Chapter 148: Little Ronaldo's Talent
November 2 — matchday.
The sky, gloomy all day, finally began to drizzle.
Xia Qi clapped his hands and called his teammates off their warm-up.
With Jack Wilshere out of action and Kevin De Bruyne's comeback delayed, Arsenal had to put Xia Qi back in the attacking midfield role.
In this 4-5-1, neither former captain Thomas Vermaelen nor vice-captain Mikel Arteta were in the starting XI.
By sequence Per Mertesacker should have been captain, but in the last North London Derby Vermaelen had handed the armband to Xia Qi,
and in this 4-5-1 Xia Qi was the absolute core — so naturally he became captain. From that day on more scouts began attending matches.
London is a rainy city, and the Emirates staff were experienced; they quickly distributed disposable rain ponchos to the leaders of each supporters' group.
That allowed the distribution to finish quickly.
Some old fans had brought their own rainwear; disposable ponchos are thin and uncomfortable.
In the dressing room, Xia Qi and the others quickly dried off, changed into dry match kits, and put on jackets.
Under the assistant coach's supervision they swapped short studs for the long studs used on wet, muddy pitches.
After all that they waited for Arsène Wenger's pre-match talk.
…
"Friends in the audience, this is Penguin Sports live. Welcome to our on-time broadcast at one in the early morning on Saturday for Round 10 of the 2013–2014 Premier League: Arsenal hosting Liverpool."
"I'm commentator Zhang Lu."
"I'm your old friend Zhan Jun."
Zhan Jun: "Tonight's match is a Premier League heavyweight clash that can affect the title race.
After nine rounds Liverpool are seven points behind Arsenal; aside from Arsenal themselves, almost everyone wants Liverpool to win."
"With stirring opening music, both teams are now standing in their halves."
"First, the starting lineups!"
"The side in traditional red-and-white is the home team Arsenal. Tonight they line up in a 4-5-1 and their starting goalkeeper is…"
"The team in black-and-white is the away side Liverpool. They're set up in a 4-3-3 and their starting goalkeeper is Simon Mignolet;
Left back: Jon Flanagan
Center backs: Martin Škrtel, Virgil van Dijk
Right back: Glen Johnson
Left midfield: Steven Gerrard
Right midfield: Jordan Henderson
Attacking midfield: Philippe Coutinho
Left wing: Mohamed Salah
Center forward: Daniel Sturridge
Right wing: Sadio Mané."
"The away Liverpool, seven points behind the Premier League leaders Arsenal, have taken an all-or-nothing stance."
"Indeed, trailing by seven they must grab all three points; otherwise the title drama will fade too early."
…
"Ding dong."
"Host, please choose 'Training' or 'Match' mode."
"Match."
"Host, please select field position: A Forward, B Midfield…"
"B."
"Detected the host's team is currently in difficulty; matching host with the [Football Sprite] attribute."
Xia Qi privately mourned for Liverpool — the Football Sprite is an absolute once-in-fifty-or-even-hundred-years attacking-midfielder genius: delicate dribbling, precise long and short passing, top-class awareness, almost all-around with no obvious weaknesses.
Liverpool matching that attribute — is that good luck or tremendous luck?…
"Please choose 'Autonomous Mode' or 'One-click AFK Mode'."
"Friendly reminder: during AFK the system will automatically complete all actions."
…
"Beep!"
In a fine rain the referee blew the whistle to start the match.
"The match is underway…"
Amid the huge cheers at the Emirates.
Liverpool kicked off.
Daniel Sturridge played to Philippe Coutinho.
Arsenal immediately launched a ferocious high press.
Coutinho had just received the ball when he saw a large figure rushing in.
"Mario Balotelli pressing Coutinho."
"Arsenal are intense out of the gate — a full-field high press from the start. Isn't that Klopp's signature move?"
"Maybe Wenger doesn't want Klopp to reap the credit, so he's using the same method against him."
