The Midfield Master

The TV screen showed the whole process from Xia Ze's counterattack to the goal.

After Xia Ze dribbled the ball past the middle circle, a 3-on-3 situation was formed in the frontcourt. The first player had already opened up space on the right. As long as Xia Ze passed the pass, it would be a good opportunity to break through.

And Xia Ze has been watching Dili's running position all the time, even when passing the ball, his posture is to pass to the right.

But the moment he touched the ball, his ankle twisted slightly and turned into a through ball, which passed between the two central defenders of the opponent.

Quaresma understood it, and shot out from the left like a ghost, got the ball, passed the goalkeeper and shot an empty goal.

"This is one!" Christine shouted excitedly: "Xia Ze made a magical assist like Ronaldinho!"

He looked at the picture played back over and over again, still very surprised.

"This is such a magical Chinese boy, he is amazing!" Christine kept saying praises.

...

Above the stands, Paul Bento looked at the Maritimo players celebrating on the field, with a slight smile on his face, nodded, took out a notebook from his arms, and wrote something intently.

"Keep a good formation and don't be disturbed by the opponent's attack!" Martins immediately calmed down after celebrating. He knew that Benfica's counterattack would be more beneficial than before.

"Open the formation, control the ball, and run more!" Benfica coach Flores roared at his players.

Xia Ze and his teammates ran back to their own half, and when they passed by Gaitan, they found that Gaitan had stood up, and his expression was extremely firm, and he was not at all shaken by this conceded goal.

"You are really determined, Argentine?" Xia Ze was a little confused.

German players are known for their iron will, and if Gaitan was German, it would come as no surprise that he exudes this aura.

But the opponent is an Argentinian of the Latin faction, who seems to have a completely different style of work from them.

After kick-off, Benfica launched a more violent attack under the organization of Gaitan. Maritimo's defense line was also crumbling, and even Deely had to return to the penalty area to participate in the defense.

"I won't lose to you again!" Gaitan dribbled the ball in the 30-yard area, looked at Xia Ze in front of him, and swore secretly in his heart.

Xia Ze didn't know what was going on in his heart, he only knew that this Gaitan was terrifying, and he was definitely the biggest threat to Maritimo's defense.

He quickly stepped forward to press Gaitan, leaving no room for him to break through.

Surprisingly, Gaitan did not talk to Xia Ze directly, but passed the ball out to avoid Xia Ze's attack.

"Is he afraid?" Pereira, the midfielder behind Xia Ze, also looked puzzled.

In the previous 25 minutes of the match, both Xia Ze and Gaitan were looking for a way to have a direct dialogue with each other, and then defeat the opponent. This time Gaitan surprisingly took the initiative to avoid Xia Ze, as if to show weakness.

But in Xia Ze's eyes, he didn't think so. He originally wanted to let Gaitan fall into a struggle with himself, so as to waste the game time.

Unexpectedly, Gaitan could judge the situation so clearly, knowing that a direct confrontation with Xia Ze would have a half chance of losing possession of the ball, so he avoided Xia Ze and passed the ball directly.

"Gaitan didn't have a direct conversation with Xia Ze. He passed the ball to Cardoso. Cardoso protected the ball and knocked back to the penalty area!" Christine explained the game nervously.

"Gaitan bypassed Xia Ze's defense, he had a chance to shoot!"

"Maritimo is in danger!"

"A long shot!"

"Oh! It was Zhang Wei who was blocked by the guard!"

...

After losing the ball, Benfica continued to press towards Maritimo's defense. If it weren't for Zhang Wei's desperate defense and Sasha's up and down blocks, Benfica would have already equalized the score.

Although Xia Ze instigated a few counterattacks, they were unable to extinguish the Benfica team's offensive. Under the leadership of Gaitan, the opponent's team was getting closer and closer to the goal.

In the last five minutes of the first half, Benfica was still organized by Gaitan.

"Gaitan has the ball. After the team fell behind today, his determination to win is really firm!" Christine exclaimed.

"This is the quality that a good player should have." Figo agreed from the side.

"Let's take a look at this attack first!"

Gaitan holds the ball in the middle. This is a quick attack after Benfica cut off Maritimo's counterattack. Because Xia Ze and Di Keao have already pressed the half-court, Gaitan has a large space in front of him.

Cardoso runs in front. This 193-foot-tall shooter has scored 25 goals in the Portuguese Super League this season, basically locking the top scorer in the league.

Gaitan didn't think too much about it, and directly kicked a through ball to find Cardoso in front of him.

Cardoso controlled the ball, and Zhang Wei next to him quickly posted over, making it impossible for him to make room for a shot.

Cardoso obviously hated Zhang Wei's close-up marking. If Zhang Wei hadn't repeatedly sabotaged his shot opportunities at critical moments in this game, I'm afraid he would have helped the team equalize the score.

Although he couldn't make room for shooting, he still leaned on Zhang Wei and broke into the penalty area.

