Because of the slip, the ball at Lamela's feet was grabbed by Sarsfield's left midfielder Victor Zapata, who quickly split the ball and the ball fell to Sarsfield's number 10, Maxi Morales.

AT ONLY 160CM TALL, MORALES IS VERY FLEXIBLE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, HIS BODY IS ALSO VERY ...... Thin, Pereira immediately pasted it, and the other party used dribbling skills to try to bypass him, but Pereira's body did not exert much force, and Morales himself was unstable and fell to the ground.

Gareca on the sidelines slapped his head helplessly. He just thought about rainy days, and it was difficult for Raphael and Lamela to play their technical advantages, but he forgot that he also had players on the field who relied on technology like them, or even only on technology.

If Morales doesn't play well next, he'll have to replace him.

Gareca is still happy, he still has someone to replace, and Capa can only hope that the players on the field can resist the adverse effects of the rain and play normally.

Sarsfield's attack was snuffed out in the cradle by mistakes by their own players.

The raindrops began to affect the sight and hearing of the players on the pitch, the football became heavier than usual, both passing and possession were much more difficult than in normal weather, and the chances of players making mistakes increased significantly.

As the rain got heavier, the coaching staff on both sides scoured the players' spiked boots from the dressing room and waited on the sidelines for the players to be replaced, as the poorly drained lawns had become muddy due to the increase in precipitation.

Under normal circumstances, the shoes worn by players are broken nails or rubber spikes, which are light and flexible, and generally vary according to the field, but in the rain, the turf is slippery, the soil is soft, and its grip is insufficient, which can easily lead to falls.

So the referee team discussed, stopped the game, and asked the players to go to the sidelines to change their spike shoes to avoid injuries to the players.

However, Kappa's concerns are still justified, and there are players who do not have spike boots, such as Rafael.

Raphael was not mentally prepared for a rain battle at all, and he brought several pairs of spare boots, but none of them had a pair of spikes.

Although Rafael has experience of training in the rain with the team, this is the first time he has encountered such heavy rain in an official match...... You know, when he was still in the youth team, some boring media gave him a nickname.

Sunny Day Doll......

It's because of his games that are basically sunny and windy, and it hasn't even drizzled.

The team leader, who specializes in managing these chores and players' belongings, didn't expect the weather to change so quickly today, and it started to rain without any warning.

Capa has a headache, if you send someone to pick up Raphael's boots now, it will take at least 40 minutes to go back and forth, what now?

Most of the people had already changed their boots, and the referee was not going to wait for Rafael to restart because of Rafael's accident alone.

Taking advantage of Raphael's absence, Sarsfield began to launch a strong attack. After changing into spike sneakers, they finally played a decent offensive.

Unlike River Plate's youngsters, Rafael, Pereira, Lamela and others are all participating in the Copa Libertadores for the first time.

Sarsfield, on the other hand, is still a veteran and has a lot of experience. Papa, an active left-back at the back, is a regular for the Argentine national team. In midfield, 32-year-old captain and midfielder Victor Zapata, 32-year-old veteran, Uruguayan tank Silva is a prolific goalscorer, and 25-year-old Argentina international Juan Martinez has been in the Copa Libertadores for many years and has excellent attacking ability. The continued solidarity of these individuals is what has led to such a strong performance for Sarsfield this year.

And the formation played by River Plate today is 4213. The back four were Ferrero, Ferrari, Roman and Dias. Uruguayan defender Dias was also one of River Plate's main defensive force, but he has been recovering from injury this year, making few appearances, and recently he was injured to catch up with the semi-finals, so he put the immature Pezzella back on the bench.

In midfield, Acevedo and Almeida played as the two midfielders, Pereira occupied the central midfield, the two wings were Rafael and Lamela, and the center forward Pavoni.

Without Raphael's strategy on the flanks, Sarsfield, with less constraints, could concentrate more forces on the offensive and crush River Plate's frequent defeats. Kappa gestured for them not to panic and rush up.

Sarsfield are not known for their physicality, and Kappa's pre-match targeting is still valid.

