Boom!
Kanté launched a long ball without looking for a target, simply passing it forward. But Bastia were always ready to counter-attack. Seeing Kanté's pass, Lukaku immediately burst forward at speed.
With Julien's brilliant example before him, he also wanted to show what he could do.
In this match against a North London opponent, he believed Chelsea people were definitely watching.
He wanted to perform.
Though Bastia were great, with Julien planning to leave, Lukaku hoped more to secure a stable position at Chelsea.
So, against Tottenham, he'd been charging hard all match.
This time was no different!
Gallas and Vertonghen blocked him, bringing Lukaku down right in midfield.
Whistle!
The referee immediately pulled out a yellow card, pointing at Gallas.
Gallas shook his head helplessly. This veteran French center-back, once a pillar of France's back line, was unfortunately now old—without fouling, he simply couldn't keep up with Lukaku.
Gallas joined Tottenham on a free transfer from Arsenal in August 2010, quickly becoming the core and spiritual leader of the defense.
With his rich experience, excellent physicality, and sharp defensive awareness, he could play both center-back and fullback.
His most famous moment was the goal-line clearance against AC Milan in the Champions League Round of 16 in 2011, helping the team advance to the quarterfinals.
Thanks to his outstanding contributions, he renewed his contract until 2013 in March 2011.
As of February 2013, Gallas had made 78 appearances for Tottenham, scoring 1 goal, he was an indispensable pillar in the team's Premier League top-four battle and European campaigns.
Though his career at Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham successively earned him controversy as a "three-time servant," his professional attitude at Tottenham was highly recognized by the manager. Harry Redknapp once praised him as: "not greedy and extremely professional."
At least currently, he was still an essential part of Tottenham's defense.
Now receiving a yellow card was somewhat troublesome for Tottenham.
On Bastia's side, the forwards were all known for their speed.
Tottenham had fully experienced this in the recent period.
Bastia's free kick.
De Bruyne and Rothen stood by the ball.
This position was far from goal, so they weren't planning any tactical play.
It was simply Rothen coming up to help create space. De Bruyne played a square pass to Sidibé on the left.
Julien was currently being heavily marked.
You could say Villas-Boas was stubborn, but you couldn't call him stupid. After Julien's goal, his performance completely shattered Villas-Boas's previous thinking, so now Julien always had two players defending him.
Sidibé's side had relatively less pressure.
Sidibé drove toward the box with the ball, but facing Kyle Walker, his advantage in pure speed wasn't very large. And he wasn't really a ball-carrying player anyway.
He passed back to De Bruyne in midfield. De Bruyne in midfield was also being pressed by Dempsey and the retreating Lennon.
However, As De Bruyne turned to dribble backward, he suddenly paused, flicked the ball again, and spun back around, both players were shaken off!
Whoosh!
De Bruyne's move made the White Hart Lane fans exclaim in surprise. These Bastia players really had some skills.
Bastia's only weakness was their back line.
The cooperation of their attacking players through thirty minutes of observation, even Tottenham fans had to admit they were very strong.
The instant De Bruyne turned; Julien was already making his run.
Full sprint forward!
He knew the ball would come!
Boom!
Sure enough, De Bruyne launched a long pass over the top toward the space behind Scott parker and Ekotto.
Julien's early start meant first step fast, every step fast. He quickly burst between the two. Ekotto didn't even have time to grab him.
Julien left him behind. The pass was somewhat deep. Julien had to accelerate again to catch up.
"Hiss!"
This speed once again caused a commotion at White Hart Lane.
Julien had the ball. Before Ekotto could close him down, he quickly cut inside. Vertonghen rushed to cover, blocking Julien's path.
At the same time, Bastia's front players were already moving. De Bruyne and Rothen were making runs leaving Kanté alone as the defensive midfielder for now and Lukaku was constantly calling for the ball.
Because Julien had shaken off two defenders, Bastia momentarily had numerical superiority in this area.
