[Football] Bad Boy Batty

"Does he think he's still playing for Barcelona?" Batistuta was stunned. "Jesus Christ, I just helped us get the score back, and now he gave it back, a penalty. Damn it."

De Bruyne shook his head helplessly. "I guess he wanted to pass it to Gundogan, but his strength was a little weak." He said, "And it wasn't a penalty. Bravo just committed a handball foul."

"Come on, that ball was meant for Suarez, I saw it clearly," Batistuta said sarcastically. "A free kick from that position is almost a penalty."

De Bruyne looked towards the sidelines, where Guardiola was excitedly explaining the situation to the famous Argentine goalkeeper Caballero. Wait -

"What's going on over there?"

A circle of players gathered near the midfield. A player wearing an orange jersey fell to the ground. Aguero was saying something to him. The team doctor came up and there was a trolley for pushing the injured player.

Batty also looked over and then frowned. "Is one of ours injured?"

Sterling trotted over and said, "Zabaletta is injured. It was caused by the pass just now. He probably can't hold on any longer."

One was just sent off with a red card, and now another one is injured?
"Damn it." Batty couldn't help but curse. He felt that he had used up the astonishment of the entire next year today.

"Two people must be replaced now. The defender and the defensive midfielder cannot move, and the midfielder cannot move either. We still have to fight hard with Barcelona, ​​so the only option is the frontcourt - who to replace?" Sterling said.

"I won't go down no matter who it is." Barty raised his head and said arrogantly, "Unless he doesn't want to win anymore."

That's right, De Bruyne and Sterling looked at each other.

Batistuta just scored a miraculous goal by dribbling past six players. He is like a shot of stimulant on the field and he must not be taken off.

but--

Aguero is the fulcrum center forward and he cannot move. De Bruyne is the hub connecting the midfield and frontcourt and he still cannot move.

The answer is obvious.

In the 57th minute, Manchester City made a substitution. Substitute defender Clichy replaced Sterling, and substitute goalkeeper Caballero replaced the injured Sabalete.

Barcelona took a free kick in the frontcourt, Stones headed the ball and immediately cleared it, and the first wave of crisis was temporarily over.

It's terrible, Batistuta thought, Bravo's red card would be the turning point of the game and he would ruin all the efforts made before.

This is the fact.

Manchester City, with 10 men playing, was somewhat powerless against Barcelona's attack. De Bruyne made a mistake in passing in the first half, Barcelona quickly intercepted the attack, Messi shook off Kolarov and shot low, but Caballero was out of reach facing his fellow Argentine.

[2-1, Barcelona overtook the score... The current situation is very unfavorable to Manchester City. Originally, they were gradually getting better after Batistuta scored, but who could have thought that Bravo would make a mistake? It can only be said that the more stories a game has, the more accidents are likely to occur. ]

Yes, an accident.

The situation was in chaos from the moment the goalkeeper was sent off, and Manchester City's defense had to tighten up to prevent the ball from being lost. This prevented Batistuta and Aguero from advancing, so Barcelona's defenders pressed forward even more, forming a vicious cycle.

This is often the beginning of a collapse.

【Manchester City's possession rate has dropped to 45%, and Barcelona is gradually taking control of the game.】

In the 60th minute, it was obvious that Manchester City's midfield was becoming overwhelmed, and Batistuta on the wing had not touched the ball for more than 5 minutes.

"Don't shrink back! Hit it out!" Batistuta said to his teammates as he returned to the midline, "We must press forward! Just like the game against Manchester United, you know I'm right!"

Batistuta is right, but Manchester City's current lineup is really not enough to support his attack.

Soon, Gundogan made a mistake in his cooperation with Stones when passing the ball back from the backcourt, Suarez made a pass, and Messi dribbled past Caballero and easily scored a hat-trick.

The three MSN players hugged each other to celebrate. Batty just glanced and then looked away. He lowered his head, supported his knees and took a deep breath. The physical exhaustion was also a problem that could not be ignored for him.

"Retreat! Press!" Guardiola shouted to Batistuta, "Neymar is coming up, stop him!"

