Chapter 358: Putting yourself into the game, a huge reversal at home!

Chapter 358: Putting yourself into the game, a huge reversal at home!

"aoaoaooooooooo—"

The atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium was fanatical, with overwhelming cheers coming one after another.

In the 80th minute of the game, Arsenal made their second substitution adjustment. Coquelin replaced Kante, who had a yellow card on his back, to maintain a strong defense in the middle.

By this time in the game, the starting players' physical fitness had dropped significantly, and their activity areas had dropped significantly.

Wenger and Enrique stood in their respective command and technical areas and paced back and forth, looking up at the game on the court from time to time. It was easy to see the tension in their hearts with their solemn expressions.

A goal at this stage almost means a sure win.

No one... dares to make any defensive mistakes.

But the offense is proactive, and the defense always makes passive choices based on changes in the offense.

Maintaining absolute concentration on the game is fundamental to completing the pre-match plan.

Time is getting shorter and shorter, and both Arsenal fans and Barcelona fans are feeling more and more pressure.

Once a goal is conceded at this time, it means that the home team is out.

During the halftime break, Messi was still full of confidence. Now that his physical energy is nearly exhausted, he is more likely to accumulate energy by walking to see if he can take advantage of Arsenal's defensive players' lack of concentration and find an opportunity to kill the game.

He knows that scoring a goal means the game is over!

However, the Arsenal team, with Martin's encouragement from time to time, was high-spirited and confident in the game.

Last season's Champions League final was like this.

Everyone thought Real Madrid was going to win the championship.

The results of it?

Martin scored the winning goal.

Arsenal players believe that even if Barcelona maintains the current score until injury time, captain Martin will have a chance to complete the winning goal.

It is precisely because of this that Arsenal players were able to remain highly focused and did not give MSN any chance.

The defense against Messi and Neymar was particularly good.

The time came to the 85th minute.

Central 5 commentator He Wei's voice became solemn: "Arsenal has the last five minutes of regular time, plus at most nine minutes of injury time. It is enough to score a goal, but the time before the goal is It takes a long time to lay the groundwork, and now Barcelona is still leading the attack..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Neymar, who received a pass from Busquets, used Alba's advance to suddenly cut in, intending to use his superb footwork to see if he could create an absolute scoring opportunity.

It was still the same as the previous offense. Arsenal's overall defense was very good, and the protection between defensive players was very good.

In this regard, Neymar could only kick the ball back and hand it to Rakitic, who would continue to organize the attack.

Soon enough, Neymar turned around and caught someone approaching. His excellent footwork and quick reaction played a crucial role at this moment.

The outside instep of his right foot pushed the ball towards the oncoming Walcott. Walcott subconsciously closed his legs and it was already too late.

Thinking of head coach Wenger mentioning not to foul easily before coming on as a substitute, he could only watch helplessly as Neymar dodged past from the other side.

Neymar, who had just got rid of Walcott, returned to control the football with a calm smile. Unexpectedly, Martin, who was playing with Busquets in the middle a second ago, actually appeared in his path to pass the ball through his crotch.

Martin defended decisively and stretched out his foot to get the ball away first.

Neymar felt bad, knowing the high threat of Martin stealing the ball and counterattacking. He used the inertia to raise his leg to trip someone without a chance to get the ball.

They were very close to each other. Martin dodged the first move, but was unable to avoid Neymar's second additional leg lift.

"beep~"

Neymar's raised right foot tripped Martin's trailing left foot. Referee Kuipers immediately blew his whistle to signal Neymar for a foul.

Enrique, who was standing in the technical area directed by the visiting team coach, let out a sigh of relief. When he saw Martin stealing the ball, his heart was in his throat.

Luckily fortunately!

"papappaapaaaaa——"

Thunderous applause suddenly erupted over the Emirates Stadium.

Enrique thought about the wrong style of painting. Shouldn't Neymar kick Martin to face the anger of the home fans?

What's the big deal?

Strong uneasiness swept the whole place instantly.

Could it be...

He looked up toward the court.

Neymar was seen holding his head in his hands in shock.

Referee Kuipers, who was about one meter away, withdrew the yellow card and instead took out a red card from his trouser pocket.

a second ago.

