In the chairman's box at the Alfonso Perez Stadium, their chairman, Mr. Torres, had a gloomy expression.
Getafe had besieged Sporting de Gijón for more than an hour with an extra player, but they still had not scored. This made the chairman very unhappy and felt that he had lost face.
A team that he had previously publicly mocked as a weakling, his own team had the advantage in numbers, but they had not been able to score. This was really not right. He could already imagine that if it had not ended with a goalless score, the Sporting de Gijón manager, who he hated, would definitely have mocked his own team. This was something that Mr. Torres could not tolerate.
On the field, Getafe tried their best to find a goal.
At this time, Getafe was in possession of the ball, and Juan Carlos was responsible for marking de la Red. The two sides were entangled in the midfield, with each side winning and losing.
Looking at this scene, González sighed, "The 17-year-old Carlos is marking the 19-year-old de la Red … a showdown between young people." As he spoke, he looked at the Sporting de Gijón manager, Li Ang, who was pacing back and forth on the sidelines. This manager could also be said to be a young man. A 28-year-old manager, he was definitely a young man among young managers.
*****
Li Ang was staring at de la Red.
Ruben de la Red, a genius from Real Madrid's youth academy, was also a player under Li Ang when he was coaching Real Madrid's youth team.
De la Red came on as a substitute in the 70th minute of the game.
Getafe faced Sporting de Gijón's tight defense and their offense was not smooth. Getafe's manager, Escedra, sent the 19-year-old de la Red, hoping that the young talent, who had only been on loan from Real Madrid in the winter, could help Getafe find a way to score.
After de la Red came on, Li Ang immediately adjusted the team's defensive line. To be precise, he specifically instructed Carlos to mark de la Red.
De la Red was a player that Li Ang admired when he was coaching Real Madrid's youth team. He knew the young man's characteristics like the back of his hand. He was also clear about the ability of this talented player. This was an opponent that he needed to focus on!
Carlos gave full play to his tactics of pestering and did not give de la Red the space and opportunity to take the ball comfortably. That made the tactical adjustment of the Getafe manager, Essedra, ineffective.
As the game went on, Sporting de Gijón saw the hope of forcing a draw in their away game. They carried out their defensive strategy even more thoroughly.
If it was said that Sporting de Gijón's match against Deportivo Alavés had allowed people to see their explosive offensive ability, then in the match against Getafe, Sporting de Gijón had spared no effort in fighting for the ball and quickly and firmly returning to defend despite being down a player for most of the match. This showed people the defensive ability of this team.
"Sporting de Gijón's players on the field faithfully and perfectly carried out Manager Li Ang's tactical intentions," Dagestino said. "Sporting de Gijón must have specially practiced their offensive and defensive routines during training. The coach needs them to attack, so they can play such a storm-like offensive football in the game against Deportivo Alavés. Now, Manager Li Ang's defensive tactics are also carried out thoroughly!"
González saw what was behind the game. "Whether Sporting de Gijón's offense or defense, it is inseparable from the players' active running and pressing on the opponent!"
*****
As the game went on, the mentality of the Getafe players began to lose balance. They became impatient as they did not score a goal. The Getafe players knew very well that a score of zero to zero was absolutely unacceptable to them!
In the 86th minute of the game, Getafe got the closest chance to score in the game.
De la Red was pulled to the ground by Carlos, and Getafe got a free kick in the front field. It was a threat to Sporting de Gijón's goal.
Objectively speaking, in this defense, Carlos lost to de la Red.
In a situation where they could not score a goal in a mobile game, a set piece was crucial.
Taking advantage of this set piece opportunity, de la Red's set piece was of high quality. The football was driven into the penalty area, and Getafe's striker, Raspulia, headed the football into the net.
"The ball is in!" The Madrid commentator cheered wildly.
The entire Alfonso Perez Stadium was shaking. The home fans had been waiting for this goal for too long!
The Getafe players on the field jumped up excitedly to welcome the goal!
However, just as they were celebrating, Sporting de Gijón's players raised their hands. The assistant referee hesitated for a moment and raised the chess piece. The referee finally blew the whistle. Offside first, the goal was invalid.
The slow-motion camera showed that at the moment de la Red kicked the football, Sporting de Gijón's defensive line collectively pressed forward. Raspulia was indeed offside.
Therefore, there was no problem with this penalty.
*****
Seeing that the referee had blown away Getafe's offside goal, Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief. If he had lost the ball at this time, he would have exploded in anger. However, the referee's insight this time did not make Li Ang appreciate it. He would not forget that the referee had sent off Miguel Kobas. This penalty could be said to have destroyed all of Li Ang's preparations for this game. Originally, according to Li Ang's tactics, they wanted to strive for an away goal and win. Now, they could only desperately defend for the entire game with the goal of forcing the opponent to a draw.
The Getafe players were unusually angry about the goal being blown away.
They were so eager to score. It was not easy to score a goal, but it was blown away. They did not care whether it was offside or not. The hot-headed Getafe players only had one thought in their minds: We finally scored a goal after so much effort, but it was blown away by the referee! This black whistle!
It was clear that the referee was not human today.
The angry Getafe players did not even think about it. Thanks to the referee, they had played for nearly 80 minutes with the advantage in numbers. They only felt that they were the victims of this penalty.
The Getafe players angrily protested.
Their midfield general, defensive midfielder Harold, received his second yellow card of the game because he roared at the referee. He was sent off with a red card.
Tsk tsk!
Seeing the referee show a red card to Harold and send him off, Li Ang's eyes lit up. After suffering a loss from the referee, Gihon SC had been sullen for nearly eighty minutes. But at the end of the match, it seemed like there was a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel!
It was no wonder that Li Ang was so excited. He could see that Getafe's tactics for the game today were mainly offense, especially when they had the advantage in numbers and had not been able to win for a long time. Getafe's manager, Essedra, had continuously deployed the players to attack. It could be said that in Getafe's midfield, only Harold was truly a defensive player!
And now, because Harold had roared at the referee, he received his second yellow card and was sent off with a red card.
What did this mean? Getafe's midfield had almost completely lost its ability to intercept.
Li Ang whistled on the sidelines.
On the field, Juan Carlos, who was closest to the sidelines, lifted his jersey to wipe his sweat. When he heard the manager's whistle, he turned his head to look at the sidelines. He saw Li Ang raise his right hand and draw a circle in the air.
Carlos immediately understood. This action meant — an all-out attack!
If there was a chance to counterattack, they would not hesitate to press forward and attack, catching the opponent off guard!
After receiving Li Ang's signal, the tired Sporting de Gijón team seemed to have been injected with chicken blood. Everyone was screaming in their hearts. After holding back for the entire game, they finally received the signal from their manager to counterattack!
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