Champion!
Remember in one second
"Ladies and gentlemen, dear audience who have been following this match in front of your computers, the 2013-14 Portuguese League Cup final between Marítimo and Benfica has ended with a score of 1-1 after 120 minutes of intense battle, and the game is now entering a penalty shootout!" After nearly three hours of live commentary, Zhan Jun's voice still sounds so high-pitched.
"Benfica kicks first, Marítimo's goalkeeper Sásha faces this penalty."
"Beautiful! Fooled the goalkeeper and steadily kicked the ball into the goal."
After Benfica's player scored the first penalty kick, more than 20,000 Benfica fans at the Dragon Stadium erupted in cheers.
。
And after the cheers, Quaresma of Maridimo walked towards the penalty spot for the first penalty kick.
The Estádio do Drag?o, a stadium he was once so familiar with. It was in this very stadium that he rediscovered himself when Barcelona deemed him surplus to requirements, and took off again at Porto, back into the public eye.
And when he left Porto and sank again in the giants clubs like Inter, Chelsea, he reappeared at the Dragon Stadium.
Will he be able to prove himself again in top European competitions after passing his thirtieth birthday?
Facing Benfica's goalkeeper Artur, Quaresma calmly stood in front of the ball, his eyes like an eagle owl, staring at the goal in front of him.
Beep——
The referee's whistle sounded, Quaresma sprinted and kicked off!
Whoosh!
The ball flies over Artur and steadily enters the net!
Tense Maridimo fans in Lima triggered a wave of cheers at the Dragon Stadium.
"Come on!" Quaresma was relieved, his right fist clenched and waving to his own fans, shouting loudly.
When Quaresma took the penalty, Gao Wei, who was tall in stature, even hid behind Wu Yu and didn't dare to look at the goal ahead. It wasn't until he heard the cheers of the fans that Gao Wei finally lifted his head up, looking relieved as he gazed forward.
Wu Yu was very calm, he knew the penalty shootout had just begun. Moreover, he must remain calm at this time, because the fifth one would soon be his turn, which would absolutely decide the ownership of the championship, and he could not afford any mistakes.
Benfica's second penalty taker also scored safely.
Now it's Dick O'Neal's turn to shoot free throws, he slowly walks alone to the free throw line, places the ball, turns around and walks to the edge of the restricted area, takes a deep breath.
"I can do it!" Dick shouted in his heart, and then turned around to assist the shot.
Bang!
The opposing goalkeeper had no reaction at all, and Dick Au kicked the ball into the net.
。
Beep beep——
But the referee's whistle had already sounded. "I haven't blown my whistle, listen to my whistle and kick again!" The referee said sternly as he walked up to Dicko.
Wu Yu, who was standing in midfield, felt a chill in his heart: "Damn it, Dicko is too nervous."
As expected, at the critical moment, Dyke was too nervous and his mentality was out of balance. His footwork didn't fully exert itself, and he kicked the ball directly to Benfica's goalkeeper Artur.
"Oh..."
The scene was initially filled with gasps, followed by a sudden eruption of cheers from Benfica fans.
"What am I doing?" Dick knelt down on the ground, filled with regret.
"Get up, I'll help you get it back!" The door opened and Sasha walked over, pulling up Dicko who was kneeling on the ground with his head in his hands.
Dyke walked back to the center circle with a dead face, and old teammates like Bregel and Quaresma came over to comfort him, but he still felt very guilty.
In the penalty area, Sasha faced Cadō. After the referee's whistle sounded, at the moment when Cadō swung his leg, Sasha had already judged the direction and fell to the left side.
The ball also flew to the right side of the goal.
Pfft!
A soft thud, Sasha's fingertips touched the leather ball, but still couldn't change its fate of falling into the net.
Almost got the ball out! Sasha patted the grass regretfully.
And then Marítimo's Artur also took a penalty in the penalty area.
Benfica led Marítimo 3–2 after three wheels.
In the fourth round, Benfica still took the penalty first. Wu Yun looked at Sasha and the opposing player in the field, desperately suppressing the tremble in his heart.
He can't be afraid, once he's intimidated, he'll fail
。
"Sasha, I believe in you!"
With a firm belief and absolute trust in his teammates, Wu Yu calmly looked at the penalty area in front of him. After the referee's whistle, Benfica players sprinted towards the penalty spot and kicked the ball!
Sasha judged the direction again and rushed down in the direction the ball was flying.
50 meters away, Wu Yus standing inside the center circle clearly saw Sasha's both hands steadily blocking the ball with his palms, rejecting the opponent's shot and keeping Maridimo's hope of winning the championship!
The scene fell silent for two seconds before erupting in cheers, this time from the Maridimo fans.
"Good job!" Martens clenched his fist and roared after Sasha pounced on this point.
While Gongchen Sasha just patted her gloves, looking very calm and composed, with a strong aura.
Inspired by Sasha, Dili took a penalty kick and scored steadily into the net.
3-3, both sides had one player miss a penalty in the first four rounds and were tied again.
