June 29th, the second match of the European Cup semi-finals is about to kick off.
From 1 p.m., everything was meticulously prepared. The entire world of football turned its attention to the Liv Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, anticipating the upcoming match.
This stadium was originally a super-large venue, capable of accommodating more than 70,000 spectators.
"Wuwu...!"
But at this moment, tickets were extremely scarce. Countless people outside the stadium were begging scalpers, fabricating numerous touching 'football watching' stories, hoping to be pitied by the scalpers and obtain a reasonable price.
Football fans are just that enthusiastic; they cry outside the stadium so they can laugh and scream inside later.
Many overnight riches stories also unfolded here. Many fans from other national teams who had pre-booked tickets encountered quite a few generous German and French tycoons, selling their tickets at exorbitant prices.
It is rumored that an hour before the match, someone sold a ticket for £27,400, which exceeds the local average salary for 10 months.
Of course, the overly heated pre-match atmosphere also created some unfortunate violent incidents.
El Salvadorian gang members robbed a group of French fans who had 3 tickets, injuring them in the process. There was also a large-scale conflict between German and French fans after drinking, resulting in multiple casualties.
The perpetrators were quickly brought to justice, but the impact lingered for a long time.
But regardless, everything constituted this fiery match... and it was almost time for the official kickoff.
The French Team's bus departed from the hotel at 4:20 p.m., escorted by French fans all the way. They set off smoke bombs and fireworks on both sides of the street to drive away any German fans who tried to approach.
"Chichichi!"
"Peng peng peng!"
The scene was filled with smoke, and occasionally bright lights shot into the sky, causing continuous booming explosions.
Maël sat in the back seat of the car, opened the curtains to observe the outside, and felt a festive atmosphere that was enough to make people feel suppressed.
As the captain, he sat behind the bus driver. Turning his head, he could see Deschamps' expression as he sat at the door.
The Basque was expressionless, blinking his eyes only after a long time. His dark pupils gave off an aura of sternness.
Clearly, he was very nervous, probably recalling his experience participating in the European Cup semi-finals as a player.
Deschamps must have noticed that he was watching him, turned his head and smiled, but it was an ugly smile.
Maël nodded and smiled at him, understanding why he didn't have much joy or excitement at this moment, because he felt the same way.
Although they had said long ago that after weathering the storm and entering the semi-finals, they would have less pressure and could focus on winning the championship.
But was that possible? No, the external pressure was reduced, but the pressure they put on themselves would surge into their hearts.
Everyone knew how many people's expectations they were bearing, how many people's spiritual sustenance they carried. Once they failed, the hardest thing to bear was not the pain of leaving this arena and being far from glory, but the self-blame for disappointing countless people.
"Huff," Maël habitually adjusted his mood with a deep breath. He closed his eyes and put on his headphones.
The bus quickly drove into Liv Stadium, and the team easily began warming up on the field where they had played before.
It was also at this time that the players of the French Team and the players of the German Team saw each other.
Some of them were club teammates, but at this time, they didn't go over to greet each other, only nodding to each other from a distance... It was as if two medieval infantry regiments were already confronting each other and wouldn't get too close.
Deschamps also saw Löw in the distance at this time. This person was wearing white but was very undignifiedly picking his nose, and then tasting it in his mouth.
This made him frown, feeling like this was someone even more unkempt than himself.
After the players entered the locker room, both the French Team and Germany left an assistant coach on the field to observe the watering situation, in order to remind the players to wear appropriate cleats later.
Maël also separated from the team and went to the referee's room to sign the fair play agreement on behalf of the team as captain.
"Hello."
He ran into the German captain Lahm in a small room and took the initiative to shake hands and say hello. Neither of them had a smile on their faces, only politeness and caution.
"Good to see you again." Lahm nodded to Maël. He had played a warm-up match against him at Bayern, and was impressed by his Speed at that time.
A year had passed, and his Speed seemed to be nothing compared to his other advantages. He had more powerful weapons, higher scoring efficiency, and a transfer value of over 100 million euros.
