Chapter 577: Chapter 576: Lightning Goal, the King of Substitutes
Ronaldo rushed towards Hierro immediately.
But Hierro’s position was rather deep, he observed the movements of his teammates, and then launched a long pass.
Bang!
Hierro completed the long pass before Ronaldo could get to him.
The football flew towards the right side.
Tu Lei’s forward run created space for Ribery.
Ribery gained control of the football successfully.
Phil didn’t go for the tackle against Ribery, he chose to play it safe.
It was not certain that Ribery could perfectly control the ball.
After controlling it, if Phil had intercepted, then Giggs would’ve been back to defend.
Bang!
A "Rabona" move to get past the opponent.
Ribery nutmegged Phil.
He drove the ball towards the endline.
In the middle, Adriano and Tu Lei, who was repositioning, both charged into the penalty area.
Baggio was quick as well.
Deng Kai was also not far from the top of the arc.
Bang!
Ribery sent a cross.
Adriano held his position inside the box and collided fiercely with Ferdinand.
This season, with Ferdinand’s arrival, the quality of Manchester United’s defense had significantly improved.
People were saying that both Ronaldo up front and Ferdinand at the back were incredibly successful signings.
Besides, Ferdinand’s defensive awareness was way beyond that of the average English center-back, and his physicality was also explosively powerful.
But this time, Adriano actually withstood Ferdinand’s charge.
Bang!
Adriano did a flick and turn, shaking off Ferdinand.
As the summer’s top transfer, Ferdinand was not to be underestimated. His physicality was not completely ineffective; influenced by his collision, Adriano stumbled after the flick.
With Adriano’s large frame, he momentarily seemed to be trailing the football.
To the side, O’Shea rushed over and executed a sliding tackle to try clearing the ball.
But...
Bang!
A figure burst between Adriano and O’Shea, unleashed a shot, and then got taken down by O’Shea.
The football went straight into the net.
This figure rolled over on top of O’Shea, but quickly flipped over to get up.
"GOAL! A lightning strike!"
"Manchester City has scored a lightning-fast goal! Deng Kai helps the team with a rapid strike!"
"Adriano delivered a beautiful assist. Even though it might not have been his intent, to do this under the watch of the Premier League’s most expensive defender is no easy feat."
"Deng Kai’s run forward was very timely! O’Shea’s defense came a bit too late... O’Shea received a yellow card! The main referee clearly thought his slide was a dangerous action."
"Manchester City takes the lead! Manchester City is one-nil up against Manchester United!"
"This is Manchester City! Before the game, people were saying there’s only one Man in Manchester, but now it seems Deng Kai is the ’manlier’ one!"
"The King of Manchester never hesitates! Could Deng Kai truly be crowned king today?"
The camera focused on Deng Kai.
The Manchester City players were huddled together in celebration.
Then the camera shifted to Ronaldo.
Ronaldo looked dumbfounded, "This is the defense’s fault, why blame me? Idiots!"
This shot was very expressive.
Because with this goal, Deng Kai once again caught up with Henry, now tied for first in the Premier League’s top scorers list.
And Manchester United’s two star strikers, Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy, could only follow behind them.
In the stands at Maine Road Stadium, the Manchester City fans were singing and dancing.
While the Manchester United fans could only twist their mouths in disappointment.
The fifth minute.
Ronaldo, Scholes, and Beckham suddenly rushed forward, the three of them joining forces to besiege Manchester City’s defense line.
Van Nistelrooy halted Chiellini’s pass back to the goalkeeper.
Lehmann proactively moved to the right side of the penalty area to provide support.
However, Chiellini was not as composed as he looked, and his panicked pass back was underpowered.
Ronaldo immediately dashed towards the football.
Lehmann’s charge out was not decisive; he did not continue racing towards the football to compete with Ronaldo in speed.
Instead, he slowed down to prepare for a save.
On the sideline, Guardiola shook his head.
According to Deng Kai’s tactical requirements, Lehmann had to commit to his charge out.
Even if he ended up losing to Ronaldo’s speed, he couldn’t just give up halfway.
In this aspect, Cech was currently implementing it very well.
Of course, therefore Cech got blasted.
As for Lehmann, Deng Kai had no expectations of him; you couldn’t expect a 33-year-old veteran to change his playing habits.
That was unrealistic.
Bang!
Ronaldo, having caught up with the football, did not pause at all, and directly executed a lob shot without stopping the ball.
The football sailed over Lehmann’s head and flew into Manchester City’s goal, effortlessly.
This was Ronaldo’s confidence in his shooting ability.
Near the penalty spot, Van Nistelrooy, who was asking for the ball with his arms outstretched, was somewhat speechless, but he quickly adjusted his attitude and joined Ronaldo in celebrating the goal.
Van Nistelrooy’s position was obviously better.
If Ronaldo had passed the ball, Van Nistelrooy would have had an open goal to shoot at.
Of course, from Ronaldo’s perspective... holy shit, an open gap in the defense! This shot must pass through, so why pass at all?
Van Nistelrooy: Yeah, yeah, yeah, just ask how many people are guarding you, and isn’t it an open space?
"One to one! Manchester United is truly Manchester United! This is the power of the Premier League leaders."
"Less than five minutes after conceding a goal, a lob shot by Ronaldo helped the team equalize."
"This saw both of the former Sporting Lisbon stars score. It’s hard not to feel nostalgic; they’re a blaze of glory together and a sky full of stars apart."
"It’s not just Deng Kai and Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Ronaldinho, Quaresma from Inter, Viana from Inter, Drogba from Marseille, and Ibrahimovic from Ajax are all having a standout season."
"Apart from Kaka at AC Milan who has to sit on the bench waiting for opportunities due to too many superstars playing in the same position, the young Lisbon brigade is doing quite well."
"Of course, Feng Te is no different than when he was at Lisbon, still sitting on the bench for a long time, about to gather dust."
Feng Te: ???
Feng Te: Nonsense, I’m already the king of the bench; where else can I go, brother... I can’t compete with Kai for the throne, can I?
The sixteenth minute.
Deng Kai delivered a lofted pass to Adriano who had pulled out of the penalty area.
Ferdinand’s defensive instincts were very sharp; he followed Adriano out, applying physical pressure on him.
Adriano’s back-heel pass was affected, and it wasn’t well executed.
As a result, the football didn’t reach Ribery, who was following up, within the anticipated area.
Ribery had already programmed himself to shoot without stopping the ball, so naturally, he couldn’t aim any higher.
With a forced shot, lacking power, Barthez easily caught it.
Manchester United fans let out jeers, mocking Ribery’s shot.
The twenty-seventh minute.
Beckham made a cross-field pass that sent the football from the right flank to the left flank.
Giggs held the ball on the wing.
Ronaldo actively moved wide asking for the ball.
After passing to Ronaldo, Giggs moved laterally, stretching play into the channel.
This created significant difficulties for Essien’s defense.
Bang!
Ronaldo started the step-overs, taking on Maicon one-on-one.
Two seconds later, Ronaldo suddenly cut inside, breezing past Maicon.
Maicon, chasing after Ronaldo, wore a look of disbelief.
As a former teammate, he of course knew Ronaldo was going to cut inside.
But it was too fast.