Because the pitch was slippery in the rain, Coutinho stumbled on the ball when turning and didn't get a clean touch.
"Boom!"
Balotelli reacted instantly and swept the ball with his left leg toward the loose ball.
The ball changed direction and rolled toward Liverpool's goal.
Coutinho's reaction was experienced and agile — he didn't chase the ball immediately but sidestepped like lightning, opened his arms, and used his body to shield Balotelli behind him.
"Beautiful positioning!"
"Coutinho handling that like an old pro!"
"That's experience — if he'd contested Balotelli for that ball he might have lost it."
Steven Gerrard reached the ball and slotted it back to goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Amid massive jeers from Arsenal fans, Mignolet obeyed and quickly launched a long kick; the ball accurately found left winger Mohamed Salah.
Santi Cazorla, defending Salah, clearly underestimated the Egyptian — he was dispossessed by a sudden burst.
Salah controlled and, before Cazorla could recover, played a surgical diagonal through-ball.
The pass evaded all Arsenal defenders and landed at Daniel Sturridge's near point.
Around Arsenal's half, near the center circle arc.
Sturridge charged forward without slowing, nudged the ball past Per Mertesacker and skimmed to the other side of him.
"A drag-pass beyond the man!"
"Danger! Arsenal pressed too high; there's a huge open pitch behind them."
Mertesacker's slow turn is his fatal weakness — by the time he pivoted, Sturridge had already sprinted toward the Arsenal box.
The Emirates' loud jeers tried to disrupt Sturridge's rhythm — of course, to little effect.
Sadio Mané sprinted forward and quickly formed an attacking axis with Sturridge.
At the edge of Arsenal's box there was only Samuel Umtiti — he was retreating while trying to intercept passes between Sturridge and Mané.
Goalkeeper Martínez was caught in a dilemma: come off his line and risk a Sturridge lob, or stay and leave Umtiti one-on-two — too difficult.
On the touchline Jürgen Klopp clenched his fists, ready to perform his trademark "farmer's three punches."
Wenger chewed his lips, trembling as he tugged at his coat's zipper…
In an instant the Emirates fell silent; Arsenal fans' hearts lifted to their throats — almost everyone seemed to be conversing with God…
Liverpool fans, meanwhile, watched the pitch nervously for fear of affecting the players with noise.
The sudden hush made Sturridge uneasy.
Like an online singer missing backing music and going off-key, his stride became ragged.
Seeing this, Umtiti didn't think — he seized the moment, surged forward, and stuck a leg in at the ball.
Whether because the turf was wet or Sturridge's nerves, he slipped and lost the last chance to salvage the situation…
Umtiti got the ball away.
On the touchline Wenger finally won his battle with the zipper and leaned back in his seat satisfied.
On the other side Klopp shouted into the pitch: "Get back! Quick, get back!"
Play swung the other way.
Umtiti dribbled a couple of steps out of danger, scanned the front, and passed to Santi Cazorla.
Cazorla set the ball, didn't take a touch, and chipped a thirty-meter rainbow into Liverpool's half.
Virgil van Dijk sprinted like an arrow toward the drop point.
Van Dijk's ability is unquestionable; his judgment of the landing was very accurate.
As he closed in, a shiver crawled up the back of his neck — his sixth sense warned of danger.
In the corner of his eye a red figure streaked in.
Red No. 9!
Xia Qi!
Van Dijk immediately took a long stride to shift and put himself between Xia Qi and the ball.
"Van Dijk's defending is watertight!"
Although Zhang Lu of Penguin usually supported Xia Qi, even he couldn't help praising Van Dijk's defense.
With that block the ball and Xia Qi were separated by a giant nearly 1.9-meter defender, so everyone assumed Xia Qi couldn't reach it.
But,
Geniuses don't follow the usual path!
Xia Qi, sprinting, leaped high like a soaring roc.
The sky itself is not this roc's limit — let alone Van Dijk???