This rate of improvement was simply amazing, even more shocking than the impact his Speed brought.
However, how could they possibly stop their opponents from improving? The only thing they could do was to rack their brains and use team spirit to win against their opponents! "Pa!"
After signing the fair play agreement, the two exited and returned to their respective locker rooms.
Lahm ran back first to listen to Löw's tactical instructions. They definitely had more things to emphasize.
"Remember the attack I emphasized before? We must use terrifying impact to crush the opponent's defense and make them unable to raise their heads!"
Löw threw all the frontcourt pieces into the French Team's penalty area, with a serious expression, "This is a very challenging task, and almost our only hope of winning!
"In the past 4 games, people may not have realized that the French Team's defense is very good. They have conceded very few goals, which is one of the reasons for their rapid progress.
"So once you let the opponent find the rhythm to defend us and restrict our attacking players, their chances of winning will be higher, because they have a player who seems to be impossible to restrict.
"Boom boom...!" He tapped the tactical board a few times, pushing all the attacking pieces towards the French Team's goal, "Attack! Make yourselves also become impossible to restrict! Omnipotent!
"We must remember the past glory of German Football and believe that the German chariot will overcome every opponent! "Germany!!"
"Go...!!"
On the other side, in the French Team's locker room, Deschamps paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, not in front of the tactical board.
"In the past few games, we have occasionally been able to play what we want, but sometimes we will be confused by the opponent's restrictions.
"Being able to get to where we are now step by step, I can't deny that it is mainly due to your own efforts, but obviously luck is also a factor.
"But understand that there won't be much time left for you. We must perfectly execute our tactical instructions and use sharp counterattacks to sting the opponent every time they want to launch a large-scale attack! "If you can't do this, you may miss a game that may leave you with lifelong regrets at any time!
"It may be this one, or it may be the one after entering the final! "Even if you can still reach the European Cup final in the future, or even win the championship, this regret will still run through your life!
"People often say that failure is good, but when you have accumulated enough experience and enough Strength, then your only choice will be to move towards success! The greatest success!! "French Team!"
"Go...!!"
"Beep beep!" After the players of the two teams completed their final mobilization, the referee blew the whistle to enter the field while it was still hot, and the players of both sides walked out of the stadium and lined up in front of the player tunnel.
"Aaahhh!"
"Wow!!"
Soon after, they also entered the field amidst the cheers of both sets of fans, and stood on the European Cup field as the sun was about to set.
Maël and Lahm walked at the front, and the photographers followed the two to take pictures, allowing them to enjoy the glory of leading the team.
"CCTV! CCTV!! The Germany-France battle is about to begin! I am the commentator Liu Jiayuan, and I am very happy to meet you here!!"
"Let's take a look at the starting lineups of both sides. The French Team has made several adjustments to its lineup compared to the last game.
"Deschamps has shown his courage, and also made it clear that the French Team will play resolute defensive counterattacks in this game.
"The goalkeeper is still Hugo Lloris, the left back is Clichy, the center backs are Koscielny and Rami, and the right back is Sagna.
"The single defensive midfielder is M'Vila, a defensive midfielder who is good at interception and blocking, and has played in the group stage.
"The two midfielders are Malouda and Cabaye, and they are obviously also responsible for resisting the German tanks' advance in the middle! "On the front line, Maël is on the left, Giroud is in the center, and Nasri is on the right. Mene and Ben Arfa, who played but failed to perform well, have been abandoned by Deschamps!"
"."
"On the German side, the goalkeeper is Neuer, the two center backs are Hummels and Badstuber, the left back is Lahm, and the right back is Boateng.
"The double defensive midfielders are Schweinsteiger and Khedira, the attacking midfielder is Reus, and the two sides are Toni Kroos and Podolski. Mario Gomez is at the forefront as a single arrow.
