Mister Legend

Chapter 458 A Competition of Willpower
In this position with a good angle and distance, Cork did not choose to attack the goal directly. His free kick was passed to the back point of the Torino penalty area by some accidents. Goldaniga, who was active, headed the ball hard towards the goal, but it was still higher than the crossbar.

From the perspective of overall ability, the former Palermo central defender is the same type of player as Diego Llorente. They both take a comprehensive route. The three most important skills of heading, marking and stealing are not particularly prominent. There are no obvious shortcomings.However, in terms of specific abilities, there is still a certain difference between the two people.

In addition to the unique DNA of the Spaniard, Llorente is far superior to his peers in passing and dribbling, and Goldaniga's 1.8 meters tall and strong body make him more effective in confrontation. Advantages, of course, the speed will naturally be slightly inferior, but relying on youth, it will not suffer too much.

So in theory, this counter-substitution will not have a great impact on the Turin team's defense, and it can maintain the completion of the pre-match strategy to the greatest extent.

It's just that because the incident happened so suddenly, Goldaniga only warmed up for less than 2 minutes before the game, and he has not yet entered the state that can adapt to the final level of the intercontinental competition.So in the next five or six minutes, the 6-year-old central defender, who was still considered by some media to be the future star of Italy, suffered repeated attacks from Atletico Madrid's world-class and even top attackers. The performance is not embarrassing.

In order to cover up this temporary weakness, Li Modi issued a higher-level defensive tactical order, Benassi and Belotti also began to retreat to the central midfielder position to participate in the press, and only Immobile was left in the frontcourt. It poses too much threat to the opponent.So Atletico Madrid can safely and boldly invest more troops in the frontcourt, and finally find the feeling of full firepower on the offensive end of the position.

It’s just that this wonderful experience didn’t last long. Goldaniga’s 15 willpower and 18 competition ability helped him quickly adapt to the rhythm of the game, and his teammates have been helping him with all their strength. So when the game progressed to No. 30, seven and eight minutes, the Turin team returned to normal state, and the situation on the field immediately became a stalemate again.Neither of the two sides could take too much advantage. Apart from each completing an unreliable shot, only Bareca's move to get a yellow card for flying into Fossariko was considered a small disturbance. The rest of the time It's all tedious and boring.

At the end of the half-time, the performance of both teams was not as good as their usual level, but at least Torino still created some threats in the counterattack and scored a goal with the first shot of the opening game. ball.

On the other hand, Atletico Madrid, the favorite to win the championship, after being hit head-on by the goal, the players on the field seemed to lose themselves.Coach Simeone's suspension also seriously affected everyone's tactical execution. Except for the high-position press in the middle of the first half, which showed the demeanor of a world-class team, the rest of the time disappointed everyone.Although assistant coach Boggs was considered to be able to make up for the vacancy left by the absence of the coach before the game, but only looking at the situation in the first 45 minutes, he obviously has obvious defects in adaptability, which is not the same as that of Torino. The team's assistant coach Samfield is somewhat similar.

In terms of statistics, the two sides can be said to be evenly matched, but Atletico Madrid lacked a goal.The only item with a large gap is the number of fouls (the number of free kicks caused is not counted separately), because it is mainly defensive, so the Turin team has more fouls, and the corresponding number of yellow cards is also 2 vs. 1 is temporarily in the leading position.

The referee of this final, the 45-year-old Dutchman Bjorn Kuipers, has very profound qualifications. He once enforced the 2013 Europa League final and the 2014 Champions League final. The top judge in black.It was only in the first round of Real Madrid's 2-1 victory over Bayern in the semi-finals this season that several rulings that were suspected to be in favor of the defending champion were controversial.However, his performance today was very good. He fully grasped the balance between the fluency of the game and the fairness of the game. He hardly made the audience feel his presence. This is definitely a very high praise for a referee.

So thanks to various factors, although the first half of the game was a bit flat, it went on very smoothly overall, but this also proves from the side that today's final seems difficult to become a classic.

The 15-minute intermission is extremely important for the lagging Atletico Madrid. Although due to UEFA regulations, the suspended Simeone cannot enter the locker room and is not allowed to contact the assistant coach by any means, but I believe that the well-prepared Spanish team will definitely respond in time. It is still difficult to predict the situation in the second half.

