Giroud is very tall, has excellent physical fitness, and is a high center forward. Almost instinctively, Distin was wary of Giroud turning around and hitting the goal. Unexpectedly, David Silva's pass would hit the goal. That's right.
Distin's reaction was not fast enough. He rushed over immediately to block Giroud, but unexpectedly, Giroud made a left-footed cross in mid-air.
I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but the height of Giroud's cross was right between his and Distin's chests.
And everyone knows that in the penalty area, this height is actually very, very sensitive. If you are not careful, it will be a handball.
With almost no reaction time, Distin could only judge that the ball would not threaten the goal, so he almost instinctively shrank his body and let the ball fly past his chest.
He felt that there was teammate Kabul behind him, and if it didn't work, there was also the goalkeeper.
It can be seen that Giroud's cross is actually not very powerful.
What I didn't expect was that, like a ghost, Suarez inserted diagonally to the back point. At the edge of the small penalty area, he got ahead of Kaboul and stabbed the football passed by Giroud directly into Portsmouth. The lower right corner of Sri Lanka's goal.
It was only at this moment that the entire stadium erupted in exclamations from the fans of the Legion of Pompeii.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!"
“Man City scored again!!!”
"It's Suarez again, scoring twice!!!"
"The Uruguayan striker has scored his seventh goal in the first four rounds of the league!"
"God, Olivier Giroud, the French center forward who just came on as a substitute for Manchester City, sent a pass to the left rib of the penalty area. The pass was just right. Suarez calmly seized the opportunity and scored with a stab in front of the goal!"
"Two to one! Manchester City takes the lead again!"
After Suarez scored, he rushed out of the stadium excitedly, shouting Giroud's name all the way.
Other Manchester City players also chased out, each one surrounding Giroud and Suarez.
There is no doubt that this goal has a lot of credit, and it should all go to Giroud.
His pass was really beautiful!
Of course, Suarez's keen grasp of the opportunity and David Silva's well-timed pass all deserved the greatest credit.
"The 22-year-old French center Olivier Giroud made his first appearance since joining Manchester City. As a result, he created a key goal for Manchester City in a key game."
"Let's watch the entire goal in slow motion again."
"David Silva's pass was very subtle, Giroud's turn and pass was also very beautiful, and Suarez's last shot in front of the goal showed the killer's calmness and acumen."
"This goal from Manchester City is fantastic!"
"Now, the situation is beginning to move in Manchester City's favor again. There are still ten minutes left in the game. Let's see if Portsmouth will come out and play at the last minute?"
…
"pretty!"
After Gao Shen saw Suarez score, he was so excited that he jumped up, applauded and cheered vigorously.
The key point of this goal still lies with Giroud.
He suppressed Distin's point and created space in the penalty area.
If it were Suarez, he wouldn't be able to take such advantage in front of Distin.
This is the role of a high center forward.
They are able to create such opportunities in the penalty area with their strong bodies.
"This kid needs to intensify his training, and he hasn't fully figured it out yet." Gao Shen also has high hopes for Giroud.
If we look purely at the standard of a main center, Giroud's foot skills can only be considered adequate, but he lacks speed and explosive power, and his leg movements in the penalty area are not fast enough, which leads to his shooting in this fast-paced and high-pressure environment.
The scoring ability is not ideal.
This is also the reason why many players who shine in leagues such as Ligue 1, Portuguese Super League and Eredivisie cannot play in the top leagues.
Because they are not under so much defensive pressure, they can get more space.
Just like the ball just now, if Giroud doesn't pass it and chooses to hit the goal, Distin will block it. The shot is so weak that even a high-level player can save it, let alone the goalkeeper.
So why is the shot weak?
Because Giroud didn't put in much effort in order to gain speed.
If he wants to exert force, his body must be in a good posture and his leg swings must be sufficient. The force can be used, but the opportunity to shoot is gone. Nine times out of ten, it will be intercepted by Distin.
Masters often compete in a few tenths of a second.
"Seriously, this guy is hardworking and easy to use." Sari also praised him.
The eyes he looked at Gao Shen were even more admiring.
He was very curious, where did Gao Shen hear about Giroud?
Could it be that he also has his own scouting resources in Ligue 2?
But why have I never heard of it before?
Gao Shen didn't pay attention to Sarri's expression. He was focused on the game.
Especially when he saw some movement on the home team's bench, he knew that Paul Hart was unwilling to lose a point to Manchester City and wanted to launch a counterattack at home.
I looked again and found that it was Utaka and Kanu who had gone out to warm up.
Utaka can play as a right winger and forward, while Kanu is a high center forward.
It's obvious that Portsmouth wants to strengthen their offense.