"A basic 4-2-3-1 formation, basically based on Bayern and Dortmund! "This is a team that cannot be underestimated. Their overall strength in the middle and backcourt is significantly higher than that of France, and only the front line may be slightly weaker! "But we all understand that the European Cup has progressed to the present, and this kind of paper strength is no longer within the scope of reference. Only the state and will of both sides on the day will become the key to determining the outcome of the game!"
"."
While speaking, Maël and Lahm completed the coin toss in the midfield position and returned to their respective halves.
Maël once again chose the backlit side before the sun went down, finding some physical advantages for the team's offense and defense in the first half.
After finishing these, everyone stood in their positions, waiting for the time to come to 5:45.
It can be clearly noticed that everyone's chest is rising and falling sharply, and their tension and excitement have reached their peak.
"Beep!!"
"Good evening, viewers and friends! Welcome to the second game of the European Cup semi-finals!! "Today, the German Team in white jerseys will play against the French Team in blue jerseys at the Liv Stadium!! "The winner between them will enter the final of the European Cup and face the Matador Legion!! "Löw and Deschamps are two brave reformers of France Football and Germany Football. One has been sticking to it for a long time, and the other took office in the best posture. Let's see who can have the last laugh!"
"."
In the serious eyes of the coaches of both sides and the cheers of the fans in the audience, the players of the two teams quickly came into contact and ushered in the first wave of confrontation.
Since the German Team kicked off first, many people, including Maël, retreated to defend first, avoiding being directly blown into a goal by the opponent's opening offensive.
"Bang!"
The football quickly developed to the right, and Toni Kroos completed a Cross on this side. The ball was cleared by Koscielny in the middle.
The second ball was taken by M'Vila, but the subsequent pass was missed again. After being intercepted by Reus, he handed it over to Toni Kroos who followed up, and the latter immediately blasted a left-footed shot.
"Pa!" The football did not threaten Lloris and was controlled by him in an almost perfect hand shape.
"There are many Long Shots in the European Cup! Because in the fast-paced offense and defense, it is very difficult to break through the opponent's defense by relying on positional offense! "Most of the time, players who feel that the position is about the same and have hope will directly take a Long Shot to try! "Toni Kroos completed a good attempt! Today, this is a contest between experts, every move is fatal, and everyone must go all out and stay focused!"
"."
Maël rushed towards the frontcourt, expecting to get Lloris's hand throw and launch a counterattack.
"Shua!"
Lloris understood and threw a hand throw with extremely fast ball speed and erratic ball path.
"Pa Peng Peng Peng...!"
Maël judged the landing point well, perfectly controlled the ball forward, and then sprinted towards the German team's backfield, advancing at high speed with the ball.
Not long after the start, he could feel that the German team didn't seem to want to defend passively today. He might be able to play more proactively! He dribbled the ball straight towards the opponent's defensive line, first facing Boateng's defense. The opponent was resolute, blocking the inside lane to prevent a cut inside, wanting to force him to the byline.
"Pa pa pa!"
He pushed the ball towards the center with his right foot, feigning a strong cut inside, then used an Elastico with his right foot, flicking the ball towards the center again before quickly pushing it towards the byline, seemingly falling right into the opponent's trap.
Boateng smiled slightly. Such flashy moves leading to a dead end he had already prepared for him, of course, meant effortlessly overcoming a crisis.
However, just as he turned around to chase, he saw Maël also smiling, a nonsensical smile.
"Boateng! He's top-notch in any position between center-back and full-back! His footwork is solid, and he looks like he can keep up with Maël! This is what top defenders"
Liu Jiayuan's voice reached this point, preparing to finish with a high note, but he saw Maël change direction again, suddenly lifting the ball to a certain height at the best moment, over Boateng's subconsciously kicking leg, and heading towards the center.
Another change of direction!
"Thump!" Boateng slipped and fell straight to the ground, a very smooth fall, as if he fell asleep.
".the feeling of helplessness when facing super strikers! Boateng seems to be lying on a green bed! This might lower his value! Maël has cut inside! He's likely to take a direct shot!"
