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Ribery is right, if you lose this game, you can win the next game, and it's not a big deal to lose a game. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Returning to France, Metz began to prepare for the second leg of the match, and the league was once again put aside. However, Metz, who played as a second-tier team, ended a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Sedan after a hard-fought match at home.

In this game, Chu Zhongtian, Ribery and Menez, the three musketeers of Metz, only played in the last ten minutes. In the 88th minute of the game, Chu Zhongtian passed the ball to Menez, Menez then distributed the ball to Ribery, Ribery broke through the side and suddenly shot at a small angle, Sedang goalkeeper was caught off guard, allowing the football to drill into the goal from the top of his head.

Metz relied on the cooperation of the three musketeers to complete the comeback and maintain the advantage of this one goal until the end.

Thanks to this surprise victory, Metz also moved up from ninth to seventh in the league table, but they are still far from next season's European competition. If they want to continue to be in Europe next season, or in the UEFA Cup in general, there is only one way to go. It's about trying to win this season's UEFA Cup and then going to next season's UEFA Cup as the defending champions.

The second leg between Metz and Espanyol took place on 3 May.

After the match with Sedan, the media began to actively cover the match.

From the moment the Spaniards landed at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, the French media began to follow the report.

Both the Espanyol players and the Metz players looked confident before the game.

The heart of the Spaniard's midfield, De La Pena, said in an interview with Spanish and French journalists: "...... Metz is a strong team, but we're not weak either. We won at home and had the advantage. We're not afraid of away games. ”

Espanyol's captain Raul. Tamudo also said: "We know that Metz is a very good team and we are not going to let them score easily in the game. ”

In response, Metz star Franck Ribery shot back: "Our tactics are simple, there's nothing to keep secret, we're just going to break down the opponent with what we do best!" ”

Chu Zhongtian also expressed his belief in winning in an interview: "There is no other result except victory, and we have to go to the finals only to win." I can't think of any other choice......"

Menez's answer was much briefer, and he said only in front of the cameras: "Yes, we will win." Then he turned around and walked away in style.

Compared to the players, the managers of both sides are a little more cautious.

Espanyol's head coach Ernesto. Valverde (ernesto_valverde) said in a low-key way that the 2-1 score at home was not safe and that the game was full of uncertainties: "I don't know who will be the winner until the end of the game, I can only say that we will give it our all for 90 minutes or more. ”

Let. Fernandes was not as arrogant as his men, he didn't talk about the result, he just said his team would take the game seriously, and he didn't mention that away goal in a big position, or even at all.

And fans on both sides are also paying attention to this game. Tickets for the 20,000-strong Stade de Santa Forion have long been sold out, and more than 2,000 Espanyol fans have come to cheer for the team, and the rest are all Metz fans.

The stadium has been packed at home almost every time this season, thanks to the team's excellent performances. Metz fans have never been happier than this season.

There were quite a few fans who only made slogans for marching to Glasgow and were ready to show them at the game. There are also fans who connect with like-minded partners online to agree on how to cheer for the team during the game. They put the songs they wrote for the players on the Internet, so that everyone could familiarize themselves with the lyrics and tunes, and when it was time to play together, they were able to sing them together and create an amazing momentum. The most popular songs were written for Ribery and Chu Zhongtian.

And far away in China, there are also many people who are paying attention to this game. Many of the Chinese fans who like Chu Zhongtian, or simply want to find a little solace in Chu Zhongtian, will watch the live broadcast through the Internet. In addition to ordinary fans, the heads of local TV stations are also following this game - if Metz can beat Espanyol at home and get the right to the final, they will go to UEFA to negotiate to buy the Chinese mainland broadcast rights for the League Cup final, and once successful, they will get a large profit from advertising revenue, because it is a group purchase, so the cost sharing, in fact, is not very high. And I believe that there will be no shortage of Chinese fans who will watch that game in front of the TV when the time comes. If Chu Zhongtian's game is linked to patriotism and winning glory for the country, it is estimated that more Chinese viewers who have never watched football will stay in front of the TV. "The first Chinese player ever to appear in the final of the European Cup", listen, how exciting!

And so, on the evening of May 3, the most crucial game for both teams and many others kicked off at the Holy Mountain Fryon Stadium.

As predicted by the media before the game, Metz attacked aggressively on their home turf and played attacking football, while the Spaniards were much more conservative and counter-attacked.

It's a normal choice, Metz needs to score, needs to win, and naturally wants to attack. The Spaniards already have a win in hand, so of course they will choose a more secure defensive counterattack at this time, and they can't play against the opponent. Metz are already known for their attacking prowess in Europe, and their games rarely come when they score just one goal.

