Chapter 83 Fatigue and Injury Wave, Part
The boss explained before the game that the midfield partners this time would be the two big brothers, Van Bommel and Deco. Both of them have strong offensive attributes and are more proactive in forward penetration. Therefore, Li Qi's task on the field was mainly to take over Edmilson's previous role as a defensive midfielder and fill in the defense. The sweep was given to Van Bommel and the organization was given to Deco.
So even though Li Qi, who had been a monk for nearly two weeks, was very hungry, he had to calm down after coming on the court, patiently hold his position, assist big brother Deco in organizing the attack, and assist big brother Van Bommel in joint defense and assisting defense.
Li Qi's positional sense and game reading are quite good. In addition, after taking the lead in this game, Barcelona deliberately controlled the rhythm of Pisa, so that the ball possession time was greatly superior, so Li Qi's task was relatively easy. He could even switch positions with the two big brothers from time to time and suddenly join in the attack...
In the 24th minute, Li Qi anticipated and intercepted Nihat's pass to the middle, and then passed it directly to Ronaldinho's father to organize the attack. The latter broke through to the left and passed the ball diagonally to the middle...
Van Bommel received the ball in the middle and broke directly into the left side of the penalty area. He fell to the ground and shot despite the defender's tackle 8 yards in front of the goal. The ball was blocked by goalkeeper Alberto at the near corner and went out of the bottom line.
In the 26th minute, Chilean midfielder Marc Gonzalez got rid of Deco's entanglement and wanted to move deeper into Barcelona's defense area, but when he looked up, he saw the young man in the middle defensive midfielder had made up for it and was in a good position. It seemed that it was difficult to break through, and Marc Gonzalez's forward passing route was basically cut off...
Marc Gonzalez did not hesitate and took a long shot from 30 yards on the left. The ball just slipped over the toes of Li Qi who was blocking it - maybe it even hit it a little bit. The ball drew a wonderful arc, and with a bang, the ball hit the near post, then bounced back and hit Valdes who was flying over!
Fortunately, the ball did not bounce into the goal and was caught by Valdes in time.
This also scared Li Qi into a cold sweat: "It seems that I still need to be more active in grabbing the ball, otherwise a few random long shots will be threatening. Brother Edmilson behind me should help to fill the position..."
Afterwards, Li Qi whispered a few words to brother Edmilson behind him. After getting a positive answer, Li Qi moved forward more boldly and took more initiative to grab the ball, not afraid of losing his position or being passed by.
However, in the subsequent development of the game, Li Qi did not lose his position or be broken through. Instead, he made more steals and interceptions, suppressing Real Sociedad's midfield and frontcourt to the point of suffocation.
In the 35th minute, Li Qi intercepted Real Sociedad's pass to the front court again, and passed it to Ronaldinho's father who retreated to receive the ball in front of Real Sociedad's midfield. After receiving the ball, Ronaldinho made a cool shoulder fake move to create space, and then pretended to break through, but actually passed the ball to the middle...
However, Van Bommel made another powerful shot from 25 yards on the right, but the ball was slightly off the post.
In the final stage of the first half, Barcelona organized a wave of attacks and had consecutive opportunities to score.
In the 43rd minute, Garitano first blocked Van Bommel's dribbling with a tackle, and then before Garitano could pass the ball, Li Qi, who was waiting for an opportunity, took another step forward and intercepted the ball from Garitano's feet. The latter had no choice but to throw Li Qi, who was already facing the defense line. Barcelona won a free kick in the front court...
However, Ronaldinho picked up the ball and quickly took a free kick in the front court under the cover of Li Qi. Eto'o, who had been lying in ambush on the side, received the ball and rushed directly into the left side of the penalty area. He shot hard at the far corner from 14 yards in front of the goal, but it was saved by Alberto...
The ball bounced out of the penalty area and was grabbed by Deco at 22 yards in the middle. He volleyed the ball directly into the empty goal, but unfortunately it was blocked by defender Lavenka who flew over and went out of the baseline.
Then Ronaldinho's father took a corner kick from the right side to the outside of the penalty area. Li Chioleguer, Edmilson and others acted as a wall to block the defenders who wanted to block the ball. Deco volleyed the ball from 20 yards in the middle of the penalty area. Unfortunately, although the ball penetrated the defender, it missed the post...
Real Sociedad, who were sweating profusely from the constant fighting, finally heard the halftime whistle and entered the halftime break.
In the second half, Real Sociedad replaced Prieto with an additional midfielder in an effort to regain the initiative in the midfield. In the second half of the first half, Barcelona's midfield was too strong, which was equivalent to directly putting the muzzle of the cannon at the door of Real Sociedad and firing...
But before Real Sociedad's midfield adjustment could take effect, Barcelona expanded the lead in the 51st minute. Li Qi blocked Mikel Alonso's clearance and the ball bounced directly to Ronaldinho's father; the latter brilliantly stopped the rebound ball with strong rotation at his feet, and then aimed at a gap in the defense line and sent a penetrating pass...