Batistuta was reluctant to retreat, he always thought that was the defender's job, but today he had to do so, as Manchester City, playing with one less player, had to utilize all positions.

and--

In the first half, Neymar also retreated to block Batistuta, who thought he could do better than his opponent.

"Are you here to defend me, Batistuta?" Neymar is still in the stage of running without the ball. He turned around and said with a smile, "I have practiced positional defense specifically. How about you?"

"I can do it even if I haven't practiced before." Batty gave him a fierce look, "You can't beat me in a fight, this is easy."

The smile on Neymar's face widened. He remembered the day when they first met. Batistuta was like this too, with his head raised defiantly, as if looking down on everyone.

This does not make Neymar bored, on the contrary, it arouses his desire to conquer.

Thinking of what Messi said to him in the locker room, "Perform in front of Batistuta," he made up his mind and reached out for the ball.

Suarez passed the ball, and then Neymar used the Brazilian's favorite cross-legged pass to pass the ball to the front court in front of Batistuta.

"Easily?"

Neymar raised his eyebrows and repeated Batistuta's words, then turned and left with a cool look, full of sarcasm.

Batistuta, who failed in his first defensive match, could only vent his anger on the grass.

……

In the last 15 minutes of the game, Batistuta finally got the ball. Perhaps the goal he scored not long ago in which he dribbled past several players stimulated Barcelona's defenders. Mathieu rushed to the midfield and pulled Batistuta down, earning a yellow card.

The referee awarded Manchester City a free kick in the midfield.

You can try to get into the penalty area and then head the ball.

But this is not the important thing at the moment. Standing at the penalty spot, De Bruyne said to Batistuta: "Now they also have a yellow card, we have to find a way to get Mathieu off."

Yes, Manchester City was exhausted from playing with 10 men, and they had to find a chance to get Barcelona back on the same starting line as them and have one man sent off.

Batistuta made an "OK" gesture to De Bruyne.

He knows what to do, it's all about provocation and ridicule, Brazilians are the best at this.

The free kick was taken, Busquets headed the ball to the first point and the ball returned to the midfield.

Batistuta got the ball from the wing, then he chose the right moment and made a small lob in front of Mathieu, and the ball was successfully transferred to the other side.

"See? Even if you practice for another 100 years, you can't catch up with me." Batistuta said arrogantly to Mathieu, "I was born at the finish line, and you are just a substitute. Don't even think about making a tackle. I will easily jump over your head."

After saying this, he successfully saw Mathieu's furious expression.

Hooked.

……

Sure enough, Mathieu couldn't stand Batistuta's ridicule. Less than 3 minutes later, he was sent off with a second yellow card for a flying tackle on Batistuta.

"How is it? Are you hurt anywhere?" Aguero pulled Batistuta up and asked with concern.

"It's okay." Batty jumped twice to stretch his ankle. "It hurts a little, but it seems to be just a scratch."

Aguero looked disapproving.

"Don't do it again next time, you are risking your career," he said. "But it worked, and now Barcelona is playing with 10 men." Batistuta laughed.

He seemed to care nothing about his body. Aguero wanted to say something but was interrupted by Batistuta.

"Go quickly, don't just stand there, it's time for a free kick."

……

With 10 minutes left in the game, both teams returned to the same starting line, playing with ten players.

That's not quite accurate because Barcelona is still leading 3-1.

After having a defender sent off, Barcelona did not take any measures and still had a large-scale attack, with the pressure on the back line being evenly distributed to the midfield.

Messi retreated a little deeper, which posed less threat to the goal, but was more conducive to getting the ball in the midfield. At the end of the game, in the 85th minute, Messi's retreat paid off. After taking the ball from Gundogan, he passed it to Neymar, and then used two consecutive wall passes to break into the penalty area.

[Messi! Barcelona's attack is coming again! How will Caballero save it——Ohhh! The defender kicked, Kolarov tripped Messi, and the referee awarded a penalty! ]

"Oh hell!" Batistuta waved his hands and complained, "With a defense like this, even if Maradona and Pele came, it wouldn't work!"

Just when everyone thought Messi was about to score a hat-trick, he passed the ball to Neymar.

"Go ahead." The Barcelona king patted his friend on the shoulder, "It's time to show off."

……

However, the ball did not go in.

