At the beginning of this season, Valenciennes' results were pretty good. They once climbed to seventh place in the standings, not far from the European theater. If they work harder, they may be able to take a step forward.
But after the tenth round of the league, everything changed.
Since Yunsheng led Monaco to reverse Valenciennes 3-2, Valenciennes has been in decline. They have not won in many consecutive games and their ranking has dropped, once falling to the relegation zone.
However, after the start of the second half of Ligue 1, Valenciennes has won two games in a row, and its ranking has reached tenth, with a good upward momentum.
In the cup competition, they also made it all the way to the French League Cup semi-finals.
Valenciennes' biggest goal now is to win the French League Cup and get a ticket to the European competition next season.
After all, with their strength, it is very unlikely to rely on league rankings to participate in the European war.
In this game, Valenciennes coach Regina sent out all the main players. Their formation today is 4-5-1, and the striker is the 27-year-old French forward Denich.
It is worth mentioning that Park Joo-young and Nam Tae-hee, two Korean players who had been starting in the first half of the season, were both on the bench today.
The two of them are in good physical condition and not allowing them to appear is entirely due to tactical considerations.
But Park Joo-yong and Nam Tae-hee don't think so. They are in a bad mood today!
Sitting on the bench, the two of them complained in Korean while watching the upcoming game.
"This SB head coach just doesn't like the two of us. If it weren't for our efforts, would the team be able to climb to this ranking?"
"Well, in the last few winning games, neither of us seems to have started..."
"Well...then we both performed well in the first half. Our combined total of goals is almost over ten, isn't that good?"
"Only four, only four, still far from ten..."
"The last time we played Monaco away from home, the two of us helped the team lead 2-0. The credit should be ours."
"But after the game, we were scolded by the fans, saying that we didn't follow professional ethics..."
"That's because they don't understand football! If Koreans hadn't invented football, then they wouldn't be playing football now."
"Football was invented by us Koreans?"
"Of course, we Koreans invented it!"
"What you said makes sense..."
"If Reginald doesn't let me play in the second half, I will have a fight with him in the locker room!"
"Okay, I support you..."
At this time, Reginald, who was watching from the sidelines, stared at the court, and the game was about to start.
The assistant coach on the side looked back at the bench, and then asked in a low voice: "Is it really appropriate not to let those two Koreans play?"
Reggina was expressionless: "They are not suitable to start in this game. Their state has not been good recently, which can be seen on the training ground. Furthermore, the two of them have some discord with Monaco coach Yun Sheng. , they don’t like Yun Sheng’s death. I plan to play defensive counterattack in this game, and I need the players on the field to stabilize the defense. The two of them will definitely have mental problems, so I won’t let them play.”
"Oh, so that's what happened." The assistant coach nodded and stopped talking.
The referee blows the whistle and the game begins!
Although Monaco was away from home in this game, they were full of momentum from the beginning.
Although Shevchenko lost his partner Rekoba, Dong Fangzhuo's speed helped him attract the attention of his opponent and greatly reduced his burden. Not long after the game started, he contributed a powerful header, which was very threatening.
It was Ljungberg who passed the ball to Shevchenko. As a 31-year-old player and a fast player on the wing, it stands to reason that he has passed his prime period, but since returning from injury, he is still Monaco relies on absolute attack from the left. Although his speed has dropped somewhat, he is still dominant in Ligue 1 with his excellent experience and personal skills.
In the first ten minutes, Ljungberg made many wonderful attacks in a row, leaving Valenciennes' defense in a mess.
With Ljungberg's wonderful performance, Chen Tao on the right wing has become more relaxed. The connection between him and Dong Fangzhuo has become more and more tacit. One dunk, one pass, one trip and one shot have become the two people's signature way of cooperation. .
Seeing that the opponent's offense was unable to come out, Sun Jihai also frequently stepped forward to provide assists. Monaco's right wing formed a connection between three Chinese players.
As the game continued, Valenciennes was overwhelmed. For half an hour, they had only one chance to counterattack, but it was destroyed by Flamini before they could pass the center circle.
Makelele, who was behind him, joked: "Next time, let me go alone and let me move, otherwise my body will become stiff."
Flamini also smiled: "Okay, then I will press forward and attack, leaving the midfield defense to you."
Next, Flamini also came up. In addition to his accurate passing, he also had a good long shot.
As a result, there are constant dangers in front of Valenciennes.
However, the game continued for more than 40 minutes in the first half, and Monaco failed to break the deadlock.
I have to say that Valenciennes did a very good job in defense today. Their backcourt organization was like an iron wall, which did not give Monaco too many threatening opportunities. Although Monaco had many shots, the thunder was loud and the rain was small.
When the game entered stoppage time, Valenciennes made a good counterattack.
Dong Fangzhuo's shot hit the goal post and bounced outside the penalty area. At this time, almost all Monaco players were moving forward and no one caught the ball.
The ball fell right at the feet of Valenciennes midfielder Hunter. Hunter did not hesitate. Before Flamini tackled it, he took the lead in passing the ball to the frontcourt. Flamini collided with him. By that time, the ball had already landed at the feet of the forward forward Danic.
Facing Makelele, Denic suddenly accelerated diagonally and suddenly shook away the French midfielder!
You know, when the opponent's fast forward picks up speed, no matter how strong the defensive player is, it will be difficult to steal the ball.
Makelele tried his best to chase back, but he was still one position behind his opponent and getting further and further away...
"Makelele can't keep up with him! Will Denic use this opportunity to counterattack and score?"
"Monaco attacked for half the game and were counterattacked by their opponents in the final stage of the game. This time they are likely to concede the goal!"
"Danich is about to enter the penalty area! Ujfalusi is some distance away from him, and Denic is ready to shoot!"
