Lyon, Gerland Stadium.
There are still fifteen minutes left before the start of the game, and the stands are already packed. The stadium with more than 40,000 people is divided into two camps by white and blue - Lyon's home white, Auxerre's away blue.
But in the visiting team's stands, there is a red area that is particularly eye-catching.
That's the five-star red flag.
It's not just one or two sides, it's dozens of sides.
China fans who flew in from BJ, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, held national flags and pulled banners with words such as "Zhang Kuang awesome", "Auxerre champion" and "China proud" written on them.
Some of them took a ten-hour flight, and some spent half a year's savings just to witness this night with their own eyes.
"Viewers, this is France Lyon's Gerland Stadium!" Liu Jianhong's voice spread through the CCTV-5 signal throughout the China river North and South, "In a few minutes, the 36th round of the 2009-2010 Ligue 1 League, Lyon's home game against Auxerre will begin!"
"This game is of great significance to Auxerre." Xu Yang answered with an irrepressible excitement in his tone, "As long as Auxerre wins this game, they will win the Ligue 1 championship two rounds in advance.
This is the second league championship trophy in the history of the Auxerre team, and it has been a full fourteen years since the last championship!"
"And for Zhang Kuang, this game is also of great significance." Liu Jianhong flipped through the information at hand, "Currently Zhang Kuang ranks Ligue 1 with 30 league goals. E is the top scorer, 10 goals ahead of the second place Mamadou·Niang. The golden boot is already in his bag, but what he has to do today is to help the team win the championship."
"Yes." Xu Yang nodded, "And don't forget, after Zhang Kuang joined Auxerre, the team has not lost a game. In all the leagues he played, Auxerre won them all. If this record can continue to this day, Auxerre will be the champion."
In France 1's live studio, Bart and Dugarry are also doing their final pre-match analysis.
"Dugarry, what do you think of this game?" Bart asked.
Dugarry thought for a while, "Lyon is not easy to play. Although their performance this season is mediocre and they are currently only ranked fourth, their lineup is far stronger than Auxerre.
Lloris, Cris, Makoun, Toulalan, Pjanić, Govou, Sandro·López--these names are top-notch in the entire Ligue 1."
"But Auxerre has Zhang Kuang." Bart said.
"Yes, Auxerre has Zhang Kuang." Dugarry smiled, "A player who can solve the battle alone is the biggest variable.
Lyon can guard against Auxerre's overall offense, but they cannot guard against Zhang Kuang. The first fourteen rounds of the league have proven this, and no team can truly limit him."
"What do you think the score will be?"
Dugarry shook his head. "I don't guess. But I know one thing - if Zhang Kuang scores a goal today, Auxerre will not lose."
In the players tunnel, players from the two teams are lining up waiting to play.
Zhang Kuang stood in the middle of the team, with captain Pedretti in front and Grichting behind him. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let his heartbeat slow down.
Not nervous.
It's excitement.
He has been waiting for half a year just for today.
champion.
Golden boots.
Upgrade Card.
Everything has to be fulfilled.
His consciousness swept across the system panel - after half a season of Qi and Blood Points, he had only accumulated 652 points. From February 6th to May 5th, he had just grinded the meat needle every day to reach 609 points. He scored 18 goals and won the MVP in ten games. This gave him a total of Qi and Blood Points 647 points, plus the remaining 5 points, so it was 652 points.
There are still 348 points short of the Qi and Blood Points required for upgrade. Damn it, even if you win the championship today, you still can't get the Qi and Blood Points needed for upgrade. He looked at the upgrade rules again. It is true that winning the championship will only reward Upgrade Card and not Qi and Blood Points. This is so unreasonable!
Unless he wins the league's annual MVP, he will not be able to obtain the league schedule × 2 Qi and Blood Points. He has only played for half a season, so it is very difficult to win this annual MVP.
He still has to keep grinding the meat needles, fuck, let's not think about it now, we'll talk about it after we win this one.
--
"Friends from the audience, players from both sides have entered the arena!" Liu Jianhong's voice rose to a higher pitch.
"Auxerre's starting lineup - goalkeeper Sorin, the defense line from left to right is: Berthod, Hengbart, Grichting, Mignot. Double Back midfielder Pedretti and N'Dinga, left midfielder Oliech, right midfielder Birsa, frontcourt free agent Zhang Kuang, single arrow Jelen."
