Chapter 178 Penalty
When Menez shot the ball into the goal guarded by Dida, AC Milan players were not sure what they saw - did the football really roll into their goal instead of hitting the net?
"Oh...oh...oh! Menez scored, Metz equalized the score..." The Italian commentator said weakly. "This is really bad!"
"This is really a wonderful European Super Cup. Yes, the Super Cup has become a performing warm-up match, but Metz told us with their tenacious performance that a warm-up match before the season can be so exciting!"
"Actually, this is not the first game since Chu Zhongtian's comeback, but I would rather regard this game as his true comeback, because he showed a high-level side in this game, and he has returned to the Chu Zhongtian we were familiar with before the injury! As long as he is here, Mes will be very strong!"
Menez turned around and ran towards Chu Zhongtian, hugging him tightly.
On Metz's bench and coaching bench, Metz's substitutes and coaches rushed out of their respective positions, waving their fists at the stadium, stands, and even AC Milan's bench, "Come on! Come and beat us!"
The Louis II Stadium can only accommodate 20,000 people, and Metz fans have nearly 10,000. At this time, they are the happiest people in the world. I thought it would be great to score a goal in AC Milan, but I didn’t expect that I still have hope to win now. This is something they didn’t dare to dream of in the past. So when did Metz have such strength and dare to dream of such a dream?
"Long live Mess! Yes, long live Mess!!"
The Metz players off the court were very excited, and the Metz players on the court could not control their emotions. They flocked to Chu Zhongtian and Menez, surrounded them and celebrated them all the way.
However, AC Milan's players formed a strong contrast with them. All the players of the Italian team stood there blankly, lacking mental preparation for the conceding goal.
They always felt that the team that won in the end would undoubtedly be them. Although they only had one goal ahead, they could score another goal with just a little effort. Inzagi is a forward who is good at seizing opportunities, and Kaka is also a midfielder with super scoring ability, as well as Pirlo and Gurkuf... They can completely extinguish Mes' fire of hope after the 85th minute.
Unexpectedly, they didn't wait until the 85th minute, and in the 81st minute, they scored a goal that equalized the score.
Gattuso was originally preparing to play on the sidelines, but the team doctor was doing the final treatment for him - bandaging the bandage and wrapping his head around like the Indian Asan. His eyes were always staring at Chu Zhongtian, and as he accelerated to break through Ambroseni, he clenched his fists. He knew that because he was not here, the pressure on the kid was much less. If he was on the court at this time, he would definitely not have allowed him to break through him easily.
He thought that as long as he returned to the court, Chu Zhongtian would not be worrying. He didn't expect that Mes actually scored the goal in this offense before he came on the court! The person who assisted Menetz was Chu Zhongtian!
※※※After celebrating the goal, Menez and his teammates celebrated the goal, they faced the stand where the Metz fans were, waved their arms upwards, and encouraged everyone to cheer and shout louder.
His actions received a positive response from Metz fans, and the Louis II Stadium almost became the stage for Metz fans.
The fans of AC Milan quickly came to their senses, and they were not willing to be outdone and sang and fought back.
Fans from both sides were fighting fiercely in the stands.
The players on both sides are not inferior.
The game started again and Gatuso ran to the stadium. Milan fans gave him applause, but Gatuso didn't have the heart to enjoy the fans' love for him now. As soon as he came on the court, he set his sights on Chu Zhongtian. This time he would not allow Metz-8 to be so rampant in front of him again.
Ancelotti also made a substitution. He replaced Inzagi with Girardino. Inzagi has always been a hard-working player. He always runs physically on the court, seeking a chance to score goals. But he is already thirty-three years old after all, and his physical fitness does not allow him to run like this. Seeing that he could no longer keep up with the rhythm in the final stage of the game, Ancelotti had to replace him with Girardino.
Now he has a substitution quota left. It seems that there is a high possibility that this game will be played in overtime, so he decided to leave this substitution quota until the last moment of the game.
