"He's the king of Arsenal. He saved the team. He's Thierry Henry!"
Arsenal's players ran towards their captain. The goal had come at the right time and was too important. With six minutes of injury stoppage time left in the game, Arsenal had tied the score of the game and the overall score of both sides.
Wenger jumped up from his seat, opened his arms and hugged Patrice.
The 2,000 Arsenal fans who had followed the team to Nottingham also burst into loud cheers. Amidst their cheers, the Nottingham Forest fans fell into a brief silence.
Tang En's heart fell from the clouds to the bottom of the valley. It was an indescribable feeling. He bit his lip and stared at the celebrating Arsenal players on the field.
Just as they were about to win and advance to the finals, Henry scored a goal at the last moment! Damn it …
What were his players thinking at that moment? Did they think they'd won? In that instant when they switched from offense to defense, their reaction speed was as slow as a 90-year-old man's!
Forest's players hugged their heads in frustration as they watched the other side celebrate to their heart's content.
George Wood lowered his head to look at his feet.
When he was shoveling Henry from the back, he suddenly remembered Tang En's warning. With two yellow cards on his back, he would very likely get a third yellow card because of this foul. It was even possible that he would get a straight red card. So, he retracted his leg reflexively.
It was this little distance that allowed Henry to avoid it.
He should not have retracted his leg. He should have just shoveled the opposing striker to the ground so that he could not break through and shoot. But his body did not listen to him at that moment.
What a bastard. He spoke beautifully, but in the end, he's still a coward.
He raised his head again and saw his dejected teammates around him. The gloom from his own performance turned into rage. He opened his mouth and blurted, "What are you doing? We haven't lost yet! "
Arteta raised his head to look at the roaring Wood, who clenched his fists tightly. Everyone turned to look at him.
"We haven't lost yet! We still don't know who will be eliminated. What are you doing?! "
Then he walked towards Arteta. "Don't protect me. There's no need."
"But George …"
"We'll talk about this after we get into the finals." He turned and ran towards the goal, scooped the football out of the net, and ran all the way to the center circle to place the football on it.
"Kick off!"
Tang En, who saw this scene off the field, turned to Kerslake and said, "Regardless of whether we can get into the finals or not, what makes me feel less depressed is that at least we have a real captain."
Kerslake smiled, not knowing what to say.
※ ※ ※
The game resumed. Arsenal wanted to seize the last moment to finish off the Forest team, while the Forest team hoped to score another goal in the remaining minutes to return the advantage to them. Both sides did not give way to each other and launched a fierce scramble in every corner of the field.
In the end, when the referee blew the whistle to end the 90-minute match, the score was still 1: 1.
"The total score is 2: 2. Both sides have an away goal. It's a tie. "Nos Point is." Sheng "Is" s. "." is "Henry" of "Song." It was a dramatic game. Just when Nottingham Forest thought they were going to win, Henry equalized the score at the last minute … "
Both teams would not enter the locker room to prepare for the overtime. They would sit or lie on the sidelines, getting massaged by the team doctor while listening to the manager's latest instructions.
"We're pressed for time, so I won't criticize you for being distracted at the last moment." The Nottingham Forest players formed a circle, with Tang En crouching in the middle with a serious expression. "Defense is still the main goal in overtime. Find time to counterattack. Fortunately, we prepared for the penalty kicks before the match. If we can't settle the battle within 30 minutes, we'll drag it out until then. "
On the other side, in Arsenal's half of the field, Wenger stood in front of the players, pacing back and forth as he said to them, "Overtime. Rest half of the field, attack half of the field, and strive for a goal. If we can't force it, we'll play the penalty kicks with them. "
※ ※ ※
There was only a short five-minute break before the 90-minute match and overtime. Many players only had time to catch their breaths before they had to walk back onto the field and participate in the match.
George Wood stood up from the ground. Tang En looked at him, then watched him return to the field without saying anything. Because he didn't know what to say … It was meaningless to say something like "don't get a yellow card again". Whether or not they could make it to the finals was in doubt. What was the use of reminding him not to get a yellow card?
Let nature take its course.
※ ※ ※
After the first half of overtime began, Arsenal took advantage of the momentum from their equalizer to launch a siege on the Forest goal, as though they wanted to settle the battle within the 30 minutes.
Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, adopted the defensive formation they were most familiar with to receive Arsenal's storm-like attacks.
Tang En made one last substitution. He replaced Leighton Baines with Gareth Bale. Baines had a cramp from running, and Bale had good stamina, so he went up to stabilize the defense.
Throughout the first half of overtime, Forest's counterattack could not be seen. Anelka wandered alone in front for a while and realized that the football could not be passed over at all. He looked at the tense situation behind him and hesitated before deciding to go back and participate in the defense.
