Chapter 127 This is a penalty!

On the afternoon before the game, after training, Lopetegui began to announce the starting lineup for tomorrow's game.

"Tomorrow's match against Cebatus is undoubtedly a crucial battle. We are only two points behind Benfica now. Any mistakes are unacceptable!"

"Only 2 points away. I guarantee that if we win three of the next four games, the championship will be ours!"

Lopetegui’s pre-match mobilization has always been powerful, giving Jiang Yuan the illusion that the championship is right in front of him.

"Okay, here are the roster and starting lineup for tomorrow's game. If you have any opinions, just raise your hands. But you know, I've already made the decision, so raising your hands won't help!"

Lopetegui was as domineering as ever. It was true that raising his hand was useless, but Jiang Yuan could be said to be the player with the most stable playing position in the team except for Martinez.

Don't forget, there is an agreement between him and Lopetegui!
"Goalkeeper: Elton!"

Elton nodded when his name was called, and Fabiano had no objection. The number of appearances between him and Elton was about 3:1, so there was no problem for Elton in this game. What's more, Porto's second goalkeeper has been in good form recently (he played as a center forward in the competition a few days ago and scored a goal!)
"Then there are four defenders: Ricardo Pereira, Maicon, Alex Sandro and Marcano!"

The familiar back four, except for Marcano replacing Danilo in the starting lineup, everything else was as expected.

Lopetegui's eyes swept over everyone one by one, and finally stopped at Neves: "Midfield: Casemiro, Herrera, and then... Ruben!"

???

Jiang Yuan and Casemiro looked at Neves at the same time, and the latter pointed at his nose with a confused look on his face.

As for Oliver Torres who was replaced, he is the most confused one now!
"Raise your hands if you have any opinions. Stop looking at each other. It's useless to continue discussing. I'm the one who decides the lineup!"

Lopetegui glanced at Torres, who seemed to be about to speak but stopped talking in the end. Torres is worth three times as much as Neves, and he is a few years older than Neves in terms of experience. But in the past month, Neves' form is not comparable to Torres'. Lopetegui saw the Portuguese's long shots and through balls during the game.

Casemiro secretly gave Neves a thumbs up, and Neves nodded calmly, his heart already filled with joy.

Lopetegui turned to the next page in his notebook and continued: "Forwards: Martinez, Quaresma, Jiang!"

"Next is the substitute lineup: Indi, Evandro, Elnani, Torres, Brahimi... Abubakar"

"Today's training is over. Everyone go back and have a good rest and prepare for tomorrow night's game!"

After saying that, Lopetegui went to the cafeteria.

Just as everyone was about to go to the physiotherapy room, Brahimi walked over from Jiang Yuan's right side and bumped into Jiang Yuan's arm, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Jiang Yuan was not a petty person and didn't care about it at first. But then Brahimi came back and bumped into Jiang Yuan again.

"No? What are you doing?"

Jiang Yuan frowned and questioned the Algerian face to face.

Brahimi did not respond. He lowered his head and tried to walk around Jiang Yuan, but Jiang Yuan pushed him back: "Hey, man, I don't know what you want to do, but you'd better explain it clearly."

Brahimi glanced outside and saw Lopetegui walking away before saying: "Why do you think you are the starter? I came to Porto earlier than you and scored more goals than you!"

Jiang Yuan licked his lips. He had expected this to happen. As expected, because of the problem of the starting lineup, Jiang Yuan took the starting position from Brahimi three times in a row, which made the Algerian very dissatisfied.

But Jiang Yuan didn't think he had done anything wrong: "Sorry, the starting lineup was drawn up by Mr. Hu Lun. It has nothing to do with me. Is it wrong for me to play well?"

Jiang Yuan stepped forward and touched forehead to forehead with Brahimi. The Algerian was only 1 meters tall, not much shorter than Jiang Yuan, but his muscles looked stronger than Jiang Yuan's.

Seeing this, Casemiro thought something was wrong and reached out to pull Brahimi away, but was pushed away by the latter.

After pushing Casemiro away, Brahimi reached out to push Jiang Yuan, but his hand was slapped away by Jiang Yuan again.

"What are you two doing!?"

Martinez rushed over in two or three big strides and stood between Jiang Yuan and Brahimi: "Why are you guys on the same team arguing? Why are you pushing each other like this?"

Although he asked this question, as a professional player, Martinez could probably guess a little bit. In this case, it was most likely that two people in the same position had an argument over the starting position.

Jiang Yuan shook his hands and looked at Brahimi with fierce eyes: "I think I need to calm down, and you need to calm down too. My performance on the field is better, so I can take your starting position. I think there is no problem with that. You can't blame me for it."

"what?"

