area51novel Chapter 31: Why Did It Turn Out Like This?
Chapter 31: Why Did It Turn Out Like This?
Print stood on the sidelines, looking somewhat lost.
As a relegation-threatened team, they have very few ways to gain points.
So far, out of 18 league points, 16 have been earned at home, with hardly any decent points coming from away games.
He had originally planned to conserve energy, knowing that Monaco would be playing a crucial Europa League knockout match next week.
They will make significant rotations in this match and won't go all out against them. With home advantage, they should be able to get at least one point from Monaco.
As it turned out, Monaco did indeed make significant rotations, even starting two 17-year-old youngsters.
For the first time, they were able to play against Monaco with the advantage of playing at home.
For the first time, Monaco made significant rotations to conserve energy for European competitions.
Two joys overlapped.
These two joys will bring even more happiness.
This should have been a blissful time of dreams.
But why did it turn out like this...?
Print stared at the 0-2 score on the big screen, feeling a bit irritated.
They are now down by two goals.
They attacked and were countered.
If we don't attack, the other side has a 2.03-meter center in positional warfare, wouldn't that crush them?
"What should we do?"
His only thought now is to avoid letting Monaco score a few more goals...
Is this the fate of mid-to-lower-tier teams in the league?
……
After a round of celebration, the Monaco players walked arm in arm back to their own half of the field.
In contrast, the Bastia players all hung their heads in silence, looking utterly dejected.
It's only been 27 minutes! Less than half an hour and they're already down 0-2!
If they continue at this pace until the end of the 90 minutes plus stoppage time, won't they be thrashed seven times?
They could even look up and see two or three fans in the stands slowly walking towards the exit, leaving the stadium early.
It's over!
Immediately afterwards, the Bastia players received orders from their coach:
Don't let Monaco pad their goal difference! They might get relegated at the end of the season because of a goal difference deficit!
Alright, their own coach is quite pragmatic; he didn't lose his mind and let them continue their all-out attack, only to feed the enemy.
They were hoping that Monaco would learn their lesson and stop dribbling so recklessly, and that everyone would tacitly agree to a fixed match.
……
Back on the field.
Monaco seemed to have really calmed down and started to steadily control possession of the ball.
The atmosphere on the field changed instantly. What was just a fierce counter-attacking battle turned into a passing drill within Monaco's team.
Bastia's players were quite cooperative, symbolically rushing forward a couple of steps to try and steal the ball, their real aim being to win it back.
The main reason is the fear of being punished. Fans pay money to buy tickets to watch the game, so they can't make the match-fixing too blatant.
But as he watched, Print suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"That's not right..."
He stared at the Monaco players who were slowly passing the ball around, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.
As these people keep passing the word, how come the front line is pushing further and further forward?
……
In the domestic live stream rooms, fans who bet on the game have already started complaining:
"Damn! Is Monaco a bookmaker? They played so aggressively for the first 30 minutes, I thought the over 2.5 goals was a sure thing!"
"So now they're playing a fixed match?!"
"The world has been achieved only with DG injured! Monaco has a two-goal lead, three points are practically guaranteed, there's no need for them to score again."
"Besides, what if another player gets injured? What will we do against Tottenham next?"
"I don't care! If he doesn't score again, Jiang Ming won't survive past U18!"
"The upstairs is sheltered from the sand and wind. (Laughing finger emoji)"
……
The game dragged on, minute by minute, and before we knew it, it was the 45th minute.
The fourth official on the sidelines raised the board indicating that there was only one minute of added time.
Even the refereeing team could tell that both teams were holding back.
They just scored two goals and celebrated, yet they only gave one minute of added time. It's obvious they want to leave early.
Mbappe broke down the wing, intending to cross from the byline, but his final pass was intercepted by a defender and went out of bounds.
Corner kick!
With the game almost over, Monaco managed to win a corner kick at the last minute.
The Bastia players breathed a sigh of relief.
Alright, now that the ball is in play, the first half is over. This nightmare can finally come to an end for now.
Monaco's two regular corner kick takers, Bernardo Silva and José Moutinho, were both absent from the pitch today.
The task of taking the corner kick naturally fell to Jiang Ming.
Besides, with his small frame, if he doesn't go to take corner kicks, is he supposed to go into the penalty area and fight for headers with those big, strong guys from Bastia?
Isn't that just asking for trouble?
The penalty area was packed with people, and Monaco's red and white jerseys stood out.
If everyone hadn't followed the rules and not pushed against the goalkeeper...
Otherwise, Bastia's goalkeeper Leca would probably be squeezed so much he couldn't stand up.
Jiang Ming took a deep breath, took two steps back, and raised his right hand.
He then took a running start and kicked the ball out with a "thump".
A perfect inward-spinning arc swept across the night sky above the Armand de Cesarri stadium.
The players in the penalty area instantly fell into chaos, each vying to be the first to land a ball.
But the landing point of that corner kick was exactly what Jiang Ming had calculated in advance.
Without veering off course, it headed straight for the top of Lachinar Traoré, the "black tower" in the penalty area.
Traore suddenly exerted force with his feet, his whole body leaping into the air, tilting his head in advance to gather all his strength;
The moment the ball flies right in front of you, suddenly head it towards the goal!
The header slammed into the goal like a cannonball, making the net tremble violently.
The entire stadium fell completely silent. After a long while, sighs began to emerge one after another.
But the sighs didn't last long before they were drowned out by the cheers of the Monaco fans who had traveled from afar.
"YEAHHHHHH!!"
"My God!" Sun Chen's voice trembled with excitement. "Jiang Ming's corner kick was absolutely perfect! Traore didn't waste the opportunity, smashing a cannonball-like header into the goal!"
"0-3! 0-3! Monaco has scored their third goal in their final attack of the first half!!"
"How long will this momentum last?"
……
Huaxia Chat Room:
"Holy crap! Jiang Ming is awesome! He's over 2.5 and out in the first half! I'm going to buy his jersey! I'll be a fan for life!"
"Didn't you say earlier that his U17 team wouldn't survive past the U18? Why the change of heart?"
"What DG says doesn't count! Going up to the rooftop for a breeze and going downstairs to buy cigarettes without taking the elevator or stairs is just everyday life for me."
"Anyway, I'll take on fans of whoever lets me!"
……
"Boss, our situation for the next game isn't looking good..."
In a corner of the stands, a man wearing sunglasses was covering his mouth and making a low-pitched phone call; he was a scout sent by Tottenham.
On the other end of the phone, in London, England.
At Tottenham's training ground, Pochettino had just returned to the base by bus.
They had just played at West Bromwich Albion's home ground four hours earlier, where they were pegged down a point by a relegation-threatened team, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
Those brutes, no wonder they come from a small town near Birmingham, their playing style is incredibly rough.
He set up a five-guard lineup and played defensively, but he committed 13 fouls throughout the game, almost killing his players on the court.
Pochettino dropped two points for no reason, and after the match, he had to deal with a bunch of reporters at the press conference. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and had just sat down in his office.
He rubbed his aching temples and asked into the phone, "What's wrong? You've just passed the halfway point, right? Has Monaco taken the lead?"
"Yes, yes, and that Chinese kid you asked me to keep an eye on also scored a goal..." The scout's voice was a little hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
"Oh?" Pochettino raised an eyebrow. "So Monaco were leading 1-0 at halftime?"
"No! It's 3-0!" The scout's voice was full of amazement. "That Chinese kid, he scored a goal and provided an assist in the first half! Bastia is almost surrendering!"
"?"