The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 242 Behind Every Terrible Cross
Danger!

The same thought crossed the mind of defensive midfielder Abdullah, who quickly looked toward the ball.

The ball was outside his defensive zone, and as he turned his head, left-back Jeremy Morell was charging towards the backfield.

Because Gaio is making a forward run!

As Madagascar's star player, Morel, who is only about 1.7 meters tall, started his career as a left winger. He has the speed, so even now that he has switched to left back, he can seamlessly transition into that position.

However, when he picked up his speed to the fullest, he found that he couldn't keep up with Gaio no matter what.

The football is falling.

Gaio's feet seemed to have a magnet, firmly holding the ball to his feet, and he took a step forward.

Wow!

This scene alone caused the Marseille fans in the stadium to gasp in amazement. Although he was an opponent, Gaio's talent was truly astonishing.

This kind of long pass can keep the ball completely still; the ball control is simply incredible!

Gaio did not stop.

After assessing the situation in the middle, he quickly dribbled the ball forward. Center-back Lucas Mendes' first reaction was to cover, completely disregarding Lukaku's position in the middle, handing him over to his teammates, and then covering Gaio's side.

The Bastia coaching staff had information on all of Marseille's players before the match, and Gaio was very familiar with Lucas's characteristics.

This Qatari naturalized player excels in interception, but precisely because of this, he is more easily deceived and his center of gravity is lowered.

Gaio cut inside.

Facing Lucas, without any hesitation, he immediately lowered his shoulder and prepared to move towards the baseline. Lucas closed in, giving Gaio no space, but he couldn't keep up with Gaio's first step speed at all.

This made Lucas a little flustered, and he instinctively tried to use his upper body to support Gaio.

But Gaio suddenly stopped abruptly, dodged him, and flicked his left foot towards the inside, quickly twisting his entire body around.

Lucas knew he was about to be beaten, but he had already caught sight of the ball out of the corner of his eye, and a thought popped into his head—take a gamble!
We haven't reached the restricted area yet, so we can still take a gamble.

however,
He forgot that when Gaio tipped the ball back into the paint, he was already on the edge of the restricted area.

Gaio felt his ankle being kicked and didn't hesitate at all.

Ah!
He screamed and collapsed to the ground.

Gaio clutched his ankle in some pain; it wasn't actually that serious, but it was a necessary lesson for any striker.

He didn't have to go down, but Abdullah and the goalkeeper came out and blocked his position, so it was better to find a penalty kick.

The referee saw Gaio fall to the ground; he actually saw it quite clearly, but he still hesitated.

One second later,

drop!
The referee blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.

"No, no, no, that's definitely not a penalty, I was going for the ball!"

Lucas immediately covered his head, looking aggrieved, and shouted at the referee.

At this moment, the area around the restricted zone was shrouded in smoke, and many people were still unaware of what had happened.

It wasn't until the broadcast camera zoomed in that the fans realized it was a penalty kick.

The Bastia fans watching the broadcast instantly became excited.

"Geo!"

Gay did not disappoint; even with the team's three-game losing streak, he remained the most consistent player.

Just one minute into the game, on their first attack, they won a penalty thanks to a breakthrough.

On the field,

Rothen and Anguilla surrounded the referee, pushing the Marseille players away to prevent them from interfering with him.

De Bruyne walked over to Gaio, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, "How are you?"

After seeing the referee award a penalty, Gaio was no longer in so much pain, but he still shook his head with a grimace.

De Bruyne understood and helped him up.

Gaio then adjusted his socks and shin guards.

Gaio prefers to use smaller shin guards, the kind for teenagers, because his playing style mainly involves dribbling and breaking through defenses, and shin guards that are too long sometimes interfere with his movements.

Bopp, standing on the sidelines, complained to the fourth official that it wasn't a penalty.

In fact, he couldn't see anything at all because of the blue and white smoke. Anyway, as long as the ruling was unfavorable to him, he would just protest.

Hagi Begic didn't see it either, but upheld the referee's decision.

On the football field, there is no right or wrong, only positions.

There was nothing wrong with the penalty kick; once the referee decided to award it, he never considered changing it.

He even gave Jordan Ayew a yellow card when he came up to argue.

Ayew's words to the referee were somewhat excessive.

