of this incident.
On the Porto side, this period of time was also a thrilling time to spend the years without the old thunder. First of all, in the 11th round of the game away to Bellamar, Porto won a valuable 1-0 victory. On his home turf, Bellamar put on a bus formation. In the absence of Lao Lei and Maniche, Porto's attacking power has been greatly affected. The attack of the trio of Deco, Alenichev and McCarthy was a little helpless in front of the dense defensive front of Belamar.
The stalemate between the two sides was only broken in the 60th minute of the second half. After a one-two with Alenichev on the right side of the pitch, Alenichev's defenders had no choice but to pull him down from behind. Porto won a free-kick on the edge of the box from a tight angle that would have been difficult to hit straight at goal. And after Lao Lei's absence, as the first penalty taker in the front court, Deco did not choose to attack the goal directly, nor did he choose to drive the football into the crowded penalty area. Instead, the ball was crossed to the edge of the box.
There Kostiani, already in place. And there are no defenders around. This is not to blame for the negligence of Bellamar's defenders, after all, the idea that Kostiani is almost not involved in the attack is already well established in the Portuguese Super League. And this time, this honest man who has always been cautious and honest is a competent green leaf by Lao Lei's side. At this time, he kicked a shocking long-range shot. Before Belamar's defenders could press on, the ball was like a cannonball out of the chamber, heading straight for Belamar's door.
Bellamar's goalkeeper couldn't react to this and could only watch as the ball drilled into the top left corner of the goal. Bellamar fell to the hands of the most unexpected man, and Kostiani's goal was also a stunner. Porto managed to get three points with this goal and continue to maintain the top spot in the standings with a win-loss advantage. The arrival of this victory also left the outside world, who have always questioned Porto's prospects, speechless, but there are still some diehards who boast that Porto is just a fluke this time.
However, the next two consecutive victories. Just shut up all these people. Having learned the lessons of the last game, Mourinho decisively made a change to the formation of his team, which became 4-4-2. Kostiani played as a single midfielder, partnering Deco, Alenichev and Maniche in midfield, and in front of Brazilian teenager Alberto got another chance to start, partnering McCarthy in two strikers.
This formation pushed Deco to the core of the organization, and at the same time tightened the formation, minimizing the impact of Lao Lei's absence. And in such a formation, Deco also used his excellent performance. Echoed Mourinho's trust. In the match against promoted Marbilani, Porto once again showed their dominance. A clean 4:1, giving a defeat to the promoted horse away from home, also solidified his position in the standings. Deco had two assists and a goal in the game. Porto had 70% possession throughout the game. At the end of the game, Deco's watch was also unanimously praised. The media can't help but sigh that Mourinho has a good hand in his hand. If the generals are not there, they can still sweep the Portuguese Super League.
With the momentum of a two-game winning streak. Returning to the home stadium, Porto is still playing with a score of 4:1 in the 12th round of the league. Defeated Ki Vicente, who came to challenge, and managed to win 3 in a row. With this streak, Porto has officially survived this twist and turn. In the stands, Lao Lei witnessed the heroic appearance of his teammates, and while regretting his impulsiveness again, he couldn't help but look forward to his comeback. The more than 20-day ban made Lao Lei feel that his feet were going to rust and itch uncomfortably.
However, Lao Lei's first comeback game was not the league, but the Champions League group stage, facing the Marseille team that came to challenge at home. Marseille are now at the bottom of Group F with just one point, and their goal is not to qualify, but to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Now a point is very crucial for them. In such circumstances, this game will not be easy for Porto. If Porto want to beat Real Madrid and finish first in Group F, they can't stop their winning streak.
And ahead of this game, Porto's starting line-up was the focus of attention. If there was no suspense in the previous Porto starting 11, then it was different after Lao Lei's ban. There is an opinion in the media that since Porto's previous 4-4-2 formation with Deco at the core has worked well, then why not continue with this 4-4-2 formation. When the comeback old Lei Hui is in his best condition, wouldn't it be better to return to the starter? Some of the people who put forward such a point of view are genuinely giving advice to Porto, while others are purely trying to make trouble and unhappy for Porto, and to put it mildly, it is to drive a wedge between Lao Lei and Porto's teammates.
In the face of such public opinion, Porto has shown a commendable team spirit. From head coach Mourinho to the players, they all stood firmly behind Lao Lei in interviews with the media and expressed their support for Lao Lei. Mourinho even said early that Lao Lei would undoubtedly occupy a place in the starting lineup. In this regard, Porto fans also expressed their support for the team and Lao Lei, and when the fans watched the team prepare for the game outside the training base in Porto, they pulled out the slogan "Godzilla Our King" to express their support for Lao Lei. The support of teammates, mentors, and fans made Lao Lei very moved. I'm full of motivation and I can't wait for the game to start now. Go up and kill it.
