Chu Zhongtian's two wonderful passes allowed Messe to take the lead away, ending the first half with a score of 2:1. When he returned to the dressing, he was praised by head coach Fernandez, and his teammates praised him. No wonder these people were so excited, because in such an important game, he scored two away goals, which almost equals one foot to advance to the quarterfinals.

Even if Metz loses in this game, these two away goals can help them take the initiative at home.

With two away goals in hand, Metz's midnight break atmosphere seemed much easier. Fernandez did not make any adjustments, but just asked the team to continue to check the tactics of the first half and resolutely counterattack on the basis of solid defense.

After the start of the second half, Metz still played the game at the pace of the first half, while Leverkusen significantly strengthened the offensive and accelerated the rhythm. This made Metz a little unexpected. Especially Ramilau's pressing in the midfield made Chu Zhongtian very difficult. This German midfielder had a tough defense and used fouls many times to prevent Chu Zhongtian from passing and dribbling.

In the 50th minute, he got a yellow card because of a foul on Chu Zhongtian. Despite this, he did not restrain himself because of the yellow card and continued to invade Chu Zhongtian in defense.

In the 58th minute, Leverkusen scored a goal, and the goal was their young star Kislin. After receiving a pass from Schneider in the penalty area, he did not take a shot immediately, but used his foot skills to shake off Traore's defense, and then took another shot. The football bypassed goalkeeper Wynby's fingers and hit the far post and entered the net.

This ball does have a little bit of the shadow of Swedish Ibrahimovic. Although he only shook one person away, the Swedish ball in Ajax drifted past five people in a row.

This goal helped Leverkusen tie the score, and they saw hope of winning the game at home. They had already asked their opponent to get two away goals. If the opponent still wins the game at home, Leverkusen will be embarrassed and lose the lead in advance.

Fernandez made a substitution adjustment after twelve minutes of conceding the ball, and he strengthened his defense. For Mesz, having two goals away and getting a draw is already the best ending. He is not greedy, he knows greed is very dangerous.

The first captain Bobiconi was replaced. He ran towards Chu Zhongtian. Chu Zhongtian thought the captain was coming to find him to ask for an armband. Bobiconi was actually here to convey the head coach's meaning.

"Sir said, keep the defense firm. Even if it is a draw, it will be very beneficial to us." After saying that, Bobby Coni patted Chu Zhongtian's left shoulder and smiled at him: "You captain is doing quite well, Chu. Keep doing it and do it well."

After saying that, he ran back to his defensive position.

Chu Zhongtian lost his mind and soon came back to his senses. Coach Fernandez asked the team to pay attention to defense, but he thought it was too early to be conservative now - there were still twenty minutes left before the end of the game. This time was enough for them to score another goal, and even if they were scored by their opponents because of a risky offense, the score was only 2:3. Mess, who returned to home, still had a great advantage.

So in the subsequent game, as long as he gets the ball, he will choose to cooperate with his teammates in a short pass, rather than just kicking the ball in front like others, allowing Ibisevic to compete with the opponent for the top.

In the 73rd minute, when Chu Zhongtian was driving the ball forward, Ramilao shoveled Chu Zhongtian from the side. In order to avoid injury, Chu Zhongtian, who fell to the ground, rolled several laps before stopping. The harm of this action seemed very great, although Chu Zhongtian himself was not injured, except for the pain of falling to the ground.

The referee blew the whistle to indicate that Ramilao was fouled, but he did not mean to take out the cards, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the Metz players. Ribery screamed to the referee: "This is a foul! This is a very obvious foul! He had a yellow card before!"

Ibisevic also came up and made a sign to take out the cards to the referee.

The referee shook his head and still did not take out the cards.

Metz's players were disappointed.

"Ramilao must be careful. He already has a yellow card on him!" said the German commentator worriedly. "His defense is very fierce, but it is not reassuring to always take cards."

Ribery went up and pulled Chu Zhongtian up, and asked with concern: "How is it? Are you injured?"

Chu Zhongtian shook his head: "No."

"Damn it! This should be a serious foul, even if you give a red card directly, it would be fine!" Ribery started complaining again after seeing that Chu Zhongtian had nothing to do.

Chu Zhongtian shrugged: "Maybe the referee has a card on him, and he will be over if he gives the card, so he is showing mercy, right?"

"That can't be like this. You don't even give cards with such tackles. What kind of fouls will give cards? Kick your leg off?"

Chu Zhongtian glared at Ribery: "Don't talk nonsense, crow's mouth!"

Ribery smiled and said, "Just, joke..."

Chu Zhongtian looked at the veteran with light golden hair and had a plan.

Some players are afraid of those players with rude and fierce defensive actions, because their chances of injury will increase greatly when facing those players. But Chu Zhongtian is not afraid. Not only does he not hide, he also has to go up and "provoke" the other party. He thought that Ramilao now has a yellow card, so he just let him get off the field with a red card.

