Chapter 213: The Invincible Fighter of the Colosseum
"Bang!"
All the fans watching the game in front of the screen heard a loud bang!
This is the sound collected by the microphones placed on the crossbar and behind the net!
This is why spectators can hear the impact of a powerful shot and the ball hitting the goal frame.
The ball flew high under the impact of the two forces and was firmly caught by Fuzato who jumped forward and left the goal line.
But Chen Xiaoliang and Milinkovic-Savic were both lying on the ground, both covering their heads and looking in great pain.
The referee immediately stopped the game upon seeing this.
“Ouch!”
"This is really serious!"
The camera played the slow motion shot several times, and He Wei exclaimed in amazement over and over again.
"The two men's heads hit the ball at almost the same time! And Chen Xiaoliang was gliding and jumping after running at high speed. The ball was very fast, and the additional reaction force was very large. Coupled with the sudden force of these two midfielders , I believe this feeling is like hitting the wall with your head!"
"The team doctors from both teams rushed into the field and checked the players' cervical vertebrae, skull fractures, and concussions. They checked their eye movements while they were talking."
"The most anxious people right now should be Roma coach Mourinho and Serbia national team coach Stojkovic!"
"For Sarri, Milinkovic-Savic is of course the most important midfielder in the team, but even if he is lost, Lazio, which has no desire and is neither high nor low this season, can still transfer him to complete the league task."
"As the core midfielder of the national team, if Serbia loses Milinkovic, it will be an unbearable loss, just like Croatia losing Modric and Belgium losing De Bruyne!"
"For Roma, who want to keep their place in the Champions League and seem to be able to challenge for the league title, if Chen Xiaoliang is injured at this stage, it will not only cast a shadow on the league competition, but will also seriously reduce Roma's chances of advancing in the Europa League and the Italian Cup!"
"Chen Xiaoliang's contribution to this Roma team needs no words to describe!"
On the field, teammates from both teams gathered around. Since it was a reasonable fight for the ball, there was no quarrel or argument. Everyone just watched quietly and prayed silently that their teammates were safe.
The camera swept across the stands, and many female fans of both teams covered their mouths with their hands, looking back and forth on the grass inside the stadium and on the big screen beside the stadium, trying to confirm as soon as possible whether their team's star players were injured.
After a while, Milinkovic slowly stood up after being confirmed by the Lazio team doctor, and the Blue Eagles fans immediately applauded.
Milinkovic-Savic looked at Chen Xiaoliang who was sitting on the ground. Roma's team doctor was repeatedly confirming his skull and pupils. When it was clear that there was no trauma or concussion, he explained the situation to the referee and said that he could continue the game.
Milinkovic, who was standing by, heard what the Roma team doctor said and reached out to Chen Xiaoliang who was sitting on the ground.
He was most aware of the impact of the collision. Although the team doctor confirmed that there was no problem, his head was still a little dizzy.
At this moment, he was both respectful and afraid of the red countryman in front of him: this was the first time he had seen such a reckless young man! Most people would definitely choose to dodge or move away to reduce the impact of the ball!
Chen Xiaoliang did not reject his opponent's kindness. He also stretched out his hand and shook hands with Milinkovic-Savic, and was pulled up by him.
The two men patted each other to show their greetings, then jogged back to their respective positions.
At this point, all the fans in the stadium burst into applause!
"It looks like nothing serious, just a false alarm."
"The physical fitness of both midfielders is first-class in Serie A, but strictly speaking, the 27-year-old Milinkovic-Savic is slightly better in terms of physical strength."
"The friendly greeting just now caused a round of applause in the stadium, and also made this derby less tense and more humane."
"Although we can't call them brothers, this scene can definitely be called meeting and forgetting all grudges with a smile."
"But the game goes on!"
The referee signaled the game to continue and let Fuzato take the goal kick.
The Roma goalkeeper made a short pass to Mancini and Roma continued to organize the attack.
But no one expected that Chen Xiaoliang's selfless defense just now quietly affected the progress of the game that was already heading towards a smooth ending.
In the 78th minute, Lazio broke through on the right and passed the ball to the middle. Milinkovic-Savic created an opening and received the ball, preparing to dribble forward, but was pulled down by Cristante who was defending. The referee gave Cristante a yellow card and Lazio got a free kick opportunity.
Due to the long distance, the human wall consisted of only Chen Xiaoliang and Christante.
