After the Ajaccio game, Metz played four more league games in January, starting each game and playing the full 90 minutes.

On January 15, in the 21st round of the league, 1:1 draw away from Nice (NICE).

On January 22, in the 22nd round of the league, 1:1 draw at home to Lille (Lille).

On January 26, in the 23rd round of the league, he lost 1:2 to Sochaux (Sochaux).

On January 29, in the 24th round of the league, the home team drew 1:1 with Rennes.

Metz did not win a single month in January, except for a win over Ajaccio.

The team's results in January cannot be said to be good, and Chu Zhongtian's performance in January was also good and bad. When he was performing well, Chu Zhongtian felt that he could control the game, and when he was not performing well, he helped the team very little in attack except for defense. But no matter how bad he is, he has never been let by the manager. Fernandez was replaced in advance, and Fernandez knew that Chu Zhongtian's problem was that there were fewer high-level games, so no matter how Chu Zhongtian performed, the 90 minutes of each game plus injury time made him full.

The Chinese media had mixed reviews about his performance in January, with some favoring and others negative.

Those who are optimistic think that Chu Zhongtian has more opportunities to play, which will help improve his ability. Those who are bearish believe that this is just a stopgap measure by Coach Fernandez in the case of Leka's injury, and when Leka returns from injury, Chu Zhongtian will lose his starting position.

It seems that what everyone said makes sense, even the "We All Love Lin Danda" website is divided into two factions, one group of people unswervingly supports Chu Zhongtian, thinking that he will have a bright future, and the other group of people feel that if Chu Zhongtian continues to develop according to this momentum, it will be difficult to say what the future will be.

These domestic controversies did not affect Chu Zhongtian at all, and he still buried himself in training and games, and then analyzed his performance in the game with Coach Tadio after each game. Coach Tadio will point out the good and bad aspects of his performance in each game, and then make a table of his performance in each game, including passing, ball possession, defense, number of times he is involved in the attack, how he is involved in the attack, and the odds of being involved in the attack during the non-stop phase of the game...... And so on and so forth, so that his points, shortcomings, and progress are clear at a glance. From the table, he can clearly know where he has made some progress, where he has made progress, where he has stabilized, and where he is still fluctuating...... With scientific training methods and a positive and serious training attitude, Chu Zhongtian can feel his progress in every game, even when his performance is not good.

It's February, and according to the previous plan, after February, Leka will be able to resume training and competition. At that time, Chu Zhongtian will face the competition of the more experienced Leka, he does not think that Fernandez is optimistic about himself, so he will always favor himself, if he does not show the level he should be, then Fernandez will also change his opinion of himself, so in order to occupy a favorable position in the next competition, the performance in February is crucial, and the opponent of Mace in February is very strong...... Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and AJ Auxerre are their opponents in February, with Ligue 1's most competitive teams all in action for a clash with Metz.

Originally, in Fernandez's plan, he didn't plan to take the twelve points in these four games, but due to the poor results in January, he had to work hard in each of these four games, otherwise February passed, and Metz might slide into the relegation zone.

The local media and fans in Metz are also concerned about the future of the team.

The Lorraine Republica analyzed that Metz is likely to lose all the games in February. Whether Fernandes' team can survive relegation is a big suspense. ”

Metz fans left messages on the forums on the official Metz website, and most of them believed that if Metz wanted to succeed in relegation, Frank. Ribery was a key figure. To their delight, Ribery has not left the club this winter transfer window, with the media reporting that a number of clubs have made him a move, but his agent has denied it. At first, the fans thought it was just a trick by the agent - first denial to calm the anger of the fans, while quietly contacting other teams, and by the time everyone knew the truth, the player had already moved away. Just like Bam Adebayor's transfer to Monaco, the former president of the club denied that he would sell the team's only star, but now? Bam Adebayor has already scored for Monaco against Metz.

Fortunately, in the end, Ribery really stayed in Metz and didn't go anywhere, which reassured the fans that the team's relegation hopes were greatly increased this season.

Merry also used the opportunity to negotiate with the club to revise Ribery's contract, raising his salary from 6,300 euros a month to 10,000 euros, which for Ribery could allow him and Vahiba to live well in a small city like Metz.

