The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 210, First Half

In the stands.

Seeing Ramos defending Gaio, Morientes said to Zidane, "It seems that Sergio can still defend Gaio. He was used as a full-back by Schuster before, so he still has the awareness of a full-back."

Zidane shook his head. "It's different. Sercio can't stop Gaio one-on-one, but in this game, Del Bosque obviously won't give Gaio a chance to face any player one-on-one."

Morientes agrees with this.

On the field,

France kicked the ball out, but it went through three passes and ended up back in Spain's hands.

Morientes looked at Gaio, who was being closely marked, and suddenly said, "He should be quite suitable for Real Madrid."

Unexpectedly, Zidane still shook his head.

“I’ve spoken with his father, and Gaio probably won’t choose a top team for a long time.”

Morientes exclaimed "Ah!" in surprise.

"Why? Someone with his level of talent should be in a wealthy family."

Zidane turned to look at Morientes. He wanted to say, "Gaião doesn't want to be like you," but he certainly wouldn't say it out loud.

As a product of Real Madrid's youth academy, Morientes' loyalty to the club and his professional attitude are beyond question.

The "Double R" attacking duo of Morientes and Raul was a signature combination for Real Madrid in the early 21st century.

unfortunately,

Florentino Pérez's ruthless "superstar policy" made him a victim of Real Madrid's commercial transformation, and his outstanding performance after leaving the team only added a tragic dimension to the story.

This is what a wealthy family is like.

But Zidane changed his tune, saying, "Everyone has their own ambitions."

Morientes nodded, then his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "David!"

Wow!

At the same time, Spanish fans gasped in surprise, all eyes fixed on Silva.

He just executed an Iniesta-style croquet move, shaking off Matuidi who was defending him and creating a huge opening.

Bang!
Without the slightest hesitation, Silva unleashed a powerful shot!
The football headed straight for the net.

Lorry made a diving save.

The ball was narrowly saved and pushed out of bounds, much to the relief of the French players and fans.

"Hey! Focus!"

Lori pointed to his temple and yelled at his teammates.

Xavi took the corner kick.

The ball landed in the central penalty area, and Giroud and Ramos battled in the air, neither giving way, until the ball was headed out of the penalty area.

Silva and Ribery charged at each other.

Both of them stretched out their legs.

However, during the contact, Silva's foot lost power due to the angle of the ball, causing his ankle to shift.

Ah!
He immediately lifted his leg and fell to the ground.

Screamed.

Ribery did not stop moving because of Silva's fall; he quickly picked up the ball and prepared to move forward.

drop!
However, the referee stopped the game and called a foul on Ribery.

Ribery touched the ball later.

Ribery felt wronged, holding the ball, and questioned the referee, "This was a 50/50 chance, this wasn't a foul!"

The Spanish players had no time to argue with Ribery at that moment.

They discovered that Silva was not in good condition.

Silva clutched his ankle.

The team doctor immediately entered the field.

After the examination, his expression turned grave, indicating the situation was not optimistic. He gestured to Vicente del Bosque on the sidelines to make a substitution.

Bosque frowned and quickly gestured to Cazorla.

Losing a key player in just thirteen minutes made Bosque very uncomfortable.

Silva was quickly helped off the field.

Cazorla enters the game.

As a midfielder who was just bought by Arsenal for 1900 million euros in the summer transfer window, his skills are also quite good.

This is Spain's midfield depth.

Just think that even Mata couldn't make the squad, and you'll know how fierce the competition is.

The game starts again.

Gaião waited for his chance on the wing and also observed the Spanish formation. After Silva went down, Iniesta moved forward to play as a winger.

A great opportunity is just around the corner!
Iniesta broke through from the left side of the penalty area, but was intercepted by Cabaye, and the ball was blocked out of the penalty area.

Xavi, at the edge of the box, unleashed a right-footed shot!

The football flies into the penalty area.

However, Cazorla, who had only been on the field for a little over a minute, became "Lukaku's" target man.

Xavi's shot hit him and was blocked.

However, Cazorla was soon given a chance for redemption.

The ball remained in Spain's control on the perimeter. After several passes, Xavi suddenly passed the ball to Cazorla, who had already made a run into the left side of the penalty area.

He fired a low shot with his right foot, and the ball went right between Giroud's legs as he tracked back to defend, heading straight for the goal!

However, because the ball grazed Giroud's leg slightly and wasn't moving very fast, Lloris easily caught it.

Lloris was lying on the ground, clutching the ball.

