In the middle of the week, the round of 16 of the Belgian Cup was held. Genk played against Standard Liege. Aimee Antonis sent all substitutes to play, gave up the competition for the cup, and was finally eliminated 0:1.
In the 19th round of the League, Genk challenged Charleroi away. The two sides played unreservedly at the beginning, and the game evolved into an offensive battle.
In the 12th minute of the game, Gareth Barry dribbled the ball from the left and made a low pass to the front of the small penalty area. Nagi quickly inserted, stopped the ball with his right foot, and then directly hit the goal without making any adjustments. , the ball rolled into the net from the lower right corner of the goal.
1:0! Genk takes the lead.
But only 8 minutes later, Charleroi launched a quick counterattack. The striker succeeded in countering offside. He calmly volleyed against the goalkeeper and equalized the score for the home team.
Towards the end of the first half, Carl Beth passed the ball behind the defensive line from the midfielder. Nagi succeeded in offside and received the ball in the penalty area. Facing the forward blocking defender, he swung his right foot to the left. After dialing, he kicked the ball again with his left foot, and the ball swayed past the defender.
Then Nagi took advantage of the situation and kicked a shot from a small angle with the outside of his foot. The ball flew out in an outer arc and entered the net.
2:1, Genk took the lead again! In the end, the score was also maintained until the end. With Nagi's two goals, Genk defeated the opponent in the away game and took all three points.
In the 20th round of the League, Genk played against Westerlo at home.
Only five minutes into the game, Westero made a mistake in the backfield and was intercepted by Genk defender Christian Chivu and passed to Carl Beth, who quickly inserted. After receiving the ball near the top of the penalty area, Beth passed the ball to the right line of defense, because he knew that Nagi would definitely be there.
Sure enough, he was not disappointed. Nagi, who quickly jumped in, rushed to the position of the ball in front of the defenders, and volleyed vigorously with his left foot, piercing Westeros' gate.
In the 31st minute, Genk got the ball from the sideline. Beth threw the ball to Chivu. Chivu stopped the ball and turned around to make a pass.
And Nagi received the ball to score to make 2:0
With Nagi's brace, Genk beat their opponent by two goals.
He scored twice in three consecutive league games and scored 6 goals. The Belgian media were stunned. They couldn't find a better word to describe Nagi's performance.
"Sports Daily" commented: "Nagi Mina has become a nightmare for all defenders. From the start of the second half to now, his offensive efficiency is amazing. Although the number of shots in each game is not many, they are all within the range of the goal frame, And he has scored six goals."
"This is also in line with what he said in the interview, he will not shoot indiscriminately in order to chase the Golden boot."
The title of "Latest News" was a big question: "When will Mina enter the five major leagues?" The article pointed out that Mina's level has surpassed the defensive ability of the League, and staying in the League will only become a dishonorable dish. There is no doubt that the five major leagues can satisfy his growing ability. "
"Standard" said with a sour taste: "Genk's offense is completely dependent on Mina. After Mina leaves, they will be devastated." As expected, Genk originally planned to hit a wave of results this season and then rebuild.
In the 21st round of the League, Genk will have a strong match with Anderlecht again. This game has also been evaluated by the media as a "championship battle". As the name suggests, whoever wins this game will basically lock The throne of the league champion.
In early February 2001, the battle of focus came as scheduled. Players from both sides lined up in the player tunnel one by one. Belgian Grady Schuster, the referee on duty, was conducting a final check on the players on the field. Nagi, who had recently been in the limelight, his eyes lingered on him for a while longer.
Jan Koller was standing on Nagi's left. The two nodded slightly, but did not communicate. From their eyes, they both saw the meaning of competition. Nagi was unwilling to give up the top spot in the league and the scorer list. Jan Koller was unwilling to give up and had to fight again.
After the start of the game, the performance of the two can be said to be evenly matched. In the 3rd minute, Nagi created an open space on the right by interspersed running. Barry accurately passed the ball to his feet. Nagi made a cross and Jason Aldridge his header went wide of the goal frame.
