No doubt, the main referee dutifully handed Lu Yang a Yellow Gem.
At the same time, he looked mournful, as if he had betrayed my love and was burdened with a debt of conscience.
Wasn’t it agreed not to stir things up?
What the hell are you doing?
Provoking the opponent’s head coach?
Fortunately, the opponent reacted a bit slower, and there was no immediate outrage from the bench. Otherwise, if matters escalated, a red card wouldn’t have been too much.
In the following minutes, Benevento attempted to equalize the score in the last moments of the first half, but they failed.
Their number seven player wanted to use his speed to dodge past Lu Yang, who was defending.
However, Lu Yang discreetly tugged at the corner of his jersey.
It was only a second before Lu Yang let go.
This move was very covert and lasted just a moment.
If the number seven player’s eruption speed had been strong enough to accelerate instantly when Lu Yang pulled his jersey, it would have created a dramatic effect of Lu Yang pulling him, or even tearing his jersey, which would have then been a foul.
Many of the moments people see about jersey tearing stem from this.
Unfortunately, this number seven player’s eruption wasn’t that strong.
After being tugged by Lu Yang, his speed didn’t pick up, and Lu Yang was already surpassing him and took the ball away.
"You’re old, did you notice?" Lu Yang said to the number seven player.
The most sinister thing in the world is telling kids they’re too young and the elderly they’re old.
Do they not know whether they’re old themselves?
If they weren’t old, why did the team bring in Vedian?
Isn’t this fuss all because they’re unwilling to admit they’re aging?
Ask for the ball if you dare!
The referee’s whistle blew, and the match entered halftime.
Benevento’s head coach thought for a moment and stopped Vedian, who was preparing to enter the players’ corridor: "Warm up."
Vedian froze, then excitedly nodded.
Upon seeing Vedian not enter the players’ corridor, San Remo’s fans instantly went wild.
They knew Vedian would be appearing in the second half.
Benevento’s number seven player, on the other hand, looked gloomy because if Vedian had to go on, then wouldn’t a forward have be taken off?
Who will be taken off?
The number nine central forward is irreplaceable as a focal point, so the one to be taken off is...
...
In San Remo’s locker room, Sotu’s worried face revealed that the match might not be as optimistic as the score suggested.
Everyone saw how the lead was achieved in the first half.
It was due to Lu Yang’s extraordinary eruption level performance.
Shooting from zero angle with the outside of his boot in the corner flag area, could anyone think of scoring in such a way?
A curved free kick from 40 meters out with the outside of the foot in an S pattern, are you sure this isn’t Kung Fu soccer?
Besides these two goals, San Remo hardly made any successful offensive plays in the first half.
Compared to the increasingly beautiful and picturesque front-line offense against Italian Third Division teams before, it was completely absent.
Lu Yang’s primary activity area as the Italian Third Division’s Izalelt was mostly in his own half, painting a mess.
This was the suppression of a top Serie B team against a weaker team.
San Remo must make changes.
At least from Sotu’s standpoint, he must tactically suppress the opponent to barely secure some win probability for the team.
After all, the opponent has better players; you, as the coach, must provide the players with buffs.
"In the second half, they should take off the left-side midfielder, put in Vedian, and let Vedian play as the left winger. Their number seven player would then sway from the double central forward to the right winger position," Sotu said, not believing the number seven player would be substituted.
Though from a balanced attack and defense perspective, it would be better to substitute the number seven player, as this would continue Benevento’s suppression of San Remo’s midfield, keeping San Remo in a passive situation, with the only possibility of creating some offensive momentum through Lu Yang dribbling.
But... as always, football isn’t just football, it also considers people’s hearts.
The number seven player indeed reached the end of his peak.
Benevento indeed bought Vedian intending to replace him.
But Benevento still needs to push for Serie A this season, so they need enough excellent players at every position to prepare for potential injuries or suspensions any time.
Not to mention Vedian hasn’t completely replaced the number seven player yet. Even if he could completely replace him, Benevento wouldn’t let the number seven player go this season.
If they missed out on Serie A for lacking a key forward, Benevento’s loss wouldn’t be just three to five million.
The club and the head coach clearly understand the significance.
So the number seven player will leave in the future, but this season, he’s definitely the player within Benevento who needs pacifying the most.
Take off the number nine, but not the number seven.
So... the greatest possibility is Benevento adjusting to a 433 formation in the second half, sacrificing defense to strengthen offense.
Of course, this adjustment also makes sense.
Because Lu Yang’s performance in the first half made Benevento realize that even with a 442, they couldn’t stop Lu Yang, so might as well go for a direct attack battle.
Most strong teams have more confidence in their offense.
Unbeknownst to them, this actually gives San Remo a chance.
Because in the second half, Lu Yang will lose the Carlo Moment Card’s bonus, and perhaps won’t be able to perform as dominantly as he did in the first half.
If Benevento continues playing the same way as in the first half, San Remo won’t be able to hold on in the second half.