February 14th, Valentine's Day.
Stade Abbé-Deschamps.
It was 2:30 in the afternoon, half an hour before the start of the game. There were already crowds of people outside the stadium, and the sea of white jerseys surged under the winter sun.
Today is Valentine's Day, and there are many flower vendors outside the stadium. The red roses are particularly eye-catching in the cold wind. Some male fans are holding flowers in their hands, ready to give to the female companions around them - or to give to a player on the field after scoring a goal.
In the visiting team's stands, about a thousand Rennes fans were already in place, waving red and black flags.
In CCTV-5's studio, Liu Jianhong and Xu Yang are already in place.
"Friends in the audience, Happy New Year to everyone. Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. On behalf of myself and the members of the show, I would like to send my New Year greetings to all the audience friends. I wish you all good luck in the Year of the Tiger, prosperity, wealth, and happiness for the whole family.
Okay, next, welcome to the 24th round of the 2009-2010 season France Football First Division! Auxerre faces Rennes at home..." Liu Jianhong said to the camera.
"That's right, Happy New Year." Xu Yang answered, "And today is also Valentine's Day. I wish all lovers in the world will finally get married."
"Today's game also has a special significance - this is Zhang Kuang's sixth league game after joining Auxerre. In the first five league games, he scored 13 goals, averaging 2.6 goals per game. This data ranks first among the five major leagues of Europe."
"And his scoring methods are very comprehensive, including headers, long shots, grabbing points in the penalty area, and breakthroughs from the wing - there are almost no offensive methods that he can't do. Although Rennes's defense is solid, I personally think it is difficult for them to restrict Zhang Kuang."
"Yes, Rennes's head coach Antonetti said before the game that they have special arrangements for Zhang Kuang. We will wait and see."
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the game started on time.
Auxerre formed a 4-4-2 formation, with Zhang Kuang and Jelen partnering up front.
Rennes forms a 4-2-3-1 formation. The lone forward is Guinea forward Ismail Bangura, and the attacking midfielder is France attacker Sylvain Malvo.
In just three minutes, Zhang Kuang created a threat.
Pedretti took the ball in the midfield, and observed Zhang Kuang retreating to the midfield to receive the ball, and passed the ball on the ground. Zhang Kuang took the ball with his back, and Rennes's midfielder Fabian Lemoine came up from behind.
Zhang Kuang didn't take it hard. Although his physical resistance was very strong, he didn't have the problem of taking it hard.
He moved the ball laterally with his right foot and turned his body to the left - the ball passed.
Lemoine was shaken for a moment and reached out to pull Zhang Kuang's jersey, but failed. Zhang Kuang's explosive power was so strong that he was thrown half of his body away in the first step.
"Zhang Kuang takes the ball! Beautiful escape!" Liu Jianhong's voice rang in the studio, "He dribbled the ball forward - Rennes's central defender came up!"
Rennes's central defender Kadel Mangane rushed up from the front, with his body center of gravity very low and ready for a frontal interception.
Zhang Kuang does not slow down.
He moved the ball forward to the right, and Mangane followed suit. Then Zhang Kuang dunked the ball back with his left foot. Mangane's center of gravity was shaken, and his body tilted slightly to the left.
It's this moment.
Zhang Kuang's right foot passed the ball from the outside of Mangane, and then he overtook the ball from the outside.
Mangane stretched out his hand to pull, but only caught a handful of air.
"Zhang Kuang passed Mangane! He broke into the penalty area!"
Rennes's other central defender Peter Hansson came to cover from the side, and goalkeeper Nikolay Douchez also left the goal and blocked the near corner.
Zhang Kuang raised his right foot and made a fake shot.
Hansson's body center of gravity was deceived, and he raised his feet to block it.
But Zhang Kuang retracted his foot before touching the ball, and then knocked the ball across to Jelen, who was unmarked on the left side of the penalty area.
Jelen hits the ball and shoots.
Empty gate.
The ball flies towards the goal--
"Dang!"
It hit the outside of the goal post and popped out of the bottom line.
