Chapter 0 When Chen Yingxiong felt upset about not being able to score in the first half, Glasgow Rangers coach Smith was overjoyed and showed off his players' performance in the locker room.

"You did a great job!" He waved his fist forcefully, emphasizing his tone to show how satisfied he was with the result.

"Especially Neil, your performance was impeccable!"

The biggest contributor in the first half was the team's main goalkeeper, Neil Alexander. If it hadn't been for his outstanding performance, the team would have been at least two goals behind. In a final like this, being two goals behind basically meant game over.

Alexander didn't seem ecstatic about the coach's praise. After all, he wasn't a young man in his early twenties. He was thirty years old, and if he were complacent about such praise, he wouldn't be a starting goalkeeper—his mental fortitude wouldn't be up to par.

He simply nodded in response to the coach's praise.

He was actually under a lot of pressure in the first half. Although he managed to save every shot from the opponent, the pressure in his heart didn't decrease at all. Instead, it accumulated and increased over time. If he had conceded a goal at the beginning, he might not have felt any pressure... Now, the team's hope of winning the championship clearly rested on his hands. He absolutely couldn't concede a goal in the second half. If he did, all the efforts in the first half would be in vain, a complete waste.

Just thinking about this made him feel a lot of pressure.

Every time Zenit's players shot, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief after saving it.

After praising the goalkeeper's performance, Smith began to consider what to do in the second half.

"We'll continue to play like this in the second half, first making sure we don't concede a goal. Originally, their prospects were better than ours, but after they realize they can't score, they'll become anxious and uneasy. That's when our chance will come. The time to decide the outcome should be within the twenty minutes after the seventieth minute. Zenit has been constantly attacking us, so their physical exertion must be great. I heard they also had a long flight of more than thirty hours before participating in this game, so their physical fitness can't be unaffected. Therefore, after the seventieth minute, we'll appropriately strengthen our offense and look for opportunities to counterattack. When counterattacking, we must be resolute and decisive, and absolutely not drag our feet! If there's an opportunity, we'll quickly insert ourselves!"

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Advocaat scratched his head. What was the problem with the team?

There was no problem at all.

The tactics were right, and we suppressed Glasgow Rangers. The players were in excellent condition and performed actively. Whether it was running on the field, shooting, or passing, they were all great.

But we just didn't score.

This wasn't our problem, but rather the opposing goalkeeper's outstanding performance, and their strategy of defending to the death also played a certain role.

He felt that there was nothing that needed to be adjusted tactically, but the players' mentality needed special attention.

"...We performed well in the first half."

First, he had to praise them, to prevent them from falling into a state of depression and discouragement. Spending a full forty-five minutes gaining the upper hand but not scoring was indeed a blow to morale.

"Very good! We completely suppressed the opponent on the field, and you did a great job. We have to continue doing this in the second half. But... but! You have to be careful of their counterattacks, especially as the game goes on, you have to be extra careful!"

"We can anticipate that the opponent will wait until about seventy-five minutes later, taking advantage of our physical decline to launch a counterattack. So we must pay attention to their counterattacks..."

Actually, the key to the problem was scoring. As long as we scored, all the problems would be solved.

But the topic of scoring was very sensitive right now, and he didn't want to talk too much about it. He was afraid of stimulating everyone again...

Scoring was almost the key word for the entire Zenit team in the first half, the goal that everyone was desperately pursuing. Who would have thought that they just couldn't score...

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When Chen Yingxiong reappeared on the field, the TV broadcast's close-up lens found him again.

It seemed like they wanted to see his inner thoughts from Chen Yingxiong's face.

He clearly wanted to score in the first half, but he couldn't. Would this bring some fluctuations to his emotions, and would these emotional fluctuations affect the second half of the game?

Everyone saw Chen Yingxiong's gloomy face on the TV screen—he was obviously concerned about not scoring in the first half!

Usually, Chen Yingxiong rarely frowned or looked serious on the field. He was always optimistic and positive.

Chen Yingxiong felt that he wasn't fighting against that goalkeeper Alexander, but against fate.

Because he thought that the goalkeeper's state was inexplicably good, as if he specifically didn't want Zenit to win the championship.

If this is fate, then I will rewrite fate!

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When Sun Jihai saw Chen Yingxiong like this in front of the TV, his worries increased even more. He cared about not scoring, so his emotions would definitely be affected. If he still couldn't break the deadlock early in the second half, his mentality would become even more impetuous. At that time, not to mention scoring, he might even make card-worthy moves like flying tackles in the game, and have conflicts with his opponents... and then be sent off with a red card.

That would be the worst ending.

Too many players performed perfectly in the games before the final, but performed like sleepwalkers in the most critical and important final.

Would Chen Yingxiong be such a person?

