Chapter 104: Elimination Match vs. King Nan
4:16 am on April 2th, Beijing time.

"Zhuangdianertai, Zhuangdianertai!"

"Good evening, fellow fans. Next up is the first leg of this season's Champions League quarter-finals, Porto vs. Bayern Munich at home."

"We can see that the starting players of both teams are already on the field. Now let's introduce the starting lineups, starting with the home team Porto"

Porto (4-3-3)

Defenders: Danilo, Maicon, Indi, Alex Sandro

Midfielders: Herrera, Casemiro, Torres
Forwards: Quaresma, Martinez (C), Brahimi

Goalkeeper: Fabiano

Head coach: Julen Lopetegui

"Next up is the visiting team Bayern Munich"

Bayern (4-3-1-2)

Defenders: Bernat, Dante, Boateng, Rafinha

Midfielders: Thiago, Xabi Alonso, Lahm (C), Gotze

Forwards: Lewandowski, Thomas Muller
Goalkeeper: Neuer
Head coach: Josep Guardiola

"40 minutes before the game, Porto released the team's roster, and our local player Jiang Yuan was on it. Yes, you heard it right, Jiang Yuan was included in the team's Champions League roster, but there are still doubts as to whether this 17-year-old player can play in the game."

"Two days ago, Jiang Yuan signed a new contract with Porto. It is reported that the penalty for breach of contract exceeds 1000 million euros. Many fans, including me, have a question: with only two months left in the season, has Jiang Yuan given any consideration to changing the contract? Or is there some deal between Porto and Jiang Yuan behind the scenes?"

"Okay, forget about that for now, let the game begin!"

Although it is past two in the morning, this is a Champions League knockout match. Even if we don't count the fans of Bayern and Porto, the title of the Champions League quarter-final alone is enough to attract a large number of domestic fans.

Some people just heard the news of Jiang Yuan's contract change from the commentator and were extremely surprised.

【More, how much? 】

[I recognize Jiang Yuan's ability, I can't criticize him, he is really awesome]

[1000 million euros? This must be among the top few among overseas players, right? ]

[Brothers, the news came out the day before yesterday, how come you only know about it today? ]

[The main reason is that some people here don’t pay attention to domestic football at all, just like me. I was so scared when I saw the Asian faces on the bench...]

[Don't focus on the penalty fee. Based on the hard power Jiang Yuan has shown, I think no one would object if I said he is the best local player, right? ]

[It’s hard to say, Zhang Xizhe is also quite capable, and now he is worth 150 million euros on Transfermarkt! ]

[150 million euros is nothing, do you believe that Jiang Yuan will break 500 million euros in the next update? ]

[Stop arguing, my god, Porto is playing so fiercely, it looks like they are not inferior to Bayern at all! ]

[Only 2 months left and still need to renew the contract? Is Jiang Yuan being too good to Porto? 】

[Fuck, the goalkeeper got a yellow card? ? ]

【? ? ? 】

……

"Oh my god, Neuer fouled, it's a yellow card. The game just started for one and a half minutes and Bayern goalkeeper Neuer got a yellow card. What's going on?"

"Penalty, it's a penalty! Porto got a penalty because of Neuer's foul in front of the goal, and Alonso was arguing with the referee"

"From a bird's eye view, Neuer's tackle didn't touch the ball, so it's a penalty, it all depends on how the referee decides."

"Penalty! Penalty!"

Lopetegui on the sidelines raised his hands above his head and almost jumped up with excitement.

I had no hope at first, but the opposing goalkeeper conceded a penalty right after the game started. What happened?

The penalty was taken by Quaresma. As a Portuguese veteran, Quaresma's penalty technique can be said to be very mature. He ran up and shot in one go.

"The ball goes in, from Quaresma's penalty kick. In the 3rd minute of the game, Porto leads 1:0 at home. Oh my God!"

"Haha, this is really unexpected. Porto, who were not favored before the game, actually took the lead in the third minute with Quaresma's penalty kick. I believe some fans in front of the TV will not be able to sleep today.

After scoring the goal, Quaresma ran to the vicinity of the field and roared, venting his inner excitement in this way.

"nice shot!"