Clive Tyldesley exclaimed, "Tottenham's defensive line is being pulled apart! Danger!! This is De Rocca's most dangerous zone!"
The camera focused on Julien. Whether in the stands or watching the broadcast, all eyes were on Julien.
Vertonghen rushed to cover, not defending with just his eyes like other defenders.
He was a very active, aggressive defender—an "active pressing" type of center-back.
He liked to press forward before or just as the opponent received the ball, trying to dispossess them and stop attacks at the first opportunity. This style had advantages and risks: the advantage was that successful tackles could quickly regain possession and launch counter-attacks; the risk was that failed tackles could leave him beaten, creating gaps in the defensive line.
Now, He charged straight at Julien!
Julien slowed slightly. As Vertonghen moved, Julien dropped his shoulder to observe his center of gravity. Just as he was about to arrive—
Boom!
Julien poked the ball through—it went straight between Vertonghen's legs.
Julien took two big strides and rushed past Vertonghen.
Vertonghen instantly realized that if Julien got through, it would be disaster!
So, he made a split-second decision.
Not watching the ball, he went for Julien, extending a leg while using his hands, directly blocking Julien.
He was going to bring Julien down outside the box!
However, Because Julien's speed was simply too fast, and Vertonghen's position had been slow to begin with.
Julien's final stride had already touched the penalty area line.
When Vertonghen brought him down, it was right inside the penalty area line.
Whistle!
The referee immediately made his call blowing the whistle and pointing to the penalty spot.
Whoosh!
Tottenham fans in the stands clutched their heads in disbelief, and shouted, "That's not a penalty!"
"That's diving! That's absolutely not a foul!"
Tottenham players, including captain Gallas, rushed to appeal to the referee. They all thought it was a successful defense, that Julien had already lost control of the ball.
But the referee shook his head, and insisted on his decision.
The instant Julien fell, De Bruyne had already rushed over to pull him up. "Brilliant!"
Rothen also came up and hugged Julien's head. "No one can stop you without fouling!"
Bastia players' morale soared. Getting a penalty near the end of the first half made everyone happy.
Leading by one goal going into the dressing room versus leading by two: those were two different feelings.
It would completely change the arrangements for the second half.
Hadzibegic pumped his fist, venting his emotions.
This was Bastia's first time in a European competition knockout stage in over thirty years, wasn't it also his first time in a European knockout stage as a manager?
This tie held special meaning for Hadzibegic.
So, he didn't want to lose.
Now, Julien had once again stepped up, becoming Bastia's hero and his hero too.
On the pitch, After the brief chaos, Julien took the ball and stood at the penalty spot. He placed it down, then stepped back a few paces.
He stared at goalkeeper Friedel.
This was absolutely a top-class goalkeeper—in Tottenham fans' hearts, a legendary keeper.
Even though the club had promised Lloris would start next season, they still gave Friedel a long contract, so he could help in emergencies while also being the goalkeeping coach, using his vast experience to mentor young keepers like Lloris.
At this moment, this was a duel between the veteran keeper and the young striker.
One born in 1971, one in 1994.
Over twenty years' difference!
Clive Tyldesley said, "Currently De Rocca's penalty conversion rate is 100%. I wonder if tonight Friedel can end that statistic?"
The French TF1 commentator said, "Bastia's chance has come. Absolutely no one before the match could have imagined Tottenham not scoring a single goal while Bastia could have the opportunity to lead 2-0 in the first half.
So, I say, when you have Julien on your team, don't panic at all—Julien will bring you miracles!
Bastia's current achievements are the best proof. As the new generation's leader in France, I think this is absolutely not Julien's ceiling. He still has room to grow, and Bastia definitely have a chance to eliminate Tottenham."
Whistle!
The referee blew.
After taking a deep breath, Julien didn't look at the keeper but stared at the ball. In his mind appeared the 200 shots he practiced every single training day.
At this moment, all those training clips overlapped.
All merging in his left foot.
Boom!
Julien struck the ball without any hesitation. He didn't try to deceive Friedel's positioning—there was no need.
