Real Madrid's free kick.
Beckham's free kick was of high quality. Sporting de Gijón's goalkeeper, Valencia, single-handedly deflected the football over the crossbar.
Corner kick.
Beckham's corner kick landed well. However, headers were not Ronaldo's forte. Under Pepe's pressure, his header was high and wide.
"Real Madrid's offense is up," Dagestino said. "This is not good news for Sporting de Gijón. You shouldn't let a team like Real Madrid play with such momentum."
Dagestino thought that with Real Madrid's offense up, Sporting de Gijón was in danger. He even felt that Real Madrid had a chance to score another goal to equalize the score before the end of the first half.
However, five minutes later, the game was about to enter injury stoppage time in the first half. Real Madrid's continuous offense still did not yield results.
*****
"Real Madrid's momentum has gone down," Scotri said to Li Ang.
Li Ang glanced at the scoreboard. It was already the forty-third minute of the first half. Real Madrid's wave of offense had not been able to score a goal. Seeing that the first half was over, they were a little discouraged.
Li Ang walked to the sidelines and made a gesture: Real Madrid's offense had slowed down. Now it was Sporting de Gijón's turn to fight back.
Even though the first half of the game was about to end and there was not much time left, Li Ang had always insisted that the beginning and the end of the game were the most likely periods to score. This was because the players' attention would be distracted during this period, which meant that there would be opportunities. What the team had to do was to create opportunities and seize the opportunities as much as possible.
Guti took the ball in the front field. Faced with Modric's tight press, he seemed to hesitate on whether to pass or pass.
At that moment, Carlos came up from the side and poked the football away with his right foot.
"Steal!"
Modric's reaction was also very quick. When Carlos poked the football away, he immediately came up, put Gutika behind him, and then passed the football out.
It was Mata who received the ball. He sped up and dribbled the ball past Solari.
When Di Natale saw Mata dribbling the ball forward, he also began to move closer to him. It seemed that he intended to cooperate with Mata.
Seeing this, Samuels could only choose to run with Mata, close to him and not let him pass. At the same time, he shouted for the Brazilian full-back, Carlos, to mark Di Natale. Real Madrid's Carlos was very forward to assist, and he had just desperately replayed the ball.
Roberto Carlos quickly pounced on Di Natale, who turned and ran back. It looked like he was ready to receive the pass.
*****
Mata took the ball, and Di Natale ran into position and made a move to receive. The offensive cooperation between the two players was an important way for Sporting de Gijón to score. Therefore, for a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Mata and Di Natale.
However, Mata did not pass the football to Di Natale, who was receiving him, as the Real Madrid players had guessed. He feinted, turned sideways, and passed the football to Ribéry on the other side!
Did anyone pay attention to the French youth?
The answer was no!
The center-back, Samuels, ran to mark Mata, while Carlos was attracted by Di Natale. Helguera was entangled with Benzema. Bravo was still too keen on assisting this time. He had just run back and was panting. No one noticed Ribéry, who had unknowingly plugged in.
Ribéry also did not give the other Real Madrid players a chance to react. He received the ball and volleyed!
The Real Madrid goalkeeper, Casillas, showed everyone the strength of the best goalkeeper in football. His reaction was very fast. His whole body flew out, and he stretched his arms as far as he could. He successfully touched the football.
"He pounced on it!" The Real Madrid commentator roared excitedly. "The goalpost!"
After the football was pounced on by Casillas, it slammed hard on the goalpost, making a crisp sound.
"It's not over yet …" González shouted.
While the Real Madrid fans were still in shock, Benzema snatched the second point.
*****
Helguera was once again defeated in his confrontation with Benzema. He was unable to mark Benzema. When Ribéry shot and the football was pounced on by Casillas and then bounced off the post, Benzema immediately appeared at the spot where the ball landed. Helguera was still stunned there and did not react.
Benzema directly raised his leg to shoot.
Casillas, who had just completed a difficult save, had fallen to the ground. He struggled to get up, but the actual situation was that the goalkeeper could do nothing about the ball. How could the speed at which he got up compare to the speed of the shot?!
A figure crossed in front of the goal, in the path of the football shot by Benzema.
"Benzema! He shot! "
"Bravo! The football hit him! "
"Is it a handball …? The Sporting de Gijón players are all raising their hands. They are indicating that it is a handball. How will the referee decide? A penalty kick! A penalty kick! The referee pointed to the penalty kick spot! He thinks it is a penalty kick! It is a penalty kick! Not only that, he is pulling out a card. Could it be? A red card! A red card! The referee showed the red card directly to Bravo! "
"There is a major change in the game! Ribéry's shot was pounced on, and Benzema's rebound shot was blocked by Bravo. The referee thinks it is a handball by Bravo in the penalty area. He gave a penalty kick and showed the red card to Bravo! "
The Real Madrid players surrounded the referee. They were complaining, protesting, and pleading for Bravo.
Figo explained that Bravo did not mean to handball, and Real Madrid's captain, Guti, angrily questioned the referee's decision. He insisted that Bravo did not handball, and that the referee had a problem with his eyes and made a mistake. The Real Madrid star players obviously lacked communication and a unified understanding. The final result was that Guti was severely warned by the referee, and the decision could not be changed.
*****
"Handball! It is indeed a handball! " Dagestino shouted. The slow-motion replay showed it very clearly. It was not known if he lost his sense of propriety in a hurry, but Bravo appeared in front of the goal, opened his arms slightly, and blocked the football that Benzema shot out.
"The handball movement is more subtle, but the referee saw it and made the most correct decision!"
On the sidelines, Li Ang saw the referee blow for a handball in Real Madrid's penalty area, award a penalty kick to Sporting de Gijón, and show a red card to Bravo. He first waved his arms happily, then showed a surprised expression.
In the face of a super powerhouse like Real Madrid, the referee's penalty and red card decisions could be said to be unusually firm. Such a clear judgment was indeed enough to surprise Li Ang. Moreover, Bravo's handball movement was more subtle. Even if the referee did not make a penalty, Sporting de Gijón could only suffer in silence.
Both Scotteri and Banderas looked at Li Ang, who spread his hands with a look that said, "I don't know either."
This was just the referee's most correct decision, and he was not biased towards Sporting de Gijón. However, it was no wonder that the Gijón people were surprised. One must know that this was the first time that Sporting de Gijón did not suffer a loss from the referee when facing two big powerhouses. Not every referee had the courage to give out a red card package when facing a super powerhouse like Real Madrid, especially when the powerhouse was behind in the score.
"Do your best for me!" Li Ang looked at Ribéry, who was holding the football and walking towards the penalty spot, with a glint in his eyes. If the ball went in, the balance of victory in this game would be greatly tilted towards Sporting de Gijón.
PS: I've been in the hospital for a week. I can't keep up with my thoughts. I'm typing at a tortoise's pace. I can't sit for too long for the time being. My body is recovering.
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