Chapter 278: The Ambitious Su Manzi
The moment he saw Su Dong score a goal, Deschamps first raised his hands in surprise, then dropped them weakly, shook his head, and turned to the visiting team's coaching booth with a helpless look on his face.
"He still scored a goal!" Deschamps said angrily and helplessly.
He had expected this, but he didn't expect the goal to come so early.
How to say it?
The ball just now was indeed hit quite suddenly, and it also reflected Monaco's immaturity.
Similarly, the ball was suddenly intercepted after switching from defense to offense, and the team had to switch from offense to defense. Valencia had tried this once before, but the transition was very stable. Although Morientes created a shooting opportunity, it failed to pose a threat.
But it was different for Monaco this time. Su Dong's running and positioning were too uncomfortable, especially his tall and strong body, which really gave him an advantage in the penalty area. Vicente was a left-footed player but took a corner kick from the right side. It was hard to say that it was not intentional.
Evra is left-footed, and so is Vicente, which makes it very difficult for Evra to stop Vicente when he receives the ball and passes it diagonally into the penalty area with his left foot. If it was a right-footed player, the situation would be very different.
Of course, the most important reason is still because of the Soviet Union.
Vincent passed the ball with a very clear purpose, which was to find Su Dong!
"Desailly is absolutely right, this kid is so damn difficult to deal with!" Deschamps cursed angrily.
Before the game, he made a special call to his former Chelsea teammate Desailly.
Chelsea just had a fight with Valencia in the Champions League, and Desailly almost had a fight with Su Dong.
Desailly said with a smile that he used the iron elbow that Shearer had used to teach Su Dong a lesson.
This was when Desailly just arrived in the Premier League and competed with the Premier League's top center forward Shearer. The English center forward directly elbowed him during the game, and this time he directly elbowed Su Dong.
God knows why it was Shearer who elbowed him, but now he wants to take revenge on Su Dong? But Desailly, who has experienced stars such as Vieri, Bierhoff, Ronaldo, Owen, Van Nistelrooy and Henry throughout his career, told Deschamps that Su Dong is different from these players.
"I can't tell exactly where it's different, but it feels like everything is different. Anyway, it's very difficult to deal with!"
Deschamps didn't understand what Desailly was talking about before, but now he has some understanding.
Yes, he is indeed very different and very difficult!
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Deschamps said before the game that he didn't mind Valencia scoring first because he had made a series of arrangements and plans specifically for the situation after conceding the goal, and he even had a plan on how to reverse the opponent when falling behind.
But what he didn't expect was that after taking the lead, Valencia still played steadily.
This team feels as if they can't score any goals.
They controlled the midfield, passed the ball forward when there was an opportunity, organized and planned the attack, and quickly returned to defense after losing the ball. They did not take risks or seek credit, and it seemed that they intended to waste time with Monaco in this way.
The opponent controlled the ball and the rhythm. Monaco no longer attacked as they did at the beginning of the game, especially after losing the ball. They did not dare to counterattack. They always remembered that they were not as strong as Valencia.
Valencia's double defensive midfielders also consciously slowed down the pace of the game and firmly controlled the situation, which made the subsequent game somewhat calm and neither side invested too much in the attack.
Who would have believed that neither side had a single shot during this 20-minute period? This situation lasted until 35 minutes later.
As the first half came to an end, Monaco's players began to lose their patience.
Deschamps' pre-match plan did include a plan for Valencia to score first, but in his plan, after conceding the first goal, they should have scored a goal to equalize the score and get a valuable away goal.
But Valencia played too steadily, like a frog in boiling water, trying to slowly stew Monaco to death.
So, at the end of the first half, Monaco organized another offensive.
Still trying to attack from both wings, Ibarra on the right began to actively press forward and formed cooperation with Giuly, while Evra and Rothen on the left also gradually exerted their strength. Rothen received a pass from Evra on the left and tried to force a breakthrough against Curro Torres, but failed. He barely sent the ball into the penalty area, but was headed out by Ayala.
Afterwards, Monaco created another opportunity on the right. Giuly dribbled the ball straight into the right side of the Valencia penalty area and passed the ball in front of the goal. Morientes took the lead and shot, but his shot was directly caught by Cañizares.
Two consecutive attacks found their way into the penalty area and Monaco regained its momentum.
…
Valencia was attacked twice in a row, but Benítez remained as steady as a rock.
The Spaniard stood on the sidelines directing the team, signaling the defense to remain stable, especially the double defensive midfielders.
