Rebirth Football Simulator

Chapter 76 The Battle for the Golden Boot

On May 5, in the 3th round of Ligue 35, Lyon played against the relegation team Yveen at home.

In this game, Jordan Ferry was suspended for accumulative yellow cards, so Fournier let veteran Marblanco start.

Unexpectedly, the effect was very good. Marblanco scored two goals in the first half and directly helped Lyon rewrite the score to 2:0.

First he scored with a long-range shot, and a few minutes later he succeeded in making a point, allowing Lacazette to hit the goal.

In the second half, Lyon played steadily and made no mistakes, and steadily scored three points with 2:0.

On the other side, Paris beat Nantes 3-0 in an away game, chasing another goal difference.

But Lyon is not in the mood to think about the goal difference for the time being, as long as the big points are not chased.

They have to make full preparations immediately to meet the next opponent——

Naples!

※※※

The scorching sun in May is like fire, shining on the guests who come from afar.

The Naples players came out of Lyon Airport, quickly transferred to a bus into the city, and went to the reserved hotel.

But as soon as their bus entered the city, it was immediately hit by "more enthusiastic" Lyon fans.

"Italian softie, go home!"

"Kill the Italians and send them home to their milk."

"Come on, we are the Lion King forever!"

Lyon fans welcomed the Italians in their own way, following them all the way to the hotel.

There are even football hooligans mixed in, trying to attack the opposing bus.

But under the protection of the Lyon police, they did not find a chance to get off the phone.

"It's not the first time for everyone to play in European competition. No one should be scared by such a small scene?" After entering the hotel, Naples captain Hamsik asked jokingly.

Coach Benitez is a serious coach, and often can only rely on the captain or the leader of the locker room to adjust the atmosphere in the team.

"It's okay, little fun."

"The French are all like this. They can only swear a few words. Let's teach them a lesson on the court."

"Yes, just like last season."

Speaking of last season, the atmosphere suddenly became a little cold.

In the UEFA Champions League group stage last season, Naples, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, and Marseille formed a super death group.

As a result, Marseille suffered a double-kill in turn, and the other three teams got four wins and two losses at the same time, accumulating [-] magical points.

In the end, according to the relationship between each other, Dortmund became the first in the group, Arsenal became the second in the group, and Naples, which also scored [-] points, could only be eliminated as the third in the group.

This is the first time in the history of the Champions League that there is a group third with [-] points, and it is also the third group with the highest points in theory.

So for the Naples players, it was very happy to double-kill Marseille last season.

But being eliminated with a high score of [-] points made him very aggrieved.

"There is no need to mention what happened last season. Now our goal is to win the Europa League."

Hamsik picked up the topic again and asked everyone to focus on the opponents they are about to face.

"Yes, only by winning the championship can we have a chance to qualify for the Champions League."

"Fauzi, you have to be careful tomorrow night. I heard that Lyon's fast horse is very powerful, and he likes to attack the left side of the opponent the most."

"Don't worry, I played in Ligue [-] and know how to deal with those so-called fast horses..."

※※※

On May 5th, at 7:8 p.m. local time in France, the first round of the Europa League semi-finals, Lyon's home game against Naples arrived.

When entering the field with the team, Zhang Chaoqiang saw the brightly colored five-star red flag on the sidelines.

Since Zhang Chaoqiang wore his hat in Ligue [-] this season, the Chinese flag has often appeared in the Gerland stands.

But this time the banner was obviously larger and more colorful.

"Of the four teams currently in the semi-finals of the Europa League, Lyon is in the best position, because they are ranked first in Ligue [-] and their qualification for the Champions League is almost certain."

"But the other three teams are at a disadvantage in their domestic leagues, and most of them will not be able to qualify for the Champions League through domestic rankings. Therefore, the Europa League is an important way for them to qualify for the Champions League next season."

"The two rounds of semi-finals between Lyon and Naples, some domestic fans called it a battle for the Golden Boot, because Zhang Chaoqiang and Higuain not only competed directly in the semi-finals, but also competed fiercely for the top scorer list in the Europa League."

