Chapter 68: Showing Off (Please Add to Favorites)

Wei Lai was not afraid of this kind of purely pace-oriented player. Unless it was the kind of nearly unsolvable absolute speed and explosiveness, there were always specific ways to defend against them.

Furthermore, back at the Willy Football School, Wei Lai had defended Guo Fan to the point of tears and cries for mercy. It could be said that when it came to defending speed-type wingers, he was an absolute authority!

What Wei Lai feared the most was someone of He Chaoyue's type.

Possessing speed, explosiveness, and technique all at once!

For example, with a simple knock-on of the ball, Guo Fan and Bailey would both knock it far forward, sending the ball rolling far away completely out of their controlled range.

As long as Wei Lai judged the timing well, he could easily lock down his position to intercept or disrupt the play.

But He Chaoyue was different!

This guy's knock-on was executed simultaneously with his acceleration. The ball was poked away rather than tapped, and he used his hips to drive his thighs and calves, moving his entire body forward as a single unit.

This guaranteed explosive acceleration while simultaneously keeping the ball within his own controllable radius.

Facing He Chaoyue, Wei Lai dared not leave him any space; he had to stick to him and play aggressively!

"This number five has excellent positional awareness!"

The coaching staff of the Porto Athletics U15 team whispered among themselves.

"His defensive awareness is indeed good, but Bailey is not easy to deal with either. For us, we just need to keep an eye on their number seven!"

As he spoke, this Porto Athletics youth coach directed his gaze toward He Chaoyue in the distant area.

Three group matches, five goals scored, currently leading the top scorer chart!

Having a guy with such exquisite shooting skills running amok in the frontcourt was an extremely dangerous thing.

However, they had also made targeted defensive preparations for this, making sure not to let the number seven get the ball easily, and even cutting off his passing channels.

Xiang Ming trotted left and right on the pitch, only to find that nobody was following him at all.

When he turned to look at the opponents, He Chaoyue's side, by contrast, was surrounded water-tight.

Xiang Ming curled his lips slightly: "Underestimated, are we?"

Even if his performance during the group stage was not as dazzling as He Chaoyue's, it shouldn't come to this, right?

On the pitch, the Porto Athletics U15 executed a throw-in. Wei Lai leaned his shoulder against Bailey and headed the ball away, but under the interference, it was not a clean header.

The ball sailed over Xiang Ming, flying toward the space behind him.

"Mine!"

Wei Lai immediately raised his hand to signal.

At this moment, Xiang Ming looked up at the ball, his body spinning along with it. Catching a glimpse of someone following up from the corner of his eye, he instantly extended his foot and gently flicked the descending ball.

Thud!

The ball was stably chipped backward.

"I'll pressure him!"

That Porto Athletics youth player closed in again, looking for an opportunity to intercept.

But Xiang Ming spun around and chipped the ball once more.

The Porto youth player lunged and grabbed empty air!

"Damn it!"

The Porto youth player snapped in frustration and charged directly at Xiang Ming.

Seeing the ball about to drop, Xiang Ming lightly poked it with the tip of his boot.

Swish!

The ball drilled right between the legs of the Porto youth player, executing a nutmeg!

Simultaneously, Xiang Ming burst into a sprint, completely shaking off his marker.

Due to Xiang Ming being positioned on the flank, this entire sequence of technical mastery was witnessed clearly by the spectators behind the isolation fence, immediately triggering an uproar of cheers.

"Brilliant!"

"What did I just witness?"

"Two consecutive mid-air back-spins with chips, followed by a nutmeg! That was simply spectacular!"

"Hey! Kid, well done!"

Several local spectators were instantly captivated by Xiang Ming's performance.

In his own half, Wei Lai also grinned.

He silently offered a moment of condolence to that Porto youth player!

Two overhead chips, one nutmeg.

That was enough for his teammates to make fun of him for a good while!

Xiang Ming sprinted all the way down the flank, intending to sweep a cross into the center, but the opposing center-back was no pushover. Making a pre-judgment, he stuck out a foot and blocked the ball out of play.

"Ah!!!"

Xiang Ming immediately clutched his head in regret: "So close!"

If that ball had been whipped in, Luo Xiang would have been facing an almost empty net.