Ancelotti was still considering leaving a substitution for overtime, so he made Fernandez to burn his head, and he used all three substitutions in his hands. Jaiovi came on the court, replaced Ibissevic, and changed to a single forward. After Jaiovi came on the court, he formed a double midfielder with Proman, and Chu Zhongtian was completely liberated.
"Sir didn't say where you want to play." After Jaiovi came on the court, he conveyed the latest instructions from head coach Fernandez to Chu Zhongtian.
Chu Zhongtian was stunned for a moment. There was no fixed position? He originally thought he would let him play the front midfielder, but now it seems that he is not the front midfielder or the back midfielder. What is that?
"He said he would give you enough freedom to let you play freely."
"Is it still a free man?" Chu Zhongtian asked jokingly.
Yayiovi shook his head: "Then I don't know, he let himself do it anyway."
Chu Zhongtian turned his head and looked at Coach Fernandez standing on the sidelines. The head coach did not gesture to him or shouted anything.
Free to play?
Chu Zhongtian buried his head and thought, it seemed that there was no difference from what he was doing now. Although his position on the court was a midfielder, his position was very unfixed when he really played the game. He would appear on the wing to participate in defense, and would also rush into the opponent's penalty area to compete for the header. Sometimes he transformed into a central defender, a midfielder, and a front midfielder... Since that's the case, then continue to play according to his own set.
After seeing Chu Zhongtian's performance, Saki's eyes lit up and then smiled. He could already imagine Gatuso's at a loss.
Gattuso was indeed at a loss. Jaiovi was replaced in the 82 minutes. From then until the 85 minutes, he felt that the game was awkward. Because Chu Zhongtian suddenly became difficult to defend.
His position is too flexible. In the past, he only moved on the central axis, either up or down, and he mainly sticks to the middle. Now he has a lot of positions on the left and right sides of the middle...all positions appear frequently. Once he is led out of his original position, Chu Zhongtian immediately passes the ball to the middle, to Jaiovi who is in front or Menez who is retreating.
Ambroseni obviously couldn't defend against two people alone.
AC Milan's defense line has formed a consensus in previous games - where Chu Zhongtian controls the ball, their defense center will shift to wherever he controls his passes, and on the other hand, he prevents him from shooting from a long shot or breaking directly into the penalty area.
But now they can't do this, because Chu Zhongtian's position has changed so much that there is no rule. Because Yayiovi and Proman are protecting behind him, Chu Zhongtian no longer has to return to defense frequently. He is now stuck in the area between the AC Milan back and forward line, moving back and forth, as he wants.
Gatuso could only grit his teeth and keep up. Even so, he felt that he was willing but not capable. After all, he had run for almost ninety minutes, and the confrontation with Chu Zhongtian made his physical energy consume more than usual. You should know that Gatuso is already twenty-nine years old, while Chu Zhongtian is only twenty-three years old. Gatuso's personal experience, skills, and consciousness are all at the peak of professional players, but physical fitness is slowly declining, and Chu Zhongtian's physical fitness is in an upward period.
※※※Fernandez looked at the big screen of the Louis II Stadium. There were five minutes left before the end of the ninety-minute game. There were about four minutes of injury stoppage time, which was nine minutes.
It is already very good for them to play this game, but who doesn’t want to win the championship? Who is willing to give up just one step away from the finish line?
So although AC Milan is very powerful, Metz also wants to overturn the elephant.
※※※Because of equalizing the score, Metz is now in a strong morale, and compared with AC Milan, it is much weaker. Therefore, Metz now has more offensive opportunities, and AC Milan can only be in a passive defensive position.
Chu Zhongtian got the ball in the frontcourt. Instead of driving forward, he stepped on the football and stopped it.
Gattuso stood in front of him and did not occasionally jump forward to intercept the ball. He was delaying time so that his teammates could complete the siege of Chu Zhongtian.
Kaka was running up from behind him, and Ambroseni was also waiting for an opportunity to move. When the time was right, Kaka interfered behind him, Gattuso stepped forward to intercept the ball, forcing Chu Zhongtian to make a ball-handling mistake. At that time, Ambroseni could get a bargain.
