"Breakthrough! What a beautiful cover! Arsenal's attack has been stopped by Carlos, "Ferrari exclaimed in admiration.
Arsenal seemed to intend to break through from Tony Twain's side. This time, it was Cross who was a little nervous when faced with the pressing and the pass was intercepted by Eboue. Cross hurriedly chased back, but soon he saw his teammate Carlos come over and use a beautiful tackle to stop Arsenal's attack.
Cross looked embarrassed. This was the third time Carlos had helped him fill in the holes.
Carlos did not say anything, and he did not feel that there was anything special about his role as a replacement. This was what he did in the first place.
Wenger frowned.
He began to realize that even if Cross was a rookie and appeared to be a little nervous, behind the German kid was Carlos. With the Spanish midfielder, it would still be very difficult for Arsenal to break through in the middle.
Wenger glanced at Carlos on the field and then at Li Ang in Inter Milan's technical area. He really envied Li Ang's good luck. He heard that Carlos was "picked up" by Li Ang from the slums of Madrid. How could Wenger not encounter such a good thing? This made Wenger, who had always been known to nurture young people, very envious and jealous.
Of course, now everyone knew that Li Ang had a discerning eye for people and discovered that there was another important character in Carlos's story. That was Carlos's sister, Alice, who could now become Mrs. Li, Li Ang's wife. Legend had it that Li Ang met his wife when he went to recruit Carlos. This was a very romantic story. There were even rumors that a film and television investment company was planning to make a movie out of this story.
*****
Li Ang also frowned. He realized that Cross was still very nervous. Perhaps it was still too much to ask this little guy to firmly defend and attack at both ends.
Li Ang began to think.
He had sent Claus as the starter to train this young man. Li Ang noticed that Claus was a little shy, and this was reflected on the field. He lacked confidence. His original intention was to put Claus in an important position in this match and give him a chance to prove himself to raise this young man's confidence.
Now, it seemed that he had been a little too impatient and had overreached himself.
To boost his confidence?!
Li Ang's eyes lit up.
He thought of an idea.
For a midfielder, especially a player who was inclined towards attacking, there was nothing better than scoring a goal to boost his confidence!
Li Ang began to realize his mistake. It was clearly too harsh on Claus to let him take care of both offense and defense. After all, Claus wasn't Modrich, who had already matured.
Then …
Then, during a dead ball, Li Ang called Carlos to the sidelines and gave him instructions.
Then, Carlos ran back to the field and called Montari and Claus over.
"Boss said that you should focus on attacking and ignore defense," Carlos said to Claus.
Claus was shocked and subconsciously looked to the sidelines.
One had to know that in Li Ang's team, there was no player who didn't need to defend. Li Ang wanted the whole team to tear apart the enemy like wolves. Even the striker had to return to defend at the appropriate time.
Now, he was actually receiving such treatment?!
"Leave the defense to me and Montari!" Carlos said.
Montari nodded when he heard that, indicating that he understood.
*****
Tony Twain had a shy personality. The more a person had such a personality, the more sensitive and smart he was. He understood the manager's intention in making such an arrangement. This was to relieve him of the burden of defense.
Or, to put it bluntly, this was the manager's way of protecting him when he saw that he was nervous and worried about his gains and losses on the field. He hoped that he, who had removed the psychological burden, would be able to perform well.
Claus felt a sense of gratitude in his heart.
For any young player, it was a great blessing to be taken care of by such a manager.
Seeing that Claus was still in a daze, Carlos patted Claus on the shoulder. "Why are you in a daze?"
"Oh, oh, I know." Claus rubbed his head and came back to his senses.
Carlos glanced at Claus again. He really didn't understand why Li Ang thought so highly of this German kid. This wasn't to say that Claus's performance in the previous games was terrible. Previously, Claus had gotten some opportunities to play in the Serie A and the Coppa Italia. His performance had been good, average, and even terrible. Overall, it couldn't be said that he was amazing or terrible. It was within the normal range. In any case, Carlos couldn't see what was so special about this kid that Li Ang thought so highly of him.
