Team Spirit

Chapter 237 The Gun from Gerland

"I don't know why everyone keeps comparing Giroud to me. Just like his nickname 'go-kart,' I'm an F1 car!"

Karim Benzema's words have become a hot topic recently.

When a reporter asked him about Giroud, Benzema seemed to get angry and said these words.

He also stated that he and Giroud are two completely different types of players.

"Giroud is just a big guy. To put it nicely, he's a pivot point; to put it bluntly... he can't do what a striker should do at all. He can only play second fiddle to Lu Kai."

"Who can't do these things?"

"If Lu Kai were behind me, I could easily achieve a double-double in a season."

"I am a technical player, and I aim to be like Ronaldo. I don't want to hear anyone comparing me to Giroud anymore."

Benzema was in high spirits.

However, Lyon subsequently announced their squad for the first leg of the match.

Benzema was not selected.

Conversely, Dartford's squad includes Giroud in the starting lineup.

February 18, Stade Gerland, France.

Dartford's team bus slowly drove in.

Giroud was the first to get off the bus and give an interview to the media.

He laughed heartily: "All I know is that real supercars need to compete on the racetrack. Those that are shelved and can't even make the roster are the real toy cars!"

That sentence almost caused Benzema to have a brain hemorrhage.

Shrimp and pork heart.

Lyon star Malouda, who is rumored to be under surveillance by Chelsea, said: "Giroud and Benzema are both considered to be very promising center forwards for France's future."

"But he couldn't even make the squad for Lyon, yet he's a starter for Dartford."

"I think this already reflects the gap in strength between the two teams, and the result of this game is self-evident."

However, Wiltord, who played for Arsenal for four years, was more modest: "Lucai is a player with magical abilities; he can often decide the outcome of a game by himself."

"Therefore, we will absolutely not let our guard down."

This statement also demonstrates Lyon's high regard for Dartford.

They won't make the same mistake Arsenal made recently—underestimating their opponents.

Amid cheers from 40,000 people, the match officially began.

Lyon's starting lineup is as follows:
Malouda, John Carew, Wiltord

Mendes, Diarra, Pedretti

Abidal, Casapa, Chris, Clairch

库佩
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Juninho, the free-kick master, is sidelined due to injury and will miss the free-kick duel with Lu Kai.

Dartford's starting lineup is as follows:
Vardy, Giroud, Ribery
Lu Kai
Patton, Motta

Filho, Vidic, Kompany, Ashley Young
范德萨

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In the sixth minute, Lyon's defensive midfielder Diarra unleashed a long-range shot that nearly broke through Green Gunners' defense.

"As expected of a player scouted by Real Madrid, Mohamed Diarra is not only an excellent defender, but also has a remarkable long-range shot."

"Chelsea are currently aggressively poaching Essien, and Real Madrid have to make plans soon."

In the eighth minute, Lyon sent a through ball into the penalty area, which was caught by Van der Sar, who then launched a counter-attack with a powerful throw-in.

Motta received the ball, made a slight adjustment, and then sent a long pass to Vardy on the left flank.

Vardy dribbles forward and goes one-on-one with Kleic.

He was too fast. Clairch had to go all out to avoid being overtaken, but he had already lost all other means of interference.

Vardy charged into the penalty area, where Chris came out to defend, forming a double-team.

Vardy then knocked back.

Barton unleashed a high-quality world-class shot from just outside the penalty area.

Coupet kept the football out of his goal.

Casapa shoved Lu Kai aside, and the latter almost got a rebound shot.

Lyon escaped unharmed.

French fans were quite surprised.

How dare that little trashy green gun fight back?
Actually, there are quite a few French fans of the Green Gunners.

From Valbuena at the beginning to Ribery and Giroud now.

Moreover, Green Gunners also have the "Arsenal" buff, and isn't Arsenal just another French team?
But Lyon is, after all, the dominant force in the local market.

No matter what club you're from, or how many German players you have, your approval rating can never surpass that of Bayern Munich.

In the twelfth minute, Lu Kaila received the ball on the left and crossed from the byline, but his cross was blocked out of bounds by Clairsch.

Green Gun gets a corner kick.

Ribery took a tactical corner kick and passed it to Firo on the side.

Lyon's outside player lunged at Firo.

Phil then passed the ball to Ribery.

Ribery feigned a cross, but actually passed it back to Barton outside the penalty area.

After receiving the ball, Barton appeared to be taking a long-range shot, but in reality, he lobbed a high ball into the penalty area.

Unfortunately, the hook wasn't placed correctly; the back point wasn't found, and it ended up in the middle.

Casapa clears the ball with a header.

Lyon attempted a counter-attack.

But Kompany, who was left behind, met the bouncing ball with a long pass, sending it back to the left side of the penalty area.

