Chapter 195 Is this kid really depressed? [First update, begging for monthly subscription!]
On the evening of August 30th, Valencia Mestalla Stadium.
The two Champions League qualifiers before the season and the Citrus Cup victory against Real Madrid have aroused the enthusiasm of Valencia's local fans, so that the stadium stands were filled with fans in the first round of the new season.
The Mestalla Stadium, with a total capacity of 55,000 people, was basically full except for some mobile seats.
The fans at the scene were roaring and the crowd was noisy.
Valencia faced Valladolid in their first match.
This team ranked 13th in La Liga last season, which is considered mid-table. Its offensive ability was third from the bottom in La Liga, and its number of goals was only slightly higher than that of relegated Rayo Vallecano and Vitoria. However, they only conceded 40 goals throughout the season, ranking fourth in La Liga, only five more than Valencia, which had the best defense.
Although they lost players such as Antonio Lopez, Gaspar and Mario in the summer transfer market this year, the overall strength is still there. In addition, the first round of the league has always been difficult to play, so Valencia naturally dare not be careless.
Benítez still fielded the strongest 4-2-3-1 lineup to face the opponent. Su Dong undoubtedly overpowered Mista and became the team's starting center. Tonight is also his La Liga debut.
…
Su Dong's task tonight is what he is good at, which is to suppress Valladolid's defense and shock the penalty area.
Playing at home, facing the weaker Valladolid, Benítez decisively adopted high-pressure pressing, with the whole team pressing forward and beating the opponent up.
Su Dong’s task is to wait for opportunities near the penalty area.
The height of the whole team of Valladolid is not very good. The tallest one is the midfielder Caminero, who is 1.87 meters tall, but he plays as a central midfielder. The tallest player in the entire defense line is only 1.82 meters tall.
Facing an opponent who is much shorter than him, Su Dong is still quite experienced.
But Valladolid was able to build the fourth-best defense in La Liga last season, not relying on the players' individual abilities, but on the team's overall strength.
Since they couldn't freeze Su Dong, Valladolid took another approach, which was to control the ball from the wing, block the ground penetration in the middle, and especially curb Aimar.
Vicente couldn't get the ball off the wing, and Aimar faced double-teaming from opponents in the midfield, which made it difficult for Valencia to pose a threat once the ball reached the frontcourt.
Su Dong couldn't get the ball in the frontcourt. In the first twenty minutes, the number of times he touched the ball was even in the single digits.
What's even more fatal is that in the 20th minute, the opponent made a quick counterattack and Davide Sousa scored a sneak goal for Valladolid, giving the visiting team the lead.
This undoubtedly made the situation in Valencia even worse.
Su Dong tried to retreat, play to his strengths, and help his teammates get and pass the ball, but head coach Benítez kept calling him from the sidelines, signaling him to press forward and hold off the opponent's defense.
The first half ended with a score of 0-1, and Valencia temporarily fell behind.
In the locker room during the half-time break, head coach Benítez once again reminded Su Dong that he must suppress the opponent's defense.
"Your mission tonight is to stay in the penalty area, suppress the opponent's defense, and don't let them have a chance to rebound!"
"You have to trust me and your teammates. They will definitely be able to get the ball to you."
After the second half, Valencia continued to attack as usual, but Valladolid replaced the goal scorer Davide Sosa with center back Jonathan Martin a few minutes into the second half to strengthen defense.
It was obvious that the visiting team's strategy was to maintain the one-goal lead until the end.
But in the 63rd minute, Benítez finally made a substitution.
Mista replaced Jorge Lopez on the right and moved the Spanish striker up next to Sudon.
Now, Su Dong was free.
…
Before Mista came on the court, Su Dong had a feeling as if his hands and feet were trapped. His whole body was full of strength, but he couldn't use any of it.
It’s not that he doesn’t try hard, but head coach Benítez doesn’t allow him to play like that.
Valladolid almost retreated across the board, and had the advantage in numbers on defense. Vicente and Jorge Lopez on the wingers, and Aimar in the middle were unable to pass threatening balls, so Su Dong was also unable to do anything.
But after Mista came on the court, the Spanish striker with comprehensive characteristics and strong tactical execution ability took over the tough task from Su Dong.
According to Benítez's latest instructions, Su Dong can play freely.
Su Dong, who was full of anger and feeling hot all over, immediately pulled out of the penalty area, retreated and raised his hand to ask for the ball.
Aimar delivered the ball to Su Dong's feet at the right time and quickly moved forward.
But this time Su Dong did not pass the ball. Instead, at the moment of stopping the ball, he leaned back and suppressed the defensive player behind him with his body, stopped the ball, turned around, started quickly, and dribbled the ball straight into the penalty area.
Valladolid deployed heavy troops in the penalty area. After Su Dong dribbled into the penalty area, he decisively sprinted to the left side of the small penalty area. The two central defenders of the opposing team stayed close to the inside, fearing that Su Dong would shoot with his left foot.