This yellow card served as a wake-up call for the Marseille players, reminding them that there was no way to change the situation.

The players from both sides stood outside the penalty area.

Gaio, holding the ball, walked into the penalty area and placed it at the penalty spot.

While the players were arguing about the penalty, goalkeeper Mandanda stood at the penalty spot and quietly tapped his heel.

When Gaio came up to place the ball, he said to Gaio, "You're definitely going to shoot to the left, right? I know you'll shoot to the left."

Gaio ignored these little tricks. He stepped on the spot where Mandanda had stepped again and gestured to the referee.

The referee came over, glanced at the situation, and warned Mandanda to get to the goal line immediately.

After leveling the grass, Gaio stepped back a few paces.

now,

All eyes were on Gaio. As the commentator had mentioned, it was Gaio's 18th birthday tonight, and now, this penalty kick was perfectly timed, making it a perfect start.

A perfect birthday night.

drop!
The referee blows the whistle.

Gaio let out a slight breath, then started moving, this time choosing the left side!
Bang!
He took a powerful shot without looking at the player, and the ball was traveling at high speed.

Goalkeeper Mandanda chose to dive to his right, but he went the wrong way.

The football was completely unhindered.

Swish!
A penalty kick in the first minute, and Gaio scored in the third minute!
0-1.

Bastia got off to a dream start.

With a big smile, Gaio ran towards the Marseille fans' stand, opening his arms amidst boos.

Dominate the world!

Marseilleism? Marseille over France?

Do not,
At this moment, only Gaio remains!
Marseille has produced many top stars, with names like Zidane and Cantona being household names, but in the current Marseille, no name can compare to Gaio.

Tonight's opening act belongs to Gaio!

"Gaio! Well done!" Hagi Bejic roared excitedly from the sidelines, as if he were the one who scored the goal.

Lukaku and the others rushed to Gaio's side, surrounding him from behind, like subjects charging alongside Gaio.

De Bruyne hugged Gaio tightly and said again, "Happy birthday."

Gaio responded with a smile, "I like this gift."

This goal originated from a long pass by De Bruyne.

If Gaio had been more effective, he wouldn't have needed a penalty; he could have scored directly, and De Bruyne would have gotten an assist.

In Bastia, fans were chanting, "Number one! Bastia is number one!!"

With the current results, Bastia is no longer just temporarily in first place, but will remain in first place until the next round. This has excited the people of Bastia.

After conceding the goal, Bope frowned, as this start completely disrupted his plans.

He thought Bastia would play defensively and counter-attack, but Bastia took the lead from the start!

Now that Bastia is in the lead, Bopp can already imagine Marseille facing Bastia's impenetrable defense, which gives him a headache.

What I fear most is an impenetrable fortress!
Marseille's attack has not been strong this season; including this match, they have only scored sixteen goals in fourteen league games.

They don't even rank in the top ten among all the teams in Ligue 1, and most of the time they win games by a score of 1-0.

even,

Their entire team couldn't even match the number of goals Gaio scored by him alone!
With this goal, Gaião now leads the Ligue 1 top scorer list by a wide margin, having scored 18 goals in 12 games.

1.5 goals per game.

After thinking about this, Bopp had another headache.

really!

When the game restarted, Marseille launched an attack, and Bastia players all dropped back, with Lukaku, Gaio, and Mane all retreating to their own half.

They simply didn't give Marseille any space, letting them slowly transmit the message.

Marseille's midfield maestro is Valbuena, Gaio's national teammate.

Hagi Begitch specifically consulted Gaio when devising tactics.

Gaio also offered his opinion, stating that Valbuena is not consistent enough, especially under high-intensity pressure, and his passing ability is relatively weak.

Valbuena didn't perform well in the match against Spain.

They were completely shut down by Spain's midfield.

In this match, he was also entangled with his French national team teammate Kanté.

Kante's task in this match is to shut down Valbuena.

Marseille's attack largely originated from Valbuena.

It was precisely because of his performance in Marseille that he had the opportunity to join the French national team.

As for the Ayew brothers in Marseille's attacking line—André Ayew, Jordan Ayew, and André Ayew—their ability to create their own attacks is relatively weak.

Within ten minutes, Marseille fans could see the situation: Marseille couldn't break through.

Bastia even had a counter-attack opportunity when Lukaku received a long pass and made a powerful run.