Van Dijk had calculated everything except that when he jumped from the near point he still might be outjumped by Xia Qi.
A contested aerial over the marker!
Xia Qi's upper body flew over Van Dijk's head; he met the falling ball with a lion-like flick of his head.
The ball arced over Škrtel's head and dropped behind him.
At the same time a red streak flew past Škrtel's side toward the ball.
"Balotelli!"
"Through on goal!"
"Van Dijk may have stopped Xia Qi getting possession, but he can't stop Xia Qi's pass."
"The chemistry between Xia Qi and Balotelli is incredible; the deadly delivery is en route…"
Instantly,
the Emirates erupted; thousands of fans, hearts pounding, cried: "Super Mario!" "Super Mario!"
They didn't realize the Telepathic Synchrony bonus — they worship Balotelli's timing.
Without the Synchrony, the goal would look more like Balotelli's clever run than Xia Qi's pass. To outsiders it seemed Balotelli only made the run after Xia Qi's header, but Balotelli's ability to seize fleeting chances is almost divine.
With Telepathic Synchrony it's different — this entire move was orchestrated by Xia Qi; his credit is at least ninety percent.
On the pitch,
Xia Qi landed and sprinted forward.
Škrtel and Van Dijk were sprinting back too.
Mignolet stayed calm; facing Balotelli one-on-one he didn't rush out but instead covered the near post.
Balotelli's control and dribble were seamless, fitting his "god" persona — aloof from mortal concerns.
He took a touch, shifted the ball — a feint!
Trying to wrong-foot Mignolet, but he couldn't.
The ball struck Mignolet and bounced off; Škrtel arrived but couldn't control his body and deflected the ricochet back toward goal.
At the threshold of the line, Simon Mignolet made two rapid saves and pawed the ball away.
Whether that was good luck or bad luck, the ball didn't fly far and landed at Xia Qi's feet.
Then,
that black-haired youth burst from the rain like death itself,
halted abruptly,
cut his step,
planted his studs!
Leant his body to the left,
swinging his right foot…
At that moment,
Mignolet's spirit fled; his double-save joy turned into a stabbing chill.
Škrtel threw himself, the last man who could salvage the situation…
For a heartbeat,
the air felt frozen,
everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the ball…
"Boom!"
A thunderous sound!
The ball shot like a cannonball,
with no spin, just raw power straight at goal.
Škrtel saw a flash of white disappear under his dive and turned; the ball hit the net, bulging it into a small tent.
1–0!
Despite the twists and turns,
Arsenal had broken the deadlock first.
At the moment of the goal Van Dijk couldn't stop his body and collided with Xia Qi's single-legged shot.
The Emirates trembled at that instant!
"Beautiful!"
"A gorgeous close-range thunderbolt!"
"Mignolet's double-save was helpless — he could only watch the ball smash into the net."
The internet exploded:
[That goal was so convoluted!]
[What a roller-coaster play — a cinematic turn of events. First Liverpool had a two-on-one and it looked like Arsenal would concede, then Umtiti turned hero one-on-two. Then Van Dijk's challenge looked like it would end Arsenal's attack, but Xia Qi produced a contested header over a man to create the chance. Balotelli's breakaway, Mignolet's block, Škrtel's near-own goal, Mignolet's heroic double-save — and then he gifts the ball to Xia Qi. From hero to bear in one moment…]
[No even the most dim-witted hack writer Xia Qi Fuding could have scripted this; yet it happened in real life.]
[I'm too nervous to pee…]
[The key was Xia Qi's contested header — Van Dijk got complacent…]
On the touchline Klopp shook his arms in disappointment; in his eyes the players had done their jobs but lacked a bit of luck.
If the ball hadn't deflected off Škrtel into the net maybe everything would have been different.
Wenger, meanwhile, unzipped his coat in excitement…
In the rain, after the whistle, Xia Qi scrambled up, helped Van Dijk to his feet, spread his arms as if flying, and ran toward the South Stand…
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10