Faced with two opponents at the same time, Su Dong couldn't find the angle to shoot, but when he rushed to the left side of the penalty area, Su Dong faced the baseline and suddenly kicked the ball with his heel.
The ball was hit by Su Dong's heel and passed back to Vincent who just rushed into the penalty area.
Valencia's left winger was also startled by Su Dong's sudden heel pass and almost couldn't react.
This is true for teammates, not to mention others.
Vicente reacted quickly, made some adjustments, glanced at the center, and made a horizontal pass.
At this time, Aimar rushed over, caught up with the ball near the penalty spot, and pushed it gently.
The ball goes in!!! One to one!
The Argentine midfielder excitedly ran to Su Dong at the end line, and gave him a bear hug, trying to pick him up, but the embarrassing thing was...
Su Dong reacted immediately and took the initiative to hug the short and thin Aimar, resolving the Argentine's embarrassment.
Being tall still has advantages! …
"Is this kid really depressed?"
On the sidelines, Jestedan watched Su Dong pick up Aimar and laughed out loud.
"That heel pass just now was good." Benítez said lightly.
Jestindan was a little surprised when he heard this. It was not easy to be praised so highly by the picky Benítez.
“In fact, we should let him interact more with Aimar and Vicente,” Jestedan suggested.
Benítez nodded, as he had done in the warm-up match.
"But, Paco, you have to know that a warm-up match is different from an official match. When a team like Valladolid shrinks away from home, who do you think is sure to break through their defense?"
Jestedan understood what Benítez meant.
He made up his mind from the beginning to wear down the opponent in the first half, and the only surprise was Valladolid's goal.
Mista was the backup plan he had prepared long ago.
Of course, Benítez had another option, which was to let Su Dong play as a substitute and as a surprise weapon, but he did not do so.
It was obvious that he wanted to establish Su Dong as the main force from the very beginning.
For a center forward, especially in today's European football, it is not enough to just score goals.
…
After Valencia equalized the score, Benítez quickly made a second substitution.
Mohamed Sissoko replaced centre-back Marchena.
Valencia started to press forward, playing with three at the back, but Mohamed Sissoko stayed further back to protect the defence.
This also allows the players in the frontcourt to focus more on the offense.
After being free, Su Dong began to connect frequently with Aimar and Vicente, and the attack in the frontcourt also became active.
In the 81st minute, after getting the ball in the midfield, Aimar got rid of the defender, dribbled forward, and quickly passed the ball to the left to Vicente.
When Vicente got the ball one-on-one on the wing, Su Dong was already at the front of the penalty area, raising his left hand high.
The Spanish winger took a look at Su Dong, then suddenly started moving and dribbled the ball straight towards the opponent's defender.
Su Dong was still standing on the left side of the top of the penalty area, watching Vincent dribbling the ball, and he was also cheering for his teammates in his heart.
come on!
Kill him! You can do it!
Pass the ball!!! Su Dong’s legs were already full of energy, ready to rush forward at any time.
The opponent's defender Pena kept trying to push Su Dong away, but because of his short stature, he couldn't push Su Dong away and was always easily blocked. The two were not in the same weight class at all.
After seeing Vincent deceive the opponent with a fake move and successfully break through the baseline, Su Dong sprinted forward immediately.
Still as a mountain, swift as a rabbit! This sentence is not an exaggeration to describe Su Dong at this moment.
Pena paid close attention to Su Dong, but even so, he was easily shaken off by Su Dong.
That explosive power, that speed, plus that height, is really devastating! Pena watched Su Dong sprint forward and leap high, like an unstoppable god of war!
Su Dong had no time to pay attention to the admiring eyes behind him. After shaking off his opponent, he rushed to the front of the small penalty area and jumped high. Vincent's cross ball came right in front of him. He exerted force with his waist and abdomen and pushed hard with his head.
The ball hit the target solidly, and after being hit by the force, it changed direction and headed straight for the upper left corner of the goal.
Goalkeeper Bizzarri reacted instinctively but missed the ball.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Su Dong scored a goal!!!!"
"In the 81st minute, Su Dong scored his first goal in the La Liga with a header!"
"In his La Liga debut, Sudon scored a goal to help Valencia reverse the defeat against Valladolid."
“It was a really crucial goal!”
After Su Dong scored a goal, he jumped up with excitement and cheered wildly.
The Valencia fans on the sidelines were also shouting his name crazily.
"This is only Sudon's third official game for Valencia, but he has already conquered the discerning fans of the Bats."
"Fifty thousand fans were cheering his name in unison. This goal is worth three points!"
Su Dong hugged his teammates on the sidelines and accepted congratulations from them.
Now he began to understand why Benítez meant that.
A football match lasts 90 minutes, and no team can maintain full strength for 90 minutes.
When facing a team like Valladolid, you can either crush the opponent with overwhelming force or wear down the opponent and then wait for the opportunity.
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(End of this chapter)
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