On the night of September 29th, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.
The stands of Franchi Stadium were packed with people. Suddenly, a fan set off fireworks in the east stands. The stadium security personnel immediately went to control the fire. A burst of smoke was blown to the field with the breeze. It was as if a fog had filled the field.
The players of Liverpool and Fiorentina stood at the exit of the players' tunnel. After the players saw the smoke blowing on the field, Torres stood next to Qin Xiong and asked, "This kind of visibility won't affect the game, right?"
Qin Xiong shrugged and did not answer.
Many players in the Fiorentina team heard Torres's words and smiled. It was not contempt, but there was a hint of mockery.
The young general Jovetic said to Torres, "It's okay, the smoke will dissipate soon. We're used to it."
Torres understood the meaning of the smiles of many Fiorentina players.
They were probably mocking him for not seeing the world!
Fireworks were set off in the stands, which was a common sight in the Italian stadium. Sometimes when the Italian fans wanted to create a riot, it was really beyond the reach of the fans of other countries. In any case, this was also the home of the Mafia.
Torres nodded to Jovetic with a serious expression, and then secretly clenched his fists.
The episode in the stands quickly ended.
The players of the two teams walked into the stadium with their heads held high, and the magnificent Champions League theme song began to reverberate in the stadium.
"The much-anticipated Champions League tournament has started again. The second round of the new season's Champions League group stage is on schedule. Today, at the Stadio Franchi, Fiorentina, at home, welcomes the challenge of the Premier League powerhouse Liverpool.
In the first game of the group stage, Liverpool massacred Di Bissegni with 8: 0, while Fiorentina was defeated by Lyon with 0: 1. Although it was only the second game of the group stage, it was crucial for Fiorentina.
They certainly want to win at home to tie with Liverpool, but Liverpool must also want to give Fiorentina two consecutive defeats to consolidate their lead.
Let's take a look at the starting lineup of both sides.
Fiorentina starting lineup: 4231.
Goalkeeper: Frey.
Defenders: Boratti, Natali, Krodrup, Gobbi.
Midfielders: Marchionni, Montolivo, Jovetic, Silvestri, Vargas.
Forward: Gilardino.
Liverpool starting 4231.
Goalkeeper: Reina.
Defenders: Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio.
Midfielders: Kuyt, Alonso, Gerard, Mascherano, Qin Xiong.
Forward: Torres.
The pre-match kick-off ceremony has been completed, and Fiorentina, who is at home, will be the first to kick off. Let's enjoy this battle. "
The game began in the deafening noise of the Stadio Franchi. Fiorentina was cautious at the beginning and did not dare to invest too much in the attack.
After Jovetic was successfully blocked by Mascherano and Alonso during the attack, he seemed to be a little scared. He only dared to pass the ball to his teammates and did not dare to rashly dribble to break through.
On Liverpool's side, they continued to use Qin Xiong as the attacking acceleration point to launch an offensive.
In the fifth minute of the game, Qin Xiong suddenly turned to the middle after receiving Aurelio's straight pass from the left side of the front field.
His habit of cutting and dribbling was no secret, and because Jovetic's return to defense was slower, Qin Xiong was presented with only two Fiorentina defensive midfielders in front of him.
Montolivo was an organizational defensive midfielder, and Silvestri was a full-back. Today, he made a guest appearance as a defensive midfielder to strengthen the defense.
The two obviously lacked tacit understanding and actually rushed toward Qin Xiong together!
Qin Xiong saw it and thought to himself: Too young!
Montolivo and Silvestri seemed to be fiercely rushing toward him.
Qin Xiong fearlessly dribbled and cut in horizontally. When the three were about to meet, Qin Xiong suddenly kicked the ball into the gap between the two men.
Then he changed direction and rushed past the left side of Montolivo's body. After the two men brushed past each other, Montolivo suddenly stopped and looked back. Not only did the football roll through the large area on the right side of the front of the penalty area, but Qin Xiong also dashed over to regain control of the football.
Perhaps against most teams in Italy, this kind of defense was not much of a problem. But in the face of Qin Xiong, who not only had superb ball control skills but also had the advantage of absolute explosive acceleration, this kind of defense was simply too weak!
When Qin Xiong rushed to the right side of the front of the penalty area, he already had a chance to shoot, but he did not choose to shoot because the Fiorentina defenders were moving to the right side. So, Qin Xiong decisively sent a backcut pass and stuffed the ball straight to the left side of the penalty area!
Torres happened to run in the opposite direction from the center back, Natali, which allowed him to receive Qin Xiong's straight ball diagonally to the goal and form a single ball in the penalty area!
The burly goalkeeper, Frey, abandoned the goal and went out. Torres chose to shoot inside the far post of the goal at that moment!
The football that was shot out looked like Frey was powerless to reverse the situation. But because of the control of the footwork of the shot, the football did not produce enough internal rotation and finally the football slid out of the goal!
“OMG！ Torres almost broke the goal. Qin Xiong's breakthrough and straight pass was just right. Gerard's plug forward formed a cover for Torres. Qin Xiong's straight ball was too hidden! It's a pity that Liverpool didn't grasp the opportunity. "
Torres turned back and gave Qin Xiong a thumbs up after missing a chance.
In any case, he had to praise Qin Xiong's pass. There was no problem at all. It could be called perfect, but he did not grasp it.
Qin Xiong smiled at Torres in the process of retreating and gestured with his index finger, which meant: one time!
During training, Qin Xiong joked with Torres: If you squander three shooting opportunities in a row, sorry, then I'll do it myself!
Torres saw Qin Xiong's finger gesture and smiled. Then his expression became more serious.
He did not take Qin Xiong's words as a joke. As a world-class striker, it would be a shame if he missed opportunities in a row. He did not have to wait for his teammates to take his place and deprive him of the right to fire.
Fiorentina also immediately launched an attack after getting into the rhythm. In the eighth minute of the game, the young player Jovetic lifted his leg and blasted an incredible long shot from a position 35 yards away from the goal.
The football drew an up-and-down parabola with almost no rotation. The trajectory's landing point was the right side of Liverpool's goal.
Fortunately, the distance was far enough, and the football's trajectory was not particularly erratic. The focused Reina pounced out and hugged the ball!
"Fiorentina's Jovetic is very active today. The quality of his long shots is extremely high. If the angle is more tricky, I'm afraid Reina will be caught off guard. It's hard to say whether he can protect the goal, but it will definitely cause him a lot of trouble. It's impossible for him to hold the ball in his arms!"
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