Chapter 449: Marching into Lyon (Part II)
In the third minute, Silvestri sent a precise cross from the right flank, Belotti failed in the scramble with Gustavo, and the ball was successfully cleared by the latter, but Red Bebe angrily signaled to the referee that the opponent had a pressing violation when he jumped just now, but he couldn't get heed.
A minute later, the French international Payet suddenly came into play, dribbling the ball on the right side of the pitch as if possessed by the king of the ball, and successively passed Bareka and Vukocevic who were about to break through to the danger zone, and when forced to do so, Baseli pushed him down from behind and received the first yellow card of the game for both sides. On the racecourse, the captain immediately shot a free kick that was full of power, but the footwork could not be mastered well, and it flew high out of the lintel.
In the sixth minute, Tovan's breakthrough won another free-kick for the visitors, Payet sent the ball in front of goal, and Rami's header at the back post went wide of the post, but the referee had already whistled for a foul on him pulling on the Ranocchia shirt, and even if it did, it had to be blown off.
In the eighth minute, Benassi crossed from the right side to the goal, and the 35-year-old goalkeeper John Bailey took the risk to hit it out and knocked the ball out of the penalty area in front of Belotti. Two minutes later, the visitors created a chance when Payet sent a corner from the right into the box, both players failed to get the spot in the first place, and a scuffle formed in front of the Torino goal, but Kanneman finally managed to clear the ball in the middle of the chaos.
The battle between the two sides was very good, but the commentators and guests of Italy and the Celestial Empire were not too happy with this situation, because in the case of both teams likely to score, it was actually more beneficial for Marseille who were leading on aggregate and did not concede a goal at home. As long as the visitors can find the back of the net, the Red Bulls will be forced to score three goals to advance, which is too passive.
However, Li Mudi, who left the coach's bench after the opening game and stood on the sidelines, did not have any intention of adjusting the team's tactics, which was due to the fact that he had full confidence in his players, believing that with the advantage of playing at home, the attacking ability of the Torino team could definitely suppress Marseille. He doesn't want to be distracted by the defence when the team is in desperate need of a goal, but it is better to be able to crush the opponent's wishful thinking directly face to face, which is the most powerful strategy in the second leg.
As a result, the onslaught of the home team continued, and the Marseille players, who gradually felt a little inadequate, had to put more energy into their own defence, resulting in the momentum of the game finally being grasped by the stronger red bulls.
In the twelfth minute, Torino had a great chance when Immobile also played a one-on-one game after receiving a pass from Barceli, dribbling past two defenders in quick succession to hit the bottom left corner of the net with a right-footed volley from the top of the box. It was a sudden, powerful shot and a great angle, but Marseille goalkeeper John Bailey reacted quickly and intercepted the ball with a side-to-side pounce that didn't look like a man his age, and Gustavo cleared it in time to defend.
The home side had a clear advantage on the pitch for more than 30 minutes until the break, with a 4-of-11 shot on goal in the first half, and Benassi also had a long-range shot that hit the post, but was never able to knock on the back of the net, which was somewhat disappointing for their supporters. And the Marseille team also used the few three or four counterattacks to threaten the door guarded by Cassie, especially in the second minute of half-time injury time, Greece Mitroglu wasted Payet's precise cross, the former's jump at the critical moment turned out to be soft, otherwise it is really difficult to say whether the 0-0 score can be maintained.
However, the stubborn Li Mudi obviously does not plan to change his plan halfway, and after the rematch, the Torino team still maintains a large investment in the offensive end. Bareka's low cross from the left slid quickly past the goalkeeper and was untouchable by a number of players on both sides, especially Belotti, who was outflanked at the back post, and his toe was less than two centimeters off the ball.
Turning around, the Marseille team has almost silenced the entire Stade Olimpico. In the 48th minute, Payet hit the left side of the penalty area on the counterattack and completed an inverted triangle cross, and French winger Germain missed the left post with a shot unmarked in the middle, which made the red bulls break out in a cold sweat. Assistant coach Sumfield has even come to the boss of the team to signal whether to pull back the three lines to prevent his own defense from being easily penetrated by the opponent.
After thinking for a moment, the Torino coach shook his head firmly, and analyzed to his assistant that the opponent's defense line was also under tremendous pressure at this time, and at this time it was necessary to compete with the players on both sides whose heart is bigger and more daring to show their full strength at critical moments.
The home players were quick to prove that their manager was right, and in the 53rd minute, Immobile finally seized a good opportunity to put the two sides back on the same page on aggregate, giving the team and its supporters great confidence to win.
Silvestri's 45-degree cross caused chaos in the Marseille penalty area, with the ball eventually cleared by Lamy near the halfway line and the battle shifted further away from the visitors. However, just as the three lines that had been compressed to the extreme by the Marseille team began to advance forward, Benassi showed his excellent dribbling skills at this time, only to see him suddenly accelerate with the ball about 25 meters away from the away team's penalty area, and use the continuous change of direction in the high-speed march to shake three defenders one after another and directly hit the top of the penalty area.
The visitors' defence was a bit distracted by the abrupt individual attack, and many were unprepared, until Lamy's timely defence was able to form an effective interception before the opposition was about to enter the box. However, luck was clearly not on the side of the Marseille team, and after the ball was destroyed by their central defenders, it actually came to the left side of the penalty area, and Immobile, who appeared in that dangerous area like a ghost, naturally did not let go of the meatloaf that was fed to his mouth. Unmarked within two meters of him, he didn't wait to stop the ball to adjust, and directly stabbed the ball, and the ball flew into the left bottom corner of the away team at a very fast speed, leaving John Bailey, who flew sideways, without resistance.