It just so happened that Cataldi's direct shot hit the head of Chen Xiaoliang who jumped high. After being refracted, the ball became higher but not farther, and fell into the penalty area, where Fozato jumped up again and picked it up.
Just now it was Milinkovic who was shocked, and now there is another one: Cataldi: He was hit hard just now, but now he is desperately blocking the ball with his head, is this kid so fierce? !
In the 83rd minute, Roma launched a counterattack. Zalewski, who had just come on the right side, received the ball and dribbled towards the middle. Abraham in front rushed to the right side of the penalty area, trying to run out of the open space to receive the ball and shoot at a small angle.
Zalewski passed the ball straight to Abraham, but it went too far and was intercepted by Lazari.
Lazari immediately passed the ball to Lucas Leiva in front of the penalty area. Lucas Leiva looked up and saw that Milinkovic-Savic had already started in front of him, so he passed the ball straight to him.
Milinkovic looked back at the path of the ball and prepared to run forward to catch the ball, but when he turned around, Chen Xiaoliang rushed towards him again!
The same 50-vs-50 ball, the same two players, but this time, the ball is no longer flying in the air, but rolling on the grass!
Milinkovic-Savic slid and tackled! He saw Luca Romero running forward on the right, and he only needed to shovel the ball with his left foot to hook the ball to his Argentine teammate!
Chen Xiaoliang also fell to the ground and slid! His purpose was simpler, which was to destroy the ball! Malaysia had not yet returned to defense after making a run, and there was no one on the team defending Luca Romero. If Milinkovic hooked the ball, it would create an opportunity for a quick counterattack!
In that instant, everyone seemed to guess what would happen next!
In the coaching booth, Mourinho and Sarri's buttocks left their seats unconsciously;
On the field, the players of both teams cast their eyes on the two men. No matter if they were standing, walking slowly or running fast, it seemed as if their bodies did not belong to them anymore. They could not feel their own existence at all. All their attention was focused on the two men.
In the stands, all the fans held their breath. In order to grab the ball, the two men slid while running at full speed and stretched their legs to show their studs while sliding. If they collided, the consequences would obviously be different from the header competition just now!
Those are shiny spikes! Although the spikes used by professional players now are plastic, and most of them are round, under such high-speed impact and the player's own strength, even if there is no skin or flesh injury, it is easy to cause muscle tearing or even fracture!
2 meters...
1 meter...
0.5 meters!
0.3 meters!!
0.1 meter!!!
Just as their feet were about to collide, Milinkovic-Savic stretched out his left leg, bent , and stepped on the grass with his trailing right foot to slow down!
Chen Xiaoliang's posture did not change at all! Until his right foot shoveled the ball away, he kicked with his left foot, supported the ground with his left hand, avoided Milinkovic, rolled sideways on the grass, and immediately got up and rushed towards the ball!
"oh!!!!!!!!!"
Roma's substitute players and all the Roma fans in the stadium cheered deafeningly in unison!
Although Mourinho was excited, like Sarri, he finally let go of the anxiety that had been hanging in his throat.
Milinkovic-Savic also survived the disaster.
He knew that he had lost to his own concerns and chose to obey his inner desires.
He still has the World Cup, he has to play, he has to stay healthy until he sets foot on Qatar soil in November and plays for his country with his teammates.
Although Chen Xiaoliang had made a perfect and impeccable evasive move just now, and although he would not necessarily be injured even if they had collided, and even if he was injured, it might not be him, but Milinkovic still did not dare to take the risk.
After a brief distraction, he quickly got up, turned around and looked back in the direction of his own penalty area.
Chen Xiaoliang rushed towards the ball that he had tackled away, and Lucas Leiva, who had just passed the ball to Milinkovic-Savic, immediately ran over and wanted to steal the ball.
But the aging Lucas Leiva's ability to burst out suddenly had seriously deteriorated, and he was a beat slow to react. When he found that he obviously had no time to catch up with the ball, he had to reach out to pull Chen Xiaoliang.
However, even if they pulled him, the distance was still not enough, and in the end they only pulled the back of Chen Xiaoliang's jersey.
Chen Xiaoliang staggered and broke free from Lucas Reva's pull, and instead dragged Lucas Reva, who was anxious to pull people away, to the ground!
The referee stretched out his hands forward to indicate that the attacking team had a favorable ball!
