Stand by the last line of defense

Chapter 92 First League Defeat

Chapter 92 First League Defeat
Popovich just flashed this year in his head, and he gave up on his own initiative.

No!

The team cannot suffer from Zheng Long's dependence.

Otherwise, if Zheng Long returns to China to participate in the competition, or if he is injured, what will the team do then?
Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity and come up with a backup plan.

Popovich turned his gaze to the substitute goalkeeper Oscar not far from him.

Alkelia is unreliable, can Oscar be the top?

Popovich was thinking about making Oscar the goalkeeper, wondering if it would stabilize the team's defense.

On the court, Numancia, who is leading by one goal, played more proactively!
Numancia's players started to press directly in the frontcourt, which was what Zaragoza players liked to see in the past.

Because this means that the opponent will leave a large space in the backcourt, which can be used for them.

But now it is not the interceptor Zheng Long who is sitting in the goal, but Alquelia.

Not to mention the ability to instigate a fast break, now he can catch the opponent's shot is already considered good!

Numancia, who played in the away game, even pressed Zaragoza in his own half, unable to attack.

But even if they all pushed back to the half to participate in the defense except Baston and William Jose, they still did not block Numancia's goal.

In the 31st minute, Thomas split the ball to the side, and Palanca made a pass from the left. Enrihe who followed up fell to the ground and shot and missed the goal, but Rodriguez, who kept up with him, broke the net with a close-range shot.

2-0!

Zaragoza, who had 13 clean sheets, fell behind by 2 goals in the first half.

Now the Zaragoza fans couldn't bear it anymore.

Led by the leaders of some fan clubs, they held up the cards with Zheng Long's name, or Zheng Long's head, and shouted loudly.

"We want Interceptors!"

"Change to Zheng Long!"

"Alkelia get off the ground and replace Zheng Long!"

……

After falling behind by two goals in the first half, coach Popovich was frightened when he saw it.

How can we play like this?
Do you want to replace Alkelia now?
Popovich once wanted to replace Alcolia.

But considering that there are only 10 minutes left before the intermission, Popovich still resisted not to make substitutions.

But it was this hesitation that caused Zaragoza to have another big problem.

In the 43 minutes near the end of the first half, Numancia midfielder Thomas was tripped by Doka while dribbling the ball in the frontcourt.

The referee did not hesitate to award a set kick in the frontcourt.

This free kick is only 23 meters away from the goal, and it is just a little to the right in the middle of the penalty area. The position is very good.

Thomas performed the knife himself. He ran up, raised his leg, and slammed his right foot towards the football.

With a strong spin, the ball flew over the Zaragoza wall and headed for the goal.

P. Alcolia reacted, jumped up, and tried his best to block the ball.

But he danced too slowly.

The ball spun into the goal.

Seeing the ball go in, Thomas sprinted to the corner flag, raised his fists to the camera, and demonstrated.

Other players from Numancia also rushed over and joined the celebration.

Numancia fans immediately stood up and cheered loudly.

Ball from Zaragoza was disappointed to see the goal scored.

With 3 goals behind and Zheng Long unable to play, there is no chance of a comeback.

Many fans directly left the field to protest!

There was also a burst of lamentation from Zaragoza's bench.

Substitute player S. Jill even said to Zheng Long. "Long, if you come to handle the goal, you can definitely save this ball!"

Although Zheng Long also thought so in his heart, he didn't dare to answer this sentence.

"The angle of the ball is a bit tricky, and the goalkeeper is not easy to defend!"

He said so, but Zheng Long kept complaining about P. Alcolia in his heart.

Although the angle is a bit tricky, an excellent goalkeeper can still save the ball.

P. Alcolia's level is really not that good!
Zheng Long looked at Popovich with a sneer on the corner of his mouth.

Hiding me?
Wait to pay the price!
……

3 goals behind, the angry Popovich replaced Alkelia at halftime and replaced the substitute goalkeeper Okas.

The live commentator Alfredo Martinez also shook his head and said.

"Zaragoza played too badly in this game!"

"Their backcourt is too chaotic, the midfield is not organized, and they can't play effective counterattacks at all!"