Three minutes later, Jan Koller led Anderlecht back. After taking the ball in the front field, he knocked back and inserted consecutively, teasing several Genk defenders, and finally sent a through ball into the penalty area. Jan Koller took advantage of the opportunity to hit the goal, but was blocked by the highly focused goalkeeper of Genk.
The situation on the field gradually became anxious, and it depends on who can stand up at the critical moment and lay the advantage for the team to win.
"Let's take a look at this time. Mina took the ball on the wing, surrounded by defensive players, and doesn't have a good chance."
"Barry came over to respond,he passed to Barry and quickly cut inside, Barry passed back, the defenders followed closely, Mina took the ball."
"Shoot! The goal is scored! goooooooooooooooal! It's wonderful. In the 27th minute, Mina used a powerful kick to give Genk the lead."
"After Barry called back to Mina, Mina went to the edge of the penalty area under the interference of the defensive players, but suddenly shot a long shot, directly through the gate of Anderlecht."
"There was no loophole in Anderlecht's defense this time. Esteban Cassin was also desperately squeezing Mina with his body, but even in this situation, Mina was still able to catch the ball and shoot. It's enough to show how good his physical fitness is."
After conceding the goal, Kaxin looked at the celebrating Nagi and Genk players with a frustrated face. He was very annoyed that he should have used tackles or fouls to stop Nagi. When he used his body to fight against Nagi, he felt that he had hit a wall. No matter how hard he tried, Nagi remained motionless. It was hard to imagine what kind of strong body he had under his clothes.
Jan Koller looked at the frustrated teammates, clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention, and then said confidently: "It's only one goal, we can reverse it in one shot, everyone cheer up, there is still plenty of time, we haven't lost! "
The teammates nodded and pulled themselves together. Six minutes later, Genk captain Aaron Abigail made a fatal mistake and was intercepted by Jan Koller who was approaching when passing the ball in the backfield.
The goalkeeper had no choice but to abandon the goal. Jan Koller easily passed the goalkeeper with a feint and pushed the empty goal to equalize the score for Anderlecht.
It took less than ten minutes for Genk's goal, and everyone hadn't recovered from the joy, so there was a mistake, allowing Jan Koller to attack successfully.
The two sides returned to the same starting line again. For a while, both sides played more cautiously and did not pose a great threat to the goal until the end of the first half.
Nagi received a pass from Barry at the front of the penalty area on the left, and with his left foot, he dribbled the ball horizontally along the line of the penalty area and ran to the right. At this time, he was followed by a defensive player, and there was also a defensive player on the left. Pressing, facing the double-teaming of the two, he still firmly controlled the ball at his feet and had a shooting angle.
At this time, the third nearby defensive player saw that the situation was not good, and quickly ran over to block Nagi's shot. If he was allowed to kick easily in this place, it would be too threatening.
Nagi attracted the attention of most of the defenders, and Jason Aldridge on the left took the opportunity to move forward and was left unmarked. Nagi kicked the ball with his left heel, and the ball accurately passed through the middle of the two defenders and came to the left side of the penalty area.
Aldridge got the ball, and the surrounding area was as wide as the sea. After making some adjustments, he volleyed and scored.
After scoring the goal, Aldridge rushed to Nagi excitedly, and asked excitedly, "How do you know I was there? Do you have eyes in the back of your head?"
Nagi replied with a smile: "I don't have eyes in the back of my head, but I know that position is vacant. I believe my teammates will definitely seize this opportunity."
Aldrich's admiration for Nagi grew more and more in his heart, and everyone gathered around laughing and laughing, while Anderlecht suffered another heavy blow.
After halftime, Anderlecht's locker room was silent, and even Jan Koller didn't dare to say any more words of encouragement. Even deep down in his heart, he gradually felt that he couldn't beat the current Genk.
Head coach Edgar Weiss stared at the players for a long time before saying: "Our performance in the first half was good enough. We didn't lose to Genk, but to Mina, but we have no way out. It's gone, isn't it?"
"In the second half, I'm going to put on all the attackers and give it a shot. It may not be impossible. It's not the time to despair, guys."
Changing sides to fight again, Weiss used up three substitutions in one breath, replaced all the attackers of Anderlecht, and launched a fierce attack on Genk, and Genk's goal was in jeopardy for a while.
