Chapter 373: Chapter 372: The Westphalian Miracle
"Gerard is not facing a fifteen-year-old trainee from Liverpool’s youth team, but Deng Kai, the best player of this season’s Portugal Primeira Liga! Any slight mistake he makes could be seized by Deng Kai!"
"Deng Kai’s greatest move dominating the Portugal Primeira Liga is his super-fast passing!"
"Liverpool’s lead has been reduced to just one goal, they must be fully focused now."
"If Lisbon Athletics really manage to equalize the score, then Liverpool will set a record they do not wish to remember, which is having a three-goal lead in a final-level match, yet still being drawn!"
"Does Huo Li’er need to make some adjustments to the game?"
"No adjustments! Huo Li’er sits on the coach’s bench with a calm demeanor, it seems he still trusts his players on the field."
"Earlier we heard that Huo Li’er had some special arrangements during the half-time break, but the specifics are still being dug into. What happens in the locker rooms after the match will definitely be a focal point of attention."
"Infighting and brawls in Lisbon Athletics’ locker room and special arrangements in Liverpool’s locker room both sound very intriguing."
As the match resumed, Liverpool’s players clearly found that the game was slipping out of their control.
The Lisbon Athletics players were like they had been injected with chicken blood, their athleticism was even stronger than in the first half.
Even Liverpool fans expressed hopes that the International Anti-Doping Association would test the Lisbon Athletics players."
It’s hard to believe this is just the power of spirit.
To expect the horse to gallop without feeding it grass goes against common sense and could only happen to emotional animals.
The sixty-third minute.
Deng Kai passed the ball to Quaresma and looked for an opportunity.
Gerard shadowed Deng Kai closely, not giving him any room to maneuver.
On the other side, receiving the ball, Quaresma dribbled on the right flank, using twists and turns to shake off Boge. He tried to eat Carragher alive after knocking the ball through.
Carragher retreated solidly.
But Quaresma took the opportunity to switch control from his left to right foot out in front, cutting inside.
Changing direction with the football right in front of you is very prone to being intercepted by the opponent.
Basketball players will understand this better.
However, Carragher’s outstretched leg fell ten centimeters short of the football.
Retreating, there wasn’t much more he could do.
Bang!
Quaresma chipped the ball with his left foot and dashed to the right, beautifully splitting the defense.
Carragher couldn’t keep up with the ball and tried to pull on Quaresma.
If Quaresma moved in the same direction as the football, he would definitely be caught by Carragher.
But since Quaresma went the other way, it put Carragher in a tough spot, who couldn’t exert any force.
It was like when you are about to throw a right hook, and the other person leans right onto your right arm.
Thump!
The powerless Carragher was brought straight down by the power-run from Quaresma.
Countless spectators in the stands gasped!
"He’s past him! Quaresma has dribbled past Carragher with a beautiful feint and cut inside!"
"There is a disparity even among youthful storms! The quality difference in Liverpool’s tiny youthful storm is too big, Owen, Gerard, and Carragher are completely different levels of players."
"Owen is a world-class superstar, having broken into the top ten of the World Footballer of the Year in 1998, and he’s even stronger than he was three years ago."
"Gerard is at the star-player level, able to start for a top club."
"Carragher, on the other hand, is only at the level of the big five European leagues; at a top club, he can only be a rotational player."
"Too great a disparity leads to a waste of resources; theoretically, a barrel can only hold as much water as its shortest plank allows."
"But it’s different for Lisbon Athletics. Whether it’s Quaresma, Ronaldo, or Deng Kai, they are all at the star-player level. They have better chemistry, able to engage in fuller chemical reactions, triggering a qualitative shift in the team’s strength!"
Bang!
While the commentator was explaining, Quaresma passed the ball back to Deng Kai on the right flank.
Deng Kai pushed Gerard with both hands, and the latter was completely caught off guard by the strength of Deng Kai, losing his position in an instant.
Bang!
Deng Kai took a long shot, which boasted both power and precision.
However, Liverpool’s goalkeeper Westerweld put on a superhuman performance and miraculously tipped Deng Kai’s world-class shot over the baseline.
Liverpool’s ability to come this close to the treble this season wasn’t due to a handful of players performing well, but the entire team’s standout performance.
The Liverpool fans cheered loudly, celebrating their narrow escape.
Deng Kai gestured for Viana to take the corner kick with him.
At the whistle’s blow, Deng Kai played a tactical corner kick, lightly pushing the football to Viana, who was beside him.
Viana met the ball and crossed it.
This wasn’t a complex routine; many teams had this kind of tactical corner kick in their playbook.
The point of this type of corner kick was to disrupt the rhythm.
It turned one corner kick attack into two.
It didn’t seem to make much difference.
But it created chaos in the penalty area.
In this chaos, the resolute players could gain a bigger advantage.
Bang!
Deng Kai’s feint at the corner kick was the first feint.
Feng Te and Ronaldo leaped high in a position where they couldn’t reach the ball, forcing Liverpool to defend, which was the second feint.
The football’s true landing spot was near Drogba.
Happia realized this, desperately contesting Drogba.
However, a figure suddenly emerged in front of them.
Barzagli!
The centre-back from Italy’s lower leagues.
The best defender in the primeira liga this season!
As he jumped up, he even muttered, "To hell with the red wine!"
Clang!
The football struck the underside of the crossbar, then plummeted into the net.
Everyone in the stadium was stunned.
Even Barzagli himself couldn’t believe it.
"GOAL! A miracle! A miracle has happened!"
"Three to three! Lisbon Athletics has equalized the score with a tactical corner kick!"
"This is madness! Three allowed, three chased! This is definitely the most exciting match of the season!"
"Eleven minutes! It’s been only eleven minutes since Lisbon Athletics scored their first goal, and this young team from the primeira liga has scored three goals in eleven minutes."
"The treble! Lisbon Athletics is moving towards the club’s first ever European treble!"
"A miracle is happening at Westerweld, and regardless of the outcome of this match, people will remember the fighting spirit of Lisbon Athletics!"
"Barzagli has done it! Two hundred thousand euros! Lisbon Athletics brought him in this season for only two hundred thousand euros!"
"Happia was fixated on Drogba, but he neglected that Barzagli too is a major threat in the penalty area!"
"Liverpool has been too careless! The primeira liga had already given Liverpool the correct answer, this was an open-book test but Liverpool just couldn’t get it right!" lamented Fan Zhiyi.
Huang Jianxiang was puzzled, "What open-book test?"
