Countless RCD Espanyol and Huaxia fans in the stands, in front of their televisions, and in front of their computer screens, finally felt relieved.
Even louder cheers rang out from the visiting team's stands.
Wu Lei immediately rushed toward Xia Ruofei after the goal. He pointed at Xia Ruofei with a bright smile on his face.
The gesture was obvious. It was to show that most of the credit for the goal went to Xia Ruofei. On the other hand, it was to express his gratitude.
Xia Ruofei laughed as he rushed over and hugged Wu Lei. He rubbed Wu Lei's hair and said loudly, "Lei Zi, that was a beautiful shot!"
Soon, the other RCD Espanyol players rushed up and surrounded Xia Ruofei and Wu Lei.
After the referee confirmed the goal, the RCD Espanyol players walked back to their own half of the field.
On the substitutes' bench, Puado was still complaining to the other substitute beside him about how Huaxia's football was weak, and how Huaxia's players were bad, but they got a lot of playing time because of their boss, and how it was unfair to everyone.
However, in the next moment, the two Huaxia players on the field completed a beautiful coordination and scored a goal.
No other RCD Espanyol players participated in the goal from beginning to end. Xia Ruofei successfully stole the ball and provided a beautiful assist. In the end, Wu Lei completed the final strike.
Puado's eyes widened. He felt as if his neck was being strangled. He could not say a word, and his face turned red and white.
There was no harm without comparison.
Compared to the two Huaxia players who came on as substitutes, Puado's performance in the first thirty minutes was simply a pile of stinky sh * t …
The players on the substitutes' bench were celebrating happily. Xia Ruofei, Wu Lei, and the other players on the field did not notice Puado, who was pale in the corner of the substitutes' bench.
As the team was still a goal behind, the RCD Espanyol players quickly returned to their own half of the field and urged the Valencia players to quickly kick off.
On the other hand, the Valencia players were dilly-dallying. As long as the referee did not rush them, they would try their best to delay the match.
After all, there were only two or three minutes left in the first half of the game, and the score was 2 to 1. The home team was leading by a goal. Although it was a little unpleasant to let the opponent get back a goal at the end of the first half, it was still better than letting the opponent get back two goals, right?
Generally speaking, a team's morale was at its highest after scoring a goal. If they were not careful in defense, it was very likely that the opponent would persevere and score more goals in one go.
If they returned to the locker room with a score of 2-2, they would really want to cry but have no tears.
When Valencia restarted the match, it was almost the last minute of the first half of the match. The fourth official was already standing by the side of the field with the stoppage time board. Once the clock reached the 45th minute, the fourth official would raise the board.
RCD Espanyol's players did not give up just because there was not much time left. As soon as Valencia kicked off the ball, the whole team immediately rushed forward and started to surround and snatch the ball.
Valencia was an experienced and strong team. When they faced RCD Espanyol's high pressure, they did not panic. Instead, they passed the ball in the middle of the field in an orderly manner.
Valencia's goal was clear. With little time left in the first half, they did not plan to take the initiative to attack. They just wanted to drag the time until the end of the first half.
Wu Lei, like Xia Ruofei and Iglesias, started to press and snatch the ball crazily in the front field.
Needless to say, the effect of the players in the middle and front field pressing and snatching the ball at the same time was not bad.
Valencia's passing was getting closer to their own goal. In the end, RCD Espanyol blocked their passing route. They wanted to kick the ball forward, but they were unwilling to give up, so they chose to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper.
Wu Lei was almost in front of them. Valencia's full back was a little hasty when he kicked the ball, so his strength was slightly weaker.
Wu Lei's agility was fully displayed. The moment his opponent passed the ball, he quickly changed his direction and chased after the ball.
Valencia's goalkeeper, Neto, reacted quickly. When he saw that the ball was too small, he quickly abandoned the goal and ran out.
Wu Lei and Neto chased after the football with all their might. In the end, because the football was rolling in the direction of the goal, Neto came to the ball a little earlier. He did not hesitate to kick the ball to the front field.
At that moment, Wu Lei had caught up with the ball. He subconsciously blocked the kick with his foot.
