The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 317 I'm about to leave the team, and you're asking me about transferring?

This score is actually acceptable for Bastia.

2-1,

It wasn't exactly an apocalyptic scoreline, but Chelsea might find it hard to accept.

Benitez lost his temper several times on the sidelines in the second half, dissatisfied with the team's attacking efficiency.

But he didn't replace him.

It's unclear whether they were scolding someone or giving instructions.

Gaio was too far away to hear, but he could see that Gaio looked very excited.

Ninety minutes.

courtside,

The fourth official raised a sign indicating three minutes of added time.

Gaio let out a slight sigh of relief. He could feel that his energy was almost completely depleted. He couldn't leave the game; if he did, Cole would bring him back in.

A key factor in Bastia's ability to hold the left flank in the second half was that Cole didn't go up the pitch.

Although Hazard was still able to break through the defense, he was not very effective against Bastia's low-post defensive positioning and had little chance of threatening the Bastia goal.

drop!
Once again, after the referee blew his whistle, he did not allow Chelsea's players to kick the ball out, but instead pointed to the sidelines.

Bastia made their final substitution.

Previously, Angula and Palmiri were substituted on two separate occasions.

this time,

Hagibejic substituted Lukaku, who had been largely ineffective in the match. With stoppage time approaching, Hagibejic decided to let Lukaku rest.

Bring on another full-back, Klose, and let Kahusac move back.

Strengthen the defense.

Haji Begic's decision to make the substitution clearly indicates that he accepts the outcome.

Lukaku understood the coach's meaning and left the field slowly.

Shhh!
However, his behavior drew boos from Chelsea fans. Although he was one of their own, Lukaku was heavily mocked by some Chelsea fans during this match.

Of course, De Bruyne and Gaião are not bad either.

After hugging Lukaku, Klose quickly ran onto the field. No matter how many minutes were left, he wanted to give it his all as long as he could play.

after all.

Vorban, a team that was in the fifth tier last season, has already reached the Europa League semi-finals this season. What more could he want?
Let alone more than three minutes, even if there were only thirty seconds left, it would be a huge improvement in his career!
After he came on, he didn't get many opportunities to touch the ball.

They were all defending on the flanks.

Time ticked by, and the three minutes of added time were about to end.

And in the last half minute or so.

Klose finally got a chance to touch the ball.

Hazard's long-range shot was blocked, and Klose received the second ball.

Without even looking, he kicked a long ball straight towards the middle!
He was thinking of getting out of the predicament.

however,
Klose's shot sent the ball straight towards Gaio in the middle, turning a clearance into a long pass.

As the lone striker, Gaio is Bastia's only counter-attacking option!

When Gaio saw the ball being passed out, he suddenly accelerated, no longer caring about his physical condition.

Just enhance your abilities and speed things up!
Wow!
The fans at the stadium were stunned by Gaio's sprint near the end of the game. How could he still be sprinting like that at this point?!

Cole's heart sank suddenly.

Because he realized he couldn't catch up with Gaio!

Fortunately, Ivanovic and David Luiz were there to cover the middle.

The two of them simultaneously moved to block Gaio's front side.

After controlling the ball with his chest, Gaio smoothly moved the ball to his right.

Ivanovic and David Luiz both knew that Gaio, as a right winger, was more accustomed to playing on the right, so they had been preparing for this move.

David Luiz played as a left center-back in this game, and immediately moved to the right.

Ivanovic remained in the middle, worried that Gaio might suddenly move to the middle.

but,

The moment they positioned themselves like that, Gaio slammed the ball down and sent it to an unoccupied area on the left!
Once Azpilicueta went up to attack down the flank, he couldn't get back at all!

The left side is completely empty!

If Mane were available at this moment, it would naturally be the best offensive option, but at this moment, Gaio is the only option.

He felt his lungs burning.

This indicates a rapid decline in physical fitness.

This was one of the few times he played the entire match, and the recent enhanced berserk mode had pushed his stamina to its limits.

And this time,
As Gai kicked the ball to the left, about to face Ivanovic head-on in the middle, Gai accelerated twice!
Ivanovic is ready to take the initiative and engage in direct confrontation.

He intentionally moved closer to Gaio's position.

As a result, Gaio suddenly accelerated, and Ivanovic's center of gravity shifted forward. Since she was moving, she couldn't lean on Gaio and lost her footing.

fell directly to the ground.

Wow!

This scene stunned the Chelsea fans in the stadium once again. At this moment, they knew it was all over!
Something big happened!
Gaio ignored Ivanovic's fall; when he sprinted to receive the ball, he could clearly feel his leg going slightly weak as he pushed off the ground.