"My fault! My fault!"

Xiang Ming raised his hand in acknowledgment.

Luo Xiang raised his hand in return, indicating it was no big deal.

In the 8th minute, Porto Athletics tried their luck down the flank again, refusing to give up. Using the exact same method and recipe, they attempted to brute-force past Wei Lai with sheer pace.

Thud!

Wei Lai turned his head just in time to watch Bailey crash headfirst into Yang Fan, prompting him to curl his lips:

"Did you really think I don't know how to call for backup!"

"Old Wei!" Yang Fan roared, directly passing the ball to Wei Lai.

There were no defensive players around Wei Lai, so he wasn't in a rush to pass.

Right at that moment, Xiang Ming suddenly dropped deep, pressing his hand downward to signal for the ball.

Wei Lai did not hesitate in the slightest and passed it immediately.

In this team, there were only two people who could make Wei Lai pass the ball without a single shred of hesitation: one was He Chaoyue, and the other was Xiang Ming.

This was built on absolute trust!

Wei Lai trusted Xiang Ming; this guy would definitely not lose the ball!

Wei Lai's pass had quite some velocity behind it, but it landed right in Xiang Ming's comfort zone.

Before dropping back, Xiang Ming had glanced back to observe, confirming that he had successfully lured the full-back out of position.

Therefore, the space behind the flank was completely empty!

Facing the incoming ball, Xiang Ming cushioned it with the tip of his boot, causing the ball to pop up into the air to roughly knee-height.

Hearing the rapid footsteps approaching from behind, the corners of Xiang Ming's mouth curved upward slightly.

"Can't help yourself, huh? Want to steal it?"

At this moment, instead of watching the ball, Xiang Ming suddenly snapped his head to look at Luo Xiang.

"Run!"

Luo Xiang didn't hesitate for a second, cutting diagonally forward at once!

The direction of his run was precisely the empty space left behind by the full-back whom Xiang Ming had drawn away.

Simultaneously, Xiang Ming planted his left foot, tilted his body to the left, lifted his right leg with his knee sharply folded, and violently struck the mid-air ball with his heel.

"Holy cow!"

Chen Shaojie's eyes widened in disbelief.

Was he really going to be this flashy?

Zheng Yang burst into laughter: "Show time!——"

The ball flew into the vacant space on the flank, and Luo Xiang chased after it.

He Chaoyue had already surged into the center, while on the right flank, Liu Baoguo had also galloped up in time.

Wei Lai's eyes shone brightly: "Three against three! No! Four against three!!——"

Xiang Ming was seen sprinting all the way toward the penalty box, shouting as he ran.

"Cut-back!——"

Hearing the call, Luo Xiang played the pass.

Even though his left foot wasn't his strongest, he still managed to hook it across.

By this time, Xiang Ming had already broken into the penalty box, causing the opposing defenders to panic immensely.

"Block him!!"

They screamed in terror.

Porto Athletics' number two center-back rushed toward Xiang Ming, launching into a sliding tackle from a short distance away.

There was no other choice!

If he didn't slide tackle, he wouldn't be able to make the block in time.

Yet Xiang Ming seemed to have anticipated this. He stepped on the ball, dragged it horizontally, and poked it away, opening up a shooting angle in the opposite direction.

Simultaneously, he pulled back his right leg, locked his ankle, and whipped it toward the ball.

Thud!

A solid, low-driven shot aiming for the far corner.

The goalkeeper had positioned himself closer to the near post and was completely powerless against this shot to the far corner, left with no choice but to watch the ball drill into the back of the net.

"What the hell? Is he really this suave?"

Yang Fan stood dumbfounded.

"Is this what an elf looks like?"

Wei Lai's heart was surging as well; this entire attacking sequence was nothing short of art, entirely orchestrated and connected by Xiang Ming.

The others also shouted out in succession.

"Xiang Ming! You absolute beast!"

"Too flashy, man!"

"He's putting on a show!"

"Hahaha! What a gorgeous finish!"

"One goal up!"

At this moment, Xiang Ming knelt on both knees, pointing both index fingers toward the sky while muttering under his breath.

"As expected... I am the damn coolest! Absolutely badass!"