Because AC Milan's defense line is well organized, once Metz's offensive players enter the 30-meter area, the range of activities available will be reduced. They can only stop and stand and wait for the ball, which increases the difficulty of Chu Zhongtian organizing the offense.
Gattuso lowered his center of gravity and stared at the ball that was trampled by Chu Zhongtian. At the same time, he was also paying attention to Kaka's movements from the corner of his eyes. He was waiting for the most suitable opportunity to surround him.
Chu Zhongtian felt the danger. It was logical that he could not let the football stay under his feet for too long. So he pulled the football backward, and Gatuso also stretched out his foot to intercept the ball, avoiding Gatuso. Following this action, Chu Zhongtian dunked the football to the left with his right foot and dodged Kaka from behind, but he just happened to dunk the football in the direction where Ambrosini was.
Ambrosini was rushing towards the football, intending to intercept the ball.
Unexpectedly, Chu Zhongtian's left foot suddenly crossed in front of him and the football, gently knocked the football forward, jumped up with his right foot, avoided Gattuso's tackle, and used his left foot to support him and kicked forward!
A series of beautiful dodging and rushing, within a very small range, avoided the steals of Gattuso, Kaka and Ambrosini, and also brought the football out of the encirclement of three people. His performance attracted cheers and warm applause from the Metz fans in the stands.
The commentator also cheered at Chu Zhongtian's performance: "Beautiful get rid of it! So beautiful! Think about what Chu Chu looks like when he arrives at Metz, and look at his current performance. I have to admire Fernandez's ability to train players!"
"Just from this breakup alone, Chu Zhongtian's skills have completely surpassed those domestic players in China..." CCTV's commentator did not forget to use this opportunity to laugh at the Chinese men's football team. "It is indeed correct to play football abroad. Our players should go out to play more and look at Chu Zhongtian's performance!"
Chu Zhongtian is not good at his delicate skills and fancy feet, but after so many years of training, he can still ensure that the football is not easily lost under the defense of two to three people. The technical movements he used to get rid of defense just now were the most basic, pulling the ball, spiking and tweeting, which do not look fancy, but are very practical.
Slashing out of the three-person encirclement is the best opportunity for Chu Zhongtian and Meis.
Because AC Milan's defense line was loose, Nestas did not expect that Chu Zhongtian would emerge from the encirclement of three people. For a moment, no one stepped forward to defend Chu Zhongtian.
Chu Zhongtian was not polite, neither passing nor shooting, and he drove the football forward and wiped it into the penalty area.
"Breakthrough! Breakthrough! He broke through!"
The Metz fans in the stands screamed desperately, using this method to cheer for Chu Zhongtian, while the AC Milan fans naturally booed Chu Zhongtian crazy and cursed him that the ball was cut.
When Chu Zhongtian crossed the penalty area line, AC Milan's defenders reacted and Karaze rushed up from the side. Chu Zhongtian did not slow down, and pushed the football towards the bottom line and continued to break through!
Chu Zhongtian rarely sees this kind of thing on the court. Most of the time he chooses to pass the ball or shoot directly. He rarely drives the ball to break through by himself in the penalty area. He is not good at dribbling people. The way to surpass people is to have no other tricks except for simple dialing and spiking to change directions. Facing experienced defenders, he is usually the one who suffers.
But today is different. Chu Zhongtian is like a demon, breaking through crazy.
AC Milan players were "brainwashed" by Ancelotti before the game. They carefully studied Chu Zhongtian's characteristics and knew that he was physically good, good at running and passing the ball, and his defense was not bad, but what he was good at would definitely not include dribbling and breaking through. Milan's scouting system is very complete. They even got the statistics of the ten games Chu Zhongtian participated in before. The analysis pointed out that Chu Zhongtian had very few activities in the penalty area. In the penalty area, he usually passed or shot with one pass, of which 80% of the pass accounted for and only 20% of the shot. Dribbling and breaking through in the penalty area? What is that?
