Chapter 672: Battle of Geniuses

Eden Hazard was panting heavily as he walked towards the center line from the penalty area of ​​Wigan Athletic.

This short Belgian now looked like a sweaty man, with sweat all over his body. He wiped his forehead casually, and his hands were full of sweat, dripping like water.

It was already more than 70 minutes into the second half, but the score was still 1:1.

A draw might be a good result for some Premier League teams, after all, away games in the Premier League are notoriously difficult to play, but for Tottenham Hotspur, a draw is definitely an unacceptable result.

The Premier League has just begun, and Tottenham Hotspur has achieved an impressive record of 55 unbeaten games. One more game will catch up with Chelsea's record, and even Capello's record of 58 unbeaten games of AC Milan is only one step away. In this case, no one in the team is willing to accept such a draw.

In front of the goal line behind him, Wigan Athletic's goalkeeper Habis was walking outside the field to ask for the ball, because just now Tottenham Hotspur had a through ball from Messi's right side, but Hazard failed to catch up, causing the ball to go out of the baseline and become Wigan Athletic's goal kick, so now everyone was retreating.

Hazard walked out of the penalty area, bent down at the top of the arc, put a piece of lifted grass back into the pothole, and then stepped hard with his feet a few times. He couldn't catch up with the ball just now because he was tripped by this pothole, causing his body to be a little unbalanced. Although he quickly adjusted himself, he was still slow.

Tottenham Hotspur also played poorly in this game. They didn't have the momentum of the previous round of crazy victory. Coupled with the team's appropriate rotation, Tottenham Hotspur's performance was not particularly ideal.

But there is another very important reason, that is, Wigan Athletic's home turf, which is known as the worst among Premier League teams. Although they also use mixed turf, due to the team's financial needs, Wigan Athletic's DW Stadium is not just a football field. They will use the free time of the league to rent it to others to hold some games such as rugby matches.

If you look closely at the DW Stadium, you will find that there are still lines from rugby matches on the turf. Although they have been wiped off by Wigan Athletic, the traces are still clearly visible.

Speaking of the badness of the DW Stadium, the whole Premier League knows that a year ago, due to heavy snow in winter and damage to the geothermal system, coupled with the hosting of rugby matches, the turf was damaged to the point that it was almost unfit to bear the Premier League. Although they re-laid it once, the situation has not improved. After all, the pressure of hosting events at this home stadium is too great.

Last season, although Tottenham Hotspur won a big victory over Wigan Athletic at home, they tied 0:0 with their opponents away from home. Although there were factors in the Champions League, it was ultimately affected by the fact that the DW Stadium situation was too early.

According to Wigan Athletic's head coach Roberto Martinez, if a bad field can help the team get league points, then why bother? Besides, Wigan Athletic is obviously more adapted to playing in such a field, so it is not considered to re-lay the turf again for the time being.

Hazard looked up and saw countless potholes like the one just now. Coupled with the rainy weather in England, the entire Wigan Athletic field is very bad, just like a swamp. Those potholes are like traps that will eat people. If you fall into them accidentally, you will be finished.

When walking back, Hazard's mind can't help but think of the League Cup three days ago, playing against Everton away. After the game, Neymar received overwhelming praise. The Brazilian used two shots to help Tottenham Hotspur reverse Everton away 2:1 and successfully advance to the next round of the League Cup.

Although it was just a League Cup, the opponent was Everton who went all out, and the intensity of the game was no less than any Premier League game, so Neymar's outstanding performance in that game, especially the almost magical footwork and technology he showed in the game, made countless fans and reporters fall in love with him.

But as a direct competitor, Eden Hazard felt pressure from Neymar's outburst. The more Neymar was praised by the media around the world and the more he was touted as Messi II, the more pressure Hazard felt, because he knew very well that with Ribery and Messi's main positions unchanged, he and Neymar were the third and fourth competitors. If Neymar was outstanding, the Brazilian would have more opportunities to prove himself.

In addition to Neymar, Lucas Moura, Coutinho and others can also play on the wing, but generally speaking, these people do not pose a threat to Hazard for the time being.

If this is really a battle of talents as some media say, then this is an internal competition between Hazard and Neymar. Whoever performs well can become the third winger after Ribery and Messi.

So, after the start of this game, Hazard performed very hard and diligently.

He knew very well that he did not have an advantage in terms of technology and consciousness when competing with Neymar. Although this could not be considered his disadvantage, he was not as cunning as Neymar, and he was not as good as the other in the casual use of skills, but his advantages were his body, running and speed. At least he was stronger than Neymar, had better endurance than Neymar, and was faster than Neymar.

This can be seen from his previous cooperation with Ramsey who was advancing on the left.

