Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

Forty-fifth minute.

Gil Vicente finally managed to get into Moreirense's attacking third, but ultimately lost possession due to interference from Macedo.

After losing possession, Gil Vicente immediately tried to win the ball back.

But this time, Kilop was even more determined, launching another long ball, intentionally targeting Duncan in the middle.

Deng Kai retreated to the vicinity of the center circle, where he and the opposing player battled for position.

He was shorter than the other person.

Having already achieved some results in strength training, Deng Kai possessed impressive combat abilities, effectively trapping his opponent.

boom!

It was still a backheel flick to the ball.

Although it wasn't a one-two pass, Deng Kai essentially carried the opponent and made a brilliant pass.

The ball rolled toward Emerson on the right wing. Emerson and Flavio, who had dropped back, exchanged two passes. Flavio then took possession of the ball and continued to look for Alex, who was making a run down the right wing.

Alex dribbled past his opponent on the right wing and then crossed the ball.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Anderson, and Emerson were already positioned in different locations within the penalty area.

At the same time, outside the penalty area, someone was also running towards the penalty area.

Moreover, with Alex's cross, this player suddenly changed from moving forward into the middle to running towards the near post.

It's Deng Kai!

The football flew over, and Deng Kai leaped high, delivering a powerful header.

Cristiano Ronaldo could see it clearly from the far post.

So, Trump is taking off!

That head-shaking was so cool!

It completely outshone his own embarrassing header backheel.

This unscientific!

This is definitely not an attacking stance that can be mastered in a short period of time.

This move has been practiced countless times, and Kai actually practiced headers behind my back?

There's no need for that!

Why are you practicing headers when you're only 1.65 meters tall as a midfielder?

There's absolutely no need for that, right?

It's not just Deng Kai.

Even center forward Anderson felt that Deng Kai's header was a bit unnecessary.

With a guy as tall as 1.88 meters, why would we need to have Kai Shao do this kind of high-altitude work?

How dangerous!

Swish!

The ball nestled into the net from above the left side of the Gil Vicente goalkeeper.

Deng Kai headed the ball into the net at the near post!

Moreirense's players were stunned.

This... Kai scored a header, a miracle!

"Gilvio's defense at the near post was too lax; they were too careless!"

"Twice now, no one has gone to the near post, and as a result, Moreirense has scored twice from that position."

"Three to one, are you sure Gil Vicente won't drop points in both of their most likely matches?"

"Even Deng Kai scored a header, so Gil Vicente needs to unify their thinking during halftime and completely overhaul their tactics and mentality!"

Deng Kai: Even? All? Try saying that again?

The match then went into halftime.

Upon returning from halftime, Gil Vicente immediately made two substitutions, one of which was a center-back.

Their coach was clearly anxious.

If they lose this match, they will not only miss out on the championship, but they may also be overtaken by Moreirense and fall to fourth place in the standings.

The Portuguese Second Division only has two promotion spots.

At the start of the second half, Gil Vicente also showed renewed fighting spirit, pressing even harder than before.

Moreirense could only clear the ball frequently with long kicks.

Fifty-first minute.

Deng Kai received a pass from his teammate in the backfield. He looked at Ronaldo on his left front and raised his foot... to feint.

The player who came straight at him to press was faked out and stretched out his leg to intercept.

boom!

Deng Kai then launched a long pass to the right.

Alex has already gone up.

Alex made a series of runs down the right flank, but his dribbling and passing skills were far inferior to Ronaldo's. If he couldn't use his speed to overpower his opponents immediately, he wouldn't be able to get past them.

At this point, Moreirense's players also came up to provide support.

boom!

Alex passed the ball back to Duncan, who had moved to the right flank to receive it.

But someone was chasing behind Deng Kai. Facing the goal, Deng Kai met the ball... and then... shifted it behind him.

The Gil Vicente players who were chasing after Deng Kai froze on the spot as the ball and Deng Kai passed by them one after the other.

...Can't Deng Kai tell the direction of his own goal?

Even the commentators were baffled: "Deng Kai's... dribble past the defender was indeed beautiful, but why did he dribble past the defender behind him in the opposite direction of his own goal?"

"This is outrageous!"

"Deng Kai has just dribbled a couple more steps, and he can try a long-range shot."

"Even considering the pursuers behind you, you can hold the ball steady and find an opportunity to pass to your teammates to launch an attack."

"Doesn't this mean taking the ball and dropping back? It gives the defender who was originally out of position a chance to regain his position."

boom!

The commentator hadn't finished his rant.

Deng Kai, who had passed the ball in the opposite direction, had already caught up with the football.

He's a little faster than a football.

Turn halfway in advance and shoot the ball with your left foot!

The football shot out like a cannonball, flying towards the left side of the penalty area.

The whole process was very abrupt.

Every move was unexpected.

It was completely unexpected.

Deng Kai's movement trajectory with the football resembles the letter V.

He ran back from the top right corner of the "V" to the corner, then passed the ball, which flew along the corner towards the top left corner of the "V".

This pass is similar to the strategy used last season when PSG's corner kick was headed away by the opponent, Neymar received the ball on the left wing of PSG, pretended to drop back, and then suddenly turned and made a long pass, which Marquinhos headed into the goal while dropping back.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!

The key is to be unexpected.

Why is Manchester United's cross-to-Ronaldo tactic so inefficient?

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the best header.

Because everyone knows you're looking for Ronaldo, and even knows when you're going to look for him, how much of a threat can such an attack pose?

"Cristiano Ronaldo, speed up!"

"Single-handed!"

"Was the ball offside? No, the linesman didn't call it!"

"Bang! Beautiful!"

"Four to one! Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice!"

"This was absolutely the easiest goal of the day! Nobody interfered with Ronaldo; his run, his control, and his shot were all executed flawlessly. It was simpler than shooting practice!"

"Deng Kai's pass was absolutely brilliant! If he hadn't dropped back for that moment, not only would Ronaldo not have been able to get into position, but he himself might have been entangled and dispossessed by the defenders chasing from behind."

"The best-case scenario is drawing a foul from the opponent and getting a free kick from a relatively far position."

"The awkward thing about long-range free kicks is that they require the center-backs to come up and participate in the aerial duel, just like headers, and they risk being countered. But crosses from a 45-degree angle don't have the same chance of scoring as true corner kicks."

"Corner kicks have a much greater advantage than long-range tactical free kicks in terms of positioning, ball curvature, and power."

"So there's a reason why Deng Kai didn't want a long-range free kick."

"Besides, winning a free kick comes at the cost of being fouled. Even if Deng Kai isn't afraid of injury or pain, he certainly wouldn't choose this less rewarding approach when there's a better way to handle the situation."

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