"."
Inside the German team's penalty area, everyone was caught off guard by Maël's sudden feint past Boateng and into the penalty area, instantly exposing a large gap in front of the opponent.
Neuer and center-back Hummels were the first to lower their center of gravity, but the time left for them to make decisions was clearly not enough.
"Deng deng deng!"
Neuer hesitated for a moment, judging that Maël might rush two more steps towards the inside of the penalty area, and fearing that he wouldn't have time to get out, he quickly rushed towards the opponent, thinking that blocking and saving earlier would increase the success rate.
Hummels seemed to know that Neuer liked to take risks and chose a more conservative strategy, immediately turning around and rushing behind Neuer, preparing to cover one side of the blind spot.
But just then, the two discovered that Maël was drawing his bow and setting his arrow on the edge of the penalty area, ready to fire directly.
Nothing fancy! No need to move forward!
As long as there's an angle and an opportunity, trust your shot and just take it! Neuer: "..."
Goalkeepers are extremely vulnerable at the moment they rush out. They have just used their strength to move forward, and there is no way to suddenly lower their center of gravity to save. Even if they can save, the success rate is not high.
Hummels: "..."
Defenders are also extremely vulnerable when they have not yet reached the front of the goal. The main thing is that in such an important game, he seems like a fool, not daring to step forward immediately, giving the opponent an easy opportunity to shoot.
"Boom!!" The sound of the blast immediately echoed throughout the Liv Stadium. The football flew from Maël's feet. Most people only saw the moment it took off, and then it hit the net.
"Swish!" With Neuer and Hummels unable to offer any resistance, the football smashed into the upper right corner of the net.
Goal! The French Team scored at the start! Neuer didn't fall to the ground. He quickly got up and closed his eyes in disappointment, knowing what it meant to concede a goal at this moment.
A ray of sunlight hit his face at this moment, because they were playing against the light. This ray of light failed to give him hope, but added a few touches of despair to him.
"Wow!!"
"Fola!!"
More than 30,000 French Team fans stood up. They hadn't even finished singing the song, but they had to cheer for Maël, but they liked it.
"The ball is in! The game has just started for 45 seconds! The French Team has scored the first goal!!
"Maël helps the team take the lead! This is amazing! He first shook Boateng, and then blasted the ball into the net from the edge of the penalty area!
"It's almost a long shot goal per game! The player was the player with the most goals from outside the penalty area in European Football last season. After coming to the European Cup, he may also win this historical record!" Those things can be discussed later, in short, his goal surpassed the goal of Russian player Kirichenko against Greece in the 04 European Cup, becoming the fastest goal in European Cup history!
"."
On the field, Maël was tackled to the ground by Giroud before he had time to run out of the penalty area. He was not discouraged. Even if he got up and charged again, he had to finish the act and release this breath.
"Yeah!"
He spread his arms completely, flying towards the sidelines to celebrate like an eagle spreading its wings. He knew that this might be the fastest goal in European Cup history.
The 7th goal! Only 2 goals away from Platini's record! After arriving at the sidelines, he chose a somersault among sliding, somersaulting, and rising dragon punch celebrations. His Strength and Coordination meant there was no risk of injury doing this action.
Under the sacred gaze of the French fans, he soared into the air with elegance unlike a real person, like a somersault in an anime scene. Of course, there was also the added deterrent of a certain somersault height.
He overcame his own shackles, and also overcame the difficulties the team had encountered. The pressure and tension before the game, he hoped that this game could have a good result! "Maël!"
"A true god has descended!"
"An angel has descended!"
"Vamos!"
The players of the French Team then ran over and knocked Maël down again. The goal at this time made everyone feel surprised.
"Ah!" Deschamps ran two steps excitedly on the sidelines, looking at Maël who was celebrating with a somersault, he was extremely fond of him, and also extremely envious of his vigor.