Brahimi stuck out his tongue: "Are you saying that I am not as good as you in kicking?"

Jiang Yuan nodded: "I don't mean to offend you. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses, but I can perform better than you on the court, so I can start. There is nothing to say about it."

Hearing this, Brahimi walked straight towards Jiang Yuan. Just as Martinez was about to stop the Algerian, Quaresma appeared behind him and pushed Brahimi to the ground: "Isn't it because of your own incompetence that you lost your starting position? You are putting the blame on Jiang. If you want to start, you should play better than him!"

After Quaresma's scolding, Brahimi was speechless and sat on the ground a little at a loss.

Seeing that Quaresma was about to beat Brahimi, Casemiro and Neves each held one side of Quaresma, fearing that Quaresma would really attack him.

Martinez turned to look at Jiang Yuan: "Jiang, we will try our best to persuade him to apologize, please don't be angry, okay?"

Jiang Yuan waved his hand: "It's okay, it doesn't matter, let it be."

After saying that, Jiang Yuan left without looking back, without even giving Brahimi a chance to apologize.

Of course, Brahimi has no intention of apologizing.

"Hey--"

Looking at Brahimi on the ground, Martinez sighed: "Now is the most critical period for the championship, why is it like this..."

The impulse had passed. Knowing he was in the wrong, Brahimi sat on the ground, not daring to say a word in front of Quaresma.

Quaresma said viciously: "I feel ashamed for you for being so arrogant despite having no ability. The starting position is earned through performance, not just pushing and shoving! Go and apologize to Jiang Yuan!"

Brahimi turned his head away. It was true that he had started the dispute, but he was much older than Jiang Yuan, and it would be embarrassing if he apologized.

Martinez saw the anxiety in Brahimi's heart, and he didn't want to embarrass his teammates, so he pulled Quaresma back from Brahimi and said, "Ricardo, let's just forget it. Don't make it a big deal."

"call--"

Quaresma let out a breath, as if there was a fire burning in his heart: "I am so angry, now is the time to fight for the championship, Brahimi, you are so selfish!"

Under the gaze of several teammates, Brahimi lowered his head in shame. Perhaps he should have been more rational just now...

……

After finishing his dinner alone, Jiang Yuan went to the U21 field to practice for a while, and received a small increase in strength as a reward from the system. Jiang Yuan only felt his body warm, but the effect was not very obvious.

But as time goes by, countless small improvements will eventually become a great help to Jiang Yuan's growth.

"Let's practice the elevator ball for a while..."

Jiang Yuan muttered to himself, there was really nothing to practice when there was only one person, it was either dribbling or shooting, either shooting or free kicks.

Despite this, Jiang Yuan did not find it boring. Because whenever Jiang Yuan felt annoyed with training, he would imagine himself scoring a goal in a game, and celebrating the goal magnificently under the gaze of millions or tens of millions of viewers. Jiang Yuan would not feel tired, and he even fully enjoyed the pleasure that this training brought him.

The sweat you shed now is the blood that the opponent’s defense line needs to pay!

"Snapped!"

When he kicked the ball, he focused too much on the angle and the ball hit the crossbar and bounced to the side, with one foot stepping on the ball.

"Joao? Why are you here?"

Jiang Yuan, who had been expressionless, saw the football shoes on Felix's feet and smiled in surprise: "Are you here to train with me?"

Felix waved his hand and kicked the ball back to Jiang Yuan: "Kick it as you like. You are almost the best rookie in the Portuguese Super League. I have long been unable to beat you."

Felix was telling the truth. His talent in Porto U17 was unique, but compared with Jiang Yuan, he was no different from an ordinary person.

"I'm fine with anything, can you practice with me?"

Jiang Yuan was already very happy to have someone accompany him in training and would not ask for anything else.

Felix was warming up and took the opportunity to ask Jiang Yuan, "I heard that you had a quarrel with your teammates from the first team? Are you okay?"

Jiang Yuan rolled his eyes at Felix and said, "So that's why you came to me for extra practice... Brahimi and I had an argument. We didn't fight, but it was pretty serious..."

The two did not fight, but it was almost like a fight. If this matter was not handled well, Lopetegui would not dare to let Brahimi and Jiang Yuan appear on the match list at the same time.

Felix came over as if he had just heard something shocking. “So you first-team players also quarrel. I thought only our youth team quarreled. So, is it your fault or his?”

"He bumped into me first, but I did lose control of my emotions. I was so angry at the time that I left without accepting the apology. Otherwise, I wouldn't be as embarrassed as I am now."

Jiang Yuan was juggling the ball by himself. If he had accepted Brahimi's apology, the matter might have been over. But Jiang Yuan was very angry at that time and did not give Brahimi any chance to apologize.