Sure enough, after another rematch, Atletico Madrid suddenly accelerated their offensive and defensive rhythms, adding many variables to the originally stable game.

It has to be said that this strategy is really a coup. In this situation where risks and opportunities coexist, the bed sheet army with superior experience and personal ability can naturally get more cheap.In addition to being able to use the occasional pass-and-control tactics in the midfield to avoid being led by the nose, the Turin team has no good countermeasures, because their own counterattack style also seeks to speed up.The defensive end is following the rhythm of the opponent. If you deliberately want to stabilize when you have the opportunity to counterattack, it is equivalent to actively giving up your own advantages, so the offensive and defensive conversion rate of the game is instantly increased by two times compared with before. Grades, various mistakes and wonderful cooperation of both sides were intertwined, which appeared in the beginning stage of the second half.

It’s just that the old-fashioned Atletico Madrid still found and seized a loophole of the opponent by virtue of the team’s overall strength and rich experience, and brought the score back to a state of balance. It also made the supporters on the scene finally find a place where they can vent their inner emotions. Opportunity.

No. In the 409th minute, the two teams competed with each other in the sideline area near the midfield and away from the bench. Correa, Bareca, Gabi and Vukocevic formed two groups of confrontation They fought for the header one after another, but failed to control the ball.As a result, Saul, who was suddenly plugged in from the back row, took advantage of it. He grabbed the ball in front of Benassi and gave it to Griezmann in front.The Frenchman, who was facing away from the Turin goal at that time, did not stop the ball, but raised his left foot to volley the ball to the center, and then he immediately turned around and accelerated along the right side of the center.

Due to too much focus on the scramble for landing points before, a short-term vacuum appeared in the front area of ​​the Red Bulls penalty area, and Saul and Kok successively gained room for movement in that area.In the end, the latter came one step ahead and chose to rush to the opponent's penalty area after getting the ball.

At this time, a four-on-four situation was formed at the front of the penalty area of ​​the Turin team. Saul slanted to the left to force the right wing back Silvestri who had just rushed back to the defense line and dared not retract. Diego Costa It was from the gap between Ranocchia and Goldaniga that it accelerated forward and took away most of the attention of the two. As a result, until Shengshi Meiyan was in an offside position, Cork did not send a direct pass.The Spanish international was involved in the running position of his teammates, and before Ranocchia turned around to intercept, he sent an exquisite oblique pass. The ball appeared precisely in front of Griezmann, who quickly inserted, and in front of the latter, At this point there are no defenders left.

Kanneman, who was already at a disadvantage in speed, started half a beat, and was always suppressed by the French star for most of his body. He watched the opponent lead the ball forward on the penalty area line, and faced him about ten meters in front of the goal. Casillas, who was attacking, sent the ball into the goal of the Turin team with an extremely light lob. 1 to 1, Atletico Madrid also scored a lightning goal at the beginning of the half, bringing the two sides back to the same starting line.

The ball was lost so badly that Li Mudi had no temper to lose. The opponent seized a small loophole in his side in a short period of time, and used his strong teamwork and outstanding personal ability to play a perfect offensive tactic. Judging from the current level of the players on the field of the Ling team, they really can't be too demanding.

However, the loss of the lead also led to the fact that the initiative of the game was no longer on the side of the Red Bulls. Taking advantage of the opponent's player celebrating the goal, the Turin coach immediately recruited Silvestri, who was closest to his position, and asked him to convey it to the Red Bulls. Other teammates, in the next period of time, they must be prepared for Atletico Madrid to continue to attack. They must not give the opponent a chance to overtake the score because of their own mistakes, otherwise the possibility of winning is really small.

After kick-off, the choice of the Spanish strong team did not exceed Li Moody's expectations. They launched wave after wave of fierce attacks on the goal guarded by Cassie, trying to take advantage of the current high morale to win the red team in one go. bull.

In two minutes, Griezmann shot a cold arrow at the top of the arc of the penalty area under the interception of two defensive players, but his kick on the spot hit Kanneman's calf and was refracted, which missed the post.The French striker then took a corner kick to the front point. Although Godin grabbed the first point under the high-intensity interference, his difficult header obviously failed to hit the target and flew high over the crossbar.