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Sharapova sat in the VIP box. She didn't deliberately disguise herself, such as wearing sunglasses that could cover half of her face, or pressing the brim of her baseball cap to the lowest position...

She simply tied her blonde hair into a ponytail and sat casually in the box.

In the first half, the TV broadcast gave her two close-ups, appearing on the TV screens of ten thousand people.

She didn't care about these things at all. She was now frowning, biting her lower lip, and worried about her boyfriend.

From his facial expressions, it could be seen that he was very dissatisfied with not scoring in the first half, which directly affected his emotions.

Would he be affected by this in the second half?

If he didn't win the UEFA Cup, he would probably still be a hopeless football player in his father's eyes, right?

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The referee blew the whistle to start the second half. In the second half, the Scots took the kickoff first, and they could use this kickoff opportunity to launch an attack. Although Smith asked his team to defend steadily first, it wasn't to say that when a real opportunity was placed in front of you, you shouldn't seize it.

Therefore, in the first ten minutes of the second half, Glasgow Rangers still organized several attacks.

The last of these even caused chaos in Zenit's penalty area.

At that time, Rangers seized the moment when Zenit's defense was not focused and sent the ball into the penalty area. Goalkeeper Malafeev rushed out in a hurry, and as a result, Rangers' forward Datchevill hurriedly passed the ball towards the center of the goal, and midfielder Ferguson stabbed it in!

The ball hit Kryzhanac's thigh, changed direction, and bounced out of the baseline!

Zenit Saint Petersburg fans and Glasgow Rangers fans in the stands simultaneously let out exclamations, but the meaning they wanted to express was completely different.

"That was close!"

"What a pity!"

"Ah! Zenit Saint Petersburg escaped a disaster! If Kryzhanac's thigh wasn't thick enough... maybe they would already be behind! Fifty-fourth minute! Ferguson's shot almost gave Rangers the lead!" The English commentator sincerely felt sorry for Glasgow Rangers.

As a Briton, he was of course on the side of the Scottish team.

And Advocaat's reaction over there had already shown the Russian's attitude towards Rangers' attack.

He jumped up from his seat, rushed down the coaching bench, ran to the sidelines, and roared loudly, waving his fists: "Steady! Steady!!"

He was most afraid that they hadn't scored yet, and the other side had already conceded a goal. At that time, the situation would be reversed in an instant, and they, who had been in an advantageous position, would be deeply trapped in the mud, while Rangers would climb out and ascend to the clouds.

As if to respond to his worries, after the initial regret, the Rangers fans in the stands once again let out cheers and songs, using this method to cheer for the team.

Clearly, Glasgow Rangers' momentum had already risen. If they didn't find a way to contain them... Zenit would be in danger!

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Chen Yingxiong ran back to the penalty area and used his header to help the team defend. He really didn't like defending, but he still had some sense of the big picture and knew that he had to come back to defend at this time.

His addition immediately relieved a lot of pressure on the defenders. Chen Yingxiong's header was excellent and could not only be used in attack, but of course, it could also be used in defense.

But this time, the person who headed the ball was not him, nor was it anyone else. Because Glasgow Rangers chose a tactical corner kick.

They passed the ball out and reorganized the attack.

When Chen Yingxiong saw this situation, he didn't stay in the penalty area anymore. He ran out, made a symbolic defensive gesture, and ran back to the vicinity of the center circle, returning to his position. And Arshavin, who was originally staying in front to prepare for a counterattack, retreated to participate in the team's defense.

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Glasgow Rangers' morale was indeed boosted by that nearly-goal attack.

Next, they organized a series of attacks, all of which were quite threatening.

For example, in the sixtieth minute, Steven Davis dribbled the ball horizontally in front of the penalty area, and then suddenly shot!

Shirokov subconsciously stretched out his foot to block it, and the ball changed direction and flew out of the baseline, another corner kick!

"Zenit has suddenly become very passive during this period..." Yuri Petrov felt worried for the team.

Smith's original plan was to let the team consolidate its defense, but seeing that the team's offensive momentum was so good now, he also temporarily changed his mind—just keep attacking like this, and if they could score a goal, they would immediately and quickly retreat to defend to the death.

He also walked down from the coaching bench and stood on the sidelines to watch the game, hoping to jump up and cheer for the goal.

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ps, sorry, I was defeated by word2007, and after struggling for a while, I forgot the time.

The update is a bit late.

Because I don't know if there will be another chance to update tonight, so I'll say it in advance—relatives are coming to celebrate my birthday tomorrow. They said that men should celebrate their ninth birthday, not their full birthday. The twenty-ninth birthday should be treated as the thirtieth birthday. Thirty is the age of establishment, so relatives have to be invited. There will be many guests at home at that time. If the monthly ticket update is delayed or not updated in time, please forgive me.