Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"This is bad, Viana is in bad shape. He's clutching his thigh, he most likely strained it during the collision."

"The team doctor has entered the field... The team doctor has signaled a substitution; Viana is unlikely to continue the game."

"But judging from Viana's expression, it shouldn't be a big problem. It's probably just a muscle strain, and he should be able to return in two or three games."

"Matthäus is warming up, which is a very good sight for many fans. Although Viana has recently become very popular, their fame and status in the football world certainly cannot compare with Matthäus."

"Matthäus replaced Viana and moved to the left attacking midfield position, which is fine. Matthäus can play in multiple positions on the field."

"But the effect... might not be as good as Viana's. After all, Matthäus is forty years old this year, he can't play like Viana."

"Then the attacking pressure on Sporting Lisbon's midfield and forward line will fall on Deng Kai."

"Can he complete this task?"

"As far as we know, many fans in Portugal believe that the true core of this team is Duncan. They believe that Duncan sacrificed his performance for Viana, deliberately dropping to a deeper position, which led to Viana's brilliance."

"If what the Portuguese fans are saying is true, then Deng Kai should put on a good performance in this match."

Soon, the game entered halftime.

Both head coaches have rearranged their tactics.

Rehhagel applied the same tactics he used against Viana to Deng Kai.

While their defensive strategy didn't completely shut down Viana, it did limit him by about 80%.

In their view, Deng Kai's performance was not as good as Viana's, so completely containing Deng Kai should not be a problem.

As for Sporting Lisbon, Triguera's arrangements were actually quite simple.

That means Deng Kai should move forward to become a true attacking midfielder, rather than an attacking midfielder who appears in the midfield or defensive midfield positions.

Then let Matthäus stay behind and do what Duncan had done before.

Everyone believed the effect would be good because Deng Kai's previous style of playing deep was that of a free-roaming player in the backfield, which was the most suitable position for Matthäus.

There are only two free-roaming defenders in the world of football: Beckenbauer and Matthäus.

As for Deng Kai, he was simply a small fry compared to a big fish.

At the start of the second half, Kaiserslautern launched a fierce attack in an attempt to equalize the score.

Despite being behind, they played more proactively.

And that's how Matthäus came to be.

In the 47th minute, Matthäus intercepted a through pass from Kaiserslautern's midfield in his own half.

They oversimplified the problem.

Their passes are so bad they can't even get past Matthäus, and even if they do, Pepe is right behind them.

In the 52nd minute, Djorkaeff cut inside from the wing and encountered Matthäus, who cleanly intercepted the ball.

In the 55th minute, Matthäus spotted Deng Kai making a run on the right front and delivered a brilliant pass over two defenders to Deng Kai's feet.

Deng Kai, positioned on the right flank, faced the ball coming from the left rear and positioned himself half an inch ahead of the ball.

He let the ball slip past him on his left, seemingly intending to handle it with his right foot before passing it to Quaresma on his right front.

But actually, the left foot followed up in time, and the outside of the foot flicked.

The football flew to the left front instead.

"Deng Kai's outside-of-the-foot lob pass without stopping the ball was incredibly fast! He's like a super accelerator; the ball's movement suddenly doubles when it reaches his feet."

"Kaiserslautern's defenders were completely unprepared for Duncan's approach."

"The Viana they faced previously relied more on excellent dribbling and ball control, using skill to break through and create danger. But Duncan's threatening style is completely different."

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"Simple, direct, and fatal!"

Inside the penalty area, Drogba was already prepared.

Even before Deng Kai passed the ball, Drogba had fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

It's not from being tired.

It was fear.

It's that feeling where you know Kai is about to flick your forehead, but you don't know exactly when he'll flick your forehead.

Deng Kai's passes are notoriously difficult to receive within the team.

Yet, every single one of his passes could be described as a beautiful painting.

If you don't receive the call, you won't need him to blame you; you'll find it hard to forgive yourself.

Apart from the shameless Cristiano Ronaldo, who blamed Deng Kai for not having an automatic pass-finding function after missing a pass, everyone else immediately reflected on their own actions after missing or failing to keep up with Deng Kai's pass.

But perhaps it is precisely because of this pressure from "Deng Kai's pass" that Sporting Lisbon's attacking players treat every opportunity with great care.

Their ability to seize opportunities has been unconsciously enhanced in this process.

boom!

Drogba started his run early in response to Deng Kai's quick pass, which allowed him to avoid interference from the opponent to some extent.

Deng Kai's outside-of-the-foot pass had a large arc, essentially coming from the right to find Drogba, not simply from behind.

Players find it much easier to handle balls coming from the side than from directly behind.

Drogba leaned to the left, his left foot planted firmly, and his right foot raised high.

His dark thigh lashed the soccer ball like a steel whip.

The football sent a gust of wind through the air, giving the Kaiserslautern goalkeeper no chance to react, and crashed directly into the net, creating countless splashes.

"Goal! A super shot! That's a super goal from Drogba!"

"Deng Kai delivered a brilliant first-time pass, Drogba unleashed a first-time volley, and Sporting Lisbon's attacking pace jumped from second to ninth! The ball became incredibly fast in an instant!"

"Drogba's shooting skills are really good. His control of the ball is obviously not as good as the team's other center forward, Yin Bu, but in terms of shooting, Drogba is closing the gap with Yin Bu."

"Drogba's shooting style is simple, mostly powerful shots without much technique. But one trick can be incredibly effective, just like Deng Kai's passing; sometimes the simplest method is the most deadly!"

Sporting Lisbon extended their lead to 2-0 at home.

Kaiserslautern panicked for a moment.

This goal left them completely baffled.

Deng Kai barely dribbled the ball, and in terms of sheer brilliance, he was definitely not as impressive as Viana in the first half.

But... his assists seem much easier than Viana's.

Just one kick.

The football stayed at his feet for less than a second.

That's so weird.

Sixty-seventh minute.

The football has come to Deng Kai's feet again.

Kaiserslautern's basic defense is quite good, and Sporting Lisbon's wide-circle tactics to launch attacks from both flanks have been largely blocked.

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