Jiang Yuan and Neves on the bench stood up and led the home fans' pace.

During this time, Jiang Yuan took advantage of Lopetegui's inattention to sign autographs for two young fans.

Back to the game, Jiang Yuan saw it very clearly from the bench. It was inevitable that Bayern would lose the ball.

Bayern's initial pressure was too strong. Once there was a mistake in passing the ball in the frontcourt, the huge gap in the backcourt would be left for Porto's forwards to rush in. What could Neuer do?

"Press, keep pressing Alonso!"

Lopetegui shouted on the sidelines. As the head coach, he immediately saw the problems Bayern had on the field.

That is, Alonso easily loses the ball when facing pressure!
Secondly, as a spectator, Jiang Yuan could probably see something. Guardiola placed too much emphasis on midfield control, which would lead to a problem: the team's defensive midfielder Alonso lost his protection, and the latter could only protect the ball himself when facing pressure except for passing it back.

Once Alonso chooses to move the ball forward more aggressively, Porto's chances in the frontcourt will come.

Lopetegui also understood very well that since Guardiola wanted to win the game through midfield control, Porto might as well start pressing from the back line.

The game continued. After taking the lead, Porto became more and more courageous. Captain Martinez directly targeted midfielder Alonso. Whenever the latter got the ball, he would be pressed by the Porto captain. The pressure was too great.

As a veteran, Jiang Yuan remembers the score of this game. In the first leg, Porto won slightly, and in the second leg, Bayern beat Porto 6:1 at home.

But it’s hard to say, after all, there is one more "Yuan Jiang" on Porto’s team roster this time. It’s true that he is a substitute, but the impact of the butterfly effect cannot be underestimated.

After conceding a goal, Bayern continued with the tactic of controlling the ball in the frontcourt, but Guardiola on the sidelines was obviously a little anxious. He made seals with his hands frantically and used 5 completely different "ninjutsu" within 3 seconds.

Jiang Yuan could hear Guardiola shouting. Guardiola wanted Alonso to position himself as far forward as possible, so as to avoid the embarrassment of being suddenly intercepted in the backcourt.

Alonso did exactly that, and it was true that there were fewer mistakes in the backcourt, but as Alonso moved his position forward, the pressure on Thiago and Lahm increased sharply.

"Give me!"

Quaresma in the frontcourt shouted and raised his right hand. Torres on the left looked up and made a long pass.

"It was a nice stop, Quaresma took the ball and advanced on the right. We can see Lewandowski running back to join the defense, but Lewandowski's position was a bit forward, so he was destined not to play any role in this wing defense.
"A sudden forward run from Porto captain Martinez! Martinez used his movement to take Thiago away, and Quaresma on the right got space"

Quaresma suddenly ran from the right to the middle of the penalty area, cutting inside and shooting in a standard position.

"Keep an eye on him!"

Boateng shouted to Dante, who quickly ran up and marked Quaresma one-on-one.

"!"

Quaresma made a fake shot and knocked Dante to the ground, then passed the ball to Brahimi who was rushing down the left.

"boom!"

The latter made a powerful long shot and the ball flew towards the goal like a cannonball.

Neuer fell sideways and used his hand to push the ball out of the right post.

Corner kick!

Porto's corner kick from the left was taken by Herrera, who stood at the corner spot and raised his right hand.

Later point!

The Porto players who received the signal started running.

Snapped!
The corner kick was taken, and at the same time, Martinez and Brahimi near the penalty spot suddenly made a cross run, taking away Bernat and Rafinha respectively.

At this time Quaresma appeared at the back post and his shot was saved by Neuer.

The ball returned to Herrera's feet again, it was a perfect long shot angle!

Torres in front of the goal line immediately used his body to push Alonso away, forcing Herrera to create a shooting route. The latter's long shot lived up to expectations and broke through the goal defended by Neuer.

"G——O——A——LLLL!!!"

“Hector Herreraaaa!!!”

"What a goal!" "Amazing Goal!"

At the edge of the penalty area, a long shot from Porto midfielder Herrera hit Dante's knee and refracted, and Neuer was unable to make up for it. In the 17th minute, Porto, who played at home, took a 2-0 lead.

