Wood did not quite understand why the boss would ask about what happened eleven years ago at this time, but he was not in the mood to guess the reason behind it. His mind was only on the opponent when he got back into the game.
Real Madrid intended to take advantage of the situation to continue to attack, which was absolutely not allowed. Nottingham Forest had to regain the initiative on the field in some way. Although they kicked off in the second half, the football would always fall to the feet of the Real Madrid players.
At this time, George Wood stepped forward and used his excellent defensive ability to help the team regain possession of the ball.
By the time the game reached the 105th minute, the players on both sides were close to exhaustion. George Wood was only slightly better than them. But he was the captain, and he could not show fatigue.
"We've been through a highly intense season. Even George can't bear it from the final sprint until now …" Kerslake was worried about Wood's fitness for the first time.
"Don't worry, he can hold on." Twain comforted the assistant manager next to him.
※ ※ ※
Casillas kicked off with a big kick, and the football flew to the midfield. George Wood and Ribéry jumped at the same time to compete for the header. The football was headed away by Wood, and Ribéry missed.
No one in Real Madrid could beat George Wood in the control of the aerial ball.
But they got the second point. De la Red received the ball from Wood's header below. At this time, Gago should have gone up to defend, but Gago was exhausted. De la Red's change of direction caused Gago to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
Gago, who fell to the ground, clutched his calf and rolled in pain — he had a cramp.
The Real Madrid players did not intend to stop the attack. At this time, everyone was in a killing frenzy, and no one would kick the football out of the sidelines for the sake of the opponent falling to the ground. Anyway, the rules did not stipulate this, so they pretended not to see it.
De la Red continued to dribble the ball, and the Nottingham Forest fans in the stands kept booing. Adriano Moke, a thin and small player who rarely collided with his opponent, rushed up and pushed de la Red out of the sidelines with the ball.
His foul earned him a yellow card.
The Forest players were very dissatisfied. They surrounded the referee and pointed to Gago, who was still on the ground, and motioned for him to see what the Real Madrid players had done.
The referee just shook his head and did not impose any punishment on de la Red. There was no such rule.
While the other players surrounded the referee to ask for an explanation, George Wood ran up to help Gago press his leg.
Gago was lying on the ground. His expression wasn't happy, but it was a little gloomy.
"I can't, Captain. I can't hold on any longer … Both my legs hurt. "
Wood put down his left leg, lifted his right leg, and continued to press.
"Let's make a substitution, Captain," Gago said softly. There was some reluctance and unwillingness in his tone. "I'll only drag everyone down if I stay …"
Wood did not say anything and continued to press his legs.
At that moment, the team doctor, Fleming, came over to take a look at Gago's condition and decisively gestured for Tang En to make a substitution.
Twain still had a substitution quota in his hands. He had not been willing to use it previously, afraid that something unexpected would happen in the end. Now, it came in handy.
Tang En scanned the substitutes' bench. In the end, he did not pick Tiago, who was also a midfielder. Instead, he chose the striker, Ibišević.
"Goal!" Tang En clenched his fist and said to Ibišević, "Aaron alone isn't enough. You go up and continue to put pressure on Real Madrid's rear defensive line."
Ibišević nodded. Although he had long made a name for himself, this was his first time playing in a UEFA Champions League final.
"Nottingham Forest has made a substitution. Fernando Gago, who fell to the ground due to physical exhaustion and cramps, has been substituted. The person who replaces him is … Vedad Ibišević! Tang En has removed a defensive midfielder and replaced him with a striker … It looks like he intends to break through Real Madrid's goal in these last ten minutes! "The commentator's tone revealed an unconcealable surprise.
Similarly surprised was the Real Madrid manager, Míchel González. When he realized that the person standing on the sidelines was Ibišević, he turned his head to look at Tang En, as if he wanted to see through Tang En's thoughts.
Now, both sides had used up all their substitutions. The manager had done everything he could. The rest depended on the players' own efforts.
Míchel did not expect Tang En's final adjustment to bet on offense. Could it be that he still wanted to end the battle in 120 minutes? Originally, Míchel thought that Tang En would definitely bring on a player who was good at taking penalties at the last moment to compete with Real Madrid on penalties.
Ibišević was pushed onto the field by Tang En. He made a forward gesture to the players.
His meaning was obvious. He wanted everyone to attack.
※ ※ ※
Even a player like Moke dared to clash head-on with his opponent. Nottingham Forest relied on this ferocity to regain the initiative in the game. In the following period of time, everyone seemed to see the first half of overtime, except that the offensive and defensive sides had switched.