"Zaragoza fans must be missing Zheng Long now! With him, at least the team's rear is guaranteed!"

"However, the substitute goalkeeper is still on the field now. Let me see the name of this substitute!"

Alfredo Martinez flipped through the roster, then shouted.

"Okas, a 20-year-old player. I don't know if he can complete the task of defending the goal well!"

Okas is a little better than Alkelia, at least he cooperates better with the players in the midfield.

However, trailing by 3 goals in the first half, Zaragoza had to give it a go in the second half.

In the 60th minute, Popovich made adjustments, removed a midfielder Romero, and replaced Hagiic on the field. It was time to play a 433 formation.

Zaragoza's ball possession time has increased a lot, and it looks very offensive, but there are not many threatening opportunities.

Forwards lack support, the ball can hardly be passed to their feet, and they cannot organize effective offenses at all.

No. 9 Borja Baston, No. 10 William Jose, and No. 7 Hajić had almost no decent shots in the second half.

Moreover, Zaragoza stepped up its offense and left a lot of hidden dangers in the backcourt.

Pedro made a wrong pass in the frontcourt and the ball was intercepted by Madrid.

Numancia immediately launched a counterattack.

Madrid made a direct pass, and Thomas used his speed and physical confrontation to forcefully break through Gallareta and then sent a scalpel direct pass.

Enrihe broke into the penalty area single-handedly and shook Oscar to hit an empty goal, but the ball hit the door frame and bounced into the net!

4 is better than 0!

If it weren't for the Numancia players who were a little too hasty in the second half, they wanted to kick when they hit the penalty area, and they didn't control their feet well.

Otherwise, Zaragoza would have conceded more than 4 goals!

In the end, Zaragoza lost to Numancia 4-0 at home.

Zaragoza suffered the first defeat of the season so far, and it was also a serious defeat.

As soon as the 3 minutes of stoppage time ended, the Zaragoza players walked into the player channel without looking back.

The Numancia players who left singing and dancing are celebrating their victory.

At the post-match press conference, it was impossible for Alkelia to attend the press conference with head coach Popovich.

Even before the game was over, he drove away first.

Popovich had to bring captain Pedro to this press conference.

As soon as Popovich came in, the reporters present couldn't wait to hold the microphone and shout.

"Mr. Lan Ke, why didn't Zheng Long play this game?"

"Is he injured?"

"I heard that he had a conflict with the team! Is it true?"

"Mr. Ranko, what do you think of Zaragoza's first defeat? Do you think that the unbeaten 13 rounds were all due to Zheng Long?"

"The opponent scored 4 goals in this game, does it mean that the team cannot do without Zheng Long?"

……

Seeing the reporters, I can't wait to rush forward and stuff the microphone into my mouth.

Popovich felt his head go numb!

He sat down and said boldly.

"Last Zheng Long was injured a little bit, and the doctor advised him to rest for a few games. So this round I decided to let him rest!"

"No! No! He has no conflict with the team at all! We only decided to take his rotation for his career considerations!"

"The opponent played better than us, so we lost!"

"The performance of the whole team is not good. The loss is not only the responsibility of one person! Are there conflicts between Alquelia and Vallejo? No, they have no conflicts at all. This is just a normal communication during the game."

"Arguing? Hands-on? It's nothing at all. The players' emotions are sometimes too emotional during the game, but after the game they have shook hands and applauded. Yes, they have a very good relationship now. It has no effect at all!"

"How many games will Zheng Long rest? It depends on the doctor's judgment. They think Zheng Long is ready, so we will let Zheng Long play!"

"Severe knee injury? No, it's just an ordinary injury. We just took into account that Zheng Long is only 17 years old and dare not take risks. After all, you know that the law on the protection of minors is very strict!"

……

Watching the sports news that night, Zheng Long held the remote control in one hand and the mobile phone in the other.

"Can you handle this?"

"Of course! Don't worry, you just need to keep silent in front of the media, and I will handle the rest! I will make Zaragoza bleed!" Jorge Mendes shouted confidently.

(End of this chapter)

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