After scoring the goal, Herrera slid on his knees near the corner flagpole to celebrate, and the remaining Porto players rushed up to him and hugged him.

"Porto Porto"

“Porto——!!!”

In the Champions League knockout round, the 50000 seats at the Dragon Stadium were almost full, and the home fans sang the name of Porto in a quite catchy melody.

Porto, who were not favored before the game, actually achieved a 17:2 lead in the 0th minute. How could the fans at the Dragon Stadium not be excited about this?

"Jiang, 2:0, 2:0!"

Neves, who was sitting on Jiang Yuan's left, grabbed Jiang Yuan's shoulders with both hands. Logically, he should have grabbed Jiang Yuan's head to celebrate, but Neves did not do so because Jiang Yuan's head was being held by Lopetegui.

“Hahaha, it’s 2:0!”

Jiang Yuan was also a little confused. If he had known this when he first came here, he would not have sat in the first row. Mainly, he did not expect to be hugged by Lopetegui and Neves like this.

Everyone was very excited, but Jiang Yuan, who was sitting and applauding, was the calmest person.

It’s not that Jiang Yuan was not happy about the team’s goal, but Jiang Yuan found that the outcome of the game had indeed changed.

According to my memory, both goals in Porto's 2:0 victory over Bayern should have been scored by Quaresma, but in the end, even though Jiang Yuan did not play, his presence still had an impact on the game.

The second goal was scored by Herrera!
Jiang Yuan's serious expression immediately caught Neves' attention: "Jiang, why are you unhappy? Are you a spy for Bayern?"

"..."

Jiang Yuan rolled his eyes at Neves, then stood up, waved his fist and shouted at the audience.

"Porto is awesome, Porto is awesome"

"? Jiang, what is Niubi?"

Neves was curious about what Jiang Yuan said, because he could tell that what Jiang Yuan said was neither English nor Portuguese, so it could only be Chinese.

Jiang Yuan grabbed Neves's hand and said, "Don't worry about what this means. Just follow my lead. What's wrong with sitting on the bench? We need to create a good atmosphere!"

"I see!"

Neves nodded, half-comprehending, and waved his hands like Jiang Yuan, shouting, "Niubi, Niubi!"

……

After being beaten 17:2 in just 0 minutes, the entire Bayern team was in a daze. While Porto was celebrating, Guardiola gathered the players on the sidelines to discuss something.

I couldn't hear what Guardiola was saying, but from his expression I could tell that the Spaniard was very angry.

【? ? ? 】

[I haven't watched football for half a year. Can Porto beat Bayern now? 】

[Does Quaresma look like he's in his thirties? It's true that he's getting more and more evil. Look at the passing and receiving between Quaresma and Casemiro, and the sudden steal.]

[Quaresma has a bad temper, but I still recognize his professional attitude. He is over 30 years old and still rushes all over the field! ]

【17分钟就2：0领先，开赛前说买0：1的那个你睡的着吗】

[I am dying of laughter. I bought a 0:1 game and I could go to sleep right after it started. Quaresma scored a penalty in 2 minutes.]

[Herrera's long shot was good. The refraction directly confused Neuer! ]

[Now that Porto is leading 2:0, do you think Jiang Yuan will have a chance to play? I think if Lopetegui didn’t want Jiang Yuan to play, he wouldn’t have included him in the team roster.]

[To be honest, Jiang Yuan’s talent is indeed amazing, but this is the Champions League quarter-finals, and no player in the game is worth less than 500 million euros]

[Brothers, buy the Porto jerseys. We will use the money to buy Jiang Yuan a chance to play! ]

[Are you serious, brother? I've already placed an order, go ahead guys! ]

[Link, here's a link to Jiang Yuan's jersey. I'm going to use my money power! ]

……

After the exciting celebration, players from both teams returned to their positions one after another and the third goal of the first half was kicked.

Compared to the beginning of the game, when Porto, which was leading by two goals, played calmly, Bayern, on the other hand, were now more panicked than the other, and were pressing hard in the frontcourt.

Finally, Bayern's active running in the frontcourt gave them a chance.

Lewandowski, Muller, and Gotze connected in the frontcourt, forming a triangle to press forward Casemiro and Torres who had passed the ball.

