Crouch was the tallest player on the field for the Forest team, but he did not need to return to the penalty area to defend the corner because Tang En was ready to counterattack after the corner at any time. Now that Piqué was not there, Crouch, who was still not very good at headers, could only play as the center back.
As the team captain, the center back Terry ran into the penalty area while clenching his fists to encourage his teammates. "Guys! Now they have the same number of people as us. This is the best opportunity. Don't waste it! "
Albertini also cheered his teammates loudly. Unfortunately, his English was improving slowly and he could not speak long sentences. He could only shout some simple phrases and words. "Defend! Pay attention to the opponent! Pressure them! "
George Wood mixed in the crowd and stared firmly at the black man with a head full of pigtails in front of him. Piqué was not there. He took it for granted that Drogba was the target he needed to keep an eye on in this corner defense. After playing six games since entering the Premier League, Wood felt that he had almost no opponents in terms of physical strength. But Drogba made him feel strained in this game. Wood knew that his skills were not good, so he never compared skills with his opponents. Instead, he valued physical confrontation. Because he felt that this was an important reason why he could play as the main force in the Forest team.
Now that he encountered an opponent that made him feel a little strained, he did not feel frustrated or afraid. Instead, it made him feel a little excited. An eagerness stirred in the depths of his heart. He longed to have a head-on confrontation with this big black man. In the beginning, Piqué was mainly defending against Drogba, and he was supporting from the side. In addition, Drogba was the striker. His position was just right against Piqué, who played as a center back. Wood did not have much of a chance.
Now that Piqué was not there, the opportunity came …
He leaned forward with force. Feeling someone behind him, Drogba twisted his body and hit Wood's chest with his elbow. If it were an experienced veteran player, the ball would have fallen to the ground. But how could Wood care so much? He took Drogba's action as a response to his challenge, so he went up again without showing any weakness.
Drogba felt that the pressure did not subside. Instead, it increased. He knew that the other party was going all out with him. So, he shrugged his shoulders, hoping to squeeze Wood out of his position.
Wood did not pull with his hands. Instead, he turned sideways to squeeze in front of Drogba to block his position to prevent Drogba from jumping to receive the ball.
However, he did not gain the upper hand in the physical confrontation. Drogba stood firmly in front of him, not giving an inch.
The two men's entanglement quickly attracted the referee's attention. He whistled for Joe Cole not to take the corner kick first, then ran to the front of the goal and pointed at Drogba and George Wood, waving his hands horizontally to separate them.
"Watch your movements!" Borl warned the two of them sternly.
Drogba spread his hands and said that it was Wood who bumped into him first. George Wood, on the other hand, stared at Drogba, ignoring Borl who was beside him. Of course, the two of them did move apart … about two fingers' width apart.
After warning the two, Frank ran out of the penalty area and signaled Joe Cole to kick off.
Just as Frank left, Wood and Drogba clashed with each other again. However, their movements didn't seem as intense as before. The two of them were just exerting strength in the dark...
A whistle sounded. Joe Cole ran up and sent a flat and fast ball straight to the near corner of the goal — where Drogba was!
The two men jumped almost at the same time, but Drogba leaned back slightly when he took off. George Wood, who was unprepared, was pressed under Drogba's body. He could not exert his strength and jump high, let alone compete with his opponent for a header.
The ball was in front of his forehead. Without interference, Drogba swung his head to attack the goal!
This time, the goalpost was no longer standing next to Darren Ward. The football shot into the net from the near corner!
“ItsGOOOOOAL！！ Beautiful! Chelsea's relentless efforts have finally paid off! They equalized the score when there were still four minutes left in the first half to go into injury stoppage time! The terrible Drogba! He completely gained the upper hand in the confrontation with George Wood. Beast! "
After the goal, Drogba did not even have the interest to look back at the loser. He rushed to the corner flag with open arms and hugged Joe Cole, who was the main attacker for him. Behind him were the Chelsea players who swarmed.
In the away stands, the Chelsea goal was wildly waving their fists in the drizzle. They were awarded a penalty kick at the start of the game and sent off a player with a red card. Now that they equalized the score, they could finally hold their heads high.
※ ※ ※
"Damn it!" Tang En, who was furious at losing the ball, gave a roundhouse kick and sent the mineral water bottle beside his feet flying.
The water bottle fell right beside the Chelsea manager's command area. With a bang, it startled Mourinho, who was celebrating the goal, and the water that sprayed out splashed all over his pants.
