At 7:30 p.m., the starting players from both sides followed the four referees out of the tunnel and into the court.
They were greeted by cheers and applause like a roaring tsunami.
"Angelecht!"
"Angelecht!"
"Angelecht!"
The home fans, who had an absolute advantage in numbers, chanted their team's name.
Despite being at a disadvantage, Málaga fans made their voices heard:
“Malaga!”
“Malaga!”
“Malaga!”
The Anderlecht TV commentator loudly said: "With the entry of the starting players of both sides, it indicates that the game is about to begin!
Now we will introduce to you the starting lineups of both sides.
Vandenbrom arranged a 423 formation, goalkeeper: Proto, four defenders: Newink, Wasilevskiy, Deshanxi, Gillette; two midfielders: Kouyate, Billy
Asia; three midfielders: Bruno, Mbokani, Plett; center Kanu!
Pellegrini's formation is also 4231, goalkeeper: Wilfred; four defenders: Verrigton, Demichelis, Monreal, Sanchez; two defensive midfielders: Camacho
, Itura; three midfielders: Eliseu, Isco, Joaquin; forward: Saviola!
There are many players in Malaga's midfield and frontcourt who are experienced and famous players, such as: Joaquin, Saviola, etc.
Isco has suddenly emerged this season and has performed well in La Liga and the Champions League. He was called the "demon star" by the Spanish media!
Together with Li, they are called the Malaga Twins!
We all know that Málaga was in financial crisis before the start of the league due to a lack of funds.
They can only survive by reselling players in the transfer market, and the departure of core midfielder Cazorla has the most obvious impact on Malaga.
However, Malaga also has powerful players like Saviola, Tularan, and Joaquin in the team. Coupled with the rich coaching experience of the famous coach Pellegnelli, Malaga's combat effectiveness is very strong.
Coupled with the young player Li who did not start this game, so far, Malaga is only one point behind Barcelona, occupying second place in the La Liga standings!
Therefore, this is an upstart La Liga team whose morale cannot be underestimated. Vandenbrom and his team must be careful!"
The Malaga TV commentator said: "Anderlecht regained the league title last season, eliminated Ilanas and AEL Limassol in the Champions League qualifying rounds, and successfully advanced to the Champions League group stage.
This is also the first time in the past five years that Anderlecht has entered the Champions League.
The strength of Anderlecht's lineup has not changed much this season, and the newly acquired players do not have outstanding players. They basically retain the original team from last season.
Although the overall strength in the Champions League is average, he is not a weakling.
In the Champions League group stage, they were able to draw 0-0 with AC Milan, the favorite to qualify in this group, at San Siro, which is a good proof!
That's why Pellegrini was so cautious before the game!
Li, who had just made a splash in La Liga three days ago, completing the first four goals of his career, setting the record for the fastest hat-trick in La Liga and the youngest record of four goals, still failed to get a starting opportunity tonight.
But we believe that the Chilean engineer will replace him in the second half, after all, he is in hot form!"
The commentators on both sides were very cautious and also mentioned Li Chuanqi.
"Beep!..."
At 7:45, as the referee blew his whistle, the game started on time.
Anderlecht, playing at home, quickly launched an attack, while Malaga responded calmly.
The game fell into a stalemate and stalemate from the beginning.
It wasn't until the twelfth minute of the first half that the first shot appeared on the field - Anderlecht winger M. Bruno cut in from the wing and shot from the corner of the penalty area, and the ball went high above the goal.
Five minutes later, Malaga retaliated. Joaquín made a successful breakthrough from the wing and then made a pass from the bottom. Saviola, who was ambushing in front of the goal, kicked the ball!
Anderlecht goalkeeper Proto saved the ball bravely from the bottom line!
This annoyed Saviola.
As time went by, the stronger Málaga gradually gained the upper hand, frequently causing trouble for Anderlecht's back line and threatening Anderlecht's goal.
In the 31st minute of the first half, when Málaga failed to attack from the wing, they launched an attack from the center and played a series of wonderful one-twos in front of the opponent's penalty area.
Argentine forward Saviola knocked the football back to midfielder Camacho, and then immediately crossed into the penalty area.
The Camacho family passed the ball diagonally into the penalty area, Saviola reached the ball, and Vasilevskiy followed it up with a low shot!
The football slides out!
"coax!……"
Huge exclamations rang out at the Vandenstock Stadium. The home fans felt blessed by the goddess of luck, and the Malaga fans sighed sadly.
In the 42nd minute of the first half, Anderlecht also created a good opportunity to score. Midfielder Mbokani passed the ball diagonally, and the football passed through the gap between the two Malaga defenders.
Center forward Kanu flew over and fired a low shot in the penalty area.
It's a pity that the shot missed the goal!
Both sides played not conservatively at all and frequently threatened the opponent's defense. However, the back lines of both sides withstood the pressure and did not make too many mistakes to give the other side a chance to score.
"plum!"
"plum!"
"plum!"
I don’t know who took the lead, but shouts rang out from the stands where Malaga fans gathered.
This made Pellegrini, who was standing in the command area, look ugly. Damn it, we still have a certain advantage in the situation. Are you so impatient?
Sitting on the bench, Li Chuanqi was very calm because he knew he could play tonight.
In the end, the two sides shook hands with the score of 0-0 in the first half.
…
Home team locker room.
Anderlecht coach Dutchman Vanden Brom encouraged the morale of his team: "Although we are slightly inferior in terms of strength, we also created scoring opportunities!
This shows that their defense is not impenetrable!"
Away team locker room.
Pellegrini said loudly: "Our goal tonight is to get three points!
Judging from the results in the first half, we have a lot of opportunities, so we must strengthen our confidence and we will definitely win this game!"
Just as the coaches of both teams were encouraging team morale, substitute players from both sides entered the court to practice with the ball.
Li Chuanqi is very serious and actively adjusts his state.
After a fifteen-minute intermission, the players from both sides returned to the field, and neither Vandenbrom nor Pellegrini made any substitutions.
Just two minutes into the second half, an unexpected incident occurred on the field. Malaga right winger Eliseu suffered a serious injury to his waist while confronting the opponent's defender.
After examination and confirmation by the team doctor, Eliseu was unable to continue playing.
The team doctor immediately signaled Pellegrini to make a substitution.
"Who should I replace?"
The tactical coach has come to Pellegrini's side.
"plum!"
"plum!"
"plum!"
Pellegrini said with a smile: "Do we have any other choice? He was originally going to be replaced in the second half."