At one point, Nottingham Forest compressed all of Real Madrid's players to within the 30-meter zone. The combination of breakthroughs from the flanks and long shots from the middle made Casillas the busiest player on the field.
Every time Forest controlled the ball to attack, there would be loud boos from the stands. However, Forest's players were not affected by this kind of disturbance. They had heard boos many times, and such a scene did not scare them. They searched for gaps in Real Madrid's defense over and over again, and then made use of them.
Míchel had replaced too many defenders. Today, Real Madrid could only withdraw their formation and rely on their numerical advantage in local areas to defend against Forest's offense.
But how long could they hold on?
※ ※ ※
"George Wood's long shot — it brushed against the crossbar and went out!"
"Casillas kicked the ball forward with a big foot, but Huntelaar could not control the ball at all. The football once again fell to Nottingham Forest's feet. Moke broke through Ronaldo on the flank! Beautiful technique … Oh, it's a pity that the pass was a little wide … Wait, Fernández ran up and stopped the ball near the sideline! Pass again! "
Mitchell leaped high, higher than Garay, and then gave a powerful flick of his head!
"Casillas!!" The Spanish commentator roared excitedly. "A God-like save!"
Casillas was still able to block the header that was close at hand with one hand. The Real Madrid captain's performance was worthy of the title of the world's number one goalkeeper.
When Mitchell jumped in the air without interference, the Forest team's technical area and substitutes' bench rushed to the sidelines, ready to celebrate the goal. Unfortunately, Casillas's save extinguished the fire in their hearts. A group of people held their heads in their hands and shrank back to their seats.
"It's too direct!" Tang En complained below. Then he applauded the field again to express his praise and encouragement.
Nottingham Forest's corner kick did not go directly to the front of the goal, but played a tactical coordination. Bale kicked the short corner kick to Fernández, who came forward to receive him. Then Fernández dribbled the ball diagonally, got rid of a defender, and dribbled the ball horizontally along the line of the penalty area. Then, just when the Real Madrid players thought he was going to directly do a long shot, he suddenly passed a straight ball. The football rolled into the penalty area at a ninety-degree angle with his forward direction. Bale, who had just sent the corner kick, appeared there. After receiving the ball, he swept it directly inside.
This time, Ramos made a contribution. He rushed to block the football out of the end line before it flew into the range of the goal, and continued with the corner kick!
Nottingham Forest consecutively obtained corner kicks, and everyone's hearts were hanging in suspense.
Tang En took the time to look at his watch. There were still eight minutes before the end of overtime. Time passed so quickly. In the blink of an eye, half of the fifteen minutes had passed …
The Forest team did not continue with the tactical corner kick, but continued to change their corner kick tactics. This time, it was a long pass to the top of the arc.
George Wood was waiting for him there.
He used his chest to stop the football, just past the top of Ribéry's head. When Ribéry realized that Wood and the football had circled behind him, he had wanted to reach out to pull. But he suddenly remembered that he was still near the penalty area. It was too dangerous to foul in this position, so he could only give up.
Wood stopped the ball past Ribéry, but it was not conducive to a direct shot. Because the football was too high. He could only turn around with his back to the goal, control the football in the air, and then make a plan.
At this time, Ribéry's chance came. He turned around and hooked Wood's ball away!
"Real Madrid's chance!"
Before the commentator's voice died away, Ribéry's ball was snatched back by Wood again.
Although they regained possession of the ball, the Forest team also lost the chance to directly shoot. Wood could only pass the football to the sideline. Then they launched another attack.
Moke received Wood's pass and feinted to pass the ball. In fact, he suddenly hooked the football and scurried past Marcelo's side!
After he broke into the penalty area, he tangled with de la Red. Then they both fell to the ground.
The Nottingham Forest players thought de la Red had committed a foul and should be given a penalty. The Real Madrid players insisted that Moke had dived and should be given a yellow card. In this way, Moke's two yellow cards would turn into one red and he would be kicked out.
Tang En was a little angry off the field because the referee did not award the Forest team a penalty. However, this controversial main referee did not give Moke a yellow card. He let Casillas serve the goal kick — nothing counted.
Another two minutes passed.
As time went by, the intensity of the game on the field was declining. Everyone could not run anymore. Some of the balls would have been fought to the death for thirty minutes ago. But now they could only watch the other team take the ball, and they did not have the strength to do so.
The Forest team's stamina began to decline after a frenzied attack for a while, and the momentum of the attack was not as fierce as before. Real Madrid could finally take a breather and press out to seek opportunities. This was perhaps the only place where Tang En had miscalculated — he arranged for the team to attack in the second half of overtime, but he did not expect the impact of stamina to be so great. After all, they had one less player than Real Madrid. Real Madrid could besiege the Forest team throughout the first half of overtime, but the Forest team could not replicate this in the second half.