"This is a 4411 formation. Zhang Kuang's position is behind Jelen, but he has complete freedom. I heard that Fernandez gave him only one tactical instruction - 'Play wherever you want to play.'"
"Lyon has a 433 formation." Xu Yang answered, "The goalkeeper is France national goalkeeper Hugo·Lloris, and the defense line is: Cissokho, Cris, Boumsong, Réveillère. Three midfielders: Toulalan, Makoun, Pjanić. Three forwards: Govou, Sandro·López, Bastos."
"This lineup is very competitive for UEFA Champions League." Liu Jianhong sighed, "What Auxerre will face today is one of Ligue 1's strongest teams in recent years."
"Yes..."
At six o'clock in the afternoon, referee Olivier Thiard blew the whistle to start the game.
Lyon kicks off.
Unlike most people's predictions before the game, Lyon did not choose to defend and counterattack, but launched a high-position press at the beginning.
Lyon Coach Claude Puel stood on the sidelines with his hands in his coat pockets and an expressionless face. His plan was simple - to steal the opening.
Lyon's players pounced on Auxerre's ball carrier like a pack of hungry wolves.
Pjanić, Toulalan, and Makoun formed an airtight barrier in the midfield. As soon as Auxerre's defenders got the ball, they found that there were at least two Lyon players in front of them.
In the third minute, Lyon's first attack created a threat.
Pjanić took the ball in the midfield, observed that Auxerre's right back Mignot was a little forward, and sent the ball behind Auxerre's defense with a through ball.
Govou jumped in at high speed and got the ball on the right side of the penalty area. He did not rush to pass, but knocked the ball horizontally to Li Sandro·López at the top of the penalty area.
López picked up the ball with his back, and Hengbart came up from behind. López didn't hold it hard, but returned the ball to Makoun who came in behind.
Makoun shot the ball furiously - the ball was blocked by Grichting's body.
"Lyon's offensive after the opening was very fierce!" Bart shouted from the commentary box, "Their high-position pressing made Auxerre very uncomfortable! The ball could not be passed to the front court at all!"
Dugarry frowned. "Auxerre's old problem has happened again - the lack of defensive concentration in the second half of the season has been magnified in front of Lyon. If this continues, sooner or later the ball will be conceded."
Fifth minute.
Lyon's goal came.
Auxerre made a mistake in passing the ball in the backcourt. Pedretti passed the ball to N'Dinga under pressure, but N'Dinga's stopping power was slightly stronger and the ball was intercepted by Pjanić.
Pjanić did not hesitate and sent the ball to the right with a long diagonal pass.
Govou got the ball near the sideline, and Auxerre's left back Berthod pounced on it. Govou didn't break through, but moved the ball horizontally, and then--
Cross.
The ball drew an arc from the air and landed in the center of the penalty area.
Li Sandro·López turned his back to the goal on the small penalty area line, leaned on Grichting, stopped the ball with his chest, and the moment the ball fell in front of him--
He turned around, volleyed, and shot.
The ball hit the upper left corner of the goal like a cannonball.
Sorin didn't even make a save.
1:0.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!" Bart's roar echoed through France 1, "Lee Sandro·López! World wave! Lyon leads 1 to 0!"
Gerland Stadium is boiling.
The cheers of more than 40,000 home fans swept through the entire stadium like a tsunami. The players of Lyon rushed to the corner flag area and hugged each other to celebrate. (Goal in 5 minutes? President Mu said he was very happy!)
Liu Jianhong's voice was filled with obvious anxiety. "In the fifth minute, Lyon scored! Auxerre's defense once again had problems. Since the second half of the season, they have been having problems with defense.
Pedretti's passing error, N'Dinga's stopping error, Grichting's defensive position, Sorin's save was not timely... from back to front, no link is normal!"
"This is Auxerre's old problem in the second half of the season." Xu Yang shook his head, "If you are not focused defensively, you can rely on Zhang Kuang's goals to make up for it when facing a weak team, but facing an opponent of Lyon's level, your loopholes will be caught."
On the sidelines, Fernandez's face was ashen.
He didn't shout or make any gestures, he just stood on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed on the court.
Zhang Kuang stood near the center circle, arms crossed, watching Lyon's players celebrate.
His expression was very calm. Although he had great opinions on the team's defense and wanted to complain, what could he do as a player?
He does not want to interfere excessively with the team's technical and tactical play and criticize the team's players. That is extremely unprofessional behavior.
Just one goal behind, with eighty-five minutes left.