"Aaron Mitchell! A beautiful header outside the penalty area! Nottingham Forest has equalized the overall score! "
The City Ground stadium erupted in huge cheers.
Barcelona's manager, Guardiola, was furious on the sidelines. When the football was "rubbed" into the goal by Mitchell's head, he also threw the water bottle in his hand out.
"Who the f * ck is this kid!"
The two assistant managers, Vilanova and Eusebio, wisely chose to remain silent at this moment.
Guardiola's anger was not directed at his own team. In fact, it was already a very good performance for them to be able to score a goal under such conditions on such a field. What made him angry was that he actually knew nothing about Nottingham Forest's striker. He naturally could not make targeted arrangements without knowing anything. For example, he did not know that this number 9's header was actually so outstanding. Otherwise, he would not have let the team give Bentley the chance to start the ball from the side …
After a while, Vilanova said, "Maybe … things are not as bad as we thought? At least the overall score is now tied, and the away goals are also tied. We still have a chance to go into overtime … "
Guardiola frowned and shook his head. He was in a bad mood as he said, "It's useless to go into overtime with the team's state … Playing on such a field, the players' stamina is depleted very quickly."
He was right. Even if Nottingham Forest accidentally dragged Barcelona into overtime, they were not worried at all. Tony Twain had already taken this possibility into consideration before the match. The Forest players' stamina was enough to ensure that they could complete an intense 120 minutes of play, but Barcelona could not. Playing on such a terrible field required a lot more stamina than usual. Playing for another 30 minutes would only increase the possibility of their players getting injured.
It was no wonder that Twain was not anxious after losing the goal.
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Barcelona's technical area was in a state of mourning. The players on the field were not much better. After Barcelona's goal, their morale was boosted and they hoped to continue to work hard and score a second goal. If that happened, it would be almost impossible for Nottingham Forest to reverse the situation. They did not expect that they did not score the second goal and instead allowed Nottingham Forest to score another goal …
When they saw the football fly into the goal, their hearts almost simultaneously turned cold.
What scared them was not the score, but the game had been going on for seventy minutes, and they still could not get used to the feeling of playing on this kind of field. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest was like a fish in water, playing with ease. If this continued, what would be the final result of the match? They didn't dare to think about it.
After the game resumed, Barcelona stepped up their defense against Mitchell, but this time Mitchell's performance was even better. The Barcelona players could stop him from shooting, but they might not be able to stop him from passing. As the lighthouse in the front field, not only could he score goals himself, but he could also create various opportunities for his teammates. His height was his greatest weapon. At the same time, the technique he showed to stop the ball and protect the ball also made the Barcelona defenders unable to do anything about him. Once he squeezed them behind him, they would not be able to intercept the ball without committing a foul.
Agbonlahor also got two threatening shooting chances because of Mitchell's excellent performance.
To make matters worse, four minutes after the Forest team scored, Messi withdrew from the game because he sprained his knee in a scramble. The withdrawal of the team's soul due to an injury was a big blow to Barcelona. Looking at the field, many of the Barcelona players' eyes were a little confused. They really did not know how to play such a game.
The Catalan commentator began to scold Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest team when Messi was injured. He scolded them for having no sportsmanship and for destroying the players' bodies in order to win.
The English commentator breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, a player is injured. It's inexcusable that no one is injured playing on such an uneven field!"
When Messi was injured, Guardiola finally could not help it. He rushed to the sidelines and found the fourth official — the former referee who had been forced off due to an injury. He pointed to the field and said to the fourth official, "This is the field that can host a Champions League game? It's uneven and makes my players injured! Is this also allowed? "
Unfortunately, Twain was not on the sidelines. Otherwise, he would have come out and refuted him without hesitation. "The UEFA has agreed. What are you yelling about?"
The fourth official shrugged helplessly. "There's nothing we can do about it, Mr. Guardiola."
"I'm going to appeal to the UEFA after the game! How can such an unsportsmanlike thing be allowed to happen? "
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"Hey, look!" John suddenly pointed to the technical area off the field, where Guardiola was saying something emotionally to the fourth official. In fact, everyone knew what he was saying. It was obvious from his movements — he was pointing to the field.
"Ha! Are you red-eyed from the loss? "Twain laughed in his seat. "Do you want to cry to the UEFA's mother?"
"I guess he must be protesting to cancel the game or complaining to the UEFA!"
"What a coward!"