There were some changes to Espanyol's starting line-up compared to the first leg in this game, mainly at the back. Raul. Tamudo, De La Pena, Kameni and other key players all came on the field, adding a central defender to the backline, thickening the width of the defensive line to prevent being penetrated by Metz.

Metz has also made changes, in addition to Promans, who has returned from injury, has returned to the main position, Matthew. Valbuena (mathieu_valbuena) also made a surprise start. Until then, he had been a substitute for the team, behind Oblagnac and Felicio in the selection of left wing-backs. However, Fernandez did not choose to start Obragnac and Felicio in this game, but chose Valbuena.

This was also a surprise to Espanyol coach Valverde, who did not have many appearances this season and played most of the time in the reserves, so Valverde did not have any information about this man at hand, and he knew nothing about Valbuena.

And the key to the game is precisely that Valbuena.

The match debuted in the League Cup for Matthew. Valbuena was snatched from Marseille last summer, when Valbuena, who played for Libona in the third division, were close to signing to French football giants Marseille. Fernandez's charisma played a key role. So he chose to come to Mez, and this season he made 11 appearances for the first team in the league and domestic cups, mostly as a substitute, and more often than not he played in the development team, improving himself according to the training plan laid down for him by the coaching staff.

If you just look at the data, it will make people think that he chose to move to Metz wrong.

But in fact he did make . Fernandez's men are well trained. Occasionally, Fernandes would ask him to play for the first team and see how he was doing. Sometimes he performs well, sometimes he performs badly, but whether he performs well or badly, Fernandez does not judge, neither praises nor criticizes, and treats it coldly.

So give it to Matthew. Valbuena has created a more relaxed environment where he has the freedom to grow and make mistakes, and that's okay. Young people have to make mistakes, and they will definitely make mistakes, and young people who don't make mistakes are not normal, or young people who don't make mistakes lose room to grow. Young people who make mistakes are good young people.

Fernandez held such a point of view that Matthew. Valbuena made mistakes in the reserve squad while patiently waiting for him to grow. Just like when he was waiting for the growth of Ribery, Chu Zhongtian, Menez, Ibisevic and others.

Fernandes felt it was time to put more pressure on Valbuena and see how he fare in this crucial match. So before the game, he told the whole team and Valbuena that his own wing will become a side that the team will focus on, and the famous Ribery will be a feint point, when the Spaniards' defensive attention is attracted by Ribery, Chu Zhongtian will move the football to the feet of Valbuena on the other side.

In the first ten minutes of the game, Valbuena was still adapting to the game and quickly passed the ball again, not trying to make his breakthroughs.

It seems that Ribery is still the main attack direction of Metz. He had three breakaways after he got the ball, one successful and two failed.

In fact, Chu Zhongtian was paying close attention to the situation on Valbuena's side, and once he felt that Valbuena had found the rhythm of the game, he would not hesitate to pass the football over.

In the 22nd minute, Franck Ribery drew two defenders from Espanyol on the right flank and played the ball through a gap. Chu Zhongtian did not hesitate after receiving the ball, and directly transferred the football to the other side. Valbuena receives the ball!

At only 1.63 meters tall, Valbuena is not physically strong, but he is fast, agile and technically excellent.

Valbuena, who received the ball, did not pass the ball this time, but chose to break through with the ball himself.

Espanyol's right-back Armando. Sa (armando_sa) didn't know anything about Valbuena, and he couldn't see anything from the previous twenty minutes of the game, so he was caught off guard by Valbuena!

Valbuena, who broke through Sa, did not cross and continued to break through into the box.

As soon as he entered the penalty area, the opponent's midfielder Ito rushed up, and on contact with one side, Ito stretched out his foot to break the ball.

But he ran into Valbuena. As mentioned earlier, Valbuena was very thin and weak, and he was hit by Ito like this and fell down...... A shout rang out from the stands at the Holy Mountain Furien Stadium: "Penalty!!" ”

Ibisevic and Menez also raised their hands and signaled to the referee that the Spaniards player had committed a foul.

The referee blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot!

"Oooo Espanyol player foul ...... It's Ito who bumps into Matthew in Mace. Valbuena! Sentenced to death! ”

"How can this be a foul?" Ito himself felt wronged, he didn't deliberately hit people at all, the force he used to lean towards Valbuena was a normal and reasonable collision, he rushed to the referee, defended himself, and hoped that the referee would change the decision.

"I didn't hit him...... I just touched him, is the slightest physical contact a foul? ”

The other Espanyol players also surrounded the referee and argued fiercely.

Outside the Espanyol players, the Metz players hugged each other. Ibisevic pulled Valbuena up and gave him a bear hug.

"Well done, Matthew!" Everyone congratulated Valbuena on making his first appearance in the UEFA Cup.

