Fox in the Penalty Area

17th Thai United

The Pirates Park stadium was bustling with people, and the real-time score was displayed on the big screen in the stands:

1:1

The game has entered the second half, and the score is still 1:1.

This was the score for both sides in the first half, and the score has not changed since the second half.

The scene that Madrid Pirates fans hoped for their team to beat Catalonia did not appear.

The revenge scene that Catalan United fans hope for... No, Catalan United fans don't dare to think so. They were even afraid that before the game, some Catalan players would make bold statements about revenge, which would irritate Hu Lai... Fortunately, what they worried about did not really happen.

For example, before the game, the Spanish media deliberately ran to ask the newly joined team's goalkeeper Tone Schulman, asking him what he thought about Hulay scoring in 35 consecutive league rounds across the season.

It was nothing more than an attempt to lure Schulman into saying something grand, such as, "I know, but his record will end here with me."

But Schulman was very cautious. He only praised Hu Lai's heroic performance, but never mentioned how he would respond.

The cautious answer also reflects the mentality of the Catalan United team. After being dealt with, they now understand. Before the game is over, you must not lose your character first.

The two sides were in a stalemate in the first half, and the 1:1 score also well illustrates the balance of power between the two teams.

"The Catalan United has indeed undergone radical changes in the new season..." commentator He Feng said.

Yan Kang agreed from the side:

"Just four months ago, in this same stadium, the Pirates defeated Catalonia 5:3. Although the score seemed to be only two goals behind, the Pirates had the absolute advantage...and now, The Pirates didn't get any benefits at home..."

"The head coach Reilly does have two skills... Kabangka is closer to the goal than before and more threatening. The goal in the first half is the best proof..."

The goal for Catalonia United in the first half was scored by Kabangca.

He first dribbled the ball from the center of the midfield, attracting all the Madrid Pirates defenders to the center, and then distributed the ball to the wings.

Taking advantage of the Madrid Pirates' defensive focus shifting to the wing, he quietly ran into the penalty area.

When the football was passed from the wing to the center, he happened to run into the space and fired a semi-volley, catching the Madrid Pirates off guard.

The football bounced off the ground in front of Hewel. No matter how brave "Hai Daddy" was, he had no choice but to watch the ball go into the net.

With Kabangka’s goal,

Catalonia equalized the score away from home.

Kabangka has scored a goal, but Hulay has not yet "drawn" in this game.

In fact, he had a good chance in the first half. At that time, he grabbed the spot in front of the goal and headed the ball towards the goal.

But the football was incredibly saved by Catalan United goalkeeper Toney Schulman - when Hulay rushed towards the football, he was still in the front position in the middle. Hulay threw the football backwards, and he But he kicked back hard and fished the football out in front of the back post.

At that time, the commentators were all exclaiming "unbelievable".

If Hulay had scored the ball, the Madrid Pirates would have taken a two-goal lead.

Even if Kabangka scored later, it would only narrow the gap from two goals to one goal.

It can be said that Schulman's save indirectly helped Catalonia equalize the score.

The person standing in front of the Catalan United goal this season has been replaced by Toney Schulman from Carlos Cordero.

The Dutch national goalkeeper came to Catalonia with the new head coach Reilly Vicente, with the clear purpose of replacing Cordero.

Although the latter is a player trained by Catalonia's own youth training system, the club has lost patience with him after experiencing many "accidents" last season.

In addition, he himself did not show the ability to compete with Schulman in the pre-season.

He was sent away at the end of August.

Not a transfer, but a loan.

Catalonia loaned him to Premier League side Wijston. Although Wijston is not a wealthy team and cannot play in the Champions League or Europa League.

But Wijston at least promised to let Cordero play the main role.

So Cordero went.

The lease is for one year, and after one year, Wiggerston also has a buyout clause.

For Cordero, this means that he is completely away from the wealthy.

In fact, it's not that his goalkeeping skills are not good, it's mainly because of his major flaws in psychological quality, which were fully exposed when he played against Hu Lai. This makes other wealthy teams afraid to use him.

In an important game or at a critical moment, what should you do if you can't withstand the pressure and make mistakes?

Not to mention the pressure on a wealthy team is huge.

Therefore, a non-rich team like Wijston is more suitable for him. At least it can allow him to find the game state and confidence now.

Schulman's "magic save" in the first half proved his value and ability, and the transfer fee of 78 million euros did not seem so expensive. After the transfer deal was announced, everyone was still talking about it. Ridiculing Catalonia for being taken advantage of by spending nearly 80 million euros on a goalkeeper from the Eredivisie.

