In the end, the ball slowly crossed the goal line and came to a complete stop less than ten centimeters inside it.
This goal was ridiculously lucky.
But… a goal is a goal.
Beep!
The referee blew the whistle and pointed to the center circle, confirming it!
Benfica's players didn't even have time to complain. The referee immediately blew the whistle again—two short, one long.
Full-time!
The referee had practically given Benfica a chance to respond…
…but they failed to take it.
Instead, Kai seized his opportunity.
Three goals—hat trick!
Kai became both the youngest goalscorer and the youngest hat-trick scorer in Portuguese Cup history!
…
"Caesar returns! The king arrives! Sporting Lisbon's loanee scores a hat trick to defeat Benfica!"
"The 'CD connection' strikes again! Kai leads 'Little Sporting Lisbon' into the Portuguese Cup semi-finals!"
"The only true king of the Stadium of Light—Kai!"
"Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo—Portugal's youngest goal and assist record breakers!"
"From bottom of the table to safety—Triguera's Moreirense is a complete success!"
"With pressure mounting on Materazzi, Sporting Lisbon's first team still shows little improvement!"
"Heynckes: The opponent lacked sportsmanship. Maniche's red card was extremely unfair! Triguera's instigation is shocking for a former youth coach!"
"Maniche: He said something outrageous to me. I don't regret the red card—I only regret not punching him!"
"Kai: Maniche needs to stay calm. Altino did a great job defending him. If Maniche had joined Moreirense this winter, he'd be celebrating with us right now."
This Portuguese Cup match brought Moreirense into the spotlight of Portuguese football media and the general public.
No one expected that joining the Portuguese Liga wasn't the peak for Triguera, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kai—
…it was just the beginning.
This is professional football.
Not youth training.
In club evaluation systems, performances in professional matches carry massive weight, while youth-level results barely matter.
That's why players like Simão and Ricardo Quaresma could jump from €1–3 million in youth value to €15–20 million after just one season in the top league.
"Ding! You have completed a match…"
After the game, Kai received his rewards.
Now that he had entered professional football, he no longer needed training dummies or energy drinks.
Match rewards alone were enough to sustain his development.
His training efficiency had reached maximum capacity.
From this match, Kai obtained a blue-tier skill:
Inverted Triangle Cutback Pass
This is a very common move in football—but deceptively technical.
Most players perform it by turning their body to create a passing angle before delivering the ball.
The advantage: stability and accuracy.
The downside: it takes time.
And in football, even a tenth of a second can decide everything.
If you're too slow, the pass gets blocked—or the defense resets.
So what's the alternative?
Instead of turning your body, you adjust your leg swing, contact point, and technique to send a reverse rolling pass without changing your facing direction.
This kind of pass is sudden and unpredictable.
It creates chances even when there seems to be none.
For late-arriving midfielders, this is crucial—because if you wait until teammates turn, defenders will already be marking you.
A perfect example:
In the 2022 World Cup knockout match where the Netherlands beat the USA 3–1, Denzel Dumfries delivered two such cutbacks—earning Man of the Match with one goal and two assists.
In addition, Kai received a star fragment.
From João Pinto.
"Glory of Portugal's Golden Generation (1/5)"
Portugal's golden generation is aging, and they hope the next wave will carry on their legacy.
+2 Offensive Movement
+2 Shooting
Collect all fragments for a major reward.
Kai couldn't help but curse internally.
Now even star rewards come in fragments?
Did Tencent fully acquire this system or what?
Still, based on experience, the final reward would definitely be huge.
To collect all fragments, he'd likely need to face more players from Portugal's golden generation.
Figo… Rui Costa…
Yeah, right. Not happening anytime soon.
Barcelona, led by Figo, were still competing for the La Liga title.
Even though they eventually fell behind Deportivo, they were still elite.
Rui Costa's Fiorentina had just finished third in Serie A and reached the Coppa Italia final.
No way Kai would meet them in the Portuguese Liga.
Maybe… once he reached the Primeira Liga.
Because of Kai's explosive performance, reporters interviewed Sporting Lisbon's head coach, Materazzi.
Reporter:
"Next season, when Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo return from loan, will they be integrated into the first team?"
Materazzi:
"Questions like this make me question your professionalism. What are you thinking? They're only fifteen years old! Players that age belong in youth teams."
"Triguera is excellent at developing players. Even in the Portuguese Liga, he's making Ronaldo and Kai look like future superstars."
On the surface, Materazzi's words sounded normal.
But his assistant coach, Maxa, understood the deeper meaning.
After joining, Materazzi brought his own staff—reducing Maxa to a figurehead assistant.
Yet Maxa didn't complain.
He worked tirelessly—arriving early, leaving late.
Cleaning locker rooms, setting up training, talking to players, managing morale…
He did everything.
Without asking for anything in return.
Like a saint.
Players respected him. Staff admired him.
Some even called him—
"The Saint."
The only reason they didn't call him the "Mars Saint"…
…was to give Materazzi some face.
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