Kai made a wide movement and found Viana, who was completely open on the left.
Viana controlled the ball and passed it back.
With Ronaldo and Viana constantly running, Viana's original position on the left side was completely vacated.
Matthäus stepped up from deep and unleashed a thunderous shot.
The German cannon is quiet when it doesn't fire, but once it does, it's usually a killing blow.
"Ga! Matthäus! Incredible! That long-range shot was absolutely earth-shattering!"
"Matthäus breaks the deadlock and gives Sporting Lisbon the lead!"
"The long shot shattered the iron-barrel defense! In fact, after Gaziantepspor's two counterattacks failed to even reach the danger zone, we already knew the balance of victory had tilted toward Sporting Lisbon."
"When you're under siege like this, conceding is only a matter of time."
With this goal, Sporting Lisbon would be able to play much more comfortably afterward.
Thirty-seventh minute.
Kai and Quaresma switched positions.
Viana passed the ball to Quaresma. Quaresma combined with the drifting Drogba through two quick one-touch passes before driving straight into the right side of the penalty area.
Kai and Quaresma were on the same wavelength, and Kai received the ball near the baseline.
Since they were already inside the box, the defenders didn't dare foul recklessly.
Kai chased down the ball, then pulled and pushed it, spinning sideways with his back facing the defender.
The center-back, who had just been nutmegged, moved along the baseline toward the goal.
The moment Kai made contact with him, he burst outside the baseline and completed a gorgeous pass.
Drogba charged toward the penalty spot calling for the ball.
His positioning was excellent.
He had dropped deep before making the run forward, and there wasn't a real defender around him.
But once again, everyone was staring at Drogba, rushing toward him or trying to cut off the inverted-triangle passing lane between Kai and Drogba.
Boom!
Kai watched Drogba twitch his left foot slightly.
The football rolled through the legs of the center-back rushing in from behind.
If Kai had really passed to Drogba, it would've been a perfect interception.
But Kai...
The football swept across the face of goal, almost perfectly parallel to the goal line.
At its closest point, it was less than a meter away from the goalkeeper.
As long as the keeper was prepared, he could easily catch or clear it.
But everyone's attention—including the goalkeeper's—was fixed on Drogba. Who the hell would've expected Kai to whip in such an outrageous cross across the face of goal?
Especially since Kai hadn't even fully run past the baseline when he passed it. His horizontal position overlapped with the goalpost itself, meaning he couldn't even see the goalkeeper clearly.
How could he be so certain a pass that close to the goalkeeper wouldn't be claimed?
Too much thinking happens in a single instant.
Boom!
Behind the goal, Ronaldo arrived and pushed the ball toward the net.
Although the angle wasn't great, it was basically an empty net, so there was no need to consider the goalkeeper's reaction.
Naturally, the finish wasn't difficult.
"Ga! Ronaldo! Kai assists Ronaldo! What beautiful teamwork!"
"Kai fooled the entire world, including his own teammate Drogba! Drogba was already preparing to shoot!"
"Only Ronaldo understood what Kai was thinking. These two really do have telepathy after growing up together in the youth academy!"
"Two to zero! Sporting Lisbon extends the lead."
Forty-first minute.
Quaresma's long-range effort from outside the box earned Sporting Lisbon a corner.
His corner kick was headed by Drogba, but the ball hit a defender and was cleared.
Another corner kick.
Kai took the corner, but Gaziantepspor's defenders battled it away again. Still another corner.
Consecutive corners look incredibly threatening, but in reality, they're often a warning sign for a possible counterattack.
Kai not only had to think about how to attack this corner, but also how to avoid being countered if the opponent won the ball, so he couldn't try anything too risky.
That's why many teams target the same area during consecutive corner kicks. It makes them look rigid and lacking creativity, but it's stable.
If it doesn't change, it stays safe.
Kai delivered the corner.
In the middle, Fonte, Barzagli, Drogba, and Ronaldo all leaped almost simultaneously, forming a human wall in the air.
Drogba jumped the highest and got the luckiest touch.
Whoosh!
The ball slammed straight into the net.
"Ah!"
Drogba exploded with excitement!
The Frenchman from Côte d'Ivoire had finally broken his scoring drought and scored for his new club at last.
Beep!
The linesman raised his flag.
The referee blew his whistle and ruled the goal out.
He judged that Drogba had committed a clear offensive foul. The reason Drogba got so high in the air was because he had practically climbed onto the defender and used him like a step ladder to leap.
The Sporting Lisbon players surrounded the referee, but nothing could change the decision.
Drogba looked like his soul had left his body.
His first goal still hadn't come.
Meanwhile, several players in the attack already had two or three goals each.
Of course he was anxious!
The final minute before halftime.
The two veterans in the back line started showing off.
After Matthäus and Deschamps combined through a wall pass, Matthäus dribbled past a defender and created a huge threat through the middle.
Ronaldo, Viana, Drogba, Kai, and Quaresma all burst forward like five arrows released from a bow.
Matthäus scanned all directions.
Among them, Kai was slightly slower, and his movement was intentionally drifting toward Drogba's area.
It looked like the most heavily defended route.
But would a legendary midfielder like Matthäus fail to see Kai's intentions?
Boom!
Matthäus fired a direct pass.
Straight toward Drogba's feet.
But the speed and power behind the pass didn't seem meant for Drogba at all.
Too fast.
If Drogba tried to control it hastily, he'd probably produce a first touch worthy of the Chinese national team.
"Oh, why did Matthäus pass the ball like that? That's obviously unwise, isn't it?" Maxa could occasionally understand some football tactics now. In his eyes, Ronaldo on the left and Quaresma on the right were both in far better positions.
They were almost guaranteed to receive the ball cleanly.
Or he could've passed to Viana. Viana was far away from Drogba, and the defenders near him had already drifted toward Drogba because they feared Drogba the most.
Triguera shook his head and explained quietly, "With Matthäus carrying the ball there, the attack has already reached seventh gear. If he passes to Ronaldo or Quaresma, the attack basically stays in seventh gear... or even drops into sixth."
"Every gear can score, but the higher the gear, the greater the scoring probability."
"Ronaldo and Quaresma may seem more dangerous because they're in deeper positions, but they're actually wider. A cross from the wing is always less threatening than a central pass."
"If he passes to Viana, the attack might even reach eighth gear. But eighth gear has good and bad outcomes too."
"The center-back on Viana's side may seem closer to Drogba, but his body orientation is toward Viana. Before Viana even receives the ball, the defender can already move in front of him without losing position defensively."
"In that situation, it comes down to Viana's individual ability or reaction speed. That's no longer considered a tactical success."
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