Even at his peak, he couldn't make such a celebratory move; even at his peak, it was impossible for him to score so many goals in the European Cup in a single season.
Forget it, this ugly 'Basque pig' of his may be born to be a supporting role and a foil for dazzling people like Zidane and Maël.
He is willing to take responsibility and willing to be such a person, giving more glory to these historical-level stars.
But he also believes that as long as he silently dedicates everything and escorts them well, his name will also be remembered by the world Football community, and people will know that he has made contributions to it! "Fola!" Deschamps shouted his iconic celebratory sound, and began to count the seconds to cherish the last opportunity to cooperate with Maël in this competition.
He enjoys the game and enjoys coaching excellent players like Maël, which is an honor in itself.
The live broadcast camera also quickly captured the fan stands, and the first to be shown was the French political Three-Horse Carriage that has often been associated with Football recently.
As before, Mr. Michel, the lowest-ranking official, showed the lack of composure and excitement 'befitting' his status, excitedly raising his arms and shouting, and even making a celebration similar to the traditional Scottish virtue of lifting his skirt and showing his butt.
Of course, people don't wear kilts now, they all wear suits and leather shoes. This action is just to vent emotions, not to ridicule.
The other two big figures smiled and applauded. Wenger should be dealing with affairs at the club and was not with them today, but FIFA President Blatter was there.
The camera then turned to Tottenham superstar Gareth Bale, who also clapped and celebrated with a smile, but his smile always gave people a feeling of stealing, a little wretched.
"Oh? Bale is celebrating a goal for an Arsenal player? This may have a certain impact on his public opinion. I wonder if he has confirmed his departure.
"But if he goes to Real Madrid, it means that Florentino's pursuit of Maël has failed. In that case, it doesn't seem reasonable to celebrate for Maël. This scene is really weird! "I know that Arsenal fans have dreamed in the forum, since they can dig Kyle Walker from Tottenham, why not try Gareth Bale?
"At that time, forming a BFM's 'rich, beautiful, and white' forward line will definitely cause a stir in European Football.
"But I don't think it's very likely. As Wales' number one star, Bale must have some pursuit of fame, fortune, and business. Going to Real Madrid is a better choice for him.
"For him to go to Arsenal is as outrageous as him going to play professional golf!"
"."
"Beep!!"
The match immediately restarted. Such an opening goal somewhat dampened the morale of the German team. Löw kept clapping on the sidelines to encourage them, and the team managed to regain about eighty to ninety percent of their initial spirit.
They resumed their large-scale offensive, determined to batter down the French team's goal with a storm of attacks.
"Bang!!"
In the 4th minute, Hummels received a corner kick cross in front of the small penalty area and headed a bouncing ball while unmarked.
The ball was a bit too sudden. The French defense didn't have time to prepare, and neither did he... so he didn't manage to generate much quality. The football hit his own foot, bounced once, and was collected by Lloris.
"*Fuck!*"
"*Shit!*"
On the sidelines, Löw and Deschamps simultaneously cursed, but the former then started clapping, while the latter couldn't help but anxiously communicate with the players in the defensive line.
Giving the opponent such an opportunity in this kind of match was undoubtedly putting themselves on the execution ground.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
In the 7th minute, the French team seized an opportunity to switch from defense to offense, and through a few simple one-touch passes, the ball was played to Maël's side.
Maël faced Boateng for the second time with the ball. This time, Hummels, the central defender on the same side, had learned his lesson and was already covering behind Boateng.
But his intention to break through was still very firm. In this high-speed attack, he had over a 65% certainty of breaking through both Boateng and Hummels simultaneously. He had the confidence.
"Bang, bang... Pop!"
Maël swiftly arrived in front of Boateng, seized on the opponent's tension, and used a backheel flick to change direction, eating up the opponent's space. Then, he tentatively tried to use a Marseille Turn to squeeze through the gap that Hummels couldn't cover when he came up to fill in.
These moves were being supplemented with practice in the fancy skills category, but the proficiency was not as high as Elastico.
