Chapter 248: Diving into the Head

The away dressing room at the Bernabeu was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The Valencia players all hung their heads, looking listless.

The overall situation in the first half was good. Valencia's defense was still very solid, showing the defensive skills of the La Liga leader and not giving Real Madrid many offensive opportunities. The only problem was the unwarranted penalty.

This not only caused the team to fall behind, but also severely hit the confidence and fighting spirit of the Valencia players.

How can we play this kind of game when even the referee is helping the opponent? How can we win? No one said anything. Even the head coach Benítez sat there quietly, wondering what he was thinking.

Su Dong sat in his seat, occasionally looking up or turning to look at his teammates.

He only came to Valencia last summer, and his hatred for Real Madrid is not as deep as those of his teammates who have played for the team for many years. At this moment, what he feels most deeply is frustration and unwillingness.

At this point, it is difficult to tell whether the referee did it intentionally or unintentionally.

Is there any difference?

The question now is, what should Valencia do next? It is difficult to blame Marchena for this penalty, although he is really not reliable at all.

It's like Ronaldo's through ball, he actually managed to miss it, how unreliable is that?

Before the game, Benítez repeatedly warned his players to restrain their small movements and try to reduce the opportunities for their opponents to exploit, but Marchena still made a lot of small movements when defending free kicks.

But when it comes to the penalty kick, Marchena has no problem.

Theoretically, anyone with physical contact at the moment Raul fell to the ground could be awarded a penalty kick.

It's just a false accusation anyway.

Let me ask, in this case, unless you simply don't defend Raul and let him go free, otherwise, how can there be no physical contact? As long as there is physical contact, as long as Raul falls to the ground, it will be a penalty.

Of course, this was not a penalty that Raul intended to take, and he did not even put pressure on the referee. The real problem lay with the referee.

How did he think the linesman's throw-in was a penalty? In the past, Su Dong often heard that Real Madrid and Barcelona had privileges in La Liga, but he didn't quite believe it. But now it seems that they do have some privileges, not only because they are stronger than other La Liga teams, but also because of their social influence.

…

“Ahem.”

In the quiet locker room, two coughs were suddenly heard.

Everyone came here following the reputation and found out that it was Su Dong.

Even head coach Benítez and assistant coach Jesterdan were surprised and looked at Su Dong with questioning eyes.

Although he has scored many goals this season, Su Dong rarely speaks in the locker room or at mobilization meetings. Because he is a new recruit in the team and does not like to fight for power, he always keeps a low profile.

But this time things are a little different.

"I think we should push forward and attack in the second half!" Su Dong stood up and suggested.

Everyone was surprised and looked at him in disbelief.

Push forward and play offensive against Real Madrid?

Are you looking for death?

Before the game, Valencia's strategy was to rely on their solid defense and counterattack at the Bernabeu.

The team has a five-point lead, so Real Madrid will definitely attack first and they want to win.

Only by winning can they have a chance to close the gap.

"This is a different time. We wanted to remain unbeaten before the game, but now we are one goal behind. I also feel that the Real Madrid players are not in as good a shape as we thought. They just played against Sevilla in the middle of the week. I think we should have pressed forward in the second half, since we were already one goal behind!"

Su Dong's words made everyone in the locker room fall into deep thought.

Falling behind by one goal, Valencia will definitely want to make a comeback, the key is how to do it.

Su Dong’s idea is to be proactive and rely on his own strength to get the ball back, but if he is more conservative, he will continue to defend and counterattack. Maybe Real Madrid will make a mistake and give Valencia a chance?

To some extent, the general strategy of sitting back and hoping to win formulated by Benítez before the game was correct, a little conservative, but correct overall. But now the situation is different, and it is difficult for Valencia and Real Madrid to draw.

"I think, judging from the situation in the first half, Real Madrid didn't have a good way to deal with our defense. In the second half, as their physical energy consumption increased, their offense was definitely weakened, but our defense remained solid."

"The central defender combination of Ayala and Marchena is solid, the two captains in the midfield are working together in defense, and goalkeeper Cañizares is also performing well. I think that even if we press forward to attack, there will be no problem with defense."

"More importantly, Real Madrid certainly couldn't have guessed that we would fight like hell from the start. We will catch them off guard and get the ball back that we lost in the first half. By the way, we can score one more goal and leave the Bernabeu with three points!"

Su Dong’s last words were very provocative, especially for the Valencia players at this moment.

"I think Su Dong is right. Let's go all out and fight them!" Albelda had been holding a grudge for a long time.

