When Anelka put his index finger to his mouth to make a "hush" gesture, the Bernabéu Stadium really quieted down for a moment, but then an even louder booing erupted.
The Real Madrid fans hated the French forward to the extreme. They did not mind sticking up their middle fingers in front of the arrogant Frenchman and calling him Spain's national curse.
Nottingham Forest's substitutes' bench erupted in cheers. It was ear-piercing and clear amidst the booing throughout the stadium.
The Forest team's substitutes stood on the sidelines and applauded Anelka. Manager Tony Twain waved his fist in celebration of the goal. No, he was not celebrating. He was demonstrating to the Bernabéu Stadium.
Leading Real Madrid was not enough to make Twain so excited. He had already done the same thing once at the City Ground Stadium.
Leading Real Madrid at the Bernabéu Stadium was not an advantage in the score. What Twain enjoyed was the thrill of knocking down the host with one punch at someone else's doorstep.
So, when he saw Anelka put his index finger to his mouth to shut the Bernabéu fans up, he felt equally good.
※ ※ ※
"Who would have thought that Nottingham Forest would take the lead at the Bernabéu Stadium! Just five minutes into the game, the Englishman who came from afar scored a goal! It's too fast! "
The ESPN commentator was right. Leading Real Madrid was normal. But to take the lead so soon after the kickoff was indeed surprising.
"I believe that this Nottingham Forest team that defeated Benfica twice is definitely not the 'dark horse' that they say in Portugal."
The bottom left corner of the screen displayed the rankings of the group. Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest were in first and second place respectively, but they had the same number of points — ten.
The television camera then gave Tony Twain a close-up of about five seconds. His face no longer had the excitement and joy after scoring the goal. Instead, it was replaced with a serious expression.
"The youngest manager to lead a team in the Champions League has taken the lead at the Bernabéu Stadium. Tony Twain seems to be shrouded in a layer of fog that we can't see through. "
Twain did not know that the television commentator was commenting on his close-up. He stood on the sidelines for a while before turning to walk back to the technical area.
"The game has just begun, David."
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After the restart, Real Madrid was not stunned by the goal. Instead, they quickly launched a crazy counterattack.
After all, they were a veteran powerhouse team. No matter how low they were facing now, their foundation was still there. It would be too fake if he was hit by a ball like that.
Wood once again became a busy man. Such moments were rare as the Forest team's strength increased and their status in the Premier League rose. When the Forest team was weak and often pressed to play positional games, George Wood was the most eye-catching player, which was one of the reasons why he quickly became famous at a young age within two years of his debut.
More balls were sent to Zidane's feet. It seemed that they did not trust the "crazy knife" Guti.
More attacks were concentrated on Zidane's side, which meant that George Wood was under more pressure.
As the match went on, whether Wood wanted to admit it or not, Zidane made him feel terrible again.
When you face this French baldy, he always has a way to go around you. If he can't go around, he will immediately pass the ball out and not give you too much time to intercept the ball.
It was not just a gap in skills. It was also a huge gap in experience.
Zidane took the ball when he was facing Wood and made a feint to pull the ball to the left to break through. Wood's body rushed out, and then Zidane very calmly distributed the ball to the right flank. Salgado plugged in from the back again …
It was not only Wood who faced great pressure. The young left back, Gareth Bale, and the right back, Chimbonda, were the same. It could be said that everyone in the Forest team's rear defensive line was under great pressure. Because the defensive line was so young, and they faced a world-class offensive lineup.
Salgado did not break through Bale. Instead, he drew Bale near the end line and passed the ball back.
Behind him was the right midfielder, Beckham!
"Watch out for the Englishman!" The commentator shouted exaggeratedly.
Beckham did not stop the ball. Instead, he met Salgado's return pass and directly raised his leg to cross the ball!
The football drew a precise arc in the air and almost smashed into the forehead of Ronaldo, who was not good at headers!
"Ronaldo's header … WOOOW!"
Close at hand, Edwin van der Sar made an incredible save. He blocked Ronaldo's header with one palm!
"What a pity! If Morientes had been the one to head this ball, it would have gone in … "
Ronaldo put his hands on his hips and looked in disbelief at Edwin van der Sar, who had climbed up from the ground. He thought the ball was going in for sure.