*****
"Li, you think highly of this kid," Banderas said. He could see Li Ang's intention. He wanted Carlos and Montari to escort Claus. He hoped that this kid could play well in the offense with a relaxed mentality. He didn't want Li Ang to think so highly of him.
"A good seedling. It's just that his self-confidence is a little lacking," Li Ang said.
On the field.
Wenger quickly noticed that the young German player named Toni Kroes had become more active.
This activity was reflected in Toni Claus participating more in the offense. Even when he didn't have the ball, he could constantly raise his hand to ask for the ball.
This change caused Wenger to ponder.
Before this, Claus had shown obvious nervousness. Inter Milan operated at a normal pace. When it came to Claus, there would be some problems. Wenger even suspected that the young German player was extremely nervous when he received the ball. It was as if the football was a hot potato after it was passed over. He couldn't wait to pass the ball out immediately for fear that something would go wrong with the football.
Now, Claus gave Wenger the impression that he was more confident.
This was a kind of feeling.
From being nervous when he received the ball to actively participating in the offense and taking the initiative to ask for the ball, this change seemed very simple, but it was not easy.
Was this related to Li Ang's previous adjustments and arrangements?!
Wenger glanced at the home team's technical area. If this was really the case, he had to look at Li Ang in a new light. Wenger was a shot-con and liked to nurture young players. He also knew how difficult it was to adjust the mentality of young players.
What did Li Ang do? What did he say? What kind of adjustments did he make to have such a miraculous effect?!
Wenger was puzzled.
*****
However, Wenger soon noticed the deeper details of the problem.
The hidden thing behind Toni Claus' active participation in the offense was the loosening of the young German player at the defensive end.
Carlos and Montari were like two big bodyguards. The two of them were more active and worked harder in fighting and intercepting. The loopholes and gaps behind Toni Claus' offense were completely filled by these two players.
This is loosening him up. He doesn't have to worry about his own problems leading to gaps in the defense … Wenger immediately saw through all of this.
This was high-standard treatment. It could be said that he was going all out to nurture him.
Wenger took a deep look at Toni Claus. He did not understand how this young player, whose performance could be said to be the worst in the entire Inter Milan team today, could win Li Ang's favor?!
Toni Claus, who had unloaded his psychological burden, focused his energy on the offense.
Sure enough, his performance was better than before.
Toni Claus frequently participated in the offense, and Mata, Adriano, and the other players also noticed the change in Claus. At the same time, they also knew the manager's intention to train the young players in today's game. They were also happy to help Claus. The football was frequently passed to Claus' feet.
*****
This was the 69th minute of the game.
Toni Claus took the ball. This time, he did not choose to pass the ball to coordinate. Instead, he directly dribbled the ball to break through.
With a sudden stop and change of direction, he let past Flamini, who went up to intercept. Claus wanted to continue dribbling the ball, but he was pulled to the ground by Fàbregas.
Fàbregas fouled, and Inter Milan was awarded a free kick a little further away from the goal.
Mata drove the free kick into the penalty area. Colo Touré grabbed the point and headed the football out. Diaby then kicked the football forward again.
The football was snatched by Carlos near the center circle, and the possession once again returned to Inter Milan's side.
Claus received a pass from Carlos and wanted to pass the ball over the top to find Balotelli. However, Senderos predicted it in advance and headed the football out.
Mata cleverly grabbed the ball and stretched his foot out from under Eboue's feet to poke the football away. Then he chose to pass the football out horizontally to Claus again.
Claus took two steps forward.
He looked up to observe the situation in front of him.
Adriano and Balotelli saw that Claus was looking in front of them and began to run diagonally, hoping to coordinate with Claus to play a direct cut into the empty space.
Mata also ran to the flank, ready to receive at any time.
