[Football] Bad Boy Batty

The emotions have stabilized, but Guardiola's tactics and formation have not changed. Real Madrid also has no intention of changing tactics because they tasted success in the first half. So in the second half, Batistuta will face the same problem - Valverde.

If he doesn't think of a way, this guy will keep pestering him until the last second before leaving the court.

How to do?
Batistuta chose a common and practical method: getting a yellow card.

In fact, it is very likely that Ramos has already told Valverde about this situation in the locker room, but for a player like him who is inexperienced and has not yet established himself in the first team, listening is one thing and doing is another.

Plus, he was facing Batty.

The Manchester City king ranks among the top 5 in the number of fouls committed in the Premier League every season. He is very familiar with all kinds of red and yellow card fouls as well as the referee's reactions and decisions. Just like a good lawyer who switches to an illegal business, Batistuta is naturally familiar with the way to trick his opponents.

It is difficult to get a card for someone like Valverde who is not easily angered in one go, and it depends largely on luck. Now it is the final, the second half, and Batistuta cannot hope that God will help him.

You have to push him step by step.

48 minutes.

[beep——]
The referee blew the whistle and rushed to the scene to separate the two people who were arguing. Just now, Manchester City's attack and Real Madrid's defense were just a normal confrontation, but it seemed that Batistuta suddenly got angry because of something Valverde said.

"Sir!" Seeing the referee Batty take the lead, "This guy elbowed me!"

"Don't tell me I didn't do it! The gentleman was watching, he saw it clearly!" Valverde retorted, "I didn't touch him, I just said some trash talk to scare him, you know, I can't do it."

The referee certainly knows what the situation is.

Batistuta's temper has been known among referees since he first came to Europe, and he saw it all in the first half, so it makes sense that such a quarrel occurred without any physical contact (beyond the rules).

"That's it, go back to your positions." The referee gave the two a verbal warning. "Focus on the game, both of you, and stop arguing."

Batty waved his hand slightly and complained, then turned around and returned to his seat.

Easy, the plan started.

53 minutes.

It was still Batistuta and Valverde, and the two were still fighting for the ball. Batistuta exposed a flaw and deliberately did not stop the ball but hooked it back. This made him go from active to passive, and protecting the ball turned into stealing the ball. Valverde wanted to prevent him from successfully stealing the ball and could only use his body to block it.

Only someone like Barty who is extremely confident in her skills would dare to take such risky actions, because if you are not careful, you may give your opponent opportunities and cause big mistakes.

So far, everything is still in plan.

The next second, Valverde added an unexpected move.

He used his hands.

And accidentally hit Batty in the face.

I remember that Modric also got a card for this this season, but obviously Valverde did not learn from his predecessors' lessons.

"Ah——" Batty was stunned for half a second, then he resolutely fell down with his face covered.

So the plan went smoothly, and not only smoothly, but also very successfully. He succeeded in making Valverde look like he had taken the opportunity to retaliate with his hands because of the previous conflict.

Yellow card received.

Valverde's resentment was also aroused.

I believe that in the next 30 minutes of the game, Real Madrid's control over Manchester City's center will be greatly reduced. With a yellow card, Valverde has concerns and can't rush too aggressively. His interception tasks will also be evenly distributed to other teammates. This will increase the average pressure on Real Madrid's defense and increase the chance of making mistakes.

The plan was a great success.

"Are you okay?" De Bruyne reached out and pulled Batty up.

He knew that Batistuta must have done it on purpose. Valverde received a yellow card and Manchester City regained the advantage, which was a good thing, but he couldn't help but care about the slap in Batistuta's face.

"It's okay." Barty grabbed his hand and stood up. "It's just a tickle, not as bad as the cat hitting me."

At this time, Neymar came over to discuss the free kick, "Who's going?"

"That obviously can't be you." Batty stroked his hair and joked, "What should we do if you stick the ball to your feet like you did in the first half?"

"……what?"

