Chapter 259 Extreme World Wave (2)

David James, the current number one goalkeeper of the England team, is 34 years old and is nicknamed "The Nervous Knife" and "The Disaster James".

James has excellent reaction ability and strong ability to save shots, and he often makes wonderful saves in games. So last year, he got the favor of coach Eriksson and replaced Paul Robinson as the main goalkeeper of the England team.

However, the reason why James is called a "nervous knife" must be due to his omissions. When he played for Liverpool, he was a little afraid of catching high balls, and when he played for Manchester City and England, he occasionally had the experience of making rash attacks or missing the ball strangely. In short, you can't predict when James will scare people.

Goalkeeper is the position in a football match lineup that requires the most stable performance. As a goalkeeper, this shortcoming of James is absolutely fatal, which also makes the current national team coach Eriksson more and more disappointed in him.

And now, at the City of Manchester Stadium, with tens of thousands of fans in the stands watching, James once again displayed this neurotic performance.

Wang Li's lob from the center line was very powerful. After the ball rose to the highest point in the air, it fell directly towards the goal. Although this shot was very good, the shot was more than 50 meters away from the goal anyway, and the buffer distance was too large. Moreover, the purpose of this shot was purely for deterrence. The shot was too far away from the goal, and it was impossible for Wang Li to shoot in a blind spot, so the angle of the ball was not tricky.

But this time, goalkeeper David James missed the ball.

Unforgivable Mistake

Seeing the football falling towards the goal, James jumped up suddenly, but saw the football pass through his hands.

At this moment, the noise in the audience suddenly stopped. At this moment, James' expression was extremely embarrassed.

"Beep..." After the kick-off whistle sounded, the referee reacted and blew the whistle again, indicating that the goal was valid this time...

At this time, most of the fans in the audience opened their mouths wide, watching the football still rolling in the goal. The goal was scored from 50 yards out. No matter what the reason was, it was too unbelievable.

The Blues fans reacted quickly. Just two minutes after the opponent scored a goal, the team equalized the score. Happiness came too quickly.

There was a sudden cheer from the west stand of the stadium, and even many neutral fans joined in the shouting and cheering. This ultra-long-distance world wave was definitely worth the price of the ticket. The next moment, Manchester City fans also reacted. They responded with a uniform "boo" sound, but they didn't know whether they were "booing" the opponent or "booing" their own goalkeeper?

At this time, the commentator who had been so high-spirited just now also became depressed. He said sourly: "Chelsea's luck is really good. Maybe they should thank our David for this goal. This goal was purely a friendly gift. But I hope James will not be so generous..."

Yes, this goal was really unexpected. Even Wang Li, who scored the goal, couldn't believe it and watched for a long time in the center circle before he confirmed that the ball had gone in. At this time, he felt a little sympathetic towards his national team teammate James. It was obvious that half of this goal was due to him, which also made Wang Li sigh with emotion.

Planting flowers intentionally may not make them bloom, but planting willows unintentionally may make them grow into shade trees

However, Chelsea players didn't care about the reason for the goal. They only knew that Wang Li scored again. After Manchester City scored a goal, the team equalized the score within two minutes. This made their mental state suddenly become full, and the team's morale soared.

"Alan, you're awesome!" Bridget, who ran over from the backfield, excitedly gave Wang Li a hug, and then pressed him directly under him. Then, the excited Chelsea players stacked up in the middle of the court, of course, this kind of stacking was 'sideways'.

The initiator this time was Wayne Bridge. From this point of view, he really lacked brains and had no memory. Every time Bridge was always above Wang Li, thus becoming the most painful person in the team.

Amidst such hearty celebrations, Manchester City coach Keegan on the bench was filled with helplessness. Just a moment ago he was still dreaming that the team could win a victory at home, but just two minutes later, the opponent equalized the score, which was really disappointing.

Although most people considered this goal an own goal, purely a 'free gift' from Manchester City goalkeeper James, as a head coach, Keegan was not so paranoid. It was obvious that the biggest contributor to the goal was the opponent's No. 21 black-haired boy.

It is difficult to hit the ball into the goal frame, let alone exerting force, from the center circle. However, this shot seems to be no different from a free kick within 30 meters, which shows the strength and accuracy of the shot.

Thinking of this, Mr. Keegan looked at the black-haired boy who was pressed down by the crowd but still laughing in the stadium. He felt helpless. If Manchester City also had such outstanding players, why would they worry about not achieving good results?

