In the first half, Caicedo missed two must-goal opportunities. Espanyol fans complained that he was not good at shooting.
Zhao Yang came on the field and failed to score two more must-goals.
Now the Spanish fans understand that this is not a question of shooting skills, but a question of luck.
Can a strong opponent be defeated, but can bad luck be defeated?
The Spanish fans were a little desperate. At this moment, they seemed to truly understand the meaning of their nemesis.
The Spanish players did not have time to think too much. Zhao Yang missed the shot and Levante quickly launched a counterattack.
Levante's counterattack was very concise and efficient.
Defender Juanfran got the ball and immediately passed it to midfielder Reuven. Reuven directly passed a long ball behind the Spanish defender, allowing his forward Davis to chase.
This simple counterattack works well.
The Spaniard's midfield has directly lost its barrier function, and the experience, technology and numerical advantages of the defenders are almost useless. It depends on who is fast, quick in reaction and good in physical fitness.
Captain Xavi Lopez desperately chased back and cleared the ball out of the sideline. He was stuck there gasping for air. If this kind of counterattack happened twice more, he might not even have the strength to get off the field.
Head coach Sergio also saw this and quickly asked Rocco on the bench to warm up and prepare to replace Xavi Lopez.
After Zhao Yang came on the field, Levante was still a little wary.
The opportunity to counterattack was lost, not many troops were invested in the sideline ball, and the ball was quickly snatched away by the Spaniards.
The Spaniard organized an attack, but Zhao Yang and Asensio were taken care of, and the attack effect was average. Finally, Diop took a long shot and the ball flew high into the stands.
In the 70th minute, the score was still 0:1, and Sergio made a gambling substitution.
The old captain Xavi Lopez, who was out of physical fitness, was replaced and Roco, who was good at heading the ball, came on.
This is a two-pronged preparation. There is really no way to score. When getting a set kick, Rocco can also go to the penalty area to fight for the top.
Defensive midfielder Diop was also replaced. The opponent's counterattack did not pass through the midfield at all, and the defensive midfielder played little role.
However, it was not the midfielder who replaced Diop, but forward Gerard Moreno.
This young player was able to play mainly because in the last game against Atletico Madrid, Moreno created a free kick. In the end, Zhao Yang used this free kick to score Atletico Madrid's goal.
This time Sergio has no choice but to hope that Moreno can bring good luck to the Spaniard again.
Moreno was very excited. When he saw the second substitution was given to a defender, he thought he was out of luck. Unexpectedly, the head coach was so aggressive and used up all three substitutions at once.
Moreno was also very lucky. Levante mainly focused on defending Zhao Yang and Asensio. He got the ball as soon as he came on and got a chance to shoot.
Moreno is very confident as a shooter. The ball was passed to his feet. When he saw a chance to shoot, he did not consider passing the ball and shot.
This shot can only be regarded as an average shot. It is not powerful and the angle is not awkward. As long as the goalkeeper is not distracted, it will not be missed.
Levante goalkeeper Diego was in good condition and he flew to save the ball from the bottom line.
The Spaniards received a corner kick.
At this time, set pieces are precious and are often an important means to break the deadlock.
Asensio takes a corner kick.
The young former Real Madrid genius had a sudden idea and shot directly from the corner kick. The ball turned with a huge arc to the back corner of the goal.
This corner kick was completely unexpected by everyone. Goalkeeper Diego was also startled and moved desperately to the back corner to prevent the ball from actually hitting the goal frame.
Taking a direct corner kick requires very high footwork, and scoring a direct corner kick relies more on luck.
Asensio's luck was not good, and the ball spun directly out of the baseline.
Although Asensio now has a high status in the team, his handling of the ball still made his teammates a little dissatisfied, especially the central defenders who came to the penalty area to fight for the top.
The time was over 70 minutes, and even if Levante was confident of beating Espanyol, they were unwilling to attack in a big way.
In this kind of home-and-away knockout match, away goals are very important. At this time, the benefits of scoring goals are no longer as good as not conceding goals.
Levante focused on defense, and the Spaniard immediately pressed forward aggressively, bringing the last line of defense to near the center circle.
The more possession of the ball, the more shooting opportunities.
In the 78th minute of the game, Asensio tried another long shot from the side of the penalty area. His curved ball once again missed the post and flew out of the baseline.
Soon, Roco made a cross from the wing, and Moreno took advantage of the opponent's unfamiliarity and also got a chance to shoot. His header was slightly higher than the crossbar.
The only one who didn't get a chance to shoot was Zhao Yang.
The Spaniards pressed hard, and the defenders frequently provided assists. Levante could not guard every player, so they only kept an eye on Zhao Yang and Asensio, especially Zhao Yang. Levante players had reached a consensus that they would never
Give Zhao Yang a chance to kick off.
A good forward cannot be marked.
In the 83rd minute, the Spaniard made a long pass from the backcourt, and Zhao Yang made a strange counter run, tricking the defender who was marking him and grabbing the spot where the ball landed. However, Zhao Yang also missed the best opportunity to header the ball and could only jump up and volley.
Fortunately, it was a skill given by the system. Even in a very awkward state, Zhao Yang still completed the shot.
Goalkeeper Diego obviously didn't expect that Zhao Yang could complete the shot. When the ball flew over, he didn't even have time to start.
Fortunately, Levante had good luck today, and Zhao Yang's must-goal was once again denied by the goal post.
There was a sigh of relief at the scene.
Espanyol fans were speechless.
Even Zhao Yang was on the court, but still couldn't score, and the Spaniard had no better way to score.
Fortunately, even the Levante fans were a little embarrassed. Today, their goal seemed to have a lid, and the Spaniards couldn't penetrate it no matter how hard they hit it.
After Zhao Yang landed, he looked up to the sky and sighed. This luck is about to catch up with the national football team playing Hong Kong Island in the World Cup preliminaries.
Just when Zhao Yang was sighing, the substitute forward Moreno, who was pulled to the wing, grabbed the ball that popped out and swept it towards the penalty area.
If Zhao Yang saw Moreno grabbing the ball, he would definitely have adjusted his body to grab the ball, but he just sighed that his adjustment was slow, the ball came in front of him, and Zhao Yang was still facing the goal sideways.
Zhao Yang's brain hadn't reacted yet, but his body had already made a move. He stepped forward with his left foot in front of his right foot, knocked his heel, and the ball immediately turned in a different direction and flew towards the goal.
There were many people in the penalty area, and this was another ground ball. The range of the shot was very small. Goalkeeper Diego's line of sight was blocked. By the time he saw the ball, the ball was almost on the goal line.
Diego quickly fell to the ground to save the ball, but was a step too late and the ball flew from his hand into the goal.
1:1
Zhao Yang's tricky heel kick equalized the score for the Spaniard.