Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

It looked as if Serafim had voluntarily given up his place to Duncan.

"Oh! Serafim is completely fooled by Dunkai's series of feints."

"His defense was more like a welcome to Deng Kai, the former core of the team. The two are simply not in the same league. Since the second half of this season, Deng Kai has become increasingly composed on the field."

"Some people may feel that his presence is not as strong as before, but in fact, as the commander of the midfield, the most important thing is to perfectly mobilize and utilize all his teammates."

"Viana today is like Duncan in the past. And Duncan now, I have to say, is very much like those midfield maestros who fight on the top stage. He has a bit of Redondo, Guardiola, or even Zidane in his shadow."

"Yin Bu sprints, he's asking for the ball... Deng Kai didn't pass it to him. Yin Bu ran into an offside position, he's coming back, he chose to come back from the right."

"Cristiano Ronaldo cuts inside without the ball and calls for it just outside the penalty area."

"Viana is positioned at the edge of the penalty area, where he can also wait for Deng Kai's cutback pass."

"Drogba held off Moreirense's center-back, Duncan passed the ball...Drogba played a one-two...Duncan surged into the penalty area from the right wing!"

Gomez had no choice but to attack.

boom!

Deng Kai flicked the ball with the outside of his foot, sending it out of Gomez's control and into the far corner.

"Four to one! Deng Kai has practically secured the victory for Sporting Lisbon!"

"Deng Kai was incredibly active today. He was practically unstoppable – long-range shots, dribbling, crosses, brilliant passes, breaking into the penalty area – he did it all!"

"Of the four goals, Deng Kai contributed two assists and two goals! He completely dominated this match!"

"This is the control the former midfield maestro had over the team. Duncan's performance against Moreirense fully demonstrates his understanding of this team."

"His performance was absolutely no less impressive than Viana's. It's a pity that against Inter Milan, Deng Kai mostly played a supporting role. Otherwise, Inter Milan wouldn't have prepared 13 million euros, but 26 million euros; they would have made an offer for Deng Kai as well!"

"Because Duncan and Viana are exactly the midfielders Inter Milan needs!"

While watching the commentators speak eloquently about the Portuguese Cup, Moratti, far away in Milan, Italy, let out a disdainful snort.

Do the Portuguese really think Moratti doesn't understand football?

Between Viana and Duncan, who is the stronger midfielder? Moratti, a football expert, surely knows the answer.

A player's ability sometimes depends on the game environment.

The environments in different leagues are different.

In Moratti's view, Duncan is the next Pirlo.

He's a bit shorter and younger than Pirlo, but their passing is about the same, and their physical strength and dribbling skills are almost identical.

Pirlo has better free-kick technique, but Duncan has more luck in scoring spectacular goals.

However, everyone has seen Pirlo's performance at Inter Milan.

Moratti was quite disappointed with Pirlo.

Pirlo performed exceptionally well at his previous clubs, but he couldn't handle the attacking midfield role at Inter Milan. He faced too much pressing, situations he couldn't manage, and his physique couldn't provide sufficient support.

Traditional attacking midfielders may seem slow, but their slowness is predicated on their ability to withstand all sorts of outrageous impacts and challenges.

If Pirlo couldn't hold on, there would be no point in discussing the subsequent organization and planning.

This is why Moratti never considered signing Duncan; he had tried Duncan's type before, and it was just so-so.

Pirlo: ? ? ?

Deng Kai: ? ? ?

However, Viana is different; Viana possesses strong wing attributes.

Even if Viana doesn't become Inter Milan's midfield commander in the end, we can still find a way to convert him into a winger or even a wing-back.

By the way, the best app for reading aloud and listening to books right now is the .huanyuanapp app (install the latest version).

So, can you say that Moratti doesn't understand football? Doesn't he know how to buy players?

Moratti knows everything.

He moved beyond the most basic approach of judging players based on data and delved into deeper levels of thinking.

Moratti's logic was actually correct, but he didn't realize that genius cannot be evaluated by logic.

Because true geniuses are irrational.

If Ronaldo hadn't suffered so many injuries at Inter Milan and had instead brought the Nerazzurri two Champions League titles, Moratti might have understood.