Deafening boos immediately rang out against Guardiola in the north grandstand. Even Twain booed along with them. He could not go down to argue with Guardiola. Of course, he could only do the boos here.
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The fourth official comforted Guardiola. "We'll write these situations into the game report, but for now, please go back first, Mr. Guardiola."
Only then did Guardiola walk back with a black face. The boos grew louder and louder, but he pretended not to hear them.
Messi was eventually carried off on a stretcher with a pained expression. The team doctor's face was equally ugly. Seeing the scene, Guardiola could not help but want to swear. He looked up at the grandstand, where the boos were the loudest. He could not find Twain. The guy was hiding in a group of fans, dressed the same as them. It was impossible to tell which one was him.
The UEFA punished him to the grandstand. From the looks of it, it might be considered as doing him a favor.
Guardiola gritted his teeth and thought so.
Messi could not continue to play. Guardiola brought on the young midfielder, Busquets, in an attempt to strengthen the midfield's depth and control. At 1.89 meters tall, Busquets had outstanding physical qualities. His playing might change Barcelona's weakness in competing for headers. At the same time, his style of play was concise and very suitable for handling the ball on such a field.
Before going on, Guardiola patted Busquets on the shoulder and exhorted, "Be careful, don't get hurt."
It was a helpless move.
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After the game continued, the Barcelona players were all angry. It was normal. Who would not be angry to see their teammates injured because of this terrible field? Not to mention that they could follow in Messi's footsteps. They could not calm down at the thought of it.
Even Piqué put down his feelings for Nottingham Forest and did not hesitate to bring down Mitchell in defense. His actions had "won" the boos from Nottingham Forest, and he did not feel that there was anything embarrassing about it.
Nottingham Forest did not care what the Barcelona players thought. As always, they launched an attack on Valdés's goal, intent on resolving the battle within 90 minutes.
But Busquets's playing did play a role. His height and physical condition helped Barcelona to complete the midfield defense well. In terms of headers, he and Piqué teamed up to defend against Mitchell, thus freeing up Puyol. Agbonlahor also had little chance.
As a result, Nottingham Forest began to try to make more use of long shots to seek scoring opportunities. Such an attack often ended hastily after attacking the front field.
Twain was very unhappy with this. He waited for a while and saw that the team showed no signs of change. The north grandstand rang with the fans' shouts, "Be patient! We have the advantage! Don't blindly shoot long shots! "
"All right, guys. I'm sure they heard it. "After shouting a few times, Twain told them to stop. He did not want to be too explicit.
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As the game progressed, the Barcelona players began to gradually withdraw their defensive line. In the end, everyone retreated back to their half of the field. They did not have any spare energy to attack now, so they could only concentrate on defense. They hoped to be able to hold on to this score. At least there was still 30 minutes for them to fight again.
Dunn stood up from the technical area. He felt it was time for the team to attack, so he made a gesture to signal for the entire team to press forward.
"Nottingham Forest's offensive is quite fierce! Barcelona has all returned to defend … Look at how many Barcelona players were in the penalty area when Nottingham Forest attacked this time? Eleven! They're all back! " The English commentator was quite proud of this. "Who said Nottingham Forest plays conservative and utilitarian football? Such a scene is not commonly seen in offensive football, is it? "
Such a scene might be a shame for the Barcelona fans, because in previous games, they had always compressed their opponents into such a state. They had never been so embarrassed.
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Mitchell felt that since the 1.89m kid came on, the pressure on him had increased a lot. He could sometimes win when he fought for headers, but when he heard the ball, it was not very obedient. It seemed that Barcelona had made special arrangements for his height and headers …
If this continued, Mitchell did not know if he could still contribute to the team with his head. He had played almost an entire game. For such a long time, he had been in direct confrontation with Barcelona's two best defenders. His physical exertion was much more than his last game in the league tournament. His jump and sprint were not as powerful as before. Sometimes he could no longer guarantee that he would be stuck in his position.
When Bentley passed the football over, he, who had been stuck in his position, was squeezed behind by Piqué at the last minute. When he tried to squeeze back, he felt like he was pushing a train. He could not jump and could only watch as Piqué headed the ball away in front of him.
Barcelona fought back, and his teammates quickly returned to defend. His spirit was willing, but his body was weak. He rested his hands on his knees and panted heavily. In the past, he had always been a substitute. Although he had played in the starting lineup in the previous league tournament, he was also replaced midway and did not even play a complete game. Now that he had persisted in such an intense game for more than 70 minutes, he did not know if his body could hold on until then.