This is the fifth game in a row. They have had enough of this kind of humiliation every time they come to the Bernabeu.

"Go after them! Zidane is not here, so their offense can't be very creative. Let's fight them to the death!"

"Oh, the lives of Real Madrid stars are precious, they are reluctant to fight with us!"

"Yes, we are already one goal behind, let's fight them!"

The players' active request to play made it impossible for head coach Benítez to remain indifferent.

In fact, as early as when Su Dong put forward his suggestion, Benítez was already considering whether to press forward.

Seeing the players' excitement, he no longer had any concerns. "Let's fight Real Madrid in the second half and bring the three points home!"

…………

…………

After the referee Oliva blew the whistle, the fans at the Bernabeu were surprised to find that Valencia, which had basically been on the defensive in the second half of the first half, suddenly began to fiercely attack Real Madrid's defense.

The defense line pressed high, the midfield tried desperately to strangle the opponent, and the frontcourt actively ran and connected, which allowed Valencia to create two consecutive shooting opportunities in less than five minutes at the beginning of the second half.

First, Baraja made a long shot, which made everyone sweat. Then, Vicente's cross from the left side created a corner kick. Marchena got the chance to score and headed the ball, but it just slipped out of the goal.

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Although both shots failed to score, it also showed the changes in Valencia in the second half.

The penalty kick at the end of the first half really stimulated the Bat Army and made the bat start to suck blood! Real Madrid did not make its first shot until the 50th minute. Figo made a cross from the right and Raul headed the ball, but it did not pose any threat at all and Cañizares held the ball firmly in his arms.

After the Valencia goalkeeper hugged the ball, he quickly stood up and rushed out of the small penalty area, holding the ball in one hand and pointing forward with the other. At this time, the Valencia players in the midfield and frontcourt were already pressing forward quickly.

Valencia switched from defense to offense very quickly.

Cañizares kicked the ball directly to the front court.

Su Dong quickly determined where the ball would land, seized the position at the first opportunity, headed the ball down to Aimar, then turned around quickly and sprinted forward.

After stopping the ball, Aimar took two steps to the left and passed the ball to Vicente near the left sideline.

Vicente stopped the ball with his back against the left sideline and moved forward. When facing Salgado, he first made a fake move of cutting inside, then suddenly poked the ball to the baseline, accelerated his sprint, and broke through Salgado's defense with his speed.

This sudden change caused a burst of exclamations at the Bernabeu Stadium.

After Vicente caught up with the ball on the left side of the penalty area, he quickly passed the ball with his left foot without waiting for Elguera to come over.

The ball passed Elguera and quickly fell to the middle of the penalty area.

After Su Dong won the first landing point, he quickly turned around and sprinted forward, and at this time he arrived at the penalty area.

Seeing the ball flying towards him, Raul Bravo had already caught up with it. He jumped forward without thinking.

A feeling of flying surged into Su Dong's heart.

He felt like a glider, rushing forward quickly, just on the path the ball was passing. He reached out and pushed the flying ball forward, and the ball immediately changed direction and turned to the right side of the goal.

Casillas was standing towards the left post. When he saw Vicente's cross and Su Dong's diving header, he immediately sensed the danger instinctively and dived sideways.

But no matter how difficult the Real Madrid goalkeeper made the save, he was still unable to do anything.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

“The ball goes in!!!!”

"In the 51st minute, just six minutes into the second half, Valencia equalized the score!"

"Su Dong scored a wonderful diving header to help Valencia get a goal back, and both teams are back to the same starting line!"

After Su Dong scored a goal, he excitedly pounded the grass with both hands, then jumped up from the ground and rushed to the sidelines.

On the way, Vicente opened his arms and tried to hug him, but Su Dong deceived Vicente with a flexible feint, rushed past him, rushed directly to the sidelines, jumped over the billboard, and celebrated the goal loudly.

"Wonderful!"

“It’s wonderful!”

“It was a really beautiful diving dive!”

"Su Dong showed his strength as La Liga's top scorer at the crucial moment and equalized the score for Valencia."

"One to one! Now both sides are back to the same starting line!"

"I wonder what tactics Real Madrid will adopt next?"

Valencia's players surrounded Su Dong on the sidelines, roaring like hungry wolves.

They had been holding back their anger since the unwarranted penalty kick. Now, Su Dong's goal allowed them to vent their anger and also made them furious.

This is not only a battle for the top spot, but also a war to the death, and also a battle to avenge oneself!

(End of this chapter)