I don't know how many Portuguese journalists remembered what they said to Metz a week ago. At that time, they were waiting to see Metz's joke because Benfica scored a away goal and Metz only won the game with a score of 2:1. As the home team, this score was a failure.

As long as Benfica returns to home and wins with a 1-0 score, he can advance by relying on his away goal advantage.

If they still remember that scene at that time, I wonder what they feel now... Opposite the press booth is the stand where the visiting team fans gathered. Now everyone there is jumping up and waving their arms and cheering loudly.

Benfica fans in other stands were silent.

In the broadcast seat diagonally above the press seat, where commentators from all over the world are explaining everything that just happened at different speeds.

"Just three minutes into the game! Metz took the lead away! This was really unexpected for the Portuguese, haha!" This is the French commentator.

When the League Cup reached the 16th final, there were two teams left in Ligue 1, Lens and Metz. In the game the day before, Lens lost 0:3 away to Tottenham Hotspur, and in the first leg of both sides, Lens also won 2:1 at home. Lens was eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur with a total score of 2:4. In this way, 2:1 at home is really not an insurance score.

Now there is only one team left in the entire Ligue 1, Metz, and one team still have the hope of continuing to stay in the League Cup. In addition, Lille and Lyon in the Champions League were eliminated, and only one team in the entire European arena is still maintaining the dignity of the Ligue 1 team.

The decline of the Ligue 1 league in recent years can be seen.

For this reason, the French commentator was particularly excited to see Metz score a goal in three minutes of the game.

"Aha! Now Benfica's away goal advantage is gone!"

In comparison, the Portuguese commentator was a little frustrated, "Benfica's players did not defend against Menez, who had returned from injury, and allowed him to break through so easily... Now Metz leads 3:1 in the total score. If Benfica wants to advance, he must score at least two goals at home."

In the stadium below the stands, Metz players wearing red jerseys were celebrating the goal, surrounded by them, constantly waving to Metz fans in the stands.

The Metz fans also responded to their incitement and kept making huge cheers.

These Metz fans who followed the team to play away were so happy. Some people were worried that the team's 2:1 score at home was not safe, because Lens, who was also leading 2:1, was eliminated by Tottenham a day ago, which even worsened their worries. Unexpectedly, three minutes after the game started, most people's butts had not yet heated up, and Metz actually scored a goal. This was really unexpected!

After scoring the goal, Menez seemed very excited. This was his first comeback game after he wounded his thigh muscles in the league with Lyon on February 3. It was originally expected to be a three-week break, but due to Fernandez's caution, it was extended to one and a half months.

Now Fernandez's caution has been rewarded, and he has completely recovered his injuries. At the same time, Menez, who is also holding back his strength, sent the ball into Benfica's goal for the second time in this game!

The one who assisted him was Portuguese wing forward Felicio who started in this game. His pass hit the team in his home country with a fatal blow.

Fernandez was very satisfied with the team's state in the half game. Before the game, he specifically told his players that an away goal by the opponent was not an advantage at all, because he advocated offensive football, so Metz would definitely score a goal, and maybe he would score two more goals. By then, Benfica's away goal would have no effect.

※※※The backward Benfica launched a fierce offensive.

In this game, Rui Costa no longer sat on the bench, but started.

Chu Zhongtian's mission is to defend him and organize an offense. Proman has not made a comeback. Yayiovi is his midfield partner. This kid is a little young and can't stand alone. He often needs his help.

Rui Costa's skills are still there, but his physical fitness is not as good as before. In dealing with him, Chu Zhongtian did not know how to "respect the elderly and love the young". He would do whatever he was weak. He would force Costa in close proximity, not giving him the opportunity to pass the ball calmly and dribble in a horizontal manner. His defensive movements were very big and he kept colliding.

His set works very well. As a veteran who is almost thirty-five years old, Rui Costa is very afraid of injury, and every time Chu Zhongtian defends, it looks like he is going to seriously injured him, so on some balls, he has to give up control of the football to avoid injury.

This also led to Rui Costa's inability to perform at all.

When Chu Zhongtian was going to focus on defense, he handed over the specific task of organizing the offense to Menez, who could play the front midfielder, and he was only responsible for controlling the rhythm.

His overall view, broad vision, and firm and decisive passes, and never drag-out style. Even if he only passes forward in the midfield and does not run up, he can benefit the entire Mets team a lot.