Of course, in case the old thunder plays abnormally again in this game. The public opinion after the game is no joke. However, Lao Lei himself is not worried about this at all, people can't trip on the same stone twice. And in order to cheer up Lao Lei, Joseph and Cintia also deliberately closed the shop, took a day off, came to the stadium, and brought Xiao Ji to help Lao Lei.
Time flies and the game is about to begin. When Lao Lei appeared on the Dragon Stadium again in official matches, he was still greeted by deafening cheers, and his portrait still floated in the stands of Porto. and the huge Porto number 13 jersey. With these familiar moments, Lao Lei once again realized their preciousness, and the blood of the battle in his body couldn't help but begin to boil. In a trance, Lao Lei seemed to be able to feel his bones trembling and trembling with excitement.
With the referee's whistle, the game officially began, starting with Porto's possession. After receiving McCarthy's return pass, Lao Lei's first touch of the ball drew unanimous applause from the Porto fans. Facing Drogba, who rushed towards him, Old Ray made an understatement of Marseille maneuver. Just let Drogba's pressing. The good form that came out of this action gave Porto fans even more reason to believe that their Godzilla King would not disappoint his supporters.
"Roar, look at this beautiful Marseille slalom, who still has any doubts about whether Reima can start?" After the commentator at the scene saw Lao Lei's movements. is also half admired by Lao Lei's ball skills, and half is said unfairly for Lao Lei. This sentence won a chorus of echoes from the Porto fans in the stands.
After the start of the game. The old ray is in good shape and is very active on the pitch. According to the live commentary, "You can be in every corner of the stadium." You can see the figure of Reima. In fact, Lao Lei's running more or less limited the space for Deco and others to play. However, everyone also understood Lao Lei's mood, and did not complain, but seriously cooperated with Lao Lei. I have to say that having such a group of teammates is Lao Lei's great luck.
Under the activity of Lao Lei, the Marseille defense line with a defensive lineup was under great pressure and was shaky. Lao Lei not only used his flexible and non-stop running position in the attack to give Marseille's defense a headache, but also used his own active pressing in defense to make Marseille's backcourt organization stretched. It can be said that in the period after the opening, Marseille's ball was rarely able to reach the front court.
In the 13th minute of the first half, after receiving a pass from Kostiani in the front court, Lao Lei turned his back to the Marseille defender, and directly turned his back on the ball and got rid of him. Then he waved his hand back, knocking out the defender's hand that was reaching for his jersey. Facing the Marseille players who came over to make up for the defense, Lao Lei showed his solid basic skills at this time.
Instead of waiting for the ball to land, he directly lifted his right thigh up and turned the football upside down. Then he turned 360 degrees with his left foot as the axis, but in the process, the ball never landed. After Lao Lei bounced the ball on his thigh, he faced the ball that fell again, and in the process of turning, he used the instep of his foot to bumble the ball. And the players who made up for Marseille's defense were shaken by Lao Lei like this. Lao Lei's solid juggling and unloading skills in this pass once again won an exclamation and a round of applause from the Porto fans.
After training two Marseille players, Lao Lei has reached the front of the Marseille penalty area. If Lao Lei had been in the past, he would have been the first to consider passing assists, but this time he only had the voice "I want to score" in his head. After facing the goal head-on, Lao Lei did not let the football fall to the ground, and after his right foot was gently tossed again, it was directly a volley.
The ball draws a wonderful outside arc in the air and goes straight into the top right corner of the goal. The outstretched hands of the Marseille goalkeeper looked more like a surrender in front of this shot.
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!! Pretty! Couldn't be more beautiful!! Perfect solo show! No one can find any flaws!! I'm going to bend down and salute! O our King!! ”
After seeing the goal scored, Lao Lei excitedly pulled off his jersey, dodged the blockade of his teammates, and rushed to the stands of the Porto fans.
It's just a big slippery kneeling.
Then he threw his jersey into the air with his hands in the air.
Facing the tsunami of the mountains and the tsunami, "King! King! ……”
Facing tens of thousands of people bent over and bowed their heads.
Spread your hands and hold your head high.
Under the bright lights of the Dragon Stadium, accept the reverence of your own subjects.
And he's a victorious king!
Porto's number 13 jersey, fluttering over the Dragons Stadium, shines brilliantly!! (To be continued......)