If the ball hadn't been touched too far, it wouldn't have been caught by the decisive goalkeeper Mandanda.

This could be another good opportunity for Bastia to attack.

As Marseille's captain, Mandanda, after catching the ball, roared at his teammates, telling them to pay attention to defense.

Now that our offense is stalled, we must not let our guard down!
Mandanda passed the ball to defender Nkoulou, and Marseille resumed their attack.

At this moment, the broadcast camera once again focused on Deschamps in the stands.

The camera focused on Deschamps with a big smile right after Gaio scored.

Because of that smile, Marseille fans even posted a thread on a forum asking, "Why was Deschamps so happy watching Marseille concede a goal?"

Extreme fans naturally mostly hurl insults.

However, some rational fans said, "Deschamps is just pleased with Gaio's performance. As both a player and a coach, Deschamps has made significant contributions to Marseille, winning championships in both titles. There's nothing to criticize about that."

Now that Deschamps is coaching the national team, and Gaião is a key player for the French national team, it's normal for Deschamps, as the head coach, to be happy with his performance.

But how can extreme fans possibly be rational?

The two groups went back and forth.

This time, Deschamps was accompanied not by Zidane, but by Stephen.

Stephen asked with interest, "Didier, do you think Marseille can still turn things around?"

Deschamps shook his head slightly. "It's difficult. Bastia's previous three-game losing streak was due to problems in their defense. However, after the rest in the last round, without any obvious injuries, it will be difficult for Marseille to score."

Deschamps is very clear about how resilient a team's defense can be after experiencing many tough matches.

After all, he's an expert at defense.

Defensive experience comes from playing defensively!
It was through repeated mistakes and being repeatedly outplayed that he honed his skills through sheer hard work.

Therefore,
Bastia's current defense may seem like it has no famous players, but in reality, they are all at the peak of their careers.

Stephen agreed with Deschamps's point of view, adding, "That little guy, I think we can give him more opportunities. Kanté, he shut down Valbuena so well."

Deschamps smiled. "Indeed."

Kanté was one of his key discoveries, and Deschamps has already decided to focus on developing him, as this type of player is exactly what the French national team needs right now.

The French team is desperately lacking suitable kidney players!
Kante is the player Deschamps considers worth developing.

The two chatted as they continued watching the game.

The situation reached a stalemate, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.

But it was Bastia's counterattack that ultimately seemed more threatening!

In the 28th minute, after several failed counter-attacks, Bastia launched a very fierce counter-attack this time.

Perhaps because the smoke had cleared and visibility was good, De Bruyne made a long pass, and the ball flew to Lukaku's feet.

Lukaku charged forward again as the spearhead, but this time he learned his lesson when he had the ball.

Seeing Gaio coming up on the right wing, he made a cross pass.

The football fell to Gaio's feet.

Abdullah and Morel quickly joined forces to block Gaio's advance.

Seeing this, Gaio did not force a breakthrough, as that would slow down the pace.

He passed the ball back.

De Bruyne, who had made a forward run, received the ball before Barton, who was marking him, had even gotten into position.

De Bruyne has time to adjust.

Marseille's defensive retreat was somewhat disorganized, and their overall defensive focus was shifted to the right side.

Bang!
He made a quick decision and passed the ball to Mane on the left wing.

Mane faced Marseille's right-back Fani alone, and his approach was completely straightforward: he simply pulled the ball back, feinted, and then poked it in for a powerful dribble!
Eat it raw by relying on speed!

Fani was caught off guard and couldn't keep up. Mane rushed forward like a black whirlwind.

He doesn't have a high tactical role in the team; he's mostly used as a valuable wingman.

Mane knows his place.

Therefore, when he rushed to the vicinity of the penalty area and found a wide-open space, he did not cut inside to squeeze into the middle.

Instead, they chose to pass a high ball to the middle to find Lukaku.

However, his shot was a little too powerful; Lukaku and the defender jumped together, but neither could touch the ball.

Fly directly to the right side of the back point.

Even Gaio had trouble catching the ball; he ran past him.

That pass was terrible.

but,

Behind every bad cross lies a potential spectacular bicycle kick.

Sensing something, Gaio leaned on Morell's defense and launched himself high into the air!

(End of this chapter)