Valencia's players were frustrated, but more than that, they felt helpless.
In their eyes, Carlos was a player who did not pose any offensive threat at all. Today, it was as if he had exploded. He scored two goals in one go. Two super long shots. Any one of them would be the best goal of the week. He actually scored two goals in a row. It was simply unbearable.
However, Valencia was indeed the defending champion. They were a team that had entered the Champions League twice, so they could still take the blow.
The team captain, Albelda, shouted loudly to encourage his teammates.
"Guys, cheer up!"
"It's just a goal concede. There's still time in the game!"
"We are the champion team!"
Valencia's players, who were used to the wind and waves, stabilized their formation with the captain's loud shouts and encouragement.
The game resumed.
Valencia was like an enraged bull as they started to put pressure on Sporting de Gijón's goal.
Aimar took the ball in the midfield and dribbled continuously. In the end, he changed direction with his inner foot and broke through Modric. However, just as he was about to continue forward, Carlos came and made a precise and decisive tackle from the side. He shoveled the ball out and stopped Valencia's attack. Valencia's pressing was a great opportunity for them to attack, but it was destroyed just like that.
Valencia's several attempts to attack ended in failure. No matter which direction they tried to break through, be it the middle, the left, or the right, Carlos was everywhere. The young player was like a leopard that could not run away. He was everywhere, running without any regard for his stamina and intercepting Valencia's attacks with precision and decisiveness.
Finally, after Carlos made a beautiful tackle and poked the ball away from Angulo's foot, Ranieri could not sit still any longer. If Valencia wanted to attack, Carlos was the wall that they could not bypass!
Then, Baraja heard the manager shouting his name from the sidelines.
Baraja glanced at the manager, then turned his head to look at Carlos. His eyes were fixed on his opponent.
*****
After that, Baraja suddenly started to play an important role in Valencia's offense.
He kept cutting in and asking for the ball, and Valencia's players kept passing the ball to him. To a certain extent, Baraja's possession of the ball was almost equal to Aimar's.
Li Ang sharply noticed the change in his opponent from the sidelines. He said in his heart, "Here it comes!"
Li Ang's butt left the coach's seat. He walked to the sidelines and whistled.
Ribéry, who was not far from the sidelines, heard the whistle and turned around. He saw the manager nodding at him. It meant that it was Ribéry's turn to perform..
Ribéry nodded. "Got it!"
"Li, did you guess that they would let Baraja's offense?" Banderas looked over as well. Clearly, he was confused as well. As a matter of fact, it was not surprising. In many people's eyes, Baraja had always been the good partner of Valencia's captain, Albelda. He was the type of player who fought fiercely for the ball, and his role in Valencia's offense was overshadowed by Albelda and Aimar's halo.
However, Li Ang used to like Valencia very much. He admired Valencia at the turn of the century. After studying the team carefully, he keenly noticed that among Valencia's many star players, Baraja's role was almost irreplaceable. He might seem inconspicuous, but he played a key role in the team's offense. During the offense, his cutting and positioning helped his teammates attract the defensive firepower. He also had a good long shot, and he was conscientious in defense. He fought hard and ran actively. A player like that was admired by any manager.
"Yes." Li Ang nodded. "Baraja is Valencia's secret weapon!"
He did not explain the reason, and he did not need to. Banderas and Scotty did not ask further. Maybe the two of them felt that it was the difference between them and Li Ang. How could he be a manager at such a young age, while they could only be assistant managers? That was the difference between their standards.
*****
Li Ang predicted that Valencia would let Baraja start, so he had a targeted arrangement. Ribéry was already in position.
However, there was one thing that Li Ang did not guess. Baraja's goal was not even to score goals, but to remove the team's biggest obstacle to scoring goals. His goal was Carlos.
Baraja controlled the ball in the middle. He did not seem to be in a hurry to pass the ball. The ball swayed under his feet obediently. Finally, when he attracted Carlos's attention, he started to make his move.
When Baraja saw that the space between Carlos's legs was a little big, he poked the ball and sped up from Carlos's left side.
He wanted to pass through Carlos's crotch and pass the ball.
Baraja ran over, but he found that the ball did not follow him.
He turned his head to look back and saw that Carlos had intercepted the ball and passed the ball out immediately.
If it were not for Albelda's decisive tackle that shoveled the ball out of Albertini's feet, Sporting de Gijón would have had another chance to quickly counterattack.
Carlos turned his head and glanced at Baraja. His face had the smug smile of a young man who had succeeded in his plot.
Balaha's face turned green. He finally understood that the other party had purposely revealed the space between her legs to him in order to lure him into a trap. He really fell for it.
This bastard!
Baraja was furious! This guy who was not even seventeen years old was so sinister. He was more like a rotten old man.
*****
"Are you okay?" Albelda came up and patted Baraja on the shoulder.
"Ah, I'm fine!" Baraja's face turned red. His purpose was to anger Carlos and get that guy off the field. In the first encounter, he was the one who was angered.
Baraja was a little ashamed, a little annoyed, and a little angry!
At the same time, he also realized something. Although Carlos was young and rumors said that this bastard had a bad temper, it seemed that he was not an easy person to deal with. This was a little fox!
He felt that his task was a little difficult.
However, Baraja's fighting spirit surged in his heart. He did not believe that he could not beat a young boy!
On the sidelines, Ranieri's face was a little ugly. He wanted Baraja to get Carlos off the field, but Baraja almost could not control his temper … However, when he saw Albelda come over in time to calm Baraja, Ranieri breathed a sigh of relief.
He still had more trust in Baraja. He was an experienced player who could step up at critical moments!
PS: First update, and yesterday's guaranteed second update.
Begging for monthly votes, begging for monthly votes, begging for monthly votes. Important things have to be said three times.
There are books that start to give out monthly votes in red packets. Xiao Qi can only rely on updates! Rely on explosion!
Explosion! Explosion!! Explosion!!!
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