World First Church started from the 02 World Cup

Chapter 88 The Last Penalty Kick

"Goal!!!! 16-year-old Rooney!!!! He's scored in the Premier League again!"

Huang Jianxiang shouted excitedly.

"He pierced Arsenal's defense with a shot from a tight angle, helping Everton equalize!"

"Rooney's positioning was superb; he completely shook off the opponent's defense and decisively scored!"

"We also noticed that before this goal, both Rooney and Ronaldo went to the sidelines to receive guidance from Ye Xian."

"This shows that Ye Xian has observed the problems in Arsenal's defense, so he sent these two young players to make runs and cut inside..."

"Our Coach Ye is truly a master strategist!"

On the field, Rooney excitedly ran towards Ye Xian, pointing at him and laughing as he ran.

He is dedicating this goal to Ye Xian once again, to the coach who has always trusted and supported him!

Moreover, this goal was quite different from the one scored in the first round against Tottenham.

This time, their opponent is Arsenal!

Although both are North London teams, Arsenal's squad was much stronger than Tottenham's at this time.

As the reigning Premier League champions, scoring against them is naturally much more impressive than scoring against Tottenham.

The goal, which also leveled the score, made Rooney and the other coaches and players even more excited.

At that moment, a huge, rhythmic shout erupted from the players throughout Goodison Park, celebrating the joy of their homegrown youth academy players:

"Rooney!"

"Rooney!"

"Rooney!..."

On the Arsenal coaching bench.

In September, temperatures in northern England were already only around 10 degrees Celsius, and Wenger was wearing his favorite sports coat.

But after the goal, the professor tried several times but couldn't zip up his coat.

In the end, they had no choice but to give up.

But he cannot give up on this match.

Although it was an away game, he could not accept the draw.

In the earlier matches, several strong teams suffered unexpected defeats.

Newcastle United lost 0-2 to Leeds United at home.

Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Birmingham.

Even Manchester United lost 0-1 to Bolton at Old Trafford!

Therefore, this is a great opportunity for Arsenal to grab points and widen the gap in the standings.

This Premier League season is clearly going to be a chaotic battle, and every point really matters!

But how should we play now?

Or rather, what kind of adjustments should be made?

To score points, we must continue our offensive.

However, Arsenal's attacking efficiency is currently too low.

After sixty minutes, Arsenal players' stamina was visibly declining, which affected their performance in terms of skills and tactics.

After Rooney's goal, Arsenal's performance seemed to decline as morale fluctuated, while Everton players became increasingly spirited and played with more and more energy.

It feels like they're going all out for the last twenty or thirty minutes.

"This kid is really cunning and very composed."

Wenger glanced at Ye Xian next door and admired the young head coach even more.

He used an unexpected move right from the start, which backfired on him.

Even after being overtaken, they remained calm and composed, steadily establishing their defensive stance.

They held out against Arsenal for 60 minutes before changing tactics and suddenly increasing the pace!

Honestly, if Arsenal were behind, Wenger feels he definitely wouldn't be able to calm himself down and pretend nothing had happened.

Now Wenger truly understands the significance of leading the Chinese team to a third-place finish in the World Cup!

After some thought, Wenger began making substitutions.

Kanu replaced Bergkamp, ​​while Wiltord replaced Pires.

Bergkamp and Pires are both quite exhausted, so they'll be substituted to rest.

At the same time, the addition of Kanu, who is 197cm tall, can increase the height of the forwards, so Arsenal will have more options when they play in the attacking third – although Kanu’s heading ability is not strong, it is still a threat!

That's right, Kanu was also the kind of tall guy who played with his feet, similar to Ibrahimovic later on.

At the same time, Wenger also instructed his defenders to keep a close eye on Ronaldo and Rooney.

He also discovered that, unlike other teams, Drogba was not the main attacking threat for Everton under Ye Xian's management.

Drogba often served only as a transitional midfielder, while the real threat usually came from the two young wingers!

Wenger's adjustments this time have clearly been effective.

Rooney, in particular, seemed to struggle against the close marking of his national team veteran Ashley Cole, failing to get past him on several attempts.

Ashley Cole at this time was truly formidable.

Many even believe that after Maldini switched to center-back, he became the world's best left-back!

After being dispossessed several times, Rooney inevitably became a bit impatient, and even pushed Ashley Cole down once, earning a yellow card.

Lu Xiaopang sometimes just can't control his emotions!

Ye Xian saw this and quickly went to the sidelines, then called Rooney over:

"Don't rush, don't confront him head-on. Retreat a little and make him follow you back!"

Rooney understood what Ye Xian meant.

He is currently being closely marked by the opposing defenders, and receiving the ball with his back to goal is not exactly his strength at this stage.

In this situation, it's better to retreat proactively and play a position similar to a pseudo-number nine.

This means Ashley Cole won't be able to stick with Rooney all the time.

Rooney also began to utilize his vision and passing ability to organize attacks in the midfield and forward areas.

As time went on, Everton became increasingly formidable, and their tackling became more and more aggressive.

This intensity of pressing made it difficult for the already exhausted Arsenal players to adapt. They struggled to pass the ball across midfield and were forced to pass it back and forth in their own half.

Even the passing between defenders is not smooth.

85 minutes.

When Sol Campbell passed the ball to Arsenal's right flank and handed it to Lauren, Ronaldo suddenly accelerated and pounced on the Cameroonian right-back.

Ronaldo's speed was fast and his sudden pounce startled Lauren.

Lauren, who originally wanted to pass the ball forward, could only stop the ball and turn around.

But he couldn't pass to the center-back because there were Everton players there, with their striker Drogba lurking around.

Lauren was forced to pass the ball back to goalkeeper Seaman.

But before Seaman could even receive the ball, another Everton player rushed forward like lightning.

This time it's Alonso in midfield!

He was positioned furthest forward among Everton's three midfielders, often moving forward to assist the forwards in pressing and tackling in the attacking third.

Seaman had no choice but to launch the ball with a long kick.

Most goalkeepers of this era lacked ball control skills, let alone veteran English goalkeepers like Seaman.

After the ball soared high, it was headed down by Gravesen, and when it fell back down, it ended up at Rooney's feet.

At this point, Rooney had already retreated to the vicinity of the midfield line.

As Rooney received the ball, Ronaldo, like a ghost, had already slipped past Sol Campbell from behind!

Rooney seized the opportunity and delivered a long pass over the top of Sol Campbell's head, finding Ronaldo perfectly.

Cristiano Ronaldo lightly jumped up, extended his right foot to control the ball, and then gently touched it forward, already facing the Arsenal goalkeeper!

Seaman hurriedly moved forward, trying to block Ronaldo's shooting path.

But the incredibly fast Ronaldo had already deftly changed direction, getting past Seaman, and then...

"Ronaldo has an open goal!"

"He's about to ejaculate!"

"Goal... but he didn't shoot! Ronaldo fell!"

"He was pulled down by He-Man!"

"Penalty!"