Chapter 351: Chapter 350: Sitting on Ronaldo
Bang!
Before Xavi could react, Deng Kai passed the football forward to the right flank.
Quaresma had just sprinted there and was on his way back when he saw Deng Kai’s pass, and he started his second sprint.
Barjuan couldn’t endure this repeated torment and had to retreat early, allowing Quaresma to receive the ball alone.
At the same time, after Deng Kai passed the ball, Xavi made a futile attempt to block it.
However, one step slow, steps slow.
This block not only failed to stop Deng Kai’s pass but also caused Xavi to lose control over Deng Kai, who had started to run forward again.
"Gerard!" Xavi called out Gerard’s name, hoping he could stop Deng Kai.
Guardiola had instructed that once Deng Kai entered the offensive third, the threat level was the highest.
Gerard immediately moved towards Deng Kai’s position, and the two struggled all the way to the top of the penalty box, with Deng Kai tightly marked behind Gerard.
Bang!
On the right side of the pitch, Quaresma gained control of the ball and, after a slight adjustment, a feint shake off Barjuan, gaining a perfect space for crossing.
He didn’t hesitate and delivered a standard cross.
Ibrahimovic was grappling with Abelardo in the middle, and Deboer joined in, both of them trying to disturb Ibrahimovic.
However, no one had expected that Viana, who had been making a forward run on the left flank, suddenly ran towards the middle behind Gerard.
Gerard was somewhat distracted, and then he felt a lightness behind him... Deng Kai, who had been pressed behind him by Gerard, gave up on the middle and suddenly ran towards the near post.
When Abelardo noticed Deng Kai’s run, he immediately left Ibrahimovic behind.
His rich defensive experience told him that Quaresma’s pass was not intended for the tall Ibrahimovic, but for the previously unmarked near post.
The passing of Sporting Lisbon is damn sophisticated!
If there wasn’t a massive amount of running training, such a pass would be a haphazard jaguar pass that would earn a player a demotion from the starting position by the coach.
But with the corresponding movements in place, it becomes a superb pass.
Bang!
Abelardo was overwhelmed and unable to catch up; Deng Kai was already leaping high when Abelardo was still more than a meter away.
Deng Kai executed a perfect Lion’s Header, heading the ball at the near post towards the goal.
Whoosh!
The football powerfully drilled into the goal at a tight angle.
Reina’s attention was all on Ibrahimovic; he was indifferent to this goal.
"GOAL!!!"
"Sporting Lisbon has overtaken Barca!"
"Three to two! The combined score is six to five! Sporting Lisbon regains the lead!"
"Deng Kai scores a brace with his head!"
"Who would have thought that Deng Kai, the shortest player on Sporting Lisbon’s side, would score two headers!"
"When Sporting Lisbon was behind, everyone knew they were preparing for aerial balls. Barca also did well to limit the aerial abilities of Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo."
"However, the finisher for Sporting Lisbon turned out to be Deng Kai, which is outrageous!"
"I always say, the most terrifying thing about the Chinese is their knack for turning disadvantages into motivation to strive harder."
"That pigheaded one just stood there watching Deng Kai earnestly score a goal."
In the middle of the pitch, this time Deng Kai didn’t run far but took two steps in the small box, pushed off the ground with both feet, and plunged forward, launching into the air... a front flip!
"My God! Deng Kai’s celebration is ridiculously cool! He just did a front flip!"
"As someone of Chinese descent, it’s hard not to associate him with China’s most famous cartoon character, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong!"
"One somersault, and the ball is in!"
"The players of Sporting Lisbon were also shocked by Deng Kai’s celebration act, as they gathered together for a fervent celebration."
"Deng Kai looked towards the stands where the fans were, the very ones that had thrown a pig’s head at him before."
"The Barcelona fans were enraged, and the stadium was filled with boos."
"Various curses flooded in, but Deng Kai just quietly watched the Barcelona fans, standing tall with his chest out, proud like a king awaiting his opponent’s surrender!"
...
The change in score touched the hearts of all Barcelona followers.
The Barcelona coaching staff immediately responded by making another substitution.
With only ten minutes left in the match, they needed to score a goal to equalize and take the game to extra time.
They had never needed a goal like they did at that moment.
So they replaced left-back Barjuan with right winger Enrique.
Upon entering, Enrique played on the right-wing, with Rivaldo on the left-wing, shifting Barcelona to a 3-4-3 formation.
In the 82nd minute, Enrique, who had just come on, fully understood the coach’s purpose for bringing him on.
To enhance the attack.
The coach had even specifically told him that he could be more aggressive since this was their home ground.
As a result, Enrique didn’t hesitate to take down Deng Kai right after coming onto the pitch.
The main referee didn’t call it as a foul, but luckily, Bento was focused enough to immediately intercept Enrique.
In the 85th minute, Enrique retaliated with a foul-like tackle on Bento.
Bento was a utility player, with fairly average skills on the ball, allowing Enrique to steal the football and bring him down.
The main referee still turned a blind eye to the foul.
Deng Kai charged straight at Enrique, intending to use a foul-like defense, even though he already had a yellow card.
You bastards can’t bully people like this!
Bang!
Enrique was lucky, he passed the ball away in advance, then deliberately bumped into Deng Kai, with lots of sneaky moves.
But since Deng Kai was already approaching with the intent to commit a foul and didn’t pull back, the clash didn’t disadvantage him; instead, Enrique ended up hurting his ribs after being elbowed by Deng Kai.
The football flew into Sporting Lisbon’s penalty area.
Barzagli and Overmars engaged in an intense contest.
Barzagli’s physicality was definitely stronger than Overmars’, and in the end, Barzagli leapt high into the air and cleared the ball ahead of time.
But in the next moment, the entire Sporting Lisbon team erupted.
Because the main referee pointed to the penalty spot, indicating that Barzagli had fouled Overmars inside the box.
A penalty kick was awarded.
Barzagli was completely dumbfounded.
First, he had not fouled Overmars at all; Overmars fell on his own after failing to squeeze past Barzagli.
Second, their contest was not even inside the penalty area; they were at least half a meter away from it.
After falling and rolling on the ground, Overmars was still mostly outside the penalty box.
How blind must one be to award a penalty kick?
"No, no, no, I didn’t foul him, and even if there was a foul, it wasn’t inside the penalty area!" Barzagli tried to argue with the main referee, but the referee paid him no mind, not caring about such an unknown player.
Barzagli turned to Overmars, who was lying on the ground, and said, "Get up, you tell the main referee whether you were in the penalty area or not!"
Barzagli was slightly agitated, and he reached out to pull Overmars up.
This gave Enrique, who had rushed over, the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
