This weekend, in the 31st round of the Portuguese Super League, Sporting Lisbon will face Beiramar at home.
The Alvalade Stadium was packed with people.
This was another crucial battle for the league title, attracting 50,000 Sporting Lisbon fans to watch the game.
Facing a powerful team named Sporting Lisbon, which was aiming for the championship and was playing at home, Beiramar coach Antonio Sousa actually deployed four central defenders on the back line, and his conservative intentions were obvious.
Sporting Lisbon did not show any mercy to its opponent and launched a fierce attack from the beginning of the game.
In the 29th minute, Jardel scored the first goal for the team again, breaking the goal of Bellamar.
This goal greatly ignited the passion of the Alvalade Stadium.
But then, the goddess of luck seemed to no longer favor Sporting Lisbon.
Rodrigo Tello, who returned to the starting lineup, was fouled by an opponent while handling the ball shortly after Jardel scored and was injured and left the field. Quaresma replaced Tello and formed a double wing with Joao Pinto.
The game was completely deadlocked.
Sporting Lisbon had no effective way to deal with Beiramar's tight defense.
At halftime, Beiramar coach Antonio Sousa made the first substitution.
Farry Faye, who had just returned from injury, replaced former Sporting Lisbon midfielder Luis Manuel.
After Farry Faye came on the pitch, Bellamar formed a double striker and showed their determination to fight back to the end.
Four minutes later, Antonio Sousa made another substitution, replacing Brazilian midfielder Marcelinho with right back Ribeiro.
If the first substitution was still puzzling, then the second substitution was the real reason.
So, Bologna made a second substitution in the 54th minute, replacing Ugo Viana with Cristiano Ronaldo, trying to use Ronaldo to attack and suppress Belamar's right side and limit the opponent's counterattack on the right side.
But in the 70th minute, Bellamar launched a quick counterattack on the right.
Ribeiro, who came on as a substitute, dribbled the ball to the 30-meter area of ​​Sporting Lisbon and made a wonderful diagonal pass into the penalty area. Farry Faye's speed exploded at this moment and he seized a favorable position.
With no other options, Queiroga chose to commit a foul and was sentenced to death by the referee.
Yellow card plus penalty!
Farry Faye calmly took the penalty and scored in one go, equalizing the score for Bellamar.
One to one!
The situation has changed dramatically.
No one expected that this was originally a game that Sporting Lisbon was sure to win, but in the end Antonio Sousa suddenly showed his prowess and boldly replaced two players within four minutes in the midfield, completely breaking the deadlock.
…
…
Boloni stood in front of the coaching seat, watching the game on the field intently.
Beiramar is different from Setubal. It is a typical Portuguese Super League team with a more open style of play.
Judging from Antonio Sousa's series of substitutions, he completely gave up the competition in the midfield and directly tightened the defense line, while focusing on counterattacks and bringing out the strength and characteristics of the forwards headed by Farry Faye.
A characteristic of Bellamar's playing style is that the back line presses hard, but also retreats very resolutely when returning to defense.
As long as the ball reaches the frontcourt, the back line will press forward and provide sufficient support to the midfield and frontcourt, but once the ball is lost, they will immediately retreat, very resolutely.
Sporting Lisbon's problems were also exposed, mainly in the advancement of the ball.
Quaresma and Ronaldo were too sticky to the ball, and the midfield was not moving fast enough, which resulted in many times when Sporting Lisbon started counterattacking after intercepting the ball, but when the ball reached the frontcourt, they found that Belamar had already returned to defense.
Even if they could create a threat, the opponent's four central defenders would return to their positions and basically block all offensive lines.
At this moment, Boloni really felt a kind of both happy and painful distress.
When Quaresma and Ronaldo were juggling their cool and fancy skills on the court, which were of little help to the game, Boloni probably had the urge to rush up and beat them up.
Could you two stop being so showy?
You'd be unhappy if I didn't pass all eleven of the opponent's players, right?
But the problem is that the fans at the scene just love to see their fancy juggling skills and applaud loudly.
The game was slow to get going and there was not much time left for Sporting Lisbon.
Boloni’s sense of crisis is growing.
Just the day before, Boavista won 4-1 against Setubal at home. If they fail to beat Beiramar tonight, Sporting Lisbon will lose its position as the league leader, which is absolutely a devastating thing for Sporting Lisbon, which has been leading the league for nearly a season.
More importantly , Boloni's position will be shaken as a result.
Compatriot Nicolaj, who was brought in at a high price, has not performed well and is plagued by serious injuries. If he fails to win the championship again, why should Bologna stay?
Thinking of this, a determined look appeared on Boloni's face. He turned around and shouted at the bench.
"Su, get ready to play!"
