I have to say that the second leg of the match between Manchester City and Real Madrid, although it was overtime and a penalty shootout, seemed to be lively, but in fact, in terms of excitement, it was far less exciting than the first leg. In the first round, the two sides faced off against each other, which set a high tone for the match. But the Champions League knockout round is not an exhibition game after all, and the result is the most important thing after all. In the second leg, the two goals were not impressive, and City's ability to squander their chances was just too strong to be suffocating. Perhaps, the most frightening part of the whole game was the final penalty shootout.
In my opinion, Real Madrid's best player in this game was not Rodrygo, who broke the deadlock, but their new goalkeeper, Lunin. Manchester City hit 33 shots and scored just one goal. If it weren't for Lu Ninggao's block, Real Madrid would not have been able to get a penalty shootout at all. And when it came to the penalty shootout, Lu Ning not only did not die down, but sublimated his performance.
Only one detail was intercepted today - the most shocking scene in the whole game was that Lu Ning saved the penalty kick of seat B in the second round.
Because, Lu Ning actually gambled on the middle lane.
Come, let's recreate the original scene. In the first round of free throws, Alvarez carried forward the characteristics of Argentina's good penalty kicks and achieved it in one fell swoop. And Modric, as a veteran, was defeated. It can be said that after this round, Real Madrid's situation is extremely unfavorable. In this case, Real Madrid's goalkeeper must be panicked and even a little overwhelmed. It is precisely at this juncture that the goalkeeper is the most afraid to take risks.
But in the second round, Lu Ning didn't move at all, just like he was sure that seat B would play in the middle, and he blocked the ball lightly. When I watched the ball, I even had a feeling that it was a pre-penalty drill, or a warm-up, and it wasn't a formal penalty anyway, because the B shot was ambiguous, and Lu Ning's save was more like the usual pattern in a training match.
Let's start from Lu Ning's point of view to analyze the psychological activities at that time. In the case of falling behind 0:1 in the first round, most goalkeepers may bet on one side, and few are brave enough not to move. After all, to save a penalty kick is to move, and only when you move can you have a chance. So most goalkeepers, even if they vaguely guess that the opponent wants to punish the middle, but if you make him decide to stand in the middle and wait for the ball, he may not dare. Because, betting on one side, even if I guess wrong, at least I tried, I moved, and I confessed if I was wrong. But what if you don't move? If the other party punishes one side, it is equivalent to admitting it without trying.
Therefore, the goalkeepers who dare to bet on the middle are definitely warriors. It belongs to people who are very determined and very strong in their hearts.
In fact, it can be seen from the fact that seat B dared to punish the middle, and his mentality was relatively relaxed at that time, after all, Manchester City laid a good foundation in the first round. And Lu Ning's courage lies in the fact that he not only had insight into what Xi B was thinking at that time, but also really followed this idea to deal with it. As mentioned earlier, even if they know that seat B hits the middle, the idea of staying in the middle will flash at most, and in the end they will honestly pounce on a certain side. And Lu Ning dares to think and do. If you dare to kick in the middle, I will dare to wait for you in the middle.
It can be said that Lu Ning's penalty saved by seat B was definitely the biggest turning point of this game. After all, after Modric's penalty, many people must have cooled down in their hearts, but Lu Ning ignited everyone's hearts again.
What other classic warriors do you know about the middle of the road?