Rebirth Football Simulator

Chapter 164 Captain
With their first direct free kick after joining the Premier League, Manchester City successfully pulled back a goal.

So the morale of the whole team has been improved to a certain extent.

In addition, Gundogan's appearance somewhat increased some midfield control, making Manchester City's midfield less uncomfortable.

So the next two teams will attack and defend each other.

In the 52nd minute, Eriksson's oblique plug passed through Manchester City's defense line. Ali went forward to receive the ball in the penalty area and immediately kicked the goal.

Bravo reacted quickly, and quickly went down to the ground and stretched his legs to block the shot with his feet on the ground.

In the 61st minute, Manchester City also created a chance.

Aguero moved and pulled, Sterling quickly crossed after breaking through from the right, Zhang Chaoqiang received the ball and won a one-on-one single against Vertonghen.

With a flick of his foot, Zhang Chaoqiang shook Vertonghen away and kicked decisively.

But Lori's position in front of the goal was perfect, and he raised his hand to block Zhang Chaoqiang's shot.

Both sides came and went, and each had some opportunities, but the score on the court remained at 2:1.

The home team Tottenham lead by one goal.

In the 73rd minute, Tottenham once again created a good opportunity.

Eriksson made a pass from midfield, and Ali knocked his heel in front of the penalty area very imaginatively, and the football was knocked into Manchester City's penalty area.

Sun Xingmin caught the ball and started, but was tripped by Otamendi.

The referee immediately blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.

"Penalty!! Tottenham got a penalty! This is a penalty created by our Xingmin!!"

Sun Xingmin made a penalty kick, and the South Korean commentator instantly became excited, and he was extremely excited.

The Manchester City players on the field were very disappointed.

Now at this point in time, Tottenham get a penalty kick, and then expand the lead to two goals, then Tottenham will basically seal the victory.

Zhang Chaoqiang had no choice but to go back to his own goal, patted the goalkeeper Bravo on the shoulder and said, "Come on, Claudio, we still have a chance to save the ball."

This is a symbolic encouragement to teammates.

Bravo's performance after joining Manchester City was not stable, and even many Manchester City fans accused the Chilean of not being as reliable as the original Joe Hart.

It's just that Joe Hart's foot skills are too rough to meet Guardiola's ball-handling tactics.

In Guardiola's tactical system, the goalkeeper also needs to participate in a lot of passing, but Joe Hart is a traditional British goalkeeper who can only take the ball and kick his feet, so he was kicked out.

But after Bravo joined, he did not show a qualified performance, and many Manchester City fans complained about this.

However, at this moment, everyone can only choose to believe him.

After encouraging his teammates, Zhang Chaoqiang turned around and found an interesting scene.

Tottenham appeared to be caught in a penalty contest.

Without Harry Kane, Tottenham are without their most consistent penalty shooter.

Among Tottenham's current players on the field, Sun Xingmin, Eriksson, Ali, and Lamela all have good foot skills, and they all seem to want to take this penalty.

Eriksson and Ali only said a few words casually and then quickly backed away, but Sun Xingmin and Lamela were a little deadlocked.

Both were eager to take the penalty.

For Sun Xingmin, of course he would like to score a goal in this Asian derby.

Lamela may have a higher penalty spot in the team. After all, he and coach Pochettino are both Argentines, so it is easier to gain trust.

What's more, the opposite goalkeeper is Bravo, and Lamela is very eager to break the opponent's goal, especially in the form of penalties.

Last year and this summer, in two consecutive Copa America finals, Argentina lost to Chile in penalty shootouts and missed the championship.

Bravo is the main goalkeeper of the Chilean national team. He is also the best goalkeeper in two consecutive America's Cups. He has successfully saved Argentina's penalties in two consecutive penalty shootouts.

It is not Lamela's turn to take a penalty kick in the Copa America final, but in this club match, Lamela does not want to miss the opportunity.

He wants to save face for Argentina with practical actions.

After a stalemate between Lamela and Sun Xingmin, Sun Xingmin gave in and retreated, and Lamela took the penalty kick.

The South Korean commentator was not happy, and said angrily: "This is a penalty created by our Xingmin, and it was forcibly taken away by Lamela?"

"This is the Asian derby of the Premier League. The Chinese on the opposite side have scored a goal. We, Xingmin, also need to score a goal."

Accompanied by the angry rebuke of the Koreans, Lamela stood to the penalty spot.

The referee blew his whistle, and he ran up and shot to the lower right corner of the goal.

Bravo gambled on the right direction like a divine help, flew forward and hugged the ball directly.

