Chapter 280 The King Returns (Part 2)
Chen Xiaoliang stood at the penalty spot, feeling indescribable...
Dybala, who quickly became the first penalty taker after joining the team, first expressed his unwillingness to take the penalty and was determined to create a penalty. Tonight, Chen Xiaoliang, who returned home in glory, took the penalty himself.
Dybala was not being modest on purpose, he just couldn't believe that Chen Xiaoliang, who was so impressive on the court, was actually very bad at taking penalties...
Seeing the Argentine's statement, Abraham, who really wanted to take the penalty kick, ran away tactfully.
Chen Xiaoliang turned around and called Enzo, wanting him to score his first goal in the Champions League, but Enzo refused to come up at all. He was in a hurry and just waved his hand to refuse.
This is very embarrassing...
The teammates all wanted to help the captain, but the captain was unsure...
The training in the first four days, plus the travel, the field inspection, and the press conference, was not complete, and only accumulated 10 training points. In addition, because of this season's season BUFF [Reward: equal training points can be obtained when skill points are obtained in the new season], the 28 training points against Liverpool were converted, a total of 87 points, all of which were added to the burst attribute.
Burst 15→16
Training value 87 → 7
This was also his planned points-adding plan. Although the burst could not affect the limit values of strength and speed, it determined how much time it took to exert the greatest strength and reach the fastest speed.
This will be very helpful when defending, passing, sprinting and violent shooting.
In the friendly match with Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappe relied on his incredible sudden acceleration, making it impossible for Chen Xiaoliang, who was already at full speed, to catch up with him.
Facing the penalty kick at this moment, there is no training value at all to increase his penalty kick attribute of only 10.
In the card pack, there are no penalty-related cards for Messi, Pirlo free kick, Ronaldo header and Suarez bite...
If you stick your head out, you'll get hurt. If you hide your head, you'll also get hurt. So you'll just have to grit your teeth and fight on.
Fortunately, McGregor is someone he is very familiar with. Although the 41-year-old goalkeeper is steady and experienced, it is also a fact that his reaction and explosiveness have seriously declined.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to Chen Xiaoliang's mind. While the players from both teams were standing outside the penalty area, he immediately called Kwa and said something to him.
Kwa was stunned: "Boss, is this okay? If this gets blown up, we'll be the number one joke in tomorrow's newspaper."
Chen Xiaoliang patted him on the back and said, "Don't worry, I told you, it's safe."
Kwa nodded, but his expression was still one of disbelief.
“Beep!”
The referee blew the whistle, Chen Xiaoliang put his hands on his hips, took a deep breath, and started his sprint!
McGregor sensed a different atmosphere. This living fossil of the Scottish Premier League had saved countless shots from Chen Xiaoliang during team training. At that time, Chen Xiaoliang was only good at stealing the ball and had very poor shooting skills. However, the red countryman in front of him was no longer the same old man.
Where will he shoot? Left? Right? Or straight through the middle? Or even a penalty kick?
Just as McGregor was guessing, Chen Xiaoliang had already arrived at the side of the motionless ball and swung his right leg back violently!
The entire Ibrox Stadium was silent!
Everyone knew that Chen Xiaoliang was about to ejaculate!
He just touched the ball with the arch of his right foot, but to the surprise of more than 50,000 people, the ball rolled softly to the front right and was not heading towards the goal at all!
Fuck!
At this point, although most of the players and fans were in a confused state, even veterans like Davis, Matic and Patricio were confused, but the experienced McGregor already knew what Chen Xiaoliang was going to do!
He immediately exerted force and tried to rush out from the goal line to catch the ball, but a red light had already rushed behind the ball, obviously he was prepared!
Kvaratskhelia! Facing McGregor who was lying on the ground, he raised his foot and shot!
The Rangers' old goalkeeper was unable to get up and save the ball, which went straight into the net!
Although there were exclamations from the stands, the sound was not loud and was mixed with a lot of suspicion. Together with the players on the field, the eyes of tens of thousands of people were all focused on the referee!
A penalty kick can also be passed?! I have never seen this before!
Countless shouts of "What Fuck?" echoed in the stands.
The referee was probably a little surprised. He coughed, took two breaths, then blew the whistle and pointed to the center circle!
The ball goes in! The tie is finally broken!
The Roma players all rushed over to celebrate, and Kva couldn't stop smiling!