Rafael also tried on shoes on the sidelines, and his teammates on the bench were willing to lend him the spike shoes they brought, but most of them didn't fit, and in the end he had no choice but to choose Caruso's, although the foot size was still slightly larger, but they were both forwards, better than wearing the shoes of a midfielder and a defender or even a goalkeeper.

The boots of professional players like them are mostly customized to suit their personal characteristics. Rafael waited on the sidelines for the right moment to enter the pitch, he jumped slightly, his feet were much smoother than before, but he was still very uncomfortable, it was a terrible experience.

Just as Rafael received the referee's signal to run inside the stadium, the situation on the pitch changed again.

Almeida's pressing made Morales, who was holding the ball, a little anxious, and he hastily passed the ball back, but it was caught by River Plate and Pereira split the side, but in the heavy rain, he overestimated the speed of the ball rolling, and also overestimated the speed of his team-mate's response, and the ball fell at Zapata's feet.

Zapata faced Romain, who came up to steal, and used an overhead pass to make the ball back to the middle, and at this time, Almeida, who had just stepped forward to harass Morales, had not yet returned to his position, and central defender Dias also ran to fill Roman's absence, and only Ferrero was still marking Silva in the middle, and due to the impact of heavy rain on his vision, he could not find the ball in the first place.

River Plate's defence was breached, and Martinez rushed forward with the ball, causing a commotion in front of goal, and then passed the ball to Silva, who followed up with a blast. Carriso pounced on the ball, but it was still scurrying into the net because Silva shot was too hard and his hand slipped in the rain.

The ball is in!

The Sarsfield fans erupted in earth-shattering cheers. In the stands where the gang was located, although the team flags and banners in their hands were soaked, they still tried their best to spread out, waving vigorously in the rain, and some people wanted to light incendiary objects to celebrate, but unfortunately it was not long before they were extinguished by the rain.

But none of this dampened their enthusiasm, and even the rain curtain seemed to drift to the other side because of the powerful air currents they collectively roared.

Rafael, who was halfway through the run, was very choked, and the score turned back to square one......

The lack of adaptation of the sneakers also made Rafael play poorly. He brushed his hair to the side, he had barely cut it in the year, his slightly longer blonde hair stuck to his neck, and his soaked jersey rubbed against his body, which was a little uncomfortable, but none of them could compare to the touch on his feet.

Because he was one size larger, the sneakers had accumulated a little water, which made him want to throw them aside.

Rafael's fans are a little worried.

"Could it be that the little angel is used to reversal, so he has no form when he is ahead?"

"That said, one goal away from Rafael starting Superman mode. ”

Jokes aside, on the field, Sarsfield, who equalized the aggregate score, wanted to overtake the score in one go, but was met with stubborn resistance from River Plate.

River Plate strictly enforced Capa's request, and in the 36th minute, Papa had not advanced far from the side before Pavoni was knocked to the ground, and then Morales won the ball in front of the field, and Dias tackled his man, and the latter received a yellow card.

River Plate's ferocity really made Sarsfield suspicious, and both sides began to consciously consume the time of the first half.

The cold rain hit his face, Rafael bent over his thighs and gasped, he tried hard to make River Plate's attack work, but you know, why are the sneakers called combat boots by the players, because the sneakers don't fit, just like the warriors lack the right weapons, it's good to be able to play half of the overall strength......

Not only him, but also the shortcomings of River Plate's overly young offensive line have also been revealed, and the lack of experience in rain battles has also made Lamela and others perform poorly.

"At the end of the first half, Sarsfield temporarily led River Plate 1-0, and now both sides have a home goal, so it will be up to them to break the deadlock in the second half. Now it seems that the heavy rain has had a greater impact on River Plate, the offense has basically been contained, and the Angels have been competing with his sneakers, just on the sidelines we can see that Rafael has changed shoes for a long time, he should not have brought his own rain boots, which is a dereliction of duty on the part of River Plate management. ”

Carroll still spoke from Raphael's point of view.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, a young man watched TV with his chin propped up, and sighed: "This guy can't do it, if you want to die, you have to die in my hands, what is it to fall at the door of the house, shame on you......"

Back in the locker room, the players began to clean up the dirty jerseys, and Lanzini handed Rafael a clean hot towel and patted him on the shoulder: "The big one is not easy to use, so do you want to try the smaller one?