"Jelen! The empty goal hit the goal post!" Liu Jianhong's voice was full of regret, "Zhang Kuang's breakthrough was so beautiful! He passed two people and sent the ball to the empty goal! But Jelen didn't score!"
Jelen was kneeling on the grass, holding his head in his hands, with a look of disbelief on his face.
Zhang Kuang looked at him with his hands on his hips, without blaming him, he just shook his head, turned around and ran back.
Bart smiled in France's commentary, "Jelen didn't score this goal. I'm afraid it was a waste of a good assist."
Dugarry: "It's a pity for Jelen, but what I'm more concerned about is Zhang Kuang's breakthrough ability. He started to attack like this again. Rennes's defense was completely unprepared because the information they obtained showed that Zhang Kuang is a center forward with excellent headers and long-range shots, not a winger."
"Oh, I understand what you mean. Rennes's pre-game arrangement was to guard against Zhang Kuang's headers and long shots, but Zhang Kuang broke through from the wing from the beginning, which made Rennes's defensive arrangement suddenly come to nothing..."
Dugarry: "Yes, it depends on whether Rennes can adjust quickly."
In the 7th minute, Zhang Kuang once again took the ball on the left wing.
This time, Rennes's right back Rod Fanni and midfielder Lemoine rushed over at the same time, one behind the other, trying to limit Zhang Kuang's breakthrough with a flanking attack.
Zhang Kuang didn't force it.
He passed the ball back to the left winger Contout who was on the wing, and then quickly moved forward himself.
Contout did not stop the ball and sent the ball through the ball into the space on the left side of the penalty area.
Zhang Kuang took the ball in the corner of the small penalty area, and Rennes's center back Mangane had already come over to block the shooting angle.
Zhang Kuang didn't shoot.
He knocked the ball back to Pedretti at the top of the penalty area with his left foot, then ran laterally, passing in front of Mangane to the center of the small penalty area.
Pedretti did not hesitate and passed the ball with one kick.
The ball flew through the air and landed on the center of the small penalty area - the head of Zhang Kuang.
Zhang Kuang took off while running. He relied on the strength of his waist and abdomen to hold himself in the air, waiting for the ball to fall to the most suitable height--
Header goal.
The ball was smashed to the ground, bounced and went straight to the lower right corner of the goal.
Douchez made a save, but the ball was too fast. Before his fingertips could reach it, the ball had already hit the net.
1:0.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!" Bart's roar sounded in France 1, full of passion.
"The ball has gone in! Zhang Kuang! It's Zhang Kuang again! Head kick!" Liu Jianhong's voice exploded in the studio, "In the seventh minute, Auxerre leads 1 to 0! This is Zhang Kuang's New Year's gift to fans across the country!"
"It's so beautiful!" Xu Yang shouted from the side, "This goal went from the coordination on the wing to the penetration in the middle, from the running position to the header, the whole process was smooth!
Zhang Kuang's movement was so smart - he first dropped back to catch the ball, then moved forward, and then ran sideways, stepping on the blind spot of Rennes's defense every step of the way!"
"This is Zhang Kuang's fourteenth goal in the league this season!" Liu Jianhong's voice was as solemn as witnessing history, "Five league games, fourteen goals! He has now surpassed Lille's Musa Suowu, ranking second in the scorer list! He is only one goal away from the top scorer Mamadou·Niang!"
"Only one goal missing!" Xu Yang repeated, "If Zhang Kuang scores one more goal in this game, he will tie Niang's fifteen goals and tie for the top scorer list! If he scores two more, he will become Ligue 1's top scorer list!"
"Yes, it's thanks to Mamadou that he hasn't scored a goal in these rounds, otherwise Zhang Kuang wouldn't have been able to catch up so easily."
"It shows that Ligue 1's shooter is very unstable. Just look at Auxerre's leading shooter Jelen. His goals are inconsistent."
"Yes..."
The atmosphere in the studio was already on fire.
At the scene, Zhang Kuang got up from the ground and ran towards the corner flag area.
