CHAPTER 1879: CHAPTER 983: THE GOALKEEPER AND FORWARD WHO TURNED THE TIDE

The fierce battle between the national team and the Baxi Team in the first half was indeed very intense, making everyone watching the game feel their hearts leap to their throats.

Ding Yue was watching the match, feeling surprised and amazed.

He had no idea which was superior between the national team and the Baxi Team, as both sides were equally matched, and the outcome was unpredictable. The current score was one to one.

However.

Quickly after.

The Baxi Team found a good opportunity, attempting to take the score to two to one.

Yet.

They were finally sanctioned by the national team’s goalkeeper Zhu Cheng.

As a god-level goalkeeper, he had unfortunately conceded a goal earlier in the first half, so now he aimed to use his body to block this shot from the Baxi Team. If he conceded another goal, he might not be able to hold his head high in front of his teammates.

In the eyes of the Baxi Team, this shot was a perfect goal, but in Zhu Cheng’s view, there was still a chance to save it.

The football sped towards him.

Zhu Cheng relied on his precise judgment ability and perfectly judged the attacking route of the football.

Generally, for goalkeepers judging a football, there are three possibilities.

One is instinctive reaction, relying on muscle reflexes, especially when the opponent’s attack is sudden. At such times, you rely on muscle reflexes because you simply don’t have time to think.

The second is judgment with thought, able to precisely judge the opponent’s shot and understand the trajectory of the football. The current goalkeeper Zhu Cheng belongs to this category.

The third is luck.

Well, this has both pros and cons. For goalkeepers, mastering the ability to save shots in the first two situations is essential; the third relies on divine favor.

The strongest goalkeepers often master the second type of saving defense, as it allows them ample time to think, or to predict the opponent’s shot in advance. These are great ways to defend against enemy attacks.

"Shot!"

When the commentator shouted about the Baxi Team’s shot, all the national team fans watching the live broadcast were extremely tense.

After all, the Baxi Team found a really good opportunity; the national team’s defenders were basically "ignored" by them. Relying on defender teammates to defend was no longer possible.

So, they had to rely on goalkeeper Zhu Cheng.

This shot was a moment of urgency, happening in an instant.

In this critical moment, goalkeeper Zhu Cheng relied on his preemptive judgment to accurately determine the ball’s curve and then dived to save it.

"He saved it! Zhu Cheng! Goalkeeper Zhu Cheng didn’t let us down!"

Commentator exclaimed excitedly.

At this moment, all national team fans and live viewers, and the audience on site, burst into cheers because the goalkeeper’s defense of this ball was truly beautiful.

The hard-earned opportunity for the Baxi Team was completely rendered futile.

The Baxi Team player who shot the ball saw his shot defended by the national team’s goalkeeper, and he knelt down with his hands on his head, feeling very frustrated. If this ball had gone in, they would’ve taken the lead over the national team.

But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case!

Once the national team secured the ball, they quickly launched a counterattack.

It must be said that the national team’s counterattack was indeed fast, and it’s precisely for this reason that the Baxi Team must defend tightly against the national team’s counterattack. Otherwise, they could easily give the national team a score, which was a lesson learned by the Baxi Team.

In fact, that’s exactly how the goal the national team scored was initiated — through a defensive counterattack. This is how they managed to tie the score to one to one.

Once again.

The national team carried out another defensive counterattack, and their opportunity to score came once more.

However.

This time, although the national team’s defensive counterattack was swift, the Baxi Team’s back defense was equally quick. After all, the Baxi Team had already suffered once. For such a world-class top team, they basically wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

As expected.

When attacking forward player Liu Zhan received the ball, the Baxi Team effectively blocked front and chased behind, leaving Liu Zhan with no clear scoring opportunity.

Liu Zhan considered passing to Li Shuangying or Zhao Xuanming to create an attack opportunity for them, but there were closely guarded players on both sides, making it impossible to create a better opportunity. Carelessness could easily lead to the ball being stolen by the Baxi Team.

Thus, after analyzing his options, Liu Zhan decided to pass the ball back to the midfield, handing it to Zhu Tan.

The rapid defensive counterattack was thus intercepted by the Baxi Team, and the national team had no choice but to resume their positional play and maneuvering.

"This time, the Baxi Team defended really well,"

Principal Xu Dongcheng couldn’t help but remark.

"Yes."

Ding Yue also nodded, calmly saying, "Both sides are defending well. Let’s see if Li Shuangying and Liu Zhan can find a breakthrough in the face of the Baxi Team’s tight defense."

"Actually, I prefer watching matches where both sides have strong attacking capabilities, like those between the German Machine and the Baxi Team. Watching such a match is certainly a delight,"

Principal Xu Dongcheng said with a lighthearted smile.