In this regard, Gao Shen really admires these teams in the Premier League.
Whether it was the previous big-scoring massacre of Blackburn and Everton, or the later Wolves, or today's Portsmouth, these Premier League teams always seem to be full of blood and will never give in willingly.
Be on guard against death.
Many people say that La Liga advocates offensive football, but that is not necessarily true, because many teams in northern Spain actually play very pragmatically. But in the Premier League, even teams like Wolves and Portsmouth,
They all dare to risk their lives.
Of course, this may have something to do with the overall environment and style of the Premier League.
Everyone knows that the Premier League advocates physical confrontation and the game is fast-paced.
Under this fast pace, even if we have to play defensive counterattack, it will not be the iron-barrel formation that cannot be retreated like Serie A.
Especially on your home court.
To use Brian Kidd's original words: Don't offend your own fans no matter who you offend!
…
Portsmouth made a substitution.
Utaka replaced Tommy Smith and Kanu replaced Picquione.
These two substitutions were made to strengthen the offense, and they also sent a signal to the players on the court that the Pompeii Legion was about to counterattack.
Manchester City, under the guidance of Gao Shen, stabilized the midfield and waited for Portsmouth to come out and play.
The game once again entered a fast-paced offensive and defensive battle.
But at this time, the physical advantage of Manchester City players, as well as the advantage of passing and controlling the ball, became more obvious. After more than an hour of consumption, Portsmouth's physical ability has been greatly affected.
As for Kanu, although he is famous, he is not young at all.
Neither Kompany, nor David Luiz, nor Javi Martinez are fuel efficient.
He can't take advantage of Manchester City's midfield and backcourt.
When the game reached the 86th minute, Portsmouth wanted to find Kanu with a long pass, but Javi Martinez took the position and headed the ball back.
Giroud retreated from the front and blocked Distin with his body. After the ball fell, he passed the ball back to Rakitic in the gap.
As soon as the Croatian midfielder stopped the ball, the diagonal pass was transferred to the empty left side and handed to Robinho.
After the Brazilian winger stopped the ball, he dribbled the ball diagonally into the penalty area. After gaining speed, when facing Vanden Bore one-on-one, he made continuous bicycle fakes and suddenly poked the ball into Portsmouth's penalty area, bypassing himself from the side.
past.
"Beautiful pass!"
"Robinho forcibly broke through Vandenbore on the left rib and broke into Portsmouth's penalty area, forming a one-man goal."
"The ball went in!!!"
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"Robinho wins another victory for Manchester City!"
"Three to one!"
"In the 86th minute, Robinho scored Portsmouth's goal."
"This is definitely a reflection of the Brazilian winger's personal ability. Although his previous fake moves failed to confuse Vandenbore, the sudden passing of the ball caught the Belgian defender by surprise."
"This is the characteristic of Brazilian players. They often bring you unexpected surprises on the court."
"Three to one! Gao Shen made another magical substitution!"
"Olivier Giroud, this French center who will not turn 23 until September, has been playing in the French low-level leagues before, but I don't know where he was selected by Gao Shen and joined.
Manchester City.”
"Before tonight, he was a non-existent player, even though he has been in the squad twice."
"But just tonight, he participated in two of Manchester City's goals, and both used his strong body to create space for the team's offense, which left a deep impression on us."
The live TV camera showed Gao Shen on the sidelines. After celebrating with his assistants, he returned to the court and directed the players, asking them to continue to maintain the overall formation. The game was not over yet.
"As early as when he was coaching Real Madrid, Gao Shen was known for being good at tapping young players. When he arrived at Naples, he spent three years cultivating more than a dozen outstanding European first-line stars, even top stars."
"Now, when he comes to Manchester City, he still hasn't changed his style. He has recruited a number of stars like Robben, Rakitic and David Silva, but he also has players like Giroud, Sturridge, etc.
Hazard and other young rookies, and they all performed very well."
"Tonight, by winning Portsmouth, Manchester City will continue to lead the Premier League standings with four consecutive victories, and we have absolutely reason to believe that with such an outstanding performance, Manchester City must be a strong contender for the Premier League championship this season."
"If he can win the Premier League championship this season, Gao Shen will create a new record, that is, he has created the legend of winning the championship in his first season in La Liga, Serie A and the Premier League."
Andy Gray is more summarizing and finishing the game.
Because, after the game restarted, everyone could see that Portsmouth had been badly hit.
Their strength and morale are not as good as those of Manchester City, their physical energy is almost exhausted, and they are two goals behind, so the possibility of catching up is almost gone.
And the facts also proved that Manchester City finally won Portsmouth 3-1 on the road.