I didn’t expect that by following the boss, I could score such a creative goal!
But Chen Xiaoliang only responded to his teammates with a high-five and did not make any celebratory gestures in front of his old club.
Although the Rangers players admitted defeat, a few of them still surrounded the referee and asked questions, but the referee's answer was also very clear.
In the rules, a penalty kick is a free kick taken at the penalty spot. In addition to the familiar rules that other players of both teams cannot enter the penalty area in advance, and the new rules adjusted in 2020 clearly state that the goalkeeper cannot leave the goal line with both feet in advance, there are two more uncommon restrictions:
1. The penalty shooter must kick the ball forward, not backward;
2. After the free throw, the free throw shooter must not touch the ball again if the ball has not passed through the body of another player, otherwise it will be considered a violation.
There is no rule that a free throw shooter must shoot directly at goal.
The most famous case in football history was on December 5, 1982, when Cruyff passed the penalty kick to his teammate Olsen in the match between Ajax and Helmondspor 5-0. Olsen passed the ball back to Cruyff after the opponent's goalkeeper rushed forward, and the future godfather of Barcelona pushed the ball into the empty goal.
In the 2015-16 season, Messi paid tribute to the legend in La Liga. Before the penalty kick, he discussed with Neymar to cooperate on a penalty kick. Unexpectedly, Suarez overheard it. As a result, after Messi touched the ball, Suarez rushed up and shot the ball into the goal. Everyone immediately gathered together to celebrate, leaving Neymar confused and not knowing why this happened...
"Fuck, how come this kid has so many tricks!"
Mourinho on the sidelines was laughing and clapping in celebration while cursing.
The wanderers, who had defended for most of the game but finally failed, knew that the game was over. Even if they were still fighting hard, they were doomed to be powerless.
Chen Xiaoliang and Kva, who contributed an assist and a goal through a penalty kick, continued to attack the two flanks of Rangers in the remaining time, making Tavernier and Barisic, who were originally counterattacking vigorously, embarrassed.
This was the plan that Chen Xiaoliang discussed privately with Forti before the game.
He is very clear about the physical fitness level of the Rangers players. Facing Roma's high-pressure siege, the opposing players who have to engage in passive defense all the time will greatly consume their physical strength.
This is a bit like a Go game. After a battle of several hours, two national players with the ninth dan level can easily become physically exhausted.
Lee Chang-ho, a top player of his time, collapsed after losing two games in a row to Japanese 9th dan Noriki Yoda and Chinese 9th dan Chang Hao in February and March 2006. When he resumed the game, he was sweating profusely, his face was pale, and he was unable to stand.
This consumption of physical energy due to mental power is also the objective reason why the competitive level of Go masters will seriously decline once they are over 25-30 years old.
Although physical strength is not a very important ability for a goalkeeper, it not only affects the ability to run, but also affects brain power, or to put it more bluntly, concentration.
The 41-year-old McGregor is constantly under siege and has to keep his concentration high while following the ball. This will also seriously consume his attention.
In the final period of the game, he was destined to no longer be able to maintain a high level of concentration.
The players on the defensive line who were not substituted also faced the same problem.
In the 76th minute, Kvane cut in and dribbled past Tavernier, then broke through Ben Davies in the penalty area and assisted Abraham with a triangle pass, changing the score to 0-2.
In the 85th minute, Chen Xiaoliang once again dribbled past Barisic and swept the ball across the goal line, helping Abraham to score another goal.
The final score was 0-3, and Roma won a complete victory.
After the game, Chen Xiaoliang walked around to thank the fans who supported him. He also took the initiative to go to the Rangers' locker room, greeted his old friends one by one and took photos with them.
Tavernier gave Chen Xiaoliang a jersey signed with the names of all the players on the team. In exchange, they stripped Chen Xiaoliang's jersey, shorts and shoes and divided them among themselves, and threatened that they would take revenge in the next Champions League group match in Rome.
In another match in the same group in this round of the Champions League, Liverpool defeated Salzburg Red Bull 2-1 at home.
Currently, Roma is ranked first with 6 points after two consecutive wins, Liverpool is ranked second with 3 points after the win, and Salzburg Red Bull and Rangers have the same point of 1, and are ranked third due to goal difference.