"Sorry, just a joke to liven up the atmosphere." Batistuta put on his most innocent smile, then patted Neymar's hair to apologize, "You decide, I won't get involved - oh, by the way, it's better to drive forward and not take tactical kicks. We have to threaten the opponent's goal, understand? If you do it a few more times, they won't be able to hold on."

Batistuta then went to negotiate with the referee. After the negotiation, he winked at Neymar and De Bruyne, and raised his hands to make two "biubiu" shooting gestures.

After doing all this, the king turned and left.

"I told you, he can adjust himself." De Bruyne patted Neymar on the shoulder, took the ball and went to the penalty spot.

Neymar: …

Well, that's very Batty.

Not far away, just as he turned around, Batti couldn't help but smile a smile of success. He concealed it very well, and in less than a few seconds, the smile was put away and no one saw it.

Well, maybe not completely unseen.

'Damn it, let this little bastard fish successfully.'

Not far away, Ramos waved his hands and complained to the ground. Looking at Batistuta's smug back, he couldn't help but stomped on the grass a few times.

He knew what they were going to do next, and he wasn't going to let them succeed.

"Rico! Forget that guy, just push forward!"

Real Madrid can accept a yellow card, but if it turns into a red card...

[Real Madrid should be careful, a yellow card in this position is very dangerous, they must strengthen the position immediately, otherwise letting Batistuta out is like letting the beast back into the mountain, allowing Manchester City's front attack group to successfully connect with Real Madrid's current defense line. ]

Therefore, Valverde cannot get a red card and leave the field.

……

However, Ramos miscalculated this time. Batistuta did not intend to fight Valverde to the end. By giving him a yellow card and restricting his movements, Batistuta's goal had been achieved.

then--

Success and failure are both due to calculations.

In the first half, Real Madrid successfully restricted Batistuta and Manchester City's frontcourt attack because of Valverde's presence. However, after the yellow card in the second half, Real Madrid was overly concerned about Batistuta's influence on Valverde and made omissions in other positions.

65 minutes.

Casemiro's error in stopping the ball led to B Silva's quick interception and the pass. Manchester City quickly attacked the penalty area, but Varane was not fully prepared and committed a handball foul in the penalty area and was sentenced to death. Real Madrid received the second yellow card and Manchester City got a penalty.

Batistuta was holding the ball and preparing to shoot when suddenly Neymar came over from behind.

"No." Before he could say anything, Barty refused first. "You know, the last thing I want to do is to argue with you, but today, I have to take the penalty. No discussion."

Neymar paused, then nodded.

"I believe you." He patted Batty on the back, "Go."

After saying that, he retreated back to the outside of the penalty area and prepared with his teammates to make a follow-up shot in case Batistuta made a mistake.

B Silva glanced at him quickly and said, "You are not going to compete with Batistuta for the penalty kick." He used a declarative sentence.

Neymar also looked at him and said, "Yeah."

"Indeed, it has been proven many times that Batistuta performs better under severe circumstances and pressure. If he knew that, he would thank you," B Silva added.

Neymar did not make any statement, which was considered as his tacit agreement.

"Thanks." He also patted B's back, "It's coming, pay attention to the ball."

……

[This ball is crucial. The first goal of the game may be scored. Whether Batistuta can score the penalty will determine the direction of the game.]

Yes.

Batty felt his heart beating stronger than before. It wasn't nervousness, it might be more appropriate to describe it as 'having a lot of thoughts'.

There is no doubt that Courtois has studied his penalties and knows that he prefers to take them from the right, with more force and from a slightly higher position in the middle.

Batty acknowledges this.

This is his most comfortable method and the one with the highest hit rate, but at the same time, it is also easy to form a pattern and be easily controlled.

So what's the penalty this time?

There are two ways. One is to kick in the most familiar way and at the most comfortable angle, which has a high hit rate, but there is a possibility that the opponent may read the ball in advance and save it. The other is to take the opponent by surprise and kick at an angle and direction that has almost never been kicked before, which reduces the chance of being seen through, but also reduces the hit rate.