Wu Lei's foot brushed against the ball, and the ball changed direction. It did not fly towards RCD Espanyol's half of the field. Instead, it flew towards the right sideline.
Xia Ruofei was active in that area. Usually, it was difficult for a player to react to such a change of direction. However, Xia Ruofei's reaction was much faster than the other players. A Valencia full back should have been closer to the ball, but he was stunned for a moment. On the other hand, Xia Ruofei recovered almost instantly and chased after the ball.
Xia Ruofei intercepted the ball before the Valencia full back. He did not make any adjustments. He did not even raise his head. He kicked the ball in the middle and lower part of the ball. The ball was rubbed into a high and floating arc, flying in the direction of Valencia's goal!
It was a looping shot! A long-distance looping shot of more than forty meters!
Neto had just abandoned the goal to attack. He was still at the edge of the penalty area and did not have time to return to the goal. At that moment, Xia Ruofei actually lobbed the ball.
Neto felt the hair all over his body stand on end. He desperately ran in the direction of the goal with all his might, but he could only watch as the football flew over his head. It was futile for him to stretch out his hand. The height difference was too far!
Neto symbolically jumped high. He did not expect a teammate to be waiting on the goal line to rescue him. Neto just wanted to touch the ball with his fingertips. That way, he could change the ball's flight trajectory.
However, he did not touch the ball at all.
Neto's tall body fell heavily on the turf. His head was still turning along with the ball's trajectory. His eyes were full of despair.
The ball seemed to slow down in Neto's eyes. Or rather, the flow of time in the whole world seemed to slow down. He watched the ball approach the goal bit by bit.
Bang!
The ball hit the lower edge of the crossbar heavily!
However, it did not bounce into the goal. Instead, it fell on the goal line and then bounced towards the penalty area.
At that moment, Netto felt the flow of time return to normal. He also subconsciously used his hands and feet to rush in the direction of the football. Finally, he kicked hard with his legs and his whole body pounced over, pressing the football firmly under his body.
It was just a few seconds, but Neto felt like a long time had passed.
He gasped for breath and pressed the ball tightly under his body. He did not move at all.
On one hand, Neto felt a lingering fear. His back was drenched in cold sweat. On the other hand, he also wanted to take this opportunity to delay as much time as possible within the rules.
The moment Xia Ruofei lobbed the goal, the stadium quieted down. Everyone stared at the high-speed spinning ball.
When the football hit the bottom edge of the goal, it fell on the goal line and bounced out again. In the end, it was saved by Neto. The Valencia fans breathed a long sigh of relief. They felt like they had survived a disaster.
On the other hand, the RCD Espanyol fans in the away team's stands let out a huge sigh.
In the PP Sports studio in Beijing.
"This ball is too small! Wu Lei is trying his best to catch up! Come on, Wu Lei! "Shen Fangjian roared excitedly." Aiya! The opponent's goalkeeper, Neto, was one step ahead and cleared the ball … Wait a minute! Wu Lei touched the ball, and now the ball bounced towards the sideline! Xia Ruofei! He grabbed the second drop point! He directly lobbed the ball! The goalkeeper did not touch the ball … Aiya! The crossbar! This ball is such a pity … "
"It's really such a pity!" Jia Tianning could not help but sigh. "If this ball had gone in, it would definitely have been selected as the best goal of the round!"
"Let's take a look at the slow-motion replay!" Shen Fangjian said. "Just a moment ago, Xia Ruofei was still in the front field fighting for a high ball with Wu Lei and Iglesias. After Neto cleared the ball, he had already dashed to the sideline. I have to say that Xia Ruofei's judgment of the drop point was very accurate! This lobbed shot was also very beautiful. To be honest, this position was a bit off, but Xia Ruofei did not hesitate to choose to lob the shot, which surprised everyone! "
Jia Tianning said, "Xia Ruofei's lobbed shot, except for the fact that it did not lead to a goal, was simply perfect in all other aspects! From this, it can be seen that Xia Ruofei's footwork is very good! Some netizens questioned whether Xia Ruofei was qualified to play in the game. I think … This is Xia Ruofei's best response! "
"After Xia Ruofei came on, he touched the ball a total of two times. The first time, he provided a wonderful assist. This time, he hit the lower edge of the ball again!" Shen Fangjian said, "We can see the whole picture from a small clue. We can assert that Xia Ruofei's footwork is not inferior to those big star players!"