Generally speaking, even though there was no rule that said it had to be like this, overtime in a football match did indeed present an interesting phenomenon. Because of the first and second halves of the 30 minutes of overtime, the performances of the two teams were divided into two extremes. Taking this match as an example, now that Arsenal was on the offensive in the first half, Arsenal would certainly not have any spare energy to carry out any attacks in the second half. It would then be Nottingham Forest's turn to attack.
Perhaps this was related to the fact that at this stage of the match, both teams' stamina did not allow them to carry out 30 minutes of offense. They could only choose to rest for one half of the field and attack for the other.
Arsenal attacked for 15 minutes without any gains. Forest's defense was very well organized. The score remained 1: 1. Forest's players knew their chance had come.
There was no rest time between the first and second halves of overtime. The players could only fight for some rest time by slowly crossing the field.
Now, whether it was Arsenal's players or Nottingham Forest's players, they were all at the limits of their stamina. The intense competition schedule and the continuous battles had left everyone exhausted. They slowly moved around the field. Only one person was an exception.
George Wood ran to the other half of the field with his head held high. When he brushed past Fàbregas, the Spaniard could even feel a gust of wind brushing past his cheeks!
※ ※ ※
After the start of the second half, the Forest team pressed up to attack as usual. No one really wanted to drag the game to a penalty shootout, which was a method of deciding the victory without any safety factor.
Everyone went up, and Gareth Bale also frequently participated in the attack. Only George Wood remained at the back, protecting everyone's rear.
Almost everyone thought that after 15 minutes of indiscriminate bombardment, Arsenal would no longer have any spare energy to pose a threat to the Forest team's rear defensive line. George Wood looked a little silly as he stayed at the back and watched others perform. Looking at Nottingham Forest's current offensive momentum, Arsenal's defense alone would exhaust all their remaining stamina. How could they endanger the Forest team's goal?
Eastwood's shot was hugged by Lehmann. The German goalkeeper did not choose the inefficient method of long strides forward. He threw the ball with his hand … to launch an attack!
The football reached the feet of Fàbregas in the blink of an eye. Before the Forest players could react, Fàbregas transferred the football to their captain, the most trustworthy striker, Henry.
Then, while most of the Forest players were still in a daze at the sudden change in the front field, Henry had already adjusted the direction of the football and began to dribble the ball towards the Forest team's goal!
"This is Arsenal's counterattack! The Forest team's attack is too fierce. They've forgotten that Arsenal still has Henry, an extremely dangerous figure with top-notch speed! "
"Damn it!" Tang En jumped up on the sidelines. "I told them to find time to counterattack! Not to press forward and surround them! "
"Don't worry, Tony. George is at the back … "Kerslake comforted.
"That's what I'm most worried about …" Tang En muttered.
※ ※ ※
Henry looked back. His teammates could not run anymore, and there were only a few who could keep up. At the same time, although the Forest players were desperately returning to defend, looking at their running posture, it was obvious that they were out of stamina. In that case …
Henry turned back and looked at George Wood in front of him.
Only the two of us are left?
"Thierry Henry, George Wood! The clash between the two captains … "
Wood did not need to look around to know what the situation was. Other than him and the two center backs, there was no one else in the rear defensive line. Just now, when the Forest team's offense was fierce, everyone had rushed up without a care in the world, hoping to be the hero that helped the team enter the finals at the last moment.
He did not go up, not because he could not run anymore, nor was it because he had no interest in attacking. It was because he saw Henry cruising near the center circle. In a situation where everyone had returned to the penalty area to defend, why did Henry, as the captain, not set an example?
He thought of a possibility, which quickly became a reality — Henry was Arsenal's ultimate weapon in their counterattack. If he returned to Arsenal, it would be tantamount to them giving up.
The cunning Wenger still hoped to use this opportunity to score a goal to overtake the score until the last moment!
Henry was well aware of George Wood's strengths and weaknesses. Once he got close to him, it would be tantamount to being pestered. At that time, even he himself did not know how this attack would turn out. Therefore, the key to this counterattack was to absolutely not get close to Wood and not give him a chance to pester himself.
Wood knew that Henry was fast and had good stamina. Looking at his current running posture, the swing of his legs was still powerful. He knew that he could still accelerate and use his speed to force a breakthrough. He absolutely could not pull away from him. Once he pulled away, he could use his speed to force a breakthrough. He had to get close to him and pester him …
Henry poked the football to the left, wanting to make a diagonal breakthrough. George Wood moved sideways to meet him.
Henry began to accelerate, and Wood also began to accelerate. He followed Henry closely and did not let him escape from his control.
Suddenly, Henry came to a sudden stop, as if he was going to break through from another direction. Wood followed suit and braked abruptly, carefully guarding against his opponent's next move. Henry did not change direction. It was just a change in pace. When he saw Wood slow down, he immediately sped up, wanting to use this to shake off the other side.
But Wood's physical condition was very good. He started almost at the same time as Henry. This escape was not successful.
