Chapter 186 The anxious La Liga rankings, Part
After two nights of continuous charging, Ricardo felt full of energy again. On Sunday afternoon, after watching Chiara, who was wearing a gray one-line skirt and twisting her butt, walk into the airport security checkpoint, Ricardo drove directly to the stadium to meet up with the team. The equipment had been taken to the locker room by the logistics team, and he changed his clothes and stepped on the field to prepare for the evening league.
Not only Ricardo felt relaxed physically and mentally, the entire Sevilla team was filled with excitement and enthusiasm as they faced the last game of the intensive schedule from April 4st to 1nd - they finally made it!
We played 23 games in 7 days, an average of one game every 3 days, including a European knockout game in London and a tough away game against a strong team Valencia...
Although the schedule of the three-front battle is still tough, and there will most likely be two games a week, there will be no more disgusting consecutive away training like last week, such as traveling from the southernmost tip of Spain to London, England, returning less than 72 hours before heading to the easternmost tip of Spain, and then rushing to the northwestern tip of Spain less than 72 hours later...
It's painful to think back on it, after all, in order to save costs, the club couldn't let the team stay in hotels all the time, so almost half of the 10 days were spent on the road, oh no, in the sky or on the rails... And in these 7 games, although Sevilla did not perform well in the league, with two draws and one loss in 3 games, its performances in the UEFA Cup and the King's Cup were very impressive, winning them all.
As for whether Sevilla will fall behind in the league, it all depends on this last game of seven games in 23 days!
Fuck! That's it!
The home court must be won!
2007年4月22日晚上19时，06/07赛季西班牙足球甲级联赛第31轮展开数场较量，塞维利亚在主场迎接毕尔巴鄂竞技的挑战。
Previously, Sevilla had won all six of their last six matches, and Bilbao last won against Sevilla as a guest in 6. Therefore, the entire Sevilla team was full of confidence, and this was a perfect opportunity for them to vent their anger. All players signed up to compete for the starting lineup, and if they couldn't get a spot in the starting lineup, they could just sit on the VIP bench and watch closely...
So Palop, who had already recovered from his injury, continued to be absent from the roster. Juan Ramos weighed the pros and cons and finally decided on the starting lineup as follows:
The goalkeeper will continue to be Kobegno who has been performing quite well recently;
The four tigers in the back line are No. 4 Alves, No. 20 Osio, No. 14 Escude and No. 3 David;
The four midfielders are No. 15 Navas, No. 18 Martí, No. 11 Renato and No. 16 Puerta;
The two strikers are No. 10 Fabiano and No. 9 Korzakov;
Loan players like Li Qi are naturally reserved for tough games, and bullying games like this are naturally reserved for the core players. Li Qi will only be allowed to play unless there is an accident; so Li Qi, Kanoute, Maresca, Hinkel, Dragutinovic and Adriano will start and watch the game from the bench.
Players like captain Navarro, who have a strong sense of the overall situation, naturally did not grab a roster spot, but instead rested in the stands to prepare for the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final next week.
After the kick-off, the confident and refreshed home team Sevilla showed an overwhelming momentum, launched an offensive like a tide, and beat Athletic Bilbao wildly.
Although Bilbao set up a solid defense, its defense was not impenetrable. After all, they were playing away from home and their strength was indeed not good.
In the 6th minute of the game, Sevilla succeeded in creating a killing opportunity. Alves took advantage of the free kick from the right caused by Korzakov's breakthrough and crossed the ball. Osio's header in the middle of the penalty area was ruled invalid due to offside.
Then, one minute later, Sevilla made a comeback. Puerta sent the ball to the top of the penalty area from the left, and then Fabiano kicked the ball and made a straight pass. Korzakov dribbled into the penalty area from the three-man defense and created a deadly threat again. Yest was in a panic and accidentally tripped Korzakov who had half a single chance in the penalty area. Fortunately, the referee only awarded a penalty kick instead of a red card.
But then Fabiano's penalty kick, although it deceived goalkeeper Alanzubia, hit the right post and bounced out of the bottom line! Within two minutes, Sevilla missed two golden opportunities in succession, and Athletic Bilbao also escaped two disasters. However, it is obvious that the strength, status, confidence and morale of the two teams are not in the same dimension. There should be no big suspense for Sevilla to win this home game.
The visiting team survived the disaster and had good fortunes afterwards. Athletic Bilbao also had chances in the first half. In the 17th minute of the game, Gabilondo headed the ball to Etxeberria, who shot from 8 yards on the right side of the penalty area and hit the right post and bounced out of the bottom line. This was Athletic Bilbao's first shot in the first half, the most threatening shot, and also the last shot.
In the following first half, Sevilla almost surrounded the visiting team and took 16 shots in the first half, 6 of which hit the goal, but they failed to break the deadlock. This made Juan Ramos, who was originally full of confidence, frown on the sidelines.
