The perfect midfield: It starts with never passing the ball to Ronaldo.

Chapter 65 Surpassing Messi, Achieving the Youngest Hat-Trick in Champions League Knockout Stages

"Thirty-five minutes in, the home team is down by three goals!"

"Valencia's Champions League night is turning into a nightmare!"

"Tonight, the Mestalla Stadium feels like the ancient Cretaceous period, where dragons reign supreme, and the spring of mammals is nowhere in sight!!"

"Goals from two rising stars have given Porto one foot in the Champions League quarterfinals!!"

"Remember their names, José Mario!! James Rodriguez!!!"

"They will definitely have a place in the future of football!!!"

With the score changed once again, Valverde couldn't sit still any longer. He walked to the bench, ready to fight to the death.

At this score and at this point in time, defense is no longer effective; only offense can turn the tide!

However, things often don't go as planned.

A huge, basic mistake, coupled with falling behind by a large margin in a short period of time, makes for a terrible experience for the players.

Even while the forwards were warming up, Valencia's backline was already under constant threat. Varela's attacks, Mario's runs, and James' control of the tempo kept them on their toes.

In the 38th minute of the match, Varela created danger by breaking through the defense. Under pressure, the opposing defender had no choice but to commit a tactical foul.

Trailing by a large margin and then getting a Ruby God of War card, Valencia's situation is becoming increasingly difficult.

The scene shifts to the 42nd minute, where a top-heavy Valencia player struggles to pass the ball out from his own half, allowing Porto to intercept it.

After making the interception, Varela dribbled for two steps but did not make a strong breakthrough. Instead, he passed the ball to the middle.

Martinez received the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the penalty area, and the opponent immediately closed him down.

The Colombian didn't try to turn. He flicked the ball to the right with his right foot, moved his body half a step in that direction, and made a cross pass. He then quickly moved forward, trying to achieve a simple and clear one-two pass!

The opponent also clearly grasped this point, and the defenders chose to block the passing lane to the dominant foot, determined to disrupt the opponent's counterattack.

As Mario took a step forward to meet the ball, he glanced at the goal out of the corner of his eye.

Guaita stood in the center of the goal line, his center of gravity slightly to the left. Martinez's movement had caused Mathieu to lean to the right, and the goalkeeper's position had adjusted accordingly.

Mario, observing the line, did not choose to play a wall pass, but instead simply turned the ball around and faced the goal directly.

Ruiz immediately realized the danger.

But his muscle memory reacted faster than his brain, and by the time he realized he should block the shot, it was too late!

The shot's trajectory is now completely clear!

In the blink of an eye, Mario's left foot, which has no weak foot, had already made a move.

Focus your gaze on the three points in a straight line, firmly plant your supporting leg on the ground, swing your leg completely, lock your ankle, and make full contact with the ball with the instep. Your body posture goes from contraction to sudden release, and after the violent impact, it continues to extend forward in a semi-circle!

boom! !

In an instant, Ruiz's mind flashed back to the information he had received before the match.

Mario's long-range shooting ability is top-notch in Europe for his age group; you need to press him before he takes a shot!!

He had been paying close attention, but this time he really didn't expect the opponent to shoot with his left foot the moment he turned around with the ball!

With despair in the eyes of the Valencia defenders, the ball was unleashed like a sharp blade!

Without any arc or spin, the perfect burst of power coalesced into a black and white lightning bolt, shooting straight from the side of the penalty area arc towards the top left corner of the goal.

Guaita was still in a daze after being pierced three times in a row, although this time he reacted by extending his left hand with his fingertips taut!

But faced with such a high-quality long-range shot, the Bats' goalkeeper was powerless to stop it!

The ball bounced off the ground and nestled precisely into the net!

"Goal!!!!!!!!!"

"Super Mario!!!"

"A world-class goal! Another world-class goal!!!"

"A powerful long-range shot from the edge of the penalty area, Guaita had no chance against it!!!"

4-0!!!

Porto leads Valencia 4-0!!!

"hat trick!!!"

"The youngest hat-trick in Champions League knockout stage history!!!"

"18 years, 8 months, and 1 day!!!"

"José Mario Pereira has surpassed Messi (22 years, 9 months, and 14 days old)!!!"

"A hat-trick in his Champions League debut, and another hat-trick in his Champions League knockout stage debut! At eighteen, he truly deserves the title of Super Mario!!!!"