Rui Costa also saw it. He originally thought that the No. 8 pressing against him so hard would definitely affect his performance in the offense. Unexpectedly, he actually organized the offense and could also be used as a metronome. This reminded him of his teammate when he played for AC Milan - Andrea Pirlo.

Although this No. 8 player of Metz may not be as delicate and outstanding as Pirlo in terms of footwork, his overall view and control of the rhythm of the game are almost as good as Pirlo.

He suddenly forgot that he was playing in the game and began to sigh: If this young man was not playing in the less well-known Ligue 1, but in Serie A, Premier League or La Liga, then he would not have to wait until the League Cup to find out that there is such a number of people in football... His teammates in AC Milan are all amazing geniuses, but Pirlo is the only one, the most unique one.

Kaka is also very good. The Brazilian guy can decide on the game alone, but Pirlo can let the other ten teammates move with him.

In Rui Costa's opinion, Chu Zhongtian is also such a character. His passing and running on the court can drive other Metz players and let them run with Chu Zhongtian.

Such a great player is only playing in Metz, an unknown small team. What a pity... Rui Costa retracted his feelings and realized that this game would be difficult to play, although it was their own home court.

※※Ruy Costa guessed correctly. This game is indeed very difficult for Benfica who plays at home. Benfica's head coach Fernando Santos (fernando_santos) never expected that before the game that Metz would even choose to take the initiative to attack away.

And he scored a goal in the first three minutes. This goal hit the morale of Benfica players. Without the advantage of away goals, the pillar in his heart seemed to be poured out. Now in their hearts, there are two pillars left, "We are fighting at home" and "There are more than 70 minutes left in the game, and we still have time to reverse."

But when the first half ended and the score was still the away team Metz led 1:0, many Benfica players felt the crisis and half of the two pillars collapsed.

After the second half, they strengthened their offensive and counterattacked desperately. This momentum shocked Metz players. In the 58th minute, Benfica equalized the score. But they were still one goal short of being able to drag the game into overtime... continue the attack!

After seeing this situation, Fernandez waved his hand and let the team push forward and attack, playing against the opponent to see who scored the first goal!

Chu Zhongtian continued to defend Ruy Costa, and at the same time used his passes to control the team's rhythm. Since the head coach said he wanted to push the attack, he would pass more forward passes, and speed up the rhythm when the counterattacked, slowed down the rhythm when the opponent had formed a position defense, and directed the team to fall back and forth. He kept observing the loopholes in Benfica's defense line. When he found the loophole, he suddenly passed the football forward, suddenly accelerated, and caught Benfica off guard.

The two sides launched a very gorgeous and beautiful battle.

In the 71st minute, Chu Zhongtian made a long pass in the backcourt to instigate the offensive. Ibissevic used his head to ferry the football to Menez. Menez did not break through by himself, but passed it to Ribery on the right. Ribery used his personal skills and speed to forcibly break through Benfica's left-back Leo. He shot harder, and the football was saved by goalkeeper Moreira, which happened to let Ibissevic, who followed up, pick up his bargain, stretched out his foot to shoot, and the football rolled into the goal again... "Ibissevic! Ibissevic!!" The French commentator was excited again. "He scored his fourth goal in the League Cup! Mes led 2:1, with a total score of 4:2! And more importantly, they got two away goals, what does this mean?!"

This means that if Benfica still fantasizes about advancing, they will score three goals in the remaining nineteen minutes to tie the total score to 5:4. However, judging from Benfica's state in this game, it is too difficult to complete this task... In the 77th minute, Rui Costa was substituted.

Although he played for 77 minutes in this game, compared with the twenty minutes of the previous game, his performance in these 77 minutes was unqualified. He was dragged down by Chu Zhongtian's tireless physical fitness. As time went by, his effect became smaller and smaller. In the end, Santos had no choice but to replace him.

Without Rui Costa, Benfica's offense only relies on two groups to fly together, and the speed is much faster, so he can compete with Mess slightly.

But the goal of scoring three goals is not motivation for Benfica's players, but heavy pressure, which makes them breathless. Some people's movements deform under these pressures, some become impatient, and others are discouraged.

Benfica's entire team cannot be twisted into a rope and its strength cannot be used. How can I play such a game?