In the 70th minute, Triguera made a bold move, replacing the exhausted Deschamps with Paulo Bento.

At the same time, substitute winger Kwame Ayew replaced Ronaldo.

This is a protective substitution.

With the Portuguese Cup victory in hand, Triguera needs to prepare for the league.

They are currently second in the league, but only one point behind Porto. They could easily reclaim the top spot if they're not careful, so they need to be cautious.

This is Sporting Lisbon's closest chance to win the league title in the past five years.

Eighty-second minute.

After failing to break through on the left wing, Kwame Ayew passed the ball to Viana.

Viana continued to pass the ball to Deng Kai.

Deng Kai swayed his body on the right wing, and Serafim was completely stunned. He had no idea what Deng Kai was trying to do.

Deng Kai took a corner manually!

He made a powerful inside cut, a move reminiscent of a figure skater.

Knowing his teammates couldn't stop Deng Kai, Moreirense, the center-back, was prepared and immediately came out to cover.

Deng Kai suddenly moved to the side, making a run down the wing near the penalty area to avoid his opponent.

boom!

As he descended, Deng Kai tapped his right foot, and then rolled forward.

This kind of pass that makes you roll forward is... towards the diagonal rear.

This is... a triangular pass.

boom!

Viana, positioned just outside the penalty area, capitalized on the double pull from Drogba and Yinbu, unleashing a powerful shot that nearly found the empty net.

For the fifth time in the entire match, Gomez looked desperately into the net.

"Five to one! Viana's form continues to soar, Inter Milan will need to raise their offer for him by another million!"

"Deng Kai completed an assist hat-trick today, his first breakout performance of the second half of the season. He played differently in this game than before; he seemed to have found a balance between being a commander and the brightest star."

"Hopefully he can maintain this hot streak in the upcoming matches!"

Eighty-ninth minute.

Yin Bu proactively moved to the right flank, and Deng Kai nimbly ran into the penalty area.

Yin Bu, with a knack for making plays, wanted to pass the ball directly to Deng Kai.

However, a Moreirense player fouled the ball, sending it out of bounds.

The referee awarded the ball out of bounds but did not call a foul.

The game is almost over, and he hopes to get through the last few minutes quickly and smoothly so that everyone can start the second half sooner. Why not?

Yin Bu held the football and dangled it for five seconds before throwing it to Barzagli, who came up to throw it by hand.

At this moment, Deng Kai also returned.

Yin Bu is running towards the penalty area.

Barzagli took the throw-in, and Deng Kai, without stopping the ball, executed a spectacular lobbed pass over the defender.

Moreirense's defenders had no idea that Duncan would put on such a spectacular performance.

boom!

The football bounced after landing, and Deng Kai delivered a powerful long pass to the near post of the penalty area.

Drogba leaped in the crowd and headed the ball across.

Yin Bu, who had just broken into the penalty area, had been running all the way here and was already in high-speed mode, so his speed was not slow.

boom!

Yin Buqian headed the ball towards the goal.

The football pierced the goal.

Six to one!

Yin Bu scored his second goal with a header!

Drogba came off the bench to provide an assist and scored twice, both center forwards reaping great rewards!

Portuguese Cup defending champions Moreirense were eliminated in the quarterfinals this year. This result is not bad for a team in the relegation zone; at least they received some financial compensation. Even if they unfortunately relegate to the Portuguese Second Division this season, they still have a chance to quickly return to the Portuguese First Division.

Sporting Lisbon, carrying their legacy, advanced to the semi-finals and will continue competing on three fronts.

Suddenly, Portuguese media discovered that Sporting Lisbon was the only team in the Portuguese league this season that still had a chance to win the "treble"!

The term "treble" is in quotes because the traditional treble refers to winning the Champions League, the league title, and the highest-level domestic cup competition.

Sporting Lisbon is currently in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

The UEFA Cup is a second-tier European cup competition, below the Champions League.

But... that's still more than enough for the Portuguese league.

Never before in the history of the Portuguese league has a true treble winner been born!

Is Sporting Lisbon finally reaping the rewards this year?

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