Chapter 34: Leaving the downgrade zone

Stadium Louis II, Monaco.

More than 10,000 Monaco fans stared at the Mallorca players cheering and celebrating on the court in a daze, feeling that they were in a nightmare.

Just thirteen minutes into the game, the Mallorca player holding three goal difference balls in his hand did not use defensive counterattack tactics to deal with Monaco as everyone thought. Instead, he launched a fierce attack at the beginning. It seemed that it was not Monaco who was behind three goals, but they were the same!

Five minutes into the game, Tristan used a domineering header to smash Stankovic's cross into the goal guarded by Badz. Although the person who was guarding him was replaced by Christaval, he still could not stop Tristan from crushing the human-shaped tank!

Eight minutes later, Etoo showed his lightning speed. After receiving the ball in the midfield, he rushed forward and got rid of Monaco's last defender to form a single shot. Then he made a straight shot and hit his first goal in the European arena!

"Good job." Jose waved his fist hard - two away goals, a total of five goals, Monaco had to score six goals in the next game to advance - this performance almost wiped out any hope of Monaco's advancement!

What happened next was indeed no chance in Monaco.

With enough confidence to defend, Mallorca was not scored by Poole until the 72nd minute. Then, despite Galado's goal in stoppage time, they still failed to win. The result of 2-2 at home was that they were eliminated with a total score of 3-6, and Mallorca advanced to the quarterfinals of the League Cup first!

However, after returning to Spain from France this time, Mallorca received much less attention, because although La Coruña defeated Arsenal only 2-1 at home and was eliminated by Premier League powerhouses, Atletico Madrid also lost 2-4 away and was eliminated from the quarterfinals by Lons. However, Celta played an extremely beautiful game. Marklele scored the first time, McCarthy scored twice, and Billindelli's own goal, Celta unexpectedly swept Juventus four-zero at home, and reached the quarterfinals of the League Cup with a total score of four-one in two rounds!

After the result of this game came out, Europe was shocked!

What team is Juventus? Although their performance was average last season, they were defeated by Manchester United in the semi-finals of the Champions League and failed to enter the top four in the league and could only condescend to play the League Cup. However, since 1995, they have reached the final of the Champions League for three consecutive years, winning the championship and losing two times, which are considered to be an unpopular opponent. They have Piero Inzagi Zidane Deschamps and other powerful players in the team. This season's performance in Serie A has also recovered its vitality. At the top of the Serie A standings, they are likely to win the league championship this season, but they are beaten to no aura by Celta - this alone is enough to shock everyone!

So when Mallorca returned to Spain, they did not become the focus of the media. All the media's attention was on Celta. Whether it was the Russian two-man Karpin and Mostovoi in the midfield, McCarthy on the front line, Marklele in the midfield, defender Juan Fran... they all became the hot spots of media attention. They praised McCarthy's scoring ability, Carpin and Mostovoi's midfield organization, Marklele's steals and forwards, Juan Fran's beautiful assist ability, and believed that Celta, who ranked in the middle of La Liga, could sweep Juventus, ranked first in Serie A, proved that La Liga has become the No. 1 league in Europe and even the world, and Serie A has become increasingly weak.

Mallorca's players were a little dissatisfied with the fact that they also entered the quarterfinals of the League Cup but were ignored. Jose was very happy about this - what is a temporary false name? After all, he was just entering the quarterfinals of the League Cup. At least in the future, it would not be Mallorca who became the focus of the media and the guns of other teams.

"Don't forget, when we defeated Monaco in the last game, the media praised us, and not to forget, when we won five consecutive league games, the media praised us... At the same time, we also have to see how the media treated us when we had not won two rounds in the league... From the beginning to the end, the media will not stand on our side, they will only stand on the side of the winners. Chasing the successful ones is their nature, so we don't need to feel any dissatisfaction with this, as this will only affect our own performance."

Standing on the training ground, Jose told several young players in front of him that Nadal's group of old guys would definitely not have any emotional fluctuations due to the changes in the media's direction. They were the worst veterans who played for seven or eight years. They had seen and experienced more things and were well aware of the media's habit of turning to the rudder when they saw the wind. Those who were not convinced and affected were nothing more than a few young players in the frontcourt.

Seeing Tristan still resentful that his performance was ignored, Jose smiled: "Okay, Diego, you must know that as long as we keep winning, no one will ignore our performance. Our future needs to be grasped by ourselves, rather than relying on the charity of the media... Why, Diego, do you think you will not be able to play well without the media building momentum for you?"

