As long as it was a match that Xia Ruofei participated in, he would definitely be ranked first in terms of taking free kicks. There was no doubt about that.
Moreover, the players were also convinced. After watching Xia Ruofei and Mark Roca's match, no one would have the slightest thought of competing with Xia Ruofei for taking free kicks.
Before the match, Ruby had even made it clear that no matter who created the penalty in the match, Xia Ruofei would be the one to take it.
In addition, the ball was about 33 meters away from the goal. If it were any other player, the success rate of taking a free kick from this position would be very low. Only Xia Ruofei was an exception.
After the free kick was taken, Wu Lei immediately ran over and pulled Xia Ruofei up from the turf. He asked with concern, "Brother Xia, are you okay?"
Xia Ruofei grinned and said, "I'm fine. I was just caught off guard. I lost my center of gravity when I was suddenly pulled. Otherwise, I would have been able to slip in and shoot directly!"
"It's about the same now. Your success rate for taking free kicks from this position is still very high!" Wu Lei said with a smile.
The team's defensive midfielder and veteran player, Victor Sanchez, picked up the ball and ran in front of Xia Ruofei. He then grinned and said, "Boss! Come on! Try to score another goal! "
Xia Ruofei smiled and nodded.
The foul just now was very obvious. It pulled Xia Ruofei's jersey and severely deformed it. Therefore, the Girona players did not have any disputes about the free kick and the yellow card. Soon, they began to form a human wall under the instructions of the goalkeeper.
The RCD Espanyol players also arranged their forces in front of the penalty area, ready to enter the penalty area at any time.
The ball was further away from the goal. If it were any other player, Girona would only symbolically arrange one or two players to defend the goal. The focus would be on the defense in the penalty area, because the ball would most likely be lobbed into the penalty area, allowing their own players to snatch the ball and shoot.
However, the manager of Girona had obviously studied Xia Ruofei's match videos. He knew that 33 meters was not a safe distance. It was completely within Xia Ruofei's shooting range. Therefore, he had given instructions in advance. This time, four Girona players stood in a row on the line drawn by the referee. They constantly adjusted their positions according to the instructions of the goalkeeper.
The goalkeeper was also on high alert. Xia Ruofei might shoot directly for the ball, but he could not rule out the possibility of a long pass into the penalty area. After all, the RCD Espanyol team also had several high points. They were not at a disadvantage in the competition for headers.
Therefore, the defense in the penalty area could not be ignored. However, there were only 11 people in a team. After removing four people from the wall, the remaining people in the penalty area were a little stretched.
Although the ball was far away from the goal, the entire Girona team was very nervous.
Xia Ruofei looked relaxed. He placed the ball on the spot that the referee had drawn with foam spray at the spot where the foul was committed. Then, he began to slowly retreat and widen the distance between him and the goal.
The RCD Espanyol team did not even arrange for other players to fake the run and set up a maze. Xia Ruofei was left alone in front of the ball.
Anyway, it was no secret that Xia Ruofei was the team's first free kick player.
The referee confirmed the wall and reminded the players from both teams near the penalty area not to make any movements with their hands. He would keep an eye on everyone.
Then, the referee turned his gaze to Xia Ruofei. He put the whistle in his mouth and made a gesture of a free kick at the same time as he blew the whistle.
Xia Ruofei looked up at the big screen on the scoreboard. At this time, the game time was about 20 minutes and 30 seconds into the first half.
Xia Ruofei muttered to himself for a moment. He made a gesture to the referee and walked forward to reposition the ball.
Although the referee was a little surprised, he quickly came back to his senses. He did not say anything. After all, the RCD Espanyol team was in high spirits. Xia Ruofei did not need to use this method to stall for time. Moreover, it was only 21 minutes into the first half. It was still far from the end of the game!
In addition, some players were more particular when it came to positioning the ball. Some would specifically find the position of the valve core. This position was the hardest part of the ball. If the valve core was kicked during a free kick, it could achieve a faster ball speed. It was also easier to take a free kick.
