Chapter 350: Chapter 349: A Pig’s Head Appears at Nou Camp
"Eliminated!"
"Eliminated!"
"Eliminated!"
Barcelona fans were fervently yelling the word.
Fans close to the pitch even provocatively taunted the Lisbon Sporting players, "Losers! Weren’t you just making excuses after conceding the goal, saying the referee’s decision was unfair? How about this goal then?"
"No fouls, no help from the main referee, and we Barcelona can still win!"
"Small garbage team! You think you can come to Camp Nou and turn the tables? Fat chance!"
"This year’s Europa League trophy belongs to Barcelona!"
"Barcelona, the strongest in the universe!"
"Without Figo, Barcelona can still win the championship! Portuguese do not deserve to set foot in Camp Nou! Portuguese will never be welcome here!"
Simon, hearing these words on the side, felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Regional discrimination is unacceptable.
Perhaps it was because the Lisbon Sporting players were rallied by Deng Kai after conceding the goal.
So they quickly got back into fighting mode, not showing a hint of despair.
Their "it doesn’t matter" attitude severely irritated the Barcelona fans.
They believed that the Lisbon Sporting players should be in mourning.
How could they be so composed?
So the fans began to throw objects onto the field to express their dissatisfaction.
However, their actions still did not elicit a response from the Lisbon Sporting players.
Instead, Deng Kai looked up at the Barcelona fans in the stands, calm as if he were a conqueror surveying his future territory.
The anger of the Barcelona fans was instantly drawn to Deng Kai, and they started swearing and cursing.
Deng Kai simply smiled and turned to leave.
Is that all?
You think you can make Lisbon Sporting concede with just a one-goal lead?
You’re far from it!
Bang!
A shadow fell from the sky, almost hitting Deng Kai—if he hadn’t moved.
Deng Kai turned around, frowning deeply, and took a closer look.
It was a pig’s head.
"Oh! A fan has thrown something onto the field, nearly hitting Deng Kai."
"It’s a pig’s head! Is this to humiliate Deng Kai, suggesting he and Lisbon Sporting are like pig heads?"
"That’s too much! Whatever the reason, this fan’s actions are unacceptable."
"UEFA will probably hold Barcelona accountable after the match, and the fan might face an expulsion order from three months to a year, prohibiting entry to the stadium."
"The Lisbon Sporting players are very emotional and have gathered around Deng Kai."
"Barcelona players are explaining, they obviously don’t agree with the home fans’ behavior. Guardiola is communicating with the home fans, signaling them to remain calm. At the very least, they must maintain basic respect for the players on the pitch, otherwise, it’s a disgrace to the reputation of such an esteemed club."
"Oh! Deng Kai is also signaling his teammates to remain calm, then he picks up the pig’s head and carries it to the side of the pitch... What! Deng Kai has placed the pig’s head on the sideline, and he’s stopping the staff who were about to come and deal with it."
"Deng Kai is adjusting the position of the pig’s head, what’s he doing? Is he making the pig’s head watch his game? Or is he using it as a prop to motivate his play, a constant reminder that if he doesn’t play well, he’ll have pig heads thrown at him?"
"There’s a Chinese saying, ’to sleep on sticks and taste gall,’ they are very good at turning adverse conditions into motivation to drive themselves, and this is especially precious."
Finally, after a long delay, the game restarted.
But the emotions of the players on both sides had completely detached from the game.
Both teams were playing with animosity, and aggressive moves were inevitable.
Within a short five minutes, Deschamps, Drogba, and Guardiola each received a yellow card in succession.
This time it wasn’t Gandour targeting Sporting Lisbon, it was entirely the initiative of the three players to draw the yellow cards.
The foul by Guardiola was particularly interesting.
His aggressive foul left Gandour with no choice but to be impartial and issue him a yellow card.
But it was this very yellow card that slightly calmed the heated atmosphere on the field.
With a single yellow card, Guardiola intimidated the Sporting Lisbon players; it was a card well worth it.
Today for Sporting Lisbon, Deng Kai and Quaresma performed exceptionally well.
For Barcelona, Guardiola, Rivaldo, Simon, and Cruyff all shined, especially Guardiola, who had become the organizing core in the midfield and defense for two games in a row now.
The brilliance of the other three owed much to Guardiola’s merit.
In the 76th minute, Guardiola, who had managed to bring the game’s tempo under control, was dumbfounded.
The fourth official by the sidelines raised the substitution board after a dead ball situation.
Barcelona substituted Gerard Lopez for Guardiola.
No one thought there was anything wrong with this substitution.
As a defensive midfielder, no matter how skilled at organizing the play, Guardiola also had to bear part of the defensive duties.
After more than seventy minutes and carrying a yellow card, substituting Guardiola with the equally talented and even more energetically mobile Gerard was a textbook substitution.
But Guardiola could only shake his head in resignation.
He could no longer command the trust of the coaching staff as he had before.
He had painstakingly set up the play, and just as he was about to reap the rewards, he was taken off by the coaching staff.
Guardiola could have accepted it if Gerard was able to pick the fruits of his labor.
But he feared that the ripe opportunity would simply fly away.
"Xavi, keep an eye on Deng Kai. When he gets close to the attacking third, make sure to stick with him. Don’t give him any space to operate; he’s key to defeating Sporting Lisbon!" Before leaving the field, Guardiola repeatedly instructed Xavi.
The young and wide-eyed Xavi nodded emphatically, assuring that he would not let his old captain down.
On Sporting Lisbon’s side, they also took the opportunity to make substitutions, having too many players on yellow cards.
The Portuguese defensive expert Paolo Bento replaced Deschamps.
The Swedish talent Ibrahimovic came on for the Ivory Coast labourer Drogba.
In the 80th minute, Sporting Lisbon had possession.
On the left flank, Ronaldo’s attempt at a breakthrough failed, but he kept possession and passed back to Terry.
Terry knocked the ball over to Pepe.
Pepe made a motion to pass to the right but feinted and surprised everyone by advancing with the ball himself after sidestepping Cruyff.
The center-back advancing with the ball!
Barcelona never expected Pepe to be so bold.
Terry and Barzagli moved inward to cover.
Viana and Deng Kai in the middle each started their forward runs.
Suddenly, Sporting Lisbon’s formation became a standard 2-3-5!
Two defenders, three defensive midfielders, five forwards!
Rivaldo charged at Pepe, trying to intercept.
Pepe passed the ball to Matthaus.
Simon pressed Matthaus, but Matthaus had already spotted the gap and, without stopping the ball, launched a long pass directly to the towering Ibrahimovic in the middle.
Ibrahimovic retreated to escape the central defenders’ interference zone, and with his large stature, easily collected the ball.
But Abelardo was right behind him, pressing closely.
Bang!
Ibrahimovic laid the ball off.
Deng Kai, who had been constantly disrupted by Xavi, suddenly hit the brakes and used his arm to push off Xavi, receiving Ibrahimovic’s pass.