He stood on the sidelines, so nervous that he could only secretly clench and loosen his fists, then clench and loosen them again. The muscles of his body tightened again and again with this action.
His wife, Shania, who was in the box, was as nervous as he was. Since the start of overtime, her eyes had not left Tang En. She did not care about the game. Anyway, she was not very interested in football.
※ ※ ※
The players of both teams did not want to waste time here, but unfortunately they did not have the physical strength to drive a new wave of offense. Time passed in this leisurely rhythm for another three minutes. The whole game had been played for 118 minutes.
"The score is still 2: 2. Maybe the coaches of the two teams should consider kicking a penalty."
Michels was very obedient. He turned directly to the assistant manager for the list of players, ready to arrange the order, and then handed it to the fourth official.
Tang En stood on the sidelines and did not move. He was not reconciled to it.
Yes, he was not reconciled to entering the penalty shootout like this. He was not reconciled to his fate in the hands of illusory luck.
But what should be done had been done. The players were limited by their physical strength and could not play to their full strength. What else could he do if he did not accept it?
Without Gago in the midfield, Wood's burden was heavier. He not only needed to defend, but also had to organize the attack. Gago and Şahin were not there, so the defense and offense were all up to him. If it were not for his abnormal physical strength, he was afraid that when Gago just came off, he would have cramps and fell to the ground.
Wood passed a straight ball forward, but unfortunately, Fernández did not run. The football rolled out of the sidelines, giving the opponent an out-of-bounds ball.
The Chilean gestured apologetically to Wood, and at the same time, expressed that he was too tired to run, and did not mean to be passive in the game.
What could Wood say? Looking around, his teammates, and even his opponents, all had the same expression as Fernández — tired.
Bale took advantage of the time when the ball was dead to put his hands on his knees, lean over and gasp for breath. Sweat gathered at the tip of his chin and dripped on the turf.
Even Ribéry seized the time to rest — he stood in place and did not want to move a step. The scar-faced man did not have a murderous look at this time, and his expression was a little dull.
In fact, he was also tired, but he did not show it.
If he had stooped, as Bell had done, their adversaries would have been delighted to use him as a focal point of attack. If he also looked like Ribéry with blurred eyes and a dull expression, he could not give his teammates confidence, and the whole team might collapse at the last moment.
He gritted his teeth and persevered.
After Real Madrid's out-of-bounds ball was thrown out, it was Wood who rushed up to grab it. From his pace and movements, it was impossible to tell that he was also a person who had been running non-stop for nearly one hundred and twenty minutes.
At this time, the bottom of the live television screen also showed the distance that George Wood had run in the game so far — 20,000 meters!
This number shocked the commentator. He froze for a moment before he stuttered, "Maybe he really should practice a marathon … run, run, run, run non-stop. George Wood is still sprinting! "
Yes, sprint! Wood sprinted to the front to defend and intercepted Higuaín's ball. Higuaín froze in place, unprepared for Wood's defense this time. He raised his hands as if protesting something, or perhaps he was annoyed with his own performance …
Wood, who intercepted the ball, still selflessly passed the ball to his teammates. Unfortunately, his teammates were intercepted after receiving the ball — they were too weak to even protect the ball.
Tang En shook his head as he watched from the sidelines.
He took a deep breath, then raised his voice and roared, "Jorge!"
Wood heard his roar and turned his head.
"Bring it yourself!" Tang En waved his hand forward.
※ ※ ※
Bring it himself?
Wood looked at his teammates around him. They were clearly exhausted, perhaps just waiting for the whistle to blow for the 120 minutes. Akinfeev had the stamina, but could he rush out?
It looked like he really had to fight on his own …
Just as Forest was thinking about how to attack, Real Madrid gathered their strength and launched their first attack in the second half of overtime.
Ramos suddenly raised his leg to pass the ball diagonally just as he passed the midfield, sending the ball through the air into the penalty area.
Woodgate jumped to fight for the header, but he missed it!
"Missed it! Huntelaar's chance! "
Huntelaar, who was lying in wait behind him, stopped the ball with his chest as he turned around. It was a difficult move — stopping the ball and turning around in one go. When the ball stopped in the air, he could already raise his leg to shoot!
There was no one around him. He could complete the shot without any interference …
"Huntelaar! A hunter's fatal strike! "
The Spanish commentator could not wait for the ball to hit the target and shouted impatiently. He had even stood up from his seat and was looking down.
"What the hell …"
Tang En only had time to curse before the ball was shot out by Huntelaar.