"The fifth penalty kick of Benfica is Gaitan, and Maridimo gave it to Wu Yu. These two heroes who scored goals today will have a direct showdown in the final round, and their win or loss will also affect the outcome of this game, the ownership of this championship trophy!" Zhan Jun exclaimed excitedly in the last round of the penalty shootout, cheering on Chinese fans waiting in front of their computers.
Gaitán walked out of the center circle and towards the penalty area after Dili fouled him in the penalty spot.
"You will lose to him." Dili deliberately brushed past Gatan, saying in a low voice as they crossed paths.
Gaitan was taken aback, and his heart was actually a little flustered. The "he" in Dili's mouth was not referring to Sasha, but Wu Yun.
Since Wu Yu's outstanding performance this season, he has been compared to Gaitan by the media. After Moutinho joined Monaco last summer, the reputation of being the best attacking midfielder in the Super League had belonged solely to Gaitan. However, with Wu Yu's emergence, there is now a question as to who deserves this title.
The two are always being compared by the media at all times, and this Europa League final is even more so, putting all these comparisons under the spotlight.
Dili's words made Gaitan, who was originally focused on the penalty shootout, think of the outside world's debate about who was stronger between him and Wu Yusen again, and the pressure on his shoulders suddenly increased.
。
What he bears is not only the victory or defeat of this match with Benfica, but also the success or failure of his conversation with Wu Yu.
Sasha in front of him, however, was resolute and unshakeable. From the third penalty kick onwards, Sasha correctly judged the direction of Benfica's penalty kicks every time.
Gaitán is Benfica's first penalty taker and Sassuolo had enough footage to study the Argentine midfielder before the match.
After Gatan put down the ball, he looked up and glanced at Sasha. Seeing that Sasha had a determined look in her eyes, he quickly shifted his gaze away.
Sasha smiled, he knew that Gatan was afraid of him.
Dribble, fake shot, shoot!
Sasha quickly fell to the ground and pounced on the ball together!
The Benfica fans in the stands were silent, while Marítimo's fans were ecstatic!
Sasha jumped up immediately after making this save, excitedly waving his fist and roaring! When he made the fourth save earlier, he was quite calm because he knew it was just to help the team tie the game. Now, this save has given the team a chance to win.
Wu Yu's heart was calm and peaceful, slowly walking towards the penalty spot. As he passed by Gaitan, Gaitan's lips moved slightly, as if trying to speak to Wu Yu's chaotic mind, but ultimately didn't say a word.
Wu Yu walked calmly to the penalty spot, the goal getting bigger and bigger in his eyes. Behind the goal, the Benfica fans jeered at him, blowing whistles and making hissing sounds, hoping to disturb Wu Yu's mind.
Maridimo's fans were watching Wu Yu with a tense face, waiting for the arrival of this historic moment for the club.
Hua Yan and Wang Peijun even had their fingernails embedded in each other's arms, but they didn't feel a thing.
Mourinho, Wenger, Boas and Rodgers, these four Premier League coaches all looked at Wu Lei on the field with great significance. This Chinese player brought them a lot of surprises today, let's see if he can continue his magic with this ball.
Wu Yu gently placed the ball on the penalty spot. Benfica's goalkeeper, Artur, walked over and stood in front of Wu Yu, saying menacingly:
"Kid, I will defeat you."
！”
After finishing speaking, he made a fist and looked ferocious.
Wu Yu did not respond, he just looked at the other person coldly, step by step backing away, his facial expression didn't fluctuate in the slightest, as if he were an ancient assassin about to make a kill, with a terrifying calmness.
Artur also retreated to the goal line, Wu Yu looked at the 2.44-meter-high and 7.32-meter-wide goal, the white frame, the white net, everything seemed like a white dream.
Beep——
The referee's whistle pierced through the air above the Giant Dragon Stadium.
Wu Yu's eyes sank, Assist run! Swing legs!
Bang!
Arturo leaned to his left, but the ball flew like a cannonball towards the top left corner of the goal!
The ball is in! Maridimo won the league cup championship!
"Good job!" Accompanied by Martens' roar, the entire Dragon Stadium was drowned out by the cheers of more than 10,000 Maridimo fans.
"We won!" Wu Yu turned around immediately after scoring the penalty kick, his eyes fixed on the teammates rushing towards him in celebration, with only this phrase in his mind.
A few seconds later, his teammate knocked him to the ground again and treated him with heroic courtesy. This time, there were two heroes, and goalkeeper Sasha was also pressed down at the bottom.
Benfica players fell to the ground in exhaustion, watching Maritimo players celebrating in the distance, each one especially dejected. Head coach Flores could only go up one by one to comfort them. After all, the league was not over yet and they still had to fight with Maritimo for third place.
On the sidelines, Mourinho showed a hint of a smile, a satisfied smile.
Marek Hamsik won the 2013-14 Portuguese League Cup by defeating Benfica in a penalty shootout.
This is the first championship of Wu Yu's career.
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