…
Thousands of miles away, in the Beijing PP sports studio, the two commentators were still passionately discussing the ball. Xia Ruofei, who had missed the goal, did not appear to be too upset. He just waved his hand casually and started to walk back.
Neto lay on the ground for a long time before he slowly stood up under the urging of the referee.
Before the kickoff, he carefully placed the ball on the penalty area line, then slowly moved back. His speed was like a snail's, and he dawdled for a while.
In the end, when Neto kicked the ball out, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half of the game.
The players walked off the field, and the Valencia players looked a little serious. Their performance at the beginning of the game was simply fantastic. They had taken a two-goal lead early on, and everyone thought that it would not be a big problem to get three points in the game.
They did not expect the game to end like this in the last ten minutes, and they were almost equalized by RCD Espanyol.
RCD Espanyol's players walked off the field, talking and laughing. Most of them were talking about Xia Ruofei's lob shot just now, and there was a hint of regret in their words.
Xia Ruofei and Wu Lei walked side by side to the locker room. Wu Lei covered his mouth and said, "Brother Xia, that was such a pity! Our luck was a little bad! "
Now, many players on the field were paying attention to covering their mouths when they spoke. It was not because they had just eaten garlic, but because after they were caught on camera, they covered their mouths with their hands so that the lip-reading experts hired by the TV station would not be able to interpret what they had just said.
Xia Ruofei laughed and said, "It's okay. Let's do another lob shot in the second half! The kind that's farther than this! "
Wu Lei knew that there were not many chances like that, but he did not refute Xia Ruofei. Instead, he nodded heavily. At this time, he could not say anything discouraging.
However, Xia Ruofei really did not feel regret, and he did not lose confidence. He had done his best with the lob shot just now. If he wanted the football to go past the tall goalkeeper, Neto, that was the only way. He could even roughly judge that the football would hit the crossbar at the moment of the shot, but whether it would go into the goal or out after the rebound was really dependent on luck.
In other words, if it were any other player, the result of the lob shot could not have been better.
Since it was destined not to score, why would there be any regrets?
During the 15-minute halftime interval, the manager, Ruby, had been cheering the players on. He also highlighted the cooperation between Xia Ruofei and Wu Lei. When laying out the tactics for the second half, Ruby and Xia Ruofei coincidentally agreed to let Wu Lei try to withdraw to receive the ball. In addition, he emphasized that everyone should try to create as many free kick opportunities as possible in the front field. Xia Ruofei's free kick footwork had not yet had a chance to play!
Soon, the halftime interval was over, and the players on both sides returned to the field under the urging of the referee.
Neither side made any substitutions. It was still the same lineup at the end of the first half.
RCD Espanyol kicked off in the second half.
When the referee blew the whistle, the center forward, Iglesias, who was stepping on the football, kicked the ball toward Wu Lei's side and ran toward the front field.
The Valencia players quickly spread out their formation and pressed forward. During the halftime interval, their manager emphasized that they still had to maintain the intensity of their pressing and not let RCD Espanyol organize an effective attack.
Wu Lei did not stop the ball. Instead, he directly passed the ball diagonally behind him. The football accurately flew toward Xia Ruofei on the right side.
After Xia Ruofei stopped the ball, he took advantage of the momentum to kick forward and dribble the ball past the center line.
At that time, a Valencia player quickly closed in from the side behind. Xia Ruofei did not need his teammate's reminder. It was as if he had eyes on the back of his head. He gently kicked the ball horizontally and used his body to separate the ball from the Valencia player.
Immediately after, Xia Ruofei changed his rhythm and accelerated to kick the ball forward. He immediately shook off the Valencia player.
At that time, Xia Ruofei looked up and saw that the goalkeeper, Neto, was standing a little closer to the front.
He secretly said in his heart, F * ck! He's looking down on my shooting skills! If I can tolerate this, what else can I do?
Even though the football had just passed the center line, Xia Ruofei did not hesitate. He swung his leg and kicked it hard.
With a bang, the football flew in the direction of Valencia's goal like a cannonball.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
