Chapter 431: Chapter 430: Ronaldo Is Just About Speed? Kaka Won’t Make Forward Runs?
The twenty-fifth minute.
Guardiola successfully intercepted Popovski’s pass to Mendieta and immediately looked for Deng Kai.
Deng Kai, without stopping the ball, turned and shot a pass directly to Kaka, deep down the left flank.
But Kaka started a bit too late.
He still wasn’t decisive enough about making forward runs.
Fortunately, his speed was sufficient, and after receiving the ball and before Pan Karo could approach, he managed to pass the ball to Ronaldo.
Pan Karo immediately turned and lunged at Ronaldo.
But after receiving the ball, Ronaldo pulled off a "zombie dribble," eliminating any chance for Pan Karo to return to his defensive position.
Then he dribbled and sped up, cutting inside and leaving Pan Karo for dead.
Pan Karo: ???
You bastard!
You clearly could have just beaten me, yet you had to put me through a whole rehab routine, aren’t you being a bit too cruel?
Facing the cutting-in Ronaldo, Nesta didn’t rush out, as he saw that Mendieta was about to return to the defensive position.
With Pan Karo’s pursuit, Ronaldo had no space to shoot.
Simeone was also on the path at the end of Ronaldo’s cut inside; if Ronaldo couldn’t shoot immediately, Simeone would be on him, and a cross wouldn’t pose much of a threat.
As solid as can be!
Bang!
After cutting inside with the ball, Ronaldo accelerated with two successive touches.
The first took him past Pan Karo, and the second completely opened the gap between them.
He also managed to edge Mendieta behind him, fully unleashing his speed.
Is this going to be...
Bang!
Ronaldo suddenly shot from the outside of the left side of the penalty area.
Nesta stretched his leg to intercept, but Ronaldo’s shooting technique had become more and more refined and he had already taken Nesta’s move into account.
So he deliberately added some curve to his shot.
He originally preferred powerful strikes.
But after seeing the effectiveness of curling shots from Kaka, he secretly started practicing them, too.
It wasn’t too stable yet, but at least the curve on this strike was quite beautiful.
The football cleared Nesta!
Cleared Stam!
Cleared Peruzzi!
Sharp turn at the far end of the goal, swerving into the net with a tremendous curl!
"GOAL! Ronaldo scores!"
"This is a pure display of individual talent!"
"Pan Karo simply can’t keep up with Ronaldo, he couldn’t even grasp the chance Ronaldo deliberately gave him!"
"This kid’s explosiveness is just too outstanding!"
"Nesta didn’t make any mistakes in this defense, but to stop this European Bronze Boot winner, not making mistakes isn’t enough. Even if you are a top defender, you’ve got to show something special!"
"Kaka gets a very profitable assist; his contribution to this goal was minimal, but the reward was significant."
"So far, Pan Karo’s performance has been awful, but this relates to the lack of support from Mendieta and Popovski."
"Two to one, Sporting Lisbon takes the lead again."
"If Lazio want to advance, they need to score two more goals."
"They need to come up with a solution! They had a good start but failed to capitalize on the time that followed."
...
"Watch Mendieta’s mood; he’s starting to get anxious. His dribbling is good, and as the offensive core, he will definitely try to solve the situation." During the celebration, Deng Kai pulled Ronaldo, Kaka, Guardiola, and others aside to discuss again.
"If there’s a chance, try to surround Mendieta, especially be careful to cut off the link between him and Popovski."
Valencia’s Mendieta is unstoppable, but Lazio’s Mendieta can be stopped.
A whale can only soar in the ocean; in a small pond, it can only be stranded.
"Me! I can join in on the encirclement too!" Feng Te volunteered eagerly.
Deng Kai looked at Feng Te but didn’t say anything.
Feng Te laughed awkwardly, "Oh, I have a yellow card, so I’ll just stay back there and definitely won’t cause any trouble for the organization."
Realizing that Deng Kai hadn’t said anything, Feng Te continued to up the ante, "Or how about I come off during the halftime break? I’m afraid this referee won’t blow the whistle and end up giving me two yellows and a red."
"Then, Young Master Kai, how about I go prepare some milk tea for you at that time?"
"Coach Maxa has been studying massage recently, and his skill with bubble milk tea has made a comeback, so I specifically went to learn how to make Assam milk tea."
Deng Kai nodded, "A small cup is fine. No football with milk tea, no milk tea with football."
Seeing Feng Te leave with a satisfied heart, Deng Kai felt much more at ease.
He’d rather have Feng Te studying how to make milk tea in the backfield than actively join in on the strong press.
That colander is huge, best not let vanity get the better of him.
Truth be told, it’s easy for Feng Te to go down when he pounces.
In the 33rd minute, the encirclement by Sporting Lisbon was silently and invisibly formed.
Guardiola, Kaka, and Deng Kai moved in together.
By the time Mendieta realized it, he had already lost the chance to pass the ball.
The only passing route to Popovski was firmly blocked by Kaka.
This position was perfectly blocked.
No wonder his name is Kaka.
Bang!
Just as Mendieta was pondering, Deng Kai suddenly lunged in with a tackle.
"Fierce Tackle" was the first player skill Deng Kai received, and to this point, it was still a skill he found fairly useful, completely compensating for his relatively weaker defensive stats.
Guardiola took the ball and immediately kicked it back to Deng Kai as he rose to his feet.
Mendieta and Deng Kai got up from the ground together, with Mendieta’s hands clawing at Deng Kai.
Deng Kai pushed Mendieta away with the back of his hand and started running forward with the ball.
Ronaldo took the lead straight down the middle, making a forward insert.
Kaka also started up on the left flank at the first opportunity.
Deng Kai carried the ball along the left side, all three arrows launched.
Ronaldo directly ran from the center toward the right flank, pulling space for Deng Kai and dragging Simeone with him.
Nesta couldn’t go after Ronaldo, so he could only press forward and block the direct passing route for Deng Kai to Ronaldo with his positioning.
However, Deng Kai shifted the ball slightly to the left, and with a simple change of direction, he got past Nesta, who was burdened with too many tasks.
Even the strongest players can be defeated by simple routines when they overthink things.
Sincerity is the only killer move.
But Nesta was different from Stam, if Stam’s only weakness was a slow turning speed, then Nesta was the perfect central defender who lacked even that weakness.
Nesta instantly turned and chased after Deng Kai, rapidly closing the distance between them.
In this moment, the hearts of all the Sporting Lisbon fans were in their throats.
With Mendieta and Pan Karo catching up and Stam coming in from the front, Deng Kai was about to be entrapped by four players in a coordinated press.
This situation was very much like when Mendieta was dispossessed in a tough spot.
But...
Bang!
Freedom made Deng Kai’s thoughts even quicker, he passed the ball in the direction of Ronaldo, in a manner that seemed like a cross or shot.
But his left foot, the supporting foot, took a very wide step on the last stride, making it difficult to form a shot or to pass forward to the right.
However, it was very convenient to pass forward to the left.
The football rolled toward the left side of the penalty area.
In the middle and right side of the penalty area, there were more than seven players gathered.
However, there was no one on the left side of the penalty area.
No!
There was one person.
In the green and white jersey, a graceful young player arrived galloping, swift as a shooting star.