The salary increase has nothing to do with Chu Zhongtian, who has barely performed in the first half of the season, and the salary increase is also in talks with Chelsea, who are just not available to talk to a young player on loan about such a thing, who are attacking for the first top-flight title in 50 years under Jose Mourinho, and look promising.

※※※ "Our opponent in the next round turned out to be Lyon, this is really an opponent that makes people feel discouraged when they think about it......" After the training, everyone went back to the locker room, showered and changed, and chatted casually. Someone talked about their opponents in their next game.

"yes, yes, they're so strong, how many seasons have they been monopolizing the league title in a row? Three or four? ”

"They've been champions for three seasons in a row, and it's a league like this that makes me desperate."

'I think it would be nice if we could have lost a few goals and focus on playing well...... Let's play the league in March, I've looked at the fixtures and in March we had weaker opponents - I mean weaker than in February......"

'The Brazilian's free-kick was great and we should have given them fewer set-pieces in the game.

"But then we just have to let them break through the pass in front of us?

"Oh - it's so hard!" ”

Everyone came together to express their fear of Lyon, the overlord of Ligue 1.

Chu Zhongtian was not interested in such a topic, he did not have the habit of bowing to his opponent. However, he can't blame his team-mates for that, because in the dressing room he is neither the captain, nor the core player, nor the leader.

To show his displeasure, he could only remain silent.

Take off your clothes silently, take a shower silently, and get dressed silently.

It wasn't until Ribery patted him on the shoulder that he ended his silent movie-like state.

"You have something on your mind, Chu?"

"Nope." Chu Zhongtian shook his head.

"I heard Mr. Merry say that your French teacher is not teaching you anymore, what happened to you?"

Chu Zhongtian shook his head: "It has nothing to do with her." Nothing happened, but the class was over, so there was no need to continue. ”

"Is there really nothing?" Ribery smiled ambiguously.

"Why are you so gossipy, Frank?" Chu Zhongtian gave him a roll of his eyes.

"Hey...... Okay, so why are you so depressed? ”

Chu Zhongtian secretly pointed to his teammates who were still talking about Leon while taking a bath in the bathroom: "I don't like this attitude, the stronger the opponent, the more excited you should be, why didn't you play the game, and you were frustrated in advance?" ”

Ribery glanced at the bathroom, and the sound of chatting could be heard in the midst of the rushing water.

'Regardless of the first-team players, I think they have two kids in the youth team who are really good and I played against them when I was in the youth team...... I don't want to admit it, but they're much better than me. ”

"You're talking about Hatem. Root. Alpha (hatem_ben_arfa) and Karim. Karim Benzema (karim_benzema)? ”

"That's right, it's just the two of them, not very old, but very talented......"

Ribery was not interested in continuing to listen, he turned back to Chu Zhongtian and smiled: "It's okay, I'm on your side." Because I don't want to lose either. ”

He stretched out his hand to Chu Zhongtian, "I know that Leon is very strong, and the probability of us trying to defeat them is very small. But I'd like to try, even if it's just the two of us. ”

Chu Zhongtian high-fived him, the two of them had exactly the same idea, and they really deserved to be the best friends in the team.

"Let's cause a little trouble for Leon together." Ribery laughed.

※※※ On February 5, Metz will take on Ligue 1 overlords Lyon away.

This is the third strong team that Chu Zhongtian has encountered after playing against Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain, and it is even the first strongest team in Ligue 1, which is better than Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain. It's a very important game for him.

But for most people, the game is inconsequential and not worth caring about. Because it is impossible for Metz to shake the Ligue 1 hegemon Lyon, the goal of this game is to win with less loss. What is the value of attention in a one-sided game? The game that can attract the attention of the people must be a game like evenly matched, strong dialogue.

The team travelled from Metz to Lyon. Metz is a small city, there is no airport, and the team does not need to fly to Lyon, which is too extravagant and unnecessary. France is so big that it's only a few hours away by motorway.

I couldn't hear my teammates talking about Lyon in the car, so maybe I didn't have much hope for this game.

Instead, Ribery and Chu Zhongtian had been sitting in the back seat of the car, touching their heads and muttering quietly.

They are studying the opponents of this game.

Lyon have announced their starting list in advance, and unlike Fernandes who have been holding on to it, Lyon's actions reflect their domineering and arrogant attitude as Ligue 1 champions for three consecutive seasons - we are not afraid of your research, even if you come, the starting eleven people, you can adjust your strategy at will, and in the end we will still win you.

