football redemption

Chapter 159 Intense (Happy Dragon Boat Festival)
Fiorentina and Manchester United played fiercely but failed to score.

Time passed bit by bit, and Ferguson's face became more and more serious.

For Manchester United, there is no room for error in the Champions League final, at least they cannot be eliminated before the semi-finals.

Losing two goals at home in the first round, Ferguson thought that when the horse stumbled, he should be able to recover in the second round. After all, his Manchester United is the strongest in history and Fiorentina is not, but now...

After the two sides played several rounds, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

At half-time, Ferguson criticized the striker and Keane.

"I won't say much about the importance of this game. I know everyone is very clear. I just want to remind you that there are still 45 minutes before the end of the game. Whether our Champions League journey will continue or end, we will see the outcome in these 45 minutes..."

This may be the most tense game in Ferguson's coaching career. He regretted conceding two goals in the last game. If he had defended in the rain then maybe...

Ferguson spent almost all 15 minutes of the intermission before letting the players leave the dressing room.

By the time they left, the tactical whiteboard in the locker room had been drawn completely out of sight.

On the other side, Ranieri did not talk non-stop like Ferguson, he just took a moment to talk about Manchester United's weaknesses and his own needs to pay attention to, leaving most of the time to the players.

beep!
The referee blows the whistle to start the game.

Batistuta passed the ball to Baggio, who then turned and passed the ball directly to Shaggy.

Shaqi was not in a hurry to play forward, but continued to pass back, passing to the central defender Lucio.

Then he looked at the situation behind him, Manchester United players all ran up, Shaqi left the central area, found a place with no people, and found an angle for passing the ball.

He then motioned for Lucio to pass the football to him.

Lucio obediently passed the football over.

Shaqi turned around after receiving the ball, but instead of continuing to dribble, he turned around and sent the football to Maicon on the wing.

Knife defender Maicon charged forward with the football.

Xia Qi followed behind him. Once Maicon couldn't move, he could pass the football to him immediately, so as not to waste time or miss a good opportunity.

In the end, Maicon did not hand over the football to Shaqi. He chose to break through with the ball one-stop, and made a two-for-one hit to the wall with Ronaldo Dinho on the wing, and then hit the bottom line and then made a cross.

His cross was pushed out by Brown, and neither Batistuta nor Nuno Gomez touched the ball.

Although the cross was pushed out, Fiorentina's offense did not end there.

The football was pushed out and flew straight to Shaqi in the middle.

Xia Qi set up his posture and made a direct long-range shot, but when the football really came, his foot was lifted falsely, which was just a fake move.

Then he flicked the ball forward with his feinted leg, ready to pass the ball past Keane, who broke through and intercepted him head-on.

At first, Keane also thought that Xia Qi was going to volley directly, because he had already set his posture and was waiting for the football to come, so he was going to turn his back and use his body to block the shot.

Now he is glad that he didn't turn around just now, otherwise he would have been tricked by this kid... Despicable Italian, he wants to surpass others.

The football had already rolled over from his other side, and it was impossible to defend without fouling. Keane simply ignored the football, turned his body sideways, and slammed into Xia Qi.

He knocked Xia Qi to the ground and threw himself on Xia Qi, while raising his hands to show his innocence.

But such an approach is meaningless, the referee's whistle sounded, and he awarded Fiorentina a free kick.

Fiorentina fans booed from the stands, they were not targeting the referee, they were targeting Keane's foul.

If the bad boy Keane does not foul, Shaggy can directly face Manchester United's central defender. If the central defender is attracted by Shaggy, then someone in the Trident will be missed. At that time, Shaggy's pass or shot will be very threatening.

"Kean fouled again, he played very aggressively tonight, he gave Fiorentina a free kick."

"Shaggy's dribble is quite beautiful, if it wasn't for Keane's foul...?"

Ronaldo Dinho ran up to pick up the football on the ground, and then came to pull Shaqi.

This position is slightly to the left, about 27 meters from the goal, which is his shooting range.

Xia Qi patted Ronaldinho on the back, thinking: Brazilian cannons are no worse than Italian cannons. If you can get in, your nickname will be Luo Yunlong. Isn’t this better than Ronaldinho?
Ferguson was a little nervous. This position was too dangerous. Florence was not Baggio taking the penalty, but a young man. If something goes wrong, there must be a monster!