Tang En certainly did not see where the water bottle ended up, because he turned around and walked to the technical area after he finished kicking.
Mourinho was clearly unhappy with Tang En's actions. He thought that Tang En was deliberately provoking him, so he simply kicked the water bottle back!
The two managers' footwork was really good. Tang En kicked to Mourinho's feet, and Mourinho kicked back to Tang En's feet. With another bang, Tang En realized that the water bottle he had just kicked had returned to his feet. He was a little surprised, and then he heard what seemed to be someone shouting loudly behind him.
He turned around and saw Mourinho's unhappy expression. Mourinho was pointing at him and saying something, but it was too noisy in the stadium at this time, and he could not hear anything clearly.
The cheers of the away fans and the boos of the home fans intertwined together. Only a ghost could hear Mourinho's translation.
So, he cupped his hand to his ear and tilted his head to make a gesture that he could not hear clearly. This was seen by Mourinho as a naked provocation — pretending to be deaf and mute?!
"Look at what's happening on the sidelines." The commentator's voice sounded even more excited and high-pitched than when Drogba had scored. "Mourinho and Tony Twain! Something seems to have happened between these two men. Let's take a look and see … Beautiful! Tony Twain turned around and volleyed a shot for Forest Team to take the lead! But very quickly, Mourinho immediately returned the favor with a curling shot! 1: 1. Both sides are tied for the time being! This is really an exciting game from the field to the sidelines! "
Just as the two managers were about to steal the limelight from the players who scored, the fourth official finally stepped forward and inserted himself between the two managers who were at loggerheads. He sternly warned them, "Please pay attention to your status, gentlemen! You are the managers of the team. You must set the right example for the players on the field! "
"Of course, I'm demonstrating to my players how to send the ball into the opponent's goal." Tang En slanted his mouth, shrugged, and said nonchalantly.
"Mr. Tony Twain …"
"Yes, I'm also telling my players how to effectively equalize the score. As you can see, I've indeed set the right example. Mr. Fourth Official. "Mourinho did not show any weakness, staring at Tang En as he responded.
"Mr. José Mourinho!" The fourth official suddenly felt a headache coming on when he encountered these two managers with the most personalities in the league. He had no choice but to use his trump card. "I'm warning you again! This is a game, and you are the managers. Please pay attention to what kind of impact your words and actions will have! I hope you maintain restraint and calm. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to ask the referee to invite both of you to the stands! "He pointed to the crowded red stands.
The threat was effective. Both of them were obedient — at least on the surface — and they spread their hands to indicate that they would not pursue the matter any further.
"Very well, I hope you cooperate with my work. Now, please return to your positions. "
Tang En glanced at Mourinho, turned around, and walked back. Mourinho turned around at the same time with him, spreading his arms and walking back to the technical area and the substitutes' bench to continue celebrating Drogba's goal. He was not at a disadvantage in his quarrel with Tang En again. His team had equalized the score on the field. In a good mood, he even wanted to deliberately show his excitement in front of his opponent to deliberately provoke Tang En.
As soon as Tang En walked back to the technical area, his face darkened. It was darker than the drizzling sky.
"Damn it! Bastard! I knew … I knew something would happen! We've been suppressed by Chelsea for twenty-five minutes. We can't come up with a solution at all! "
"Tony, including the injury stoppage time, there's still about six minutes before the end of the first half." Kerslake reported the time.
"Well … remind the players to play according to the original rhythm. Don't let this goal concede affect their performance." Tang En plopped down on a chair. He had left such matters to the assistant manager. He was in a bad mood now and was afraid that it would affect the players instead. "We … will make adjustments during halftime …"
※ ※ ※
While the others were attracted by the confrontation between the two managers on the sidelines, George Wood was still sitting on the wet ground, watching the Chelsea people cheering and celebrating.
He had lost in the confrontation with Drogba. That feeling … it was as if his heart had suddenly become empty. The team's efforts had gone down the drain because of his own failure. He did not show anything on the surface, but he felt terrible inside. He felt that he did not complete his task and must have disappointed his mother, who was watching the game broadcast at home.
At that moment, a man walked over and held out a hand to him. It was a hand wearing the captain's armband.
"Get up. The game is not over yet."
Wood did not take Albertini's outstretched hand. Instead, he chose to stand up on his own.
"George, you can wait until you've really lost the game before you do something like being depressed and distracted. Now, let's continue. " Albertini patted George Wood's broad and strong shoulder and walked with him to the center circle.
Wood did not say anything, but he nodded.
(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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