Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

The Manchester Evening News: "In this season's Champions League, Duncan has eight goals and seven assists, while Cristiano Ronaldo has eight goals and two assists. Together, they account for over 60% of their team's total goals in the Champions League and over 70% of their team's total goal contributions!"

The Sun: "Sporting Lisbon may have a glimmer of hope! Hathaway's close friend reveals: Hathaway herself said that Duncan's recovery ability is extremely strong! He can do hundreds of push-ups in one night!"

Basically, this is the opinion of mainstream European media.

Nobody has a high opinion of Sporting Lisbon.

These are the advantages and disadvantages of a super core player leading a team.

The advantage is that as long as this super core player doesn't get injured, no matter who else you injure, it won't shake the foundation of this team.

In the last two seasons, who among Cristiano Ronaldo, Drogba, Imbula, Matthäus, Viana, Quaresma, Kaká, and Ronaldinho hasn't been injured?

But how has Sporting Lisbon fared?

Even if there are fluctuations, they always adjust quickly.

It might be inaccurate to say that it was all thanks to Deng Kai.

But it's definitely at least 50%.

The downside is that once the core hero is injured, then...

This situation was foreshadowed at the beginning of this season when Deng Kai was suspended for three Champions League matches.

Three rounds without a win, two losses and one draw.

This is why major organizations are so confident in predicting that Sporting Lisbon will inevitably lose.

March 23rd, the 28th round of the Portuguese Super League.

Sporting Lisbon vs. Salgueros.

The team won narrowly, 1-0.

Despite winning the game, the organizational chaos was visibly evident.

March 30th, the 29th round of the Portuguese Super League.

Sporting Lisbon vs Boavista.

That's when the problem arose.

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo's stellar performance, Sporting Lisbon's lack of midfield depth was exploited by their opponents.

The two sides traded blows, resulting in a 3-3 tie.

Sporting Lisbon's six-game winning streak across all competitions has come to an end.

The only good news is that Porto, who finished second in the league, also underperformed.

This round's loss actually widened the gap between the two teams.

But no one in Porto made a fuss.

Because Mourinho had already announced when the team reached the UEFA Cup quarterfinals that Porto would focus on the UEFA Cup.

He wants all of Europe to know that Sporting Lisbon is not the only Portuguese team capable of competing in European competitions.

Some media outlets have unearthed Mourinho's previous remarks, revealing that he has always been arrogant.

When he defeated Sporting Lisbon, the four-time European champions, at the beginning of the season, he not only said that the four-time champions had fallen, but also said that Sporting Lisbon was nothing special, and that they were able to win the UEFA Cup last season because Porto did not play in the UEFA Cup.

If Porto plays in the UEFA Cup, they can still win the title.

Porto were subsequently eliminated in the Champions League group stage, finishing third, and thus qualified for the UEFA Cup.

And they actually made it to the Europa League quarterfinals.

It's true... although he's arrogant, he seems to have a lot of substance.

On April 1, the sports-themed film "I Love Beckham," starring Keira Knightley, was released in Europe.

It achieved a fairly good box office result on its opening day.

According to initial estimates, the film was expected to gross around $30 million in North America under the best-case scenario.

The global box office is between $60 million and $80 million.

However, with the opening weekend results in, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the film is expected to gross over $50 million in North America.

Global box office revenue could even double!

David Beckham, the soul of cinema, probably contributed about a third of the influence.

Keira Knightley's recent surge in popularity also contributed one-third of the total.

The remaining third was contributed by Deng Kai.

Almost all fans have seen or know about Deng Kai's goal for Barcelona and the subsequent celebrations and controversies. Many people were inspired by the spirit of Sporting Lisbon's youth team and were willing to send them a ticket.

Unfortunately, tickets are hard to get, and... Sporting Lisbon's quarter-final home game will be played behind closed doors. And that's practically their swan song in the Champions League this season, so...

Many people chose to watch the movie "I Love Beckham," which Deng Kai strongly supported and shared.

Outside the cinema, many reporters interviewed people who had just finished watching the movie. When they asked if the person was a Beckham fan,

More than a third of the fans said they knew Beckham, but they came to the cinema because of Deng Kai's promotion.

On the same day, Sporting Lisbon defeated their arch-rivals Porto 2-0 in the Portuguese league, putting them one foot in the UEFA Cup semi-finals!

After the victory, Mourinho told the camera, "I don't know if Sporting Lisbon can wait for Duncan in the semi-finals, but we at Porto will be waiting for him in the semi-finals!"

"Although the tracks are different, this time, we'll go further than them!"

Mourinho's public exchange instantly created a sense of rivalry between the two Portuguese giants.

While one can't help but admire their fierce competition, a sense of mutual respect and empathy also arises.

It can be said that Mourinho's attempt to capitalize on this wave of attention was both clever and ruthless!

If Sporting Lisbon can pull through, they can join Porto in reaping the benefits of increased viewership.

If we can't hold on...

That would become a stepping stone for Porto to further enhance their reputation in European football.

On April 2nd, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals will see Bayer Leverkusen face Sporting Lisbon.

In the first half, Leverkusen's midfield maestro Ze Roberto, who is favored by Bayern Munich, provided a brilliant assist, and young Berbatov scored a truly elegant goal.

In the second half, Schneider provided a cross pass and assisted German rising star Ballack to score with a long-range shot, making the score 2-0.

In the 80th minute, Kaká and Ronaldinho combined to create a threat, but it was blocked by a foul from Lucio.

Two to zero.

The young men of Sporting Lisbon have broken their promise.

They were too naive; they thought they could.

But after actually trying it, they realized that without Deng Kai, they really couldn't do it.

So Kai is that important.

Fonte was right after all.

With a talent like Kai, no amount of praise is too much.

Unfortunately, some realizations come too late.

Sporting Lisbon has no chance.

Cristiano Ronaldo: ? ? ?

Cristiano Ronaldo: So you guys don't think that our lack of attacking power was due to my suspension, which is why we didn't score any goals?

Fonte: C-bro, you can score goals, but only Kai can bring victory!

……

Bayer Leverkusen: An even darker dark horse than Sporting Lisbon!

A super team that rivals Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, boasting a youth squad no less impressive than Sporting Lisbon's!

Three competitions underway! Champions League, Bundesliga, and German Cup! Bayer Leverkusen could become the next European treble winner!

"Bayer Leverkusen's Two Core Teams! The Legendary Lives of Ze Roberto and Michael Ballack!"

Former Real Madrid player Ze Roberto has made a Bundesliga comeback! He's surpassed 20 assists this season! He could face his former club in the Champions League semi-finals!

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