The battle for the top of the list is as fierce as a dragon and a tiger fight. However, for Monaco, this is not a good experience, because Gangang, who has been in good shape recently, has been dominated by the visitors at the beginning of the game, and his momentum is like a rainbow.
In the first 30 minutes of this game, Monaco had been suppressed by Gangang without any power to fight back, just like Sun Wukong being pressed under the Wuhang Mountain, unable to move. Fortunately, Monaco's rear line is like a copper wall and an iron wall, which is indestructible and does not give Gangang many opportunities to take advantage of.
Gangang, who was unscored, was like a headless fly. After nearly thirty minutes of strong attack, his physical strength began to decline rapidly like a deflated ball. Monaco took advantage of this good opportunity to counterattack like a hungry tiger, but the right-back of Gangang made a fatal mistake, like a mediocre goalkeeper, taking Ocampos's pass as his own goal and kicking in.
After taking the lead, Monaco set off a frenzy of counterattack like chicken blood, but under this frenzy attack, the rear defense line was like a dam that broke the dike, and there were mistakes. As the goalkeeper, Subasic also failed to create a miracle. Guingan chased the score to 1:1 like a ghost before the end of the first half.
Monaco, which fought again, finally regained the home advantage, but it was the opponent who took the lead in the second half. In the 51st minute, Gangang's center Atabare was like an iron tower. After receiving Gilberto's pass, he pressed Medjani and blasted the ball into the goal guarded by Subazic like a cannonball.
The plot of the first half was like a movie that was pressed for replay. It was staged again, but the roles of the offensive and defensive sides were opposite. The backward Monaco is like a crazy lion, fighting back crazily and firmly occupying the situation on the field, but it is like fishing for the moon in the water, and it has no points.
Gangang, who achieved a score reversal, was like a calm lion, focusing on defense. His head coach was a wise man. He knew that his team's strength was slightly inferior to that of Monaco, so after overtaking the score, he immediately put all his energy into defense.
The Italian head coach has always looked down on the head coaches of other leagues, but in this game, Guvinnek, the head coach of Gangan, seemed to have taught the famous Ranieri a good lesson.
In the first half, Gangang was like a sharp sword, mainly against the guests, piercing Monaco's heart; in the second half, they were like a cunning fox, defending and counterattacking, so that Ranieri's Monaco was clearly arranged.
If it hadn't been for the strength gap between the two sides, this game might have ended successfully with Gangang's victory. At the critical moment when the game entered the stoppage time, Monaco finally seized the opportunity to turn the advantage into a goal, fixing the score at 2:2.
As for the draw, both sides can gladly accept it. Although this draw once again allowed Nantes to draw with Monaco in the standings, Nante finally ushered in the first victory of the second half of the season at home.
With the end of the 22nd round of the league, the competition for promotion quotas became more and more fierce, like a war without smoke. This is in stark contrast to the French League. In today's French League, Paris Saint-Germain is in the lead, and the former hegemon Lyon can only compete with Marseille for the runner-up.
Unfortunately, no matter how fierce the competition in the French Second Division is, it is difficult to attract the attention of fans and the media. In addition to the loyal fans of the team, most of the fans are keen to watch the top league and chase the style of the rich family. This is especially true for the media. What they pursue is nothing more than those explosive points that can cause a sensation.
Not being harassed by the media is actually a good thing for the team. The club doesn't need to worry that the media will dig up the team's messy things, and it can prepare for the battle without distraction.
Besides, Monaco, whose land area is small, is actually a land of bullets. Because of this, the number of domestic fans is also quite limited, and the media's focus is not only on football. Gain Monaco's strange events, scenic spots, etc. are enough to be reported, so football is not the top priority in the eyes of the country's media.
However, the pressure on Monaco players mainly comes from within, especially from its coach Ranieri. Although Yun's draw was acceptable, Ranieri was still deeply dissatisfied with the result. The reason is that the club's management put pressure on Ranieri. Considering Monaco's investment in the French Second Division, its current achievements are difficult to match.
In the eyes of the club owner, Monaco should have been far ahead in the league like Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, leaving other teams far behind. However, this is not the case. Monaco's performance is far from meeting the boss's expectations.
Since the club owner is dissatisfied with the team's performance, the management naturally cannot sit idly by. They need to take action to improve the status quo, and Ranieri, as the head coach of the team, naturally became the "blame bearer". This is the cruel reality in the world of football. The head coach often needs to take responsibility for the team's poor performance.
Facing the pressure of the club, Ranieri had no choice but to pass on his dissatisfaction to the players under him. He will put forward higher requirements for the players, hoping that they can work harder in training and playing to improve the overall performance of the team.
Therefore, in the next week, the Monaco players will train carefully like walking on thin ice. They are well aware that they are shouldering the heavy responsibility of returning the team to the winning track, so they dare not slack off at all. Every training will be all-out, and every game will be a life-and-death battle.