Pezela's body behind him was shocked, and he glanced at the two of them strangely, he had been infected by the dirty wave, and his thoughts no longer knew where to go......

Raphael thought for a moment: "No need. ”

Capa asked Rafael to endure a little longer, and did not blame other players who did not perform well because of the rain, but continued to emphasize scrambling, asking them to play tough, fight bloody, increase mid-to-high passes, try to avoid rolling balls and high-altitude passes, and minimize the impact of heavy rain.

During the half-time period, the rain continued and the last major renovation of the José Amalfitani Stadium was during the 1978 World Cup, more than 30 years ago. The lack of drainage and the lack of effort by Sarsfield Stadium management to clean up the stagnant water have now turned the pitch into a new rotten vegetable patch.

Annoyed by this, Capa protested to Sarsfield, but received no response.

Since it is the home field, of course they have to make the most of the home advantage.

Many fans in the stands also took this opportunity to change into raincoats, but more fans were shirtless, and in this cold air, they were still in full swing, dancing and singing the team song to cheer for the team, this spirit is really admirable.

The temperature is only 14 degrees Celsius.

At the start of the second half, Rafael performed much better than the first, and Lamela and others were more accustomed to the weather and venue, although everyone's pace slowed down, which still made River Plate fans feel a little reassured.

In the 52nd minute, Sarsfield took the lead in making a substitution, replacing Morales with Alvarez.

ÁLVAREZ IS ALSO ONE OF THE TALENTS WHO ARE NOW FAMOUS IN ARGENTINA, WITH A HEIGHT OF 188CM AND A STRONG BODY, KNOWN AS ARGENTINA'S NEW "KAKA", AND HIS PERFORMANCE THIS SEASON IS VERY EYE-CATCHING, WHICH HAS AROUSED THE INTEREST OF MANY EUROPEAN GIANTS. However, Premier League side Arsenal are rumoured to have reached an agreement with him, and at the end of this season, the young talented midfielder will join the Gunners on a free transfer, as his contract with Sarsfield expires this year (Note 1).

Alvarez's presence put Pereira under a lot of pressure and the two were right in line.

Because of the opponent's physical advantage, Pereira can no longer rely on physical collisions to steal the ball as easily as he did against Morales. What's worse is that because the rain often blurs his eyes, it is difficult for him to see the other party's movements right away.

I can't even see the action clearly, so how can I grab the ball?

Pereira could only ignore the tackle, he didn't shovel anyone, he didn't shovel the ball, but the sneaker shoveled through a puddle, and the splash successfully made a fool......

Hopefully he didn't get to the mud.

Rafael, who had skimmed past him, took the opportunity to take the ball away and launched an attack from the right flank. In the rain, his figure running with the ball was still agile and fast, and immediately made 3,000 River Plate fans jump and shout his name loudly. But soon, their voices were drowned out by an overwhelming chorus of boos.

However, if you compare Rafael's speed with the past, his speed is still significantly reduced. The waterlogged field made it difficult for him to get on the ball, and he had to carefully control his body's center of gravity and balance, so he couldn't get up to speed.

Rafael kept his head slightly down, keeping his eyes on the ball, occasionally looking up at the opposing player's movement.

Cubero immediately intercepted Rafael diagonally.

He didn't underestimate the opponent because of the poor performance of the opponent in the first half, Rafael made a passing gesture, Cubero was unmoved, seeing this, Rafael pulled the ball back, and then he suddenly took a step with his left foot to the right side of Cubero, but the ball was still in place, just like a mistake caused by the grass being too slippery and unable to control himself.

But Cubello still held back, his experience led him to believe that such an obvious mistake was obviously a feint on the part of the opponent, and under the rain curtain, he tried to wait for the opponent's next move with his eyes wide open.

Then, he watched as Raphael's left foot was still sliding forward until his hands landed on his right side, propped up on the ground, uh, the feints were so realistic, okay?

Wrong...... This doesn't seem to be a feint! The other party really fell, so the center of gravity is unstable!!

Cubero, who was stunned, cursed in his heart, and hurriedly stretched out his foot to hook the ball, who knows, Raphael moved again!