Su Dong needs to hold up Monaco's defense in the front, while Vincent and Rufete need to retreat a little further. When counterattacking, they should pay attention to attacking from behind the opponent, especially the gaps left by Monaco's two full-backs after their forward advances.
In the 42nd minute, Ibarra once again joined the attack, but the ball was intercepted when it reached the middle. Baraja quickly passed the ball diagonally to the left. Vicente went straight behind Ibarra, dribbling the ball all the way to the left side of the penalty area. Before Rodriguez could rush over, Vicente sent a high cross with his left foot.
The ball crossed most of the penalty area and fell into the center of the goal.
When Vicente was dribbling the ball, Su Dong also sprinted forward.
Monaco center back Gilvert tried desperately to hold him back, but Su Dong was like a wild bull. He ignored the French center back's pulling and just kept sprinting forward without thinking.
After rushing past the penalty spot, Su Dong jumped high and headed the ball towards Vincent's cross from the left, which went straight into the lower left corner of Monaco's goal.
Goalkeeper Roma dived sideways, but was still a little slow.
“The ball goes in!!!!”
"Su Dong! Su Dong!!"
"In the 42nd minute, Su Dong scored another crucial goal for Valencia!"
“Two to zero!”
"Gilvey tried desperately to hold him back, but Su Dong rushed forward and it was impossible to stop him, not to mention that he couldn't be stopped, even if he fouled him. Instead, Gilvey himself was dragged by Su Dong and couldn't even jump to compete for the header."
"Their physical qualities are totally different. Although Su Dong is only 19 years old, his physical strength is really outstanding. He reminds me of Italian center forward Vieri!"
"Now he has begun to possess the same overwhelming momentum as Vieri during his heyday!"
After Su Dong scored a goal, he rushed out of the stadium excitedly, ran all the way along the stands, accepting the cheers of the fans, and finally hugged his teammates who followed him on the sidelines to celebrate the goal.
"Well done!" Albelda and others were very happy.
A 2-0 lead is already a very good advantage for Valencia.
Next, as long as the team does not encounter any accidents and can maintain this score, what will Monaco have to do in the second round? If the first goal just now was still within Monaco's expectations, then now, Su Dong's second goal has seriously hit the morale of Monaco players.
Now they have a difficult question: should they try to score an away goal? If they do, they have to press forward and attack. If they don't, they will be two goals behind and it will be difficult to play in the second round.
The Valencia players are well aware of this, so they are all very excited.
This time, the initiative of the game was truly in Valencia's hands.
Next, they can play more patiently and see how Deschamps and his Monaco will play.
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In the first half, Deschamps ultimately made no adjustments.
But after the start of the second half, Monaco launched another attack.
Unlike the first wave, Monaco did not dare to deploy too many troops this time, especially the two full-backs.
Obviously, Deschamps is well aware that as long as their full-backs press forward again, Valencia will continue to attack behind them, which would be quite fatal for them.
Without the support from the full-backs, Rothen had no advantage against Curro Torres and it was difficult for him to create a threat. Giuly on the right was very threatening, but Valencia's defensive focus was tilted towards him, making it difficult for Giuly to do anything.
In the 64th minute, Deschamps made the first substitution of the game, replacing Cisse with Nonda.
This was a signal to intensify the attack.
In the 70th minute, he replaced Gilgeous-Alexander with Squillaci.
The two goals conceded in this game were both related to Gilvey.
Interestingly, just three minutes after Squillaci came on as a substitute, Valencia took advantage of Monaco's substitution and seized an opportunity to launch an attack.
After Su Dong retreated to receive the long pass from the backcourt, he controlled the ball and passed it to David Silva.
After playing for more than an hour, David Silva gradually got into the game state. He stopped the ball, looked forward, and quickly made a straight pass, sending the ball directly to the area behind the defense line.
Vicente cut in from the left rib behind the defense, caught up with David Silva's straight pass, stopped the ball and faced Squillaci. With a clever feint, he rushed into the penalty area with the ball and scored with a low left-foot shot.
Three to zero! The entire Mestalla Stadium was in an uproar! Countless fans were cheering for Valencia's performance, shouting the names of each player and cheering for them! Valencia's players also rushed out of the field and celebrated wildly.
Three to zero, Valencia already has enough advantages! Even if the game ends here and goes to the Louis II Stadium, Valencia has enough chances to escape from the away game unscathed.
The same reversal may still be possible against Real Madrid, which has a weak defense, but the possibility is very slim against the stable Valencia.
Moreover, with the previous experience of Real Madrid, how could Valencia repeat the same mistake?
(End of this chapter)
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