Chapter 741: Chapter 740: Alvarado, Your Emperor is Back
And what the assistant coach least expected was that their head coach Mr. Trigella had already walked up to the sideline, making eye contact with Deng Kai.
Trigella: "Sub him out?"
Deng Kai: "No need."
Trigella: "Deco was the core in the first two games, he’s gotten a bit used to playing as the core, and can’t change back so quickly."
Deng Kai: "He’s playing well, let’s keep it as is for now, I’ll work with him."
Trigella: "That means you’ll have to assist him then, sorry for the inconvenience."
Deng Kai: "It’s fine, I started out assisting CR7 anyway."
Ronaldo: "???"
Ronaldo: "What does that mean? Am I doing badly now?"
Deng Kai: "Of course not, second place in the Community Shield, second in the FA Cup, fourth in the Premier League, League Cup fourth..."
Ronaldo: "Go to your mom’s!"
...
By the twelfth minute, Ronaldo actively moved to the wing to ask for the ball, then after a series of feints, he delivered a cross.
The football was deflected behind for a corner.
Ronaldo smiled slightly.
Corner, isn’t it!
That’s the real strength of the Premier League’s best wide midfielder!
Then Ronaldo saw Deng Kai heading towards the corner flag area, shaking his head.
It meant that the cross wasn’t quite up to par.
A true master wouldn’t have his crosses blocked, right?
Bang!
Deng Kai took the corner.
Kilop, influenced by Helguera, headed the ball over the bar.
Helguera had really stepped up this season.
Saying he was shouldering the Real Madrid defense wouldn’t be an overstatement.
If not for him, the Galacticos might have well nosedived this year.
In the nineteenth minute.
Ronaldo repeated his trick, pulling to the left flank once more.
Deng Kai, however, moved towards the center and slightly retreated towards midfield, stepping out of Helguera’s defensive zone into the border of Helguera and Baraja’s.
Helguera gave a slight smile, since Deng Kai was a midfielder after all—he was still inclined to take up positions in the midfield rather than push up front like a forward.
It was at this moment.
Deng Kai, having retreated several steps, suddenly burst forward, accelerating.
Baraja, who was preparing to come back and defend, was instantly left behind.
Helguera’s hairs stood on end—this was a blitz to break through the defensive line!
Bang!
Ronaldo on the wing delivered a diagonal pass straightaway.
Helguera tried to intercept Deng Kai, but Deng Kai had already gained speed with his explosive power, leaving Helguera, the old car, in the dust.
Left side of the box, Deng Kai chased down the football before it reached the baseline.
Ronaldo’s pass was a bit too hard.
Ronaldo: "???"
Deng Kai didn’t settle the ball in place, but instead flicked the football along the baseline.
Puyol, who came from behind trying to tackle, ended up kicking at air.
Puyol, adhering to the principle that the ball can pass but the man cannot, put his weight into a collision with Deng Kai.
Deng Kai was pushed out of bounds.
But the next moment, Deng Kai used the force of the collision to accelerate outside the baseline, quickly shaking off Puyol.
Overtaking on the outside!
Barging into the box!
Deng Kai rushed towards the six-yard box, veering slightly to the right to create an angle, making sure he wasn’t parallel with the goal.
But this shooting angle was probably less than ten degrees.
Deng Kai turned his head to the right, looking toward the far post, behind Maniche was the incoming Figo, and to the left was Rui Costa making a frontal run.
Outside the area, Deco was lurking, ready to take a long shot.
All three passing routes could create a dangerous opportunity.
So...
Bang!
Deng Kai took a cold shot!
No-look shooting!
Casillas was almost electrified standing on the spot, for he intended to jump ahead to save the goal and was even ready to leap. Though he seemed motionless, his center of gravity was prepared for the save.
Whether Deng Kai passed to Figo or Rui Costa, Casillas would have been able to control the football.
And the position he stood in nearly blocked off every shooting angle thoroughly.
However, Deng Kai didn’t pass.
The King of Assists in Europe didn’t pass!
The world’s number one midfielder wouldn’t pass the ball!
Damnit!
What’s the difference between him and Ronaldo?
The football almost grazed Casillas’s heel as it tunneled into the goal.
This was the only path for the football to enter the goal.
There was probably a mere three to five degrees of shooting angle, with virtually no margin for error.
Yet, Deng Kai still managed to score.
This level of precision is genuinely terrifying.
This shooting skill... top five in the world?
Casillas felt somewhat disheartened and also a bit angry.
Helguera and Puyol were too easily beaten by Deng Kai.
Focus!
How many times have I said it, this is Deng Kai, the world’s number one player!
Zidane and Ronaldo, the two of you are familiar with him, aren’t you?
This is the peak form of Zidane or Ronaldo!
But Casillas’s shouts went unanswered.
Because at the same time, Estádio Alvalade exploded instantaneously!
The super cheers exceeding 120 decibels drowned out everything else, and the stadium seemed to face its doomsday.
The Portuguese acted as if they had never seen a goal before.
"GOAL!"
"One to zero!"
"Portugal and Spain are playing tensely; both teams have been aggressive in the first ten minutes, with either side likely to score!"
"But it’s Deng Kai, playing his first game back on the field and for the Portugal national team, who broke the deadlock at the 19th minute!"
"He devoured Helguera! Overtook Puyol with an outside line! He took a no-look shot, deceiving Machini! He scored from a zero-angle, blasting one past Casillas!"
"It’s him! Portugal’s team has finally awaited their true savior!"
"The Portuguese haven’t waited in vain for all these days!"
"Listen to the cheers of the crowd!"
"All fans are shouting the name of Deng Kai."
"Here is Estádio Alvalade! This is where miracles set sail!"
"Follow me in calling out the title he holds here!"
The stadium announcer was extraordinarily excited. He was the announcer from Deng Kai’s time at Sporting Lisbon.
He had seen the pinnacle of the world here!
The next moment, all the fans in the stadium shouted in unison, the decibels soared to 130:
"The King of Alvalade!"
At that moment, the whole world felt the pressure emanating from this Portuguese team.
More precisely, the pressure from Deng Kai.
This is the world’s number one!
The Spaniards were afraid.
Despite their fierce exterior, they no longer dared to give the Portuguese players any chance to perform.
Because they feared that once these players had their moment, they couldn’t be suppressed.
In the 22nd minute, Ronaldo was brought down in the box, rolling around for quite a while.
The main referee didn’t blow the whistle.
In the 23rd minute, Figo was brought down on the right wing; the main referee sternly warned Alberta.
In the 26th minute, Rui Costa retaliated for his younger brother, going in with a hard tackle on Vicente and receiving a yellow card.
In the 34th minute, Etxeberria made a cross from the bottom.
Morientes flicked the ball with his head, creating a deadly opportunity.
Raul’s volley shot in the center hit Carvalho, missing a golden scoring opportunity.
In the 37th minute.
Baraja connected with Vicente, who performed a spin move to bypass Deco, who wasn’t good at defense.
But the next moment, Deng Kai, who tracked back, threw himself into a tackle and completed a beautiful defense.
Compared to a normal winger, Deng Kai retreated much more, resembling more of a wide midfielder.