However, before the end of the first half, Athletic Bilbao's main goalkeeper Aranzubia injured his thigh while saving and could not continue the game, so he had to hand over the main position to the second goalkeeper Lafuente. Before the game, Aranzubia had said that he would shut out Sevilla's forward line, but his end may have also foreshadowed the trend of the game later...
During the half-time break, seeing that the team had wasted good opportunities in the first half, Juan Ramos decided to give the starting lineup another 10 minutes. If they could not score again, the offensive players who missed the opportunity would be substituted.
Under the power of Juan Ramos, Sevilla's offensive became more fierce and the pace was faster in the second half. One wave of attacks followed another, leaving Athletic Bilbao no chance to breathe.
Finally, Sevilla took the lead in breaking the deadlock in the 49th minute of the game. Fabiano received the ball from Renato and broke through the middle. After attracting four defensive players, he made a hidden pass. Korzakov, who was not offside, made a shot from 4 yards in front of the goal and scored! The entire Sevilla team embraced and celebrated passionately, even playing a human pyramid game, pressing Korzakov, the hero of the goal, at the bottom. The latter was secretly happy that he didn't have to be substituted...
This is the Russian striker's sixth goal since joining the team during the winter break. It is worth mentioning that only the first of these six goals was the icing on the cake. In addition to the first goal of this round, three of the remaining goals were decisive goals, and another one sealed the victory in the 6th minute. Sevilla spent 6 million euros to get Korzakov, and the Russian's six goals have helped the team win six times. This is obviously a very cost-effective deal. It is not an exaggeration to say that they bought a super lucky star...
However, once the home team opened their scoring accounts, the goals seemed to keep coming.
In the 54th minute, Navas dribbled the ball all the way from his own half. After passing the half, he suddenly passed the ball directly to the left side of the penalty area through the crowd. Puerta cut in diagonally and then broke through the bottom line with the ball. Then Puerta, who seemed to be preparing to pass the ball, shot directly into the near corner of the goal from a small angle!
Puerta scored the goal with a powerful shot from the left side at almost zero degrees. Athletic Bilbao's substitute goalkeeper Lafuente made a serious misjudgment and could only watch the ball go into the net.
Less than ten minutes into the second half, Sevilla was leading 2-0. The game was secured. However, after leading by two goals, Sevilla's starting lineup played more easily, but the midfield and frontcourt began to waste time again, especially Korzakov, who scored the first goal. In the 59th minute, he missed a chance to shoot into the empty goal from the front of the goal. Navas, the chef, was speechless...
Then in the 65th minute, the above two players were replaced together. Hinkel, who was suspended for a red card, was released from suspension and replaced Navas to play as right back, letting Alves play as right midfielder. Li Qi replaced Korzakov. Juan Ramos wanted to use Li Qi to organize the game in the frontcourt and control the rhythm.
Korzakov, who was substituted off the field, was still mumbling, "Didn't we agree that I wouldn't be substituted if I scored a goal? Hmm? That doesn't seem right. What did the boss say? Oh, if I don't score a goal, I'll be substituted off within 10 minutes. So after I scored a goal, I was substituted off around the 20th minute... Chao, boss, is that what you mean?!"
Regardless of the Russian striker's resentment, returning to the game, the situation changed again, which was beyond the expectations of most people; originally everyone wanted to use Li Qi, an organizing midfielder, as a forward, obviously to slow down the pace, reduce consumption, and achieve a cost-effective victory.
But unexpectedly, Li Qi's control of the rhythm made the visiting team even more passive and unable to find the rhythm. They had been beaten all the way before, and it was easy to find the rhythm in this game. They just needed to defend and kick the ball. However, Li Qi played as an organizing midfielder, but he kept controlling the ball and dawdling on the edge of the dangerous area, which made Athletic Bilbao's defense very uncomfortable. Should they go for the ball or just stand there and watch? This was a problem...
In the end, the Athletic Bilbao defender decided to rush forward and not let the opponent's No. 7 in white be too reckless. However, when Li Qi saw the mouse coming out of the hole, the originally slow and repeated horizontal passes suddenly accelerated and turned into a one-kick pass.
There was no live broadcast arranged for this La Liga match. After all, the league broadcasting rights for Sevilla this season have not been negotiated yet. Previously, the focus matches were negotiated one by one. As for this match, it was not a focus battle, so there was no nationwide live broadcast arranged, let alone overseas broadcast.
Therefore, among Li Qi's girlfriends, only Eva could watch the live broadcast of the game through the sports channel jointly operated by the local TV station in Seville and the club. The live commentary was provided by a very professional football coach, so it was professional but not passionate enough. However, Eva didn't care. After all, Eva also understood football and would be very happy without the commentator to stir up the atmosphere...
"Alves passed the ball down the middle, and Li Qi got the ball again! Dangerous, Bilbao's defenders rushed to grab it..."