Once the grass was not very flat and the position of the ball rolled a little, many players would go over to reposition the ball.
This was also allowed by the rules. Therefore, the referee did not say anything.
The Girona players were a little unhappy. They had been nervous for a long time. In the end, Xia Ruofei suddenly repositioned the ball. This feeling of shock was not very good.
Xia Ruofei slowly spent more than ten seconds to reposition the ball. Then, he stepped back step by step.
As he stepped back, he looked at the big screen of the scoreboard.
The time was now 20 minutes and 55 seconds.
Xia Ruofei stood still, then looked up at Girona's goal. He began to run.
Girona's goalkeeper also lowered his center of gravity and stared at the ball intently. He was ready to save at any time. The human wall formed by the Girona players was extremely nervous. They were afraid that if they jumped too early or too late, the ball would pass over their heads.
Xia Ruofei's run-up took three seconds.
At 20 minutes and 58 seconds, Xia Ruofei ran to the front of the football. His left foot plunged into the turf, and his right leg did not swing widely. Instead, he used the inertia of the run-up to cleanly kick the football with the outer instep of his foot at the lower middle position of the football.
Just by looking at Xia Ruofei's movements, many people would even think that it was a pass.
But in fact, Xia Ruofei's kick was quite powerful. After a bang, the Girona players in the Chéng Rén wall subconsciously used all their strength to jump.
However, Xia Ruofei's kick was not only fast, but also very high. The human wall did not play any role. The ball flew directly over the human wall.
Shots from the outside of the instep often had a large arc, so Girona's goalkeeper made a quick judgment in a flash. When the ball appeared over the heads of the Girona players in the Chéng Rén wall, he had already quickly pounced in the direction of the far goal post.
But he did not expect that the arc of Xia Ruofei's shot would be so strange. At the beginning, the ball was indeed headed in the direction of the far corner. If the arc was not too wide and it did not slide out of the goal, the trajectory should have drilled into the far corner. But in the process of flying, the ball shook slightly due to the friction with the air, and the arc was further widened.
When Girona's goalkeeper pounced, he saw the ball quickly approaching him, and then it quickly drew an arc away from him, heading in the direction of the near corner of the goal.
Girona's goalkeeper felt very desperate. He had already thrown his center of gravity out. At this time, it was impossible for him to pounce in the opposite direction.
In the process of landing, Girona's goalkeeper felt like there were countless alpacas galloping in his head. He secretly gritted his teeth and thought, This is the first time I've seen someone take such a long detour to get to the near corner! Are you showing off your footwork? Damn it …
In the blink of an eye, Xia Ruofei's shot was actually very fast. The time the ball flew in the air was only two seconds.
When the time shown on the big screen jumped to the twenty-first minute, the ball also drilled into the net at the same time.
Boom …
The stands of El Prat Stadium were suddenly in an uproar.
All the RCD Espanyol fans stood up from their seats and applauded enthusiastically in Xia Ruofei's direction with a face full of excitement.
After scoring the beautiful curveball, Xia Ruofei motioned for his teammates to not come up to celebrate.
He stretched out his index finger and pointed to the sky with both hands. Then he ran to a huge tifo in the north stands. He stood below the stands and saluted toward the tifo.
Xia Ruofei's celebration made the RCD Espanyol fans even more excited. They clapped in the direction of Xia Ruofei and cheered loudly at the same time.
The fans in the stands were even more excited. Some of the young fans kept beating their chests, while others waved the flags in their hands with all their might.
El Prat Stadium suddenly became a sea of joy.
The commentator, who was familiar with the history of the RCD Espanyol club, also immediately reacted.
