Chapter 113: Chapter 112 How about I perform a spin for you?
"His vision is just too good," Scholes said, shaking his head in admiration from the stands. "Ronaldo is right next to Gabi, even if Mario passed the football to Gabi, Ronaldo would foul to prevent Gabi from making the pass. Atletico’s counterattack was doomed from the start."
"Deng Kai naturally didn’t need to block the passing path from Mario to Gabi. The reason he was moving in that direction was to make Mario think he would intervene."
"It’s a smart run, he’s actively luring Mario into the trap he set."
"The problem is, Mario is a center back who’s good with his feet. When he realizes his first passing option is unavailable, he won’t just clear the ball. He’ll use his dribbling skills to take the football away from danger before passing it to a teammate to reorganize."
"Even when he’s in the penalty area."
"That’s the reason Barcelona took interest in him."
Bang!
The football was disrupted by Deng Kai, shooting out behind him.
Gabi charged over.
But there was another figure who was faster, the very Ronaldo he had just intercepted.
At the same spot, Ronaldo clearly outran Gabi!
Ronaldo, like a supercar, "crashed" into the football, completely skipping the step of controlling the ball and charging into the penalty area with it.
Mario immediately closed in on Ronaldo, trying to make up for the huge mistake he had committed.
He followed Ronaldo from the left side of the penalty area to the right, and as he ran, he suddenly realized... where’s the football at Ronaldo’s feet?
During the confrontation with Mario, Ronaldo had, like laying an "egg", left the football near the penalty spot, using a no-ball run to drag away Mario and the other defenders.
Bang!
Deng Kai, who had been knocked down after intercepting Mario, got up just in time to see Ronaldo’s "laying the egg" trick.
He rushed over and kicked!
Atletico’s goalkeeper’s attention had already shifted from Ronaldo to Deng Kai as fast as possible.
But his save was too late.
The football drilled into the net.
Two-nil!
Sporting Lisbon widened the score.
"GOAL! Perfect teamwork! Mind like a mirror!"
"Deng Kai’s challenge was full of thought!"
"Ronaldo’s burst was impressive!"
"In such an intense confrontation, to silently leave the football for Deng Kai behind him and selflessly move away, that requires absolute trust!"
"And Deng Kai did not let Ronaldo down!"
"This was a perfect ’encounter battle’, where Sporting Lisbon once again resolved the fight with just two men!"
"Oh! Deng Kai rushes to the corner flag area and attempts a sliding kneel, but it’s clear he hasn’t practiced it—he wipes out!"
To tell the truth, the moment Deng Kai’s sliding kneel went awry and he was bounced off, he knew he was done for.
Sure enough.
Just as Deng Kai was getting up, he was pushed back to the ground.
No need to guess, it was definitely Ronaldo.
Then, a bunch of teammates swarmed over, pinning Deng Kai to the bottom and kicking off a celebration pile-up.
Under such circumstances, Deng Kai could only hold his breath, waiting for the nightmare to pass.
When you’re being suffocated, you’ve got to learn to hold your breath, because as you exhale, your lung space compresses sharply, and that can bring on oxygen deprivation and unconsciousness all the sooner.
When Deng Kai saw daylight again, the first thing he did was apologize to Ronaldo’s mother and sister.
Because he was about to let loose.
National essence, here we come!
Compared to the joyful atmosphere on Sporting Lisbon’s side.
The mood was heavy for Atletico.
Down two-nil, the game had become difficult for them.
When the match reached the half-time break, Atletico’s players hurried into the locker room.
Their coach obviously had many ideas for turning the score around.
As for Sporting Lisbon’s side...
"Kai, what do you think we should do in the second half?" Maxa handed Deng Kai a cup of hot tea, expertly taking the towel Deng Kai passed to him.
"Obviously, we need to contain Torres," Deng Kai said. "With a two-goal lead, we hardly need to think about offense anymore. Just keep Torres in check at the back, and this game won’t be difficult."
Maxa rolled his eyes internally.
Wasn’t this exactly what he had in mind?
It seemed that even Young Master Kai didn’t always have eye-catching tactical arrangements.
"Of course, containing Torres is a very difficult task. Our defense will undoubtedly get carded for it, so you need to be ready to make substitutions. Otherwise, if Torres draws a red card from us, we’ll be in a passive position," Deng Kai gestured towards Wu Xudong, "Around the sixtieth or seventieth minute, we can consider bringing Wu Xudong on depending on the situation."
Maxa frowned, "Then, at that time, are we subbing Wu Xudong in for Duarte or Araujo?"
Wu Xudong could play on either flank, better on the right, but the team’s left-back Araujo hasn’t been in as good of form as right-back Duarte recently.
"Why swap either of them? Substitute Veloso. If Veloso gets carded, then use Wu Xudong to replace him. Our man marking Torres has to be in top form, no holding back."
Maxa’s hand trembled slightly.
Was this... asking Wu Xudong to play as a defensive midfielder?
Young Master Kai is awesome!
Truly an unconventional genius in tapping into talent!
Just a moment ago, he had been naive.
He had even inwardly scorned Young Master Kai.
Such arrogance needed to be suppressed.
He mustn’t get carried away.
Maxa gave himself a mental scolding.
...
Back on the pitch, Atletico Madrid completely activated their iron-blooded genes after the adjustment.
Their movements got rougher, committing fouls frequently.
Torres, in turn, gained numerous opportunities.
Sporting Lisbon could only resort to yellow cards to stop Torres.
In the sixty-first minute, center-back Manuel got booked.
In the sixty-seventh minute, right-back Duarte got booked.
At the seventieth minute, Veloso got booked.
Torres was like a bucket of yellow paint, anyone defending him turned yellow.
"Sporting Lisbon is starting to make substitutions, they have too many players with yellow cards on their backline."
"Three at once! That’s very bold! They’ve taken off Manuel, Duarte, and Veloso."
"Eh? Wu Xudong isn’t taking up his usual position as the right-back, he is... a defensive midfielder? Wu Xudong is playing as a defensive midfielder?"
"It’s man marking! Wu Xudong is free man-marking Torres in the backfield!"
"This Chinese youngster, who joined Sporting Lisbon U15 during the winter transfer window, has become the team’s go-to defender for rapid marking! He’s very fast, and although he looks a bit thin, he’s all muscle, with a low body fat percentage and a not-so-bad ability to hold his own."
"He once froze Robben, one of the best right wingers in this Youth Champions League, for a good portion of the match!"
In the seventy-second minute, Wu Xudong made his mark shortly after coming onto the field.
As Torres prepared to dribble past him with the ball on the flank, Wu Xudong swiftly cut in and cleared the football out to the sideline.
Deng Kai, who had dropped back, was the first to come over and give him a high-five.
In the seventy-fifth minute, Torres received the ball with his back to goal, nutmegged Semedo, then turned and carried the ball towards the penalty area.
Wu Xudong quickly closed in on Torres, causing him to overreach, and the ball was cleared by Angelo.
The seventy-ninth minute.
Sporting Lisbon brought the ball into Atletico Madrid’s half.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lorenzo, and other forwards kept moving into position, but they just couldn’t find an opening.
The match suddenly fell into a sluggish phase.
With the ball at his feet and standing still, Deng Kai seemed somewhat at a loss.
This had to do with their less-than-adequate offensive effort up front, which failed to disrupt their opponents’ defensive formation.
You pass the ball, you’re definitely going to lose it.
You pass it back, and you’ve wasted another attacking opportunity.
So what can you do?
Having nothing better to do, Deng Kai decided to spin in place with the ball, attempting to use a "spintop" to enhance his passing ability, followed by an overhead through ball.