He retreated in front and met Ramsey near the midline. After getting the ball, he knocked it back to Ramsey, but the Wigan Athletic midfielder fought hard and Ramsey had to knock it back again. As a result, Hazard was soon trapped in the double-team of two players. However, under the pulling and clamping of the two Wigan Athletic midfielders, Hazard relied on his body and flexibility to dribble and turn, and quickly dribbled the ball forward.

This time, he fought his way out of the double-team of two players. Although it did not seem to be as agile and sudden as Neymar, it was more impactful. After he sprinted with the ball, he followed it up with another man-ball split, passing an opponent's defensive player, but he did not pass the ball well in a straight pass at the front of the penalty area, and Cavani could not catch up.

If we look at this performance, the difference between Hazard and Neymar is obvious. At least Neymar certainly can't do this because his physical fitness is not enough, especially in power confrontation.

Of course, Hazard himself knows very well that the body can be trained, as can the technique and consciousness. Therefore, the competition between him and Neymar cannot be said to be who is better than the other. It can only be said that who can seize the opportunity at the critical moment, win the trust of head coach Ye Qiu, and then get more game opportunities.

This is a battle of geniuses, but also a battle of the future.

Wigan Athletic soon kicked the goal again, and Tottenham Hotspur steadily controlled the ball in the backcourt. Although Wigan Athletic scored a goal in this game, Bai Baihe's defense is still very solid. At least the combination of Thiago Silva and Kompany is still very reassuring.

Speaking of conceding goals, it is also to blame this bad field. When Kyle Walker, the unlucky guy, passed the ball back to Thiago Silva, he rolled over the potholes. As a result, the ball bounced and changed its position, which scared Thiago Silva into a panic, and the opponent's striker Di Santo took the opportunity to press, and Wigan Athletic seized an opportunity in the chaos.

Since then, Wigan Athletic has started to defend like an iron barrel.

Tottenham Hotspur launched two more waves of attack, but more of them went to Messi's side. After all, Messi is the absolute main force of the team, and Wigan Athletic's defense is also very good. The team's ability to stay in the league has a lot to do with their defense.

And it is indeed very strange. Wigan Athletic's home performance has always been very unsatisfactory, but their away performance is better. It is a typical home worm and away dragon. The outside world's analysis of this phenomenon is that Wigan Athletic is worried about gains and losses at home and wants to win, which leads to insufficient defense. On the contrary, the thinking is clearer when playing away.

"Eden!" Ye Qiu called Hazard when he took advantage of a dead ball opportunity and ran to the sidelines to drink water.

"Head!" Hazard grabbed a bottle of water in his hand and kept squeezing it into his mouth. The water shot directly into his throat like an arrow. That feeling is really great, especially after intense exercise.

Hazard admired Ye Qiu from the bottom of his heart, not only because Ye Qiu was the head coach and chairman, but also because he admired Ye Qiu for his football, business, and even his interpersonal skills. He was a very charismatic and friendly person.

"Next, we will focus on the right wing!" The first sentence Ye Qiu said made Hazard panic.

"Boss, I have tried my best, but this field..." After a pause, he felt that he should not explain, because he really did not show his strength. No matter how much he said, it would be useless. What Ye Qiu and Tottenham Hotspur wanted was a victory, a result, not just a process.

"... Believe me, boss, I will definitely be able to kill them!" Hazard issued a military order. If he could not perform well in this game, the position of the third winger would be given to Neymar, and there would be fewer opportunities in the future.

"Listen, man!" Ye Qiu walked to Hazard's side. He couldn't leave the visiting team coach's command area. The fourth official and Wigan Athletic staff nearby were staring at him, but he just kept a line between them and pushed Hazard's shoulders against him. Even though the Belgian was sweating profusely, he didn't care.

"We will focus on attacking the right side. I'll let Messi and Cavani pull away the defensive players for you. You rush into the penalty area more and try to score goals!" Ye Qiu said beside Hazard's ear.

Hazard was not stupid. He reacted immediately. Wigan Athletic's current defense focus was on the left side, that is, the right side against Tottenham Hotspur. So if Ye Qiu gave all the offensive chips to Messi now, it would be easy for the opponent to defend, so he simply took advantage of the situation and further strengthened the offensive on the right side, pretending to attack the right side.

The purpose of doing this is to pull all the defensive pressure of Wigan Athletic to the right, so that the already lax left side is exposed, creating opportunities for Hazard to enter the penalty area!

In other words, Ye Qiu handed the final winning weight to Hazard!

"Head!" Hazard was still panting, but his eyes were a little excited.

"Don't talk nonsense, go!" Ye Qiu patted Hazard's shoulder hard, his hands were full of sweat, and he laughed.

Hazard knew it, but he couldn't laugh. He nodded at Ye Qiu and turned around and ran back to the court.

The whole process happened in a short period of time, and the game was not even broadcast live.

