Chapter 321: Chapter 320: Squatting like a radish, after Viana it’s Deng Kai’s turn to squat
"Not good, Viana’s condition doesn’t look good. He’s holding his thigh, and it’s very likely that he strained it in the collision just now."
"The team doctor is on the pitch... the doctor has signaled for a substitution; Viana seems unable to continue the match."
"But judging by Viana’s expression, it doesn’t seem to be a serious problem, probably a strain, and he should be back after two or three matches."
"Matthaus is warming up, and for many fans, this is quite a bargain. Although Viana has risen to prominence recently, his fame and status in the world of football can’t compare with Matthaus’s."
"Matthaus has replaced Viana and has taken up the position of left attacking midfielder; this could work, Matthaus is capable of playing multiple positions on the field."
"But the effect... may not be as good as Viana’s. After all, Matthaus is forty years old this year; he can’t play like Viana."
"So, the attacking pressure in the forward area of Lisbon’s midfield now falls on Deng Kai."
"Can he accomplish this task?"
"As we know, many fans in Portugal believe that Deng Kai is the true core of the team. They think that Deng Kai sacrificed his performance for Viana, deliberately dropping back to give Viana the spotlight."
"If it’s as the Portuguese fans say, then Deng Kai should put on a good performance in this match."
The match soon entered the half-time break.
Both head coaches rearranged some tactics.
Rehhagel shifted the strategy that was meant for Viana entirely onto Deng Kai.
Although their defensive tactics didn’t completely contain Viana, they did limit him by about eighty percent.
In their view, Deng Kai’s performance wasn’t as good as Viana’s, so fully containing Deng Kai shouldn’t be a problem.
On the Lisbon Athletic side, Trigella’s arrangement was actually quite simple.
That was to bring Deng Kai forward, to become a true attacking midfielder, rather than one appearing in the midfield or defensive midfield positions.
Then let Matthaus drop back to do the job Deng Kai was doing earlier.
And everyone believed the effect would be good because Deng Kai’s previous play when he dropped back was like that of a libero, which was Matthaus’s most suitable position.
In the world of football, there were only two liberos, one was Beckenbauer, and the other was Matthaus.
As for Deng Kai, it was like a minor sorcerer encountering a great wizard.
As soon as the second half began, Kaiserslautern launched a fierce attack, hoping to equalize.
The team that was behind played more proactively.
And then Matthaus shone.
In the 47th minute, Matthaus intercepted a through ball initiated by Kaiserslautern’s midfield in his own half.
They had oversimplified the problem.
Saying such a pass could get past Matthaus was one thing, but even if it did, wouldn’t they still have to face Pepe?
In the 52nd minute, Djorkaeff cut inside early from the wings and encountered Matthaus, who completed the tackle cleanly and efficiently.
In the 55th minute, Matthaus spotted Deng Kai making a run to the right front and delivered a brilliant pass over two defenders right to Deng Kai’s feet.
Deng Kai positioned at the right flank received the ball coming from the left rear and cleverly got ahead by half a step.
It looked as if he was going to handle the ball with his right foot to pass it to Quaresma, who was up ahead on the right.
But in fact, he followed up with his left foot in time, and with a flick of the outside of his foot.
The ball flew towards the left front instead.
"With a flick of his outside foot without stopping the ball, Deng Kai’s pass was too quick! He’s like a supercharger, multiplying the speed of the football’s movement at his feet."
"Kaiserslautern’s defenders had not expected Deng Kai to handle the ball in this way at all."
"The Viana they faced before relied more on excellent dribbling and ball control, using skills to make breakthroughs and create danger. But Deng Kai’s way of threatening was completely different."
"Simple, direct, a killer move!"
Inside the penalty area, Drogba was ready well in advance.
Even before Deng Kai passed the ball, beads of sweat appeared on Drogba’s forehead.
It wasn’t from fatigue.
It was fear.
It was that feeling where you know Xiao Kai is about to snap your brain, but you don’t know exactly when he’s going to do it.
Deng Kai’s passes were notoriously hard to catch on his team.
And yet, every one of his passes could be described as picture-perfect.
If you didn’t catch it, you wouldn’t need him to reprimand you, you’d hardly be able to forgive yourself.
Apart from the thick-skinned Ronaldo, who could blame Deng Kai’s pass for not having an automatic homing feature after sending it flying, and call it rubbish, the rest would start self-reflecting immediately after missing or not keeping up with Deng Kai’s pass.
But perhaps it was exactly this pressure from "Deng Kai’s passes" that made Sporting Lisbon’s forwards treat every opportunity with extreme caution.
Their ability to seize opportunities unconsciously strengthened a lot in this process.
Bang!
Facing Deng Kai’s fast pass, Drogba accelerated early, which allowed him to avoid the opponent’s interference to a certain extent.
Deng Kai’s outside-of-the-foot pass had a large curve, coming from the right side to find Drogba, not just simply from behind.
Players find it much easier to handle balls coming from the side than balls coming straight from behind.
Drogba leaned to his left, his left foot planted, his right leg lifted high.
His black thigh whipped the football viciously like a steel whip.
The football whipped up a strong wind, giving the Kaiserslautern goalkeeper no chance to react and smashed directly into the net, creating countless ripples.
"GOAL! A powerful strike! That was a superb shot from Drogba right into the goal!"
"Deng Kai’s perfect pass without stopping the ball, Drogba’s volley without stopping the ball, Sporting Lisbon’s attack speed went from second gear straight to ninth in an instant! The football became incredibly fast in a blink!"
"Drogba’s shooting is really good, he obviously can’t control the football as well as the team’s other striker Ibrahimovic, but in terms of shooting, Drogba is narrowing the gap with Ibrahimovic."
"Drogba’s shooting is straightforward, mostly powerful shots, not too much technique. But a unique move can conquer all, just like Deng Kai’s passes, sometimes the simplest can be the most lethal!"
Two-nil, Sporting Lisbon expanded the lead at home.
Kaiserslautern was suddenly thrown into disarray.
This goal caught them completely off guard.
Deng Kai hardly dribbled the ball at all; in terms of flashiness, he certainly wasn’t as good as Viana in the first half.
But... his assist seemed a lot easier than Viana’s.
Just one kick.
The football stayed at his feet for less than a second.
It was bizarre.
The 67th minute.
The football came to Deng Kai’s feet again.
Kaiserslautern’s basic defense was quite good, and Sporting Lisbon’s attacks from the Large Circle Tactics through both wings were mostly blocked.