Ferguson was really not at ease!Fear the unknown!
He looked through the information collected in his hands, Ronaldo Dinho, Pirlo, Lucio, Maicon, Falk squid, where did Lao Gaoli find these young people?

"James, get to know the Fiorentina scout, I want him to work for us."

"Good head!"

The Fiorentina fans in the stands are also full of expectations.

It's a pity that the free kick shot by Ronaldo Dinho was slightly higher than the crossbar, and it didn't complete the elevator ball that suddenly fell.

There was a loud sigh from the stands.Many Fiorentina fans complained about Ranieri, why Baggio was not allowed to take the penalty.

In terms of ball feel and footwork alone, Ronaldo Dinho is not only the strongest in the Fiorentina team, but also the strongest on the surface.

Of course, free kicks not only require good footwork, but also other factors...

Florence did not seize the opportunity,

Now it's Manchester United's turn.

Keane is eager to try, he is ready to become the hero who saves the team in the Champions League 1/16 final.

The game continues...

Shaggy was ahead of Beckham and Scholes.

These two people are very close to each other, and they are the two with the best footwork in the Manchester United team. This is the rhythm of things!
Xia Qi thought to himself: I can't make you two happy, just saw Scholes pass the football.

This time he didn't pass to Beckham, but flicked the football behind him...

Shaqi felt that Beckham next to him was also inserted in, and he quickly followed back. At the same time, he didn't forget to see who Scholes passed the football to?

Looking over Scholes' shoulder, Shaggy saw Keane receiving the ball.

He was defending Scholes and Beckham himself, and Pirlo was paying close attention to Giggs, and for a while he couldn't tell anyone else to defend Keane.

After Keane received the ball, he did not shoot recklessly directly. Now he is still 30 meters away from the goal.
The success rate of long-range shots in this place is not high.

After receiving a pass from Scholes, he chose to force a breakthrough from the center.

Seeing that Keane was going to do this, Pirlo immediately dropped Giggs and rushed towards Keane.

Facing Pirlo, Keane quickly passed the football to Giggs, and then continued to rush into the penalty area from the middle.

It seems to be a two-for-one cooperation with Giggs. Of course, it may be just a cover to attract attention for Giggs.

Shaqi didn't care what tricks Keane and Giggs were playing, he followed Beckham closely.He knew that if he went up too, Beckham would be completely free.

Xia Qi really didn't dare to let Xiaoshuai Bei go free. Later, as a professional Bei from Real Madrid, he came off the bench and staggered forward with the Galaxy Battleship. Who knows if Bei Xiaoshuai with hair will be as magical as the short-haired him?

Shaqi was right to be cautious. Originally, Keane planned to pass it to Beckham.He thought that after he got in, Shaqi would definitely come up to defend him, so that there would be space behind him, and Beckham could receive his pass as long as he moved a little.

Unexpectedly, after getting the ball, he found that Shaqi had retired with Beckham. He had to change his mind temporarily and passed the football to Giggs.

"Giggs has the ball, it's a good chance for Manchester United to attack!"

The England commentator cried out.

Seeing that Giggs was taking the ball, Cole also quickly inserted from the side to the center of the penalty area, so that as long as Giggs can accurately send a direct pass, he can break through Fiorentina's defense.

Of course, he can also pass the ball to no one, just like the one he scored.

Giggs made a gesture to pass the ball to Cole, but suddenly hooked the football, sent it forward, and broke through!
At this critical moment, Repka appeared in front of him in time. He blocked Giggs' path with his body, and at the same time blocked Giggs' football with his feet.

Giggs slammed headfirst into Repka, wobbled and fell in the penalty area.

There was a huge shout from the stands where Manchester United fans gathered: "Penalty kick! Penalty kick! Penalty kick!" Everyone was very excited.

But the referee once again poured cold water on them

He waved Giggs off the ground, no foul!
Repka didn't care what Giggs did, he passed the ball directly at his feet, and it was Fiorentina's turn to counterattack.

The boos from Manchester United fans grew even louder.Ferguson roared loudly at the fourth referee: "If this is not a penalty, then what is a penalty?"