"I won't let you pass!" Zhang Wei picked up the tall Cardoso, and stabbed Cardoso's foot with his right foot, kicked the ball out from the opponent's feet, and slipped to the vicinity of the arc of the penalty area.

Just when Zhang Wei thought that the danger had been lifted, a red figure suddenly appeared at the arc top of the restricted area.

It's Gaitan!

After passing the ball, he quickly moved forward, just in time for the ball to be broken at Cardoso's feet and fell in front of him.

"Oops!" Seeing that Gaitan was going to shoot, Zhang Wei quickly flew over to block the angle of Gaitan's shot as much as possible.

"You can't stop me!" Gaitan gritted his teeth, feeling ruthless in his heart, but his feet were unambiguous, and he hit the ball vigorously with the instep of his right foot!

boom! ! !

The ball was like a cannonball, and it rushed towards the upper left corner of the goal!

Sasha flew sideways, stretching his hands to the limit! !

But the ball still flowed past his fingers and slammed into the gate!

1 to 1, Benfica equalized the score!

Gaitan rushed towards the stands immediately after scoring the goal, with his arms outstretched, he knelt forward directly, with a sliding tackle, celebrating this wonderful goal.

After Gaitan scored the goal, the Stadium of Light was instantly erupted. The cheers of more than 60,000 people made the entire stadium tremble.

The Benfica fans who waited for 20 minutes depressed finally ushered in the team's goal before halftime, and the Stadium of Light became a sea of ​​red.

Quick Flores raised his arms and chanted from the sidelines, relieved by the goal. But he calmed down quickly, it wasn't enough, just a draw couldn't make them overtake their opponents, they had to win.

Martins frowned. He thought he could bring a 1-0 score into the locker room, but he didn't expect to lose the ball before halftime. He had to think about countermeasures faster.

In the rest of the first half, although Benfica wanted to score another goal, Maritimo's defenders did not let them succeed. The two sides entered the intermission with a 1-1 draw.

The situation is still in Maritimo's favor.

"Louis, the game in the first half was very exciting. The two sides drew 1-1. Who do you think Xia Ze or Gaitan performed better in the first half?" Christine asked Fei during the intermission. Ge.

"There is no doubt that these two people performed very well today. Xia Ze's pass was simply enjoyable, and Gaitan's goal was also very exciting."

Figo first praised both of them: "I have to say that Gaitan's performance today is better than that of the League Cup final a month ago, mainly because he has the determination to win."

"So, Xia Ze doesn't have the will to win today?"

"That's not the case. Xia Ze's will is very firm. This is what we have always mentioned in previous games. This is also the reason why he can lead the team to defeat powerful opponents. I can't believe that this is a 18-year-old. What a young child can do."

Figo said in admiration: "However, Maritimo's tactics today are obviously a little conservative. They think that one point from Benfica is enough, which limits Xia Ze's performance."

"Rui, let's evaluate, Xia Ze's assist or Gaitan's goal, which one is more exciting?" Christine turned to ask Rui Costa.

"As Luis said, both played very well today, Nicolas Gaitan's goal was brilliant and crucial. Sasha had absolutely no chance to save the ball, even Buffon had no chance of saving the ball. ball."

Rui Costa talked eloquently: "But I like Xia Ze's through ball better. It is a very imaginative pass. With this passing skill, he has the potential to gain a foothold in the giants." strength."

"Okay, thank you Luis and Rui. Today's game was really exciting, but it's only halftime. I believe that after the adjustment of the intermission, the performance of the two teams in the second half will definitely surprise people. Which The team can qualify for the Champions League, we will wait and see in the second half."

In the visiting team's locker room, Maritimo's players were gulping water. No one spoke, and the atmosphere was a bit depressing.

"Boys, you did a good job in the first half. I want you to keep your energy until the end." Martins said.

Maritimo's players are still silent, they are not used to keeping a point in the second half when the half-time is still a draw.

The reason why they have been able to perform well this season and beat the top three of the Portuguese Super League several times is because they have an indomitable fighting spirit in every game, and they will not be as timid as this game.

"Coach, I don't think we should be so conservative, we can win this game!" Quaresma said.

All the players on the scene agreed with his point of view, but no one dared to challenge the authority of the coach, even Xia Ze, who was the core of the midfielder, could not. After all, he was only 18 years old.

But Quaresma is different. He had a great reputation before. Although he failed to meet people's expectations in his career, he was once a top star. His performance in Maritimo this season is also very good. Those who have the right to speak. He said this sentence, at least Martins will not feel that his authority has been challenged.

"Ricciardo, of course we must strive for victory, but all of this is based on a solid defense. I don't want you to concede another goal. Only when the defense is solid can we consider offense!" Martins Although the tone was flat, it revealed a hint of toughness.

The locker room was silent. Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 188 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 388 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 188 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 388 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 88