"Henry is going to be pestered by Wood! The two men are very close. The Nottingham Forest players are returning to defend. As long as he can hold Henry, Wood's defense will be successful … Wow! "
Just when everyone thought that Henry had no other way, he suddenly pushed the football diagonally between Wood's legs!
Immediately after, he stopped and turned around to break through from the other side of Wood's body!
"He passed the ball! Beautiful! "
Wood was not prepared for Henry's move. When he reacted, the other side had already swept past him.
If he let Henry break through just like that, what would it mean?
There was still Pepe and Piqué behind him. Maybe the situation was not so bad that he had to do that. As Wood thought so, he looked up and saw Fàbregas and Robin van Persie running forward desperately.
Three against two?!
Wood knew what this meant.
He quickly turned around and saw Henry's back. It looked like the other side had not completely shaken him off. This was his last chance … He saw Henry getting ready to accelerate.
Wood gritted his teeth and rushed up. Without waiting for Henry to pick up his speed, he slammed into him from the side and behind!
Caught off guard, Henry lost his center of gravity from the collision. He staggered and kicked the football ten meters away. Then, he could no longer maintain his balance. After stumbling a few steps, he fell to the ground!
The Arsenal fans booed from the stands. They desperately tried to suppress the shouts of the Nottingham Forest fans.
After seeing Wood knock Henry to the ground, Tang En stood up from the manager's seat. Assistant manager David Kerslake was even more nervous than him. His mouth kept cursing inaudible profanities.
"This is a foul! Without a doubt! " The commentator shouted. "Faced with Henry's sharp breakthrough, George Wood can only stop it with a foul …"
Henry sat on the ground helplessly. Fàbregas ran to the front of the referee and made a hand gesture to remind the referee.
The Forest players ran back and surrounded the referee. Arteta even pushed Fàbregas out a little rudely. The Arsenal players came forward to defend Fàbregas.
The scene suddenly became a little chaotic.
Wood stood outside the crowd. He looked at Henry, who was still sitting on the ground adjusting his socks, and then looked at his teammates and opponents who were huddled together and arguing. He did not go forward to defend himself. He did not do anything. He just stood outside and watched, as if this matter had nothing to do with him and he was just a cold spectator.
With great difficulty, the players from both sides separated. Henry also stood up from the ground. Wood's collision did not hurt him.
Kerslake was still beside Tang En, cursing profanities that no one could hear clearly. Tang En, on the other hand, calmed down. Like Wood, he was fully prepared for what was about to happen.
This was unavoidable. Whether it was attacking the referee, accusing Fàbregas of adding fuel to the fire, or cursing, it would not change anything.
The referee separated the crowd and saw Wood standing outside. He lowered his head and took out a yellow card from his pocket, flashing it in front of Wood.
Wood raised his eyes and glanced at the yellow card, then turned and walked away.
The close-up of the television broadcast followed Wood's back. A caption appeared at the bottom of the screen: "George Wood. Yellow card. Absent from the next match."
※ ※ ※
Kerslake stopped cursing. He covered his face. Tang En continued to stand by the side of the field. His arms were crossed and his face was dark. He was as cold as an ice sculpture.
When a terrible thing could happen, then it would definitely happen — Murphy's Law.
Tang En had this premonition. He had always had it, but he was unwilling to admit it. He was unwilling to think about it. He was afraid that just thinking about it in his mind could become reality. So, he tried his best to think of the good side of things. But the terrible result still happened.
"George Wood succeeded. He stopped Henry's fatal breakthrough. But … the price he paid is to be absent from the next match. If Forest can really defeat Arsenal and advance to the finals, it has nothing to do with him. Looking at his expressionless face, does he not know that he has already received his third yellow card? "
How could he not know? But this was the path he had chosen. Since he had done it, why should he regret it? Why should he be so excited? He chose to accept the price calmly.
Of course, he hoped that he would have the chance to appear in the finals. After all, that was the highest pursuit of a professional footballer other than the World Cup. But if he had to choose between "Forest losing their ticket to the finals" and "him personally losing his ticket to the finals," he would choose the latter. If the entire team did not qualify for the finals, it would be meaningless even if he did not receive a single yellow card. This was not a multiple-choice question. Clearly, it was a matter of cause and effect. Without the team's qualification, there was no individual qualification. If he gave up the team's interest for his own benefit, he would only get the laughable result of getting nothing in the end.
Tang En sat down. He turned his head to see Albertini punch the back of the seat.
"Demetrio." He waved Albertini over. "Don't spread your emotions to the others. You see, George is very calm. The match is not over yet. Now is not the time to be distracted by this. "
Albertini sat beside Tang En and looked at Wood on the field. "Boss, do you know what the UEFA Champions League final means to a professional footballer?"
"Of course I know. But, you should say this to George," Tang En said without turning his head. There was not a trace of emotion in his tone. "Demetrio, I have to thank you. You're an outstanding captain. Now, you've brought out an equally outstanding captain for Forest. "
Albertini was not at all happy with Tang En's praise. He bit his lip and stared at the field. (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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