Instead of doing the "Siu" celebration, he ran to the corner flag area, looked into the camera lens, and lifted up his jersey. His inner lining said 'Happy New Year!'.
"Zhang Kuang showed his 'Happy New Year' blessing to the camera!" Liu Jianhong's voice was a little excited, "This is his New Year's gift to fans across the country! So thoughtful!"
On the sidelines, Fernandez clapped, his expression still calm, but his assistant coach Stéphane had already rushed to the sidelines, waving his fists.
Rennes's head coach, Frederick Antonetti, stood on the other side of the court with his hands on his hips and a solemn expression.
He deployed defensive tactics for three days before the game - limiting Zhang Kuang's headers, limiting Zhang Kuang's long shots, and limiting Zhang Kuang's ability to grab points in the penalty area.
But he didn't expect that Zhang Kuang would play on the wing from the beginning of the game.
His defensive arrangement failed when Zhang Kuang made his first side breakthrough.
As the game continued, Zhang Kuang's movements became more and more flexible, which made Rennes's defensive players confused and at a loss.
In the 12th minute, he changed from the left to the right.
In the 15th minute, he retreated from the right to midfield.
In the 18th minute, he advanced from the midfield to the center of the penalty area.
His range of activities covers the entire frontcourt, like an ever-changing net, making Rennes's defensive players completely unable to touch his rhythm.
Rennes's defensive players began to show signs of losing concentration.
Fanni followed Zhang Kuang for fifteen minutes. He was led from the left to the right, and then back to the left. It was as if he was leading him around.
Mangane tried to use physical confrontation to restrain Zhang Kuang, but every time he came into physical contact with Zhang Kuang, it felt like he was hitting a wall.
The body density and bone strength of that China person are completely different from those of normal humans.
21st minute.
Auxerre steals the ball in the backcourt, Grichting makes a long pass directly to Zhang Kuang.
Zhang Kuang picked up the ball with his back near the center circle, and Rennes's two defensive players - Lemoine and Mangane - attacked from behind and from the side at the same time.
Zhang Kuang used his chest to remove the ball. The moment the ball hit the ground, he flicked the ball with his left foot and turned his body to the right--
It's not a pass, it's a pass.
He distributed the ball to Oliech who was on the wing, and then quickly moved forward himself.
Oliech picked up the ball on the right and didn't pass it in. Instead, he knocked the ball horizontally to Pedretti who was retreating in the middle.
Pedretti did not stop the ball and sent the ball through the ball into the space on the right side of the penalty area.
Zhang Kuang sprinted at full speed and got the ball on the right side of the penalty area.
Rennes's left back Elderson rushed over from the front, and center back Hansson defended from the side. The two of them worked in tandem, blocking Zhang Kuang's shooting angle.
Zhang Kuang didn't shoot.
He moved the ball laterally with his right foot, dodging Elderson's overcoming attack, and then dunked the ball back with his left foot, dodging Hansson's defense.
The two defensive players were shaken by him and lost their center of gravity.
Then he lifted his right foot--
"Bang!"
The ball was extremely fast and went straight to the lower left corner of the goal.
Douchez flew to save and his fingertips touched the ball--
But the force of the ball is too great.
The ball slipped through his fingertips and hit the net.
2:0.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!" Bart's roar sounded again.
"Second! Zhang Kuang scored twice!" Liu Jianhong's voice was hoarse, "The fifteenth goal! Tied Mamadou·Niang! Zhang Kuang is now the top scorer in Ligue 1!"
"Tie for first!" Xu Yang shouted from the side, "Fifteen goals in five league games! Three goals per game! This data is extremely rare in the history of Ligue 1 - no, in the history of Europe's five major leagues!"
"It can't be stopped, it can't be stopped at all. The Ligue 1 defender can't stop Chinese Zhang at all. He has flexible movement, high degree of freedom, superb shooting skills, and strong physical confrontation. I don't know if teams like Lyon, Marseille, and Bordeaux can guard him..." Dugarry explained excitedly.
Zhang Kuang ran to the corner flag area, Siu came to celebrate, and the atmosphere on the scene was already ignited.