Because of his understanding of this characteristic of Chu Zhongtian, when Kalaze discovered that Chu Zhongtian had made such a firm breakthrough, he was a little unresponsive. When he came to his senses, he had lost the best opportunity to intercept the ball. But he still made a tackle move.
Just a second before he was about to shovel the football, Chu Zhongtian's left foot pushed the football out, and Karaze shoveled it to his left foot!
Chu Zhongtian, who was tackled, fell head-on... "Punishment!!" The Metz fans in the stands roared loudly.
The response to them was the booing of AC Milan fans: "This is a fucking fake fall!"
The referee's sounded a little unreal in such a noisy environment that Nesta, who rushed over to fill the game, did not stop the game, and he drove the ball out with his big feet.
The Metz players gave up the game, and they raised their hands to signal the referee that Karaze was fouled.
Since he did not hear the referee's whistle, the Italian commentator said proudly: "Karaze's tackle was very clean this time, and he would definitely not be a foul! That Chinese player was suspected of a fake fall..." At this moment, he saw the referee running into the penalty area and pointing his hand at...to the penalty spot! "Uh... penalty? The referee awarded a penalty?!" His tone was full of incredible questions.
"Ahhh! It's a penalty! It's really a penalty! In the 88th minute of the game, Chu Weimeis won a penalty!"
"Chu Zhongtian suddenly entered! Karaze... He fell! He fell! Hey? It was a penalty! It was a penalty!" Although Huang Jianxiang had left CCTV, the CCTV commentator was not inferior in these few voices. "So beautiful! Chu Zhongtian was tackled by Karaze! This was a penalty!"
It was not just a penalty kick, but the referee also showed a yellow card to Karaze who was fouled.
Chu Zhongtian, who was lying on the ground, turned over and saw the referee pointing at the penalty spot, and knew that he had succeeded! He did not deliberately cheat the penalty, but when he felt that Karaze had tackled his left foot, he fell to the ground without hesitation. This is called rational use of the rules.
The teammates were also ecstatic and rushed towards him, hugging him to celebrate.
The AC Milan players surrounded the referee, and of course they had to defend themselves. At such a sensitive time, they were awarded a penalty kick and almost announced their death penalty. How could they be left alone?
"I didn't shovel him! I didn't shovel him!" First of all, no matter whether I really shoveled Chu Zhongtian or not, Karaze must bite himself tightly and not let go without foul.
Secondly, the other teammates came up to help, and Ambroseni, the captain, came forward to negotiate with the referee: "My people said he did not commit a foul, why was it that Messe's people pretending to fall?"
Unfortunately, this set was useless. The referee pointed to his eyes: "I believe in my eyes more than my ears."
That means you don’t explain it, I can see it clearly.
The penalty for penalty kick cannot be changed.
Although he created a penalty kick, Chu Zhongtian did not take the penalty himself. The first penalty kicker in the team was Promum. After celebrating the penalty with everyone, he withdrew from the penalty area and asked Promum to come up and pay the penalty kick.
The AC Milan players also had no choice but to withdraw from the penalty area. They did not convince the referee to change the penalty, and could only accept the result unwillingly and helplessly.
Promón was not polite, and took the penalty himself and scored it in one go, shooting the ball into the goal guarded by Dida. Demón was very good at saving penalty, but this time he completely judged the wrong direction. After the goal, Promón raised his head and raised his arms and shouted, and he had seen the dawn of victory.
Metz's players celebrated their third goal in the penalty area of AC Milan, while AC Milan players shook their heads and walked towards the center circle to kick off. The live TV broadcast also gave Kaka and Pirlo a close-up shot. Kaka was a little confused, opened his mouth, and stared blankly at the front of him. Pirlo lowered his head and shook occasionally, looking helpless.
Seeing the players all look like this, the Italian commentator had to sigh: "It seems that the record of winning the European Super Cup five times has to wait..."
Chapter completed!