Lyon's starting lineup in this game is goalkeeper Kupe (grégory_coupet), France's No. 2 international, but the strength is not actually below Barthez, Barthez, a butter player, can always be the main goalkeeper of France, and his relationship with the national team boss Zidane is good.

At right-back, Antony. Revier (anthony_reveillere), a white right wing-back. He was a regular player at Lyon, but his future in the national team was not very bright, and he has only played one international match for France so far, while he is already 25 years old. The defensive ability is not very good, the offensive ability is okay, has good explosiveness, likes to insert the ball into the opponent's half at high speed, and has a good cross.

The left wing-back is Erik. Abidal (eric_abidal), one of the top defenders in Ligue 1. He only moved to Lyon last summer and quickly became the main left wing-back for the Ligue 1 giants. He has excellent explosiveness, speed and stamina, excellent defending, and can also plug in assists.

The centre-back is a combination of a Brazilian and a Ghanaian.

Chris (Cris) only transferred to Lyon this season, originally Lyon's club president Olas just wanted to (Jean-michel_aulas) to move to Barcelona Brazilian central defender Edmilson to find a replacement, but Chris came to the team soon after his actual performance to conquer the head coach Paul. Le Guin (paul_le_guen) has now become the heart of Lyon's defence. He is characterised by accurate defensive positioning, excellent headers, good physicality, and a Brazilian centre-back who can always help the team with an aggressive attacking presence at certain times.

Chris's partner at centre-back was Ghanaian Essien (michael_essien), but the Ghanaian made a temporary cameo in this game because the team's main centre-back Cacapa (Cacapa) was injured and could not play this game. Essien, who had previously played at Bastia, left and right wing-back and centre-back, was rightfully on top. Essien is a versatile midfielder with excellent physicality.

"This Essien is a bit like you, Chu." Ribery said he had played against Essien in the first half of the season. At that time, Ribery was still criticized by the media for only burying his head in the ball, regardless of the team's tactical cooperation, he was stopped by Essien many times in that game, and he was completely inferior in physical confrontation, almost no way to fight back, he played very badly in that game, if he was replaced by an ordinary manager, he would have been firmly pressed on the bench after the game, and he would never be able to turn over.

"He's physically strong and fit. You've fought against Cana before, right? But I would say that in terms of physical fitness alone, Kanna is nowhere near as good as Essien. Ribery recalled the situation when he fought with Essien, and at the same time gestured to Chu Zhongtian. He was a black man, and black people had the physical qualities that we white people envied. Speed, explosiveness, strength, stamina, flexibility...... All are good, and there are hardly any shortcomings in this aspect of the body. ”

It was the first time Chu Zhongtian had heard Ribery praise a person like this, especially an opponent. He was even more interested in the man named "Essien".

"And he's a bit like you now, he's a midfielder, but he's both offensive and defensive on the pitch. It's good that he's a centre-back in this game, otherwise you'll have to be careful, Chu. If you want me to say, he's got a tackle that's exactly as good as you, and if he's close to you, you have to get the ball out of the way and don't get driven to death by him. ”

Chu Zhongtian nodded.

Lyon's starting midfielder for this match is Mahamadou. Diarra (mahamadou_diarra). Also black, the back from Mali has been a regular for Lyon, and his physicality, although slightly inferior to Essien, is no less impressive. He is a full-time defensive midfielder who is not much of a threat in attack. Together with Essien, he is known as Lyon's "midfield duo", and with the two of them in Lyon, they are almost invincible Lyon. The fact that Lyon can defend the Ligue 1 title in a row has a lot to do with the fact that they have the two "beast waists" of Essien and Diarra.

"Your opponent is him." Ribery in Mahamadhoo. Diarra's name was poked at the top. 'He's very defensive, so you have to be careful.'

Chu Zhongtian thought that the League A is really a "good waist"...... Kana, Essien, Diarra, these are not weak midfielders, and there must be many such good players in other teams.

Partnering Diarra in the middle is Lyon's captain, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the best of the best, Juninho, one of the world's top free-kick masters. At least in the current Ligue 1, no one's free kicks can be better than him. Not only is he good at free-kicks, but his playmaking passes in midfield are the number one reason why Lyon has been able to dominate Ligue 1 in a row, and his skills are not necessarily better than Ronaldinho's, but he is still the best in Ligue 1.

