Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

Players like Deschamps and Matthäus, who are older and can no longer jump, are positioned outside the penalty area and near the center circle, respectively, to contest for second balls or prevent the opponent from launching counter-attacks.

Deng Kai raised three fingers before taking the set piece.

boom!

On the edge of the penalty area, players rushed into the box, leaping over the bar in a frantic aerial duel.

Among them, a majestic figure leaped high into the air.

boom!

"Goal! Sporting Lisbon scores in the 36th minute!"

"The goal was scored by the team's new signing, Andrea Barzagli!"

"Incredible! This player from the lower leagues of Italy has scored Sporting Lisbon's first goal of the season!"

"He's only nineteen years old, and his market value is a mere 200,000 euros, making him practically Sporting Lisbon's cheapest player!"

"Just over a year ago, he was playing as a center forward; he has a goal-scoring instinct that most center-backs don't possess!"

"Of course, a goal scored from a set piece is largely thanks to the coach's training in this area. This is the foundation of a top club, and we should all thank Maxa."

"As for the true ability of these players and Trigár's true coaching level, we'll have to look at their goals from open play!"

Good guy.

Maxi sat on the bench, and the prize fell from the sky.

His relaxed, reclining posture was interpreted by fans as a sign that he was very confident about today's game.

But in reality, the reason Maxi was so relaxed was simply because he no longer had to rack his brains to come up with technical jargon to talk to coaches like Materazzi.

He can lie down now; if the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up.

Right, Kai?

Hit a punch to avoid a hundred punches.

In the 42nd minute, Viana gained space to advance thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's help drawing defenders away from them.

He drew the attention of the defensive midfielder and center-back, and with a through pass, Drogba beat the offside trap and scored a powerful goal.

That was a beautiful goal, but unfortunately... Drogba was offside before Viana passed the ball.

We left a little too early.

There are still significant issues regarding teamwork.

Drogba looked somewhat wistful; he was even preparing to celebrate with a knee slide.

Forty-fifth minute.

Wait until he delivers a clever pass to Quaresma.

Quaresma spun around at lightning speed on the right flank, drawing the attention of three defenders.

Deng Kai then moved to the bottom line.

Quaresma spotted Deng Kai and, amidst his busy schedule, passed the ball to him.

Deng Kai crossed the ball without stopping it.

Her footwork was quite graceful.

Drogba jumped high... but missed!

The football is flying too fast!

Drogba had never seen such a fast cross before!

This is absolutely not a sincere attempt to spread the word.

If the curve wasn't wrong, we could have just shot at the goal.

boom!

Behind Drogba, Ronaldo, who was cutting inside without the ball, had his view blocked by Drogba.

But his tacit understanding with Deng Kai is self-evident.

He simply stretched out his head, and without even needing to exert any force, the football crashed into him and bounced into the net.

That was a powerful header.

"2-0! Sporting Lisbon scores again before halftime!"

"This is a CD connection between Deng Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"That old CD is back!"

This puts the real challenge on the home fans of Sporting Lisbon.

They even booed Deng Kai at the start.

However, now... Deng Kai has already assisted twice!

Cristiano Ronaldo also scored.

This seems... no worse than when Jadal was there!

Sparse applause rang out.

It's clear that many fans are still challenging Deng Kai.

During halftime, Triguera didn't say much about tactics.

The team played very well and gradually found its rhythm; no further arrangements are needed.

Even if the opponent makes a move, it's not a big deal.

He believed that Deng Kai could also counter any move, which was the important thing.

Since Triglav is already making Deng Kai the core player, he will firmly delegate authority to Deng Kai even if the team's performance is not good in the first half of the season.

The core players and star shooters are nurtured, not born from nothing.

The second half.

Deng Kai indeed performed with ease.

The opposing side also noticed his tendency to push forward, and specifically assigned someone to prevent him from doing so.

It seems that Deng Kai has shrunk back for this reason, changing from a right attacking midfielder to a defensive midfielder.

Deschamps, who was originally the defensive midfielder, moved to the right, essentially becoming a right-sided wing-back, but only responsible for passing the ball and not for making runs forward.

If Deng Kai moves to the left wing, Deschamps will return to the defensive midfield position and form a double defensive midfield with Deng Kai. Then Matthäus, who was originally the left defensive midfielder, will go to the far left and act as the left wing-back.

In this way, Deng Kai's retreat makes the team's large-circle passing more stable, forming a small moving point inside the "u" shape, which can form a triangle with anyone, preventing the large-circle passing route from being blocked.

If Deng Kai hadn't been constantly running left and right like that, the opposing team would have had a chance to disrupt the large-circle passing game if they had pressed forward with their entire team.

In the 61st minute, Deng Kai suddenly made a through pass from the right flank.

Trapped in his own half, Quaresma switched from playing with the ball to playing off the ball, successfully beating the offside trap, accelerating to chase the ball, and then delivering a sweeping pass.

Drogba's intense positioning with the opposing center-back caused him to be a step too slow, and his sliding shot ultimately failed to reach the ball.

But Viana, the team's left attacking midfielder, arrived just in time at the far post behind Drogba, almost creating a double-team situation with Drogba!

boom!

Viana leaped and reached for the ball.

The player and the ball flew into the opponent's goal together.

It's somewhat similar to the goal he scored when he got injured in the European U16 tournament.

But he obviously won't be hit by the goalpost so easily anymore.

"Three-nil! My God! Has Sporting Lisbon gone berserk? Even Viana has come here!"

"This was a long pass attack initiated directly from Deng Kai's own half! From the regular passing to this long pass, the attack suddenly accelerated!"

"Quaresma's speed, ball control, and passing are all exquisite! Compared to Ronaldo, who is more dangerous on the left but also has many weaknesses, Quaresma is so well-rounded!"

Viana's position is left attacking midfielder, but in the first half he mainly operated in the left midfield position, or even slightly towards the defensive midfield position.

He didn't step up until Deng Kai retired in the second half.

Therefore, it is easily overlooked.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be too surprising for an attacking midfielder to suddenly cut into the penalty area.

With Deng Kai on the team and such a good lineup, Sporting Lisbon can score again if the opponent dares to come out.

The Beira-Mar players were clearly taken aback by Duncan's sudden burst of speed.

They began to retreat, hesitant to launch an attack.

Otherwise, Deng Kai's long pass will result in another goal being conceded.

This is what is called a metronome or gearbox.

As the opponent retreated, the large defensive line began to push forward, crossing the halfway line.

Sporting Lisbon's firepower is therefore even stronger.

However, with the space compressed, the threat of passing is actually greatly reduced.

This is where teamwork in small areas and individual dribbling skills of the players are put to the test.

[P.S.: Tonight's match was relatively relaxed for both sides, resulting in a high-scoring affair. Modric, following instructions from manager Eriksen, held an emergency meeting with his teammates overnight to unify their thinking, define their attacking strategy, and ultimately lead Croatia to a 4-1 victory over Morocco!]

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