Chapter 206: Chapter 205: Team One VS Team Two?
The stadium was at full capacity today.
Over fifty thousand fans were clad in the green and white jerseys.
Ninety-nine point nine nine percent of them wore Lisbon Athletics jerseys.
Even the Morelense jerseys were indistinguishable, as they look quite similar.
This match, played at Lisbon Athletics’ home ground, would also share ticket revenue with Morelense.
Lisbon Athletics sported green and white horizontal striped shirts.
Morelense, on the other hand, donned their away kits, which were blue.
Since it was the semifinals, Lisbon Athletics took the game very seriously, so they put out almost their first-choice lineup.
The three forwards from left to right were Kwame Ayew, Jia De’er, and Quaresma.
The latter two need no introduction, one being a back-to-back top scorer in the Portuguese league, and it looks like he will claim another golden boot this year, achieving a three-peat.
The other is a superstar the team is actively promoting.
Even Kwame Ayew was no anonymous player.
His two nephews, Andre Ayew and Jordan Ayew, would go on to become strong players in the top five European leagues, both playing for Ghana and leading the team to the World Cup in 2022.
In the first round of the group stage match against Portugal, Ghana captain Andre Ayew equalized for the team, putting immense pressure on Portugal for a time.
But after he was substituted, before he had time to celebrate with his teammates, Portugal scored again, leaving Andre Ayew with a freeze-framed expression on his face, becoming one of the iconic faces of the Qatar World Cup.
Lisbon Athletics’ midfield consisted of Viana, who was just returning from injury and finding his form and adaptation to the Portuguese league, defensive midfielder Delphim José, and the versatile Pedro Alexandre Santos Barbosa.
In the shadow of Quaresma’s brilliance, Viana seemed barely worth a mention, but the fact that he was able to become a starting midfielder for a Portuguese powerhouse in the same year was already legendary.
After Quaresma was sold off in the summer, the club would focus all of its resources on him.
Lisbon Athletics had labeled him their own "Rui Costa"!
The backline, from left to right, was George, Marcos, Roberto Luís, and Abdulilah.
George’s full name is quite lengthy, so let’s leave that aside.
Marcos had transferred from PSV Eindhoven this season and found his professional spring at Lisbon Athletics, having previously been a rotating substitute at Eindhoven.
The goalkeeper was Schmeichel, Denmark’s national goalkeeper whom Lisbon Athletics had brought in from Manchester United this year.
He was also the highest honored and most skilled player of the team, without a doubt.
Before the game, Trigella made a detailed strategic plan for Lisbon Athletics.
They borrowed from the arrangements made for the match against Augustus-led Gandoma, aiming to lock down Jia De’er and cut off his connection with the team, not giving him the chance to receive the ball and disabling the strongest striker in the Portuguese league.
When both sets of players entered the pitch,
the fans in attendance cheered continuously, for both Lisbon Athletics players and Morelense players, giving them all a warm round of applause.
On one hand, in the hearts of these fans, Morelense was essentially Lisbon Athletics’ second team.
Not only were the jerseys similar, but the key players on the opposing team were the homegrown talent loaned out by them for development, making the relationship very close.
On the other hand, no one believed that Morelense could cause any trouble for Lisbon Athletics.
When people are in a good place, they are friendly to the world around them.
The fans even amiably chanted "Ronaldo, Ronaldo," "Caesar, Caesar!"
The atmosphere didn’t feel at all like a Portuguese Cup semifinal.
It was more like a friendly match where the outcome was of little importance.
A match where friendship took priority over competition.
Beep!
A whistle blew, and the match officially started.
After a brief shakiness in the first three or four minutes, Lisbon Athletics’ players took control of the football.
This reflected the comprehensive abilities of the players, which was quite normal.
Morelense quickly hunkered down.
If they couldn’t dominate ball possession, they would resort to a sit-back defense, yet their defensive attitude was proactive, ready to apply pressure.
Weak, but not completely weak.
In the fourth minute, Viana, who had recovered very well, made a direct pass, displaying a stroke of genius.
Macedo was completely split open by that pass.
Kilop actively tried to position himself, aiming to intercept the football early, but was brutally knocked aside by Jia De’er.
As a center-back, Kilop was completely overpowered in the physical confrontation by Jia De’er!
After all, Kilop was still young, playing for the national youth team, and he was called excellent because he had a level close to that of Premier League center-backs at a young age.
But Jia De’er was the top goal scorer in the Premier League, a super striker!
Knocking you off was a piece of cake, wasn’t it?
Those who have played the game know, the relatively well-built young students on the field also find it hard to outmuscle middle-aged men, it’s just mystifying.
Luckily!
Feng Te took Jia De’er seriously enough and managed to stick close in time, poking away the football from Jia De’er’s feet.
Otherwise, Jia De’er would have taken the shot.
Even with such strong defensive measures, they couldn’t fully limit Jia De’er, who proved his power to Morelense with facts.
As a result, Morelense’s vigilance against him intensified.
Macedo, this defensive midfielder, was almost turning into a center-back who was personally marking Jia De’er.
The seventh minute.
Morelense got a hard-earned offensive opportunity.
Deng Kai passed the ball to the retreating Ronaldo.
Ronaldo received the ball and immediately burst forward, initiating a hundred-meter sprint with the opposing right-back, Abdulilah.
He wanted to first weigh the opponent, then decide whether to play 1-1-3 or 3-3-1 next.
Abdulilah wasn’t slow; the two dashed from the midfield into the attacking third, with Ronaldo only half a body length ahead.
Crossing was possible, but cutting in was still lacking.
This right-back, was fast.
Swoosh!
After slightly reducing his speed, Ronaldo executed a heel flick to change direction.
While sending Abdulilah flying, he completed the cut inside.
Being a bit faster gave him the upper hand.
Ronaldo charged into the penalty area, performing step-over moves in succession facing the opposing center-back.
Since he was already in, Roberto Luís didn’t dare to tackle at will.
But Ronaldo was only doing step-overs without advancing, so Luís wasn’t panicking.
The fallen Abdulilah had slipped, and was now getting up to rush back and help in defense.
The rest of the defensive players were also taking their positions, and such step-over moves would only decrease Ronaldo’s chance to score.
Suddenly, Ronaldo flicked the ball to the right, creating space and an angle for a tight-angle shot on goal.
Luís threw up his legs with his hands behind his back, doing his utmost to block.
Schmeichel also adjusted his position promptly, readying himself for the save.
But the next moment Schmeichel realized something was wrong.
The shot lacked power... It was... a feint!
"Ronaldo shoots... no, he doesn’t shoot, his right foot feints a strike, then before the right foot lands, he lifts with his left foot..."
"At the far post... Flavio! Flavio scores with a header at the far post! No one noticed him at all! Except for Ronaldo!"
"This pass, one can’t help but be reminded of Deng Kai!"
"Ronaldo has been playing smarter and smarter in the Premier League recently, and his short-passing game is gradually showing more ingenuity."