When the game ended and Metz beat Benfica with the same score as home, all Metz fans stood up from their stands five minutes before the game ended, most of the Metz fans had already left their position, jumping and singing to celebrate the victory.

Because Benfica had no fighting spirit in the last five minutes, it was impossible to score three goals in five minutes, and they themselves knew it, so they just waited for the end of the game.

"The game ends! Metz has entered the quarterfinals of the League Cup! They are the only team in the Ligue 1 team that remains in the European arena! They are the only spark of French football, and I hope they can go further... Their next round opponent will be the Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur! This team just eliminated Lens a day ago."

At Benfica's home court, the players of Metz hugged each other and celebrated their advancement. As Chu Zhongtian said a week ago, there is nothing to be afraid of when the opponent scores an away goal, because if we score one more goal, their away goal advantage will be gone. As long as we score two, we will lead.

※※※"Oh oh--"Old man Legov sat on the sofa and raised his hands, cheering for the team's promotion.

"English bastards, we're here, haha!" Although the old man is already seventy-seven years old, when it comes to football, he is like a young man.

As Belmont drove through the city center, he could see someone waving Metz's team flag to celebrate the victory. As a hardcore Metz fan, he had just finished listening to the game on the radio, but he was not as excited as other fans.

Because he knew: "It's too early to celebrate now, we're going to the finals! Let's celebrate again then!"

※※※"Haha! We won! We advanced!" Back in the visiting team locker room at the Light Stadium, the Metz players cheered happily.

"Who is our next opponent?"

"Tottenham Hotspur! We will be the first to go."

"Let's go and eliminate them away!"

...A group of people excitedly discussed the next round of the game.

It was only then that Chu Zhongtian realized that in the next round of the League Cup, he would have a chance to return to London.

Although it is White Hart Lane Stadium and not Stamford Bridge, London is also the place where he started. It is really a unique feeling to visit the old place again... I wonder if I will meet an old friend there?

※※※"Latest news!" In the small town of Wimble, southwest London, a man suddenly rushed in in an ordinary bar and shouted to the people present. "Mes won Benfica and advanced to the next round!"

"Oh, Chu did a pretty good job there."

"Yes, yes, I heard that he is now Mess' core main force. It's okay to lose anyone in the whole team, but he can't be left behind!"

"It's so amazing... It's a pity that the popularity of the Ligue 1 is too low..."

After hearing the news, people in the bar praised Chu Zhongtian. Apart from that, they had no idea.

The person who came to inform the news was Phil. He saw that everyone was just happy for Chu Zhongtian's success. This was not the response he hoped to get... "Do you know who their next opponent is?" So he asked.

"Who is it?" someone asked.

"Tottenham Hotspur!" After Phil said this, the bar was quiet for a moment, and then everyone's expressions began to change.

This is the result Phil wants.

"Spurs? Damn it, isn't that right in North London?"

"That's so close..."

"So Chu has a chance to play in London?"

"Wow! I've long been tired of relying on pictures and texts on the Internet to imagine Chu's game... I'm going to watch the game on the spot!" Jackson stood up excitedly, and shouted with his arms raised.

He soon received enthusiastic support from others, and a group of drunkards kicked over the chairs, stood up and waved their fists and shouted:

"Go to the scene! Go to the scene! We are going to watch Chu's game on site!"

"Why is it so lively here today?" When Joe Shilin and Andy Sullivan walked in, they were startled by the atmosphere in the bar.

"Hi, the number one scorer in Wimbledon Athletics, good evening!"

Someone greeted him.

"Hello guys, what are you doing?" Xilin pointed to a group of drinkers who stood up and waved their arms and shouted slogans.

Someone explained to him: "They are going to watch the League Cup live."

"Look at the League Cup? Why not watch the Championship Cup? Chelsea made it to the quarterfinals." Qiao Xilin felt very strange.

"Because..." The man was about to explain, but Jackson, who was discovered by Joe Shilin and Andy Sullivan, was interrupted.

He rushed up and shouted to the two people: "Because Chu is coming back! Ahha!"

"Chu?" Qiao Xilin was stunned for a moment.

"Mace?" Andy Sullivan asked.

Jackson nodded vigorously: "Mes' next round of League Cup opponent is Tottenham Hotspur! They are back to play in White Hart Lane!"

"Wow!" Qiao Xilin was also surprised. He didn't expect to see Chu Zhongtian's game in England.
To be continued...