"Scrape, scrape...!"
Therefore, although Maël's movements were fast and he successfully got the ball through the two, he clearly lacked complete control of the ball.
Not a big problem, he still had his body and Speed, which was his insurance and the fundamental factor that allowed him to make bold moves.
In the future, when these two reach lv5, his choice of football actions might become simpler sometimes.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Just like that, Hummels and Boateng were overwhelmed by Maël's forceful breakthrough from the middle in a humiliating manner.
"Bang!"
However, the subsequent Cross was cleared by Khedira, who was desperately chasing back, and the French team got a corner kick opportunity. Nasri went to the corner flag to take the kick.
The ball failed to create any threat, but it clearly exposed the 'top defender Boateng's' disadvantage in front of Maël, which made Löw's face even more unsightly.
If the defense on the right wing continued to be exploited by the opponent like this, they would really not be far from conceding a second goal, unless they could score one in the middle first to alleviate the pressure on the defense.
"Bang!"
In the 15th minute, against the backdrop of Boateng staggering and awkwardly trying to defend, Maël once again completed a breakthrough Cross. This time, he found Giroud in the center, who then headed for the goal.
"Slap!" Thanks to Neuer's miraculous save, the German team managed to keep their goal from being breached.
Now, even many German media outlets couldn't stand it anymore and directly questioned and condemned Boateng's performance in this match.
Only 15 minutes into the semi-final, the news that 'Boateng' had been dribbled past three times in three defensive attempts topped the headlines of major media outlets, becoming a topic of conversation for many fans watching the live broadcast.
Maël's performance, to some extent, inspired the other players of the French Team, who saw the hope of reaching the final.
"Boom!!"
In the 24th minute of the match, Nasri seized a counter-attack and broke through the opponent's defense on the right flank, sending a low, sweeping cross towards the center.
Giroud completed a sliding shot at the near post, while Maël moved past Hummels to the middle, also sliding in to kick the ball, preventing Giroud from missing it.
"Bang!" In the end, it was Giroud who, with his excellent nose for goal and ability to seize opportunities, poked the ball into the net. "Swish!"
Neuer, inside the goal, still wanted to desperately stop the goal, but at such a close distance and with such a fast ball speed, his save attempt only looked like he was throwing himself into the goal.
Two to zero! Giroud scores!
"Aaaahhhh!!" The French Team fans in the stadium erupted again, especially the fans who supported both France and Arsenal, who were having an incredibly great time.
"Heavenly King covers Earthly Tiger, only I, Great Giroud!" Maël shouted Zhan Jun's famous line, then ran towards Giroud, jumped high onto his back, and knocked him down, as a way of returning the favor for the tackle.
After getting up, Giroud was also determined to finish this wave of celebration, running to the sideline and doing his signature sliding knee celebration.
Nasri, who provided the assist, watched Giroud and Maël with a slightly lost expression. He must have heard some rumors within the team, knowing that these two would be teammates next season.
In this mood, he couldn't help but feel a little envious of Giroud, and also regretted his past decision immensely.
But he understood that he could not go back. His strike and departure from the team would forever be resisted by Arsenal fans, which was also a punishment for his youthful and impulsive behavior.
"Oh!"
The French Team players then huddled together, celebrating wildly, taking another step closer to the final, against the backdrop of the Germans desperately slapping their faces, trying to wake themselves up.
"Pa!"
On the sidelines, Deschamps' hand slapped together with his assistant coach's. He raised his head with a spring breeze on his face, feeling a sense of ambition to dominate the world.
There couldn't be a better start than this, something he couldn't even dream of last night!
"Bip!" In the 25th minute of the match, the referee blew the whistle for the third kickoff of the first half, which was rare in this European Cup. It was hard to imagine it happening in the semi-final.
The German Team players still showed a tenacious attitude. They were not defeated by the two-goal deficit. On the contrary, they were inspired by their shame and continued to bombard the French Team's goal.
"Boom!!"