Ribery was still there. After receiving the ball, he took advantage of the positioning problems between Clélch and Chris and made a cross pass to Vardy on the edge of the penalty area.

Vardy dribbled the ball to the left side of the six-yard box and swept it across with great force.

Lu Kai attempts a shot on goal.

Without any effort, the football bounced off the back of his foot and into the goal.

"GOAL!"

"The Green Gun Prince assists the Green Gun King!"

"Datford's corner kick tactic was very complex, but they still managed to execute it in the end."

"It's hard to say whose fault it is when you concede a goal from a set piece like this; the players' individual abilities and reactions are the key factors in determining who is better."

"To be fair, Ribery seems like an ordinary player, far less sharp than Valbuena, who started out with him back then, but he has a rather unpretentious feel to him and can complete any task very well."

"I have to say, Lu Kai has been phenomenal this season, having already scored thirteen goals in the Champions League!"

"If he keeps playing like this, no matter how Green Gun performs, his goal tally this year is likely to break a record!"

After Green Gunners took the lead, Lyon rallied to catch up.

In the 14th minute, Mendes passed the ball to Malouda.

Malouda dribbled inside from the left, temporarily shaking off Ashley Young before getting a chance to curl a shot.

Unfortunately, his shot hit Kompany.

In the 18th minute, it was still on the left side.

Abidal made a run forward, received the ball, and delivered a through pass deep into the left side of the penalty area.

Malouda received the ball as he made a forward run.

Van der Sar strikes.

Malouda didn't touch the ball, thus getting past Van der Sar.

But the ball then reached the byline, and Malouda could only manage a pass back in a triangular motion.

Unfortunately, it couldn't be brought back in the end; the ball went out of bounds due to inertia and hit the side netting.

In the 25th minute, Wiltord was running, stretching the defense.

Pedretti attempted a high shot at a 45-degree angle.

But Barton played aggressively in defense, diving midway to deflect the ball high into the air.

After the ball fell, Wiltord passed it back to Pedretti without stopping it.

Wiltord handled the situation very skillfully.

Pedretti then played another through ball.

Kalou has run out of position and receives the ball on the right side of the six-yard box.

But Vidic immediately blocked his inverted triangular pass route.

Kalou can only shoot from tight angles.

The football hit the side netting again.

In the 31st minute, Diarra intercepted the ball in the center circle, and Lyon launched a counter-attack.

Wiltord made a direct diagonal pass to the left.

Malouda surged forward, penetrating the penalty area, and unleashed a powerful shot from a tight angle under pressure from Ashley Young and Kompany. This time, the side netting failed to save him.

The football went into the goal.

Van der Sar was mainly focused on defending the far corner, but he didn't expect Lyon to be so focused on the near corner today.

"GOAL! One to one!"

"Malouda possessed both speed and marksmanship, and he succeeded his predecessor Wiltord as the French musketeer."

Wiltord, Pires, and Henry were known as Arsenal's Three Musketeers.

Malouda is now even more formidable than he was back then, and he's undoubtedly Lyon's key player; even Ashley Young can't handle him one-on-one.

It's worth noting that the Green Gun team currently has a lot of relatively weak players.

But Ashley Young, Ribery, Vidic, and Barton are definitely not bad players.

Ashley Young often can't defend against top-tier players.

In the 33rd minute, Vardy put on a brilliant performance.

Vidic passed the ball directly to Motta.

Lu Kai pulls the ball laterally, providing a point of contact.

With the defensive pressure reduced, Motta made a slight adjustment and sent a low, rolling pass to the left flank.

Both Kleinsch and Vardy rushed toward the ball.

Vardy tipped the ball away first, dribbled past Clairsch with a single pass, and completely outmaneuvered him.

He then dribbled the ball into the left side of the penalty area.

Giroud and Ribery are knocking on the door.

Vardy makes a cross.

Giroud followed up with a shot, but his effort went too high, missing a golden opportunity.

Modric scribbled in his notebook: "Giroud is still affected by Benzema's mindset."

Chen Tao nodded: "Giroud should slow down and run towards the center to provide a receiving point for a cutback shot."

Guardiola: "But he chose to move forward to the right, overlapping with Ribery's position, and received the cross before Ribery could shoot."

In this play, Giroud is suspected of stealing Ribery's shooting opportunity.

After all, as a central player, Giroud would definitely touch the ball before Ribery if it came from the left wing.

But for that ball, Ribery's shot was clearly more comfortable than Giroud's attempt to shoot.

Giroud realized he had made a mistake and quickly apologized to Ribery and Vardy.

The pace of the attack immediately slowed down for both sides.

In the 38th minute, Lyon moved the ball to the vicinity of the Green Gunners' penalty area.

Wiltord feigned a breakthrough, but actually flicked the ball back with his heel before making a forward run.