Of course, it is hard to say whether Brahimi will apologize.

You can imagine that you have always been a starter in the team, and then one day a new player comes to the team, and then that new player takes away your starting position in just over three months.

Not to mention Brahimi, even Jiang Yuan has to break through the defense. Playing time is as important as life for a professional player!
Felix twisted his waist and moved his hip joints: "Jiang, how do you decide to deal with this matter? Will you transfer next season?"

"Transfer?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head: "I do want to go to the top five leagues, but you can't just go to the top five leagues. I will most likely stay in Porto next season."

Felix nodded: "Then you must handle this conflict well. Players on the same team cannot have conflicts."

Hearing Felix say this, Jiang Yuan suddenly asked: "Joao, from what I heard you said, the U17 also often have conflicts? How do you solve them?" "It's very simple, just have a fight and it's over. But you are the first team, if you fight, you will definitely be punished by the head coach, and it may even be reported by reporters!"

Felix was right. Lopetegui was not as easy to talk to as Alvarenga. If Jiang Yuan and Brahimi really fought, both of them would probably have to sit on the bench.

"Hey!"

Jiang Yuan looked at the moon above his head and sighed: "It's difficult!"

……

In the 31st round of the Portuguese Super League, the match between Setubal and Porto at home was about to start in 5 minutes. At this time, the anchor of a Chinese Happy Beans live broadcast room had already started broadcasting.

But to everyone's surprise, although A Kun has not yet opened his live broadcast room, more than 2000 people have already flocked to his live broadcast room.

[Ah Kun, where are you? The game is about to start, come out! Come out! ]

[The truth is out, brothers. The anchor made 0 yuan by buying 5:49. Adding the commission income from broadcasting Jiang Yuan's game, A Kun has made a lot of money. Only brothers are still struggling for life. If I had known that A Kun bought 0:5, I would have followed suit. Unfortunately, I didn't.]

[I wanted to follow you, what a pity, what a pity, ah~~]

[Didn't the anchor say that he would broadcast every game with Jiang Yuan? Why did he skip it today? ]

[Zinima, refund the money! 】

[It’s so sad. If A Kun didn’t show up before the game started, I would have gone to other live broadcast rooms. After all, A Kun is not the only one broadcasting Jiang Yuan’s game.]

[Brothers, run quickly. When Jiang Yuan is competing, at least half of the anchors on this platform will be broadcasting. We don’t need to wait for A Kun to start broadcasting.]

[Damn it, other live broadcast rooms don’t have the same flavor as A Kun’s. I still want to watch A Kun’s live broadcast, woo woo woo! ]

[Frontline report: I just checked online, Jiang Yuan is the starter, but Brahimi is not on the team list. I wonder if he is injured.]

[Who the hell cares about Brahimi? 95% of the people in this broadcast room are Jiang Yuan fans. Just tell us that Jiang Yuan is the starter. There is no need to report anything else.]

[It's ok, brother, but I still like the pictures, bye everyone! ]

The live broadcast room was filled with noise. At this moment, A Kun was working hard. It was true that he wanted to start a live broadcast, but he had some things that he had not finished yet.

……

At the same time, far away on the other side of the Eurasian plate, 22 players from Serbia and Porto were waiting in the player tunnel.

Setubal's starting lineup is as follows.

Goalkeeper: Reid

Defenders: Venancio, Francois, Advincula, Queiroz, Cabral

Midfielders: Joao Schmidt, Paulo Tavares, Dani Suarez
Forwards: Zekinia, Shi Xianjun
Head coach: Dávila

Setubal is one of the relegation teams in the Portuguese Super League this season. Most of the players are unknown, but Setubal's head coach Davila has helped the team escape from the relegation zone with the help of this set of players, which can be said to be a miracle.

Jiang Yuan's caddie was a white girl, about six or seven years old, with big eyes that seemed to have light in them: "Jiang, come on!"

Jiang Yuan gave a thumbs up: "Of course!"

Before going on the pitch, Lopetegui shouted twice on the sidelines, adding what he had not finished saying in the locker room: "Pay attention to their No. 8 Paul Tavares, who is an attacking midfielder with a very large offensive coverage area. The backcourt must pay attention to the threatening balls he sends. Then there is Queiroz, whose shortcoming is speed. We have to limit his ability to perform through passing and coordination."

Lopetegui clapped his hands: "Get excited, get excited! And... be united!"

When talking about the word "unity", Lopetegui's eyes inadvertently glanced at Jiang Yuan. Because of the conflict between the two, Lopetegui had to remove Brahimi from the game roster.