After a long period of hard work, Torino finally scored the crucial goal to tie the aggregate score. In the next 40 minutes, they still have the advantage of being at home, and the balance of promotion has begun to tilt in favor of Li Mudi's team. At the moment, apart from Marseille's supporters, the vast majority of neutrals believe that the Red Bulls are more likely to reach the final, just one goal away from reaching the Europa League final for the second time in their history.
The straw that broke the camel's back did not make everyone wait too long, after conceding the goal that caused the team's previous lead to disappear, the Marseille players showed a greater psychological swing, and the concentration of concentration also showed a downward trend. As a result, the home team took advantage of the victory and overtook the total score ratio in one fell swoop.
In the 58th minute, the Torino team launched a wide attack, and Baseli, who had completed the switch with Silvestri, completed a collision with Benasi to the wall, and then dribbled the ball along the right side to the opponent's bottom line. When he came to the long line of the penalty area, he was intercepted by the opposing left-back Amavi, and Baseli decisively crossed directly, but it was suspected that he failed to kick the right part, and the cross turned out to be a very strange low flat ball with little power, and the trajectory also appeared behind Belotti, who had been flanked at the near post, which surprised everyone.
It was Rami and Immobile who battled for the spot in the middle, and almost simultaneously adjusted the direction of their run towards goal, turning around to meet the incoming ball, and it was the French centre-back who was in a better position to take the ball away with a tackle that fell to the ground.
However, the ball could not be cleared out of the danger zone, and Benasi, who had been following up in the middle and rushing to the penalty area, happened to appear on the track of the ball, only to see him first stop the ball firmly with his chest to his feet, and then immediately hit a shot with his left foot without adjustment.
In order to avoid the interference of the defenders, the Torino midfielder's shot was a little rushed, so the angle was not tricky enough, and the Marseille goalkeeper did not need to make extreme flying saves to intercept it. But no one expected that Guinea international Bunasar, who had returned from the right side to the front of the goal, did not know what he was thinking at this time, and when there was no threat from the attacking players around him, he would sneak out of his left foot to block the shot. However, he failed to kick the ball between the lightning and flint, which not only interfered with the judgment of his goalkeeper, but also slightly touched the ball with the tip of his shoe and caused it to change direction slightly, which can be described as the best case of killing teammates.
As a result, John Bailey's original solid save was useless, and the ball flew past his fingertips into the net behind him, and then the whole stadium resounded with deafening cheers, and the Red Bulls fans were finally able to completely high.
It was only after the referee's whistle sounded that the goal was confirmed, and the Marseille players raised their hands to indicate that the home team's players had violated the rules first, and there were more than that. When Baseli crossed, Belotti was suspected to be in an offside position; When Benassi stopped the ball, there was a suspicion of handball; When the latter shoots, Red Beibei also has the possibility of interfering with the goalkeeper in an offside position, and no matter which one is true, it will cause the goal to be blown away.
However, none of these complaints were accepted by the referee, and the slow-motion replay by the broadcaster also gave the home team a clean slate, proving that it was a clean goal. Belotti's body did go over the away team's defense when Baseli passed, but that cross was unexpectedly not passed to him, so it can be seen that he was not involved in the attack, so naturally there was no offside; After repeated inspection, Benasi's stop ball can be determined that it did not touch the arm; As for the final offside accusation, it was even more nonsense, with Sarr dragging his feet at the end and no home player getting closer to goal than him.
At this time, the Turin soldiers and fans ignored each other's complaints and were still celebrating on their own. After the aggregate score came to 2-1, although it is not yet possible to say how sure it can successfully advance, in terms of momentum and fighting spirit, the Red Bulls have undoubtedly occupied a great advantage, and these mental things have an immeasurable impact on the final result of the game.
It's just that in the praise, there are still many people who are constantly reminding that the game is far from over, and the two coaches of Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu on the side of the Celestial Empire are constantly emphasizing that Torino cannot take it lightly at the moment, because the Marseille team only needs to score an away goal to reverse the whole situation, and Li Mudi and his team are far from being able to relax.
Although he couldn't hear the reminder from his compatriots, the Torino coach still kept his composure enough, and after a brief celebration with his colleagues, he immediately recruited his assistant Sumfield, remembering that the replacement players should speed up the warm-up rhythm and be ready to play at any time.
Because of the score, the opponent will inevitably break out in the next game on the offensive end, and attackers such as Payet and Towan have been silent for a long time, and once they play their full strength, they should not be underestimated. The Torino team, which has already taken the initiative to advance, no longer has to take the same risks as before, and it is undoubtedly the best choice to change to their best defensive counter-attacking tactics.
Soon after the restart, the visitors were the first to change their line-up, with Cameroon midfielder Zambo Anguiza replacing the mediocre Maxim Lopes with the more physical former, allowing the more physical former to increase the number of players in the local area through active running, which is intended to use him as N'Golo Kante. And Marseille's attack really began to exert its power, and the wingers on both sides no longer reverted to their own side, but always stayed near the midfield line, ready to hit the opponent's hinterland immediately after receiving the ball.
In the 62nd minute, Towan showed a combination of speed and dribbling on the right flank, breaking through the siege of Bareka and Vukocevic, and then sent a low cross to the goal. Mitroglou, who is 1.88 meters tall, shook off Ranocchia's marking, and went straight to the front point to make a lion swing head, but fortunately, Casillas judged the landing point and attacked in time to confiscate the ball on the head of the opponent's center forward, but the former Real Madrid captain, who was not very good at handling high-altitude balls at his peak, still could not be completely reassured.
And Li Mudi's adjustment instructions were quickly given to the players, Belotti, who had no advantage in speed, and Baseli, who had a yellow card, both left the field, and they were replaced by Musis and Jesse, who surprised everyone!