Chapter 214: No Championship Is Won Casually
The key to the clearance-counter is the clearance itself.
The ball wasn't launched straight into Real Madrid's box—it flew toward the top of Real Madrid's half-circle at the center.
Xia Qi and Sergio Ramos were like arrows launched from bows, sprinting toward the ball's landing spot.
They were running toward each other.
Xia Qi sped from Arsenal's half toward Real Madrid's goal; Ramos sprinted from his side toward Arsenal's goal.
Ramos was slightly closer to his own half-circle, but to the disappointment of Real Madrid fans, Xia Qi arrived first.
What disappointed them more was that Xia Qi was not just a hair quicker—he had enough time at the landing spot to make a move.
Xia Qi turned, spread his arms, and pinned Ramos behind him.
"Foul!"
"Foul!"
Real Madrid fans shouted for a foul—not because Xia Qi's move was an obvious foul, but because they wanted Ramos to use his "little black hand" (tactical foul).
If it were an ordinary moment, they wouldn't have been so nervous—stopping Xia Qi's control then wouldn't be catastrophic.
But now they were desperate to safe the draw.
Ramos shared that thought. He didn't slow down when blocked; he steeled himself, floored it, and barreled into him.
"Thud!"
The dull sound of bodies colliding carried across the stadium.
"Those four villains sure are ruthless!"
That was the first thought in everyone's minds, followed immediately by disbelief.
What they expected—a crash—didn't happen. Xia Qi seemed unbothered, leaning on Ramos, unaffected, and lifted his right foot to prepare to control the ball!
What on earth?
Did Ramos skip a meal? Or had he turned traitor?
No time to jeer!
Fans held their breath and widened their eyes...
At that moment,
the ball fell from the air and grazed the top of Xia Qi's right foot; Xia Qi's right foot then flicked down slightly, like a chef flipping a pan—the motion akin to a skilled cook handling a ladle.
If you slowed that control down ten times, you'd see the ball didn't just touch his instep once but many times.
Each contact allowed the instep to drop slightly and dissipate the ball's downward force.
This was a high-level technique.
With that drop, the ball settled stably on Xia Qi's instep.
"Marcelo-like control!"
"What a gorgeous control!"
Commentators Jan Jun and Zhang Lu almost exclaimed in unison: "That control is art—Asian body, Brazilian technique!"
"This is a control you can brag about for life."
"Many players can control on their instep, and Marcelo—sitting on Real Madrid's bench—has the best technique. But Xia Qi did it after being rammed by Ramos. That's not easy; it deserves praise."
"If the defender had been Marcelo and Xia Qi had controlled it like Marcelo, that scene would have had a clash of styles."
"Ha... daring to show off in front of the original owner of the role—you really have guts. I worry Xia Qi won't get out of the stadium; Murong Fu won't have a good end..."
The spectacular control was only the beginning; even more brilliant things were to come...
Seeing Xia Qi show skill, Ramos flew into a rage. Without thinking, he reached his leg to poke at Xia Qi's controlling foot.
If he could injure Xia Qi, all the better, to confirm his "leader of the four villains" reputation.
If not, disrupting his control would still do.
But handsome guys shouldn't be so vain!
Just as Ramos reached his leg, Xia Qi's ankle flicked like a chef's wrist; the ball popped out of the "pan," flew over both their heads...
At the same time, Xia Qi disengaged, and Ramos—who had committed forward—suddenly lost his balance and momentum, stumbled. A poke? No chance—if he didn't faceplant, that'd be generous.
Ramos staggered as Xia Qi turned,
as if they had rehearsed it perfectly; the lobbed control turned into a plausible attacking move.
"This lobbed dribble—both offense and defense in one—Xia Qi isn't Murong Fu but Wudang's Zhang Sanfeng..."
"Softness with strength, truly brilliant!"
In the duo commentators' excitement, Chinese viewers at home almost all rose to watch the live broadcast.
A broadcast compelling enough to stand for says how thrilling the match was...
Fans at the Emirates reacted loudly—cheers and applause thundered.
In the applause, Ramos and his partner Raphaël Varane were rattled; their nerves led to poor defensive decisions.
Varane charged toward Xia Qi from the front,
Ramos charged from behind,
both single-mindedly trying to stop Xia Qi and ignoring the bigger picture...