…
…
"The game has reached the 74th minute."
"Sporting Lisbon made the final substitution. Bologna replaced number eight player Barbosa with number 36 Sudon."
"This is a signal to step up the attack."
"Sporting Lisbon now has three young players under the age of 20 on the pitch, all of whom have performed well this season."
"Especially No. 36 Su Dong, who is only 17 years old. In the last away game against Setubal, he came on as a substitute and played for 40 minutes, making one assist and one goal, turning the game around."
"Bologna also has high hopes for Su Dong and bets the last and most precious substitution opportunity on him."
“I wonder if he can continue his outstanding performance from the last round?”
…
Unlike the last round against Setubal, this time after Sudong came on the court, Sporting Lisbon changed to a 4-4-2 formation.
But among the two forwards, there is still a clear division of labor and cooperation between Su Dong and Jardel.
Su Dong's position is further back and his range of movement is larger. His main task is still to act as a fulcrum, connecting the midfield and the front line, and supporting the advancement of the two flanks.
On a tactical level, Sporting Lisbon also retreated further.
On the one hand, it is to ensure the stability of their own defense line and guard against counterattacks from players such as Farry Faye. On the other hand, it is also to hope to make Bellamar press forward.
Antonio Sousa also immediately adjusted his tactics, as Boloni's substitutions did not have an immediate effect.
Su Dong tried it several times on the court, but the results were not obvious.
But he still remained patient, constantly moving, constantly responding, and constantly looking for opportunities.
"This kind of game is all about attrition."
"Although the situation was not good, the opponent's defenders had already been exhausted by Jardel, Ronnie and Quaresma, and their physical energy was greatly depleted."
"There are still more than ten minutes left. After we get on the court, we must patiently look for opportunities and try to make a run."
This was the key point that Boloni told Su Dong before he went on the court.
The greater the consumption, the easier it is for technical movements to go awry, and the more likely mistakes will occur.
Su Dong implemented the head coach's intentions very well.
He ran very actively, and the Bellamar players did not dare to give him the chance to get the ball, so the defenders were forced to follow Su Dong, which was even more fatal for the opponent who was already consuming huge energy.
Pontes once gave Su Dong a crude but vivid metaphor on this issue.
"It's like a person who is in a hurry to go to the bathroom. When do you think it is the most unbearable?"
"The answer is, the closer you are to the bathroom, the greater the chance that you will not be able to hold it back."
“It’s human psychology.”
"By the same token, the more difficult the game, the more likely it is to make mistakes at the last minute. This is human nature."
"So, the closer it gets to the final minute, the more important the players' willpower and substitutes become."
…
In the 80th minute, Bellamar also made a substitution.
This time they replaced a forward, obviously still wanting to launch an attack.
The Sporting Lisbon fans at the scene also felt the stalemate of the game situation.
Time passed by little by little, and all three substitutions were used up, but the situation on the field still did not improve. This made the fans start to worry, might the game be tied?
Then, some fans started cheering for the players.
Boloni also stood on the sidelines, constantly encouraging the players, while calming their emotions and asking them to remain patient.
The players also showed signs of anxiety and mistakes began to increase, which was not a good sign.
After eighty-five minutes, the 50,000 fans at the scene no longer cared about Quaresma and Ronaldo's possession of the ball, because they were all worried about the team's offense and the outcome of the game.
It won’t really be a draw, right?
The players also started to get anxious.
In just three minutes, Diogo and Paulo Bento of Sporting Lisbon received cards, and Ribeiro of Beiramar and substitute striker Demetrios also received cards. This showed that the players of both teams became highly nervous and their nerves were tense.
Eighty-eight minutes...Eighty-nine minutes...
Bellamar once again completed a steal in the midfield. Defender Felipe suddenly rushed in, snatched the ball from Ronnie's feet, and quickly launched a counterattack with the ball. Farry Faye and Demetrios launched the attack at the same time.
Just like before, the entire defense line was pressed directly to the center line.
Su Dong originally planned to support Ronnie, and this time he went all the way back to defend.
When he returned to the 30-meter area, Andre Cruz in the penalty area had completed a defense and blocked the ball directly.
Ronnie just chased back all the way and snatched the ball from Andre Cruz on the left side outside the penalty area.
As soon as the ball stopped, Bellamar's counterattack arrived.
Defender Felipe pushed Rooney to the sideline and tried to snatch the ball back.
Just when Ronnie was hesitating about what to do, Su Dong ran over in time and raised his hand to ask for the ball.
"Ronnie, give me the ball!"
As soon as Su Dong shouted, Ronnie passed the ball with great tacit understanding.
And Belamar's other central defender Cristiano was already standing behind Su Dong.