In the 69th minute of the match, Valencia received a free kick in the front field.
Aimar's free kick flew into the penalty area, and Angulo's header was weak. Sporting de Gijón's goalkeeper, Valencia, caught the ball in the air.
Valencia immediately threw the ball to launch a quick counterattack.
Sporting de Gijón's goalkeeper threw the ball very far away, almost passing through the midfield. With Mata injured and absent, Franck Ribéry was Sporting de Gijón's first weapon in the counterattack. He received the ball.
"Ribéry received the ball! What a beautiful offload! Di Natale is ready to assist … "
Of course, Ribéry saw Di Natale, but he did not pass the ball to him because the Valencia players also saw Di Natale.
Marchena was following Di Natale. If Ribéry passed the ball to him, it would make things difficult for Di Natale. Di Natale's back was facing the direction of the attack, and he could not turn around under Marchena's watch. It was an irresponsible pass, but at the same time, it was the pass that Valencia hoped for.
Ribéry knew he was the holder of the ball. Whether Sporting de Gijón's counterattack could succeed or not depended on him!
Then, he saw Modric cutting forward. Modric seemed to have noticed Ribéry's predicament, so he ran diagonally over!
Just as the two of them were about to cross each other, Ribéry passed the ball to Modric, who was running diagonally. Ribéry then ran to the right flank without the ball. He and Modric completed a left-right switch.
Valencia's defensive line was retreating quickly, but the few players in the frontline did not return quickly. After all, they were offensive players, not defensive players. Asking them to return to the defensive line immediately after losing the ball was too much for them.
The Valencia players thought Modric would continue to dribble to the left flank after receiving the ball. However, they did not expect Modric to run two steps and brake suddenly. He then turned around and passed the ball to Franck Ribéry, who ran past him.
Modric knew that speed was not his strength. He came over to help Ribéry pass the ball. In the end, he handed the heavy responsibility of the counterattack to Ribéry!
*****
"Beautiful! Sporting de Gijón's counterattack isn't panicked, it's very clear thinking! "D 'Agostino applauded Ribéry and Modric's close-range passing and cutting.
Ribéry did not continue to dribble the ball to the right. Instead, he adjusted his direction and faced Valencia's goal head-on!
Because he and Modric had switched positions, there was no one to guard him for the time being.
Ribéry glanced behind him. Baraja was some distance away from him. He could not give up the opportunity to attack just to deal with Baraja. Therefore, the undefended French youth suddenly knocked the football horizontally before Valencia's other full back, Torres, came up!
Di Natale, who followed up, faced the football with a long shot!
"A very high quality long shot!"
The football whizzed over. Canizares did not dare to receive it head-on. He could only leap up. He hit the ball with both fists.
Canizares's football fell to the left side of the field. Modric did not hesitate to pass the ball after receiving it. However, when he passed the ball, Carboni, who was returning to defend, stretched out his leg and touched the football. The football bounced and flew to the front field.
Di Natale lost the fight with Marchena. The Valencia center back forcefully headed the football forward, hoping that the returning Di Vaio or Aimar would get it. If either of the two players got the ball, Valencia could take advantage of the situation to counterattack Sporting de Gijón.
Di Vaio, who was brought to Valencia by the Italian veteran Ranieri, was more proactive. He ran back to receive the ball. He was even ready to stop the ball with his chest.
*****
"Luca Modric!" The commentator exclaimed.
Di Vaio, who was ready to stop the ball, suddenly saw a black shadow suddenly appear from behind him, and it appeared from the air …
Modric, who was not very tall, flew in the air. His ability to stay in the air was amazing. He stretched his head forward and beat Di Vaio to head the football back.
The football was back in Valencia's half of the field!
Di Natale came out of the penalty area to receive the ball. His back was to the goal, and it was difficult for him to turn around under Marchena's pressure. He directly knocked the football to the side.
Ribéry received the ball!