Among the three Serie A teams, Inter Milan and AC Milan won respectively, while Juventus lost 1-2 to Benfica at home and continued to be at the bottom of Group H with 0 points.
Among the strong teams, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern won, Chelsea drew, Tottenham lost to Sporting CP, and Barcelona lost 2-0 to Bayern away from home.
Compared with the confidence before the game, Roma rushed back home without stopping the day after the game.
They only have two days of rest left before they face Atalanta, which has performed well this season and is ranked third in the standings, only two points behind Roma.
In this Champions League, Kva won the first Champions League man of the match award in his career with one goal, one assist and six dribbles, while Chen Xiaoliang obtained a total of 11 basic skill points with two assists (4 points). With the 1.5 times bonus from the Rangers' reputation, he finally got 16 skill points, plus 16 training points converted from season rewards.
Skill value 6 → 22
Training value 7→23
However, just when the team was making great progress on both fronts, Zaniolo, who was about to recover from injury, posted an announcement on social media without communicating in advance with any of Pinto, Mourinho and Chen Xiaoliang, the three representatives of the management, coaching staff and locker room. He also asked his agent to inform the club that he wanted to leave Roma as soon as possible.
Chen Xiaoliang did not learn the news immediately. He only learned it from Forti when he arrived at the club to prepare for training the next morning. Zaniolo refused to go to the club for physiotherapy and rehabilitation because his injury had not yet fully healed.
Mourinho hoped that Chen Xiaoliang could have a talk with Zaniolo as the captain, but Chen Xiaoliang found that his social media and text messages had been blocked by Zaniolo.
He found Pellegrini to inquire about the situation. Pellegrini told Chen Xiaoliang calmly but helplessly that the boy wanted to join the top three teams in the north and had a stubborn personality. He might have been instigated by his friends or agent to make up his mind to break with the club.
He also couldn't contact Zaniolo. He didn't answer his calls or reply to his WeChat messages. He only received one reply: "If you have any questions, ask Pinto to contact my agent" and nothing else.
This game is against Atalanta and the next one is against Inter Milan, both are crucial games. Fortunately, there is a 10-day international match day cycle in between. Chen Xiaoliang suggested in the team management meeting that Mourinho should deal with this matter calmly first to avoid affecting the team's morale, and then use the break after this round of the league to talk to Zaniolo.
Mourinho accepted the advice and also adopted a soft tone in his press conference.
However, they can control things within the team, but not outside the team.
A large number of news media rely on hearsay to catch the attention of the public, sell newspapers and earn traffic. In addition, Mourinho himself is a major attraction in European football, and Chen Xiaoliang is a rising superstar. Any slight movement in Roma will immediately become a hot topic in the media.
For a while, there were rumors that Dybala squeezed Zaniolo's playing space, causing a split between the South American and local factions in the team; that Mourinho forced Zaniolo away, causing him to be unable to bear it and speak out publicly; and that Zaniolo was isolated in the Roma locker room and that an invisible bully was bullying other players.
Moreover, while the nonsense was being fabricated, it was obvious that some of the statements were based on actual facts, such as the factions in the locker room. For example, after this incident, the players were unwilling to contact Zaniolo to avoid unnecessary involvement.
This made Mourinho and Chen Xiaoliang realize that the person who released this information to the media and instigated them to deal with the club was most likely Zaniolo himself.
Pinto also issued an ultimatum to his agent. According to club regulations and the constraints in the player's contract, Zaniolo must appear at the Trigoria base on the morning of September 20 for a meeting with management and give a detailed explanation of the current situation. Otherwise, the player will be suspended from salary, fined or even charged for breach of contract.
However, all of these were ignored by Mourinho when he attended the press conference.
Despite the public criticism, Zaniolo, who suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in both legs and was patiently supported by the club for nearly two seasons, has become an ungrateful person in the Roma fan circle. However, as early as before the season, Mourinho had designated Dybala and Zaniolo, two left-footed players, as important players in the right winger position.
To create such a conflict at this time would be tantamount to seriously injuring another player and would only damage the team's strength.
In such a difficult and unexpected mood, Roma welcomed Atalanta.
If they want to maintain their first place in the league, they must remain undefeated in this game, and the goal Mourinho has set for the team is to get all three points.
But no one expected that Roma, who was as powerful as a hurricane on the field, would play the most surprising game of the season so far.