Xia Qi met the falling ball and, before it hit the ground, chested it up and flicked it over the top of Varane's head,
sending the ball to the patch of "green grass" beyond Varane as a pass to himself three seconds later.
At the same time Xia Qi didn't rush forward; he ran outward in a "C" shaped run across the pitch, avoiding possible tactical fouls from the two center-backs.
Varane and Ramos had to brake hard—otherwise they'd collide. In that situation they couldn't mount an immediate double-defensive effort.
Arsenal fans' chants swelled dramatically; everyone wished they could leap onto the pitch to fight beside Xia Qi.
"Skill beats strength; strength lost!"
"Varane should have stepped back and defended—fall back into the box and work the angles with goalkeeper Iker Casillas, forcing Ramos and Xia Qi to tangle..."
"Real Madrid's backline is collapsing—Casillas has left his post..."
When Xia Qi's C-shaped run reached the ball, he was approaching the edge of the penalty area.
Seeing only himself could stop Xia Qi, Iker Casillas rushed out recklessly.
When a goalkeeper abandons his line, he faces the risk of a chip shot.
As Xia Qi stepped on the penalty area line and lifted the right foot which had twice succeeded in lobbed shots before,
Casillas made a move he would regret forever:
he slammed on the brakes and tried to reverse his run.
But he had already begun to lean back.
Xia Qi's raised right foot didn't actually lob the ball; it was a feint.
A shot—fake!
In an instant,
Casillas's mouth expressed bitter regret; his backward lean had been committed. He had to forcibly use his core to interrupt his own backward motion,
creating a one-second "scarecrow" moment, which for Xia Qi was more than enough time...
After the feint, Xia Qi's right foot flicked the ball quickly to the left; his left foot followed up with a touch, and he darted past the frozen "scarecrow" goalkeeper.
Ahead of him lay the gaping empty net.
Unless he was a practitioner of "fun football," Arsenal fans could celebrate.
When the ball rolled into the net and the net rippled, thunder rolled across the Emirates...
"Xia..." (voice cracks)
Some fans were so excited they tried to storm the pitch and were restrained by security.
"Goal! Xia Qi beat Casillas with a feint and slotted it into the empty net! Winner! Xia Qi's 89th-minute winner."
"Who would have thought? Ten seconds ago Real Madrid were attacking; ten seconds later Real Madrid were beaten. That's football—how can you not love it?"
After scoring, Xia Qi deactivated his autopilot.
He turned and sprinted toward the Arsenal fans, hurdled a pitchside advertisement, then leapt onto the stand and dived into the arms of the delirious Arsenal supporters.
In an instant the fans went even crazier; they hauled Xia Qi up, slapped his back, shoulders, even bottom, and shouted his name.
When Xia Qi reappeared on camera his face was covered in lip prints...
He was then engulfed by his teammates, even goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez joined the celebration.
Back at the broadcast, commentator Jan Jun continued passionately: "This is a superstar! When the team and fans need a hero, he leads them out of adversity to victory… This is an epic match; both sides produced hat-tricks, but Xia Qi's hat-trick is a bit more valuable..."
"Tonight has no losers. Cristiano Ronaldo showed his Champions League pedigree—unlike Zlatan Ibrahimović who sometimes falters, Cristiano always performs in the Champions League. This defeat won't harm his value..."
"This result is a real pity for Real Madrid and Cristiano. At one point they were so close to victory and Lady Luck seemed to favor them: Arsenal's Kevin De Bruyne and Per Mertesacker got injured..."
"Sadly, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti made a fatal mistake—he brought on youth product Álvaro Morata in such a critical match. It proves not every youngster can shoulder a big role. Players like Xia Qi, Lionel Messi, or Cristiano Ronaldo who can lead from a young age are rare..."
On the touchline, Arsène Wenger and substitutes like Kevin De Bruyne and Per Mertesacker celebrated passionately—the professor had gone mad for a moment too...
Xia Qi's goal came in the 89th minute; there were three minutes of stoppage time to play.
Cristiano Ronaldo reminded the referee to add the time.
In fact, apart from Cristiano, everyone else had accepted that Xia Qi's winner decided the match.
