My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 206 Appointment in Amsterdam

Lisbon, Stadium of Light.

2012-13 Europa League semi-final first leg.

Arsenal vs. Benfica.

Compared to the Champions League, the weight of the Europa League is much smaller.

"Every football fan loves to watch the best teams in Europe battle it out, but that's not entirely a bad thing. The winner of the Europa League is also the champion of Europe, isn't it?"

Chen Yao and Li Luo were chatting, the Atlantic sea breeze blowing on their faces.

"I never had the opportunity to compete for the continental championship." Lillo said. "A few months ago, I was still here, in the Iberian Peninsula, and I was an unemployed coach. Now, we are standing in the Europa League final. door."

The Spanish assistant coach rubbed his messy hair in the wind, "I never thought this would happen."

"Yeah." Chen Yaohun smiled carelessly, "I never thought it would be like this."

Their small talk seemed relaxed, and the score was as relaxed as they appeared.

Two to zero, Arsenal leads Benfica away from home.

Benfica coach Jorge Jesus shook his head in disappointment as the game seemed to have lost its suspense in less than half-time.

Benfica were aggressive at home, with Jorge Jesus instructing his side to put pressure on Arsenal from the start.

Arsenal just ended its game with Manchester United two days ago and came all the way to play away from home. Jorge Jesus believed that using offensive football at home to take the lead was a suitable strategy.

"Arsenal is a team that is good at using space. Will we fall into their hands if we do this?" Jesus' assistant coach raised his question to the Benfica coach before the game.

"They just finished their last game 48 hours ago. They are not a team that likes to sit back, and neither are we." Jorge Jesus told his assistant coach, "They are tired, they are unfamiliar with the venue here, and we You can’t give them time to adjust and breathe. Just beat them in one go.”

Five minutes after the start of the game, when Jorge Jesus passionately directed the Benfica players to attack, Arsenal's lightning attack silenced his voice.

Arsenal made a considerable rotation, with Zaha, Aubameyang and Chamberlain forming a frontcourt trident.

Behind them, Jorginho and Verratti worked together to deliver cannonballs to the fast horses on the front line.

The Gunners had absolutely no conservative pressure on the road. Marco Verratti, like a strong calf, broke through the defense of Matic and Javi Garcia and floated behind the Benfica defense.

Arsenal's three forwards tore Benfica's defense to pieces.

Chamberlain used his superior speed to forcefully break through the defense of Portuguese left back Lucinho. Aubameyang staggered to the middle, received the ball in the left rib and scored the first goal of the game.

Before Jorge Jesus had finished showing his passion and determination to his players, he saw the Arsenal players celebrating in the corner flag area.

As soon as the sound of the Stadium of Light rose, it fell silent.

No. In the 203rd minute, the two teams were still fighting back and forth.

Benfica midfielder Nicolas Gaitan passed Jorginho at the front of Arsenal's penalty area and sent an imaginative diagonal pass. Center Cardozo rushed over and headed the ball towards the goal.

Szczesny held the ball firmly.

This was Benfica's most threatening attack in the first half.

"Benfica wanted to show their aggression at home, but they struggled to even get the ball into Arsenal's penalty area... This is their biggest threat to Arsenal, and Arsenal can always play faster after that. The speed came to Benfica's dangerous area." The screen switched to Arsenal's counterattack, the TV commentator said.Arsenal's subsequent attack toyed with Benfica's midfield defense.

Jorginho and Verratti's ability to dominate the ball was fully demonstrated. Arsenal used reasonable passing and dribbling rhythms to distribute the ball to various areas of the court. The vertical breakthroughs on both wings also made Benfica exhausted.

Repeated back-and-forth runs and replacement positions quickly dissipated the Portuguese team's attention. Even though their coach emphasized the importance of European continental competitions over and over again before the game, it could not stop the physical willpower of the Benfica players.

In the 30th minute, Zaha broke through the defense of Benfica's right goalkeeper Andre Almeida. Jorginho, who followed up, took off Zaha's careless knock and scored neatly.

Goalkeeper Morales is beyond reach.

Benfica's fighting spirit tended to weaken after halftime.

In the eyes of Jorge Jesus, this defeat came at a time when he was helpless.

"We still can't break the curse?" He suddenly turned to ask the assistant coach beside him.

"It's hard to say now, it depends on the result of the next game." The assistant coach shrugged, "But it's close to ten. Jorge, this is not something we can solve."

……

"The Guttmann curse?" Bergkamp looked very interested. "I have heard of this legend. It is said that Benfica's former coach cursed this team so that it will not win the European championship in 100 years."

"It's been effective so far," Lillo said, "but Benfica itself is losing its competitiveness in the European arena."

"But they still have some interesting players." Chen Yao watched the game intently.

Europa League semi-final second leg, Emirates Stadium.

Benfica conceded another goal and fell behind [-]-[-].

Arsenal, who returned home, were unstoppable and did not give Benfica any more chances.

"for example?"

"Nicolas Gaitan has good skills and creativity, but he has some shortcomings that will make big teams have reservations about him... Witsel, he is a talented central defender, and Matic, Their Argentine winger Salvio, oh yeah, look at the bench."

"Who?"

"That little guy, Cancelo, is also an interesting kid. He just needs to be taught a lesson."

The Emirates Stadium burst into cheers, while Benfica's bench fell into helpless silence.

Jorge Jesus cursed Gutman while grabbing the assistant coach's shoulders and sighing.

"Their conversion speed, ability to handle the ball, passion, and energy are not comparable to ours." Jorge Jesus finally concluded, "This is a more modern team than us. Maybe. Arsenal's fall into the Europa League is Guttmann's curse, and it's a curse for all the other teams."

An hour later, the game entered stoppage time.

Arsenal scored two goals in regular time, and Benfica also scored a face-saving goal in the second half, but to no avail.

Arsenal book their ticket to the Amsterdam Arena with a [-]-[-] aggregate scoreline
——This season’s Europa League final will be held there.

(End of this chapter)