Chapter 375: Li Qi Again?!

After the halftime break, Manchester United was very upset that Chelsea equalized the score by sheer luck, but Chelsea’s morale was naturally boosted when they equalized the score in the injury time anyway;

Moreover, the rain in Moscow was getting heavier at night, which was obviously more friendly to the Blues who had an advantage in physical fitness, and would limit Manchester United who were better at passing and cutting on the ground.

In the second half, both sides changed their cautious attitude at the beginning of the first half and went straight to the battle, engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

Essien, who could create threats with a random kick in the last period of the first half, played with confidence. Although he continued to be ruthlessly trained and broken through by Ronaldo on the defensive end, he frequently made insertions on the offensive end, created threats, and tried to suppress Manchester United's left-wing offensive.

But as the game progressed, Chelsea gradually took control of the situation. On the artificial turf that became increasingly slippery due to heavy rain, the iron-blooded Blues' hard push easily produced results. On the contrary, Manchester United's frontcourt passing and cutting cooperation made frequent mistakes.

Fortunately, it is not real grass, otherwise the field would have turned into a mud vegetable garden, which would have been even more unfriendly to Manchester United.

In addition, with the decline of physical strength, Ronaldo's breakthrough and Manchester United's midfielder's efficiency are also declining, especially Scholes in the middle. Chelsea has long discovered the weakness in Manchester United's defense, and has frequently forced breakthroughs in the middle, firing long shots in Scholes' defense area.

In order to make up for the gap in the middle of the midfield, Ferdinand could only focus on defending Drogba while assisting in blocking the long-range shooting opportunities that Scholes missed. As a result, Ferdinand, who was under increased pressure, showed signs of left leg cramps in the 70th minute of the game.

So Sir Alex Ferguson knew he couldn't wait any longer, and while Ferdinand was receiving treatment, he made the first substitution of the game, replacing veteran Scholes, who had scored the first goal of the game, with another veteran, Giggs, while Lizzie retreated to midfield to take over Scholes' defense.

Giggs's substitute appearance in the Champions League final also allowed him to break the Manchester United appearance record held by Manchester United legend Charlton with 759 games!

After the substitution, Ferdinand received treatment and returned to the court to continue the game. At the same time, Li Qi's return immediately improved the defensive hardness and running intensity of Manchester United's midfield.

Although Li Qi's passing may not be as skillful as that of the ginger-headed brother, his strong body still has the advantage in the tough Champions League final on a rainy and slippery day. At least when competing for high balls, Li Qi will not lose too much to Ballack and Lampard.

Moreover, Li Qi runs more than 90 meters for every points on average, and his coverage area and efficiency are much better than those of his older brother who is entering the end of his career.

Soon, Manchester United began to reverse the disadvantage in the midfield and gradually regained the initiative. After all, the opponent had been attacking hard and aggressively. Once the bloodthirsty Red Devils could gain a foothold and deal with the opponent patiently, it would be the iron-blooded Blues who would be more likely to lose the ball.

Moreover, Sir Alex's substitution immediately took effect. Manchester United seized the opportunity and created the best chance in the second half!

In the 74th minute, Li Qi used a sliding tackle, which he rarely used, to intercept the ball from Ballack who was still trying to move through the middle.

Although Li Qi rarely uses the super technical move of tackling, it is because most of the time, he does not need it, or thinks it is more advantageous to keep the center of gravity, but it does not mean that he does not know how to do it. Not all technical moves require opening the system, getting experience cards or props to suddenly know it...

But this was indeed beyond the expectations of the Chelsea players who wanted to make another fierce charge. Li Qi did not delay and directly passed the ball to Carrick who was protecting him while lying on the ground. He immediately switched from defense to offense and launched a fast break.

Carrick was not vague either, and passed the ball to Giggs who was waiting in the middle; the latter withstood the impact of Makelele with his back and passed the ball to Ronaldo, allowing the little mule, who had a very high success rate of breakthroughs in this game, to continue.

