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

Chapter 89 Heavy Artillery Deterrence + Genius Creativity; Pure Data Manipulation?

Approximately 23 meters from the goal, on the left, an excellent position.

Juventus's defensive wall is being arranged in a tense manner, with Pogba, Chiellini, Bonucci, and Barzagli standing in front of the ball, forming a black and white wall.

Buffon stood on the goal line, hands on his hips, his eyes sharp as a falcon's, observing every detail to find out who the real penalty taker was.

Moutinho stood directly in front of the ball, hands on his hips, with a calm expression.

Mario was on the left side of the ball, his eyes fixed on the goal.

The referee blew his whistle!

The Estádio do Dragão held its breath, all 70,000 eyes fixed on Moutinho.

The Porto captain started his run-up, which was slow, almost like he was taking a stroll towards the ball.

Buffon leaned slightly to the left, preparing to dive for Moutinho's shot.

The Juventus players inside the wall were ready to jump.

Then it wasn't a shot.

It's a gentle push.

The ball rolled half a meter to the left, heading towards Mario.

"It really was him!"

"This data manipulation is ridiculous!!"

"It happened the same way when they played Paris Saint-Germain last time!!"

Although Moutinho was still charging forward, this was the first reaction of Juventus fans and players!

Lean to the side, spread your arms, and swing your right leg backward.

The three-piece shooting kit is in place.

Soon, the swinging right leg struck the ball!

The human wall jumped at that instant!

But they soon realized they were wrong!

The moment Mario's right foot landed, his ankle suddenly shifted.

The shot turned into a sideways pass, and the ball rolled from the eighteen-year-old's feet to the right, into an area that everyone had overlooked.

Rodriguez!

There was nothing but empty space in front of me!

Juventus players didn't even set up a defense here!

boom! ! !

The ball hurtled towards the goal like a cannonball!

Its trajectory was straight and powerful, like a bolt of lightning heading straight for the bottom left corner of the goal!

Buffon realized what was happening at that moment, and his body darted from right to left, but it was too late!

Swish!

The ball went into the net!

Porto 2 (1): 0 (1) Juventus "Goal!!!!!!!!!"

Goal!

"Rodriguez scores with a long-range shot from a free kick!"

"Moutinho gently pushes the ball, Mario feints a shot and then passes it to Rodriguez, who is unmarked and fires a long-range shot into the net!"

"A perfect collaboration! A brilliant idea!"

"Hehehehe! That free kick was so clever!"

"Everyone thought Mario was going to shoot, the wall jumped, and Buffon moved in that direction, but he just passed the ball across to the unmarked Rodriguez!"

"Juventus' defense was completely fooled! Completely fooled!"

"Mario's assist!"

"A header that found the back of the net, and a deadly assist!"

"The 18-year-old Portuguese prodigy delivered a flawless performance, sending Juventus to the brink of elimination!"

—【Whose subordinate is this? He's fucking smart!!!】

—[Mario scores and assists in the first half; he's truly a big-game player!!]

—【Big stage my foot! He's clearly a stat padder. If he swapped assists with Moutinho, he'd be the captain, wouldn't he?】

—【Haha, you saw right through him. As a midfielder, he doesn't know how to create scoring opportunities; he just spends all his time padding his stats~】

—【Yes, and they just don't understand. Why do you, a midfielder, need to score so many goals? Don't you know you should be providing more assists?】

—【He's got 5 assists in the Champions League now, second only to Ibrahimovic who's already gone home~】

—【11 ​​goals and 5 assists, this guy is terrifying, I feel like he's worth hundreds of millions~】

—【Juventus got completely outplayed; the free kick was full of twists and turns, and Bonucci even got a yellow card. The rest of the game will be even more difficult!!】

—【It's alright, the aggregate score is 3-1, Juventus only needs to score two more goals to advance directly~】

—【Indeed, you could say this was a goal that didn't have much impact!!】

The home team fans in the stands had completely lost control.

With a two-goal lead, is advancing to the Champions League semi-finals still a long way off?

"PORTO!"

"PORTO!"

The fans' shouts grew even louder, and at that moment it seemed as if a giant dragon was circling in the sky above the stadium, staring intently at its opponent, ready to devour it!