"Beautiful! Li Qi, pass through the crotch!"
"Fabiano receives the ball, breaks through on the right side of the penalty area, goes to the bottom...inverted triangle!"
"Middle! Li Qi!"
"Go! Go! The ball goes in!"
"Li Qi received Fabiano's inverted triangle pass near the right bottom line of the penalty area 7 yards in front of the goal, and calmly pushed the ball into the lower right corner of the goal!"
"Let's watch the slow-motion replay... This time Li Qi didn't waste time. He must have noticed the Athletic Bilbao defender's steal in advance. He stopped the ball and flicked his ankle to secretly pass the ball through the gap left by the defender and sent it to Fabiano's feet in the corner of the penalty area."
"Fabiano was very calm after receiving the ball. He did not choose to shoot recklessly, but instead broke through the bottom line after a fake move. The final inverted triangle cross was also very clear..."
"Li Qi's timely follow-up movement after the ball was passed was also very unique. He first pretended to go around the back of the goal to deceive the opponent's defender's center of gravity, then he dodged and went straight to the middle of the penalty area, firmly blocking his position, and then received a nanny-like assist from the Brazilian forward and shot into the near corner of the goal..."
"Sevilla is leading 3-0 at home. There is no suspense in this game, it's over..."
When Eva saw Li Qi score a goal, she started dancing in front of the TV. Her grey silk nightdress was very charming...
However, the development of the game seemed to be different from what the professional commentators said. It was true that there was no suspense, but it was too early to end it, after all, there were still 20 minutes left.
After Li Qi scored the third goal, the entire Sevilla team relaxed even more, and even the defense was a little loose. After all, the home team had the ball most of the time. Especially after Li Qi came on the field, the silky cooperation with Renato and Alves was very impressive...
So the visiting team seized the opportunity, and they were trailing by a large margin and were holding their breath. Even though they might not be able to catch up, they still had to try to make some progress, right?
In the 70th minute, Athletic Bilbao had their second chance. Alves made a diagonal pass to the middle, but the pass was not good and ended up between Renato and Li Qi. In fact, if the latter two had not overlapped in position, the pass would not have been considered lost, after all, either of them could have reached the ball by moving one step and stretching their legs...
But, maybe Renato thought that the head coach arranged for Li Qi to be the main point guard, so let Li Qi take the ball.
Li Qi might have thought that Renato was the senior player on the team, so he should get the ball. Moreover, the ball was passed in front of Renato, so he could move forward with the ball. Li Qi still had to turn around to get the ball, and after stopping the ball, he could only pass it back...
A magical scene appeared. The ball slowly slid past the two people. Both of them subconsciously wanted to stretch their legs, but when they saw the other moving, they retracted their legs, so neither of them touched the ball!
Iraola, who was lying in wait behind the two men and preparing to steal the ball, received a great gift. He rushed forward and stole the ball, and at the same time, he dodged the three-man defense zone of Li Qi, Renato and Alves...
Marty, who came forward to intercept, also hesitated and did not choose to foul at the first opportunity. After all, they were leading by 3 goals and the visiting team suddenly had a chance to counterattack just after halftime. There was no need to foul right away, right?
But Marti didn't foul, and Sevilla missed the best chance to intercept the counterattack. Iraola dribbled the ball and rushed forward. There was a large blank area in Sevilla's half, and the defensive players' positions were not strict. Iraola and Marti met in an instant, and with a change of direction, Iraola flashed past and went straight to the left penalty area of Sevilla.
As soon as he reached the edge of the Sevilla penalty area on the left, Iraola turned his head and swept the middle, kicking a half-high cross... Yest also rushed over at the back post, met the cross that bypassed Osio, and headed the ball 10 yards in front of the goal! The ball hit the upper corner of the goal like a cannonball!
Cobegno faced a close cross and headed the ball, but he had no choice but to watch. In the 77th minute of the game, Athletic Bilbao successfully scored and pulled one back, 1-3!
Seeing that the visiting team actually took advantage of a passing error by their midfield and quickly counterattacked to score a goal, the Sevilla midfielders looked unhappy, especially Li Qi, Renato, Alves and Marti. Moreover, this was only the second shot of Athletic Bilbao in this game...
Chao, Ya De rushed back and continued to beat him!
So the home team, which had been a little lax, tightened up again after losing the ball and began to press and attack frantically again.
Juan Ramos also took advantage of the dead ball opportunity to replace Renato with Maresca. The head coach also saw that although Renato and Li Qi, two technical midfielders, had better control of the ball when they were on the field at the same time, it was obvious that the division of labor between the two was a bit unclear. When they started at the same time before, they had made an own goal. In this game, they were humble to each other, which led to the opponent's goal...
There is no doubt that Xiao Ma Ge's appearance is to assist Li Qi. After all, the tacit understanding between the Italian twins has been cultivated for most of the season, and it is just as smooth!
……
