Chapter 91: Chapter 91: I’m Pretending (43 hours countdown to launch!)
"It’s really rare to see this, as the team’s midfield core, Deng Kai hasn’t touched the ball once since the second half began!"
"What is he doing? Is his positioning... is he avoiding the ball?"
"Yes, it’s positioning, not running; he can’t run at all anymore."
"I can understand Deng Kai; having the football come to him now is dangerous, he doesn’t even have the strength to pass it out in time. He’s completely unable to help the team now; disappearing is his final aid to the team!"
"Maxa should make a substitution, taking Deng Kai out would be good for everyone."
On the pitch, a strange scene unfolded.
Although the football was on the left side, the camera kept focusing on Deng Kai over on the right.
Through his positioning, he was avoiding any potential passes from his teammates to himself.
He always hid behind the opposing players, preventing his teammates from having a line to pass to him.
The scene was both amusing and bittersweet.
After all, Deng Kai was the youngest player in the match and the shortest.
"How are you doing? You used to recover quickly, didn’t you?" Ronaldo asked Deng Kai about his condition during a dead ball.
Deng Kai’s face was pale, and he spoke weakly: "Almost there."
Ronaldo: "Then why are you pretending to be dying?"
Deng Kai: "So I should go tell them I can run again and they should hurry up and defend against me?"
"Don’t spout nonsense, if there’s a chance later on just race them on the wing; they’re low on stamina over there too. Be bold, be decisive, don’t freaking pedal your ’electric shock bike,’ just plow through!"
Ronaldo cursed and muttered.
You’re the electric shock bike!
Fuck!
That’s called a spinning bike! Body feints! They’re deceptive to the opponent!
You don’t know a thing!
...
The 118th minute.
Schweinsteiger sent in a cross from the flank.
Sporting Lisbon’s left center-back, Angelo, overpowered Bayern’s forward and cleared the football to the edge of the penalty area.
Lahm received the ball, planning to distribute it to the flank again.
"Be careful!"
Schweinsteiger raised his voice to warn.
Lahm realized it.
But it was too late; he had already prepared to pass, and the football was beyond his immediate control.
Bang!
A foot from behind hooked the football away.
"It’s Deng Kai!"
"Deng Kai made a key interception!"
"Lahm organizing an attack from that position is a serious threat!"
"But who would have thought that Deng Kai, who had been paralyzed for over ten to twenty minutes, suddenly came back to life!"
"Lahm was completely unaware of Deng Kai’s threat."
"Lahm might have known Deng Kai was nearby but wasn’t overly vigilant against him because Deng Kai had previously liked to hide near Bayern’s players to avoid passes from his own teammates."
"Lahm thought Deng Kai was habitually avoiding, but he overlooked that Deng Kai had the energy to launch a sudden challenge."
Lahm turned immediately and pounced towards Deng Kai.
Bang!
Deng Kai didn’t give Lahm a chance to regain possession and kicked the football straight to the right wing.
Ronaldo had the ball, dribbling and accelerating immediately!
The CR supercar emerged out of nowhere!
Bayern had been circling around Sporting Lisbon for a while, and now their defense was exposed; Ronaldo’s acceleration was practically unstoppable.
Moreover, he didn’t cut inside, driving down the flank the whole time. Bayern’s players, eager to position themselves in the center, were utterly unable to intercept him on the flank.
Everyone was watching Ronaldo.
But Lahm was watching Deng Kai.
Deng Kai was making a run forward!
He wanted to support Ronaldo!
Lahm gritted his teeth and rushed towards Deng Kai, unable to let go of the lost possession.
Devious guy!
Feigning weakness!
However, to Lahm’s astonishment, he couldn’t shorten the distance to Deng Kai quickly.
Deng Kai’s speed wasn’t much slower than Lahm’s!
This...
"His stamina is better than mine!" Lahm came to a shocking conclusion.
Stamina affects all attributes of a person.
Lahm’s speed had decreased due to stamina drain.