This also brings a consequence. If Lopetegui wants to replace Jiang Yuan in this game, he must let Martinez play as left winger and then replace Abubakar as center forward, but this frontcourt combination did not work well in previous games.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle and the game started. Setubal, who played at home, took the lead. The front three consisting of Jiang Yuan, Martinez and Quaresma immediately started to press forward.

Facing strong teams, Porto will choose to attack from set pieces and go down the wing.

But facing a team like Setubal, Lopetegui has only one tactical requirement - attack!
"Where are you going!"

Jiang Yuan pointed at Schmidt, signaling Martinez to rush over and block his route to receive the ball. Jiang Yuan himself ran to Cabral, the Portuguese defender who now had the ball.

Jiang Yuan's one-on-one defense is notoriously poor in the Portuguese Super League, so Cabral, who had the ball, did not panic at all when facing Jiang Yuan's steal. He slowly moved with the ball, trying to open up a route for the ball with his own running.

But Jiang Yuan now is no longer the Jiang Yuan of the past. Before the game, he used Felix's game console to check the dominant foot of all Setubal players in FIFA. The dominant foot of the defender in front of him, named Cabral, is his left foot.

So, when Cabral took the ball with his right foot, Jiang Yuan immediately stretched his legs.

"Fuck!"

As a result, Cabral used a deft double touch of his left and right feet to successfully get rid of Jiang Yuan's one-on-one defense. The ball was transferred to the frontcourt by Cabral, and Setubal's Korean striker Shi Xianjun controlled the ball.

Helpless, Jiang Yuan had to chase back.

Shi Xianjun made a wall pass with Suarez on the wing and successfully passed Casemiro who was defending them.

At this time, Neves ran out, stretched out his foot to intercept the ball and kicked it out of the sideline.

"Not bad!"

Lopetegui applauded repeatedly. Since Neves joined the team last summer, the young player's performance has been getting better and better.

His long shots and set pieces are as strong as ever, and Neves' recent progress in defense is also remarkable.

"Aqui! (Here!)"

Venancio threw the ball to Tavares, who immediately passed the ball back to Venancio in the face of Jiang Yuan's sudden steal.

After getting the ball, Venancio made a decisive pass forward, and Zekinha, who had been waiting in front for a long time, successfully caught the ball.

"Snapped!"

Zekinia didn't hesitate and passed the ball directly!
Unfortunately, Zekina's cross from the right didn't even get past the front post, either because of nervousness or other reasons, and Marcano headed the ball out.

At this moment, Herrera ran over, protected the ball with his back, turned around and passed the ball to Quaresma on the right.

Quaresma made a long pass without stopping the ball, and his target was clear - Jiang Yuan on the left.

!!!

Jiang Yuan, sensing an opportunity, started running. Schmidt reached out to pull his clothes, but the impact of Jiang Yuan's move was so great that he successfully shook Schmidt's hand off.

Afterwards, Jiang Yuan took big steps, and his legs were like windmills, and he ran to the place where the ball landed in two "swish" steps.

Jiang Yuan stretched out his foot to stop the ball, but it was a little far away. However, Jiang Yuan's speed completely covered up his mistake in stopping the ball.

"Go up quickly! Go up quickly!"

Francois shouted, and Queiroz immediately stood in front of Jiang Yuan.

Looking at the 1-meter-tall defender in front of him, Lopetegui's words flashed through Jiang Yuan's mind: Not fast!

So Jiang Yuan didn't even think about changing direction or dribbling past the opponent. He just kicked the ball hard with his right foot and rushed forward.

So what if he was in a disadvantageous position? Even if Queiroz stood 2 meters in front of Jiang Yuan and was closer to the ball, he was still left behind by Jiang Yuan in the end.

"Take it!"

Jiang Yuan shouted and dribbled the ball with his left foot. It was an inverted triangle!
"boom!"

Martinez, who was at the edge of the penalty area, shot the ball, which went straight to the goal but was hit back.

Looking closely, it was found that what was blocking the ball's path was not something else but the forearm of Sebatul defender Advincula!

"Handball! Handball!"

Martinez clapped his left hand against his right arm, a classic move used to indicate to the referee that an opponent had handballed.

Quaresma, who was closest to the team, ran over immediately and said, "Sir, the ball hit the left hand of No. 82. I think you should have seen it clearly, right? It's a handball!"

Seeing that something was not right, center back Francois walked up to the referee and wanted to explain for his teammate, but Jiang Yuan didn't give him the chance at all and rushed over to pull Francois away.

"It's a penalty, man, you have nothing to explain!"

The two groups soon started arguing, and the fiercest quarrel was between Jiang Yuan and François.

Although Jiang Yuan is not as tall as François, when it comes to quarreling, no one present can be his match!
"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.

In the 15th minute of the game, Porto had the best scoring opportunity so far!

……

(End of this chapter)