Pedretti chipped the ball over the wall to Wiltord, who had made a one-on-one run.

Van der Sar acted immediately.

Wiltord met the ball and chipped it over the goalkeeper.

Vidic quickly returned to the front of the goal, preparing to head the ball away.

However, the football went directly over the crossbar.

Sighs could be heard all around.

Guardiola laughed and said, "Wiltord plays smarter than he did when he was younger. If he had this level of play a few years ago, he probably wouldn't just be Arsenal's super substitute."

In the 41st minute, Phil dribbled up the court.

Compared to Ashley Young, Phil Jackson comes up to participate in the attack less often on the left side.

But it wasn't because he lacked offensive skills, but because he was still adapting to Green Gun's tactics.

He knew his role and that he needed to participate in the offense while maintaining a defensive foundation.

This is the reason why Marcelo can't shake his starting position at all.

Youngster Marcelo lacks self-control, focusing solely on offense and neglecting defense, serving as a prime example of what not to do.

Phil passed the ball to Vardy, who had dropped back to receive it, while he stayed in the middle to maintain defense.

Patton then made a run forward.

Vardy passed the ball diagonally to Lu Kai, and then made a forward run himself.

Many opportunities suddenly appeared on the left side.

But Lu Kai surprisingly sent the ball into the middle with the outside of his right foot.

He saw Giroud and Ribery on the right.

The football was moving very fast, and Giroud couldn't catch it at all, so the ball wasn't meant for Giroud.

The next moment, Ribery, who had already cut off the ball and moved into the middle, accelerated and easily outmaneuvered Casapa from behind.

Although Abidal noticed this, he could only follow closely behind Ribery and could not effectively interfere.

boom!
Ribery dribbled the ball a step to the left, then took a close-range shot and curled it into the air with his left foot.

Coupet's save was a beat too late.

The football went into the goal from the far post.

"GOAL! Two to one, Dartford has taken the lead again."

"Lu Kai delivered a brilliant pass; his passing strategy is unpredictable!"

"Ribery's handling was also very mature. This player is very experienced and extremely steady."

"To be honest, Ribery is actually more suitable to be the vice-captain of this Green Gun than the eccentric and ambitious Ashley Young."

Ashley Young: ???
In the 44th minute, Lyon launched a super attack.

Abidal then made a run and sent a through ball.

Malouda won the first ball again, caught up with it, and unleashed a powerful diagonal shot.

Van der Sar made a save.

But Malouda continued forward and scored on the rebound.

However, Van der Sar was too close to him, and the ball bounced off Van der Sar and landed on his right side.

Wiltord turned and rushed out of the penalty area to catch up with the ball, then crossed it in.

Vidic shoved Kalou aside and headed the ball away.

The collision between the two tall men, both over 1.9 meters, was incredibly powerful.

Motta held off Diarra on the outside, trying to control and pass the ball.

It was indeed a brilliant ball control.

However, when he tried to flick the ball with his heel, he was knocked to the ground by Diarra.

He clutched his thigh.

"Oh, is Mota injured?"

"Judging from this, is it a hamstring strain?"

"This shouldn't have been caused by Diarra bumping into him, but rather by him using too much force when preparing to pass the ball backwards..."

The Green Gun team medic enters the field.

It's not a serious injury, just a simple muscle strain, and I can even play with the injury.

"Quickly replace him," Lu Kai gestured to Alfred.

It appears that Motta's body has reached its limit.

Without proper care, it could be seriously injured at any time.

He probably won't play more than twenty games a season.

Even with Lu Kai's various tactical advantages, this was still the result.

However, Lu Kai also knew that Mota wouldn't stay this fragile forever.

Once this season is over, Motta will enter "Iron Man Mode." While he won't be completely injury-free, he will rarely get injured, and he will never suffer a serious injury or a series of injuries again.

Sometimes you have to believe in fate.

Of course, there is also a view that many strong players suffer repeated injuries because their strengths are not all-rounded.

They trained their main muscles and ligaments to be extremely strong, thus gaining great strength and explosive power.

However, other accessory muscle groups are neglected.

These muscle groups, like ligaments, are involved in movement.

When a player's strength and explosiveness are too great, the major muscle groups can withstand it, but the accessory muscle groups break down.

Alternatively, if an athlete performs unconventional movements with extreme strength, causing secondary muscle groups to bear the main stress, they may also collapse due to overload.

Therefore, in the future, many players will not only need to practice a few individual movements, but also to practice some less commonly used movements in a comprehensive way, as well as use yoga and other exercises to expand the capacity of their accessory muscle groups and ligaments.

Green Gunners substituted Pepe for Motta.

One minute later, the first half ended.

Green Guns took a 2-1 lead, temporarily gaining the upper hand.

(End of this chapter)