There was an uproar.

[What! Neymar missed this penalty!] The commentator was on the verge of losing his mind. [Football matches always bring us surprises. Friends who have watched from the beginning to now, did anyone expect the current situation?]

Neymar's penalty kick was at too straight an angle and not strong enough, so Caballero saved the ball steadily.

Batty breathed a sigh of relief.

But he soon realized that he had relaxed too early.

In the 87th minute, Barcelona's attack once again approached Manchester City's penalty area. Messi selflessly assisted Neymar. Neymar dribbled past Otamendi and Stones in the penalty area and pushed the ball into the goal. Barcelona extended the score to 4-1.

Batty had lost his temper. He knew that they had lost the game.

But we cannot lose face even if we lose the game, we must fight until the last minute.

There were probably only a few dozen seconds left before the end of the game. Stones kicked the ball to the front point, Batistuta made a lob pass, but the Barcelona defender headed the ball and the ball was stopped and sent directly to Aguero.

[The last one! Aguero has a one-on-one chance! Let's see if Manchester City can still change the score! ]

It was almost a penalty, Batty thought.

"Go ahead! Kun!"

However, to everyone's surprise, Aguero deceived Ter Stegen but lost to the goal post of Camp Nou. The ball hit the left post and bounced back into the field. Mascherano hurriedly cleared the ball.

[beep——]
The referee blew the whistle to end the game and the score remained 4-1.

……

Batistuta was exhausted. The moment the whistle sounded, he felt completely deflated and sat down on the grass.

Although I had expected this outcome a few minutes earlier, it was still hard to accept when it happened.

Batistuta looked not far away and saw Aguero and Messi finally had time to get together and have a good chat. The two Argentines were talking and laughing.

Batty rolled his eyes slightly, curled up his legs, and then muttered to them in his mind -

How can you laugh, A-Kun, you hit the post.

And Messi, tsk, don't tease him with that beard of yours, you're like a gold miner now.

Suddenly someone came towards him. It was Neymar. He reached out and ruffled Batistuta's hair. "That goal was amazing. I can't even say I could do it." He stretched out his hand and said, "Come on, I'll pull you up."

Batty ignored him and slapped his hand away.

"You're teasing me."

He looked up, his face full of displeasure.

"It was a tactical necessity. I didn't mean it." Neymar smiled and extended his hand again. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I'll take you to a very nice restaurant to make amends to you later, okay?"

Bang! Batty knocked his hand away again.

"No, why would I go after we lost the game?" The boy pouted irritably, then glanced at Neymar, "Go away, I'm really annoyed with you now."

Neymar blinked. He was in a good mood after winning the game. He didn't care what Batistuta said to him.

After thinking about it, Neymar decided that it was not a good idea to keep wasting time like this, so he walked behind Batistuta, stretched out his hands, and lifted him up through his armpits like he was holding a cat.

Before Batty could react, he felt something empty under his butt. He subconsciously used his legs to stand up.

"you--"

"Don't be angry anymore, don't be angry anymore." Neymar walked up to him and said with a smile, then he tugged at his collar, "How about changing your jersey?"

Batti's blue eyes turned, and after thinking about it, he stopped dwelling on the defeat.

"You can give me your jersey, but I can't give you mine," he said. "I'm going to frame this jersey and hang it on the wall when I get home."

Neymar thought about it and nodded.

Batistuta's jersey in this game is indeed very memorable.

"There is one more thing." Batistuta took Neymar's jersey. "I know that the ball that scored a hat trick will be taken away by the players, but Ney, can you talk to Messi and give me this ball? I want to take it back and keep it with the jersey."

This is not too much to ask. In one game, two people scored a hat trick and dribbled past six players to score a goal. This scene is unprecedented and is unlikely to be repeated in the future.

Neymar is a little embarrassed, but——

It's a rare opportunity that Batik is willing to do me a favor (?), so I have to help him no matter what.

"No problem, I can talk to Leo and ask him to give you the ball." Neymar agreed readily, "But in exchange, you belong to me tonight and you have to play with me."

Neymar stretched out his right hand: "How about it, deal?"

Batty blinked and shook the hand without hesitation.

"make a deal."

(End of this chapter)