Although he was already one-on-one with the opponent.

However, David Luiz has already dropped back to cover, and Cech has already made his move.

In a split second, Gaio did not choose to continue dribbling.

Just before entering the penalty area, he took a deep breath, glanced at the near post, and then used all his strength!

The effect of fighting with one's back to the wall!
He kicked the football with all his might, as if all his energy was concentrated in his right foot.

Bang!
A tremendous force was applied to the football, and in that instant, the football deformed and flew towards the goal with an arc!

Aim high and shoot from afar!

As Cech launched his attack, he only felt something fly past his eyes. He instinctively reached out, but it was far, far away from him.

Swish!
Until he vaguely heard the sound of the net rubbing together.

hiss~~
Chelsea fans in the stadium gasped, clutching their heads, staring blankly, their faces filled with disbelief.

In?

Did that ball just go in like that?
This must be the very last moment of stoppage time, right?
A draw?

At that moment, Chelsea fans felt a chill run through them.

After kicking the ball, Gaio's legs gave way and he fell face-first onto the grass.

He watched the football fly into the net.

Satisfied.

He rolled over, breathing heavily, as if all the air in his lungs had been sucked out the moment he kicked the ball.

"Geo!"

"Geo!!"

He couldn't see anyone, but he could hear his teammates' excited voices.

Before the people arrive, the sound comes first.

De Bruyne was the first to rush over, pull Gaio up, and hug him tightly.

"Dude, you're amazing! This is Stamford Bridge, this is Chelsea! A last-minute equalizer!!"

De Bruyne's voice was incredibly excited. After being silent for the entire match, seeing Gaio's goal completely dispelled his suppressed emotions.

Then came Kanté and Rothen.
After a whole day of hard work, they felt a release of all their emotions at this moment!

The moment they saw the ball go into the net, all their fatigue vanished, their blood boiled, and a surge of passion rushed from their chests to the top of their heads. This is football!
This is the extreme release of emotions in a very short moment!
Everyone was roaring and celebrating; this was Bastia's moment.

Courtside.

Hajibejiki knelt down on the ground and frantically pounded the turf.

They were dominated throughout the game, but they didn't lose; in fact, they had a two-goal advantage!

The Bastia bench was buzzing with excitement.

Boiling Corsica.

A single goal has unleashed two opposing emotions from Stamford Bridge.

In the stands.

Ilion clenched his fist tightly, but sitting in the Chelsea fans' stand, he thought through all the sad things in his life before he managed to hold back from jumping up to celebrate.

After seeing the ball, Abramovich silently got up and left.

Jeronimi and Chatham embraced and wept with emotion.

This match,
This brought the name Bastia back into the spotlight for football fans all over Europe and the world.

A name that very few people knew before.

That's it.
It has entered the mainstream view.

When the English commentator saw the goal, he exclaimed in surprise, using words like "amazing" and "unbelievable" as if they were free.

Gaio's series of actions truly stunned everyone.

A right winger suddenly surged to the left flank and remained incredibly strong!
This has led many to wonder: Is Gaio truly only capable of playing as a right winger? Or is Gaio simply a sacrifice for Bastia's tactics, given that Bastia really lacks a right winger, and the signing of Ilan this season has had a mediocre effect?

At least we have Mane and Palmieri on the left wing, who are decent options.

Therefore,
It's highly suspicious that Gaio made this sacrifice for Bastia.

That was an amazing shot!
After the initial excitement subsided, the commentators calmed down and discussed the impact of the goal: "A last-second equalizer! Stamford Bridge is now frozen in shock!"
This goal wasn't just an ordinary equalizer; it was a hammer blow to the heart of Chelsea!

at the same time,

The camera panned across the stunned Chelsea players and the wildly celebrating Bastia soldiers.

"Victory was within their grasp, but it was snatched away at the last second! And by Gaio, a former discarded general, in the most unbelievable way!"
2-2 at home

This is nothing short of a failure!
Not only did they fail to establish an advantage, but they also gave Bastia two valuable away goals. In the second leg in Corsica, Chelsea must win or at least draw with a high score of 2-2 or higher!

The pressure has completely shifted to the Blues! The initiative for advancement has changed hands!
More importantly, Chelsea were helpless against Bastia's ironclad defense in the second half, and now, having conceded a last-minute equalizer, doubts are inevitably creeping into the players' minds: 'Can we really conquer the Corsican fortress?'

In contrast, Bastia.