Using both hands as a point of support, he did not retract his slippery left foot, but used his right foot to push the ball that was parked in place forward on tiptoe, and the ball rolled down his left leg and past Cubero's right side.

At this time, Raphael's left hand crossed 180 degrees, his elbow touched the ground, and his body also flipped from sideways to facing the sky, just avoiding Cubello's legs, relying on his hands and waist to exert force, taking advantage of this opportunity to bounce off the ground, and then chased the football with his legs.

Cubero was completely stunned, so, this TM is still a superb?!

Raphael's unbelievable dribble made him react a little slower by half a beat.

“…… The angel broke through to Cubero and ...... in an eerie way Could it be that this is a new method of passing people developed by Raphael?"

Raphael: It's so dangerous, I almost fell down when I made a feint, but luckily I reacted quickly......

Cubero turned to chase people, Rafael continued to carry the ball along the side of the deep, the opposite left-back Papa just inserted the assist, past Cubero, the central marking Otis hurriedly came to fill the position, Rafael did not dodge, simply rushed towards him with the ball.

Cubero behind him didn't give up either, ready to pinch Raphael with Otis. But when Raphael ran closer and closer to Otis, Cubero hesitated, and if Raphael turned and ran, it would be wrong for the two of them to collide together, and he adjusted his direction slightly so that he and Otis were in two parallel lines.

Sure enough, in the face of Otis, Raphael controlled the ball with a quick left and right feet, it was difficult to open his eyes under the heavy rain, Raphael's dexterous movements directly confused Otis, his body shook, and when he hesitated whether to stretch his feet or block people, the ball had already slid past his right side, and Raphael was also ready to accelerate past him.

This time Otis was in a hurry, so he had to put the shovel, he absolutely couldn't let Raphael pass so easily.

He shovels diagonally, and if nothing else, when Raphael comes, he will knock people over. He grasped the opportunity just right, and he would never let the other party have time to dodge in advance.

He did tackle people, however, he tackled his teammate Cubero.

Because Raphael was about to accelerate past Otis, when he suddenly stumbled under his feet, and the whole person fell backwards...... He slipped and fell, and before Rafael could get up from the ground, Cubero, who was chasing him from his right rear, overwhelmed him before being tackled by his own team-mates unprepared.

It's a sad story.

Rafael, who escaped by slipping and falling, witnessed the scene of the car accident and hurriedly bypassed the two.

Now there is no one to stop him from quickly taking the ball to the penalty zone.

However, Rafael still undercounted the time consumed by his breakthrough, although he successfully cut into the forbidden zone, but the opponent's other defender has also successfully filled the position, and the army is returning to the defense......

It couldn't be delayed any longer, although his angle was blocked by the goalkeeper for most of the time, and Rafael didn't spend any more time on the defender, otherwise he wouldn't have had time to shoot when he pulled away from a bigger angle.

Rafael dribbled the ball into the right side of the penalty zone and then pulled out his foot and shot angrily!

His posture is very handsome, but not handsome for a second, his right foot just touched the ball, and the supported left foot slipped again, Raphael secretly screamed, come back?

In a hurry, Rafael straightened the instep of his right foot in that moment, and although the ball changed direction slightly, it did not go straight to the sky, but continued to blast towards the goal.

Raphael, who had used all his strength, slammed his back on the grass, fell firmly, and splashed all over the ground.

Rafael immediately straightened up to see if the ball had scored, but as soon as he got up, a round thing "popped" on his head.

Raphael's whole body was smashed and stunned......

At this time, there seemed to be only the sound of rain between heaven and earth, and there was no other noise......

The night-light lights in the José Amalfitani Stadium illuminated the stadium as if it were daylight, and the 49,000 spectators in the stadium watched Rafael shoot hard but slipped!

The home fans haven't had time to laugh yet.

The slightly high ball went over the goalkeeper's hands and hit the inside of the crossbar.

Because of the direction of the force, the ball rebounded, coincidentally, it was the reverse of Rafael's up, through Rafael's rapid strength, the ball that hit his head turned back again, and at this time the goalkeeper just raised his hands to the ground, and could only watch the ball rub the gap between his waist and the goalpost, and just crashed into the net......

What the hell is this!!