The football commentator of Televisión Nacional de Espanyol immediately said, "There is no doubt that Xia's goal is wonderful. He deserves to be called Mr. World Ball! However, what I want to say is that this goal has a more important meaning. Xia immediately refused his teammates' celebration after the goal. Instead, he pointed to the sky and ran to the north stands … I think the RCD Espanyol fans should know best what this means! "
After a pause, the commentator immediately explained to the fans watching the game in front of the TV, "Xia is paying tribute to RCD Espanyol's late captain, Danijárk! So he saluted Danijárk's tifo in the north stands! Since Danijárk's sudden death due to a heart attack, there has been a tradition in El Prat Stadium. In the 21st minute of every game, the fans in the stadium will spontaneously applaud to pay tribute to the late captain of the RCD Espanyol team because Danijárk's jersey number was 21! "
"The time when Xia scored this goal was exactly the 21st minute." The commentator continued, "So, obviously, he used this goal as a gift to Danijárk! The RCD Espanyol fans in the stadium are obviously very touched. We even saw several female fans' eyes turn red through the close-up shots! "After scoring this beautiful curveball, Xia Ruofei signaled his teammates to not come up to celebrate.
He stretched out his index finger and pointed to the sky with both hands, then ran to a huge tifo in the north stands. He stood under the stands and saluted to the tifo.
Xia Ruofei's celebration made the RCD Espanyol fans even more excited. They clapped in the direction of Xia Ruofei and cheered loudly at the same time.
The fans in the stands were even more excited. Some of the young fans kept beating their chests, while others waved the flags in their hands with all their might.
El Prat Stadium suddenly became a sea of joy.
The commentator, who was familiar with the history of the RCD Espanyol club, immediately reacted.
The football commentator of Televisión Nacional de Espanyol immediately said, "There is no doubt that Xia's goal is wonderful. He is indeed the world's best player! However, what I want to say is that this goal has a more important meaning. After scoring the goal, Xia immediately refused to celebrate with his teammates. Instead, he pointed to the sky and ran to the north stands … I think the RCD Espanyol fans should know best what this means! "
After a short pause, the commentator immediately explained to the fans watching the game in front of the TV, "Xia is paying tribute to RCD Espanyol's late captain, Danijárk! Therefore, he saluted Danijárk's tifo in the north stands! Since Danijárk's sudden death due to a heart attack, there has been a tradition in El Prat Stadium. In the 21st minute of every game, the fans in the stadium will spontaneously applaud to pay tribute to the late captain of the RCD Espanyol team because Danijárk's jersey number was 21! "
"The time when Xia scored this goal was exactly the 21st minute." The commentator continued, "So, obviously, he used this goal as a gift to Danijárk! The RCD Espanyol fans in the stadium were obviously very touched. We even saw several female fans' eyes turn red through the close-up shots! "After scoring the beautiful curveball, Xia Ruofei motioned to his teammates not to celebrate.
He stretched out his index finger and pointed to the sky with both hands. Then, he ran to a huge tifo in the north stands. He stood under the stands and saluted to the tifo.
Xia Ruofei's celebration made the RCD Espanyol fans even more excited. They clapped in the direction of Xia Ruofei and cheered loudly at the same time.
The fans in the stands were even more excited. Some of the young fans kept beating their chests, while others waved the flags in their hands with all their might.
El Prat Stadium suddenly became a sea of joy.
The commentator, who was familiar with the history of the RCD Espanyol club, immediately reacted.
The football commentator of Televisión Nacional de Espanyol immediately said, "There is no doubt that Xia's goal is wonderful. He is indeed the world's best player! However, what I want to say is that this goal has a more important meaning. After scoring the goal, Xia immediately refused to celebrate with his teammates. Instead, he pointed to the sky and ran to the north stands … I think the RCD Espanyol fans should know best what this means! "
After a short pause, the commentator immediately explained to the fans watching the game in front of the TV, "Xia is paying tribute to the late captain of RCD Espanyol, Danijárk! So, he saluted Danijárk's tifo in the north stands! Since Danijárk's sudden death due to a heart attack, El Prat Stadium has a tradition. In the 21st minute of every game, the fans in the stadium will spontaneously applaud to pay tribute to the late captain of the RCD Espanyol team because Danijárk's jersey number was 21! "
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