Chapter 35: The debut of Ligue 1! Against Clermont!
Chen Ting himself was not aware of these comments.
Back in Montpellier's first team, he still trains hard, spending the rest of his time on the training ground except for eating and sleeping.
Soon, he was playing his first game in Ligue 1.
The opponent is Clermont, who are third in the Ligue 1 standings.
Two days before the race, Montpellier training base.
The players' training session had just ended, and head coach Alfred clapped his hands to gather everyone.
"Everyone knows who we are playing the day after tomorrow, Clermont's strength should not be underestimated, and it is also a key battle for us on the road to relegation."
"Although Breits, who are fighting for the relegation position with us, will face Paris and they will win, but we also have to give it our all and try to win the game!"
"If we win this game, our chances of success in relegation will increase a lot."
As he spoke, Alfred glanced at Chen Ting, intentionally or unintentionally.
In his heart, if he wants to win this game, he mainly depends on Chen Ting's secret weapon.
Chen Ting listened to Alfred's words, and his heart was full of anticipation for this game.
The system gives it the task of scoring twenty goals in Montpellier to acquire new skills.
As long as you complete this task, your strength can be greatly improved.
At that time, you won't have to play just 20 minutes.
……
Without any suspense, Chen Ting successfully entered the squad for the game.
Early the next morning, all the first-line players and coaches of Montpellier took a bus to Clermont's home stadium, the Montped Stadium.
As the bus drove on the road, the other players were a little nervous and looked out the window with solemn faces.
This game is important for Montpellier, who have no one in the squad who wants to play in Ligue 2 next season.
Chen Ting had headphones in his ears and listened to the songs of the Dragon Kingdom leisurely.
He wasn't nervous at all.
It's more about anticipation.
Against a big club like Clermont, if you score a goal yourself, you will definitely get more attention.
When I arrived at the Montped Stadium, it was already half past twelve.
The 68,000-seat stands at the Stade de Montpride are already scattered with Clermont fans.
They sat in the stands talking to each other and talked excitedly about today's game.
Clermont are no longer in contention for the league title, but they have another goal.
That's next season's Champions League spot.
With only three Champions League places in Ligue 1, Clermont are currently in a precarious position as they sit in just third place.
If you are not careful, you will be squeezed out of the Champions League by the team behind you.
So, every game that follows is very important.
That's why so many fans came to the stadium early at the end of the league.
The Montpellier players stepped out of the bus and showed themselves in front of head coach Alfred to listen to his arrangement.
"It's still early, everyone can go to the hotel to rest for a while, meet in the locker room at 2:20, no one is allowed to be late!"
The players said yes and walked together to the hotel where the team was staying.
Chen Ting came to the hotel and lay on the soft big bed, but his excitement made him unable to sleep.
I had to go to the window and observe the Montped field not far away.
Recalling his own journey from the U17 national youth team to the youth team of Montpellier, then to the Ligue 2, and then to the current Ligue 1 league, Chen Ting has a dreamy feeling in his heart.
But he wasn't satisfied, and he wanted to go further.
Every game in Ligue 1 will be a new stepping stone for him.
It was fast around 2:20 p.m. and the Montpellier players showed up in the dressing room on time.
Head coach Alfred came to the tactics board, and after adding a few tactical arrangements, the players came to the field.
The starting eleven players came to the sidelines to warm up, while Chen Ting and other substitute players sat on the bench.
The stands, which can accommodate nearly 70,000 people, are almost full of fans, while Montpellier is only about a quarter.
The huge shouts of the Clermont fans rang out at the same time, and it was very shocking, and there was a slight tremor in the stands, and the roof of the stadium seemed to be about to be torn over.
Although the number of fans in Montpellier is small, they are not far behind in momentum, and they are still hoarse and exhausted, cheering hard for their team.
Chen Ting exhaled and calmed his emotions.
But I couldn't stop the excitement in my heart.
This is Ligue 1!
That's football!
This is war in peacetime!
It didn't take long for the players to finish their warm-up and return to the players' tunnel, waiting for the game to approach.
The time for Chen Ting to board the court is getting closer and closer.
……
"Toot!"
With the referee's whistle, this crucial battle for both sides began.
Clermont, who had the home advantage, put out a 433 formation that could be attacked and defended.
There are many big-name players in Clermont's team, and Chen Ting has long heard of their reputation.
Midfielder Danielle.
Left winger Konstantin.
All of them are famous players in Ligue 1.
Other players Chen Ting can't be named, but being able to gain a foothold in the French league naturally has some strength.
It is worth mentioning that the mainstream media believe that Clermont can play third in Ligue 1.
It's not a few big-name players, it's a surprising teamwork.
On the other side, Montpellier, who was playing away, took the initiative to show weakness and discharged a defensive formation of 541.
Alfred's tactic was simple, swing the bus and drag it down.
Waiting for Chen Ting to play.
This is a very aggrieved and risky tactic.
But in the face of the mighty Clermont, Alfred couldn't think of any other good way.
Clermont serves first.
In the first eight minutes of the game, the ball was firmly controlled at Clermont's feet, which was enough to show their strong team combination.
However, they did not find good attacking opportunities in possession.
Montpellier's dense defence has allowed their attack to suffer repeated setbacks.
Seeing that the simple attack could not be effective, Clermont immediately changed his strategy and wanted to create space by pulling on the wings.
In the twelfth minute of the game, Clermont's midfielder Danielle got up and distributed the ball to the left wing, and left winger Konstantin dribbled the ball and tore a large space on the left side.
After catching the attention of most of Montpellier's defenders, he spun around and knocked the ball back to midfielder Danielle.
Danielle didn't stop the ball and played it directly to the defended right wing.
Clermont's right winger received the ball and raced towards the Montpellier penalty area.
At the same time, the center forward also plugged in and created a huge threat.
The right winger sprinted all the way to the bottom line and crossed with a big foot and the ball fell in front of the Montpellier goal.
Left winger Konstantin arrived in time for goal and leaped to his feet.