It was a penalty that came at the right time and it would have been a goal to equalise on aggregate.

And the falling Spaniards will have to come out and play against them, and for Metz, that will give them more attacking chances and mean more goals.

Espanyol's protests were ineffective, as it would be difficult for the referee to change a decision once it had been made, especially when it came to a goal.

The end result was that the referee insisted on the decision and Metz was awarded a penalty at home.

It was Franck Franck Ribery who took the penalty. He slammed the ball into the goal of Kameni. Espanyol goalkeeper Kameni misjudged and made a complete save.

After taking a one-goal lead, the Spaniards began to try more attacks, as although the aggregate score was a draw, Metz had another away goal advantage. If the match ends with this scoreline, Metz will advance to the final.

The more the Spaniards put in the attack, the better the game will be.

Before the end of the first half, full-back Ibrahim. Cabo broke through from the side with the ball, then crossed, after Ibyshevic leaned on the opponent, stopped the ball and turned to shoot, the ball hit the inside of the post and bounced into the goal, 2:0!

"Ibi! Ibisevic! He's scoring again! Another goal! Metz led 2-0 at home and 3-2 on aggregate over Espanyol! They're getting closer to the final! ”

For the first time, the Holy Mountain Furien Stadium sounded "Glasgow! Glasgow! The shouts. The cheers of the Metz fans continued until halftime.

After the start of the second half, Espanyol Metz launched a frantic counter-attack in the half, hoping to get an away goal, and if they can score, the aggregate score will be 3-3, and both sides have an away goal, so that the game will be dragged into extra-time or even a penalty shoot-out.

Metz is hoping that the Spaniard will play like that, as it will give them more room to counter-attack. Ribery and Valbuena are both fast players who are great for defending and counter-attacking.

In the sixty-fourth minute, Chu Zhongtian seized the opponent's big pressure, and the opportunity of the empty backfield suddenly made a long pass, and the football crossed most of the field and passed directly to the front of Ribery. Frank. Ribery has a nickname called "Ferrari Berry", which tells you how fast he is.

The ball passed by Chu Zhongtian was very good, and it did not fall directly to Ribery's feet, but more than ten meters in front of Ribery, giving him plenty of space to sprint. Ribery ran forward at full speed, then scrambled the ball out of the way ahead of Halke, who was rushing back to defend, and used his speed to shake Hawk away. Then he glanced up at the situation ahead.

Goalkeeper Kameni had already made a move and had crossed to the edge of the box.

Kameni was not afraid of Ribery's passes, because Ribery was already the most advanced player in Metz, like the tip of a bayonet.

When Ribery saw Kameni's position, he slowed down slightly, controlled the ball, and shot again!

The ball leaped high and slashed over Kameni's head. The 23-year-old Cameroon international struggled to leap up, but in vain – he couldn't reach the ball in the air, and could only watch as it fell to the goal behind him, praying in his heart that it would be high or missed.

It is a pity that God did not hear his prayers.

The soccer ball grazed the post and crashed into the empty goal.

"Oh - beautiful sling! Spoon! Frank. Franck Franck Ribery sealed the win for his team, and this goal ensured that Metz would qualify for the final! Twenty-six minutes to go, we can already announce that the first team to go to Hampton Park in Glasgow has been decided! ”

"It was so easy to score, there was no suspense! Metz's powerful attacking firepower blasted his opponent three more goals in this game! Against such a team, winning just one goal is not safe at all! ”

"Ribery Ribery Ribery Ribery - Ribery !!"

“0：3！ The Spaniards are finished, and to qualify for the final they will have to score two goals against Metz...... At the same time, Metz cannot be expected to continue scoring. But how did Metz take advantage of the gap after they pressed so hard to score? If you can score one goal like this, you can score more goals like this......"

When Ribery hoisted the ball into the Espanyol goal with a spoon lob shot, the Stadio Fortion burst into flames. All Metz fans have only one thought on their minds right now – we're twenty-six minutes away from Glasgow!

The Metz players were also excited, and after the goal, Ribery rushed under the stands and waved his arms to make the fans in the stands scream a little louder. His teammates came to him from all directions, surrounding him.

"Finals! Final! Let's go to the finals! We're going to the finals! ”

Although in stoppage time at the end, the Spaniards took advantage of a careless clearance at the back of the Metz defence to save a point, but it was to no avail. No one in the Metz team cared about the goal.

Because they've already qualified for the finals!

"The game is over! The team that went to Hampton Park in Glasgow, Scotland to compete in the final was Metz!! ”

When the results were loudly announced on the live radio at the Stadio Fortion in this passionate voice, he was answered by the chorus of 20,000 Metz fans:

"Onward-Mace!!"

"Hooray—Mace!!"

(To be continued)