In the 35th minute of the match, Reus's seemingly casual shot outside the penalty area caused Lloris to make a save error—this seemed unavoidable. In such a big competition, goalkeepers are always very nervous.
Mario Gómez, who followed up, was also an efficient scorer who had already scored 4 goals in this European Cup, and he scored with a follow-up shot! "Swish!"
Seeing the football finally smash into the French Team's net, the Germans, who had been suppressed for the entire match, did not choose to hug the ball back to the center circle, but instead celebrated wildly under the leadership of the muscular center forward Mario.
"One to two! The German Team narrowed the gap! This Germany-France battle! It's really good to watch!
"Two teams with distinct characteristics are playing a head-to-head attack! One is a tough siege and bombardment! The other is a fast counter-attack relying on the two wings! It's really exhilarating!
"The fans who stayed up late to watch the game did not wait in vain! The two teams not only met people's expectations before the game, but even exceeded them!"
"."
Mario Gomez punched and shouted on the sidelines like a beast, and it was not difficult to judge from his mouth shape that he was also shouting 'vamos'. This has already become a chain reaction.
It seems that Spanish football has an impact on all aspects of world football.
"Beep!!"
After the fourth kickoff whistle sounded, all the players were prepared for a goalscoring battle. They knew that to achieve the final victory, they had to withstand any unexpected situations.
The thinking of the two teams' players has also obviously changed. They have both had the experience of breaking through the opponent's goal in a short period of time, which has given them full confidence and made them more arbitrary in their shooting choices.
Because of this, they have created many good opportunities.
In the 37th minute of the game, Germany almost scored two goals in a row within 3 minutes. It was Mario Gomez again. This time he created a threat with his strength, a header, almost smashing Lloris's goal.
Fortunately, M'Vila, who had retreated, stood at the far corner of the goal, blocked the football with his stomach, and kicked the ball to the front court.
"Boom!"
Three minutes later, Maël completed a breakthrough on the left and fired a curved shot. The football hit Hummels' shoulder and changed direction, flying towards the far corner of the goal, making countless Germans nervous again.
"Clang!" At the critical moment, it was the crossbar that blocked the shot, and the football flew out of the baseline along the upper edge of the crossbar.
Maël immediately hugged his face in regret and complained loudly that his luck was not very good.
"Beep!"
Perhaps the shooting action was too fast and the referee didn't see it clearly, so he pointed to the small penalty area and gave Germany a goal kick.
"Eh?!"
This made Maël very dissatisfied. He entangled with the referee, complaining all the way with his hands spread out, and only left when he realized that the referee was impatient because he was worried about getting a card.
Germany relied on this goal kick to create another threat in front of the French Team's goal.
"Boom!"
Reus cut to the right on the right side of the attacking midfielder position and completed a sweeping cross. The three German players responding in the center all shoveled their feet, but they all missed the football with the outer arc by a hair's breadth.
"Ah!" The German fans' regretful voices occupied the entire stadium. It was at this time that Lloris made a long pass directly to Maël in the front court position.
Since Germany had just pressed up to attack on a large scale, there were only three defensive players in the backcourt at this moment, and they had to face the pressure from Maël and Giroud.
"Fall back!"
Hummels directed Boateng to retreat, and he stood next to Maël, preparing to compete with him for the high ball.
In fact, he didn't have much confidence. Maël was about the same size as Gómez, and even stronger. It was obviously not a good choice to head a high ball with him.
But there was no way, compared to letting the opponent stop the ball and turn around, letting the opponent head the ball to try their luck was also the best strategy.
In this way, the two jumped at the same time when the football was about to fall on their heads.
Halfway through the jump, Hummels realized that he had been tricked. Maël just jumped a little to deceive him and was not really prepared to compete for the header.
And he was busy interfering with Maël and didn't pay attention to the specific landing point of the ball, thinking that the opponent would judge a rough estimate, and then jump up to press the opponent's body, not knowing where the football would land.