"You are thinking, you are not sure, I am making you scared and uneasy, right?" Before the game started, Courtois tried to put more pressure on Batistuta through dialogue, "Shoot, shoot, I'm here, I guarantee that the ball will not go in."

This guy is very confident.

Batty didn't move, he chose to respond with his signature half-smile.

Since you are so confident, well, I will give you a complicated one. Open up your imagination. If you only use the me in the video to judge me now, then you will never guess where I will shoot. [Beep——]
The referee blew the whistle and Batty stepped back to run.

But then, in that millisecond, it dawned on him that if Courtois knew him as well as he seemed to know him, then he would surely be ready.

Excluding Batistuta's most common penalty kick method, in this case, a right-footed player with a short run-up distance has fewer options. After all, it is a penalty kick in front of the goal, and there is no way to make a fully stretched shot like in a mobile attack. It is equivalent to imprisoning oneself, and the Real Madrid goalkeeper is waiting for this to happen.

But—that’s not right.

In the last half second of the shot, Batty suddenly woke up.

Thinking further, if Courtois really, really, really knew him very well, then he would know that he knew his intentions and tried to set things right.

FUCKING HELL.

Just like those fucking Russian dolls, or that famous black brother video with infinite reversals, it's going to go on and on.

Batty cursed inwardly, and then changed himself again before the last moment. He switched back to the most comfortable way, but in terms of angle, he deliberately kicked upwards about half a foot.

It's the same as before but not completely the same as before.

He heard the sound of his sneakers hitting the ball, he heard the sound of the ball cutting through the wind, he heard the fans in the stands roaring at the top of their lungs, and he also heard the sound of Courtois flying in to save the ball.

Finally, he heard a 'bang'.

A wonderful 'bang'.

The 'bang' of a football hitting the net.

The ball went in!
Perhaps in the eyes of the fans this was just a free penalty, no big deal. They were already celebrating when the referee announced that Manchester City had won a penalty. But only Batistuta knew, well, maybe Courtois too, only the two of them knew what a wonderful psychological game this was.

【1-0! In the 63rd minute, Manchester City broke the deadlock with Batistuta's penalty kick! Real Madrid did a good job of limiting the opponent's play, but factors such as physical strength prevented them from maintaining high-intensity limits. Now that Manchester City has counterattacked and established an advantage, how should Zidane adjust?】

……

It is not yet known how Zidane will respond, but Ramos took all the blame for the goal on himself. If he had not misjudged Batistuta's thoughts, that damn mistake could have been remedied in time.

So in the next 10 minutes, the Real Madrid captain showed his strong proactive defensive ability. He knew that his physical strength was about to run out, but even if he only had 70 minutes of energy, he had to give the opponent a strong counterattack within this range.

73 minutes.

Manchester City's midfielder passed the ball back to look for an opportunity, Gundogan's return pass pulled Real Madrid's entire defense, and then Rodri saw that there was an open space on the right side behind Batistuta and kicked a long pass over the top.

The ball was passed a little too far, Batistuta tried desperately to chase it, Ramos replaced Valverde and rushed forward, but something went wrong when the two of them jumped to compete for the header.

The Real Madrid captain used too much force and earned himself a yellow card, but he also successfully sent away Manchester City's biggest threat, both technically and mentally.

Manchester City players nearby arrived immediately.

"team leader--"
"Hey! Buddy, Buddy!"
"Can you still hear me?"

Batty sat on the ground.

In fact, he didn't know whether he was sitting, lying or prone. His head was dizzy, and with the noisy fans in the stands, he felt like his brain had turned into a ball of cake batter.

De Bruyne ran over and waved his hand in front of his eyes, "Bati! Batistuta... team doctor!"

He thought Batty was out of sight.

"Are you okay, Batistuta?" Neymar also rushed over. He first looked at the top of Batistuta's head. It was good, no blood, but then he realized that the absence of blood did not mean that everything was okay. "Are you okay? I'll pull you up."

Batty gave him a dazed look.

What kind of nonsense is this guy talking about? he thought.

"No thanks," Batty said politely, "I'm not thirsty."

