Mouscron, Stade Le Canonnier. When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, Nagi stopped running out of breath.
His clothes were already wet with sweat. Before the game, who would have imagined that this game would be so difficult.
Muscron is deep in the relegation zone, so the tenacity they showed completely exceeded the expectations of the Genk team. Moreover, Genk's shooting in this game fell short of the standard. There were 18 shots in the audience, and only 5 shots were on target.
After the 0:0 end of the first half, Genk got the latest news, and Anderlecht defeated their opponents again, that is to say, if they can't get all three points in this game, they will fall to the second place in the standings. Location.
After the rematch in the second half, Genk further increased his offensive momentum, but faced with the opponent's iron barrel tactics, he was still a little powerless.
Until the 89th minute, Genk got a direct free kick on the left side of the front field, which was 30 meters away from the goal. Originally, Aaron Abigail wanted to play an indirect cooperation, but Nagi stood up and said: " According to Muscron's previous practice, they will definitely arrange heavy defense in the penalty area, it is difficult for us to have a chance to grab points, why don't I shoot."
Abigail asked in surprise: "This is 30 meters away from the goal, are you sure?" Nagi pursed his lips, he had to stand up and give it a try!
Then he found Chivu and talked in his ear about the plan to wait for the free throw: "You wait and run first, pretend to pass the ball into the penalty area, they all know your pass is very accurate, so there must be a little commotion ."
"Then you miss the ball directly, and I will run up and hit the goal."
Chivu nodded. Nagi stood up at the critical moment and wanted to make a free throw. All the players were convinced, because since this season, it was Nagi who created goals again and again and made Genk come to the present.
Following the whistle of the referee, Chivu ran to the penalty spot first. The players in the wall and the penalty area were really confused, but he didn't touch the ball, but ran over directly.
Just before Chivu approached the ball, Nagi had already started. His speed was very fast, and when Chivu ran past, he came to the position of the ball, using all his strength to hit a volley with the outside of his instep.
The ball jumped out suddenly, passed straight through the middle of the somewhat chaotic human wall, and then turned right suddenly after entering the penalty area. The goalkeeper Musk was taken aback.
By the time he reacted, the ball had entered the net from the upper right corner.
Lore ball! At the end of the game, Nagi used a set kick to kill the opponent.
Chivu embraced Nagi's shoulders and said with a smile: "Good guy, you saved the team again." Nagi shook his head: "It's not due to me alone, the defense in the backcourt, the organization in the midfield , and the cooperation of strikers are the key factors for Genk to come to the present."
In the first round of the Europa League quarter-finals, Genk played against Sofia Levski at home. In the 31st minute of the first half, Genk launched a defensive counterattack from the backfield. Barry passed it to Nagi on the right.
Two defensive players around him ran and pressed him, but Nagi's ability to protect the ball was too strong, and he did not lose the wind in physical confrontation, and the ball was firmly under his feet.
After Nagi broke into the penalty area, the third defensive player also stepped forward to double-team, Nagi slowed down slightly, and made a gesture of hitting the goal, which attracted the defensive player to stretch his legs to intercept, but in fact he pushed the ball and easily passed the supplementary defense player of.
He then took a direct shot with his left foot and the ball rolled into the visitors' goal from the bottom left corner.
In the 71st minute, Sofia Levski made a mistake in passing the ball in midfield. Center back Helmer Parker passed the ball to Beth, who took advantage of the opportunity to hang the ball to Nagi on the right.
Nagi looked up and glanced at the players' positions. With an idea, he sent an exquisite long pass to the penalty area on the left. The ball almost spanned the entire field, but it accurately found Aldridge who was on the left side. .
Facing the attacking goalkeeper, Aldridge lobbed directly at the ball. The ball went over the goalkeeper's head and fell into the goal.
2:0, Nagi made one pass and one shot, securing Genk's victory!
The only mistake was that in stoppage time in the second half, Sofia Levski took advantage of Genk's slack and pulled a goal back, keeping the suspense for this round of the series.
