Chapter 277: Su Dong's Little Fanboy
When Deschamps got the list of Valencia's starting lineup, his hands trembled noticeably.
Then he immediately looked up at assistant coach Gene Pettit, as if asking: Are you sure this is Valencia's starting lineup? Pettit nodded affirmatively, "I checked it again."
Apparently, Pettit was equally surprised.
The goalkeeper is Cañizares, the defense line is Aurelio, Marchena, Ayala and Curro Torres, the double defensive midfielders are Baraja and Albelda, the frontcourt is Vicente, David Silva and Rufete, and the single striker is Sudon.
It is still Valencia's most standard 4-2-3-1 formation, and the players are basically the same. The only difference is that after Aimar was injured and missed the game, the 18-year-old young player David Silva replaced him.
But it was this substitution that made Deschamps and Petit drop their jaws.
Before the game, when they analyzed Valencia's 18-man roster, they basically concluded that David Silva was only a substitute.
It is even judged that it is unlikely that he will play in the game.
But he actually started the game! "Who is this guy?" Deschamps couldn't believe it.
The 19-year-old Su Dong had a crazy season in Valencia. Could it be that the Bat Army has tasted the sweetness?
That's not true. Before coming to Valencia, Sudong was already Sporting Lisbon's top scorer, the Portuguese Super League's top scorer and the UEFA Cup's top scorer. Valencia spent 10 million euros on his transfer, so it was natural for him to be a starter.
What about David Silva?
"All the information we have about him is in the file. There's really nothing much to say. The only thing worth mentioning is that he has a very good relationship with Su Dong. It is said that they train together every day." Pettit was also very distressed.
"That's it?" Deschamps thought, this reason is too incredible, right? Is Benítez such a person? They are full of unknowns about David Silva, but it is precisely this unknown that makes them feel uneasy.
"Tell Cisse and Zicos to be careful of this kid!" Deschamps warned.
He always had a bad feeling.
…………
…………
The game started amid the roar of the Mestalla Stadium.
This highly anticipated first leg of the Champions League semi-final entered Monaco's rhythm from the very beginning.
The French Ligue 1 team took the lead in launching an attack on Valencia.
This is as it should be and is not surprising.
Although Monaco is slightly inferior in terms of strength and is playing away, the more this is the case, the more they need to grab a wave.
This is a temptation and also a psychological tactic.
The general meaning is to tell the other person, I'm not afraid of you!
Of course, it would be even better if we could disrupt the opponent's rhythm and tactics.
Giuly played very actively on the right, dribbling forward twice in the second and third minutes. Although he failed to make a shot, he also made Monaco's attack more powerful.
Morientes is very familiar with La Liga and Pulso is 1.88 meters tall. These two players still put tremendous pressure on Valencia's defense.
Evra and Ibarra were also very active on the wings, frequently pressing forward during this wave of attacks.
These two full-backs are both strong in assisting ability. Evra is a French native defender, and Ibarra is on loan from Porto. He was abandoned by Mourinho before because he focused more on attack than defense, so Mourinho trusts Ferreira more.
It can be said that Monaco played passionately and aggressively from the very beginning.
…
Valencia did not go against Monaco.
When arranging tasks before the game, Benítez repeatedly emphasized that Valencia should focus on stability when playing at home, strive to stabilize the defense first, and then slowly plan the attack.
Monaco's opening attack forced Valencia to naturally take a defensive stance.
Especially in the defense of the two flanks, Vicente and Rufete both retreated more actively, and the young player David Silva also ran very hard in the midfield. Together with the double defensive midfielders behind, they ensured that Valencia's defense was solid.
But in the seventh minute of the game, Valencia got a good chance.
After the double defensive midfielders intercepted the ball on the center line, they quickly passed it to David Silva and launched a quick counterattack.
At this time, Su Dong was already pointing his hand forward, signaling David Silva to pass the ball quickly so that he could get straight behind him.
The young Valencia player seemed a little nervous. In a hurry, perhaps he didn't pay attention or didn't react, he actually chose to dribble the ball forward by himself. Needless to say, he was knocked to the ground by Zicos and the ball was intercepted.
In just a few seconds, Valencia switched from defense to offense, and then from offense to defense, but Monaco created the first shot of the game.
Morientes headed the ball, slightly higher.
David Silva climbed up from the grass angrily, looking very regretful and regretting his mistake just now.
Su Dong ran back from the front and touched David Silva's head. "It's okay. It's always like this the first time. It's easy to be nervous."
"I was a little confused just now," David Silva explained.
He was afraid that Su Dong would misunderstand that he was trying to show off on purpose, so he didn't pass the ball.