Thanks to the excellent teammates in the back line and the superb performance of the goalkeeper, Anderlecht's attacks were resolved time and time again. At the 71st minute, Christian Chivu made a steal in the backfield. After several kicks in the midfield, the ball passed to Wang Feng in the front field.
Nagi received the ball at a position about 30 meters away from the goal, and was about to dribble a breakthrough, but was directly brought down by Esteban Cassin. The referee's whistle sounded, and he decisively took out a yellow card to the goal. Cassin then awarded a free kick in the frontcourt.
Nagi got up from the lawn dejectedly. He obviously had an open opportunity just now. He didn't expect Cassin to be so decisive. He would rather take a foul than give him any chance.
This free kick was taken by Aaron Abigail. He put the ball on the spot and retreated step by step. Abigail felt very ashamed thinking about the previous mistakes that led to conceding the goal. As the old captain of Genk, he experienced the club's glory and also tasted the feeling of falling into the trough.
Now they have excellent players such as Nagi, Barry and Chivu, and they have a good chance to achieve better results this year. He will never allow the team to lose because of his own reasons.
Abigail's eyes gradually became sharp. He licked his dry lips, wiped the sweat from his palms on his trouser legs, and fixed his eyes on the upper corner of the goal.
With the whistle of the referee, Abigail ran up and hit the goal directly, and the goal was scored! The ball was powerful and heavy, directly penetrated the wall and blasted into Anderlecht's gate.
After Abigail scored a goal, he rushed to the stands, roaring to vent his depressed emotions, and his teammates surrounded him and hugged him to celebrate.
Head coach Antonis was also filled with emotion when he saw this scene. He knew exactly what Abigail was thinking. For Abigail, Genk Club was not just a football club, but also an emotional sustenance.
Scoring this goal was his salvation. And this goal also helped Genk seal the victory!
In the end, Anderlecht failed to organize an effective attack in the remaining time, and lost to Genk, the leader of the standings, with a score of 1:3.
As Nagi, who contributed a goal, an assist and a set kick, he was unanimously elected the best player of the game. This was also his 14th time this season.
In addition, relying on Genk's excellent performance this season, he was selected by the Belgian Football Association as the best player of the month for 4 times. Nagi's performance can be called dominant.
The days of the defending champion Anderlecht were not so easy. They lost to Genk with the same score in the two confrontations. And lost chance to compete for a championship.
After the match against Anderlecht, the two-week national team match day ushered in. Many players in the Genk team have also been recruited by the national team, and the teenager Jason Aldridge is also among them. His performance was outstanding, When Nagi is under the care of the key defense, he could stand up and seize the opportunity.
As usual, Nagi did not receive an invitation from the national team. During this period, the Japanese team is training in Tokyo. They would play two friendly matches with Norway and the Czech Republic to prepare for the 2002 KoreJapan World Cup qualifiers in April.
When the relevant person in charge was asked whether he would consider recruiting Nagi, who ruled the League, he still shook his head and said: "Our lineup is strong enough, and we are very confident that we can make history. It will do very well."
A reporter also asked about the considerations and arrangements for Nagi. The person in charge said: "Nagi is undoubtedly the pride of our Japanese football, but he is still too young to be an adult. I think he should be given more attention,and Lots of time to grow."
Nagi, who has no assignments for the national team, was also happy to be at leisure. During these two weeks, he continued to train according to the training plan formulated by Abel Le Goff.
The results of the training had been reflected in the competition. Whether it is physical fitness or physical confrontation, Nagi could now be on par with tall white players, which had improved his competitiveness on the field.
On the other hand, he also started practicing set-pieces under the guidance of Carl Beth. Nagi had a precedent of taking set-pieces and assisting goals before, but he did not develop it into a regular offensive method, nor No set-pieces were used to score directly.
To become an offensive kaleidoscope, positioning the ball is a must-have technique.
On the training ground, Nagi kicked the ball towards the goal time and time again, silently feeling the posture of the body, the angle and strength of the kick, and even the distance of the run-up in his mind. The odds were also steadily increasing.