He did not get up immediately.

He wanted to give his teammates a breather, as Spain's attack had been too fierce during this period.

The French team couldn't even manage five passes before losing possession.

Seeing this situation, the TF1 commentator exclaimed, "Tonight, the defense will probably have to rely heavily on Lowry's form. Fortunately, he's in good form."

However, we must also recognize that Deschamps' extremely conservative three-defensive-midfielder strategy has fragmented France's attacking system, leaving Gaio with virtually no support on the flanks.

The commentator also said, "I think we can learn from how Mourinho dealt with Barcelona to deal with Spain."

After all, the match between France and Spain is very much like a miniature version of the Spanish El Clásico over the past two years.

From deploying an extremely conservative three-defensive-midfielder formation to defend tenaciously, to taking the initiative to apply high-intensity defense in the midfield and attacking areas, it took Mourinho two years to figure out how to deal with Barcelona.

"We need to learn from De Shang."

At this moment, Deschamps was supporting his right hand with his left, with his right fingers near his mouth, occasionally biting his fingernails.

He kept observing the game on the field.

This passive situation was not what he wanted to see.

Time keeps passing.

French fans could only shake their heads in disbelief.

Gaio barely touched the ball.

There was no offensive action whatsoever.

24 minutes.

Fabregas received a lobbed pass from Iniesta and volleyed a shot, which was tipped over the bar by Lloris.

Wow!
The fans at the stadium were stunned; Lloris was simply a god of war tonight.

French fans wryly remarked, "They're such a weak team, they're like gods coming out of the gate."

Subsequently, Xavi took a corner kick from the left, and Ramos' header from the center of the penalty area hit the post.

Wow!

Another gasp rippled through the crowd.

The French players were startled, but before they could even catch their breath, Spain's suffocating attack continued.

Pedro swept the ball across the face of goal from the right side of the penalty area.

Lori fell to the ground.

He was fast enough that he could do nothing else and could only instinctively push the ball towards the goal.

But it didn't fly far.

Ramos, who had just contested a header from a corner kick, pushed the ball into the empty net with his right foot from the center of the six-yard box.

boom! !

The entire Calderon Stadium erupted in tremors, with cheers resounding throughout the stadium.

The ball went in.

1-0, Spain takes the lead at home!

Ramos rushed to the sidelines and celebrated wildly by pumping his fists toward the stands, and the Spanish players also rushed over to hug each other in celebration.

The French players shook their heads in frustration.

This series of attacks completely overwhelmed their defense. The TF1 commentator, somewhat exasperated, remarked, "Spain's attack is too strong. Wave after wave of attacks, every point is a potential firepower point, they're firing on all cylinders. And everyone knows France's attack mainly relies on their two flanks, which are too easy to defend against. This is why Spain has been able to win three consecutive major tournaments; their performance truly demonstrates the strength of world champions and European champions."

Bosque celebrated excitedly.

Deschamps shook his head and sighed.

He has always emphasized that defense is the key to winning games.

but,

The reality now is that not attacking means losing.

drop!
After the celebrations at the Calderón Stadium, France kicked off.

After Giroud passed the ball to Matuidi, he turned and charged forward, as the French team wanted to capitalize on the kickoff to launch an attack.

However, Matuidi did not pass the ball to Giroud.

Instead, it was passed on to Gaio.

However, the pass was slightly less accurate, landing behind Gaio, who stopped his forward run and caught the ball.

Alba rushed up and bumped him from behind, and secretly gave him a push.

Gaio wasn't particularly strong in physical combat to begin with, and he immediately fell to the ground after being pushed.

The referee blew the whistle.

The Spanish defenders were in position. France took the kickoff, and Gaio received the ball and tried to dribble it away from Alba and Pedro.

But Iniesta came and blocked his last path.

They snatched the ball away.

clap clap clap!
The fans at the stadium applauded when Gaio was dispossessed. Before the match between France and Spain, Spanish media reported that Gaio should be watched closely, as he is France's most promising young player this year and has outstanding abilities.

It's even possible that Gaio's market value will rise to over 50 million in the next Transfermarkt update.

Therefore, Spanish fans are paying close attention to Gaio.

but,

Since the start of the match, Gaio has not shown any outstanding abilities.

After possession returned to Spain, France had virtually no control of the ball.

The current real-time possession ratio has reached an astonishing 80% to 20%.

Iniesta passed the ball to Pedro, who cut inside to the left side of the penalty area and fired a low shot with his right foot!

