Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"Kwame Ayew pounced, and he was quite fast."

"Deng Kai slid the ball past with his right leg, moving his body to the left. This is... a feint, an inside-outside step. Deng Kai pretended to move to the left but actually made a sudden move, and Kwame Ayew was easily beaten by Deng Kai."

"Sports Lisbon's defensive midfielder Delphim has also arrived."

"Deng Kai lobs the ball! As soon as Delphine comes out, Anderson, the big center forward behind him, will have space. Anderson is strong and physically robust, and apart from his slightly lacking footwork, he is a standard target man."

"Beautiful! Anderson headed the ball back, a great pass, the ball was sent towards the ground, just in time to Duncan, who had made a lobbed pass and moved past Delphine."

boom!

Deng Kai played a through ball after a one-two pass!

His forward run and Anderson's touch drew all the opposing defenders' attention.

The opponent's defensive structure has become flat.

After that pass went past Marcos, Sporting Lisbon's entire defense was breached.

The football rolled toward the penalty area, lonely yet radiant.

"Cristiano Ronaldo! Cristiano Ronaldo, pick up the pace!"

"Cristiano Ronaldo outmaneuvered Luiz, and Luiz was pulling on Ronaldo's jersey... but he couldn't hold on! Because Ronaldo was in the penalty area, and if Luiz had pulled on him again, it would have been a penalty!"

"One-on-one! Cristiano Ronaldo has a one-on-one chance!"

"Schmeichel strikes! This is a game for the brave!"

boom!

Cristiano Ronaldo unleashed a powerful shot.

Schmeichel shrank back, straining to get down and expand his reach.

If Ronaldo had been a little more conservative and had taken a low shot, Schmeichel would have been able to keep a clean sheet.

However, Ronaldo was too reckless!

That powerful shot was more likely to go wide than to go in, right?

Swish!

The football soared into the sky, but was blocked by the white upper net, like a dragon unable to escape, and could only fall back into this small goal pond.

Goal!

"Well done! CD connection! Alvadra has returned with a CD connection after six months!"

Here's an old CD for you, listen to our past romance!

"Sporting Lisbon fans have clearly been brought back to those memories!"

"Deng Kai! Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"2-1! Moreirense has taken the lead again!"

"There's more than one team in green and white! Is Sporting Lisbon going to lose to Moreirense today?"

The fans in the stadium started cheering and screaming. Goal! Another goal!

It feels so good to have your own people on both sides. You can cheer for whoever scores. Even though Sporting Lisbon has only scored one goal so far, the fans are already experiencing three times the joy!

There were only two minutes of added time in the first half.

As a result, in the second minute of stoppage time, Quaresma, as the senior player of Deng Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo's national youth team, couldn't sit still.

With a series of light, nimble movements, he dribbled the ball to create a free kick just outside the penalty area.

Then, with a swift and decisive move, he scored directly from a free kick, leaving Moreirense goalkeeper Ricardo staring in disbelief.

One assist and one goal!

Quaresma is not to be outdone by Ronaldo.

Two to two.

This is an impeccable score.

Both sides played to their own style and characteristics.

During halftime, both sides made minor adjustments to their teams.

For Moreirense, Triguera changed the positions of Gilop and Fonte based on the situation in the first half, letting Gilop, who originally played right center-back, play left center-back today to help limit Quaresma on that side.

Because Fonte is relatively slow, after Quaresma gets past Serafim or breaks through Emerson, Fonte is slow to step up and cover.

Quaresma's free kick in stoppage time came when Emerson was beaten and Fonte didn't immediately cover, giving Quaresma space to shoot. So, the only option was to foul Quaresma from behind.

Of course, this means that Kilop will also have to take on double the defensive responsibility, or rather, Fonte will become the main defender against Jardel, which will increase the pressure on him.

On the other side, at Sporting Lisbon, Materazzi's assistant coaching staff suggested that the player most to watch out for was not Cristiano Ronaldo, who completed a goal and an assist in the first half, but rather Duncan, who provided a brilliant assist in the final moments.

"Ronaldo's dribbling is very efficient, but he is ultimately on the wing, so his passing and shooting threats are limited. As long as our defenders are focused enough, there shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Most of the long-range shots that look like shots on goal are actually giving us possession because we have Schmeichel."

"On the contrary, Deng Kai, as the midfield core, looks harmless, but his passing ability is terrifying. The crosses from the wings and Deng Kai's through balls in the middle all seem to be creating opportunities."

"But the probability of a player scoring after a through pass from Deng Kai is basically five to eight times higher than that of a cross from the wing."

This is what's called "gold content".

The number of threatening passes later became a standard statistic.

However, the flaw in this data is that, among the same threatening passes, some are extremely threatening while others are extremely threatening.

If the expected value of a goal can reflect how easy or difficult a player's shot is...

Therefore, a pass should have an "expected assist value".

Deng Kai's passing accuracy is extremely high in this category for many of his passes.

In the round of 16 match between Brazil and South Korea in the 2022 World Cup, Brazil didn't create many chances, but when they did, they were almost always sure to score.

Other teams might attempt ten crosses from the flanks and still not score a single goal.

"Stop him, try not to let him receive the ball. When he has the ball, try to cut off his connection with the players ahead," Materazzi said. "Force him back."

After saying that, he glanced at Maxa, as if to say, "Do you have anything to add?"

Can Maxa add anything?

He doesn't know anything.

He shook his head.

Materazzi believed that Maksa was being modest and didn't want to undermine his authority as head coach, so he encouraged him, "It's okay, go ahead and say it, Maksa, the team needs your opinion."

"Deng Kai isn't very good at physical contact, so you need to be careful and not put too much pressure on him. He can't afford to get injured." Maxa had been worried about his master for a long time, fearing that these first-team players would use too much force.

Since we have to talk about it, let's say something warm and relatable.

Our young Celtics are players who rely on their brains to make a living, they're incredibly valuable!

"Right! I almost forgot!" Materazzi beamed. "Delphim, increase the intensity for Duncan and stick to him. He's definitely not good at physical confrontations, just like you defended Viana in the practice match."

Viana's face darkened. "Old coin, damn it!"

Quaresma's hand trembled slightly. If we can treat Kai like this, will they treat Viana and me the same way?

Because of his status within the team, no one usually dares to mark Quaresma closely, but some opponents like to do so, which makes him very uncomfortable.

Maxa was completely numb.

This... I really didn't mean that. Don't overinterpret it. If this gets out, Kai will think I've betrayed him!

After the players left the locker room, many assistant coaches praised Marksa, saying he truly lived up to his reputation as the "Saint," solving the core problem with just one sentence.

The best midfield maestros often only need the most basic defensive tactics to contain them.

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.