Yet, the same situation didn’t seem as apparent with Deng Kai.
Lahm couldn’t help but wonder just how long Deng Kai’s stamina bar actually was?
The two of them dashed past the halfway line, one after the other.
Deng Kai suddenly veered to the right.
He was going to link up with Ronaldo.
Lahm hesitated for a moment before choosing to sprint back directly into the penalty area, abandoning Deng Kai.
When participating in defense, one must opt for the middle if possible and avoid the wings; this is the most mature decision when facing a counter-attack.
Boom!
Ronaldo, seeing Deng Kai approaching, decisively played the ball back to him before continuing to sprint down the flank.
The Bayern left-back was forced to follow Ronaldo to the wing.
If he didn’t, Deng Kai would certainly pass the ball to Ronaldo.
Even though there were no Sporting players in the penalty area at the moment, Ronaldo was still extremely threatening even with the ball on the flank.
He could totally drive to the end line and storm into the penalty area; and once inside, whether it be breaking through, shooting, passing, or earning a penalty, what couldn’t Ronaldo do?
You simply couldn’t let him go!
Now, only two center-backs remained in front of Deng Kai.
One of the center-backs rushed out.
After receiving the ball, Deng Kai immediately played it back to Lorenzo who was charging up from behind.
After taking the ball, Lorenzo saw Ronaldo come back and ask for it again.
Lorenzo decisively moved to the right and passed to Ronaldo.
Meanwhile, Deng Kai shielded the approaching center-back, and the two engaged in light physical contact outside the penalty area on the right.
Deng Kai braced against his opponent with his arm.
The Bayern center-back, already wary of Deng Kai’s depleted energy, feared that if he exerted force, Deng Kai would fall, resulting in a free-kick in a dangerous position, which would be a bad deal.
So he didn’t apply force.
Boom!
After Ronaldo received the ball, he once again knocked it to Deng Kai, then resumed his relentless sprint down the wing, pulling the Bayern left-back with him.
The football rolled toward him.
The Bayern center-back started to exert force at this moment, attempting to disrupt Deng Kai’s reception of the ball.
Deng Kai used his back to fend off the center-back, continuously exerting force with his hands to barely hold his ground.
Boom!
When the football arrived, Deng Kai, with his back to the goal, didn’t control the ball but deflected it with the outside of his left foot.
The ball passed underneath the center-back’s legs beside Deng Kai.
Simultaneously, after flicking the ball, Deng Kai turned to the right, slipping past like an eel, completing a maneuver to separate himself from the ball and the defender.
He broke into the penalty area!
The other Bayern center-back immediately shifted over to cover.
Both he and Deng Kai could possibly reach the football.
Boom!
In the end, it was Deng Kai who got to the ball near the penalty spot first.
The football flew past the center-back in front of him.
And with a slight side-step, Deng Kai burst past the other side of the center-back.
A split dribble again!
From the right outside of the penalty area to after the penalty spot, it was virtually the blink of an eye.
Deng Kai’s consecutive split dribbles left the spectators in awe!
Watching the game on his computer, Robben was stunned.
This... what kind of sorcery is this?
He didn’t have such smooth dribbling skills when playing against me.
How did he suddenly explode in this match?
Could it be... they held back when playing against me?
I’m not worthy of Deng Kai’s full effort?
Am I, am I trash?
Enraged, Robben picked up a metal rod next to him, wanting to smash the computer.
...
One-on-one!
Deng Kai is through on goal!
Facing the charging Bayern goalkeeper, his mind was tranquil.
His current position didn’t allow enough time for a lob; the distance was too short.
And the Bayern goalkeeper had already made a move to dive to the left, covering the near post.
Thus, Deng Kai would definitely aim for the far post.
But why was the opponent so certain about diving at the near post?
The answer lied in...
The formation of the other players when Deng Kai passed back to Lorenzo flashed through his mind.
Ding!
A bolt of lightning struck in Deng Kai’s brain.
He found it!
He discovered the reason why the Bayern goalkeeper was only covering the near post!
