After the start of the second half of the game, Sporting de Gijón quickly chose a defensive counterattack strategy. With a two-goal lead, it was a rather pragmatic tactic.
Real Madrid did not have many ways to defend against Sporting de Gijón. The second half of the game quickly fell into a quagmire.
Defense, mistakes, steals, and a complete turnaround – these were almost all the key words of the game in these ten minutes. Real Madrid's number of shots increased by two after the start of the second half. One was a long shot from Figo, and the other was a cross from Carlos. Raúl's header was high, but it was not able to threaten Sporting de Gijón's goal.
Ronaldo had just received Beckham's pass in the front field and was about to start when he was hit from the side. As he staggered, the man kicked the football away.
"Foul!" The Real Madrid fans shouted.
The referee's whistle was in his mouth, but he did not blow it in the end. There was no foul.
Huh?!
Li Ang made a sound of surprise in the technical area. The referee's decision actually returned to normal.
*****
"Ronaldo is completely restricted today." The camera gave a close-up of Ronaldo. The Brazilian was very quiet in the game today. Against the "aliens," Li Ang arranged for the players to implement very tough defensive tactics, which made the Brazilian, who was afraid of injury, appear a little dispirited.
The game went on for 61 minutes, and the full backs of the two teams had a fierce confrontation. Roberto Carlos tackled Sporting de Gijón's right back, Dorado, in a sliding tackle to grab the ball.
The referee, Malenko, was perceptive this time and gave the Brazilian left back a yellow card warning.
However, this could not appease Li Ang's anger because Dorado was injured. After the team doctor, Marotta, came on the field to check, he gestured to Li Ang to make a substitution.
Li Ang's face was gloomy as he asked Ivanovic to hurry up and warm up. Two minutes later, Sporting de Gijón completed the substitution. The young Serbian full back, Ivanovic, came on as a substitute and replaced the injured Dorado.
"What a huge loss!" Li Ang said angrily on the sidelines. Even if they could beat the powerful Real Madrid in this away game, the team had two players injured in one game. This was definitely a big blow to Sporting de Gijón's thin lineup.
*****
Both managers wanted to control the midfield. Real Madrid's midfield stars needed a stage to play in the midfield, while Sporting de Gijón's side focused on the midfield. As a result, the midfield became the most intense zone of the war.
In the absence of Guti, Real Madrid was at a disadvantage in the confrontation in the midfield.
Under such circumstances, the Real Madrid manager, Luxemburgo, made his first substitution of the game. He replaced Beckham with Arbeloa.
Li Ang narrowed his eyes on the sidelines. He did not understand Luxemburgo's substitution. In Li Ang's view, Beckham's passing would undoubtedly be Real Madrid's major weapon, especially Beckham's unique skill, the Full Moon Scimitar. Once a set piece opportunity was obtained, it would be a relatively good scoring opportunity for Real Madrid.
However, Luxemburgo replaced Beckham.
"Arbeloa, 21 years old. This is his debut for Real Madrid's First Team," Banderas said in Li Ang's ear.
Li Ang nodded. He was observing how Real Madrid's formation and tactics would change after the substitution.
Then, Li Ang noticed that Arbeloa appeared in the team's right back position. Then, the original right back, Helguera, moved forward to take on the heavy responsibility of the defensive midfielder.
*****
Obviously, with Guti sent off, Real Madrid only had Beckham, a "guest" defensive midfielder, and fell into a disadvantage in the confrontation in the midfield. This directly led to Real Madrid's inability to exert pressure on Sporting de Gijón in the midfield. Luxemburgo was aware of this, so he made such a substitution adjustment.
Li Ang had to admit that Luxemburgo's substitution made some sense, but that was it. For Real Madrid, what they needed now was offense and goals, and it was clear that Helguera could not significantly help Real Madrid's offense.
The facts were just as Li Ang expected. Then, for most of the game, the football wandered around the midfield, appearing at the feet of Sporting de Gijón for a while, and running to Real Madrid's side in the blink of an eye.