Van Bommel received the pass and broke into the right side of the penalty area, pushing the ball into the far corner from 10 yards in front of the goal... The ball passed Alberto's fingers and hit the far post before bouncing back. Eto'o followed up and easily shot the ball into the empty goal before the defender cleared it...
The Cameroonian Leopard scored his 20th league goal of the season, easily leading the scorer list and helping Barcelona lead their opponents 2-0.
Real Sociedad, trailing by two goals, didn't care about the midfield battle and decided to launch a more direct attack, sending a high pass from the backcourt to Barcelona's hinterland. For a while, this bully style of play created some confusion and threats to Barcelona's defense...
In the 57th minute, Real Sociedad's long pass won a corner kick. Nihat took the corner kick and Prieto headed the ball in the middle of the penalty area, but it went wide of the right post.
In the 58th minute, Real Sociedad launched another long pass from the backcourt. Edmilson won the header, but Prieto grabbed the second point and passed the ball directly to the Barcelona penalty area without stopping... Nihat met the ball and made a half-volley shot from 10 yards on the right side of the penalty area. The ball bounced off the ground and was slightly higher than the crossbar.
However, Barcelona subsequently adjusted their defensive tactics, and Real Sociedad's attack became more and more impatient, so they frequently fell into Barcelona's offside trap, and Barcelona regained control of the rhythm and situation of the game.
However, just as Barcelona was looking to change the score for the third time, the Swedish veteran's speed slowed down; and in the 71st minute, he was replaced by Giuly due to thigh cramps.
Then Deco was injured by Uhlanga who had just come on as a substitute during an attack. Although the team doctor indicated that it was not a serious problem, Rijkaard still sent Iniesta on the field in the 78th minute to replace Deco for rest just to be on the safe side.
After Iniesta came on the court, his flexible and changeable ball-holding offensive style was different from Deco's experienced and fierce passing and cutting organization. For a time, it also brought different elements to Barcelona's offense, especially the several cooperations between Iniesta and Li Qi, which sparked sparks... Just when Li Qi was about to make an effort to create some offensive data in the final period of the game, an accident happened again.
In the 84th minute, Nihat broke into the penalty area from the right side and his shot from a small angle 12 yards away was confiscated by Valdes, and Edmilson fell in the penalty area.
The referee quickly suspended the game, and after the team doctor came on the field to diagnose, he found out that the Brazilian defender had a thigh strain and could not continue the game.
However, having used up their quota of substitutions, Barcelona had no choice but to move Oleger to the middle, arranging Li Qi to move back to the right back, while Van Bommel moved back to the defensive midfielder position.
Barcelona could only defend comprehensively afterwards, constantly controlling the ball in the midfield and backcourt to maintain their two-goal lead until the final whistle.
最终巴萨客场以2比0的比分轻取皇家社会，在本轮皇马0比0闷平贝蒂斯以及瓦伦西亚1比2客负桑坦德竞技的时候，扩大了积分榜的领先优势。
At the press conference after the game, although the victory in this round consolidated the lead in the standings, Rijkaard was helpless because three main players were injured in one game: "After losing to Osasuna, this victory is very important for Barcelona... Larsson left the field because of cramps, Edmilson had a muscle strain, and Marcos' injury was the most serious. We can't explain why there are so many injuries in one game."
After returning to Barcelona the next day, after a detailed examination and evaluation by the medical team, Ricardo also learned about the situation of the three injured players in yesterday's game through the team's notification.
The main reason for Larsson's cramps is physical overexertion. The 35-year-old Swedish veteran has indeed reached his physical limit after recent continuous battles, but he should not have any problems if he has a good rest.
Edmilson's situation was worse. The Brazilian played as a defensive midfielder first, and then as a central defender after Marcos was injured. In the 84th minute, he was tracking Nihat when he suddenly strained his right thigh muscle and could no longer play. But a moment after leaving the field, Edmilson returned to the field with only one purpose, which was to get another yellow card to wash away the previous four yellow cards, so that he could use the time to recover from the injury to complete the suspension. In the 90th minute, he got the yellow card as he wished.
However, the final examination results showed that Edmilson had injured his right biceps and needed to rest for two weeks.
The most serious problem was that of Marcos. The Mexican central defender left the field in the 16th minute of the game due to injury. After examination, the team doctor Rodas believed that Marcos had a torn muscle fiber in his left leg, which was a serious condition. The final examination results showed that Marcos had a 5-centimeter torn muscle fiber in his left leg and a 2-centimeter torn biceps in his right leg. He will be out for 4 to 6 weeks.
Add to that Belletti who has not fully recovered from his injury, and Puyol who may also be suspended due to accumulated yellow cards (he still has one yellow card left in the league, but has been confirmed to be suspended for the first leg of the next round of the Champions League), Barcelona's back line can be said to be half injured, especially on the right and center, with only Oleguer left in the center.
