Pavlov thought about the issue for a long time and decided that if he wanted to defend Chen Yingxiong, he really had no good way of stopping that big guy.
He specifically asked Sheshukov and Shtanyuko how they felt when defending Chen Yingxiong, and both of them answered that it was very tricky.
"He's tall, he's heavy, and... he's extremely accurate in judging where the high ball will land! As long as he's stuck in position... it's really difficult!"
Pavlov thought about it and decided to start from the wing.
But then he thought... Arshavin is on the wing!
The best player in the Russian Premier League last season! The No. 10 of the Russian national team, the new captain! Can you defend against such a player?
The only weakness of Zenit was probably Spivak on their left side.
But Spivak was also experienced and not an easy character at all.
When Pavlov thought about this, he felt that God wanted to personally kill Light Energy. No matter how hard he thought about countermeasures, he was firmly restrained by Zenit's tactics.
...
Pavlov was gloomy, but Advocaat was beaming.
He was prepared for the possibility of losing this away game and even thought that the best result would be a draw. But he didn't expect to be ahead by one goal in the first half, and that the team's tactics would be very effective, completely suppressing the opponent.
From this point of view, it wouldn't be difficult to score another goal in the second half.
"We must continue to fight like this! We must make full use of our air superiority!"
This was the first time that Advocaat was so blatant, and this sentence basically established Chen Yingxiong's position in this team. Unless this tactic was curbed one day, Advocat would probably stick to this style of play.
Now there was no need to worry about Chen Yingxiong not being able to play in the next game unless he got a red card or did something very impulsive and dumb.
Chen Yingxiong was also very happy. After the head coach said this, his hope of scoring in the second half increased greatly.
He patted his chest and called out to his teammates. "In the second half, everyone pass the ball to me!"
His teammates were all amused by him.
Chen Yingxiong was a person who could easily get along with new groups. He had a lively and cheerful personality and a rare youthful vigour. He was not like some people who were young but had many thoughts, always scheming. Although Chen Yingxiong occasionally manipulated circumstances to his advantage, he was very sunny in general, and there was some cuteness to his arrogance, which made those seniors feel that it was not a tiring thing to interact with him, but rather very relaxing.
This was why he was more popular than Panov in the team... Panov was always gloomy, looking like he had a lot of hatred and wanted to prove himself. As a result, the more this attitude repeated, the less satisfactory his progress in integrating into the team was.
So sometimes, maybe it was better to be simple and direct.
…
After the start of the second half, Zenit resolutely implemented the tactical requirements of head coach Advocaat, continuing to hold high the banner of the "Air Corridor".
As for the Light Energy team, they were clearly helpless against Zenit's style of play.
Pavlov was not an incompetent coach, but who made this tactic so suitable for Zenit? On the wing, there was Arshavin who was good at breakthroughs and assists, and then there was also Kerzakov who could break through and apply speed on the front line. He could also be pulled to the wing to become another winger.
In the midfield, Radimov was in charge of the coordination, and Li Hao was beside him clearing any obstacles.
The two full-backs were both players with outstanding endurance, able to run back and forth and never get tired. They had enough physical strength to support sprinting back and forth, constantly causing trouble for the opponent's defence line.
Finally, the core was the giant in front of the goal, who was 1.92 meters tall and weighed 93 kilograms. He was like a beacon, and the football was like a moth, constantly flying towards his head.
Whenever he jumped, the Light Energy supporters would feel nervous.
If he were to shake his head and direct the ball towards the goal, the timid people would simply close their eyes and not dare to watch...
…
"Zenit St. Petersburg's style of play is too simple and crude! There is no aesthetic appeal at all!" Feeling powerless seeing this scene, the commentator of the Vladivostok local TV station could only keep criticizing Zenit's football style to regain a little pitiful balance and self-esteem.
But this was destined to be the distant barking of an unimaginative dog.
The 62nd minute of the game approached.
Anyukov intercepted a pass from the Light Energy team, then he immediately dribbled forward.
He rushed forward from the backcourt. When he encountered the opponent's block, he used a change of direction to speed up and shake off the opponent and continued breaking through.
When he was about to approach the opponent's 30-meter defence area, he finally encountered real resistance. But this time he passed the ball to Chen Yingxiong who retreated to the middle to receive the ball.
The two members of the St. Petersburg Zenit Food, Drink and Fun Group made a very wonderful two-pass cooperation. He passed the ball to Chen Yingxiong. Chen Yingxiong did not turn around to break through after taking the ball, or even protect it and then pass it to others. Instead, he stopped the ball directly, used his body to lean on the opponent's midfielder, then turned his head and saw that Anyukov ran into a gap.
There was suddenly an obvious gap on the wing!