Clang!
The ball flew toward the crossbar, hitting the underside. Then deflected into the net.
Friedel guessed the right direction, but he hadn't expected Julien would have such a strong mentality at this moment, daring to strike a penalty that was nearly impossible to save.
Because goalkeepers generally save mid-height balls and ground shots—high balls like this were too difficult. But for the penalty taker, it was also extremely difficult.
Julien withstood the pressure!
After the ball went in, he didn't celebrate wildly but turned around with arms spread, facing his teammates.
This entire section of stands was full of Tottenham fans.
A chorus of boos.
But it couldn't dampen the excitement on every Bastia face.
De Bruyne, Kanté, Rothen, Sidibé and others all rushed over to embrace Julien.
"What a gutsy penalty!"
"That's so you!"
At this moment, fans throughout France were celebrating simultaneously.
Especially on Corsica.
"Julien!"
The voices accompanied the evening Mediterranean waves, one after another, never ceasing.
Hadzibegic turned and hugged his assistant coaches and bench players.
Everyone's face was flushed like a wedding night.
Nearby, Villas-Boas frowned, still somewhat incredulous at this situation.
At halftime, it was actually Bastia 2-0 Tottenham!
ITV commentator Clive Tyldesley, after marveling at Julien's goal and timing, couldn't help but say,
"Tonight, Bastia's two goals, honestly, are entirely down to De Rocca's individual ability. There's no logic to defend—when a star player performs like this, if you can't stop him, you just can't.
It's like Barcelona's Messi—how do you defend? You can only foul, but unfortunately Vertonghen made a mistake this time, he shouldn't have fouled inside the box."
After some commentary, Clive Tyldesley continued, "Tonight at White Hart Lane, they were completely lost in De Rocca's talent!"
"Tottenham's attacking group hasn't shown their proper level, especially Adebayor, who's been completely locked down by Van Dijk—a young center-back who'd never played in any of the big four leagues, only just transferred to Bastia from mid-table Eredivisie club Groningen in the winter window.
It's simply incredible. And Tottenham's vaunted wing attacks haven't gained much advantage in terms of speed either."
Indeed, many fans hearing Clive Tyldesley's words hadn't expected Tottenham's battering ram, Adebayor, to be locked down.
And that Tottenham, despite dominating possession, couldn't score a single goal?
Soon, Shortly after play resumed, the referee blew the whistle for halftime.
The score at the break: 0-2.
Bastia leading!
This almost instantly became a hot topic in English football fans' social media circles.
At the same time, it strengthened these Premier League fans' thinking: "We must buy high-quality goods like De Rocca!"
Entering the tunnel, Julien felt a gaze upon him.
He turned to look.
It was Gareth Bale.
At this moment, Bale's face no longer bore that casual smile, only seriousness.
Seeing Julien turn his head; this time Bale didn't look away.
Instead, he held Julien's gaze for two seconds before shifting his eyes.
Julien didn't give it much thought. He walked into the dressing room.
Hadzibegic patted his shoulder, said "Well done," then told team physio Fabruetto, "Quickly help Julien relax his muscles. He needs rest."
Fabruetto pulled Julien over. This first half, Julien had done a lot of sprinting, especially having to cover Crouch's position, so he'd expended a lot of energy.
Crouch looked at Julien apologetically. "It's all my fault, making you so tired."
Julien was indeed tired. He just nodded slightly without answering.
A towel under his neck, he lay back on the dressing room bench with his eyes closed to rest briefly.
Fabruetto helped him relax his leg muscles.
Hadzibegic's voice wasn't loud, but it was very firm. "We're leading by two goals. In the second half we'll definitely face their fiercest counter-attack, so our defensive pressure, you all need to be mentally prepared—will be enormous!"
Hadzibegic's gaze swept specifically over the defensive players: Kanté, Angoula, Rothen, Van Dijk, and finally Martinez.
Every face showed unwavering determination. Having come this far, they had no reason to retreat!
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