But so far this season, Schulman has not conceded a goal in open play - the goal he conceded in the first half against Madrid Pirates was the first goal he conceded this season. This goal was a free kick.

Tonini took advantage of the direct free kick and kicked the ball into the goal to help Madrid Pirates take the lead.

The game had only started fourteen minutes at that time.

Everyone thought that Madrid Pirates had a wonderful start.

As a result, we are still struggling in the quagmire.

After the two sides changed sides and fought again in the second half, the situation did not improve. The two sides saw a back and forth stalemate in the frontcourt, midfield and backcourt.

※※※

Hulay still looked left and right on the court, and then slowly approached the Catalan United goal.

Catalan United center back Paul Fortune was always by his side, preventing him from getting the ball easily.

He had done this before this game, and Hu Lai was successfully defended by him, except for the header in front of the goal.

Fortunately, goalkeeper Schulman performed well and prevented him from making a big mistake.

Facts have proved that defending Hu Lai does not mean that no mistakes can be made.

But when you make a mistake, you need reliable teammates who can cover it up.

Needless to say, Schulman is indeed more reliable than Cordero.

Although football is not on Hulay's side, the Dutch national goalkeeper turns his attention to him from time to time and observes his movements.

This is the first time Schulman has played against Hulay, but he is no stranger to Hulay.

Hulay's crazy performance last season has spread all over the world. Even in the Eredivisie, everyone felt the impact of Hulay's crazy performance.

Even in the Rotterdam Elite Team, every time Hulay completes an amazing achievement or breaks a record, everyone will talk about him privately.

Twenty-three goals in the Champions League, 95 goals in a single season, an unstoppable league scoring record...

Last season he scored against every opponent and no team was spared.

His efficiency has become a nightmare for almost all goalkeepers.

But as a goalkeeper, Schulman has always looked forward to competing with opponents like Hu Lai.

He wanted to feel for himself what it was like to face a super shooter who could score ninety-five goals in a single season.

During that save in the first half, although he appeared very calm amidst the frantic hugs and pats from his teammates after the save, in fact his heartbeat was extremely fast and his adrenaline was surging.

He felt the thrill of walking on the edge of life and death.

Both fearful and longing.

Afraid of Hu Lai's every shot, but also eager to save every one of his shots.

Schulman was constantly observing Hu Lai's movement, and saw the football being passed to Hu Lai. Schulman's whole body was like a spring that was compressed to the end, ready to eject at any time.

He quickly moved his position, opened his arms, and prepared to save.

Then I saw Hu Lai shooting the ball under Fortune's interference!

Despite Fortune's personal interference, his kick still hit the door frame!

At least that's what Schulman thought - he didn't dare to bet that Hu Lai's kick missed the goal frame, so when he saw Hu Lai's shot, he immediately rushed towards the direction of the football!

Then he knocked the football out with one palm!

"Schulman! He made a wonderful save! He blocked Hu's shot again! Of course, with Fortune's interference, Hu's shot was slightly on target..."

"Sure enough, after his crazy goals last season, Hu Lai has been fully studied and targeted by his opponents in the new season. The difficulty of scoring goals has skyrocketed..."

"At the same time, after Kyrie left, the opponent's defense could devote almost all its energy to Hulay, which also increased the difficulty of Hulay's goal. Parotti fine-tuned the team's tactics, Kamara and Tonini He no longer pulls very far to the side like last season, but shrinks to the center to strengthen the connection with Hulay... In this way, the offensive firepower of the Madrid Pirates can be guaranteed, but Hulay's goals will inevitably drop, because Many times he has to act as a decoy to create opportunities for his teammates. In this way, his teammates have scored, but his scoring opportunities have been reduced a lot..."

※※※

Schulman got up from the ground and looked at Hulay.

Hu Lai put his head in his hands and regretted that his shot was saved.

This gave Schulman a greater sense of accomplishment.

However, he is not arrogant enough to think that he will be able to end Hu Lai's record of scoring goals in 36 consecutive rounds in this game.

He didn't dare to slack off at all before the final whistle blew.

But if he can always block Hulay's shots like this, maybe he will also reduce the number of shots and create opportunities for other Madrid Pirates players...

You also have to guard against other Madrid Pirates players.

His task is to guard the Catalan United goal, not just to prevent Hulay from scoring.

Soon he saved another shot from the Madrid Pirates. This time it was not Hulay who shot, but Vukovic.

His long-range shot outside the penalty area was not very powerful, and the angle was slightly positive. Schulman jumped into the air and hugged him directly with both hands.

"Schulman! Beautiful! Steady performance! Every save he makes proves to the Catalan fans the value of the 78 million spent on him!"