Gao Lin fell to the ground during the scramble, covering his face, maybe Pepe's hand may have touched Gao Lin, but ...... Then there seemed to be some verbal altercations, and the referee sent Pepe off directly! The referee sent Pepe off directly!! CCTV commentator He Wei said excitedly.

As an experienced commentator, he knows what Pepe's red card means to the Chinese team.

“…… This is the third red card in this World Cup, and the second direct red card, because the red card that Honduras received yesterday was two yellows and one red, so it will be difficult for Portugal. With the live broadcast and the slow-motion replay of everything that just happened, Sky TV commentator Andy Gray said carefully: "Let's take a look, this ball scramble is indeed Pepe raised with his hand and touched Gao, but ...... Originally, this time the referee Majic did not blow the whistle, Pepe provoked Gao in the past, and he hit Gao on the head with his head...... Therefore, referee Matic thinks that Pepe's action is beyond the normal scope of sports and belongs to the provocation in the game, and it is not an exaggeration to directly red card Pepe, because he has sufficient evidence! ”

"Portugal fell behind the Chinese team 1:2, they were sent off in the first half, it was really a leak in the overnight rain, they made matters worse, but there is no doubt that this penalty is very beneficial to the Chinese team, I believe that as long as the Chinese team remains calm in the next game time and focuses entirely on the game, then the first victory of this World Cup is close at hand!"

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo also tried to convince referee Matic's decision to retract his call, knowing that being sent off after falling behind would be a huge blow to the team, and that the red card would be a big turning point in the game.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe are club and international team-mates and know how important each other is to the backline, so he tries to convince the referee even when he knows that the referee's decision cannot be changed.

Other Portuguese players also surrounded referee Matic, holding Pepe behind him in an attempt to convince him to change his decision.

At the same time, Portugal coach Paulo Bento, who was standing on the sidelines, was also ranting at the fourth official, believing that Gao Lin should have been sent off, because Pepe's emotional reaction was completely Gao Lin's realistic acting.

However, the referee's decision cannot be changed, and even if Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Bento are complaining, there is still no way to get the referee to retract the decision.

In the end, Majic verbally warned Cristiano Ronaldo, then pointed at Pepe and then at the players' tunnel, with the obvious meaning that you have to get off the field......

In order to avoid non-combat attrition, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Bento both opted to accept the referee's decision.

But the Portuguese national television commentator kept 'fighting', and he said emotionally: "...... The referee's decision was completely incomprehensible to me! From the slow motion, it can be clearly seen that the Chinese team's striker Gao has obvious acting elements, and he is completely self-directed and self-acting, what does it have to do with our Pepe? This must be shady! Big shady!! No...... It's absolutely!! ”

The Portuguese fans at the scene kept shouting shrill boos at the referee Nemanja Matic, believing that Majic's decision was completely biased in favor of the Chinese team, and that the Portuguese team had non-combat attrition in order to help the Chinese team win.

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The game went on and the pace of Portugal's attack and defence was greatly affected in the following period, as midfielder Mereles was redeployed to centre-back by manager Paulo Bento, who kept the team's backline at four players at all times.

But this kind of behavior of tearing down the east wall and making up for the west wall has a great impact on the team, and the role of Meireles in the midfield is very obvious, and the loss of him in the midfield is equivalent to the loss of a natural barrier in front of the central defender.

Moutinho's role is to organise the attack, his individual defensive ability is limited, and he is still alone in midfield, Alexander.

So after Pepe was sent off, Portugal could only defend passively, the Chinese team controlled the situation with the advantage of numbers, and even Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the ribs to help defend and reduce the pressure on the team.

Counter-attacking was an important piece in the Mourinho era for Real Madrid and the Benitez era for Real Madrid, as well as in the Portuguese team, and under normal circumstances, Paulo Bento would not give Cristiano Ronaldo defensive tasks at all, allowing him to focus more on attacking.

It is worth mentioning that Paulo Bento did not ask Cristiano Ronaldo to assist in defending after Pepe was sent off, but he chose to take the initiative to defend, I have to say...... Cristiano Ronaldo, who represented the national team in the World Cup, has grown up and knows how to share weal and woe.

It's just that his efforts did not get the rewards they deserved, but the Chinese team almost expanded the score.

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"The situation is very bad for Portugal, even if Cristiano Ronaldo is trying very hard to help the team defend, there is still no way to solve the situation they are in now, of course...... The biggest reward for Cristiano Ronaldo was Portugal being able to get into the dressing room with a score of 1:2......" said BBC commentator Lineker with a wry smile.

Because as a professional football commentator, he would prefer to see a wonderful matchup, and all of this was buried by Majic's red card.

In the blink of an eye, forty-five minutes of regular time were over in the first half.

But there were three goals in the first half, and the referee lost some time when he sent Pepe off, with the fourth official holding up an electronic sign indicating three minutes of stoppage time.

There is no doubt that this stoppage time is very unhappy for the Portuguese fans in the stands, most of their supporters are professional fans, naturally knowing the chaos on the field after Pepe was sent off, if the first half is not ended as soon as possible, then the Chinese team is likely to expand the score in injury time......

In fact, the hunch of professional fans is quite good, and in the second minute of injury time in the first half, the Chinese team expanded the score.

Wu Xi took a corner, and Iroh pushed the ball towards the middle at the back post ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Almeida, and central defender Feng Xiaoting used his good ability to grab points and push the ball towards the goal before Coentrão and Alves.

Goalkeeper Patricio subconsciously made a save, but he was too close and could only declare that the whip was out of reach......