Chapter 352: Chapter 351: This Isn’t a Penalty Kick Again, Is It?
Enrique came over and pushed Barzagli away.
Barzagli, young and unsteady on his feet, staggered from Enrique’s push but still managed to keep his balance.
If it had been an experienced player, he would have hit the ground rolling right away.
Guardiola: "Who are you implying? What’s your purpose? Who told you to say that?"
Seeing that Barzagli looked ready to hit someone, Enrique hurried over, preparing to push him again, with "hit me," "I’m scum," and "come on, hit me" written all over his face!
Bang!
Deng Kai rushed toward Enrique and knocked him over with his chest, cursing angrily, "Fuck! You’re really a bastard! Even if I have to skip this game today, I can’t let a scoundrel like you succeed!"
"Beat the shit out of you! Fuck..."
Deng Kai cursed profusely and continued to charge at Enrique.
But Enrique, who had fallen to the ground, had a look of surprise and delight on his face.
Deng Kai had finally lost his cool!
He had raised his hands in anger!
Wouldn’t he get a yellow card for this?
Two yellows make a red, and with Deng Kai sent off, wouldn’t it be easy for Barça to score with the help of the main referee?
Perfect!
Everything was just so perfect!
Enrique got up and turned toward the main referee Gandour, just as Gandour happened to look over.
"Referee, Deng..." Enrique began to complain, but he was unable to finish.
Because from the other side, a curly-haired youth charged at Enrique and kicked out in mid-air, paying homage to the legendary action star Lee Xiaolong.
Enrique was struck by Pepe’s flying kick.
At this moment, not only the players on the field and the fans on the sidelines, but also the directors, commentators, and viewers in front of the TV were completely baffled.
This martial arts move was just too standard and rare.
This is football, not a boxing ring.
This Pepe, he...
"Such a fiery temper!" CCTV commentator Huang Jianxiang, who had been holding his breath throughout the match, finally let it all out, "This player is really explosive! But I like it!"
"Please remember his name, he is Pepe! The great Brazilian central defender, he carries on the glorious tradition of brotherhood football! Tyson, Ali, Lee Xiaolong, Cheng Long, Huang Feihong, at this moment, their spirits possess him! Right now, he is not alone in this fight, he is not alone!"
Emotionally stirred, Huang Jianxiang finally found the commentary style he loved and was good at, and started on his path to a classic.
"Motherfucker!" After kicking Enrique flying, Pepe spat at him, "Touch my teammate again, and I’ll fucking break your leg!"
After saying that, Pepe walked towards the sideline without looking back.
As he passed by Deng Kai, he paused slightly and said, "Kai, sorry, I..."
He knew he had made a mistake.
There was no escaping a red card for that kick.
Now the team would have to play with ten men.
In today’s officiating climate, this was almost like handing the victory to Barça on a silver platter.
But Deng Kai grabbed Pepe and walked with him towards the sideline, "No need to apologize, you did beautifully! If there was anything not perfect about it, it’s that you didn’t kick him a few more times!"
Pepe was shocked, turning his head to look at Deng Kai.
"Wait for us in the tunnel, after the game ends, we’ll celebrate the team making it to the Europa League final together!" Deng Kai finished, patted Pepe on the back, and sent him off the field.
Pepe’s eyes reddened, and he nodded continuously.
Moments later, Maxa, who had just returned to the sideline, immediately rushed over with a towel, escorting Pepe into the players’ tunnel like a triumphant hero.
He raised the towel to shield Pepe from the debris thrown from the stands, only to be hit on the forehead by a coin, which drew quite a bit of blood.
The Barça fans, once they had come to their senses, cursed wildly once again, raining furious insults on Sporting Lisbon.
But on the field, it was relatively calm.
Pepe’s behavior made the Barça players realize that they may have been pushing their luck today, and everyone had a sense of Gandour’s scale of judgment.
Even a rabbit will bite when cornered.
Therefore, the Barça players chose to keep the peace.
Of course, that was because Gandour had shown Pepe the red card and Barzagli the yellow card.
Enrique also received a yellow card.
Although Enrique claimed that Deng Kai had shoved him, after communicating with the assistant referee, Gandour ultimately did not card Deng Kai because he didn’t raise his hands.
If Gandour had sent off two players from Lisbon in one go, chaos would have surely ensued today, and he himself didn’t dare make such a call.
On the sidelines, Trigella was jumping up and down, cursing the main referee.
With a tip from the fourth official, Gandour gave Trigella a yellow card.
Subsequently, Rivaldo took his second penalty kick of the day.
With a left-footed blast, the football again found its way into the net, as Schmeichel failed to guess the right direction.
Rivaldo scored from the penalty spot for the second time, helping Barça to equalize the score.
The Barça fans on site erupted into vigorous cheers.
A goal was all that mattered.
As for how the penalty came to be, they didn’t mind.
The aggregate score was thus six to six.
Both teams had scored three away goals each, thus completely drawing level.
If no more goals were scored in regular play, the match would move into extra time.
And then, Barça’s one-man advantage would become even more apparent.
Clearly, Barça had this in mind.
After the restart, all Barça players moved within their own half and were not eager to score.
When they controlled the ball, they also did not commit too many forces to the offensive end.
Gerard and Xavi barely left their half, only allowing Rivaldo to try organizing an attack in the front.
On Lisbon’s side, Deng Kai didn’t rush either, signaling his teammates to control the rhythm.
The 86th minute.
Deng Kai’s through pass found Ibrahimovic, who had pulled back.
No sooner had Ibrahimovic taken the ball than he was brought down by Abelardo.
Yet Gandour didn’t award Lisbon a free kick because the position was far too dangerous.
The 88th minute.
After receiving a pass from Viana, Deng Kai chipped the ball into the box, and Ronaldo burst through to volley with force.
But the angle was too tight, and the ball was saved by the prepared Reina, flying off to the other side.
Quaresma met the ball on the right side of the big box and took a shot.
Gerard threw himself to block the ball, but he didn’t anticipate Quaresma’s outside-of-the-foot shot and the reverse curve of the ball.
As a result, Gerard’s leg did not block the ball, but his hand did.
Quaresma immediately raised his hand to signal, handball!
The other Lisbon players also raised their hands one after another.
But Gandour turned away and looked at the ball, showing no intention of calling a handball at all.
If the handball had been awarded inside the box, Lisbon would have gained a penalty shot.
This was a result many could not bear.
Including Gandour, thus he deliberately avoided the appeals of the Lisbon players, pretending as if he knew nothing at all.