George Wood intercepted Silva's pass to Bojan in the backfield. He did not hesitate to directly pass the ball.
Mitchell, who had been panting heavily in the front field, intended to jump up to receive the ball, but he was ruled offside. He only cared about resting and forgot to look at the situation around him.
"He's too big. Is his stamina a weakness …" Tang En muttered to himself in the stands.
Next, Mitchell got another chance. But this time, when he controlled the ball at his feet, he quickly lost it under the joint defense of Piqué and Busquets. At 2.02m tall, he was even squeezed to the ground by two people who were not as tall as him. He looked vulnerable.
The Barcelona fans began to laugh at the big fool in the stands.
"Aaron Mitchell has fully exposed his lack of physical strength. He is too thin and weak to do anything under Barcelona's tight defense. His performance is worrying. Maybe the Forest team should consider replacing him? "Even the commentator began to question Mitchell. "He scored a goal. For a young man playing in such an important game for the first time, he did well enough. Forest's coaching staff can't ask him to do more, because it's impossible. "
Kerslake also noticed that Mitchell's performance was not as active as before. It was clearly related to Barcelona's targeted defensive arrangements. Guardiola found that the situation had improved after he replaced Messi with Busquets, so he simply replaced Xavi with Keita. The team changed to a 4-4-2 formation, with three defensive midfielders and one offensive midfielder. Forest's ball was now difficult to pass to Mitchell's feet. Barcelona's midfield defense had hardened. Another reason was that Mitchell's fitness had declined significantly.
He looked for Dunn to discuss, "Aaron doesn't look like he can do it. The opponent's defense against him is too tight, and his physical exertion is a little big … It's his first time playing such an important game, and he also confronted Puyol and Piqué for eighty minutes. I think he did very well … Should we consider replacing him? The most important thing is … "He hesitated and voiced his concerns," Tony insisted on letting him start. He performed well. But I'm afraid that if he continues to play like this, the confidence that he has just built up will be destroyed. You know, Piqué and Puyol are not ordinary defenders. We're a little too forced to let him play against these two strong opponents … "
Dunn frowned. He was also considering whether to replace Mitchell with Ibišević, who had better stamina and better shooting skills, to make an impact. But his thoughts always inevitably diverged in another direction — if it was Tony, what choice would he make?
He found that if it was Tony, he would most likely insist on keeping Mitchell on the field.
Then would he agree to do the same?
"David … I don't think Tony will agree to replace him …" Dunn was a little hesitant.
"But now it's the two of us who are commanding the team, Dunn!" Kerslake was a little dissatisfied with Dunn using Tony as a shield.
Dunn also seemed to feel that he was too weak. He could not always follow Tony's lead. He thought for a moment and then made his own choice, "Let's wait a little longer. Give him another five minutes …"
Kerslake nodded and did not say anything else.
The game entered the 79th minute, and soon there were only ten minutes left.
※ ※ ※
Once again, Nottingham Forest organized an attack.
Keita, Yaya Touré and Busquets formed a wall in front of Barcelona's penalty area, blocking Forest's attack.
Forest's midfielders wanted to send the ball to Mitchell, but with the opponent's tight defense, even if the ball was passed over, Mitchell would not be able to catch it. What was the point of passing the ball over when he would soon lose it?
Tiago was a little lost as he held the ball. He wanted to pass it out, but he did not know who to pass it to. Just as he was looking around and hesitating, his ball was poked away by Keita.
The Barcelona fans in the stands suddenly burst into loud cheers, but their cheers had just started when they abruptly stopped. Because Keita's ball was also intercepted by George Wood.
When Keita successfully intercepted the ball, Barcelona intended to counterattack, and their formation pressed outwards a little.
Mitchell found himself in an offside position again, so he followed suit and retreated. This time, he could not let his teammate's pass become an offside position again. But this time, he retreated a little more. He did not stand at the front to be the lighthouse, but simply retreated to Agbonlahor's position in one breath — a little like a shadow striker. Was he overcompensating?
After George Wood intercepted the ball, he saw Barcelona's rear defensive line retreating urgently, just in time to widen the distance between them and Mitchell, who ran back. Up until now, no one had marked him!
Wood did not hesitate to pass the ball over.
Piqué saw the ball was passed to Mitchell, and then he pounced forward. He had already seen through this big man. He knew that the other side's stamina was now close to collapse. As long as he put in a little more force behind him, he would lose the ball.
