Chapter 024: Free Kick Battle

"Whoa—"

Cristiano Ronaldo's goal set the pitch in full swing at the Sun Life Stadium, and everyone who came to the stadium was unleashed their energy except for the Chelsea fans.

Although Real Madrid's final goal was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, the direct assist came from Marcelo, and the planning was completed by Modric, but the person who really launched the attack was Tang Zheng, the target king of this summer.

Tang Zheng showed himself to the fullest during the twenty-plus minutes of play, which led to much of the defensive attention of the Chelsea midfield being focused on him, so much so that other Real Madrid attacking players ignored him.

Modric's non-stop through ball came from Tang Zheng's distraction from Chelsea's midfield defense, and Marcelo's direct one-on-one face to the central defender reflected the continuity and threat of Huang Man's overall attack.

Mourinho shook his head, Modric was personally asked to be brought in by Florentino, his presence can enrich Real Madrid's overall style of play, but now he is used by Ancelotti, it's a pity.

Of course, the most regrettable thing is that he didn't have the opportunity to coach Tang Zheng.

Real Madrid coach Ancelotti, who was standing in front of the coach's seat, looked at Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo with deep meaning, although the two of them still did not spark, but Cristiano Ronaldo's style gradually transformed, tending to grab points in the penalty area, and Tang Zheng belongs to the opportunity creator, even if there is no direct connection between the two, there will be other bridges to make up for it.

Just like Modric's tandem and Marcelo's direct assist just now, as long as Tang Zheng does a good job as a front midfielder, he may not be required to make the last pass.

The consequence of this will certainly cause the effect of 1+1 to be less than 2 or more, but at least it will not be less than 1 or equal to 1.

As long as the result is not less than or equal to 1, Real Madrid's attack can still be smooth.

The Chelsea players who were behind wanted to organise an effective attack to equalise, but Real Madrid's midfield interception ability was not much weaker than the attack, and even better than Chelsea in terms of defensive toughness.

Why?

Tang Zheng, who plays in the front midfield, will never be stingy with his physical fitness, and he will often bear the brunt of the shift from offense to defense, standing on the front line of defense and strengthening his own defensive strength.

However, after all, the football game is a battle of eleven people, and Tang Zheng's personal efforts cannot make up for the mistakes caused by the whole team.

Cristiano Ronaldo did not hand it over after receiving Marcelo's cross-pass, but took advantage of the situation and turned directly to the goal.

However, under pressure from Van Ginkel and Ramirez, his power was not well controlled, his shot was limp and the ball was comfortably picked off by goalkeeper Cech.

Rather than rushing back into their own half, the Real Madrid players were ready to repeat their old tactics and launch the first wave of counter-attacks in the Chelsea defensive half.

However, goalkeeper Petr Cech had a wide field of vision and made a small run, and the thick left arm slammed the ball out.

"Oops!"

Tang Zheng realized that Chelsea was going to play a trademark quick counter-attack, and quickly turned around and accelerated.

However, the speed of the football is far faster than Tang Zheng's movement, and the little monster Lukaku at the front is strong, and Pepe can't carry him at all.

By the time Pepe wanted to foul him, it was too late, and Lukaku passed the ball to the Belgian demon Ahal who was advancing in the field, who ran wildly with the ball.

When he attracted enough attention from the defense to suddenly pass the ball to Ramirez on the other side, Real Madrid's entire backline became helpless.

Ramirez was not nervous when he got the ball, as he did in the 2011-2012 Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, opting for a light pick-and-shoot as the ball fell from the top of the attacking Iker Casillas to the unguarded goal......

1:1

The Chelsea players were thrilled to equalise when they were from behind, and the first thing they had to do to come from behind was to equalise, meaning they were one goal away from a comeback.

Jose Mourinho's desire to beat his former club Real Madrid is well known, and after the equaliser, he stood on the sidelines and was more attentive, occasionally reminding his players of how to choose between defending and attacking with provocative gestures.

The tactics were good, the Chelsea players were well executed, but in many cases the stars were more powerful than they could have imagined.

Tang Zheng suddenly changed his passing style during a Real Madrid attack and turned to meet the ball.

Van Ginkel realised it was too late, his outstretched leg didn't hit the ball, not even a kick.

