Chapter 485: Chapter 484: The True Nature of an Assassin
Bernabéu Stadium, Florentino’s private box.
There had just been a celebration here.
After the team turned the tables on Liverpool, Florentino invited the entire squad to the box to celebrate.
And was preparing to take everyone out for a big meal.
Food wasn’t the most important thing, of course, but it did convey Florentino’s satisfaction with the players.
But as everyone was about to leave, Figo suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He turned to look at the television.
On the TV, the commentator excitedly announced, "Deng Kai! Deng Kai has replaced Tu Lei! Deng Kai is really on the field!"
Zidane noticed Figo and stopped as well.
Florentino realized everyone seemed interested in the match and simply said, "How about we finish watching the first half? It’s almost over anyway."
The players all found seats.
The same thing was happening in the box at Old Trafford Stadium, as well as on Bayern’s team bus.
Beckham: "Leverkusen has been underestimated; their offensive and defensive levels have reached the Champions League semi-finals!"
Keane: "If any one of us was on the field right now, I doubt we could change this match, could we?"
Giggs: "This Leverkusen team is terrifyingly balanced."
Effenberge: "The kid does look really good, but it’s too late. If he’d been like this in the first leg, perhaps something could’ve been different."
Kahn: "I never believe that one player can completely change the situation, not even Matthaus!"
Lizarazu: "The team is the most important thing. Leverkusen is a team, while Sporting Lisbon is not yet."
With a whistle, the game continued.
Sporting Lisbon played the ball around their back line, helping Deng Kai who had dropped back to find his footing. Kaka moved to the center, Ronaldinho went to the right, and seamlessly, they switched places with Deng Kai.
In the 43rd minute, Deng Kai received the ball with his back to the goal and executed a one-two that easily got him past Shi Naide.
Thump!
Deng Kai passed it to Ronaldo up front.
Ronaldo prepared to accelerate, but Ceberzen was ready and signaled his teammates to prepare to help defend.
Ronaldo did not opt for a solo challenge but instead knocked the ball back to Deng Kai without stopping it.
Deng Kai glanced across the field, flicked a backheel pass, skillfully splitting the ball to Matthaus on his right, while gesturing and shouting, "Through ball, left flank!"
Thump!
Without stopping the ball, Matthaus sent a through pass that split open Leverkusen’s left flank.
As soon as Ronaldo had passed back to Deng Kai, he had started making his run forward, taking Ceberzen along for the sprint.
He trusted that Deng Kai would deliver the ball up front.
Ronaldo, accelerating alongside Ceberzen, knew how to run, while Ceberzen did not.
The attacker’s advantage was immediately apparent.
Ronaldo suddenly decelerated, cutting inside without the ball, from behind Ceberzen, towards the outer edge of the left side of the box.
Lemelo, taking Lucio’s place for the day, immediately stepped up to cover.
The ball arrived, Ronaldo arrived, Lemelo arrived.
Thump!
Ronaldo with his left foot touched the ball first, nudging it to the right, continuing to cut inside.
Lemelo thought Ronaldo was going to go down the line and then cross.
That had been Ronaldo’s style until now, primarily crossing, also allowing Kaka and Ronaldinho more space to advance through the middle.
But unexpectedly, this time he decided to go it alone.
Ronaldo’s nudge took him past Lemelo.
By the time Lemelo turned and stretched out a leg to defend, Ronaldo had already caught up with the ball and took a long-range shot.
Clang!
The ball hit the far post and deflected into the net.
"GOAL!"
"Ronaldo! Ronaldo showcases his killer instinct!"
"One to nil! Sporting Lisbon have pulled back one in the aggregate score!"
"This touch and shoot, simple yet efficient! It highlights Ronaldo’s explosive power and shooting technique!"
"But that’s also because the through ball was so well placed, pulling Lemelo out of position yet just beyond his reach, and the location allowed Ronaldo to threaten from either left or right!"
"Matthaus has maintained an incredibly high level of play! There are rumors that he will retire straight from Sporting Lisbon at the end of this season! But it would really be a shame to retire at this level!"
"Of course, we must acknowledge the man orchestrating this goal, Deng Kai."
"He strolled past Shi Naide with a carefree heel pass that exuded talent."
"Particularly his cue to Matthaus! The direction of Matthaus’s through pass was exactly where Deng Kai was pointing! He spotted that rare defensive weakness in the Leverkusen team!"
"This is the impact of a top-level Insight and Commander!"
"Now, who dares to say that whether Deng Kai plays or not makes no difference?"
Huang Jianxiang is wildly praising my Kai.
He Wei is nearby, almost rolling his eyes.
Is that even worth praising?
Did your Kai score a goal, or make an assist?
Is orchestrating worth such extravagant praise?
Why hasn’t UEFA created a Champions League Orchestrator Chart?
Or an antepenultimate pass chart?
From outside the stadium, the anthem of Sporting Lisbon drifted in.
The fans of Sporting Lisbon supported their team in their steadfast way.
The look in every player of Sporting Lisbon had changed.
Now, there was no confusion in their eyes.
...
In the Bernabéu Stadium box.
Zidane asked, "Shall we... order some food here?"
Florentino laughed, "Regardless of who advances, they’re just a big gift for the semi-finals, is it worth losing sleep and forgetting to eat over?"
Zidane, rubbing his slightly balding head, said, "It’s not about losing sleep and forgetting to eat, but rather... feeling a little uneasy."
At Old Trafford Stadium.
Scholes: "They are looking more like a unit now."
Solskjaer: "Why does it feel like Leverkusen has become frail just a few minutes later?"
Van Nistelrooy: "Like a piece of paper, ready to be torn apart at any moment."
Soon, the match reached half-time.
Fifteen minutes later, both teams returned.
The players of Leverkusen had serious expressions, their coach evidently emphasized defensive issues to them.
Reminding them to pay extra attention to the newly entered Deng Kai.
On the side of Sporting Lisbon, the players’ faces were flushed, clearly having consumed a good amount of Maxa’s motivational speech.
After the second half kick-off, Sporting Lisbon quickly took possession of the ball.
In the 47th minute, Ronaldo lost the ball to a double team on the left wing.
After Shi Naide took possession of the ball, before he could launch a counter-attack, he saw Matthaus rushing toward him.
Shi Naide passed the ball to Ballack, trying to steady the pace or let Ballack take the counter.
But Matthaus flew in and got a foot to the ball.
The football spun wildly.
Ballack failed to control it properly, and the ball bounced away.
Deng Kai surged past and poked the ball away, completing the interception.
Ballack immediately chased after Deng Kai.
Novotny also came out, lunging at Deng Kai with a tackle.
Losing the ball in the back is very dangerous, even committing a foul to prevent it.
However, Deng Kai pulled off a V-cut, dodging Novotny’s slide tackle and even shouldering past Ballack.
Bang!
Deng Kai passed the ball to Drogba and blocked off two players.
Drogba, with his back to the goal, made a lateral pass to Ronaldinho and turned to run into the penalty area.