There was no defensive midfielder protecting the front of the penalty area, and Chen Xiaoliang, who was dribbling forward with the ball, had already entered the "shooting range". Luis Felipe had to give up double-teaming Abraham with Acerbi, and rushed to the top of the penalty area, trying his best to block Chen Xiaoliang!
But the scenes just now have been deeply imprinted in the minds of Lazio players.
They have formed an indisputable opinion - the Red Countryman in front of them is a completely desperate guy. He is not afraid of any physical confrontation, and even if the price is getting injured, he will not be defeated.
This idea made Lazio players naturally choose to avoid direct confrontation with Chen Xiaoliang as much as possible.
If fear of death is human nature, then fear of injury is the instinct of professional players.
And perhaps the only tough guy who was not afraid of a head-on confrontation with Chen Xiaoliang, Lucas Leiva, was so old that he couldn't even catch a glimpse of the Red Countryman's back.
Just as Luis Felipe ran in front of Chen Xiaoliang, lowered his center of gravity, and stepped back sideways, ready to stretch his legs to block his long shot at any time, Chen Xiaoliang pushed the arch of his right foot to the left, and the ball was passed into the penalty area from the right side of Luis Felipe.
It was Pellegrini who came in from behind!
Lazio right-back Marusic kept sticking to him and didn't give him any chance to shoot comfortably!
Pellegrini went inside and tried his best to hold him back. Seeing that he might be squeezed out of the space for shooting, Luis Felipe who blocked Chen Xiaoliang had to turn around and run towards Pellegrini to make up for the defense!
This is the time!
Pellegrini stopped the ball with his right foot, then gently pushed the ball to the outside with the outside of his right foot, and then swept the ball with the instep of his right foot and rubbed it!
Marusic, feeling cold in his heart, didn't care that they were already in their own penalty area. He reached out to pull Pellegrini. He scored a goal with a one-on-one shot and also a goal from a penalty kick. He wanted to bet that the referee would not call a foul!
Although he didn't use much force, Pellegrini, who was standing on one leg and dribbling the ball with one leg, still lost his balance and fell to the ground after the ball flew out.
However, Marusic was surprised to find that the ball was not flying towards the goal!
Even goalkeeper Strakosha who was already moving towards the near post was deceived!
Luis Felipe, who came over to make up for the defense, looked back at the ball, only to see Chen Xiaoliang flying high behind the ball, just blocking the light from the top of the court that was shining towards his eyes.
At that moment, in his eyes, Chen Xiaoliang was surrounded by light, flying in the air like an angel, and he was like a tiny mortal, paying homage to the god who had descended to earth.
Chen Xiaoliang jumped high, tightened his abdomen, and hit the ball hard with his forehead.
The flow of time seemed to freeze, and everything became very slow in the eyes of Lazio players.
They stopped their movements, their limbs like frozen statues, only their necks and eyeballs could move.
They had no time to react to this commanding header. The only thing they could do was watch the ball draw a parabola in the air, fly into the goal, and land on the net with a flutter.
Chen Xiaoliang landed and ran towards the corner flag area with his arms open, accepting the worship and praise from the boiling red and yellow area of half the stadium, as well as the salutes and congratulations from his teammates who flocked to him.
"In the 84th minute, Roma scored a goal, the scorer was No. 33..."
The stadium announcer then shouted out those three voices along with all the Roma fans in the stadium:
"List!"
"Small!!"
"Bright!!!"
4-0, the game is over.
Mourinho turned to look at the Roma fans behind the coaching bench and celebrated with them.
Sarri also stood up and silently crossed his hands in front of his chest. He was a little helpless and a little excited.
He Wei: "If the free kick before the end of the first half, the communication and feint between Chen Xiaoliang and Pellegrini, represented acting skills and trickery , then this goal at this moment symbolizes their toughness and bravery."
"The score of 3-0 was actually enough to drag the game to the end, but Chen Xiaoliang showed everyone the professionalism and sportsmanship that a player should have when standing on the court."
"His header may be just a wonderful goal that adds icing on the cake for this game, but I believe that his performance in these 10 minutes will play a crucial role in Roma's final sprint."
"He is proving to the world that he is the invincible fighter of the Colosseum and the true king of the Olympic Stadium!"
As He Wei finished his words and the celebration on the field ended, Mourinho replaced Chen Xiaoliang with Spinazzola at the right time.
He hopes to use this substitution method to allow his beloved disciple to receive applause from the fans.