Veteran Frank Lampard bumped into Tang Zheng on the right side, and Tang Zheng's center of gravity was suddenly chaotic, but fortunately, he did not fall directly with his super balance ability, and staggered to the 25-meter area.

Captain Terry realized that the situation was not right, and immediately stepped forward, raising his leg to trip Tang Zheng at the moment when he stumbled on the ball.

The referee's whistle blew and Terry received a yellow card for a foul.

Because the foul was committed in front of the top of the arc of the penalty area, the position was slightly to the left, which was very suitable for right-footed players to take the penalty, so the captain Terry 'shouted to catch the thief', saying that he didn't kick Tang Zheng at all, and he fell down by himself.

Isco had a good relationship with Tang Zheng, and his English level was okay, he understood Terry's general meaning, and said a few words with some unhappiness.

As a result, it is normal for the two to have a quarrel.

When the players on both sides saw their teammates being 'bullied' by each other, they naturally walked up and wanted to ask for an explanation.

Cristiano Ronaldo was not involved, he took the football in his arms and put it in the place where the foul was committed.

At the same time, the American Golden Whistle Geiger prevented further clashes between the players of both sides with his excellent professionalism, and then verbally warned Terry and Real Madrid player Isco, who had already received a yellow card, respectively.

※※※

During his time at Borussia Dortmund, Tang Zheng learned an excellent set-piece under the guidance of Andrea Pirlo, so he became the team's number one set-piece player in a dangerous position when Pirlo was injured.

So when the referee Geiger settled the conflict, Tang Zheng wanted to find football.

But the football was held in the arms of Cristiano Ronaldo, which made Tang Zheng seem a little speechless.

Reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has always been Real Madrid's number one set-piece and penalty taker in the past, let him take the penalty this time, and ...... next time You have to take your turn, right?

In terms of ability and performance, Tang Zheng thinks that he is no worse than Cristiano Ronaldo.

If you want to have a bigger say in the Real Madrid dressing room, performance on the pitch is crucial.

The straight-line distance given by the broadcaster is 26 meters, which is a bit closer to the fallen ball that Cristiano Ronaldo is good at.

Sure enough, his direct free-kick went over the crossbar.

Cristiano Ronaldo's direct free-kick went over the crossbar, which also made Tang Zheng firm his strong desire to take the set-piece next.

The opportunity soon came, as Isco fouled Van Ginkel on the right flank and Real Madrid were awarded a direct free-kick from about 30 yards from goal.

With the previous situation when Cristiano Ronaldo held the ball in his arms, Tang Zheng, who was closer, pulled up Isco and hugged the football.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who was about to take the set-piece, was stunned, he didn't expect Tang Zheng to have such an operation.

As the team's number one set-piece peniser, he didn't want to waste a single chance to score, and the previous ball was too close to suit his free-kick style.

Now that the foul is just right away, is there any reason to let it go?

As a result, there was a discordant scene in the broadcast footage.

Of course, this is only for Real Madrid fans.

Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to ask for football from Tang Zheng, but Tang Zheng hugged it to the death and didn't give Cristiano Ronaldo face at all.

Yang 5 commentator He Wei felt that his thinking was a little unable to keep up, and he was stunned, and only said after about two seconds: "Tang Zheng's footwork is excellent, in Dortmund is a well-deserved number one set-piece player in addition to Pirlo, Real Madrid has been punished by Ronaldo since Ronaldo joined, and the set-pieces are all punished by him, but Tang Zheng's free kick breaking rate is not lower than that of Ronaldo, so the problem is ...... Who deserves to be the number one set-piece penalty?"

British Sky commentator Andy Gray was surprised and said: "Is Don going to fight Cristiano Ronaldo for the right to take a free kick?"

As soon as the words fell, the commentator Martin Taylor added: "Dear Andy, what you said is not right, as far as I know, Don's direct free kick percentage at this distance is no lower than Cristiano Ronaldo, so Don is qualified enough to take this direct free kick." ”

At the same time, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti slapped his forehead sharply.

Since the preparation for the new season, he has not made it clear who is the number one penalty in the team, so it has always been a tacit default.

But now Tang Zheng has a football in his hands, so Ancelotti has to think deeply, because Tang Zheng's set-piece shooting rate is also very high, and since the beginning of his career, he has never missed a penalty.