Earlier, Real Madrid had pressed Arsenal but couldn't find the breakthrough; now buoyant Arsenal could withstand Real Madrid's final flurry.
When Xia Qi dribbled past Casillas he had already siphoned Real Madrid's fighting spirit—except for Cristiano.
Cristiano saw his teammates listless and grew anxious.
He shouted to his teammates: "Wake up! The match isn't over—what kind of bullshit winner was that? Pass me the ball and let me show you a real winner."
That woke them up!
Captain Sergio Ramos pumped his fist and rallied: "Cristiano's right—we still have chances. They made an unforgivable mistake: popping the champagne before the game's over..."
Popping the champagne will backfire!
Ramos struck the nerve: Real Madrid's players began to regain morale.
Arsenal players, still caught up in celebration, hugged and sauntered back to their half.
They didn't notice Cristiano waiting at the center circle for the restart, his gaze burning like fire...
After play restarted,
Cristiano sprinted toward Arsenal's goal.
This was a pre-arranged tactic by Real Madrid.
The former center-forward, double-footed Álvaro Morata, took a wider position.
Cristiano moved into the scoring positions, Karim Benzema acted as the secondary, and others supplied the ammunition—this was Real Madrid's plan.
But Xia Qi shadowed Cristiano like his own shadow, while Xia Qi's teammates surged to intercept and win the ball.
Arsenal pressed like rabid dogs and for a time flummoxed Real Madrid.
In Real Madrid's plan, Arsenal should have been pinned back.
This sudden change put Real Madrid on the back foot; they retreated and resorted to backward triangles and passes.
On the bench, Carlo Ancelotti, unlike his unsettled players, saw an opportunity.
He leapt to the touchline and yelled for all-out pressing.
Dropping back yields fewer shooting chances—
push everyone forward to create more shooting opportunities; that's the only solution.
He shouted wildly, trying to wake up the "sleepwalkers."
Arsenal not parking the bus is our chance!
Attack!
Attack!
Toni Kroos, the coolest head, was the first to sound Real Madrid's counterattack.
After pulling a ball and turning, he dodged Mario Balotelli's tackle and released a long pass.
The ball arrived at Cristiano's feet in the final third; Cristiano's quick feints toppled Gustavo and he charged into the big box.
As Arsenal's penalty area alarm bells rang, Xia Qi's sliding tackle followed.
A clean, crisp tackle—there was no way to accuse Cristiano of diving.
Cristiano stood awkwardly unsure whether to go down...
Among Arsenal fans' laughter, Xia Qi sprang up, drove forward with the ball, and within seconds crossed the halfway line into Real Madrid's half.
When Luka Modrić advanced to intercept, Xia Qi turned and delivered a 30-plus-meter reverse-triangle long pass to left-back Luke Shaw.
Xia Qi even signaled for his team to slow the tempo and not rush the attack.
Real Madrid fans booed at Arsenal's time-wasting.
Arsenal players now understood Xia Qi's intent—they were managing the clock.
Before Álvaro Morata charged in, Luke Shaw passed the ball back to goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez.
Martínez distributed to the right to Santi Cazorla, who played it back to retreating Xia Qi.
Xia Qi advanced again, did two wall passes with Mario Balotelli, and once more closed in on Real Madrid's penalty area.
Just as Real Madrid shuffled to defend, Xia Qi played the ball back in a reverse-triangle pass.
One push, and the threat faded.
Real Madrid's morale dipped twice from Xia Qi's reverse-triangle plays.
Gustavo made an error while passing with Santi Cazorla in midfield; Luka Modrić intercepted. Modrić glanced at Cristiano,
saw Xia Qi still glued to him, and passed to Morata, who ignored Benzema's outstretched hand and shot—his strike deflected off Samuel Umtiti's leg. Vermaelen followed up with a big clearance, and Balotelli and Kroos contested in the center circle.
The referee then blew the full-time whistle.
Cristiano stamped his foot in fury when the whistle sounded...
"Arsenal... champions!"
"Back-to-back Champions League titles! Arsenal are incredible!"
"At the season start Arsenal declared they would win more trophies but no one believed them. Now, at season's end, they did it: a clean sweep, an unprecedented grand slam—Xia Qi and his teammates built a dynasty together..."
(END CHAPTER)
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