However, Claus had no intention of passing the ball at this time, nor did he have any intention of continuing to dribble the ball to break through.
His gaze passed through the crowd in the penalty area and went straight to the Arsenal goalkeeper, Almunia, and the goal behind him!
The manager took good care of him and gave him the "privilege" to concentrate on the attack. He must perform well.
What could be a better reward than scoring a goal?!
Should he try a long shot?!
*****
As soon as this idea appeared in Claus's mind, he could no longer suppress it.
The idea of trying a long shot became stronger and stronger.
If it had been before, Claus might not have thought so. He would be careful and cooperate with his teammates. He would not blindly shoot long shots.
Blind long shots were not advisable.
There were often players who blindly shot long shots in the game. It would be fine if the shot hit the anti-aircraft gun. However, if the shot was blocked or the opponent's goalkeeper got it, it would be terrible if the opponent took advantage of the situation to counterattack when his own team pressed on.
However, at this moment, the idea of trying a long shot was unprecedentedly strong.
Anyway, there was Carlos and Montari behind him. He was not afraid of making a mistake!
This idea made Claus even more "fearless."
Using words to describe it, this was a sentence. However, in a person's mind, it was only a momentary thought.
Tony Twain made a decision!
This decision made him ignore everyone. In his eyes, there was no Adriano and Balotelli running to the flank, nor was there Mata on the flank!
Tony Twain only had the goal in front of him.
Then, he took two steps forward. At the same time, he adjusted his feet slightly and raised his right foot.
Claus's performance in today's game was more ordinary. It could even be said that it was dull. There was no precedent of him trying a long shot before, so his action did not attract the attention of the Arsenal defenders. Even Sagna, who was closest to Claus, did not take it too seriously.
*****
Adriano and Balotelli ran to their positions while observing their teammate Claus from the corner of their eyes.
Their running attracted the attention of the Arsenal defenders. Colo Touré followed closely behind Adriano. In the face of this Brazilian star player, only Colo Touré in Arsenal's defensive line could "fight". Senderos ran to mark Balotelli.
Balotelli and Senderos were entangled. He suddenly stopped and then turned around. This shook off Senderos, and the shortcoming of the Swiss defender's slow turn was exposed.
Balotelli was then ready to jump. He looked up at the top of his head. The football did not fly as he expected. This made him a little confused and then unhappy. He ran so well and ran into a gap. Where was the ball? Where was the ball? Where was the ball?!
Then, the jump was completed awkwardly. Balotelli turned his head to look at Claus.
At the same time, Senderos was also shocked and jumped up. However, he did not see the football fly over. He looked at Balotelli in confusion. Was this person crazy?!
Then, Senderos saw a trace of abnormality in Balotelli's eyes.
Balotelli turned his head to look and saw Claus' right foot swing hard on the football!
With a bang, bits of grass flew everywhere!
The football flew!
The speed of the ball was very fast!
A white light flashed!
The football swept over the top of the penalty area!
Then, with an inconspicuous drop, it swept towards the top left corner of the goal!!
*****
"Claus —!!!" The Italian commentator, Ferrari, dragged out his voice and shouted.
In his roar, the football drew a beautiful arc and went straight to the top left corner of the goal.
The Arsenal goalkeeper, Almunia, soared into the air!
He tried his best to extend his arm, hoping to reach the football and stop the shot!
He felt his fingertips touch the football!
The football changed direction slightly!
Did he pounce? Almunia was delighted. He had pounced the football?!
However, before Almunia could rejoice, he felt a chill on his back. He realized that such a block could not stop the football from rushing towards the goal!
Oh no!
Almunia was panicking.
*****
After being touched by Almunia's fingertips, the football rose slightly, but it still flew resolutely towards the goal!
When the football rubbed against the net, Almunia, who was in the air, felt and even heard the sound of the high-speed spinning football rubbing against the net.
As a goalkeeper, he was too familiar with this sound and knew what it meant …
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