"He put on a magnificent solo performance on Mestalla's Champions League night in just forty minutes!!!!"

"Managers of wealthy companies, have your checkbooks ready?"

—[It's a pity I couldn't become the youngest player to score a hat-trick in both the Champions League group stage and knockout stage!!]

—【Damn, I never expected Messi's record to be broken by this guy. He neither dribbled nor passed!】

—【Exactly, his skill level is only good enough to rack up stats in the Portuguese league. He's worth €6000 million? They might as well buy Wu Lei from East Asia!】

—【We can bring the ball home again! Here's a ghost story: Mario is currently at the top of the scoring charts, with 8 goals scored so far.】

A goal!

—【What's the point? They beat all weak opponents. The only team with any real skill was the garbage PSG!】

—【That's right, just wait for my brother Ronaldo to overtake us, it's only 8 goals!】

—【Dude, Ronaldo, the diving legend, has never scored a hat trick in the knockout stage yet. Maybe you should rest your chin on your hand when you speak~~】

—【Mario's high score is due to taking up most of the team's shooting opportunities. If the coach weren't his uncle, could a guy with such poor stamina and weak physical strength even play well in the Champions League?】

—【Exactly, if they face a stronger opponent, they'll be exposed!!!!】

— [Hey upstairs, stop yelling. Wait until your team advances before you talk. Anyway, Porto has already secured a spot in the quarterfinals!]

The barrage of comments kept scrolling, and Mario stood at the top of the arc, where he had just taken his first step.

There was no wild celebration.

There was no shouting or taking off of clothes.

There was no passionate knee slide.

He stood there, chest puffed out, surveying Mestalla from every angle with the air of a king conquering his territory!

The oldest stadium in Spain?

Tonight, it can only serve as a backdrop for Super Mario!!

At eighteen, in the Champions League knockout stage, he scored a hat-trick in the first half. Such a memorable night perfectly matched Cantona's domineering celebration!

Soon, his teammates caught up, and Rodriguez was the first to rush over and jump onto Mario's back.

"You fucking bastard!!!"

"hat trick!!!"

"Another hat trick in the knockout stages!!!"

Another Colombian, Martinez, also rushed out of the penalty area and, using his momentum, tackled Mario to the ground.

Varela sprinted down the right flank and plunged into the crowd. Moutinho, Fernando, Otamendi, and the entire Porto team, except for goalkeeper Elton, all rushed towards the young man at the edge of the penalty area.

The blue and white jerseys were huddled together under the lights of Mestalla.

More crowded than the subway at future Premier League stadiums, Mario was at the very bottom, his face pressed against the grass, the green of Mestalla adding even more color to his jersey as he left the field.

In the stands, Ines, a key member of the support group, was so excited that she could hardly hold back her tears. She loved being the victor's accessory and decided to wear a fox tail accessory tonight to give her boyfriend an even more intense experience!

On the other side, inside Valencia's penalty area, Ruiz knelt on the ground, his hands on the grass, his head bowed low.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, one drop, two drops, three drops, hitting the blades of grass and splashing up tiny water droplets.

He just witnessed the whole thing.

Martinez passed the ball to Mario, who took a shot and the ball went into the net.

He can't do anything.

The pre-match interview declaration was severely slapped in the face. Before the first half was even over, as a defender, watching the team concede four goals was a really unpleasant feeling!

Ruiz, lacking Fu Huan's easygoing attitude, is in terrible form...

Coincidentally, he wasn't the only one experiencing such negative emotions!

After switching sides, the frustration subsided slightly thanks to the staff's intervention, but the situation in the game did not improve. Instead, their anxious mindset led them to repeatedly suffer from the Ruby God of War card.

Mario, whose stamina was at +1, was substituted early by his uncle Pereira. Despite leading by four goals, they managed to stabilize the score.

Ensuring that the team's talents are not compromised is the most important priority.

With the referee's final whistle, the match came to an end. The much-anticipated nine goals in ninety minutes did not materialize, and the scoreboard remained unchanged.

Valencia 0-4 Porto!

Mario, sitting on the bench wearing a jacket, was very satisfied with the score.

With a four-goal lead from the away leg, Porto's margin for error in the second leg at the Estádio do Dragão is incredibly high!

In the mixed zone, Mario was immediately stopped by reporters.

"José, how does it feel to break Messi's record for the youngest player to score a hat-trick in a knockout stage match?"

>