Chapter 475: Chapter 474: The Elf of Camp Nou
Whether it was the live broadcasters or fans staring at the screen, at this moment, their heads were a bit dizzy from all the action.
However, the few Lisbon Athletic fans at the venue reacted the fastest.
"GOAL!"
"It’s in! Ronaldinho scores with a header!"
"Deng Kai’s through pass created a threat, chaos ensued in front of Barcelona’s goal, and Ronaldinho struck decisively to help tie the score!"
"Lisbon Athletic still has a chance! Ronaldinho has redeemed Feng Te!"
"Ronaldo rushed into the goal and grabbed the football, but Puyol tripped him up with his foot!"
"The conflict has started! Ronaldo is very angry!"
"The head referee rushed to the scene immediately and showed Puyol a yellow card!"
"This is unquestionable; Puyol’s action was completely unnecessary. Such fouls could justify a direct red card or even a penalty without any complaints!"
"Indeed, whenever these two teams play, the game is bound to be explosive! I wonder if a red card will appear today."
After this incident, neither team seemed inclined to hold back their temper, and the fierceness of their confrontations significantly increased.
Most players would be affected under such circumstances.
Speed, confrontation, precision, and luck are the most crucial elements in competitive sports, and excelling in any of these can determine the result of the match.
But on Barcelona’s side, there was one player who was not facing the same level of confrontation or collision as the other players.
That was none other than Quaresma, who had just joined Barcelona this season from Lisbon Athletic.
Having been teammates last season and nominally the team leader, Quaresma received special treatment.
This allowed him to perform without any disturbances.
In the 77th minute, Quaresma cut inside and delivered a brilliant through pass.
Cruyff, in the penalty area, tussled with Vidic and finally went down.
The head referee immediately blew the whistle, pointing to the penalty spot.
"Oh! Penalty! Cruyff has earned a penalty for the team!"
"Vidic is appealing to the head referee, claiming that both were involved and he doesn’t believe it was a foul."
"The referee’s decision is clear; he is sticking with the penalty call, though Vidic didn’t receive a yellow card, probably considering that he genuinely didn’t intend to bring Cruyff down."
"Cruyff holds the football at the penalty spot, and the camera shifts to Rivaldo, then to Quaresma."
"It’s clear, both want to take the penalty, but Cruyff isn’t letting go."
"The rivalry between Barcelona’s Dutch clique and the Americas clique is well known to everyone, this season..."
"Poor Quaresma, being Portuguese, is isolated within Barcelona’s team; indeed, if Figo were with him, based on his performance this season, he could have achieved a higher status within the team."
"The goalkeeper for Lisbon Athletic is Reina, a Barcelona youth academy goalkeeper, highly regarded. But the young man became impatient, eager for more game time, so he was loaned to Lisbon Athletic."
"Lisbon Athletic finalized the purchase of Reina less than twenty-four hours after signing the loan agreement with Barcelona. "
"Some call Lisbon Athletic foolish; others believe Reina is truly worth it. Now, this penalty will show whether Reina is indeed worth it!"
"Cruyff starts his run-up, swings his leg... and strikes powerfully!"
"Saved! Incredible! Reina has saved the penalty!"
"Deng Kai gets the football, dribbles, and speeds up, Lisbon Athletic is on the counterattack!"
"An all-out attack! Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Drogba, Maicon, and others push forward! It’s One Star, Five Arrows!"
"Rivaldo rushes towards Deng Kai, trying to stop him... Marseille Turn! Deng Kai, bold and skillful, passes directly by Rivaldo, with no decrease in speed!"
"Ronaldo is stretching out for the ball, he’s in a good position, but Puyol has noticed Ronaldo."
Bang!
Deng Kai makes a direct pass.
There were five receiving points in the front field, and nothing could make the playmaking players happier—except for "One Star, Six Arrows".
"Ronaldinho! That was an extremely agile angled pass, Ronaldinho has shaken off Deboer."
"Ronaldinho is adjusting his stride. Is he going for a direct shot without stopping the ball?"
"Fake shot! Ronaldinho fakes a shot, Christanval has been spun around!"
"Shot! Far corner! Valdes couldn’t reach it!"
"It’s in! Ronaldinho! He scores twice!"
"Another player making his debut at Camp Nou and scoring twice! His play is just so agile!"
"2 to 1! Sporting Lisbon takes the lead!"
"From one to two! Sporting Lisbon really withstands pressure well, a biggest advantage that none of the other young teams possess!"
"Ten points! Sporting Lisbon is second in this group with ten points. The neighboring Arsenal and Juventus match is still zero to zero; Arsenal’s current points are eight!"
"As long as Arsenal doesn’t win, the teams advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals from this group will be Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon!"
The few Sporting Lisbon fans at the venue were singing and dancing.
Victoria was fine.
But it was Keira, hosting the underperforming West Ham United in recent years, that was really excited.
Especially given their feeling of being the underdogs!
Deng Kai: ???
Deng Kai: Thinking we’re the weaker side just because we conceded a goal first? Fake fans!
"Now surely no one would think Reina isn’t worth four million euros anymore, right?"
"If Sporting Lisbon really can win this game, then not just four million euros, but eight million euros, twelve million euros for Reina would be worth it!"
"This Barcelona youth academy player has proven himself at Camp Nou, it’s just a pity that it isn’t Barcelona’s fans cheering for him but Sporting Lisbon’s!"
Sporting Lisbon’s lead made Barcelona restless.
Barcelona substituted Overmars for Saviola, who was not very visible on the field.
But it wasn’t really Saviola’s fault, even with Overmars coming on, the effect might not be much better.
Because both are wingers, asking them to play as shadow strikers... is indeed asking too much of them.
Not all wingers have good offensive positioning and a knack for scoring, right, Ronaldo?
Ronaldo: Nonsense!
Ronaldinho: C-man, is there a chance he’s talking about me when he says ’Ronaldo’?
While Barcelona was making a substitution, Sporting Lisbon also made one.
Ibrahimovic came on for Drogba.
It looked like a routine substitution, but tactically it was different from the past.
Bringing on Ibrahimovic was mainly to use his technical skill to help the team control possession.
For a team like Barcelona, as long as you don’t let them have the ball, they are much less effective.
In the eightieth minute.
Deng Kai passed the ball to the retreating Ibrahimovic, who flicked it with his heel, sending the football straight into Barcelona’s penalty area.
Ronaldinho advanced quickly, getting to the ball before Christanval could.
Bang!
Ronaldinho was knocked down by Christanval.