Tang Zheng usually has a penalty shooting rate in River Plate and Dortmund, and Ancelotti is not clear, but he has never missed a penalty in the penalty practice prepared for the new season.

In addition, Tang Zheng, like Cristiano Ronaldo, will choose to practice after training, and the additional training item is a direct free kick.

The hit rate is quite evenly matched.

"What a headache!"

Ancelotti rubbed his temples with the fingers of both hands.

Clement, who was next to him, nudged Ancelotti and then pointed to the pitch: "Who is in charge of the set-piece?"

On the field, Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo did not give an inch, and at the same time looked at the sidelines, that is, the coach's box.

When everyone is unwilling to give up the right to take the penalty, the head coach has the most say.

But Ancelotti can't make up his mind now, because once he has a choice, it is not good for the stability of the dressing room.

It was Zidane who reacted quickly, he turned to Ancelotti and said: "Carlo, I suggest that it is up to the players on the pitch to decide." ”

After a while, Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo saw that coach Ancelotti didn't have an idea, and looked at each other again.

They read the meaning in each other's eyes - want me to concede a free kick?

However, by this time the Chelsea wall had retreated enough distance from referee Geiger's intervention, and both the wall and goalkeeper Petr Cech were in place......

Seeing that the referee Geiger stepped forward to intervene, and the football was in Tang Zheng's hands, the vice-captain Ramos had no choice but to pull Cristiano Ronaldo and whispered: "It's better to let him play once, right?

Cristiano Ronaldo frowned and looked very displeased, but Tang Zheng didn't give an inch, and he didn't care like a resentful woman, snorted coldly, turned his head to get out of the way, and at the same time shouted something in his mouth.

Tang Zheng ignored Cristiano Ronaldo's shouting, but set up the football and retreated enough distance.

Compared with Cristiano Ronaldo's compass standing method of direct free kicks, Tang Zheng's standing method is more conventional, with a small slash.

Measure the number of steps, Tang Zheng took a deep breath and adjusted his mentality.

He was a little distracted and under pressure when he was battling Cristiano Ronaldo for free-kicks.

If there is no way to play this direct free kick with high quality, then it will be embarrassing to mix in the team next, and even the verbal criticism of media reporters after the game is enough to drink a pot.

"Beep~"

Just when Tang Zheng's fugue was too empty, the referee suddenly blew the whistle.

Tang Zheng, who suddenly came back to his senses, looked at the position of goalkeeper Cech through the human wall, and like the general division of labor in the human wall, he guarded the far corner.

It is not realistic to hit the far corner directly from a free kick about 30 meters from the goal, after all, Cech is ranked in the top three in the world, so hitting the near corner is an angle that Tang Zheng can strive for.

But then again, the near corner is blocked by a wall, and if you want to shoot into the near corner, you have to control your footwork to the extreme, allowing the ball to go over the wall, and then fall in time to fall to the underside of the crossbar......

After filtering his brain, Tang Zheng began to run.

The first two steps are small steps, and the last left foot is extraordinarily far away, stepping on the left side of the football about 30 cm, and the right foot is hitting the middle and lower part of the football like a whip at the instep and ankle, making a crisp sound of "Boom~".

The ball took to the air in an instant, and Chelsea's four-man wall jumped at the same time, but none of them touched, and the ball flew over Oscar's head on the far right of the broadcast screen.

Cech saw the ball flying over Oscar's head and quickly moved to the left under his feet.

As he moved to the second step, he suddenly realized that it would be difficult for him to touch the football if he didn't jump.

Tang Zheng's direct free kick was of extremely high quality, and the football did not continue to fly upwards after flying over the head of the human wall, but flew smoothly to the near corner of the goal.

When the football flew into the small penalty area, there was a sudden obvious drop, like a leaf suddenly falling.

It's really thundering in life!

"Oops!"

Cech's side pounce was judged by the trajectory of the football, but the ball suddenly fell, and he had no way to borrow any more strength in the air, so he could only use the strength of his waist and abdomen to force his upper body to sink.

Tang Zheng's direct free-kick was very powerful and fell very fast, and Cech's body sank half a beat slower than the running speed of a football.

The ball grazed the palm of Cech's outstretched left hand before crashing into the snow-white net behind him......

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