The referee Kuipers whistled for Neymar's foul and took out a yellow card from his chest pocket. Then he saw that the card recorded the number of the Barcelona player who received the card already had the number '11', so he took out another yellow card from his pocket. A red card.

Seeing this, Enrique subconsciously raised his hands and covered his head.

"Two yellows turn one red!"

Central 5 commentator He Wei's voice rose an octave: "Neymar received his second yellow card of the game and was sent off!"

Neymar, who committed the foul, also tried to explain, and Suarez, Messi, Busquets and other players also tried to persuade the referee Kuipers to take back his life.

A key player was sent off with four minutes left in regular time, which undoubtedly broke the balance since the beginning of the second half. Arsenal, who were only one goal away from being able to reverse the promotion, will definitely have their morale boosted and will most likely use the remaining game time. Score the winning goal.

Kuipers was resolute in the face of the pressure from Barcelona players and believed that Neymar's foul was enough to warrant a second yellow card.

Sky TV commentator Andy Gray said loudly: "There is no problem with this yellow card. If Martin catches up with the ball, Arsenal is likely to get an excellent counterattack opportunity. Neymar's foul undoubtedly prevented a potential scoring opportunity. , and he also has an obvious leg-raising movement."

Flores, the commentator from Catalan Sports TV, complained in a deep voice, complaining that Kuipers's sentence was too harsh.

He also specifically stated that such an important game should try to maintain the balance of the game rather than break the balance.

Barcelona fans in front of the TV and traveling with the team were shouting words such as 'black whistle' and 'targeting'.

If Arsenal fans knew this, they would certainly object.

Haven't you been taken care of enough?

Such a tactical foul that undermines the counterattack is an undisputed yellow card.

If you want to blame, just ask whether it was necessary for Neymar to receive a yellow card in the first half.

Seeing that referee Kuipers had no intention of changing the decision, the Barcelona stars sighed in unison.

Enrique looked at the warm-up area, but there was no suitable substitution.

Neymar is an offensive player, so he should ensure defense in the remaining game time and maintain the current score until the end of the game. There is no need to change.

After all, Suarez has height and is guaranteed to defend set pieces.

Messi is the star player, so he naturally doesn't dare to change. Even if he is not in good physical condition, he can have a deterrent effect as long as he stays on the court.

Just like Arsenal's Martin, he can bring hope to the players on the field while putting tremendous pressure on the opponent.

Neymar was sent off after two yellows and one red. The sky above the Emirates Stadium was filled with continuous thunderous applause, one wave after another.

Although Enrique was a little unhappy with Neymar's card, he still needed to do face-saving work. He took the initiative to walk over and patted the opponent on the shoulder to show his support.

The on-site director returned the camera to the court. Barcelona, ​​with one less player, was physically stretched, so naturally they would not stay in the frontcourt and defend from a high position. They filed back into the half court, leaving only Messi at the front to act as a counterattack point.

During Enrique's tenure at Barcelona, ​​Xavi's form declined, Iniesta's role declined, and Busquets was the only one left in the Haberbau combination that dominates world football.

After more than two seasons of running-in feedback, it is difficult to penetrate a team with excellent defense by gradually organizing offense. The offense has more options to quickly pass the ball to MSN through the midfield, and let these three top players solve the battle.

Neymar was sent off irrevocably. What we can do now is rely on Messi's super personal ability to see if he can score a game-killing goal.

There was less and less game time left for Arsenal, but the home team, which had one extra player, was not in a hurry. Under Martin's deliberate control, they played very patiently, passing back and forth through dangerous areas in the offensive third to find opportunities to deliver threatening balls.

Mascherano knocked down Monreal, who was coming in at high speed on the right wing, and the referee Kuipers whistled for a foul.

Arsenal request a substitution.

The last substitution was used by Giroud to replace Monreal.

Barcelona played one less player and it was wasteful to maintain a four-back system. They put the 1.93-meter-tall Giroud in the penalty area to maximize their tactical intentions.

When the time came to the 86th minute of the game, Barcelona adopted a full-body defense method except Messi. The traditional British long pass + no-brainer cross uekoi became the most suitable game tactic.

