Chapter 49: Suspense
Marcelo walked off the field in hatred.
Two yellows turn into one red.
The equation is simple on the football pitch, when the referee showed him a yellow card, and before the opponent could pull out the yellow card from the back pocket of his butt, Marcelo had already turned his head and walked to the sidelines.
Mourinho's grim face on the sidelines finally showed a hint of solemnity.
With 86 minutes of play and stoppage time, there are less than 10 minutes left in the game, and from that point of view, Mourinho should be glad that Marcelo left the game at this point in time.
It is not uncommon for one less player to play on the football field, of course, it may not always be when they are sent off, sometimes players are injured and treated, and there will be a situation where one side plays with one less person on the pitch for a short time, of course, this situation is generally not too long, and it is generally rare for a team to really be able to seize this short time to score. Moreover, playing with one less man is nothing new for Mourinho, and it is rumored that he often trains with one less man even on the training ground.
It's just that, having said that, the impact of one less person is still there.
For Mourinho, the trouble is not only how to spend these last few minutes, but also how to look further, Marcelo's red card, which means that he will be out of the second leg, and the full-back, who was originally the weakest position of this Real Madrid team.
Compared with Real Madrid's luxurious midfield, Real Madrid's backfield is really limited, especially fullbacks, there are actually only two fullbacks in the real sense, Arbeloa and Marcelo, Ramos is the first position is actually a central defender, in addition to these three, Mourinho has no serious fullbacks, and it is for this reason that Las Diarra will often be played by Mourinhola as a fullback this season, and even because it has caused dissatisfaction among the French.
As for the moment, Mourinho has no hesitation. Immediately decided, after Marcelo was dismissed, the fourth official quickly raised the sign.
Arbeloa, replacing goal-scorer Higuain.
Higuain stepped off the pitch amid applause, and Real Madrid's formation changed to a strikerless formation.
Now, even if you know that as long as the opponent's Ronaldo is still there, you can't ignore Real Madrid's attack power, and Lin Sen also gave it a go.
Suarez up, Javi Martinez down.
The formation became four-one-three-two, at the last moment. Manchester City are all or nothing.
"David Silva is organising the attack, Xavi Alonso is entangled, the two have met countless times in this game, and in terms of numbers, Xavi Alonso has a certain advantage...... Silva didn't get tangled up with the opposition, he distributed the ball to the right and Robben burst forward with the ball! ”
Robben ...... Nice break! Abeloa, who came on in a hurry, didn't seem to be active yet, he fouled! ”
……
Another yellow card.
It was given to Arbeloa, who had just come on the pitch.
Lin Sen was a little annoyed on the sidelines, attacking just now. As long as Robben can break through the past, there is almost a vacuum in the back of Arbeloa, and in the middle, Manchester City are not even less numerous than Real Madrid.
on the field. Robben, who had already made a red card and a yellow card in just a few minutes, didn't fight for the unwanted Arbeloado, he just got up quickly and ran to the edge of the box.
He can take free-kicks too, but it's not for him. Moreover, the team has better free-kickers.
It was David Silva who took the penalty.
David Silva, who was almost inconclusive throughout the game, was in no good mood at this time, although his appearance was more due to tactical targeting. But this trip to the Bernabeu is obviously far from what he expected, and if he is asked to rate his performance in this game, it may not even be a passing grade, and he does not want to find the other party's Ozil table xiàn to comfort himself.
So, this free-kick is a chance for him.
He glanced up at Real Madrid's penalty area, the game had entered stoppage time, there was not much time left, David Silva didn't look at the time, but he wouldn't be surprised if the referee ended the game after the ball was punished, Real Madrid had retreated all the way at this time, even Ronaldo ran to the penalty area to assist in the defense, and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who had scored at this time, ran up regardless of it, his tall body was not conspicuous in the long penalty area, but the goalkeeper costume was very clear.
David Silva takes a deep breath.
The referee's whistle was blown soon after arranging the human wall.
"David...... Silva, shoot! ”
Martin Taylor doesn't often express his feelings with a roaring voice, but at this time, he still can't help but suddenly raise his voice.
The position of the free kick is not good, not at the front of the penalty area where the best penalty is taken, but on the side of the penalty area, and the free kick in this position will mostly choose to pass, because if you choose to shoot, the angle is too small, and the requirements for footwork are more demanding, but this free kick, David Silva chose to shoot, and it is an almost perfect arc!