Ronaldo did not disappoint, and his moves were almost exactly the same as in the first round of the first half. He adjusted his advance with the ball, then made a lightning-fast bicycle kick to shake the African buffalo's center of gravity, and then connected with a volley from the spot to get rid of Essien and cut straight into the penalty area.

But this time Ronaldo didn't choose to cross the ball from the bottom. He had passed the ball almost ten times before, but none of the outflanking players got the ball in the first place...

This time, after pretending to shoot at a small angle, Ronaldo chose to make an inverted triangle pass with the outside of his foot to the top of the penalty area in the middle.

That was originally Scholes' position, but now it is Li Qi's area. The latter follows up and faces Ronaldo's pass with a pull-up shot!

Oh no! Li Qi's fake move not only fooled the commentators and photographers, but also fooled Chelsea's defensive midfielder Makelele. Li Qi faked a shot and then dribbled past Makelele's interference with a slight change of direction, and cut into Chelsea's penalty area.

At this time, Li Qi, who had triggered the explosive point, had several ways to deal with the ball in his mind, but he still chose the safest one: pull the ball and turn around, leaving his back to Terry who pounced on him...

When the latter saw that Li Qi did not choose to shoot but pulled the ball and turned around, he knew that he had fallen into a trap and hurriedly tried to brake.

But the slippery artificial turf didn't give Terry a chance at all. He even slipped and fell to the ground. Then, his legs couldn't stop rushing forward and knocked over Li Qi who was waiting for him...

Beep! Penalty! The referee awarded the penalty without hesitation, but because Terry's sliding tackle was an accidental one, he didn't give a card.

Cristiano Ronaldo took the penalty kick personally and kissed the ball to thank Li for the season-end gift:

"I can use this penalty kick to overtake him as the top scorer in the Champions League. I can give him a few autographed photos and a few five-star buffet meals afterwards..."

Quickly throwing away these unnecessary thoughts, Ronaldo placed the ball, stepped firmly on the grass, measured his steps, and took his compass steps. It was his pretentious but stable set-piece operation process again.

However, this time Ronaldo wanted to add some spice and play around. After all, it was the Champions League final and under the spotlight of everyone, how could he not leave some different memories?

So the Portuguese genius stared at the lower left corner of the goal and the eyes of the beret opposite him with a determined and ambitious look, then took a run-up... pause!

I don’t know where Ronaldo learned this move. Anyway, Li Qi has hardly seen him practice it during training. Is it a secret weapon?

But obviously Cech was not fooled. He remained as steady as an old dog, as if he was facing the abyss, and as still as a mountain, waiting for C to hit the ball.

Ronaldo seemed to be affected by his sudden pause and was obviously unconfident when shooting. He actually shot a half-high ball that the goalkeeper likes the most. The angle was not good, just slightly to the right of the center. Yes, it was not the lower left corner that Ronaldo was eyeing at the beginning...

But Cech didn't move in advance at all. Instead, after Ronaldo kicked the ball, he flew to the right side of his body like lightning and ruthlessly saved Ronaldo's very average penalty kick! He didn't even give Ronaldo a chance to make up the shot, and directly hit the ball out of the baseline...

C Ronaldo missed a penalty again! Ronaldo covered his face in frustration, ashamed to face his teammates, coaches and fans who were preparing to celebrate the victory.

But there is no time for Ronaldo to review his behavior, and Li Qi has no time to comfort his good friend, so he has to go back to defense quickly!

Chelsea saved the penalty and the match point, and their morale was boosted again. They burst into energy again and attacked Manchester United's goal again. In the 78th minute, they almost scored the first goal to overtake the score!

……

[After switching to short chapters, the author actually wrote 5 chapters in four days for a Champions League final and still hasn’t finished it…

Sorry dear readers, I will try to catch up on some progress next week.

I hope you will continue to support this book. 】