But after Hazard returned to the court, he soon felt that the team continued to strengthen the offensive on the right as the head coach Ye Qiu said, with Cavani, Vidal, Kyle Walker and others They all actively participated in the attack on the right, making Tottenham Hotspur's right wing play very intense.

Wigan Athletic obviously struggled with Tottenham Hotspur's attack. Roberto Martinez replaced Figueroa, a left-footed defender, with the purpose of further strengthening the attack. Tottenham Hotspur defend from the left on the right.

Not only that, even the Scottish defender Cardwell, who is responsible for the right wing, looks more like a central defender, often appearing in the center position, releasing the entire right wing to Tottenham Hotspur left winger Hazard .

This defensive strategy was able to contain Tottenham Hotspur's offense for a while, but it was difficult to sustain for long. After a few minutes, Wigan Athletic began to have some problems. Under the impact of the attack, cracks gradually appeared, and in order to make up for the cracks, they had to tear down the east wall and repair the west wall.

This is also the sad part of some small teams, because it is difficult for their players to escape such tragedies when they are not as strong as their opponents, so it is often difficult for them to create an upset, especially now that football tactics are integrated.

Finally, they made an unexpected mistake.

Cavani moved to the right and took the initiative to cooperate with Messi who was holding the ball. After getting the ball, he wanted to turn around and attack the penalty area, but there was no chance. He knocked back to Kyle Walker, who had a strong desire to go forward and participate in the attack. He was also very active. As soon as he got the ball, he passed it crosswise to Messi who was pulling into the middle before the defensive player could get close.

Messi took the ball from the right side of the penalty area and rushed straight into the penalty area. After attracting the attention of three defensive players, he passed the ball directly to the bottom line. Cavani rushed back to the penalty area from the right side of the penalty area and moved forward directly after getting the ball. push.

Cavani was almost parallel to the goal. In front of him was the front point of the goal. Hazard rushed to the front point, but Cardwell blocked him well this time, and goalkeeper Habis It was blocked between Hazard and the goal. The Belgian seemed to have no shooting angle at all.

But just when everyone thought that this attack would be gone, Hazard, who was sprinting quickly, suddenly stopped when the ball entered his range, and passed Cavani's pass to his right with his right foot. He unloaded the ball sideways and parked the ball to his right. Then, after the emergency stop, he turned his back to Cardwell and turned to the right to block the Scottish defender behind him.

This sudden change caught everyone off guard, not to mention Cardwell, even goalkeeper Habis, who was facing Hazard, was shocked, because if Hazard turned to the left, that is, facing the goal, He had no chance at all. He suddenly stopped and changed direction, just like Zidane's Marseille slalom, turning around Cardwell.

This lap forced him to suddenly turn around with no chance and no space. He was facing an empty goal with no one to defend him. Goalkeeper Habis and defender Caldwell, who were originally blocked by the right post, In the end, he rested on his laurels and had no time to block Hazard's next shot after Marseille's spin.

The ball almost hit the bottom of the net in the lower left corner of the goal in a straight line, 2:1!

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"

“A GREAT WORLD WAVE!!!!!”

"Slalom of Marseille!!! Eden Hazard performed Zidane's famous stunt for us in the small penalty area of ​​Wigan Athletic, in a very narrow gap, the slalom of Marseille, a very amazing personal performance!! "

The live TV camera focused on the Belgian teenager Hazard who was running out. The latter rushed forward and passed by Ye Qiu in front of the visiting team's coaching bench. After hugging the coach, he turned around and ran back to the court, following The teammates who rushed all the way hugged and celebrated!

"2:1. With a flash of inspiration from the talented youngster Eden Hazard, Tottenham Hotspur temporarily led Wigan Athletic 2:1 at the field. This was a very wonderful goal. I even had one. I have a hunch that there is no need to choose the best goal in the Premier League this week. It must be Eden Hazard’s Marseille spin!”

The Belgian youngster also looked very excited, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

"This is a young rookie that Ye Qiu has focused on cultivating in the past few years. He is 20 years old this year, but he already has rich experience in the Premier League. Ye Qiu has also been working hard to build Eden Hazard in the past few seasons. Germany, and this Belgian youngster has lived up to expectations. There have been rumors in the media that Zidane recommended Hazard to Real Madrid. Some media even broke the news that Florentino wanted to acquire this genius for 30 million euros. , but Tottenham refused!"

"Twenty-year-old Eden Hazard and 19-year-old Neymar are known as Tottenham Hotspur's future genius twins. During the League Cup in midweek, Neymar scored twice to help Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham Hotspur reversed Everton on the field, and now Eden Hazard scored a crucial goal to help Tottenham Hotspur win the game again! "

“These two talented players are easily reminiscent of Ribery and Messi. I believe that with time, they will take over the banners of their two predecessors and become Tottenham Hotspur’s rising superstars!”