After the 5th minute, Lucas Hernandez, the left back who had a rare forward assist, made a one-stop attack to the left side of the penalty area after receiving a pass from Cork, but his forced shot was blocked by Gorda Nica blocked.Although he only won a sideline kick for the team, he still received applause and encouragement from the Atletico fans.

No. 603 minutes, Turin's offensive was blocked, Cork showed super long pass skills behind the midfield circle, and accurately found Diego Costa, who was going forward after throwing off Ranocchia. When it was single-handedly, it was intercepted by the referee's whistle.Kuipers indicated that in the physical confrontation just now, the Spanish center made a bad move to hit the opponent's chest, and drew out a yellow card to warn the thorn in the field. The innocence shown by Shengshi Meiyan did not deceive A more sophisticated Dutch referee.

With their tenacious defense, Torino finally survived the 15-minute difficult period. After Atletico Madrid, whose physical fitness could no longer maintain a high-intensity rhythm, took the initiative to return to a normal offensive and defensive state, the game became a stalemate again.Until the time came to the last 10 minutes of regular time, both sides failed to create a good scoring opportunity, and the score of 1 to 1 has been maintained until this moment.

In the No. 60 minute of the second half, after the veteran Juan Fran replaced the average right back Fossarico, the second substitution adjustment of the two teams was long overdue at this time.The midfielder Fabas, who is on loan from Real Madrid, replaced Benassi, who was injured in the Coppa Italia final.

Atletico Madrid also replaced the second starter almost at the same time. Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey replaced right winger Angel Correa and Saul was transferred to the right.This move not only strengthened the team's defensive strength in the middle, but also liberated Saul's shackles, allowing him to devote more energy to the offensive end.

At this point in the game, the remaining "batteries" of the starting players of the two teams are basically only about [-]% in terms of physical fitness, but for the glory of the championship, they are all struggling to persevere. The stage nearing the end once again ushered in a wave of peak state.Because everyone knows that if a goal can be scored at this time, the chances of securing victory are quite high.So with the support of tenacious willpower, both sides launched the final attack towards the opponent's goal.

No.805 minutes, Atletico Madrid steals the ball from the backcourt and hits a quick counterattack. Gabi sends a long-distance oblique pass to help Costa win a one-on-one victory against Gordaniga at the left corner of the Torino penalty area. Chance.But Ranocchia had already made a flanking move from the middle, and Shengshi Meiyan had no choice but to hit the ball horizontally to the middle.Cork, who caught up to catch up, stopped the ball about three meters away from the top of the arc. After swaying Vukocevic away with a fake dribbling diagonally, the Spanish midfielder directly kicked the ball with his right foot. The bottom left corner of the Torino goal.

This attack is powerful and heavy, and the angle is also very tricky, with a slight arc, and it goes straight to the bottom corner.

Fortunately, Casillas reacted in time and made a desperate side attack. The finger of his right hand touched the ball, changing its flight trajectory a little.In the end the ball hit the outside of the goal post and then flew out of the baseline, and the red bull survived in a thrilling escape.

And before the Atlético fans could vent their anger at their team's misfortune, eighty seconds later, the door frame on the other side of the field helped them escape.Fabas made a cross from the right at a 45-degree angle. Belotti accurately predicted the landing point four meters to the right of the penalty spot. The ball went over Oblak, who made a diving save, and hit the inside of the Atletico Madrid goal post hard.However, the ball did not bounce into the goal line, but flew towards the other goal post, and was cleared by Godin who was closer to the sideline.

The exciting level of the game has been greatly improved for two consecutive moments of horror, but the emotions of the players on the field have also become more tense.The regular time has come to the final stage. Everyone hopes that they can score the lore goal and win the championship trophy, and they don't want to be the frustrated party. The pressure everyone is under is unimaginable to ordinary people.If it is not for super willpower, it is difficult to persevere in such a critical occasion.

A few minutes later, the two teams finally failed to decide the winner within 10 minutes. The referee Kuipers blew the whistle for the end of regular time on time. The players of both sides will rest on the field for 5 minutes. Then there will be a quarter of an hour extra time in the first and second halves.

The Europa League final of the 2017-18 season thus became the No. 11 case of overtime in history.

　Thanks to the book friend Traveler K for the monthly ticket, thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)