"It seems that I may have a chance to start in the next league game! And we have two games a week..." Ricardo saw the injury report of the team and couldn't help but mutter in his heart...
As expected, in the training session on Monday, Rijkaard called Motta and Ricardo to have some private training, and asked them to start getting familiar with the center back position, among which Ricardo mainly trained the right back position.
The Black Swan told Ricardo not to get injured recently and to maintain good form. He will start as right back in the midweek league and there may be some time for Ricardo to try playing as a center back.
Although Ricardo would rather play in the midfield, for the needs of the team and the championship, the spirited young man must be eager to try: "I have no choice but to do my best and leave it to me after I die!"
But just in case, Barcelona's head coach still transferred the second team's main central defender Rodri to the first team to train with the team.
……
After only two days of training as a center back, Ricardo made another league start, but fortunately he started as a right back.
On March 2006, 3, at 21 p.m. on Tuesday, the 21th round of the Spanish Football League kicked off with the first match, with Barcelona facing Getafe at home.
In this game, Rijkaard still used a 4-3-3 formation, but due to injuries, there were many adjustments to the starting lineup.
The goalkeeper is No. 1 Valdés who does not need to be changed;
The back line from left to right is No. 12 Van Bronckhorst, No. 5 Puyol, No. 23 Oleg, No. 66 Li Qi;
The new midfield triangle is No. 17 Van Bommel, No. 3 Motta and No. 20 Deco;
The forward trident is No. 8 Giuly, No. 9 Eto'o and No. 10 Ronaldinho.
Veteran Larsson, who suffered cramps in the last game, was rested in this game. Belletti, who had just recovered from injury, was on the bench. Also on the bench were the long-missed Maxi Lopez and second-team central defender Rodri.
As for the second goalkeeper Jorquera, Sylvinho, Gabri, Iniesta and Esquillo, I didn't intend to elaborate on them, but when I think about the next few games, they may have a chance to play, so I'll explain it in advance...
The referee blew the whistle and the game officially began. However, Barcelona failed to get into the game quickly after the opening. Facing Getafe's iron defense, they made frequent passing errors.
Li Qi saw that the ball he passed to Van Bommel was intercepted again, so he quickly changed from forward running to defensive running: "What's wrong? Is it because of the lineup adjustment or is it because they haven't gotten over the fatigue period from the league three days ago?"
However, before Barcelona could adjust, Getafe took the lead in the 5th minute. Dorado passed the ball to the right, Cotlo dodged Van Bronckhorst's tackle and made an accurate cross, Nano made a header from 7 yards in front of the goal and the ball went into the net.
Getafe got off to a dream start, scoring the first goal and taking a 1-0 lead away from home against Barcelona.
After losing the ball, Barcelona seemed to have just woken up from a dream and increased the speed of pressing and passing. Li Qi also received the latest instructions from the leader on the sidelines: "You are not a central defender now, but a full-back. Press forward boldly, participate more in midfield organization and support, and blow up their flanks!"
Li Qi finally realized that part of the emotional problem was with me: "Yes! I am a full-back now, not a center-back, damn it!"
So Li Qi, who had been training as a central defender for two days and always wanted to retreat and protect, let go of his feet and hands and feet and boldly pressed forward. The effect was immediate. The left back Peña, the core of Getafe's counterattack, who was relatively active in the previous few minutes, immediately became silent. Li Qi robbed one of his feet and intercepted a pass to him in advance...
So Barcelona almost equalized the score in the 9th minute. Li Qi predicted and started in advance, intercepted Dorado's pass to Peña, and then passed it directly to Deco who was retreating to organize the game. At the same time, he quickly started and went straight into the space behind Peña... Deco understood what he meant, and after receiving the ball in the middle, he made a diagonal pass behind the opponent's defense line.
Julian, who was working overtime in the laboratory, secretly switched the TV channel from the AstraZeneca promotional video to the live broadcast of the La Liga. She watched her lover bravely thrusting left and right, her heart was tightening with nervousness, and she only heard the commentator shouting:
"Getafe's counterattack..."
"Good shot! Li Qi intercepted the pass to Peña in advance!"
"Li Qi passed the ball to Deco, and then went straight behind the defense..."
"Deco's lob pass! A fantastic 2-on-1 combination!"
"No offside! Opportunity! Li Qi breaks into the penalty area!"
"Low cross! Giuly! Push shot!"
"Oh! What a pity!"
"Jiuli's shot from the small penalty area in the middle hit the post and bounced out of the bottom line..."
"Getafe's goalkeeper Luis Garcia was completely helpless. If he had been a few centimeters more accurate, the ball would have gone in..."
"Li Qi made an assist with a nanny ball! What a pity, even my grandmother could have scored this goal..."
After sending the cross, Li Qi was also in disbelief: "Oh my God, Brother Jiuli, your condition has dropped so much after recovering from the injury? You were not like this during training? My assists..."
……