When Ribéry received the ball, he had returned to the left side, where he was good. He was ready to cut inside horizontally to look for a chance to shoot. At this time, he saw someone returning to defend not far from him.
At this time, Ribéry could move ahead and avoid this person. However, he did not do so because this person was Baraja!
However, one person saw that Ribéry did not continue to move. Although he did not know why Ribéry was "distracted," it was a good opportunity to intercept the ball.
It was Navarro, and he rushed towards Ribéry!
In the face of this person's advance, Ribéry easily made a feint to break through in a straight line, which deceived Carboni. He did not really break through directly. Instead, he took advantage of the moment when Carboni shifted his weight to the back to suddenly kick the football to the middle and cut inside!
*****
For an offensive player like Ribéry, what was the most likely and best thing to do after he suddenly cut inside and evaded a gap?
"Watch out for him to shoot!" Canizares shouted.
As if to cooperate with Canizares, Ribéry swung his left leg as he ran horizontally. He was going to shoot!
At this time, Baraja finally got the replay in place. He saw that Ribéry was going to do a long shot and rushed up recklessly. He fell to the ground for a slide tackle, and his target was the football at Ribéry's feet.
"Hey, you're here!"
Ribéry saw Baraja from the corner of his eye. He did not shoot, but passed the football out. It did not matter who he passed the football to. What was important was that after Ribéry passed the ball, he did not have time to retract his left foot, or rather, when his left foot was put down, it was caught by Baraja's exposed shoe studs!
Then, everyone heard Ribéry scream in agony as he fell less than a meter away from Valencia's penalty area!
El Molinon Stadium sucked in a breath of cold air and then roared at the same time, "Penalty!!"
The same voice came from Sporting de Gijón's substitutes' bench.
Li Ang stood up and rushed to the side of the field, intending to celebrate. From his position, it was difficult to see whether Baraha's foul was in the penalty area or outside the penalty area. Therefore, Li Ang was not sure if it was a penalty kick for the time being. The reason why he was excited was that whether it was in the penalty area or outside the penalty area, Baraha's shovel at the back of the side was big and the foul was dangerous. A yellow card could not escape.
Baraja already had a yellow card. If he received another yellow card, it meant that two yellow cards would become one red, and he would be sent off!
*****
As expected!
The referee ran over with his whistle.
His gesture was clear. It was not a penalty. It was a foul outside the penalty area. It was just a free kick.
The Sporting de Gijón fans in the stands booed. They did not care about anything else. The fans felt that it should have been a foul in the penalty area. It should have been a penalty. The referee did not give a penalty. It was wrong!
The Valencia players breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that it was not a penalty. The referee was wise!
However, they suddenly thought of something and their faces changed.
As expected, everyone saw the referee holding a yellow card in his hand. He then flashed it at Baraja!
Then, he took out a red card from his pocket!
He flashed it at Baraja again!
Then, the referee pointed to the sidelines. "Please leave the field!"
At this moment, Baraja's face was deathly pale. His brain seemed to have stopped working. Manager Ranieri had given him the task of getting Carlos off the field, but now, he had been sent off by the Gijon people. This contrast caused his mind to go blank …
The referee pointed to the sidelines again, indicating that he should leave the field quickly.
The Valencia players quickly surrounded Baraja to plead for mercy.
*****
On the sidelines, Li Ang clenched his fist and waved it hard. It was impossible for the referee to change his decision. Baraja's foul was too obvious. The player could leave the field now and go to the locker room to take an early shower!
"The game is set!" Li Ang turned his head and said to assistant manager Banderas.
That's right. With Baraja sent off, one of Valencia's defensive midfielders was eliminated. There would be a hole in their defensive line. At the same time, Valencia's offense would be greatly affected. As he said, the penalty would tip the scales of victory in favor of Sporting de Gijón!
The game is set!
PS: Third update, and guaranteed first update. As I did not receive any system notification, I just saw the reward from reader 'Jiexi' backstage. The extra update will be delivered during the day. Thank you very much.
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