In the introduction of the domestic commentary, the two teams lined up the starting lineup.

Lyon is still the same, the main 442 formation.

Naples arranged a 4231 formation,

Goalkeeper: Andujar;
Defenders: Gulam, Britos, Albiol, Maggio;
Defenders: Jorginho, David Lopez;

Avant-garde: Insigne, Hamsik, Callejon;

Forward: Higuain.

[You start stealing the day from Lorenzo Insigne, flexibility +3]

There are quite a lot of high-attribute players in the Naples team, and Zhang Chaoqiang picked Insigne, who is the most pragmatic.

This little guy's flexibility attribute is as high as 93, and he can steal three points at once.

The game officially started, and both sides tried each other first.

In Lyon's tentative attack, Zhang Chaoqiang dribbled the ball and forced the opposite left back Fauzi Ghulam.

The opponent is very experienced, try to hold Zhang Chaoqiang as far as possible, and wait for his teammates to support him.

Zhang Chaoqiang had no choice but to divert the ball to avoid the opponent's bread.

Gulam is an Algerian born in France. He debuted in Ligue [-] Saint-Etienne and only moved to Serie A Naples last season.

This guy played as a left midfielder during his youth training. He has strong pass organization ability, only weak in defense.

Zhang Chaoqiang wanted to find an opportunity to target, but Naples seemed to have already made arrangements, and various supplementary defenses and assistance were very timely.

The Naples coach is Benitez, a well-known tactical master, and targeted arrangements are his strengths.

Zhang Chaoqiang was not discouraged, after all, it was just a test.

If the opportunity is successfully found through simple probing, it proves that the opponent underestimated the enemy or was not well prepared before the match.

After the opening test passed, the two teams started to get serious.

In the 16th minute, Insigne deftly passed Yalai from the wing and sent a precise cross.

Higuain took off and headed in front of the goal, which caused the French commentator to exclaim that it was dangerous.

Fortunately, Bicevac interfered in time, allowing Higuain to head the ball.

"This ball is too dangerous, the Lyon defender must be careful of Higuain!" The domestic commentator was also amazed again and again.

On the surface, they are worried about Lyon's goal, but they are more worried about Higuain's goal.

Four minutes later, Lyon returned the favor.

Zhang Chaoqiang tried twice on the right but failed to find a chance, so he decisively switched to the left to try.

The football awareness instilled in the simulator is very comprehensive, which allows him not only to pass and shoot, with a balanced left and right foot, but also to play from the left, middle and right.

It's just that he often needs to resist the defender in the middle. His 76 strength is a bit difficult, so he goes less often.

Zhang Chaoqiang accelerated with the ball and went straight to the opponent's ribs.

Naples right-back Maggio was taken away by Fekir, but Jorginho and Britos immediately faced the flanking attack.

However, Zhang Chaoqiang, who was dribbling the ball, made an emergency stop to slow down, and quickly dialed the ball with his left and right feet.

"Fried meatballs!!" The commentator shouted out his extraordinary way at the first time.

The football seems to be squeezed out by Zhang Chaoqiang's feet, passing between the two defenders.

Zhang Chaoqiang himself exerted force with his feet the moment the football was squeezed out, and then accelerated to catch up.

Take the ball, adjust.

Get up and hit the door.

The whole process was done in one go!
The fans at the scene stood up and cheered, but Albiol, who rushed to defend, rubbed the football with his toe.

He changed direction slightly, hit the post with a bang, and bounced to the other side of the penalty area.

Lacazette caught up with a follow-up shot, but David Lopez cleared the ball one step ahead of him.

"Oh, what a pity."

"Zhang Chaoqiang shot from the ribs of the penalty area with a very beautiful fried ball, and the shot hit the post."

"From this breakthrough, we can see that Zhang Chaoqiang is in very good condition, and he is still eager to score goals!"

(End of this chapter)