In the 29th round of the League One, with Nagi's goal in the 31st minute of the first half, Genk beat Brussels 1-0, and Anderlecht also beat Bruges 1-0 in this round.
In the second round of the Europa League quarter-finals, Genk traveled to Bulgaria for the match. Sofia Levski scored in just seven minutes to put Genk on the brink of elimination.
At the critical moment, Nagi stood up again. In the 37th minute Nagi received the ball from the right side of the penalty area, used his bicycle to move laterally to get rid of the defense, and shot with his left foot to score.
In the 58th minute of the second half, Genk stole the ball from the backfield, and Chivu passed it to Beth in the middle. Beth took the ball all the way to the front of the penalty area, and then distributed the ball to Wang Feng on the right.
After stopping the ball, Nagi entered the penalty area obliquely. Facing two defenders, he calmly smashed the ball with his left and right feet, broke out from the double-team, and then hit the goal directly from a small angle. The ball fell to the ground. The goalkeeper who made the save then ejected into the net.
Nagi scored twice! It was his 14th goal in the Europa League.
At the last moment of the game, the home team still did not give up, relying on forward Willy Schum to score a goal and rewrite the score to 2:2, but in the end they were eliminated by Genk with a total score of 3:4.
Genk made a historic breakthrough and broke into the semi-finals of the Europa League!
Genk was very quiet in the early morning. Nagi came to the small lake in front of his house and took in the fresh air to his heart's content. This was the second day after returning from Bulgaria. Nagi rarely went to the training camp for extra training. He gave himself a day off.
During the recent period, his performance on the field had become more confident and comfortable, and his physical confrontation is no less than that of adult European players. This was the result of hard training day and night.
Nagi has no intention of letting go of this, because he knew that what awaits him in the future will be more severe challenges, the five major leagues, and even the stage of the European Champions Cup, which is a grand event that only the top players in the world can participate in.
However, after completing the historic breakthrough of the Genk Europa League, Nagi also heaved a sigh of relief. He was worthy of the trust of the club and the head coach, so he took half a day off and went outdoors to relax.
Looking at the calm lake, his thoughts also diverged far away, maybe he should buy a set of fishing gear to spend his free time? Nagi sat by the lake for a long time, and he didn't leave until the sun had fully risen and the light on the lake dazzled his eyes.
Then he went back to the dormitory and dressed up, ready to go out and visit the streets of Genk. As a well-known figure who often appears in the sports section of newspapers, if Nagi appeared directly on the street, it might cause some riots.
After coming to Genk for more than a year, Nagi has always been in the dormitory, and the training ground is two points and one line. He has not fully appreciated the local customs of Genk, so he also took this opportunity to take a beautiful tour.
On the banks of the Mandel River, Sevelde Stadium, where Genk will play the 30th round of the derby with Roeselare. In the 23rd minute, Roeselal failed to attack and was intercepted by Genk.
Nagi received the ball in the backcourt, rushed more than 70 meters to the front field, passed the defensive player who got rid of the follow-up defense with a single ball, and entered the penalty area to form a single shot.
Facing the goalkeeper, he calmly volleyed and scored. This is Nagi's 35th league goal this season. He broke the scoring record of the Belgian First Division and also reduced the age of the player with the most goals to 17 years and 290 day.
His scoring performance was far from over. In the 71st minute of the second half, Gareth Barry intercepted the pass from the opponent's center and passed it to Jason Aldridge in the frontcourt. He pushed the ball to the left with his foot and gave it to Nagi on the wing.
After Nagi received the ball, he directly used a deep-fried ball to shake past the defenders at the front of the penalty area and broke into the penalty area. The goalkeeper decisively chose to attack. Nagi flicked the ball to the right, avoiding the goalkeeper who was chasing the ball, and then shot the empty goal.
2:0! Genk defeated Roeselare, and every goal Nagi scored after that will refresh the historical record.
Anderlecht still did not fall behind in this round. They defeated Charleroi with difficulty.
From this performance, it can be seen how much pressure the Anderlecht team is under. They have lost both the Cup and the Europa League this season. If they fail to defend the league title, they will really be empty-handed.