The next round will return to Metz's home court. Although they have a home advantage, Promont and Menez will probably still not be able to play at that time, and the subsequent victory or defeat is still hard to say.

If Ramilao can't play at that time, it will definitely be a big loss for Leverkusen, and he will lose a midfielder who can curb himself in the midfield and kill two birds with one stone. Why not do it?

So in the next game, Chu Zhongtian took the initiative to look for Ramilao as long as he got the ball, and sometimes he even deliberately slowed down the pace, stopped and waited for Ramilao to rush up to defend him.

He felt like he was dancing on the tip of a knife, and he wanted to lure the opponent to continue to foul on him, but he could not be really injured. He had to take advantage of every time he dodged, and he should not pretend to fall, otherwise the referee would ignore him and lose possession, which would cause great trouble to Metz's defenders.

Sometimes he will be pushed down by Ramilao. He doesn't need to dodge such a foul, just let the opponent push it down. Sometimes he will be "shutted". The tackle movement is too dangerous and you will be thrown into your ankle accidentally. Even if Chu Zhongtian is an invincible Achilles, his ankle is also a weakness, so he must dodge.

Every time Chu Zhongtian is knocked down by Ramilao, Metz fans will boo. Metz's players, including head coach Fernandez, are thinking that the referee will put pressure on them.

Ribery gestured to the referee, stretched out one finger, two fingers, three fingers, and four fingers, finally stretched out all five fingers, then shrugged and complained to the referee: "That person committed the rules once, twice, three times, four times, five times! You didn't even show a yellow card, what's this?"

Metz's head coach Jean Fernandez found the fourth official and protested to him the referee's penalty: "According to the rules of FIFA, Ramilao should be sent off at least three times!" Although he was a little surprised why Chu Zhongtian seemed weak in the confrontation, Ramilao, who was carrying a yellow card, escaped the punishment again and again, leaving him no time to study Chu Zhongtian's transformation, and just wanted Ramilao to end up.

When Chu Zhongtian was knocked out by Ramilao for the sixth time, he heard the referee's whistle again. He was lying on the ground and watched the referee running up, while reaching his hand to the pocket in front of his chest. He knew that he had succeeded.

"Ramilao once again fouled against Chu! Oh...oh! It seems that he can't escape this time...yellow card! He already had a yellow card before!"

The continuous pressure from Metz players finally paid off. Ramilao was sent off for a total of yellow cards for his foul on Chu Zhongtian!

Ramilao waved helplessly, then took off the captain's armband and handed it to Schneider who came up to comfort him, then turned around and walked down the court. When he reached the sidelines, he had not forgotten to look back at his target Chu Zhongtian.

He did not regret his foul on Chu Zhongtian, because during his continuous foul, the Metz team did not have any decent attacks at all, and Chu Zhongtian could not organize it at all, which shows that the foul tactics are effective for Metz's core.

But if Ramilao knew that Chu Zhongtian was deliberately showing weakness in the confrontation just to drive him down so that he could miss the next round of the game, I wonder what he would feel... The game time is still ten minutes, and there is still one person missing, and Leverkusen's current game will be difficult to play.

As the head coach, Skibe must make a choice - should he replace the defensive player according to the original plan and replace the player to strengthen the offense? Or, on the contrary, remove the offensive player and replace the defensive player to stabilize the defense and prevent Mes from scoring another goal at the last moment of the game and completely collapse?

He did not hesitate for too long for this decision, because Chu Zhongtian soon launched an attack calmly because he was unmarked in the midfield. The Metz team kept hitting Leverkusen's goal, but in the end Yula's shot was saved by Butter.

Butter's wonderful save won him the cheers of many Leverkusen fans in the stands, but also made Skibe make a decision - to strengthen the defense!

He doesn't want to lose the game at home, which means that if the team wants to turn the tables in the next round, they have to score at least two goals without scoring. Skibe cannot guarantee that his team can do all this away, so he chooses to grasp the present - first of all, never continue to concede the ball.

Leverkusen was originally ambitious at home, but he was forced to defend the game because captain Ramilao was sent off. Metz began to attack with a large scale, but they had no good way to face Leverkusen who had been curled up.

The suspense of the game changed from who can win to whether Leverkusen can really defend the draw.

The answer is: "Yes, they defended Metz's mad attack!"

But facing this answer, Leverkusen's players and fans couldn't laugh a little - at his home court, the opponent scored two away goals and was forced to draw 2:2. Is this a good ending?

And on Metz's side, everyone smiled after the game. They knew that they were one step closer to the top 16.

When watching Chu Zhongtian wear the captain's armband with his left arm and his teammates to celebrate this 2:2 draw, the Chinese reporters in the stands were excited again. There were so many things worth hyping in this game: wearing the captain's armband for the first time and appearing as the captain; using the Marseille swing in the game, which was not visible in Chu Zhongtian's previous games; instigating all two goals of Metz and helping the team get two away goals, it was indelible; the showdown between the two captains - Chu Zhongtian vs Ramilao! In such a showdown, Chu Zhongtian finally let Ramilao, who was defending him, get a complete victory... Of course, some reporters were excited and wondered why such an outstanding Chu Zhongtian just couldn't play in the national team?