Mitchell's stamina was indeed exhausted. There were only two things on his mind now — catch the ball, and don't lose the ball. As for where the opponent was, who the opponent was, and how they were going to deal with him, he did not think about it at all. The lack of oxygen in his brain made his thinking simpler, and all the unnecessary things were stripped away.
Piqué rushed up. He decided to speed up and go around Mitchell's side to make a sudden move to the front to defend. While he intercepted Mitchell's ball, he would take the opportunity to counterattack Nottingham Forest!
It was a good idea, but …
After Mitchell received the ball with his back to the ball, he used his heel to smooth the ball. At the same time, he jumped up to step on the ball, turned around, and pulled the ball again. With Piqué as the axis, he turned one hundred and eighty degrees and evaded Piqué's defense along with the ball! Piqué's move to the front made Mitchell's beautiful pass this time!
"Wow! Wonderful pass! "The commentator could not help but exclaim. "Marseille turn!"
It was indeed visually stunning for a 2.02 meters tall man to make an elegant move like a waltz …
At this moment, Mitchell had forgotten the boss's warning of "don't show off your footwork". When the football came, more than two years of hard training made his body automatically make the most suitable choice — not using his head or his body, but using his own footwork to deal with it.
After being bypassed by Mitchell, Piqué was a little dazed. He froze in place and even forgot to go back to defend — he did not expect the other party to take advantage of the situation to bypass him when he pounced on him, and he still did not know how the other party did it.
With the help of Busquets, Puyol had been paying attention to Agbonlahor and the others. He did not expect Piqué, who had played well throughout the game, to be bypassed so easily and was caught off guard.
Fortunately, Busquets was very focused. When Mitchell bypassed Piqué, he rushed up to defend.
Outside the penalty area, Mitchell suddenly made a sudden stop and swung his leg to shoot after pulling away from Busquets!
Busquets stretched out his leg to block, but he did not expect it to be Mitchell's feint!
He took advantage of the situation to dodge Busquets and break into the penalty area!
"He bypassed two players in one go! My God, what did we see? The 2.02-meter-tall man is wantonly showing off his footwork in front of Barcelona's rear defensive line! Is Ibrahimović's soul possessed? This world is crazy! "
Busquets, who was tackled by Mitchell, could hardly believe his eyes. He slipped to the ground and turned his head to look at Mitchell in surprise, but at this time he could only see his back.
At this moment, Mitchell was completely different from the Mitchell that Guardiola understood. He did not take advantage of his height and header at all. Instead, he used amazing footwork! Guardiola, who saw the scene off the field, sat in his chair and suddenly felt a failure — how many things did this kid still have that he did not know! Who the f * * k is this kid on the ground!
Mitchell himself seemed to have entered a mysterious state of oblivion. Perhaps he was too tired, but his physical instincts dominated his consciousness. Every time an opponent crossed in front of him, his legs would automatically move and lead him all the way forward. He did not know who the faces that appeared in front of him were. He only knew that he had to get past them!
"Son! Get past him! Get past him! "Mitchell's father saw the scene in the stands and roared excitedly.
Although Busquets's block did not succeed in intercepting the ball, he at least bought time for Puyol and the other defensive players.
Seeing Mitchell get past two players and enter the penalty area alone, Puyol and the other Barcelona defenders all surrounded him. Puyol and the rest of Barcelona's defenders surrounded him. They abandoned their original defensive target and charged aggressively with Mitchell as their target.
Mitchell did not raise his head. After entering the penalty area, he swung his leg to shoot again!
Puyol took a big step in front of him, intending to use his body to block the opponent's shot.
This was actually a feint. Mitchell spiked the football back with his left foot. Puyol was experienced and had long expected him to do so, so he did not move at all. He just blocked the position.
Unexpectedly, Mitchell's spike was not finished. He used his right foot to spike the football back to its original position. After two consecutive spikes, he finally swayed a gap and Mitchell continued to plug inside! Puyol, on the other hand, could not keep up because his center of gravity changed too quickly. His body froze in place.
"Three!" The commentator roared excitedly.
After breaking through Puyol's defense, there was only Valdés in front of Mitchell. He swung his leg again to look like he was going to shoot at the goal.
Whether he was serious this time or still a feint, Valdés had to make a defensive move. He fell to the ground and pounced in the direction that Mitchell might shoot. Alves made a flying tackle on Mitchell from behind. Even if it was a foul, he could not allow the kid to easily score after playing around with three Barcelona defenders like this!