Moreover, they are still behind Genk. No matter how hard they work in the future, as long as Genk does not lose, they will have no chance to reach the top. Therefore, pessimism gradually takes the initiative in the hearts of the players.
On the other hand, Genk, although their lead is not big, only one point, but the initiative is in their own hands. As long as they don't make mistakes, they will surely win the championship!
After a lengthy negotiation, domestic CCTV and UEFA finally reached an agreement to live broadcast the upcoming Europa League matches of Genk. This is of course to allow domestic fans to also see Nagi's performance through live broadcast.
The top four seats in the Europa League are Genk, La Liga Alaves, Premier League Liverpool and Serie A Roma. Except for Genk, the rest are giants from the five major leagues. What is even more unfortunate is that Genk's signing luck seems to have been exhausted in the last round, and Liverpool, the favorite to win the championship, was drawn in the semi-finals.
Under the leadership of the famous coach Girard Houllier, Liverpool has been advancing all the way this season. It has gone smoothly in the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup, and is working hard towards the goal of the Triple Crown.
The Liverpool team is also full of stars, one of the best central defenders in Europe, Finnish international Sami Hyypia, England defender Jamie Carragher, Scottish striker Gary McAllister, and candidates for the European Ballon d'Or, England striker Michael James Owen and more.
Now the Belgian media are not optimistic that Genk can continue to play the role of a dark horse. Even the team manager Bill Albert said in an interview: "We have achieved a historic breakthrough in the Europa League. The next focus It's going to be put on the league title."
Domestic fans have left messages on the forum, expressing that they will continue to pay attention to this game, "Although there is a big gap in strength between the two teams, I hope that Nagi will perform well in this series and will not leave any regrets."
But there were still two people who are not reconciled to being eliminated. One was Genk coach Aimee Antonis. He has led Genk to the league championship and wants to achieve results on the European stage. The other was Wang Feng, who has already reached the top four and is only two steps away from the trophy. How can he give up so easily?
Antonis counted the few rotation chips in his hand, and discussed the tactical arrangements with the coaching staff intensively, while Nagi continued to train his skills and physique, and they were all preparing for the fierce battle ahead.
In the 31st round of the League, Genk played against Liers, Nagi Mina, Carl Beth, Gareth Barry and other main players were all on the bench.
Head coach Antonis had a rare May 41 lineup. The ability of the backfield substitute players was not enough, so it depends on the number to make up. Liers' overall strength was not strong, and Genk is looking for offensive opportunities without conceding a goal based on defense.
Jason Aldridge, who was in the front, had no support from the midfielder and Nagi, and had no chance to threaten the opponent's goal. He was replaced by Nagi in the 60th minute of the second half.
After Nagi came on the field, Genk's offense became smoother. Only 3 minutes later, Nagi planned a very threatening cross from the right, but the players in front of the goal failed to grasp the opportunity.
In the 74th minute, Genk's midfielder made a long through pass to the back of the defense on the right. Nagi, who quickly inserted in, received the ball near the baseline, and the defensive back also rushed over at this time.
Taking advantage of the defender's unsteady footing, Nagi poked the ball lightly with his left foot, and the ball passed between the defender's legs. Then Nagi quickly circled around the field, caught up with the ball, and entered the penalty area.
At this time, the other Genk players in the penalty area hadn't followed up, and the opportunity was fleeting. Nagi didn't hesitate anymore, and kicked directly to hit the goal. He kicked a high shot with the inside of his left foot, the ball hit the post and bounced into the net.
"The goal has been scored, goooooooooooooal! Nagi Mina, who came off the bench, made another great contribution for Genk!"
"Let's take a look at the replay of the ball. Mina made it through from the drive, through the pass to the goal in one go. It's really wonderful."
With this goal, Genk successfully took all three points from Lilles. On the other side, Anderlecht's pressure finally broke out. They lost to La Louvies in an upset. In this case, Genk extend the lead to 4 points.
With three rounds left in the league, the hope of Anderlecht's reversal seems to be getting slimmer, and Nagi is getting closer and closer to his first league title.