White Hart Lane was immediately filled with sighs.

"Well done, Bravo!!"

"He saved Lamela's penalty and kept City alive."

"Chile's goalkeeper is simply Argentina's nemesis. He helped Chile beat Argentina in a penalty shootout for two consecutive America's Cups. Now the Premier League has also saved Argentine players' penalties..."

The Chinese commentator was very excited and kept singing praises for Bravo.

Instead, Tottenham fans experienced a roller coaster in just 2 minutes.

It's exciting to win a game-killing penalty and then miss it.

Fortunately, the lead is still there.

As long as Tottenham maintain the score of 2:1, they can still win this game.

※※※

On the court, the game continues.

Manchester City rejected a penalty kick from their opponents and took advantage of this opportunity to set off a wave of counterattacks.

On Tottenham's side, they may be affected by the loss of points, or their physical strength may have declined, and there has been a significant decline in pressing and intercepting.

So Manchester City finally launched a continuous offensive wave.

When the game time entered 80 minutes, the stadium has become a situation where Manchester City besieged Tottenham.

Pochettino kept waving his arms on the sidelines, just wanting to keep the 2:1 score.

In the 85th minute, Zhang Chaoqiang cooperated with his teammates to transport the ball to the frontcourt. Seeing that Tottenham had blocked the middle, he transferred the ball to the right.

Spanish striker Navas, who came on as a substitute for Sterling, cooperated with Gundogan and David Silva in continuous passing, and Tottenham's defensive formation was gradually pulled and shifted.

At this time, Navas sent a straight kick from the side, and the Manchester City right-back Sabaletta, who was pressed to the frontcourt, quickly slipped to the bottom and made a pass.

The quality of this pass is very good, and the landing is right in front of the goal.

Tottenham players moved their feet one after another to clear the ball. Zhang Chaoqiang, who was cruising around the penalty area line, exerted force on the soles of his feet, and rushed forward in three big strides.

Taking off with a run-up, he jumped over Wanyama, who was a little slower to react, and shook his head directly to face the falling football.

With a bang, the football hit the side of Zhang Chaoqiang's head firmly and bounced straight to the goal.

Lori in front of the door fished it casually, but found nothing.

The football was flying over his head and crashing into the net.

"Goooooooooal—————"

"The goal is in! Super Zhang scored with a header and Manchester City equalized the score!!"

"This is another key goal at a critical moment, and Super Zhang has stepped forward again. He is the real top star of Manchester City!"

"If Manchester City is the galactic battleship of the Premier League, then Super Zhang is the captain of this battleship. He can always stand up at critical moments."

"In the Champions League match in the middle of the week, it was Super Zhang who contributed the lore in stoppage time. In this strong battle against Tottenham, Manchester City fell behind 0:2 in the first half, and it was Super Zhang who scored twice in the second half. Manchester City equalized."

The England commentator hissed and cheered, and kept shouting for Zhang Chaoqiang's header.

At the same time, the domestic commentators were also roaring wildly.

"Good shot!! Zhang Chaoqiang!!"

"With a beautiful head shake, Zhang Chaoqiang once again broke through the goal of Tottenham, directly chasing the score to 2:2!"

"In this much-watched Asian derby, Zhang Chaoqiang contributed his first Premier League direct free kick and the first Premier League header, which did not disappoint the Chinese fans waiting to watch."

"Now the morale of Manchester City has risen, and there is still game time, Manchester City has every chance to reverse and win!"

At this time, only the South Korean commentator was upset, still talking about the previous penalty.

"If we let Xingmin take the penalty just now, we will definitely score the penalty. Now even if we concede the goal, we will not be tied..."

After Zhang Chaoqiang scored a goal, he simply celebrated.

Now the morale of the Manchester City team is high, and everyone wants to work hard to reverse the game directly.

But Pochettino reacted quickly, quickly stabilized the situation on the field, and continued to seek stability and balance.

In the last few minutes, Aguero received a pass from Gundogan on the left side of the penalty area and made a high-quality volley, but was bravely saved by Lori.

In stoppage time, Zhang Chaoqiang swayed Sun Xingmin from the front of the penalty area and shot from a long distance, which was also a little short.

This is a rare direct confrontation between the two in this game.

In this way, the score of 2:2 was maintained until the end.

"Regardless of the score or the scene, it was a fair game."

"Tottenham dominated the first half, City dominated the second, then scored twice and it ended in a draw."

"But on the other hand, Tottenham interrupted Manchester City's winning streak, Manchester City held on to the lead in the standings, both sides were successful..."

This is a more pertinent post-match summary.

(End of this chapter)