He turned around and volleyed the ball. The kick was fast and ruthless. It looked like it was going in!
However, a figure blocked the path of the ball. It was too fast. He had no time to use his hands. He could only lower his center of gravity and use his chest to block the ball!
"Akinfeev! This is a brilliant save by Akinfeev! He preserved the hope for Nottingham Forest! At this moment, this Russian is also Nottingham Forest's' Saint Igor '! "
It was the English commentator's turn to go crazy. The moment Huntelaar kicked, their hearts all sank to the bottom. They thought the game was over. They did not expect Akinfeev to prove at the crucial moment that Russia's number one goalkeeper was not much weaker than Casillas. He could also turn the tide!
"What a bastard!" Michels could not help but curse. He thought his team would win for sure. He did not expect Nottingham Forest to be so tenacious …
"Ha!" Tang En grinned and laughed. "One who survives a great disaster is bound to have good fortune later on. Real Madrid, you're dead! Dead!! "In fact, his heart was beating wildly and had not slowed down yet. His forehead and vest were covered in sweat. His legs were even trembling slightly. He could collapse at any time because of his knees — if he did not shout loudly, it might really happen.
Damn, that scared me to death …
Tang En secretly rejoiced in his heart. He admitted that he had some lingering fear. If it were not for Akinfeev's decisive attack, the ball might have really gone in …
Kerslake was also quite frightened. He ran to the sidelines and said to Tang En, "Defend, Tony! There's only one minute left. Defend … "He even stuffed the list of penalty shooters in his hands into Tang En's hands.
Tang En turned around and glared at him. His expression stunned Kerslake — he was frightened again. Tang En gritted his teeth. His eyes widened and his expression ferocious. He said resolutely, "No! Continue to organize the offense! Even if it's only a minute, we have to fight for a goal! "
Tang En threw the list in his hands directly to the ground. He had the imposing manner of Chu Bawang cutting off all means of retreat.
※ ※ ※
Real Madrid's failure to score seemed to have affected their morale slightly. They did not take advantage of the situation to launch a second wave of offense. Instead, they chose to retreat — there was only one minute left before the end of the game. There was no need to take the risk of pressing out and giving Forest a chance to fight back. Míchel had studied Forest's game videos. He found that this tenacious team often scored at the last minute of the game. This could be counted as a characteristic of Forest. All he had to do was not give Forest a chance to display this characteristic.
Real Madrid retreated and Forest attacked.
After George Wood received the ball, he did not choose to pass the ball. Instead, he suddenly dribbled the ball himself.
When he faced Ribéry in the middle, he made a feint. He first made an action of passing the ball. Then, he wrapped the ball with his right foot and twisted his body. He dribbled the ball past Ribéry, who had pounced in the opposite direction.
Then, he did not continue to dribble the ball in the middle. Real Madrid's middle was now a key point that was heavily guarded. He took advantage of the moment when he brushed past Ribéry and directly dribbled the ball to the side.
"George Wood has started to dribble the ball! Is he going to break through from the side and then pass the ball? "
Seeing him dribbling the ball on the side, Ibišević and the already exhausted Mitchell braced themselves and pounced toward the front of the middle, intending to receive his pass.
Higuaín came up to intercept Wood, but he was a step too slow and was blocked by Wood behind him. He could no longer pose any threat to the strong Wood. He staggered a few steps behind and chose to give up. He was afraid that he would get a yellow card if he kicked Wood from behind. He already had a yellow card on him.
Wood felt Higuaín flinch behind him and gave up after two kicks. He was not going to take advantage of the situation and fall down. He did not have to hesitate to choose between letting the opponent send off a player or dribbling the ball to the front of the opponent's penalty area.
Wood felt the pressure behind him lighten and he continued to dribble the ball forward along the side.
This time it was the two men who pounced on him, De la Red and Ramos. They wanted to close Wood's door.
Wood decided to force a breakthrough and rush out with the ball while the other side had not closed the door.
But he was a little slow. He rushed over, but the ball was left behind by Ramos who fell to the ground.
"It's broken! What a pity! "The English commentator shouted, his disappointment evident in his words.
"Well done!" The Spanish commentator's heart, which had been hanging since just now, could finally be at ease. Wood's breakthrough just now was too imposing, and a sense of fear arose spontaneously.
"Damn it!" Tang En waved his fist angrily after seeing the scene below.
Wood looked back at Ramos who had fallen to the ground and de la Red, who had collided with Ramos because he could not stop in time and fell out of the sideline. Was it the end? Was he going to get ready for a penalty kick?
He suddenly saw Gareth Bale waving at him and shouting something. Unfortunately, the scene was too noisy and he could not hear clearly.
