Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

The Bernabéu Stadium, Florentino Pérez's personal box.

There was just a celebration here.

After the team's comeback victory against Liverpool, Florentino Pérez invited the entire team to a private box to celebrate.

And I'm planning to take everyone out for a big meal.

Eating isn't the most important thing, but it shows Florentino's satisfaction with the players.

But just as everyone was about to leave, Figo suddenly stopped.

He turned to look at the television.

On television, the commentator excitedly announced, "Deng Kai! Deng Kai has replaced Toure! Deng Kai is really on the field!"

Zidane noticed Figo and stopped as well.

Florentino noticed that everyone seemed interested in the match, so he simply said, "Let's watch the first half then? It'll be over soon anyway."

The players quickly found places to sit down.

The same thing happened in the boxes at Old Trafford and on Bayern Munich's team bus.

Beckham: "Leverkusen are underestimated; their attacking and defensive capabilities are at the Champions League semi-final level!"

Keane: "If any one of us were on the court right now, I doubt it would have been able to change the course of the game."

Giggs: "This Leverkusen team is terrifyingly balanced."

Effenberg: "The kid looks much better now, but it's too late. If he had been in the first round, maybe things could have changed."

Kahn: "I never believe a single player can completely change the game, not even Matthäus!"

Lizarazu: "The team is the most important thing. Leverkusen is a team, while Sporting Lisbon is not."

With the sound of a whistle, the game continued.

Sporting Lisbon passed the ball around in their own half, helping the retreating Deng Kai find his rhythm. Kaka moved to the center, and Ronaldinho moved to the right wing, effectively switching positions with Deng Kai.

In the 43rd minute, Deng Kai received the ball and backheeled it past Schneider with a simple dribble.

boom!

Deng Kai passed the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo in front of him.

Cristiano Ronaldo was about to accelerate, but Sebezen was also ready and signaled to his teammates to prepare to cover.

Instead of forcing a one-on-one, Cristiano Ronaldo passed the ball back to Deng Kai without stopping it.

Deng Kai glanced around the field, then cleverly flicked the ball with his heel to Matthäus's right flank, simultaneously pointing forward and shouting, "Through pass, left flank!"

boom!

Matthäus played a through ball without stopping it, piercing through Leverkusen's left flank.

Ronaldo had already started his forward run after passing the ball back to Deng Kai, sprinting forward with Sebezen.

He believed that Deng Kai would get the ball forward.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who started accelerating alongside Sebezen, knew how to run, while Sebezen did not.

The attacker's advantage became immediately apparent.

Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly slowed down, cut inside without the ball, and surged past Sebezen towards the left side of the penalty area.

Ramelo, the center-back who replaced Lucio today, was immediately brought on as replacement.

The ball arrives, Ronaldo arrives, Ramelo arrives.

boom!

Cristiano Ronaldo gets the ball first with his left foot, flicks it to the right, and continues cutting inside.

Lamelo thought Ronaldo was going to go down the byline and then pass across.

Cristiano Ronaldo has always played this way, focusing on crosses, which also leaves more space for Kaká and Ronaldinho to make forward runs in the middle.

Unexpectedly, this time he was preparing to go solo.

Ronaldo's touch sent him right past Ramelo.

By the time Ramelo turned around and stretched out his leg to cover, Ronaldo had already caught up with the ball and unleashed a long-range shot.

when!

The football hit the far post and bounced into the net.

"Goal!"

"Cristiano Ronaldo! Cristiano Ronaldo shows his killer instinct!"

"1-0! Sporting Lisbon has pulled one back on aggregate!"

"That flick and shot was concise and efficient! It highlighted Ronaldo's explosiveness and shooting skills!"

"But this is also because the through ball was positioned so well, drawing Ramelo out of reach, and the position allowed Ronaldo to create threats from either the left or the right!"

"Matthäus is still maintaining an extremely high level of play! There are rumors that he will retire directly at Sporting Lisbon at the end of this season! But it would be such a pity to retire at this level!"

"Of course, we also need to acknowledge Deng Kai, who orchestrated this goal."

"He casually dribbled past Schneider and delivered a brilliant backheel pass."

"Especially his reminder to Matthäus! The direction of Matthäus's through ball was exactly where Duncan was pointing! He saw one of the few defensive gaps on the Leverkusen pitch!"

"This is the role of a top-tier insightful observer and commander!"

"Now, who dares to say it makes no difference whether Deng Kai participates or not?"

Huang Jianxiang is praising Kai to the skies.

He Wei's eyes nearly rolled back in his head.

You can brag about this?

Did Kai score a goal or provide an assist?

Is the plot really worth writing about in such great detail?

Why doesn't UEFA create a Champions League event leaderboard?

Or is it the second to last place on the list?

Outside the stadium, the Sporting Lisbon anthem drifted in.

Sporting Lisbon fans show their unwavering support for the team in their own way.

The look in the eyes of every Sporting Lisbon player was different from before.

There is no confusion in their eyes now.

……

Bernabéu box.

Zidane asked, "How about... we bring the food here?"

Florentino laughed, "Whichever one of them advances, it's just a bonus for the top four. Is it really necessary to be so obsessed with it?"

Zidane touched his slightly balding head and said, "I wouldn't say I've been working day and night, it's just that I'm a little... restless."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!

Old Trafford Stadium.

Scholes: "They're more like a cohesive unit now."

Solskjaer: "Why does Leverkusen seem to have become brittle even though only a few minutes have passed?"

Fanny: "It's like a piece of paper; it can be torn at any time."

Soon, the game entered halftime.

Fifteen minutes later, both sides returned.

The Leverkusen players looked serious; their coach had clearly emphasized the importance of defense.

Tell them to pay more attention to Deng Kai, who has just come on the field.

Meanwhile, the Sporting Lisbon players had flushed faces, clearly having drunk a lot of Maxi's motivational speeches.

Sporting Lisbon quickly gained possession after the second half kicked off.

In the 47th minute, Ronaldo lost possession after being double-teamed on the left wing.

Schneider had no time to counterattack after receiving the ball, and saw Matthäus rushing towards him.

Schneider passed the ball across to Ballack, attempting to stabilize the tempo or have Ballack launch a counter-attack.

But Matthäus flew over and touched the ball with his foot.

The football has strong spin.

Ballack miscontrolled the ball, and it bounced far away.

Deng Kai rushed past and poked the ball away, completing the interception.

Barak immediately chased after Deng Kai.

Novotny also came out to tackle Duncan.

Losing possession in the backfield is extremely dangerous; you have to stop it, even if it means committing a foul.

However, Deng Kai pulled the ball back in a V-shape, dodging Nowotny's sliding tackle while also keeping Ballack in position.

boom!

Deng Kai passed the ball to Drogba, blocking two players.

Drogba passed the ball across to Ronaldinho with his back to goal, then turned and ran into the penalty area.

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