At Stamford Bridge, Gai scored two goals in the first and second halves, including a last-minute equalizer, which was like a powerful stimulant to inject his soul!
A draw, plus two away goals, is a near-perfect result for the first leg!
The key was Gaio's incredible performance, which made everyone in Bastia believe that nothing is impossible. The cohesion and fighting spirit of this grassroots team have been tempered to the extreme by this golden goal!

This goal completely rewrote the narrative of this semi-final!
It shattered Chelsea's 'taken-for-granted' mentality and made Bastia's 'dark horse fairytale' a reality! The draw at Stamford Bridge is not the end, but the beginning of an even fiercer battle!
But at this moment, the scales of suspense have undeniably tipped in Corsica's favor.

Stamford Bridge Stadium.

Chelsea fans are still finding it hard to accept that they were tied by the opponent in the final moments.

The broadcast camera panned over.

All the fans wore expressions of disappointment.

When the camera panned across the Chelsea bench, a fleeting glimpse of Terry's smile caught the eye.

But no one cared.

soon.

The players returned to the center circle, with Chelsea players still looking serious.

At this point, almost 96 minutes had passed.

Chelsea are running out of time.

That goal by Gai was a true equalizer!
The game hasn't started yet.

The referee already had his whistle in his mouth.

When Demba Ba kicked the ball out.

drop--

The whistle blew!
The first leg of the Europa League semi-final has now concluded.

The camera panned across the entire venue.

Abu's place is now empty.

Chelsea fans left the stadium grumbling and cursing. For them, the game felt like a day of joy followed by a bitter pill at the last minute.

The Bastia fans, who had traveled from afar, went absolutely wild.

They shouted with all their might.

Of course.

The players were quite restrained; after a brief celebration when the whistle blew, they called it a day.

After all, there's still a second round.

Winning the first round is not a true victory.

Hagi Begic went up and high-fived each player in celebration, then saw Gaio, who was almost exhausted, and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Hagi Begic was truly heartbroken, having made Gaio play the full match for the first time, but there was nothing he could do; without Gaio, the family would fall apart.

Gaio has calmed down a bit by now.

Just now, when I was using the enhancement ability continuously, I really felt like my lungs were going to explode.

Fortunately.

They seized their opportunity; tonight belongs to Bastia Blue!

In a post-match interview, a reporter approached Benitez to ask for his thoughts on the game.

Benitez looked serious, but spoke calmly, without any obvious anger or frustration: "The result is disappointing. At home, a 2-2 draw is obviously not what we wanted. We controlled most of the game and created many chances, but failed to kill the suspense. The late goal was a heavy price to pay."

Benitez's tone wavered slightly when asked about specific tactical issues such as Gai's performance and the team's defensive problems that led to conceding two goals.

And there's more content.

“Gaião played an excellent game. His speed, finishing ability, and especially his two weak-footed goals, demonstrated the qualities of a top striker. We studied him, but clearly, there were problems with the execution.”

On the defensive end, we made a crucial mistake:

Insufficient space control!

The first goal conceded in the first half was actually given space to sprint by two defenders.

In the final moments of the second half, there were gaps in the positioning and communication of the central defense, as well as issues with the defensive players' anticipation of key moments.

Against players of this caliber, even the slightest lapse in concentration will be punished.

The containment of key players was not consistent enough!

We tried different ways to restrain him, but we couldn't maintain that high-intensity pressure and focus for 90 minutes; he seized the moment our attention wavered.

When asked about attacking efficiency, Benitez frankly admitted that Chelsea lacked sufficient efficiency, and that they needed to improve their passing choices, final pass, and finishing against a tight defense.

When asked about the prospects for the second round.

Benitez continued, "The situation has become complicated. Bastia has two away goals, which means we have to win the second leg in Corsica or draw by a large margin, which makes it more difficult to advance."

Given the intensity of our league and the players' physical condition at the end of the season, this is very difficult.

But the game is 180 minutes long, and we know we have to win, especially away from home!
In short, disappointment is natural, but dwelling on it is pointless. We need to analyze the video, identify the problems, and make immediate improvements. The team has the ability to win away from home, and we know what we need to do.

At last,
The reporter also asked Benitez about the rumors linking players like Gaião to Chelsea, such as media reports that Chelsea would sign Gaião this summer.

Benitez frowned and gave the reporter a sidelong glance.

"I'm about to leave the team, and you're asking me about transferring?"

Answer complete.

Bei turned around and headed straight for the locker room.

Beyond his silhouette lay the silent Stamford Bridge; no Chelsea supporter was satisfied with this draw.

(End of this chapter)