Ramos, who was lying on the ground, felt the danger. He did not have time to get up and directly swept the football out while lying on the ground.
Bale had already rushed over and stretched out his leg to block …
The football hit the bone of his calf and bounced back. It flew over Ramos' head and flew forward!
George Wood was there!
Garay habitually raised his hand and turned his head to look at the referee. But he found that the referee did not say anything. He suddenly turned pale with fright and turned to rush to Wood.
"Good ball! It's not offside! "
"Is this offside? The front is empty! The linesman did not raise the flag! "
Wood looked back at the football flying towards him. He turned sideways and raised his right leg to smooth the flying football inwards … The football changed direction and bounced into the penalty area. He accelerated again and caught up with the football. He continued to dribble the ball into Real Madrid's penalty area!
Ramos had already gotten up from the ground and pounced on George Wood in front of him like a tiger. This might be his last sprint.
It was also Wood's last sprint.
Ramos, Garay, Marcelo and Ribéry rushed at George Wood from different directions at the same time.
At the same time, Casillas chose to abandon the goal and attack. Mitchell and Ibišević had not run into the penalty area. Wood's speed was so fast that even his teammates could not keep up … If he did not attack at this time, he could only watch the opponent break into the penalty area and then have countless choices!
Shoot or pass? Left or right? Break through or shoot directly?
At that moment, a lot of ideas popped up in Casillas' mind, like a fork in the road. In front of him was a big net made up of several forks, crisscrossing so that he did not know which side to choose.
George Wood also noticed Casillas's attack. But he did not have so many messy thoughts in his mind. He did not have his teammates in his field of vision, only Casillas and the goal behind him. Then it was very simple …
Shoot!
Wood naturally swung his right leg while dribbling the ball. It looked like a normal swing of his leg while running, but then he quickly hit the football!
The football drew a very hidden arc and suddenly sprang out.
Casillas saw the football suddenly flying towards him, but it was too late to pounce. He could only reflexively reach out to block, hoping that his fingertips could rub against the football.
He did rub against the football. But the speed of the ball was too fast, and that little bit of strength was not enough to change the trajectory of the football's flight.
The football bypassed Casillas and continued to rush forward.
Marcelo saw Wood rush into the penalty area and changed his mind at the last minute. He did not pounce on Wood, but ran towards the empty goal left by Casillas.
He wanted to break out of the siege!
But this position was a little uncomfortable … Even if he could kick the football, there was a 90% chance that he would just kick the football into the goal. Marcelo had no choice, he had to do it …
The Brazilian defender slid out and the football was infinitely magnified in his eyes. Just a little more … Just a little more and he would be able to touch it! Faster, faster!!
Marcelo roared in his heart.
The football streaked past the tip of his foot …
Then it lightly crossed the white goal line.
At that moment, time seemed to stand still, or it could be said that time no longer existed in this world …
Everything came to a standstill from the moment the football crossed the goal line.
Everyone on the field maintained their previous last posture and was frozen at this moment.
It was as if ten thousand years had passed before a voice came from the distant fog, gradually getting stronger and clearer.
"GOOOOOAL —!!!"
There were more and more sounds like that, and finally all of them gushed out, as if it had erupted in an instant.
"The ball's in!!"
"It's incredible! George Wood's solo ride through the levels! "
"This is the real final shot! A goal in the 120th minute! Nottingham Forest 3: 2! "
"Who could have thought of such an ending? When we all thought it would be a penalty shootout, George Wood came forward! "
"I thought George Wood would only do a powerful long shot at most and that it would all depend on luck to get in. But I was wrong! This goal is too beautiful! "
"Real Madrid is stunned. They didn't think they would concede a goal at the last minute!"
"This goal has completely crushed the proud Real Madrid!"
Amidst these explosive sounds, the football hit the net, rolled it up, and then stopped.
Marcelo slid into the goal and was entangled by the net.
Casillas half-knelt on the ground with his hands outstretched, still in the position where he had just pounced on the ball. He looked back at everything that had happened inside the goal.
Ramos, who had run halfway, stumbled and fell to the ground.
Garay simply stopped in his tracks. Tears had already welled up in his eyes as he looked at the goal. He knew what this goal meant.
A real-life horror drama was staged in front of the Real Madrid supporters. Everyone was so frightened that they could not speak.
The entire Bernabéu suddenly fell silent.
A suffocating silence.
A deathly silence.
In such an environment, Tang En held his head high in front of 80,000 people, opened his arms, and enjoyed the impact of the joy of success on his heart.
Three! Crown! King!!
※ ※ ※
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