Because the two sides were entangled in the midfield, the direct result was that the efficiency of both sides' offense was pitifully low.
This situation was what Li Ang was happy to see. He could not wait for Zidane and the Figos to fall into hand-to-hand combat.
Therefore, Li Ang sat in the technical area, appearing to have a card up his sleeve. On the other side, Luxemburgo walked out of the technical area.
Real Madrid was playing at home, and this was the game at Bernabéu. Li Ang was very satisfied with the current two-goal lead, and he was not in a hurry. For Real Madrid's manager, Luxemburgo, the game had been going on for more than sixty minutes, and they still had not recovered a goal. Luxemburgo was under a lot of pressure. He had to win this game. But time was passing.
*****
Wearing a navy blue shirt, Luxemburgo rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and waved his arms vigorously to let the team continue to press forward. At the same time, he kept roaring to the field.
The team's offense was in a deadlock, and he could not sit still. In Luxemburgo's plan, Real Madrid had to score at least one goal before the 70th minute of the game to win the game. But at present, Real Madrid was still some distance away from scoring.
Li Ang glanced at Luxemburgo. He hoped that Luxemburgo's impatience would affect the whole Real Madrid team. If the Real Madrid players were also impatient and attacked recklessly, it would be Sporting de Gijón's chance to fight back.
Luxemburgo paced back and forth on the sidelines with a gloomy expression. Finally, he made up his mind to replace Ronaldo, who had been mediocre in the game until now!
In the 66th minute of the game, Real Madrid made a substitution. Ronaldo was replaced by Morientes as a substitute.
There was a burst of cheers in the stands at Bernabéu. Many Real Madrid fans liked Morientes. He was a player cultivated by Real Madrid, although the club's top management did not think highly of Morientes.
Li Ang looked at Morientes, who ran into the field, and felt a little emotional. This person was loyal to Real Madrid, but he was repeatedly hurt by Real Madrid. In the past, this kind of situation often happened in Real Madrid's games. The team could not break through the situation, so they sent Morientes. Morientes often scored excellent goals to turn the tide, but it was useless. He was still a fixed candidate on the bench.
The media knew that Sporting de Gijón had failed to buy Morientes from Real Madrid in the summer. So, the camera also gave Li Ang a close-up at this time.
Li Ang was sitting in his seat at this time. He even crossed his legs. He seemed to know that the camera would be pointed at him. He was deliberately angering a big shot in the VIP box.
He was not sure if Florentino would see it, but that was what he did.
*****
After Morientes came on, Real Madrid's offense did not achieve immediate results. Instead, Sporting de Gijón counterattacked. Di Natale passed the ball to the side. Ribéry nimbly and brilliantly dribbled past Arbeloa, then cut inside to shoot. The football was saved by Casillas and went out of the end line.
Sporting de Gijón was awarded a corner kick.
"Arbeloa is no match for Ribéry," Scoteri said to Li Ang.
Li Ang nodded. Although they were about the same age, and Arbeloa was a product of Real Madrid's youth training, Ribéry, who was an amateur player, could definitely beat Arbeloa.
Li Ang showed a cruel smile. It would be a big failure for Luxemburgo to replace Arbeloa, and Ribéry would only be more active.
Albertini was Sporting de Gijón's number one choice for a set piece. He hugged the football and placed it in the corner flag area, then retreated and leaned against the advertising board. Behind him was the Real Madrid fans' stand.
"Milan man, you'll slip."
"Italian old man, look here, look here!"
The Real Madrid fans shouted, trying to provoke Albertini with words. The Italian veteran, who had experienced countless big scenes, looked calm. His deep eyes looked straight at the penalty area, observing the position of his teammates.
*****
Ivanovic stayed near the center circle to prevent Real Madrid's counterattack, but he soon heard Li Ang shouting off the field, "Ivanovic, what are you doing in the midfield? Go up! Go to the front! Go to the goal! "
Ivanovic was tall, with a height of 188cm. Although he had not scored a goal for Sporting de Gijón because of his relatively few appearances and other reasons, Li Ang had the impression that the Serbia and Montenegro defender had the best header.
