Chapter 456: Chapter 124: Final Ballon d’Or Rankings! Tenaciously Remain Unbeaten! Six-Finger Celebration!
More importantly, they rarely make mistakes. Even if they are frequently bypassed, they can reduce the gap with the attacking side through defensive cooperation and other means, and it’s almost impossible to concede a penalty often.
But it’s hard for young defenders to achieve this. They can’t maintain stability, and once they panic, problems easily arise.
"Bang!"
Scott Sinclair then scored the penalty, equalizing the score before halftime, and both sides entered the break tied at one goal each.
After the second half began, both sides experienced a period of calm, with good defense from everyone during this time.
However, the third goal still came, somewhat fatally.
In the 76th minute, Swansea midfielder Joe Allen passed to Nathaniel Dale, the black winger, who once again shattered Mikel’s defense with his strong breakthrough ability, cutting inside.
"Bang!"
He then breezed past Zhu Lu, completing a stunning dipping shot that amazed everyone.
"Wow.....!" The Swansea fans in the stands stood up with joy, cheering as Nathaniel Dale became the hero of the match for them.
On the sideline, Wenger rolled his eyes high up, just hoping the team could leave Swansea’s away game intact.
Ma’el ran back to the center circle against the cold wind, waiting to kickoff again. The game situation was already unfavorable for Arsenal.
"Bang!"
Unexpectedly, just 4 minutes into the kickoff, the much-criticized central defender Zhu Lu suddenly executed a precise long ball, reaching the unmarked Walcott on the right wing.
Little Tiger then rushed into the penalty area, nutmegged the goalkeeper, helping Arsenal equalize the score.
A goal worth its weight in gold!
In the 80th minute of the game, Arsenal equalized the score, 2-2!
"Aahh....!" Everything seemed to return to Arsenal’s side, with Ma’el and Van Persie rushing to Walcott to celebrate together.
As long as they remain unbeaten and take away a point from the away game, it’s a victory!
However, it seemed like Swansea hadn’t given up on pursuing another goal. Graham, the Watford forward who was overtaken by Ma’el in last season’s scoring charts, was subsequently substituted onto the pitch.
Sigurdsson, who later became known as the Icelandic sniper, also came on right after, and the two newcomers joined the battle.
"Bang!!"
This substitution proved magical. In the 86th minute, Sigurdsson’s heavy cannon strike from outside the box led to Szczeny’s fumble.
"Bang!" Graham bypassed Koscielny’s marking, poking the ball into the net.
3-2!
There’s still a twist!
Chase battle!
"Yeah.....!!" Liberty Stadium erupted, as for Swansea fans, witnessing such a resilient home game was naturally extremely satisfying.
On the sidelines, the slightly bewildered Wenger immediately replaced Mikel and Arteta with Henry and Rosicky, opting for an aggressive attack.
Ma’el moved to the central position, running up and down constantly, using his physical ability to create opportunities.
He didn’t believe that his first game back with the team after the awards ceremony would be the one where they lost the hope for an unbeaten championship.
That day could be any day, but it couldn’t be today!
This match, apart from that one pass, didn’t showcase his best performance, probably because he hadn’t fully refocused.
No one can return to the team right after such a grand event and immediately concentrate on everything, his previous thoughts might have been idealistic.
But these three goals should serve as a wake-up call. He didn’t want to lose hope of breaking the 0304 undefeated miracle in his first top-flight league season.
"Bang!!"
In the 88th minute, Ma’el dribbled past two players outside the penalty area, then used an outside foot strike to curl the ball around the defenders, straight for the far corner of the goal.
After Henry came on, he moved to the center, and in a not very favorable angle, the outside foot shot could work.
"Pop!" The Swansea goalkeeper extended his right hand, fiercely pushing the ball out of the net, preventing Ma’el from easily scoring.
Rosicky subsequently went to take the set piece, and Henry, not able to head effectively, followed him over, thinking of playing tactical combinations to set up closer crosses to the goal.
"Bang bang.... bang!"
They successfully executed a one-two, with Henry finally delivering a cross.
"Bang!!" The one who hit the cross was central defender Koscielny, who also joined the attack, as no one wanted to give up the match.