This is……

It's a bit different from drinking water.

Neymar, De Bruyne next to him, and B Silva who ran over closely looked at each other. They saw the same fear in each other's eyes.

"Make way! Let me pass! Thank you!"

The team doctors quickly pushed through the crowd and came to Batistuta. They squatted down, checked Batistuta's injured skull, opened Batistuta's eyelids and shone a flashlight into his eyes.

Batty slowed down and began to struggle.

“Hey, hey, hey!” He waved away the team doctor’s hand and looked up firmly into his eyes (weird, why are there four of them? Uh, six?), “I’m fine, let me go, I can continue.”

"...I'm here." The corner of Alandos' mouth twitched, and he reached out and pinched Batty's chin to turn him back to the right direction, "Where are you looking? My eyes are here."

The air around them was suddenly filled with awkwardness.

"Sorry," Batistuta closed his eyes. "I was a little dizzy just now, but I'm fine now. How's it going? Did that guy (Ramos) get a card?"

"Mind your own business first!" Neymar said in an aggressive tone. He wanted to hit Batistuta on the head, but gave up the idea after realizing that Batistuta had already hit his head.

"—Anyway, go away and let me get up."

"You don't have any external injuries, but that doesn't mean you don't have a concussion." Alandos stretched out his fingers and said, "Tell me, Batistuta, how many fingers are these? If you're right, I'll let you continue the game."

Batty saw six fingers.

But out of respect for the fact (after all, there are only 5 fingers on a hand) and the concussion (?), he tentatively said: "...Uh, 2?"

Alandes looked at the finger he raised and exchanged glances with Neymar, De Bruyne, and B Silva beside him.

"You have to go down," he said.

"COME ON!" Batty raised his voice and waved his hands, "We just found the advantage, you can't let me go down, if I go down, it will be the end!"

"No, no, no, you don't understand the situation." B Silva squatted down and looked at Batistuta at eye level. "You are not conscious now. You will be a threat if you return to the court. We can't let you get dizzy and shoot the ball into your own goal. That would be the end of you."

"..."

Batty: (annoyed)

Everyone knows the dangers of concussion, especially for players. Karius a few seasons ago is the best example. Yes, it was not just butter hands, he hit his head in the previous confrontation, which led to the subsequent misjudgment.

What now?
Batty made an indignant nasal sound.

What happened in recent years? Is it that my body has gradually started to decline as I age? Why do problems always occur at critical moments?

Go to hell.

In the 75th minute, Jesus replaced Batistuta, Manchester City 1-0 Real Madrid, with more than a quarter of an hour left in regular time.

……

"Don't blame yourself, take a good rest." Guardiola hugged his captain. "You have done your best, you make me proud, the rest is up to your teammates."

But just when he let go of Batistuta and planned to continue directing the team on the sidelines, he ran into big trouble - his captain refused to return to his seat.

"I'm standing here," Batty said. "I'm fine. I can wait until it's over before I get treated."

"Come on, boy, go back." Guardiola tried to push his captain back to the bench. "This is my place, your mission is over, go back."

"No," Batty refused. "My team is here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Be obedient and go back for examination."

"Do not."

"You can't be here, you're disrupting order."

"Do not."

Guardiola frowned fiercely. This was the first time Batistuta had disobeyed his orders and refused to leave the grass after the substitution. He didn't understand.

"You can't do anything here. You are a player. Your duty is to follow orders, my orders." He changed his tone to stern, "Now I ask you to go back and sit down."

"I can't, Pep." Batistuta finally stopped saying 'no', but the meaning was still a refusal.

"You... why! God! I don't want you to explain, I want you to obey my orders!" Guardiola began to get mad. He pulled the non-existent hair on his head. "Please, Batistuta, go back and sit down, otherwise you will still get a card."

"No, I want to stand here, with you." Batty's eyes were full of determination, a little dizzy determination, "I am the king, I am their leader on the court."

He said as he looked towards the head coach.

"So, Pep, even if I die in battle, I want to be with my players."

(End of this chapter)