Torres took the risk of passing the ball to Brahimi in the frontcourt.

Gotze's steal!
The German, who is worth 5000 million euros, has very good ball protection ability. He has enough confidence that he did not choose to kick the ball out immediately after completing the interception. Instead, he used his body to protect the ball and prevented Torres from counterattacking.

"I me me!"

Lahm on the right reached for the ball, Gotze kicked the ball to the latter and suddenly ran forward, forcing Torres to leave his position on the wing.

Torres' departure also created conditions for Alonso to support the frontcourt. In response to Lahm's through pass, Alonso did not stop the ball and turn around, and then dribbled the ball forward.

"Grab him!"

Quaresma shouted loudly, and captain Martinez made a roundabout run in front of Alonso.

Because he knew Alonso would definitely not choose to protect the ball himself.

As expected, facing pressure, Long Ge kicked the ball to Thiago who was waiting for him on the left. The latter took the ball and ran a few steps before making a long pass to find Thomas Muller.

"Watch that Kraut, asshole!"

Torres and Muller were in a one-on-one situation on the wing. Brahimi in the frontcourt was on his way to assist in defense. Muller and Torres were in a stalemate, and finally Muller sent a straight pass forward.

A figure flashed past Thomas!
Lewandowski!

At the tactical meeting before the game, Lopetegui particularly emphasized the ability of Lewandowski and Muller to coordinate and cooperate in the frontcourt, so the Porto players on the field are not helpless in the current situation.

The team's main full-back Alex Sandro played his role. Sandro was not as tall as Lewandowski, but he had the advantage of position and protected the ball at the bottom line in the competition with Lewandowski.

Lewandowski held his head and smiled bitterly. His performance in this game was indeed somewhat inconsistent with his price tag of 5000 million euros.

Not only Lewandowski, the entire Bayern team had big problems in this game, and no one performed as they should have.

This was not only because Porto scored at the start of the game, but also because the momentum of leading at home suppressed the Bundesliga champions.

At the same time, Lopetegui's tactics were successful. Facing Guardiola's midfielder control tactics, Lopetegui chose to avoid the midfield and directly pressure the backcourt where Long was. Bayern had no chance at all!

"xuuuu——"

There were boos from the fans at the Dragon Stadium. There were 4 home team fans in this game, and only 2 Bayern fans of the visiting team. If the two sides started arguing, Bayern would be no match for Porto.

He Wei also gave his opinion on this.

"We can see that although Bayern currently has a lead in ball possession, we must be clear that the advantage on the field does not mean the advantage of the situation"

"So far in the first half, Bayern has controlled the ball for more than 65% of the time, but Bayern's number of corner kicks is twice that of Porto, and the number of shots is three times that of Porto."

"Bayern's main problem now lies in the connection between the midfield and the backcourt. Pressing too far forward will cause a split between Bayern's midfield and the back line. The huge gap in the backcourt gives Porto an opportunity. You know, none of the three players on Porto's front line are slow in running!"

"Here it comes! Just when I said Bayern was not good enough, Muller received the ball in the frontcourt and turned around to force Casemiro to pull and foul. This is a yellow card. Porto's core midfielder Casemiro received a yellow card. Next, Casemiro will definitely not dare to make any big moves. Will this be a chance for Bayern to equalize the score?"

……

"Here, Hector, change places with me!"

As Maicon spoke, he pulled Herrera over and walked to Herrera's original position. Bayern had a direct free kick opportunity in the frontcourt, and Maicon needed to pay special attention to Thomas Muller.

Lopetegui has particularly emphasized Muller's heading ability. Of course, there is no need for Lopetegui to emphasize this because Maicon also knows that as the tallest player in the team, he must take on the task of marking Muller.

The free kick was taken by Brother Long. He made a low kick and the ball slipped under Casemiro's feet. Fabiano squatted down to save the ball. It was true that he saved it, but the speed of Brother Long's low kick was a bit too fast.

Fabiano is out!
The ball rolled to Boateng's feet.

Boateng gladly accepted this gift that fell from the sky and scored with a shot from his instep.

2: 1!

……

(End of this chapter)