Ivanovic was stunned at first. He looked at the manager and saw Li Ang waving his arm to signal him to go forward. He was happy and immediately ran to Real Madrid's goal. Seeing Ivanovic's action, Juan Carlos consciously retreated to the center circle to protect his own half of the field.
Albertini, who was ready to take the set piece, noticed the situation. He bent down, picked up the football, rolled up his jersey and wiped it. He slowly put it back, stalling for time to wait for Ivanovic to come up.
*****
Casillas became nervous when he saw the tall and burly Ivanovic running to the door.
He looked at the Sporting de Gijón players in front of the goal. There was Diego Milito, Pepe, and the 191cm tall Grosso. Now there was the tall Ivanovic, which made Casillas a little panic. He had just arranged for his teammates to mark the Sporting de Gijón players. Just as he finished the arrangement, Ivanovic ran up, which caught him off guard.
"Watch him! Watch him! Don't let him jump … Damn it! " Before Casillas could finish his words, the referee's whistle had already sounded. The corner kick had delayed some time and the referee was already impatient. This, on the other hand, was a great help to Sporting Gihon as Real Madrid was caught off guard.
As soon as the referee's whistle sounded, Albertini kicked the football out. He was very experienced and knew that Ivanovic suddenly ran up, which would catch Real Madrid a little off guard and give Real Madrid no time to organize their defense.
As Albertini expected, he quickly kicked the corner kick, which created a fatal gap in Real Madrid's corner kick defense.
Ivanovic suddenly rushed up, which caught Real Madrid a little off guard. However, he still had someone to defend in the penalty area. Who was this person? It was actually Roberto Carlos!
This was because Carlos and Ivanovic were facing each other. He saw Ivanovic run up and subconsciously followed.
In a high altitude ball, Roberto Carlos, who was 168cm tall, defended against Ivanovic, who was 188cm tall. What would the result be?
Ivanovic jumped high. He jumped really high. After he jumped, his waist was already at Carlos's neck!
Then, in the air, the Serbia and Montenegro defender threw a beautiful header at the goal!
Casillas could do nothing in the face of such a close shot. He could only watch as the football flew into the goal!
*****
“Goooool！”
"Braniskov Ivanovitch! This is his first goal for Sporting de Gijón! A defender who is only 20 years old! His first goal was scored at the Bernabéu. It couldn't be more wonderful! "
"Ivanovic! This is the third time he has come on as a substitute this season. He scored just as he came on as a substitute. This kind of scoring efficiency shames the striker! Beautiful header … Very, very beautiful header at the goal! "
"What a magical substitution. Although this was a passive substitution due to the player's injury, we just noticed that Manager Li Ang suddenly let Ivanovic participate in the corner attack, and then he scored. Manager Li Ang's magic has reappeared! The Serbian Ivanovic scored as soon as he came on. The magical Serbian Ivanovic! The magical China coach! "
In the far north of the Iberian Peninsula, in the big and small bars in the city of Gijón, there were loud cheers.
"Well done!"
"The magical Serbian Ivanovic!"
"Li, you're the best!"
At this time, in the Bernabéu, the Real Madrid fans were temporarily silent. The Sporting de Gijón fans were once again ignited by this goal.
"Gijón —" The fan leader, Harvey Gradero, roared loudly in the stands.
His brothers quickly followed and shouted, "— The King of the North!"
This was a tsunami, this was an earthquake, this was a volcanic eruption. At this moment, the noble Bernabéu was occupied by this group of country bumpkins from Gijón! There were only a little over two thousand Sporting de Gijón fans, and only their roars could be heard in the huge Bernabéu!
This goal came suddenly. Li Ang let Ivanovic participate in the attack on a whim. He did not have high expectations at all, and the result surprised Li Ang. When the football rushed into the net, he jumped up and did a spin in the air. When he landed, he shook his arms vigorously.
"Well done!" He gritted his teeth and shouted this phrase. "Damn it, well done!"
PS: More than four thousand words.
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