Giroud, Cavani, Martin, and Xhaka who were already in the penalty area, and four high points appeared in the penalty area in an instant, putting huge pressure on Barcelona's defense in the penalty area.

Within half a minute, Barcelona fans all over the world felt tremendous pressure.

"aooaooaooooo——"

The overwhelming shouts perfectly revealed the tense atmosphere. Commentators in the live commentary box/live broadcast room are also affected by less and less time, and their high-pitched commentary voices are full of solemnity.

Catalan commentator Flores, a die-hard Barcelona fan, was so nervous that he could hardly speak.

Arsenal's offense was continuously conducted from the outside, and Sanchez received a diagonal pass from Van Dijk at a 45° angle to the left rib of the attack and made a direct pass.

A 45-degree cross from the left with his right foot flew towards the center of the penalty area with a strong internal rotation arc. Giroud, who had just come on as a substitute, was entangled with Pique at the front point, but neither one took off.

Martin, who was ambushing behind Giroud, jumped up high and hit the same spot as Sanchez's pass. But at the critical moment, Busquets reached behind him and gave him a gentle push.

The action is not big, but the effect is very significant.

The football that Martin pushed hard towards the far corner of the goal was a bit too big, causing the angle to not widen, but it was very powerful. Ter Stegen, who was focused, took a small step to the left and used his excellent jumping ability to jump into the air. Leap, push the ball upward with the open fingertips of your left hand.

As a result, the football that deviated from its original trajectory crossed the bottom line against the upper edge of the crossbar.

"wowowoooooooo——"

The fans in the audience let out a burst of exclamation.

"Ter Stegen!"

Central 5 commentator He Wei shouted: "Barcelona was saved! He saved the header that Martin was determined to win!"

"Oh My God! What a shame! Mark ter Stegen, please!"

Sky TV commentator Andy Gray said regretfully.

Enrique, who was standing in the visiting team coach's technical area, let out a sigh of relief.

If the fourth goal is conceded at this time, then... the game is basically over.

Before Arsenal could take a corner kick, he pushed Mathieu to the fourth official.

Playing as a left back often seems a bit dull, but with Mathieu's height, he is likely to play a crucial role in defending set pieces!

This is true in many cases, but more often it is necessary to make careful choices based on the situation on the field.

When defending set pieces, including corner kicks, substitutions are the most taboo.

Even if Alba can play a minimal role in corner kick defense.

While making substitutions, Martin called out several teammates in the penalty area for a quick and simple exchange.

Enrique, who had just finished explaining Mathieu's execution of tactics, keenly noticed the circle of Arsenal players in his own penalty area and always felt uneasy.

So, he said to Mathieu who was waiting for Alba to come over for the substitution ceremony: "Jeremy, pay attention to Martin in corner kick defense, don't let him easily grab the spot."

"no problem."

Mathieu nodded lightly, then patted Alba's shoulder as he came off the field, stepped into the court, ran towards the penalty area while pointing his hands in the sky, and said prayers.

The on-site director was very good at finding shots to show the Arsenal players communicating in the Barcelona penalty area.

Central 5 commentator He Wei said: "It seems that Arsenal's corner kick tactics will change next."

Immediately afterwards, Martin, who signaled his teammates to disperse, made a gesture with very clear tactical intentions toward Sanchez, who was preparing to kick off.

Sanchez, who was standing in the corner kick area, nodded slightly to show his understanding.

How could such a clear tactical communication not attract the attention of Barcelona's defensive players?

Suarez and Rakitic followed the corner kick defensive tactics formulated before the game to mark Martin. Mathieu, who came off the bench, served as a substitute defensive player and was eyeing the vicinity.

Sanchez returned Martin's gesture, retreated to a comfortable distance, paused before starting to run.

"aoaoaooaoaoooo——"

Accompanied by huge cheers from the audience, Martin, who was standing half a meter behind the penalty spot, raised his hands in the air, stuck his butt back, squeezed away the close-fitting Rakitic, took advantage of his explosive power to run two steps in a roundabout way, and then accelerated. Bypassing Suarez who was following the defense, he then ran in an arc from right to left towards the front point of the small penalty area on the right side.

As Suarez's follow-up position was blocked by Koscielny, Mathieu, who came on as a substitute, played a key role. He immediately kept up with Martin's movement.