"Pop!" But immediately, Swansea goalkeeper Wolm made another quick reaction to push the ball out of the net.
Still a corner!
"Bang!"
The second corner kick was partially cleared by a Swansea defender, and the ball flew outside the penalty area where Ma’el extended his body to meet it, firing a violently powerful aerial strike.
"Snap!" Unfortunately, due to the crowded penalty area, the ball hit the opponent’s midfield player, Joe Allen, and went out of bounds.
Corner kick!
The third one!
After taking a hit, Joe Allen could have stayed down for a while, but instead, he got up rubbing his chest, earning a lot of goodwill from the Arsenal players.
"Bang!"
Rosicky and Henry didn’t plan to collaborate on the third corner; instead, the former chipped the ball directly, but the quality was mediocre, and it was cleared at the near post by the opponent’s defender, sending the ball towards the baseline again.
Another corner thrill!
The fourth in a row!
At this time, the fourth official on the sidelines adjusted the extra time board as regular time had already passed, and now it was injury time.
"Bang!!"
Watching Rosicky deliver the corner again, Ma’el rushed toward the near post for a chance, but this time he couldn’t outjump the opponent, Ashley Williams, who cleared the ball out of the penalty area first.
He felt slightly frustrated, sensing that the first defeat was drawing nearer... Is it really like He Wei said, that success is only temporary, and failure is the main theme?
For someone like him who has a skill level panel, failure couldn’t be the main theme, although it seemed he had encountered quite a few.
"One minute of injury time!" At this moment, the extra time board was raised on the sidelines, and the DJ at the venue announced this message to everyone.
Gritting his teeth, Ma’el told himself not to give up, continuing to stay in the penalty area waiting for an opportunity, believing that his teammates would find a way to send the ball in.
"Bang!"
Outside the penalty area, Ramsey collected the loose ball and passed it to Henry on the wing.
Carrying the hopes of everyone, Henry set off to break past the opponent’s fullback. Maybe he couldn’t do a solo goal, but creating space for a cross shouldn’t be hard.
"Bang!" He quickly bypassed Koerk, nudged the ball to his right foot, and delivered a cross toward the middle.
Ma’el sprinted toward the near post, only to see the ball sail over his head toward the far post.
He didn’t lose hope, turning his head to see Koscielny standing at the far post... However, his timing was late, and even if he managed to head the ball, it wouldn’t pose a threat to the goal.
Wait, at this heading angle, it might be headed back!
Ma’el turned around in anticipation, and indeed Koscielny headed the ball back heavily into the penalty area, back to him!
"It’s coming!"
He stepped forward, charging at the ball headed back by Koscielny, his core power bursting out as he fiercely headed the ball towards the goal.
"Swoosh!" The ball ripped through the net, extinguishing the hopes of the Swansea people and clearing all the pressure from Arsenal people.
The ball went in!
Tenaciously equalizing the score!
Preserving the unbeaten record!
"Yeah...!"
The moment he landed, Ma’el rushed toward the corner flag area with his right hand held high, his shouts mingling with Arsenal fans, shaking the entire Liberty Stadium.
In the world of soccer, last-minute goals are common because it is at this moment that players have the strongest desire to score!
But statistically, it’s a low-probability event; no one can fulfill their hopes at such moments every time... In most cases, it’s the anguish of hope dashed, the discomfort of digesting failure.
But today, with a newly honed header, Ma’el delivered a surprising strike to everyone!
"Come on...!"
He roared, almost unable to control his emotions, remembering the celebration he talked about when he saw Henry’s excited face.
He held back his emotions, raised his hands to form the sign of ’six’ and danced up and down in rhythm, his head shaking side to side.
After such a goal, he chose a graceful and flamboyant celebration to cap the match!
"You did it again!"
Henry came up excitedly, hugging Ma’el, "It’s always you! Always you!"
"Ma’el!" Van Persie followed, jumping onto Ma’el’s back in one leap, hoarsely saying, "Everything is preserved! This month is tough, but we’ll always get through it!"
On the sidelines, Wenger let out a long breath, clenching his teeth tightly to appear calm after seeing Ma’el’s goal.
He turned around and walked back to the bench without saying a word, sipping one and a half bottles of water in succession.
...