In fact, when he saw Beckham raise his leg to cross the ball, Tang En's heart had also flown up to his throat. When he saw the football smash into Ronaldo's head and then change direction to fly toward the goal, his heart almost jumped out of his throat.
Fortunately, Edwin van der Sar's outstanding performance made Tang En's heart return to where it was. But it was still beating very fast.
After taking the lead, Tang En once again experienced the thrill of a heart attack that could happen at any time.
1: 0 was too unsafe …
But the Forest team now had to persist in defensive counterattack, holding firm under the opponent's constant fierce attacks, and wait for another chance to succeed in a sneak attack.
This was not only a test of the players' endurance on the field, but also a test of Tang En's heart as the head coach.
Soon, Tang En could no longer sit in the technical area. He stood up and held onto the roof of the technical area, continuing to closely observe the situation on the field.
※ ※ ※
This was not the first time the Forest team had faced a situation where they were being suppressed. They had just experienced this feeling in the League Tournament match against Chelsea.
It was painful, but they had to endure it.
This was also a form of competition experience.
After Zidane broke through once and caused a corner kick, Albertini pulled George Wood.
His hand slipped and he almost did not grab Wood's arm. Only then did Albertini realize that Wood's arm was covered in sweat.
"George."
Wood turned his head to look at his captain.
"Let's switch. I'll defend Zidane."
Wood, who had always listened to his captain, shook his head this time. "No, Demi. The boss said to let me defend … "
"But …" Albertini very much wanted to say "but you can't defend," but he swallowed the words when they were at the tip of his tongue. This sentence was a little too much of a blow.
George Wood was not a fool. He knew what Albertini wanted to say. He panted heavily. "He's indeed very good. But the boss said to let me defend him. Unless he switches me off, he's mine. "
With that, he ran past Albertini and returned to the penalty area to participate in the defense.
Albertini looked at Wood's back and shook his head. He also ran back.
※ ※ ※
Kerslake noticed that Albertini was holding Wood back to talk about this matter. He looked at Twain.
Twain shook his head and did not say anything.
So, Kerslake turned his gaze back to the field.
※ ※ ※
The situation did not improve. Zidane was still active. Real Madrid was still suppressing the Forest team's penalty area and bombarding indiscriminately. It seemed like they wanted to find their lost dignity and form in this game.
Tang En stood up from his seat again. He walked to the sidelines. Edwin van der Sar was preparing to kick off. He had placed the football twice and had been stalling the game since the first half.
Wood stood slightly to the right of the center circle. Not far from him was the Frenchman.
Tang En took a deep breath, and then suddenly shouted Wood's name, "George!"
It was not just Wood. Almost everyone in the Forest team heard it, including some Real Madrid players. They all looked at Tang En.
"Did you forget what I told you? Hold him back! "Tang En pointed at Zidane." No matter what method you use, by hook or by crook! By hook or by crook! By hook or by crook!! "
He punched his own palm.
If he could injure Zidane and force him off the field, and Wood did not even get a yellow card, that would probably be the most perfect result in Tang En's mind.
But it was unlikely …
Real Madrid's right flank was close to the technical area of both teams. Beckham heard Tang En's English vulgarities clearly. He looked at the away team manager who did not have much of a demeanor to speak of and frowned.
Zidane also looked to the sidelines. He saw Tang En pointing in his direction when he shouted. It was most likely related to him. It was nothing more than letting the kid watch over him. Zidane had seen such things many times in his career. Almost every manager would give such instructions to their team's main defensive players.
It was just that the gap between Forest's number 13 and himself was too big. Up until now, everything had been under his control. He did not feel that the game was too strenuous. Except for a goal concede — but that was just an accident. Looking at the situation now, Forest was completely silent.
Ever since they took the lead, they had not even shot once. They had all retreated back to their own half of the field. As long as Real Madrid continued to attack like this, it was only a matter of time before they equalized the score. As long as they equalized the score, things would be simple. The opponent would definitely collapse because of this. Then, what awaited Real Madrid would be a huge home victory!
(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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