At this moment, Sanchez took a corner kick from the right.

Rakitic, who was originally squeezed away by Martin, was smart. He didn't follow around outside, but ran inward.

Enrique is very satisfied with Rakitic's choice. As long as Sanchez's corner kick is passed forward, Mathieu and Rakitic will definitely be able to form an effective double-team.

But he looked up at the football in mid-air, and the landing point was very high...

Not passed to Martin!

The football flying in mid-air close to the baseline is like a rainbow piercing the sky, flying past.

Ter Stegen looked at the flying height of the football and gave up his plan to attack and get the ball.

Neither player in the middle of the penalty area has any intention of taking off. Obviously... the landing point is to fly backward!

The two central defenders, Van Dijk and Pique, looked at the football falling in mid-air and adjusted their retreat points. Their left hands pulled each other's jerseys from a perspective that the referee could not see.

Van Dijk, who was stuck in front of him, had no intention of taking off. His purpose was just not to head the ball to Pique, who was watching him closely.

The football with a strong inward arc fell and flew over the heads of the two men.

"Granit Xhaka!"

The Sky TV commentator watched Xhaka leap high from behind, and his high voice echoed through the commentary box.

However, Xhaka did not directly header the ball towards the goal. The football flew to him and there was no shooting angle. If he forced the header to hit the goal, there was a high probability that Ter Stegen would get it or save it.

So, he headed the ball towards the goal!

"Oops!!"

Messi, who was standing outside the penalty area waiting for a counterattack, noticed that Martin ran into the middle of the penalty area at some point, and the direction he ran was exactly where the football landed.

Busquets has a high IQ, and defense often relies on anticipation.

This time, he did very well.

After noticing that the football was not in the middle of the penalty area, his eyes naturally focused on Martin.

I always feel that Martin will complete the final blow of Arsenal's corner kick attack!

as predicted!

Throughout the whole process, he saw Martin running forward and then running sideways towards the middle, while the football flying behind had multiple Arsenal players!

The key is that the football flying backward is far away from the goal. Whether it is a stop shot or a direct header, it is difficult to pose a threat to Ter Stegen's goal.

Clear thinking made him realize that Arsenal's corner kick was not that simple this time!

Then there is only one truth. Xhaka is probably playing ball for Martin!

Fortunately, Mathieu, who came on as a substitute, was always keeping an eye on Martin, so he only had to run in front of Martin.

Therefore, Busquets, who didn't watch the ball much, ran through the gap between the players before the players on both sides could react, and went straight to the target Martin.

Martin, who was running towards the landing point, took off at the same time with Mathieu who was following closely and Busquets who was running in front of him, but... he did not hit the football that was too high.

"No……"

Before Central 5 commentator He Wei finished speaking, he saw a red and white figure leaping high at the bottom of the screen on the right, heading the football that flew over the heads of Busquets, Martin and Mathieu toward the goal!

Until then, everyone knew that Martin's running position was like a feint in volleyball, and his jumping was entirely to attract firepower!

"Oh My God!!"

“—Olivier Giroud!”

Sky TV commentator Andy Gray's voice rose an octave and he shouted almost crazily.

Goalkeeper Ter Stegen's attention was also attracted by Martin. His tense nerves were even ready to save Martin's header, but the football flew over the heads of the three of them.

When his eyes shifted as the football flew, his pupils shrank suddenly.

Giroud jumped high without being marked, twisted his waist and swung his abdomen, and pushed the football that just landed on his forehead towards the upper right corner of the goal.

Ter Stegen couldn't react at all when faced with a header about eight yards in front of the goal. All he could do was not take his eyes off the football.

In fact, a header from this distance can fly into the goal as long as it is not within reach of Ter Stegen's torso.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa——"

A few tenths of a second later, the Emirates Stadium erupted into a deafening roar.

"Goooooooooooal—"

"The ball is in! It's in! Killer!"

"Olivier Giroud! Header relay! Goooooooooal——"

"Oh My God! Incredible game!"

“全场比赛第88分钟的进球！无疑是杀死比赛的进球！4：0！总比分5：5！！”

……

The commentator in the live commentary box/live broadcast room shouted almost crazily at this moment.

(End of this chapter)