Su Dong smiled, and touched his head with more force, "Hurry up and go back and prepare. Remember, your advantage is passing the ball, running, passing, and cutting. Your speed doesn't have much of an advantage, and your body is weak, so don't do it recklessly!"
David Silva nodded continuously, remembering Su Dong's words.
…
Subsequently, David Silva's several handling of the ball were much more stable, but there was no threat.
He was more focused on dodging Monaco's double defensive midfielders, moving sideways, receiving the ball from the double defensive midfielders and the backcourt, making a transition, and passing the ball mainly to the wingers, responsible for passing to the open space.
He has very good footwork, it's not easy for him to lose the ball, and his passes are very accurate. As long as he is not entangled by the opponent's body, there is basically no problem.
Gradually, Valencia began to control the midfield and gained possession of the ball.
Benítez was very satisfied with the situation and kept calling on the players on the sidelines, signaling them to stabilize the situation.
With Su Dong at the front, Monaco's two central defenders were basically unable to move.
Deschamps would never allow the central defender to fight Su Dong one-on-one. Two central defenders defending Su Dong is the minimum.
As long as Su Dong suppresses the opponent's central defender, Monaco's two full-backs are keen to attack from behind, and the space behind them can be easily exploited by Valencia, especially Vicente's left.
You know, Ibarra was not liked by Mourinho in Porto because he always liked to attack and easily lost his position when defending. That's why Porto wanted to introduce Ferreira.
After coming to Monaco, Deschamps' 4-4-2 tactics of flying on both wings further boosted Ibarra's offensive desire.
After controlling the ball, Su Dong suppressed the central defender, and all that was left was to wait.
Wait for Monaco to make a mistake!
…
In the 16th minute, Valencia made a quick pass through the midfield.
After making several consecutive cross passes to the wing and back passes, David Silva suddenly took a step forward and made a straight pass.
The shot was not actually very good, as it was too close to Monaco center back Gilvert.
But Su Dong still ran over and blocked Gilvey with his body. In addition, the Monaco central defender was left-footed and not very proficient with his right foot, so Su Dong got the ball first and poked the ball to the right side of the penalty area, then accelerated to catch up.
Although Su Dong chased after him and shot with his right foot, making Valencia's first shot of the game, the shooting angle was too small and was blocked by the goalkeeper, and went directly out of the baseline.
The fans at the Mestalla Stadium still cheered for Su Dong's shot.
Su Dong gave David Silva a thumbs up from a distance.
If the ball was passed by Aimar, Su Dong believed that he would be able to turn it into a goal, or at least the shot would be more threatening.
But unfortunately, David Silva is still a little naive.
No matter what, it’s a good thing that it can be spread!
David Silva was also encouraged and nodded at Su Dong with a smile.
…
Vicente stood in the corner and raised his right hand high.
The players from both teams were crowded together in the penalty area, and no one dared to be careless, especially against Su Dong.
Valencia quickly took a corner kick, but did not look for Su Dong at the back post, but instead went to the front post.
Marchena tried to get to the front post, but Monaco center back Rodriguez headed the ball away.
The ball fell to the outside of the penalty area. Balaha rushed over to grab the ball and kicked it directly.
The ball hit Zicos and fell to the right.
Vincent, who had just taken a corner kick, had just run to a position where he was not offside. When he saw the ball coming, he immediately rushed over, stopped the ball, and then took another look at the penalty area.
He saw Su Dong!
Evra rushed over to defend immediately, but Vicente is a left-footed player, and he sent a diagonal cross with his left foot from outside the right corner of the penalty area.
The ball quickly fell to the right side of the penalty spot.
Su Dong ran over, used his body to block Gilvey behind him, jumped up lightly, and stopped Vincent's cross with his chest. Without waiting for the ball to hit the ground, he stood firmly on his left foot, turned sideways, and shot the falling ball with his right foot.
The shot was very smooth and powerful, while also keeping the angle low.
The ball went straight to the left side of the goal at an extremely fast speed.
Monaco goalkeeper Roma was standing a little to the right. When he reacted, he flew sideways and tried to block Su Dong's shot.
But this time, no matter how hard he stretched his right hand, he was unable to block Su Dong's shot.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"In the 17th minute, Valencia scored the first goal!"
"Goal from Su Dong!"
Su Dong raised his arms and shouted, then rushed to the sidelines. He turned around at the corner area and hugged Vincent and David Silva who were running towards him, celebrating the goal with them.
The entire Mestalla Stadium erupted! All the Valencia fans were cheering for Su Dong! David Silva looked at Su Dong with a look of admiration. He wished he could be a player like Su Dong, tall, mighty, strong and powerful! Su Dong didn't notice the look of the little fanboy. He was high-fiving and hugging his teammates who rushed over, celebrating the team's first goal.
With this goal, the game becomes much easier to play!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