At this time, Mr. Mourinho, who was sitting on the sidelines, was also very surprised. He turned his head to look at assistant coach Clark and said with a smile: "This kid is really full of surprises!"

"I just now realize that scoring a goal is so easy. The opponent played steadily for such a long time and finally scored a goal, but it was equalized so easily..." Although Clark did not finish his words, his expression showed that he was mostly gloating.

Mourinho looked at the players celebrating their goals on the field, a smile appeared on his face, and he said: "Perhaps, from now on, the situation will change, and the next games will be much easier..."

………

Back on the court, at the signal from the referee, the players of both teams returned to the center of the court and took their positions. A whistle announced that the game had resumed.

During these few minutes, the players' mentality can be said to be ups and downs. From Manchester City's goal to Chelsea's equalizer, this process made people go from worry to joy or from joy to worry. The drastic change in mentality also created an instant change in the morale of the players of both teams.

The excitement of Manchester City players was gone. They had just tried their best to seize an opportunity to take the lead, but within 2 minutes, the opponent equalized the game with a simple shot. This blow came too quickly and they were almost not mentally prepared. It was really depressing.

And now, they all looked at the black-haired boy No. 21 in the Chelsea formation with some timidity. Even those who don’t understand football know that the person who can kick that kind of shot must have extraordinary leg strength. Just imagine if this boy’s powerful shot hits someone, it will definitely not be pleasant.

If we recall the first few minutes of the game, it seems that Manchester City and Chelsea are tied, but in fact, Chelsea has many more shooting opportunities. Everyone knows that the opponent just failed to find the state just now. So can the team score again and take the lead again? Or can Manchester City still defend Chelsea's attack?

At this time, they remembered what the head coach Mr. Keegan said before the game: "This game is free to play, it doesn't matter if we win or lose, we just need to play with the momentum of Manchester City."

At that time, many players were still a little unconvinced, but now they understand that the coach knew it was difficult for the team to win, so he let us play freely and try not to embarrass ourselves at home.

All these thoughts caused the morale of Manchester City players to plummet. Even though this was at the Manchester City Stadium, they were somewhat unable to muster the energy to continue working as hard as they did at the beginning.

But Chelsea was the exact opposite. In the first few dozen minutes, their performance was not bad, but even so, they were tied with their opponents and even let them take the lead. This situation made the players more or less depressed. But now, they realized that the team still had Allen, Chelsea's dancing master and goal prince.

Undoubtedly, the most trustworthy player in Chelsea's offense right now is Wang Li. This is the deterrent brought by past game results. For Chelsea players, Wang Li is the mainstay. As long as he is on the court, the team will win. This is what most people think.

With this fluctuating mental state and morale, the situation on the field changed dramatically in a short period of time. At the Manchester City Stadium, the visiting team Chelsea became the team in control of the situation.

In the final moments of the first half, Chelsea threatened Manchester City's goal again and again.

In the 37th minute, Wang Li passed the ball to the front of the penalty area from the right, and Lampard followed up with a volley that flew out of the goal frame...

In the 39th minute, Damien Duff made a high pass, Drogba overpowered two Manchester City defenders and headed the ball, but the ball was caught by David James...

In the 43rd minute, Wang Li's dribbling on the right was intercepted by the opposing defender. Mills followed up with a tackle and gave Chelsea a free kick. Lampard made a lob pass into the penalty area, but captain John Terry's shot went astray...

…

At this time, the fourth official on the sidelines signaled two minutes of extra time.

On the field, it was Chelsea's attack again. Lampard, Joe Cole and Gallas made several consecutive passes near the center and directly penetrated Manchester City's defensive formation. Wang Li got the ball on the right side of the penalty area and was double-teamed in front and behind. While the opponent had not yet formed a siege, he seized an opportunity and passed the ball directly into the penalty area.

It was Drogba again. This was the fourth through ball Wang Li gave him in the first half of the game, but the Ivorian player was still wasting his chances. Perhaps because he was nervous, he kicked the ball into the arm of goalkeeper James.

But at this time, left winger Damien Duff, who had just entered the penalty area, made a contribution.

The Irish international and Chelsea's top scorer in 2002 reacted very quickly. Facing the ball that bounced in his direction, he kicked it with his left foot in rhythm. Even though Duff's kick was not powerful because he was not a left-footed player, James on the other side of the goal could only watch the ball and sigh.

This shot also marked a perfect end to Chelsea's first half.

With the referee's whistle, the first half of the game ended with Manchester City 1:2 Chelsea.