Chapter 621: Chapter 620: Baggio’s Silhouette
The football soared over Himan’s body, flying into the upper half of the goal.
Ribery’s shooting technique wasn’t top-notch.
But his ability to shoot with both feet, coupled with his quick mind—give him space, and his shooting rivals the elite!
On the entire Manchester City team, only Ribery and Deng Kai could handle the ball this well.
If you swapped in Adriano, he’d either blast a shot that would send Campbell flying or smash one that would send Himan soaring.
Adriano, "I’m a shooter, not an assassin!"
Boom!
The Cardiff Millennium Stadium shook with a great roar.
Manchester City fans were excited for the first time.
"GOAL! Ribery! The French scarred hero Ribery!"
"This paving worker has scored the key goal to overtake Arsenal!"
"His feeling for the ball is world-class!"
"In today’s game, where pure speed is key, his performance hasn’t been outstanding."
"But he’s like a soft knife, seemingly unremarkable, yet still deadly when it really strikes!"
Four to three!
Manchester City was now the side closer to the FA Cup.
Wenger finally couldn’t hold back anymore.
He had intended to substitute Wiltord for Bogkamp.
But now, he could only switch out Kolo Toure.
343!
Arsenal reduced a defender and added a forward.
Given Wu Xudong’s attributes, this was basically a 244!
The 85th minute.
Pires delivered a 45-degree cross.
The recently substituted Wiltord, living up to the name of one of the three musketeers, seemed to have telepathy with his German teammate Pires, moving ahead of time to the right spot, heading the ball back.
Bogkamp met the ball with a surgical pass.
Wu Xudong cut inside off the ball and charged into Manchester City’s penalty area.
The man arrived.
The ball arrived.
Don’t ask why a right-back was inside the penalty area.
Kai-style wing-backs are all like this.
Peep!
The referee blew his whistle repeatedly.
The camera turned to Manchester City’s penalty area.
Wu Xudong lay on the ground, rolling in pain.
Hiero, meanwhile, buried his head.
Red card!
The referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Hiero brought down Wu Xudong in the box and received a red card-penalty kick combo!
"Hiero made the most rational choice."
"If he hadn’t done that, Wu Xudong would have definitely scored."
"There isn’t much time left in the game, it’s uncertain if a ten-man Manchester City can hold on."
Henry approached the penalty spot.
This was his fourth duel with Lehmann today.
The first time, he scored.
The second and third times, Lehmann saved his breakaways.
This time...
Boom!
The stands, filled with red and white jerseys, erupted.
Arsenal fans embraced each other, celebrating excitedly.
"GOAL! Henry scores from the penalty spot! Like Deng Kai, he’s got a brace!"
"Four to four! Arsenal equalizes in the 85th minute!"
"The situation reverses again! Manchester City is in danger!"
"Arsenal has one more player and still holds a substitution. Whether it’s the remaining few minutes or if the game really goes into extra time, Manchester City is at a disadvantage!"
Many Arsenal fans were already celebrating.
Not just celebrating the equalizer, but celebrating winning the FA Cup.
With one less player, going into extra time basically means losing.
There’s no doubt about it.
Sure enough.
The 89th minute.
Youngberg made a straight pass.
Henry made a clever run, pressing Thiago Silva as he struck the ball.
The football kicked up a spray of white foam.
Five to four!
Henry’s hat-trick!
But the next moment, the linesman raised his flag, indicating Henry was offside.
The Arsenal fans let out a sigh.
Even Wenger was visibly frustrated, complaining to the fourth official.
But at least, Wenger’s face bore a smile.
It was that feeling, if they continued to play with the same momentum, Arsenal scoring was just a matter of time.
In the ninety-first minute, Pires passed the ball back from the left flank.
Vieira once again launched a spectacular long-range shot.
However, Lehmann was like a wall of iron, denying Vieira’s attempt once more.
Chiellini headed the football away.
Deng Kai flicked the ball to Lahm.
Lahm moved the ball ready to accelerate, Wu Xudong brought him down directly, earning himself a yellow card in the process.
Applause echoed throughout the venue.
The Arsenal fans thoroughly approved of Wu Xudong’s performance.
Today, on Arsenal’s side, there were two players who performed the best.
One was Henry.
The other was Wu Xudong.
Henry was goals.
And Wu Xudong was excellence in both attack and defense!
The ninety-third minute.
Manchester City stole another chance to counter-attack.
After a series of exchanges on the flank between Deng Kai and Ribery, Ribery sent a diagonal pass to Deng Kai.
Deng Kai, from a slightly distant position on the right side, unleashed an incredible long-range world-class goal.
Batistuta goal!
Dong!
The football struck the crossbar and flew off.
Deng Kai missed a golden opportunity to clinch the game.
The camera continually focused on Deng Kai.
"Ah! Deng Kai gave his all today. But alas, his teammates were just a bit lacking... Essien’s absence has indeed had a significant impact."
"That shot was of such high quality it might even be the best long-range effort of the day. But Deng Kai was just a bit unlucky..."
"Hitting the crossbar, that’s really... kind of despairing."
"Earlier, Deng Kai said that Arsenal lacked a bit of luck this season, but now it seems his own luck isn’t much better."
"Manchester City lose the FA Cup and will not have European competition next season. Although they won the League Cup, from Deng Kai’s perspective, their season is undoubtedly a failure."
"Arsenal wins the FA Cup but lost the league title, and they also failed to make a breakthrough in Europe. They too are a failure."
"This might just be the real quandary that the Premier League is currently facing. Apart from Manchester United, there are no successful teams in the Premier League, no competitiveness in Europe!"
As the last minute ticked away, along with that missed long-range shot,
commentators around the world started to summarize the match.
The Spanish TV commentators even suggested that if Deng Kai still doesn’t win the Golden Ball at the end of the year, this missed match-winner might be the reason.
Just short.
Deng Kai was just a little short.
But considering his age of eighteen, he has actually won a lot already.
Zidane was twenty-six years old when he won the Golden Ball.
Ronaldo was nine years older than Deng Kai when he became the youngest Golden Ball winner at the age of twenty-one.
Even if not this year, Deng Kai still has two more years.
In the ninety-fourth minute, Baggio dropped back to receive the ball and lost control when tackled by Wu Xudong, who intercepted it almost immediately. Baggio made a sliding tackle right away.
On one hand, it might be regret because he failed to dribble past the opponent.
On the other, Baggio knew that with his age, he had no chance to catch up with the accelerating Wu Xudong.
He didn’t dare to gamble.
Beep!
The main referee blew his whistle and ran over.
Red card!
Baggio looked at Deng Kai, his eyes filled with apology.
Deng Kai nodded at Baggio, knowing he had done enough.
This was the first time Baggio played a full match this season.
His energy was long exhausted.
Baggio walked off the field with a regretful silhouette.
Manchester City was left with nine men.