For players like Tristan, provoking Fabi is useful. When Jose said this, Tristan immediately widened his eyes and shouted loudly: "How is it possible? Whether those guys brag or not, I will keep scoring goals in the game!"

"That's right." Jose nodded with a smile: "The media has been praising Celta, which is also a good thing for us. Without those noisy sounds, we can also train quietly. Diego, don't forget what you just said. In the next game, you must score at least one goal to help us win this game!"

"No problem, head, wait for me to score in the game!" Tristan replied loudly.

Jose looked at Etoo, and the Cameroonian nodded silently, with a firm expression.

Mallorca's next game is to face Malaga at home.

Malaga has performed averagely this season. Now their points are 37 points, which is also one of Mallorca's opponents to relegate. Now Mallorca's points are second to last in 28 points. Bettis ahead of them is Real Betis with 30 points, Atletico Madrid with 31 points, Real Ovito with 31 points, Numancia with 34 points, Athletic Santander with 36 points, and Malaga with 37 points, which is also Jose does not think the team is not considered by the team.

Relegation will be the biggest reason why it is very difficult. Mallorca, who is ranked 19th now, is only nine points away from Malaga, who is ranked 13th, and the points gap is only about ten points away from the top ten. After winning five consecutive games in a row, Mallorca has already paid off the debts owed in the first half of the season. Now the team is in good morale. As long as you seize the opportunity to win a few games in a row, there will be no problem with Mallorca leaving the relegation zone!

On the contrary, what makes Jose feel a little trouble is that although the next leagues are played one week and one game, the League Cup games have also begun to become dense. On March 17 and March 23, they will face two consecutive games against the League Cup quarterfinals. Although who is the opponent has not yet come out, such a one-week double game will also be a big test for the veterans' physical fitness.

Jose has no good way to do this, so he can only let the defense line try to participate in defense and not attack much to save energy in the game. In this case, Mallorca's offense can only be completed by players in the frontcourt.

Jose actually dislikes this tactic of completely separating offense and defense. He knows that modern football, the defender's offense is also a very important link. However, the team's full-backs basically have no offensive ability. Even if they have offensive ability, they will still be able to attack and cannot come back. Forcibly demanding full-back assists can only seek death.

But Mallorca's offensive line is also quite good now. If Tristan is a trumpet Vieri, then Etoo is also a trumpet Ronaldo. The increasingly tacit understanding of this forward partner makes Mallorca's scoring ability no longer weaker than the top teams in La Liga.

Amid the shouts of Mallorca fans throughout the game, Mallorca continued to have a good state recently. Relying on the goals of two strikers Tristan and Etoo on the front line, they beat Malaga 2-0 at home, with 31 points. In other games in this round, Real Betis drew 1-1 with Vallecano, Atletico Madrid lost 0-1 to Valladolid, Atletico Santander lost to Zaragoza, Numancia and Real Madrid lost 0-1 to Zaragoza, Numancia and Real

Ovedo scored one-to-one. Relying on the advantage of goal difference, Mallorca surpassed Real Betis and Atletico Madrid, who also scored 31 points, ranking 17th in the league, and was only one point away from Real Ovedo with 32 points, Numancia with 35 points, Santander with 36 points and Malaga with 37 points, and was only one point, four points, five points and six points. Finally, he got rid of the relegation zone for the first time after the sixth round of the league!

After getting the results of other games, Mallorca fans were cheering. Jose took office for two months, with six wins, one draw and one loss in eight games, immediately causing Mallorca to go from almost relegation to a position that was out of the relegation zone. It was a miracle!

"The league has not ended yet, and Mallorca has not succeeded in relegation yet. However, the current situation is already quite favorable for us. We will continue to maintain this momentum until the remaining ten rounds of the league are over. At that time, Mallorca can stand in a decent position, which is what I hope to see."

At the post-match press conference, Jose seemed very calm and did not feel complacent about the team leaving the relegation zone, because he knew that this season was not over yet, and the relegation battle was always cruel. With only ten rounds left in the entire league, even if he temporarily left the relegation zone, he would not breathe a sigh of relief. After all, if you are not careful in relegation, you may be doomed.

Jose doesn't remember which team was relegated to La Liga this season, nor does he know how much the La Liga relegation line is, but he knows that 31 points are definitely not enough, far from enough.

Mallorca will soon usher in the quarterfinals of the League Cup. In the next two weeks, Mallorca will face a one-week double-game situation. It will also be a huge test for Mallorca, who is mainly veteran. Jose used the method of rotating the main players to survive the quarterfinals, but this time, he may not have such a chance to take advantage of it.
Chapter completed!