This was the advantage of being tall, just like standing high and seeing far. His perspective was different from that of a short person, and he could see some things more clearly than others on the court. This was not a talent given to him by the system, but his own inborn attribute.
Chen Yingxiong leaned against the midfielder, then suddenly turned around and passed the ball!
The football went straight through the gap!
After passing the ball, Chen Yingxiong didn't even bother to see if Anyukov received it. He pushed away the Light Energy midfielder in front of him and rushed forward.
No matter how fast a person runs, he cannot catch up with the speed of a flying football. If he wanted to appear where he was most needed when Anyukov passed the ball, he had to be fast!
So Chen Yingxiong lowered his head and rushed forward, ignoring everything else.
Anyukov received the pass from Chen Yingxiong. He originally wanted to wait, but after taking two steps and looking up, he found that Chen Yingxiong had already rushed to the penalty spot!
If he didn't pass the ball now, there would be no chance to do so later! He quickly kicked the ball.
Chen Yingxiong might not have thought that the two talents he had chosen in the past would play the role they did...
Chen Yingxiong rushed to the penalty area as quickly as possible, and at the same time, the football was passed to him by Anyukov.
He jumped up directly during a high-speed sprint without even adjusting his pace; it was perfect!
Light Energy's central defenders Sheshukov and Shtanyuko had originally planned to fight to the death with Chen Yingxiong in the small penalty area, but they didn't expect that he would jump up as soon as he reached the penalty spot. They were unable to react in time.
Just like that, the two of them looked up at Chen Yingxiong in the air, high above...
The feeling of having no opponent made Chen Yingxiong feel good, the wind blew his hair, and his eyes were fixed on the ball. When he reached the right point, he didn't even use any strength, but used the momentum of his sprint and jump to head the football!
With a header like this and an attack like that, was there any suspense?
When Chen Yingxiong landed, he happened to be standing in front of the central defender Sheshukov, and the football was bouncing off the grass behind the goal line.
"The ball... the ball goes in... Zenit leads Light Energy 2:0!"
…
The first cheers came from the Zenit St. Petersburg bench, which stood out in the dead silence of the Dynamo Stadium.
"Great! Absolutely great!" Denisov on the bench clapped his hands hard and whistled towards the field.
Scoring goals in two consecutive games, the professional career debut of this previously unknown Chen Yingxiong was simply perfect!
After scoring the goal, Chen Yingxiong did not hug Anyukov who assisted him, but rushed to the camera and made the same celebration action that he did in the previous game - he turned around, pointed at his back with both thumbs, and showed his name to the camera!
Chen Yingxiong obviously felt resentful about being an unknown person, so he seized every opportunity to promote his name.
He didn't want the commentators to still call him "No. 99" or "the big guy" in the future. I have a name! You should call me by my name, "Hero"!
Chen Yingxiong was not so excited about scoring in two consecutive games. He felt that this was natural - he was in such a good state, the opponent was restrained in this game, the tactics were just right, and he also had the help of the Aurora system. If he still couldn't score a goal, he would be a real waste, a hopeless person!
After showing his name, Chen Yingxiong welcomed his crazy teammates with open arms. Everyone slapped his head, shoulders, and back, and patted his hair. Chen Yingxiong had already accepted his fate - this was how foreigners expressed their emotions... Suddenly, an idea came to his mind: I might as well cut my head bald and see how you guys pat me then!
Anyukov hugged Chen Yingxiong. "How about the pass I gave you, huh?"
"It couldn't have been better!" Chen Yingxiong gave Anyukov a thumbs up.
"To express your gratitude, you have to treat me, right?"
"I think we should treat him too!" Kerzakov came forward.
"That's no problem!"
And so, in the absence of the group leader Denisov, the second team activity of the St. Petersburg Zenit Food, Drink and Fun Group was confirmed.
The reason - to celebrate Chen Yingxiong's second goal and thank Anyukov for assisting him.
…
The Zenit St. Petersburg players celebrated the second goal wildly, while the Light Energy supporters lamented.
"I think there's no hope anymore... We're definitely going to lose this game! We didn't have a single chance the whole game. I can only remember that No. 99 jumping up and knocking the ball over our centre back's head!"
"Our defence is terrible!"
"What's the point of chasing crazily after falling behind by two goals? If we don't find a way to freeze the opponent's No. 99, we have no chance of winning this game!"
The commentator of the local TV station in Vladivostok also shook his head and said. "Under Zenit's high-altitude bombing tactics, I can't see any hope of winning..."
He was right. In the end, Zenit beat their opponent 2-0 away from home thanks to goals from Arshavin and Chen Yingxiong, taking away three points from this most difficult and arduous away trip in the country.
Chen Yingxiong was substituted off the field in the 75th minute of the match. This was his only regret - not being able to play the entire match.