Chapter 200: Chapter 199: The Gap Between Cristiano Ronaldo and Deng Kai (Please Subscribe and Share with Friends)
Ronaldo rushed his shot just before he staggered, and the football flew into the sky.
"Isn’t that a foul?" Ronaldo shouted as he sat on the grass.
If the same level of physical contact were applied to Ronaldo’s peers or those slightly older but still playing in the youth leagues, it would definitely be a foul.
Ronaldo thought he hadn’t fallen not because the opponent hadn’t fouled him, but because he had withstood it.
The head referee couldn’t ignore the excessive physical challenge just because of that.
Of course, the head referee paid no attention to Deng Kai.
You withstood the challenge and still have so much to say?
Ronaldo was seething with anger.
He had withstood it, but after doing so, he had no strength left to dribble or shoot.
He couldn’t "both endure and perform" yet!
In the thirty-first minute.
Gandoma made a successful breakthrough on the wing, and the fullback delivered a cross from the baseline.
However, their number nine striker became sandwiched between Feng Te and Kilop under the pressure.
In the end, the football touched by no one, flew out of play from the other end of the field.
In the fortieth minute.
After complaining for most of the half, Ronaldo finally received the attention of Mr. Kai.
Deng Kai teamed up with Ronaldo on the left wing.
Without the ball, Ronaldo was suddenly free from the opponent’s intense pressure.
You either take Ronaldo down directly or you watch him rush past.
Gandoma’s players were momentarily unable to restrict Ronaldo.
With Deng Kai’s help, Ronaldo delivered a beautiful cross.
Anderson’s header hit the opposing defender and earned a corner kick.
Deng Kai took the corner, with Anderson and Feng Te both leaping high in the middle, and ultimately Feng Te headed the ball into the goal.
Two to zero!
Moreirense scored two goals around Ronaldo’s drawing power and the offensive threat he posed.
But these goals had little to do with Ronaldo.
Augustus understood that he had lost this tactical battle.
He hadn’t lost in terms of tactics, but in terms of players.
He lacked a central midfielder like Deng Kai who could "utilize Ronaldo."
In the forty-fifth minute.
Deng Kai and Ronaldo combined again, with Ronaldo making an off-ball cut inside to draw defenders, while Deng Kai successfully made his way to the baseline.
Deng Kai’s speed had improved considerably from before.
But on the professional field, it seemed to revert, being above average but not particularly fast.
Gandoma’s right-back had also intended to use physicality to defend against Deng Kai.
However, with Deng Kai’s shoulder continuously shimmying and his gaze quite elusive, full of feints, he didn’t give the opponent a chance for physical contact.
But Gandoma’s right-back was confident.
He was faster than Deng Kai, leading by half a body length.
If Deng Kai tried to cross, with a slight lift of his foot, he would likely be able to disrupt it.
Bang!
Deng Kai swung his leg for a cross.
Gandoma’s right-back powered his foot down, positioning himself instantly in the path of Deng Kai’s pass.
But the football flew past him from behind.
It was a cross.
But not a normal cross, it was a ground-level reverse triangle pass.
The pass wasn’t aimed for Anderson, who was contending for aerial balls in the box.
It was for Ronaldo, who had just cut inside without the ball to draw away defenders and then stopped his sprint.
Ronaldo received the ball on the left side of the penalty area, surrounded by defenders, but all at least two meters away from him.
This was a perfect opportunity.
Ronaldo adjusted briefly, then unleashed a powerful shot, venting all his frustration of the first half with that kick.
The football headed for the near post, grazing the underside of the crossbar before entering the net, stirring up countless ripples.
"GOAL! Ronaldo! Ronaldo has finally scored too!"
"Deng Kai’s backheel pass was brilliant! Gandoma’s right-back completely overran it, he didn’t expect Deng Kai to cross in that manner!"
"Three to zero! Morelense maintains their fighting spirit."
"Defeating a Primeira Liga team like Benfica gives them a huge morale boost! They didn’t have that confused period after scoring this game."
"Trigella’s first phase of remodeling Morelense has been a success!"
It was indeed the case.
In the second half, in the sixty-seventh minute, Ronaldo received the ball but was pressured by the opponent, unable to turn, and eventually fell to the ground losing possession.
However, the main referee thought there was no foul by the opponent.
This enraged Ronaldo, who went to argue with the main referee.
The main referee stopped the game and showed a yellow card to Ronaldo.
The other players quickly came over to pull Ronaldo away.
The call was actually correct; the tackle was fierce, but the opponent really hadn’t played dirty.
The seventy-seventh minute.
Macedo once again made a steal and passed the ball to Deng Kai.
Deng Kai received the ball with his back to the goal, with at least three Gandoma players charging towards him.
He immediately passed the ball with his right foot to the nearby Emerson, then was knocked down from behind.
The main referee put the whistle to his lips but did not blow it, instead gesturing for play-on advantage.
After carrying the ball forward for a bit, Emerson passed the ball to Ronaldo, who sped down the wing.
Deng Kai, who was knocked down earlier, grimaced in pain in his thigh as he got up and rushed to the front field.
The first two steps were painful; the capillaries in the hit area had probably burst, but it gradually eased.
As Ronaldo got closer to the defender, he didn’t want to continue the showdown, so he looked up to observe and saw Deng Kai coming up.
Bang!
Ronaldo passed to Deng Kai.
The pass was quite gentle, intended to allow Deng Kai to shoot directly without controlling the ball first.
The position was not too far from the edge of the penalty area, barely within Deng Kai’s shooting range.
But it created a ’knife-edge situation.’
Because Gandoma’s center-back had come out to challenge.
In the end, Deng Kai took a step ahead and touched the football first.
He lightly tapped the ball with his left foot, leaning his body towards the opponent while turning.
Finally, he completed a Marseille Turn using the defender for support.
Gandoma’s center-back was definitely much stronger than Deng Kai in terms of physicality.
But he had reached out his foot in an attempt to compete for the ball with Deng Kai.
Once he extended his foot, his center of gravity shifted.
When Deng Kai leaned on him, his center of gravity was vulnerable; although he didn’t fall just from the force of Deng Kai’s push, he completely lost the chance to chase back.
After the Marseille Turn, Deng Kai stepped into the edge of the penalty area, face to face with the goalkeeper, with no one else in the way.
Bang!
Deng Kai took a shot.
He fired a Ground Cutter towards the right!
Gandoma’s goalkeeper leapt to save, but didn’t have time to get down and could only parry a mid-height ball.
The football drilled into the goal beneath his armpit.
"Four to zero! Deng Kai with one goal and two assists! Beautifully done!"
"Deng Kai is undoubtedly the best player on the pitch today!"
"Perhaps this is the price Augustus had to pay for what he said during the pre-match interview."
"Whether it be Trigella, Ronaldo, or Deng Kai, they all showed something beyond Augustus’s assessment."
People were excited about Deng Kai’s goal; it meant that Morelense secured a huge win.
But Ronaldo, not far away, firmly memorized Deng Kai’s recent Marseille Turn.
Images of Deng Kai playing in today’s game kept flashing through his mind.
Eventually, the match was over.
Morelense won four to zero.
Deng Kai was chosen as the best player of the match.
However, Ronaldo, who also made an assist and scored a goal, was unhappy.
Because he realized that he had... a gap compared to Deng Kai!