Meanwhile, the away fans were glued to the big screen, their eyes fixed on the radiant smile on the face of the 22nd player.

Young General No. 1

At 18, in the two legs of the Champions League quarter-finals, he scored a world-class goal, a header, and an assist!

This is absolutely a display of his offensive talent to the world by stepping on the Zebras' heads!

A 70-year-old football fan with gray hair reminisced about the geniuses he had admired in his youth.

Platini, Maradona, Ronaldo, Zidane, Del Piero, Pirlo—at their age, they weren't much different, were they?

Mario's raw skill level isn't high enough yet, so any comparisons at this point can only be made with one prerequisite in mind.

Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, he will be able to get those old guys who have witnessed the long history of football to say something.

"I think Mario might be stronger than Pelé~"

Pereira stood with his arms crossed over his chest in the technical area on the sidelines.

He wanted to smile, but reason told him he couldn't!

He can't let the players relax too much before the game is over.

Against a Serie A powerhouse, you must remain focused for the entire 90 minutes!

At this point in time, it's true that they were leading by one goal, but if Juventus scored two goals, they could complete a comeback based on away goals.

Hold on!

We must remain calm, focus on defense, and pay attention to every detail!

On the other side, a desperate flame ignited in Conte's eyes.

He nearly roared himself hoarse on the sidelines, waving his arms wildly like a flag in a storm.

At this moment, the team must go all out!

attack!

Offense is the only way to change the situation!

Pirlo became the absolute helmsman of Juventus' counterattack, precisely guiding the black and white tide with every touch of the ball, surging towards Porto's half of the penalty area.

Pogba, the tall warhorse, completely broke free of the reins that were guarding him. With his towering physique of over 1.9 meters and the agility of his feet, he repeatedly and ruthlessly charged at the blue and white city walls.

A powerful shot, a precise lob pass, a long-range through ball!

He used his weapons one by one!

But the Porto people, united in purpose, are not so easily defeated.

The young talents of the Portuguese giants are looking forward to showcasing their abilities in the semi-finals!

He risked his life to block the gun barrel, fell to the ground to intercept, and frantically held his position!

Everyone put in 200% effort!

The halftime whistle blew, but the score remained unchanged!

The players were resting in the locker room, while the Porto fans in the stands were not taking a break.

They are facing off against the Juventus away team!

It's okay if your voice becomes hoarse!

The roar of tens of thousands of people completely overwhelmed their opponents, and they used their local dialects to build the final battle drums to welcome the remaining forty-five minutes.

After the break, every move Pirlo made and every sprint Pogba made kept their hearts racing.

But time is the best healer, soothing the hearts of fans every second!

For Juventus, the passage of time is more like dripping lava, scalding their hearts with anxiety.

Increasingly simple offensive tactics, and an ever-advancing defensive line.

Pogba made a mistake this time!

He held onto the ball for too long, and faced double coverage from the home team, attempting to break free using his individual skills.

"Get past him,"

"Get past him again, then shoot!!"

He wanted to prove himself, to save face, and to show that eighteen-year-old Portuguese boy who the real genius was.

But he overestimated himself!

After a 20-minute onslaught in the second half, his pace slowed down somewhat!

In that split second of his hesitation, Otamendi made a precise tackle on the ball!

Pogba instantly lost his balance!

The Frenchman fell to the ground, arms outstretched, and yelled at the referee!

The referee did not blow his whistle; he was very close.

A perfectly uncontroversial strike!

If there were a camera on his head, everyone would agree with his ruling.

The moment Otamendi intercepted the ball, he immediately raised his right foot and slammed it into the ball.

Porto only has one player in their attacking third!

Mario!

Not Martinez!

There are advantages to having only 3 points on defense!

Especially in teams where my uncle is the coach!

Mario, with his one-sided specialization, became the most unique one!

Even the team's starting center forward was in their own half, with the 18-year-old boy being deployed by the coach to the front line of the counter-attack.

Pereira's reasoning was simple: instead of having Mario, who was practically useless in defense, drop back, it would be better to have him put pressure on Juventus' defense.

Another principle is that the best strikers in the Champions League should naturally be active in the position closest to the goal.