Don't even think about completing such a beautiful goal in front of Barcelona!
Mitchell seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. Without looking back, he pulled the football to the right and jumped. He deceived Valdés and dodged Piqué's flying tackle.
Although he dodged Piqué, he also lost the chance to shoot at the first opportunity.
Alves wanted to come up and grab the ball. Mitchell tilted his body and pressed his 2.02-meter body on top of him. This time, he swung his leg again. It was the fourth time!
But this was not a feint …
"Mitchell! Mitchell! Mitchell! " From the moment he broke into the penalty area, the commentator kept shouting Mitchell's name, each shout louder than the last. Because if he did not shout a little louder, he would not be able to hear what he was shouting even though he was wearing a soundproof headset. The entire City Ground stadium was like an erupting volcano, with loud cheers constantly erupting, each wave louder than the last.
"Mitchell! Mitchell — GOOOOOAL!! A beautiful goal! What a brilliant goal! A great goal! A big man more than two meters tall played around with Barcelona's defenders with a pair of long legs! He overturned Barcelona's entire rear defensive line by himself! A miracle! Who would have thought that this big man would have such exquisite footwork! Hey, Mr. Tony Twain, did he really play as a center back for the past seven years? " The English commentator was almost crazy, while the Catalan commentator on the other side was completely silent.
"On such an uneven field, even Messi could not guarantee control of the ball, but this big man of 2.02-meters did it! He flattened Barcelona's penalty area like a giant! The football was as docile as a sheep under his feet, and he walked on it like it was flat ground! The City Ground stadium, which made Barcelona's technical players suffer, was like the lawn in his back garden. He used a pair of long legs to draw a beautiful picture on it! "
"Listen to the cheers in the City Ground stadium — —!"
※ ※ ※
"Aaron! Aaron! Aaron Mitchell!! If you still don't know the name of Nottingham Forest's number 9, you're already out of date! "
These were the cheers from the Nottingham Forest fans. It became the only sound in the City Ground stadium during this period.
Tony Twain held his head in his hands in the crowd and could hardly believe his eyes. He knew that Mitchell's footwork skills were better than his shooting ability and physical ability, but he did not expect it to be this good — to firmly control the ball under his feet on the uneven field that was extremely difficult to control, to pass four people and shake off the goalkeeper, and finally to send the ball into the empty goal.
Was this something an ordinary striker could do?
Was he just lucky? But good luck only favored those who were prepared …
Amidst the uniform cheers of the fans in the stadium, he seemed to see a new star of tomorrow slowly rising.
And his rival, Guardiola, slumped in his chair, did not even have the strength to curse, "Who the f * ck is this kid?"
If they really lost this game, he had to admit that he did not expect Tony Twain to be able to boldly use a newcomer in the game. He knew nothing about this newcomer, which was the main reason for the loss of this game.
He thought that this newcomer had an outstanding height, and generally, his jumping and heading would not be good. But Mitchell's header into the goal from outside the penalty area gave him a slap in the face. Next, he thought that this person had an outstanding height, excellent jumping, and excellent heading, so his footwork skills must be terrible. According to the general rules, such an analysis was flawless and impeccable.
He was wrong again …
※ ※ ※
Mitchell only woke up from a dream when the football entered the goal. He looked at the football quietly parked in the goal, and then looked back at the Barcelona players lying on the ground. He still could not believe his eyes.
Did I score?
How did I get in?
It seemed like … it seemed like I passed all of them?
Ah! It's over! The boss is going to scold me! He said I'm not allowed to show off my footwork … How could I forget!
Mitchell, who was a little frightened, was startled by the loud cheers coming from behind him. He looked back at the stands. Countless arms were waving, and everyone was shouting his name.
"Aaron! Aaron! Aaron Mitchell! Aaron Mitchell!! If you still don't know his name, you're out of date! "
He did not find the boss in the crowd, because there were only arms and excited faces. He did not know if the boss was also among the cheering crowd.
He looked away from the stands. When he looked at the field again, he saw his teammates were excitedly pouncing on him with open arms.
Then he was thrown to the ground, and his ears were filled with hoarse roars.
They were shouting, "Aaron, you bastard! You stole all of our thunder!! "
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PS: I didn't feel very good when I wrote this chapter, so I overwrote and rewrote it in order to make the character of Aaron more vivid. I don't know if the effect was achieved. But it seems that I'm basically satisfied.
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