At this time, looking in the air, the direction of the football's landing was in front of Maël! "Pa!"
Maël flicked the ball up with the outside of his foot in a dashing manner, not giving Hummels a chance to pull and foul, and directly passed the opponent with a stop and turn, and then sprinted towards the German Team's backcourt position.
By the time Hummels turned around, he was already five or six meters away.
"Beautiful flick over the head! I said it long ago, Maël's ball control is world-class! It's precisely because of his solid basic skills that he can gain more space for breakthroughs and shots!
"He seems to be dancing an elegant waltz near the center circle! But his waltz always manages to fool excellent center-backs like Hummels! That's why he's worth 150 million euros! I believe his performance in the European Cup will give his value another small boost!
"Now the problem is left to Boateng. Maël is pushing the ball far ahead; do you dare to suddenly rush in for a steal? If not, you can only do one-on-one defense in the penalty area! Both choices are very difficult! Badstuber on the other side is defending Giroud and can hardly provide assistance, and he also has to be careful of Maël's pass!"
...
Even though Maël deliberately pushed the ball far ahead each time, tempting Boateng to come up and steal, the opponent still held his ground, retreating all the way to the penalty area, forcing him to slow down slightly.
This is a good choice, but entering the penalty area only makes him more threatening.
Maël could see the fear and despair on Boateng's face. He tried to put himself in the other's shoes and found that he might feel the same way.
The most terrifying thing is not that you can't make the right choice, but that even if you make the right choice, it may lead to the wrong result.
Seeing Boateng lower his center of gravity and get into position, Maël suddenly turned sideways, his right foot planted firmly on the ground as a support, supporting his left foot as it whipped violently towards the football.
"Bang!!"
His left foot's outer instep curled the ball up, giving it a violent curve and speed, cutting towards the goal like an Arc Blade.
Outer instep shot directly! As a top goalkeeper, Neuer naturally wouldn't be completely unresponsive to this kind of shot. He threw himself out, his dark hand reaching for the football, but the ball grazed his fingertips.
"Swish!!"
Hearing the sound of the net rippling behind him as he landed, he also became desperate. Not even a half, and the French Team's counter-attack had broken through the goal three times. How the hell was he supposed to play? Was Maël even human?!
The moment he hit the ground, he saw Boateng still standing in place, maintaining the same posture, only his head turned to look at him, like a fool, not yet realizing how the ball went in.
Neuer: "..."
Boateng: "..."
The two just stared at each other, and then they exchanged such a look with Löw on the sidelines.
"Yeahhhhh!!"
"Maël!!"
The cheers that resounded throughout the stadium descended on Liv Stadium for the fourth time. Goal battles always bring fans emotions that are about to overflow, and also allow them to experience unprecedented passion.
"Clang clang clang clang...!"
The French Team's fans reacted quickly. After the first wave of shouts, they sang in unison the new Maël's Song that had spread to the fan circles: "Handsome young man, miraculous feet! Bullet-like deadly Long Shots and crazy Headers...!
"He's on fire! You have no choice but to admire him...!"
"Hey now! Full speed ahead! Strive for victory! Because no one shines like you! There is only one Leon Maël in this world!!"
Under the singing, Maël bypassed the dazed Boateng with boiling blood. He jumped up and punched the air every two or three steps, "Come on!! Come on!!"
The 8th goal of the European Cup! Most importantly, with his Brace in the first half, he saw the hope of completing a Hat-trick in this game and directly equaling the record!
Platini once scored 9 goals in 5 European Cup games. He now also hopes to score 9 goals in 5 games in modern Football with a stronger level of competition! After arriving at the sideline, he spread his feet apart while clenching his fists and spreading his arms, roaring one last time towards the fans singing in the stands, "Yeah!!"
At this moment, he felt that Liv Stadium belonged to him, the whole world belonged to him, and everyone's eyes were focused on him.
ps: Tomorrow I'll still aim for a double update, everyone supervise me, scold me if I don't deliver.
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