"Our vice-captain Promans should be guarding against him." Ribery said this, and glanced up at Gregory, who was sitting three rows away in front of him. Proman, then he lowered his voice, leaned over to Chu Zhongtian's ear and said, "But to be honest, I personally think that Promans can't guard against Juninho." In the last meeting of the league this season, Promans was tormented by Juninho's passes...... Even I sympathize with him. To be honest, I wish you could try it, but you also have to be responsible for organizing the attack, and you can't do it at the same time. If you have the chance, help Proman in defence. But be careful not to foul in dangerous places...... And I don't mean the edge of the penalty area, the entire 30-meter area is considered a danger zone for his free kicks. ”

You can't foul, and you have to do everything you can to prevent him, Chu Zhongtian feels that this thing is really difficult to do. But...... It's more challenging and more fun because it's harder. Who is interested in trying easy things?

Lyon's two flanks are Govou, a player for the French national team who, at just 24 years old, is considered to have a bright future, and Malouda, who is as fast an attacker as Malouda.

French striker Pierre alain_frau and Brazilian striker Nilmar were the starting strikers for the game. Frau is also the manager of Metz Jean. Fernandes was nurtured at Sochaux, scoring 17 goals in 36 league appearances last season, his best result for Sochaux's first team, which led him to move to Ligue 1 giants Lyon.

Nirma is a Brazilian striker at just 20 years old, and his speed and explosiveness are his greatest characteristics. Originally, Lyon's main striker should have played for Elber, who used to play for the Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, but Elber was injured in this game and did not even enter the squad.

As for Benzema, who is considered by the media to be the hope for the future of French football, Ben Benzema and Ben. Neither Alfa was in the starting line-up and they could come off the bench.

In an environment like Ligue 1, Lyon's starting list is star-studded, and you can make your eyes flutter when you look at it.

In addition to Kacapa and Elber, who are unable to play due to injury, Lyon's head coach Le Guin is the main player. It is clear that he does not want to give an opponent of the calibre of Metz any chance on his home turf.

"If you just look at the starting line-up, it's really hard for us to play. I understand what my teammates are thinking......" Ribery shrugged. "But what's the point of not having a strong opponent?"

He smiled at Chu Zhongtian. "Luckily Lyon didn't send a substitute to fool us. If they dare to underestimate us, we'll give them a little bit of a look! ”

"That's right." Chu Zhongtian clenched his fists. He thought of the game against Chelsea, wasn't such a formidable opponent still being swept to the ground by Wimbledon? As long as you dare to despise us, you will suffer!

※※※After the whole Metz team arrived in Lyon a day in advance, they stayed in the hotel they had booked, rested for the night, went to the training to adapt to the venue the next morning, came back for dinner at noon, and set off for the stadium after a short rest in the afternoon to prepare for the game at 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

When acclimatizing to the venue, let. Fernandez took part in the pre-match press conference. In the press conference, he talked about Lyon's opponents, and naturally praised the team that won three consecutive championships, and said that it was already very good to be able to take a point from the Gerland stadium.

No one will think that this is Fernandes unleashing smoke bombs, and with the quality of Metz, it is impossible to beat Lyon on the road, and it is already worth cheering and celebrating to take a point.

Lyon's reporters knew that Fernandes was a coach with a good eye for people, so they asked him to comment on Lyon's future duo of Karim Benzema and Ben. Alpha.

Fernandes also didn't say too much bad things about the two young Lyon players in front of the Lyon media, and he praised Benzema and Ben. Alpha potential, thinking that they will have a bright future.

After this interview, the Lyon media was very happy, and also complimented Metz's Ribery, saying that he is a promising player, and it is a very smart move for Metz to keep Ribery in the winter transfer period, because Mez's hopes of relegation first are all on this "scarface".

Ribery was dismissive of the praise given to him by the local media in Lyon, and he said to Chu Zhongtian: "When they praise you, it means that you are not a threat to them at all." Chu, you must be the kind of player who will make opponents belittle you, criticize you, and even scold you wherever you go. Only then will you be able to pose a threat to them, because they are afraid of you! ”

(To be continued)