Repka passed the football to Baggio.With his back to the attacking direction, Baggio didn't turn around, but directly passed the football back to Xia Qi who was running over, and then turned around and ran forward.

"Fiorentina's quick counterattack!" The commentator Justin was very excited. Such a quick offensive and defensive transition, such a beautiful game, is not often seen in the Champions League knockout rounds.

The most important thing is that the domestic team has the upper hand on the court. This is the rhythm of Fiorentina!

Shaqi did not pass the football back to Baggio, but directly sent the football to the right side with a long diagonal pass. Ronaldo Dinho received the ball on the side. With these few passes, Fiorentina's offense has hit Manchester United's backcourt, and Fiorentina went straight to Huanglong!

"Back to defense! Back to defense!" Ferguson shouted anxiously off the court.

Ronaldo Dinho got the ball from the wing, he took two steps forward and looked up to observe the situation in the middle.

Batistuta was running diagonally in the middle and was pulling the opponent's defender to follow him to the wing.

And Baggio sprinted from the left to the center.

He passed the football without hesitation!
When Baggio received the ball, he did not stop directly, but let the football pass, then knocked the football to the other side of his body with the heel of his right foot, then turned to catch up with the football, shaking Stam in front of him.

"Oh! So beautiful!"

Barthez attacked in a hurry, but Baggio didn't choose to pass him when facing the attacking Barthez, but directly rubbed the football up and shot the far corner.

The ball bypasses Barthez's finger and flies straight for the far post...

"Roberto..." The commentator Justin elongated his voice, and as soon as the ball was scored, he immediately took a breath and shouted: "Goooooooal!"

At the same time, Ferguson leaned back a little, staring at the football with his eyes wide open, as if he had seen a ghost.

After finishing the shot, Baggio lost his center of gravity and knelt on the ground because his body was too skewed. Even so, he still stared at the football.

This goal will declare Manchester United eliminated!There is not much game time, and there is no way for Manchester United to score three more goals.

But it is a pity that the sky failed as people wished, and the football he shot finally missed the baseline by touching the goalpost...

"Oh... oh! Oh oh oh oh! What a pity! The goal didn't go in! It almost went in, but..." Justin was very disappointed.

"Manchester United escaped a disaster! Their defense was completely broken up by Fiorentina's quick counterattack. Under Fiorentina's speed offensive, Manchester United seemed a little slow to react and embarrassed..."

Manchester United did not concede a goal this time, but they can't guarantee that they will not concede a goal every time they face this situation, can they?
"Baggio squandered a chance to seal the win, hopefully it doesn't make him regret it after the game!"

"A few very simple passes, it doesn't look artistic at all, but it really hits the core of Manchester United, direct and deadly!"

Commentators from various countries expressed their views on Florence's attack.

The England commentator still had some lingering fears: "This is too dangerous... But I still want to say that the referee should not turn a blind eye to what Florence is doing in the penalty area!"

He was clearly upset that Giggs had fallen in the Fiorentina penalty area before the referee did nothing.

He thought that Repka must have fouled, and there was a pushing motion with his hand.

Judging from the slow motion, there is indeed such a movement, but it is hard to say whether this is a push enough to make Giggs fall to the ground, because Repka's arm is only slightly stretched forward, and there may not be enough evidence to say "push".

Baggio looked very annoyed, he got up from the ground, shook his head constantly, and muttered and cursed something in his mouth.

He is a player with very high demands on himself. He is very dissatisfied with himself when he failed to score a one-handed goal against the goalkeeper.

Ferguson was very dissatisfied with the team's performance in this defense.

He complained to his assistant coach: "Even if we want to score goals, we can't do this! Look at this kind of defense, it is pierced by the opponent's three or four passes."

The assistant coach stood up: "I'll remind them." Ferguson didn't stop him.

The assistant coach came to the sidelines and yelled into the field: "Watch the defense while attacking! Watch the defense! Watch out for their quick counterattack!"

Ranieri also stood on the sidelines and made a gesture to the players: Take it easy.

Now the time is in Fiorentina's favour, and it is Manchester United who are nervous instead of themselves...so you can't mess yourself up because of wasting opportunities...

(End of this chapter)