The so-called pressure and contradiction are like two heavy mountains, which make people breathless. However, on the court, there is a magical way to defeat these pressures and contradictions in one fell swoop, that is, to win! Since ancient times, football has followed an iron rule that the winner is the king. Under the glory of victory, any dirty and unhappiness can be concealed without a trace.
The day's intense training finally came to an end. As usual, Afei and Pelizaro began to pack up the training equipment and prepare to move them back to the storage room.
"Little guy, I noticed that your mentality is quite good recently!" Pelizaro said to Afei with a smile.
A Fei stopped the movement in his hand, showed a relaxed smile, and replied, "Teacher, you're so good! I'm just a substitute goalkeeper, and the team's victory or defeat does not have much impact on me. Moreover, I have been training very hard. Even if the head coach has any dissatisfaction with me, it is impossible for him to vent his anger on me. He shrugged his shoulders, as if he was taking all this lightly.
In this more than half a season, Pelizaro's help to Afei can be said to be meticulous. He not only often takes time to help A Fei with additional training, but also teaches his experience and skills accumulated over the years to A Fei without reservation, helping A Fei move towards a real professional player step by step.
That's why, when Afei called Pelizaro a teacher, it was from the bottom of his heart, full of gratitude and respect. And Pelizaro deserves this "teacher". After all, his contribution and teaching to A Fei are real. A Fei can make progress today without his careful guidance.
Moreover, the feelings between people are wonderful. After a long period of time and joint efforts, the relationship between Pelizaro and Afei has long gone beyond the category of ordinary players and coaches. They are more like friends, masters and apprentices, or even relatives.
"Hahaha~~~ That's the reason!" Hearing Afei's words, Perizaro couldn't help laughing. Although he has always emphasized that the team is a whole and every position is important, it is undeniable that the team's poor record does not have much to do with the goalkeeper who can only sit on the bench.
Goalkeepers play a crucial role in football. Their main responsibility is to prevent the opposing player from shooting the ball into the goal they are guarding. This means that they need to have excellent reaction speed, agility and accurate judgment to cope with various situations.
However, although the goalkeeper's task is to defend the goal, the victory or defeat of football matches does not depend only on defense. Scoring goals is equally important, because only by scoring more goals than your opponent can you finally win the game.
"But even so, you still have a little slackness," Pelizaro's words made Afei feel a little confused. He knows his training situation, and Pelizaro, as his coach, should be one of the people who know him best. Therefore, Pelizaro said such a thing, which made Afei couldn't help but wonder.
"Hmm? What does the teacher mean?" Afei asked Perizaro directly. He believes that Pelizaro will not say that for no reason. There must be some deep meaning.
Pelizaro did not answer Afei's question directly, but continued, "When the opportunity comes, it's up to you to seize it." This sentence has clearly hinted that Afei began to think about its meaning.
Pelizaro means that although the goalkeeper's main task is defense, there will also be some opportunities in the game, such as the opponent's mistakes or his own team's counterattack. These opportunities may not be many, but if they can be seized, they may change the situation of the game.
Afei realized that he was not only satisfied with defending the goal, but also needed to actively participate in the attack at the right time to create more scoring opportunities for the team. Only in this way can we truly give full play to our full potential as a goalkeeper and help the team win.
"Rañelli is dissatisfied with Subasic's performance?" This thought flashed through Afei's mind like lightning, which made him puzzled. After all, Pelizaro will not mention this matter to him for no reason, and as Ranieri's absolute con-man and the team's goalkeeper coach, Pelizaro will definitely get the relevant information at the first time.
Afei began to recall Subasic's performance carefully in his mind. He remembered that every save and every decisive attack in the game seemed to have no obvious mistakes or shortcomings. Not only that, Afei also deliberately got some data from Pelizaro to further support his point of view.
After checking, Afei was surprised to find that up to now, Monaco has played 22 rounds of the league, and the goal guarded by Subasic only conceded 22 goals, with an average of one goal per game. In Afei's opinion, it is absolutely moderate, and even quite good.
However, although the data shows that Subasic's performance is not obviously flawed, why is Ranielli dissatisfied with him? Afei thought hard, but could never find a reasonable explanation. In this case, A Fei decided not to dwell on this problem anymore. After all, he himself could not see anything wrong.
Finally, Afei decided to follow Pelizaro's advice, continue to work hard to train, and prove his strength and value with practical actions.
Not to mention other things, as far as Pelizaro is concerned, he can never say such a thing for no reason. However, there is no absolute in the world, and there may be some reason for it. Perhaps, Pelizaro realized that being a substitute for a long time had gradually exhausted Afei's patience, so he deliberately said those words to motivate him in order to arouse his inner fighting spirit.
Afei did not think deeply about Pelizaro's words, nor did he ask. After all, he doesn't want to put his teacher in a dilemma. You should know that Pelizaro is not only a close friend of Rañelli, but also the goalkeeper and coach of the team, and his position is of great importance.
Afei was no longer entangled in Pelizaro's words, but unexpectedly, the opportunity came quietly like a sweet rain from the sky. In the 23rd round of the league, when Monaco challenged Arles away, an unexpected opportunity appeared in front of Afei.