Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"Matthäus has experienced a resurgence, proving he's still at the peak of his form in the Portuguese league! This hat-trick proves he's still in top shape!"

"Five to zero! Sporting Lisbon is too dominant; just one game has shown everyone their chances of advancing from the Europa League!"

Drogba stared in disbelief at the goal.

Is this a tacit understanding?

Is it possible that Matthäus never considered that Drogba would back down?

Could he have shot with the thought, "Even though it's highly likely to headshot Drogba, what if the ball goes around him?"

This is like playing against your own players as if they were your enemies.

Drogba was in a somber mood; not only did he fail to score, but he also nearly got his head blown off.

He felt he was getting closer and closer to the bench.

as predicted.

After scoring this goal, Triguera used his last substitution.

Yin Bu replaced Drogba.

"Well done!" Triguera patted Drogba on the shoulder after he came down.

Maxi then sat down with Drogba, praised him for a long time, and finally remarked with regret that he hadn't scored, otherwise it would have been perfect.

But Drogba only remembered the comment, "It's a pity he didn't score."

He thought Maxi was targeting him.

A center forward who can't score goals is not a good center forward.

Could it be that my ranking in Coach Triglar's pick has dropped again?

Drogba was filled with apprehension.

On the other side, Yin Bu, who had just been substituted on, was a bit too eager to succeed.

They immediately tried to use a flashy, dreamlike footwork to storm into the restricted area.

But now, Gaziantep can't stand this kind of behavior.

Quaresma has been felled.

You think you can escape from such a big stake?

Place the shovel directly.

Luckily, they managed to tackle the ball first and then made a beautiful interception.

Gaziantep immediately launched a counter-attack, transferring the ball to the edge of Sporting Lisbon's penalty area with four passes.

Pepe lost his defensive position while moving, and Fonte was too slow to cover, giving the opponent a chance to score.

One fatal blow!

One to five!

Gaziantep pulled one back.

Neither side managed to score again, and the score remained 1-5.

Sporting Lisbon secured another resounding victory, a truly exhilarating one for Matthäus.

As a result, the UEFA Cup group stage, which would not normally receive much attention, has been widely reported by European media this time.

The German media, in particular, are going crazy.

Bild: "Matthäus scores a hat-trick! Three goals and one assist lead Sporting Lisbon's youth team to their first European victory!"

Kicker: "Bayern lost in the Champions League, Matthäus won in the Europa League. Whose fault was it that Matthäus left Bayern? We should reflect on this!"

Transfermarkt: "The Euro 2016 defeat wasn't Matthäus's fault; the fundamental reason was Germany's lack of talent. Matthäus's current performance still justifies his multi-million dollar valuation!"

Der Spiegel: "Sporting Lisbon won 5-1, with Matthäus single-handedly carrying half of Sporting Lisbon's success!"

Matthäus's supporters can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

They've been getting criticized ever since last winter transfer window.

Bayern fans started criticizing, then German fans started criticizing.

Now Matthäus has finally proven his innocence.

It's not that Ma Dazui (Ma Dazui) is incompetent, it's just that he can't carry those German brothers!

However, perhaps because the topic of Matthäus's resurgence in form has garnered so much attention, the performances of the others haven't been as prominently featured.

Especially Drogba.

Matthäus's pass was brilliantly executed, with his subtle dodge being the perfect touch.

However, his actions were completely unsettling and even appeared quite flustered.

It gives the impression that he wanted to stop the ball, but failed.

And then there was Matthäus's final shot.

Drogba's hunched and stooped posture was utterly pathetic. As impressive as Matthäus was, so too was Drogba's disheveled state.

This made Drogba, who was looking at the news, blush with shame.

What a shame!

……

September 21st, the third round of the Portuguese Super League.

Sporting Lisbon drew 3-3 with Extremela.

Both Deng Kai and Viana provided assists.

Terry scores with a header.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice.

Quaresma's absence due to injury in this match clearly had a significant impact on the team.

With the ability to fly on both flanks simultaneously, the large-scale tactic truly deserves the title of "sacred".

Without coordinated attacks from both flanks, the large-scale tactic can easily turn into a "high" (meaning ineffective or futile).

Despite Ronaldo's impressive two goals, he also squandered just as many opportunities in the game. Without those two goals, his rating would definitely be among the bottom three in the team.

Last place is Fonte, and second to last is Schmeichel.

September 27th, the fourth round of the Portuguese Super League.

Sporting Lisbon defeated Salgueroux 4-1.

Quaresma, returning from injury, contributed a goal and an assist.

Viana, whose form has soared, also contributed a goal and an assist.

Cristiano Ronaldo scores in consecutive matches.

Yin Bu scored as a substitute.

Deng Kai provided a clever assist.

Since the start of the new season, Drogba has played five games, starting four of them, but has not scored a single goal.

He is now experiencing the worst goal drought of his career.

At this point, involution occurs.

When a team seems invincible, people will naturally look for players who aren't performing as well as they praise them.

Didier Drogba, the only player in the midfield and forward line who failed to score, became the focus of media criticism.

Many fans even said that Sporting Lisbon would be even stronger if Drogba were replaced.

Despite everyone's stellar performances—Deng Kai with three goals and eight assists in five games, and Ronaldo with six goals in five games—the issue of Deng Kai and Ronaldo driving Jardel away has been largely forgotten.

But comparing Jardel to Drogba isn't wrong, is it?

If you replaced them with Jardel or Benfica's Nuno Gomez, how strong would this attacking line be?

It would rank among the top five European leagues!

Drogba faced a wave of online bullying.

The honest Africans were also manipulated by this public opinion, and genuinely believed that they were inferior to everyone else.

It's not just these comments; it's also related to the formidable talent shown by Drogba's rival in the same position, Yin Bu, during training.

Yin Bu's ball control, dribbling skills, shooting technique, shooting style, and passing ability are all superior to Drogba's.

Even physically, Drogba felt that his strengths were limited.

Once Yin Bu is willing to play defensively, Drogba's advantage will be gone, since Yin Bu is still taller.

Drogba saw no hope.

So even if it's a little tough or painful, he'll endure it and keep training.

until……

"Stop for a second, Drogba, yes, I mean you, stop for a second..."

Deng Kai called a halt to the team's regular training session.

If an average person did that, they'd probably get yelled at by the coach.

It's obvious that Kai Shao won't wait.

Maxa quickly signaled everyone to stop, then rushed towards Deng Kai, worried that Kai might be tired or thirsty.

He is the youngest Master Chef in history, Little Dangza, and he is ready to serve at any time!

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