Lloris dived to make a save but missed the ball.

Fortunately, the ball went wide of the near post.

Lloris quickly took the kickoff.

With Gaio's side tightly marked, the French team immediately shifted their attack to the left flank.

Ribery charged forward with the ball.

Facing Arbeloa's marking and seeing Busquets coming over, Ribery made a direct pass from the middle into the penalty area.

Giroud and Ramos went into a physical battle, Giroud used his positional advantage to fire a low left-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area.

Unfortunately, Casillas caught him.

Giroud slammed his fist on the turf, marking France's first shot on goal in the entire first half.

Time keeps passing.

The two sides fought fiercely to a fever pitch, and French fans were on tenterhooks.

In Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bastia—in every corner of France where football is watched—fans are in different spaces, but their feelings are the same.

heavy.

In the 36th minute, Pedro cut inside from the left and passed the ball back to Iniesta, whose powerful right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty arc was kicked wide of the goal line by Koscielny.

call!
Deschamps on the sidelines couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief; Spain's relentless attacks were making it hard for him to breathe.

France did not have possession of the ball.

The two fast horses and two sharp knives on the flank were of no use.

"Geo!"

But just as he was worrying, the teaching assistant suddenly shouted out, extremely excited.

Spain's corner kick was blocked outside the penalty area, but this time Gaio got to the ball first.

Gaio controlled the ball and then turned and dribbled forward.

opportunity!

All the French fans felt a glimmer of hope.

Gaio charged forward in a frenzy.

Busquets was closest to Gaio and quickly closed in, delivering a flying tackle.

But after Gaio touched the ball forward once, he accelerated again!
Extreme speed!
They avoided Busquets.

Wow!

"Geo!"

French fans are eagerly anticipating it.

He charged all the way to the opponent's half, constantly approaching the penalty area. Gaio was focused on his run, but his stamina was severely depleted. Just as he was about to cut inside or pass the ball...

Xabi Alonso, who had been trailing behind, came over to cover, but instead of charging at the ball, he grabbed Gaio and tackled him to the ground.

The two fell to the ground together.

Wow!

Spanish fans breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Alonso hug Gaio.

This time, they finally understood why they needed to be careful of this young man.

drop!
The referee blew his whistle and pulled out a yellow card, pointing it at Alonso.

Deschamps was very excited on the sidelines.

He unleashed a torrent of abuse on the fourth official.

"That's a red card! A red card!! No one can stop Gaio. He didn't foul; Gaio can break through and get a one-on-one opportunity!!"

The fourth official could only explain to him, "That's what you expected. Rules are rules, and Alonso wasn't the last one."

After a heated debate between the two sides around the referee,

The game continues.

Cabaye took the free kick and delivered a cross from a 45-degree angle.

The football has entered the penalty area.

Chaos reigned.

Giroud stood out in the crowd. He didn't shoot directly; the challenge with Ramos had left him with no energy to attack. Instead, he passed the ball to the other side of the goal.

Casillas was tricked by Giroud's header and was already standing on his right.

As a result, Giroud passed the ball to Casillas' left side.

It was too late for him.

He circled around from the far post, using his speed to get ahead of everyone and head the ball into the goal.

The ball went in!
1-1!

Gaio, his face beaming with excitement, turned to rush off the court to celebrate, but—

drop! !

The referee blew his whistle, raised his right arm, and gestured with his left hand to indicate offside.

what?
The French players were completely bewildered; what kind of position was this?

Gaio was inserted from behind.

But the linesman's flag was also raised.

That's offside.

Gaio rushed toward referee Bridge, shouting, "No, that's absolutely not offside!"

Bridge shook his head. "It wasn't you. Number 9 was offside when he headed the ball."

Giroud was very firm: "No! Absolutely not!"

The Spanish players then pushed the French players aside, saying, "Offside is offside."

Deschamps' face was dark and he was extremely agitated, repeatedly telling the fourth official that there was absolutely no offside.

but,

Bridge has signaled to continue the kickoff.

Gaio shook his head helplessly. In this era without VAR, there was no opportunity to review the examination.

He doesn't want to admit that misjudgments are part of football, but that's just how it is.

Casillas took the kick.

Busquets received the ball in the backfield, advanced forward, and suddenly made a long diagonal pass, finding Pedro on the left wing.

Pedro bursts into the penalty area.

Enraged, Koscielny kicked Pedro to the ground!

drop!
Bridge's whistle blew!
(End of this chapter)