The ball is fast and urgent!
Straight to the near corner of the goal!
Casillas, who wasn't too tested throughout the game, was a little caught off guard, but he still made a world-class save, touching the ball with his fingertips just as it was about to turn into the goal, and then allowing the potentially centimeter-accurate shot to change the angle slightly.
With a thud, the ball hit the crossbar and the post, and then bounced to the edge of the penalty area!
"Break the siege!" Barely waiting for his body to hit the ground before Casillas roared.
It was indeed a Real Madrid player who appeared at the first landing point of the ball.
Pepe.
Pepe, who had suffered enough for Falcao, was facing one of the toughest choices of his career.
The ball bounced out, but it was almost sticking to the goal line.
With Falcao behind him, Pepe couldn't make too standard moves to clear the siege, and even the angle of touching the ball needed to be considered, so Pepe became a doctor who performed precision surgery in the vegetable market, and of course, what was worse was that he didn't have time to think about it at all.
So, Pepe could only pick up a kick.
Then, leave the rest to God.
God is still a beam, only this time, God is no longer the God of Real Madrid.
There was another "whoop", and Pepe's clearance ball hit the underside of the crossbar before it landed......
Casillas reacted quickly and was also a thief, holding the bouncing ball and trying to throw it forward, ready to fight back, but the referee's whistle blew and he pointed to the center circle......
The goal works!
Thousands of Manchester City fans who came to the Bernabeu with the team finally found an eruption after a whole game of depression.
And in the field, the Real Madrid players began to surround the referee, trying to complain that the goal just now did not cross the goal line at all, but the referee Rizzoli was not moved at all, and the Real Madrid players who rushed up shook their heads decisively, signaling them to retreat, Pepe's love was the most excited, he even came up to pull the referee, joke, this goal is counted, it is his own goal.
Captain Casillas saw that the situation was not good, and immediately came up to pull Pepe away, but the Portuguese defender was still unrelenting...... The stands at the Bernabeu Stadium embraced their team with overwhelming boos at this time, and it was not without effect, and Rizzoli, who had a somewhat ugly face, did not choose to show any cards to Pepe, who could be considered to be challenging his own decision.
Throughout the process, Mourinho, who would have taken the lead in many similar situations, sat in the dugout and did not move, and there was no change in his expression. Similar to him was Lin Sen, who was standing on the sidelines.
The surprise came unexpectedly, and the time happened in the stoppage time that made people happy and worried.
But it wasn't a stunner, it wasn't an equaliser.
Manchester City are still 1-2 down.
Of course, even so, the significance of this away goal is still important. Lin Sen's move, in the eyes of Real Madrid fans, has become cheap.
However, did Manchester City really get cheap?
Sky Sports' live footage replayed the goal five times from all angles, and then, Martin Taylor came to a conclusion, or rather, anyone who saw the replay footage.
There are many doubts on the goal line, and there was an "unjust case" in the past World Cup in South Africa, but this goal is not.
One of the difficulties in judging whether such a ball is valid is whether the ball is completely past the goal line. But on this ball, this difficulty is not a difficulty, because the live broadcast camera cuts the camera to the moment the ball lands, and it is clearly explained: the ball has crossed the line!
So, the goal works!
The referee's decision was accurate.
The goal celebration and farce, the referee did not add any suspense to the next game, and as soon as Real Madrid's kick-off was kicked, he blew the whistle for the end of the game.
"Good. The referee from Italy blew the whistle for the end of the game, and in the end, Real Madrid, who were playing at home, beat Manchester City from England 2-1, but they also paid some price for it, their main left-back Marcelo will be absent for the next leg, and the goal conceded at the end of the game also made their originally optimistic situation suspenseful. For Manchester City, the next leg at home will decide their fate. ”
After the game, Mourinho took the initiative to walk to the coach's seat on the other side to shake hands with Lin Sen, and the two did not speak, but just patted each other on the shoulder.
Looking at Mourinho, who was about to turn around and leave but was quickly blocked, Lin Sen's brows furrowed slightly.
Looking at the scoreline, he lost the game, while Mourinho lost the suspense, and the result didn't seem too bad.
Judging from the personal duel, in this game, he can describe himself as a complete defeat, because whether it is in the arrangement or the formation, he has failed, and Mourinho is almost perfect.
The only thing Lin Sen is thankful for is perhaps that he withstood the huge pressure and kept Robben on the court until the last minute. (To be continued......)