※※Mes returned to France with a score of 2:2, and local media were optimistic that the team would continue to move forward because the advantage of two away goals was too big.

After returning to Metz, the team welcomed their opponent in the 25th round of Ligue 1 at home - Bordeaux.

Bordeaux performed well last season and finally won the second place. However, this season they felt a bit unfavorable. They lost ten games in the 24 league games and are currently only ranked seventh.

Metz has a strong upward momentum this season and is playing at home. Logically speaking, even if Metz cannot win, he will not lose.

But in this game, they lost to Bordeaux at their home court, the score was 0:1.

The problem of Metz's not used to two-line combat has been exposed again. Basically, as long as the team plays the League Cup before or after this season, they will definitely perform very badly in the league game. Even if they win, they won without convincing.

The game against Leverkusen made Fernandez realize that the team's future in the cup is bright. After all, compared to the league championship that they definitely cannot win, the League Cup championship is very attractive. No wonder these players have no motivation in the league and are excited when they play in the League Cup.

He has to make a choice. The League Cup has entered the knockout stage. A temporary negligence may bring about a season of tragedy. In the League Cup, they must concentrate on it unless they give up the event in advance. But who is willing to give up the League Cup so easily? Although in terms of fame and level, this cup is not as good as the Champions League, but it is still a European event. After the Cup of Winners was cancelled, it is the second highest-level game in Europe.

What about the league? Although Metz is currently ranked third and has the qualification to participate in the Champions League qualifiers for next season, who knows whether the team can maintain its current position as the season progresses, as the players' physical fitness declines and injuries increase?

Maybe, maybe not, Fernandez is not a wizard who predicts the uncertainty. He must make a decision before this. The team is absolutely impossible to fight on two fronts. The only consequence of fighting on two fronts is that the team collapses on both fronts by the end of the season.

This is not what Fernandez wants to see.

From Leverkusen back to Metz, to Metz's game against Bordeaux, Fernandez has been thinking about this issue. In the end, Metz's loss to Bordeaux made him determined - specialize in the League Cup and take a gamble in this game!

Anyway, the league has no worries about relegation and no hope of winning the championship, so it remains in the top ten.

If he can win back a League Cup, it will be good for him and the team.

Who doesn’t pursue honor for football? If possible, who wants to be mediocre and empty-handed for a season?

Since the goal has been determined, the team's training must be adjusted accordingly and rotated more in the league to ensure that they can play games with the strongest lineup in the League Cup.

During Monday's training, Fernandez brought the players together and announced his decision.

"Watching the last two games has given me an idea, but before I announce it, I think about the lads, what do you guys think about it. Which one do you choose in the League Cup or the League?"

There are smart people among the players who already know what the head coach is planning, and some people look at each other, seemingly not understanding why the head coach asks this. They are generally slow people.

Ribery was definitely a smart man, he raised his hand and shouted, "I'll choose the champion, sir!"

This is a great answer. Whether it is the league or the League Cup, championships are the ultimate goal pursued by professional players. So as long as they can win the championship, it will be the same for anyone to choose.

So which one has a higher chance of winning the championship? It is very simple to win the League Cup, just ensure that your team wins one game at a time. It is much more difficult to win the league, because even if you can beat your direct competitor Lyon once and defeat twice more, this is the limit. Because Metz will only fight Lyon twice in one season, you cannot control the scores of Lyon and other teams. Even if Lyon loses to Metz twice, he finds it back from other opponents. With the current score difference between the two teams, it is impossible to reverse the championship. Of course, if Metz can manipulate the scores between other teams and Lyon, then this novel is a novel about European professional football, but a novel about Chinese professional football... Ribery started, and others also shouted: "I think the League Cup is more exciting!"

"Yes, yes, we are not familiar with the opponents in the League Cup, and it feels very good to play. Compared with this, the league has lost its freshness to me..."

"It's good that the league is not relegated. I finally came to the League Cup. Why not work harder to achieve good results?"

Chu Zhongtian also expressed his thoughts: "I think we have a bigger hope in the League Cup."

Seeing everyone's almost one-sided choice of the League Cup, Fernandez knew that his choice this time was at least based on the support of the players, so there was no need to worry about the team's motivation in the league game.

Now it seems that the leagues before and after the League Cup are not good, perhaps not just because of the lack of dual-line combat experience, but also because of the different attitudes of these people towards the game... "It seems that you like the League Cup very much, so I announce that the team's next goal is to make a difference in the League Cup!" Fernandez made his decision public, and no one was surprised because that was exactly what they wanted.

What does it mean to have “doing something”?

In the football world, except for the champion, everything else is considered a loser. Can't loser be called "making a difference", right?

So, Mess went for the League Cup championship!
Chapter completed!