Chapter 139: From Two Down to a Comeback, the Airborne Roamer
Play continued.
Only three minutes into the second half, Santi Cazorla already felt exhausted.
The fatigue didn't come from his body but from his mind.
The pressure was too great.
He would never have imagined that after such good cooperation with Kevin De Bruyne last season, this season they couldn't coexist.
It all came down to possession.
Forget it — give up the ball, for the sake of victory.
With that thought, Cazorla cast his eyes forward.
There, De Bruyne was driving forward with the ball, while Xia Qi dropped back to offer support; Mario Balotelli crowded the center, and Theo Walcott thundered down the right wing...
Clearly, the Arsenal side, two goals down, had begun to make some changes — not just Cazorla, but Xia Qi, Balotelli, Walcott...
"Ding Ding, you can do it. The lads will run for you off the ball, just go for it..." Cazorla shouted inside his head.
...
De Bruyne carried the ball forward. Aston Villa midfield general Ashley Westwood came up to press, but De Bruyne didn't try to force it.
He passed the ball out — not to the retreating Xia Qi but to the one moving up to support, Cazorla.
Obviously, for the sake of victory De Bruyne had adjusted too; he was willing to share possession with Cazorla.
On the sidelines, Pat Rice excitedly punched the air like a farmer's three-fist celebration, shouting, "Arsène, I think this'll work."
Wenger inwardly felt pleased but said aloud, "Calm down, Pat. We'll see."
On the pitch, Cazorla received De Bruyne's pass just behind Westwood. He feigned a wall-pass with De Bruyne to fool Westwood into not abandoning his mark on De Bruyne, and before Bacuna could close him down he slid a diagonal pass to the right to Theo Walcott.
Xia Qi at the near post paused for a second, then immediately turned to run toward Walcott.
He ran that way to make sure the distance between him and Walcott was right — so when Walcott wanted to play it, Xia Qi would be his first outlet.
"Is Xia Qi helping Cazorla and Kevin tidy up the attack?"
"Call it plugging the gaps."
"Then should we call him 'Xia Mom'? No, we already have a 'Caz Mom' — call him 'Xia Dad'."
"19-year-old dad? I'm okay with that."
On the touchline Wenger and Pat Rice understood Xia Qi's intention.
Arsenal had played so poorly tonight that Al-Xia Qi had to be ready to cover at any moment.
Sure enough, Walcott charged two steps forward, spotted Clark rushing at him, and played the ball to Xia Qi.
Xia Qi didn't control it; he passed it behind Clark. Walcott sprinted forward and the two played a wall pass down the flank.
Walcott easily beat Clark; after the pass, Xia Qi turned and made a diagonal run into the box.
Walcott, bearing down, received the ball and didn't continue to hug the byline; he brought the ball under control, glanced up to observe the penalty area.
In the box, Mario Balotelli was jockeying with defenders centrally, making himself ready to receive and shoot.
Xia Qi was sprinting toward the goal inside the large box...
Walcott quickly judged the situation and slid the ball to Xia Qi at the front post.
Al-Xia Qi looked up at the ball and began to adjust his steps.
Antonio Luna had originally been marking Balotelli centrally, but when he lifted his head and saw the ball flying toward the penalty spot and Xia Qi charging for the bounce, he abandoned Balotelli and turned to run toward the penalty spot.
Ron Vlaar, tracking back with Xia Qi's diagonal run, shadowed him.
In short,
Xia Qi
had enemies in front and pursuers behind.
Xia Qi thought to himself: if everyone jumps near the penalty spot, a 1v2 would make it hard to win the ball.
While thinking how to break it,
Al-Xia Qi provided the answer.
With some distance still to the ball, Al-Xia Qi suddenly leapt while running.
That sudden jump completely disrupted the defenders' timing.
Vlaar, who had been running back with Xia Qi, never expected Xia Qi to try to win the jump early; he had been watching the ball, judging the drop point and moment. By his reckoning, Xia Qi should take one more step before jumping — that would be the ideal timing.
Vlaar, inwardly scoffing that Xia Qi was all hype and would mistime it, still had to contest; better to risk it than let it go.
Vlaar leapt with Xia Qi, and while in the air a little black hand grabbed Xia Qi's shirt hem and pulled sharply down, then immediately released.
Vlaar was confident that that pull would be enough.
That pull should have broken Xia Qi's upward momentum and left the rest to Luna...
Luna jumped too.
Three men for one ball,
three dragons playing with a pearl!
...
"Ding dong… Host [Airborne Flyer] attribute activated…"
Confident V'laar never imagined someone was cheating!
His tug had no effect on the hooking Xia Qi.
Xia Qi rose like a shell fired from a rocket launcher, angling toward the penalty spot sky.
In front of him was Luna,
to his side and ahead the ball.
Luna knew Xia Qi had jumped early and guessed why — but he had no choice but to attack the early jump.
Names carry reputation!
Luna believed the Premier League Golden Boot must have his reasons.
Defense is defense; if both of them overjumped, forcing the last season's Golden Boot into an error would still be a kind of success.
In the air Luna was stunned; his mark failed at the crucial moment.
Vlaar's tug hadn't made Xia Qi fall — Xia Qi not only didn't descend, he rose higher...
It was as if gravity had lost effect on Xia Qi.
This... this... was this world-class explosive power and outstanding hang time???
Vlaar!!! You traitor to your teammates! Why didn't you just cling to Xia Qi?
In the air, Xia Qi "flew" and reached the ball first with his head.
"My God! Xia Qi's jump is huge!"
"Wait for the stats — eyeballing it, it's at least two and a half meters..."
...
Winning the aerial duel and actually getting his head on the ball with such explosive leap and hang time made commentator Zhan Jun's blood boil; he yelled hoarsely, "Xia Qi!"
On the television screen,
Xia Qi sat high above, facing the ball. He met it with his torso and core, driving his header forward.
Brad Guzan, Aston Villa's goalkeeper, seeing Xia Qi brace his core as he met the ball, naturally assumed it would be a thumping header.
So Guzan sprang like a man with trampolines under his feet and dove laterally.
That dive was deliberate.
Guzan didn't aim for height as much as speed; in his mind Xia Qi would smash the ball down with a power header — and this shot would be decided by who reacted faster.
But Xia Qi, when heading the ball, didn't collide frontally with his forehead. Instead he executed a "lion's shake" — a slicing header, grazing the ball's right side.
The ball arced and flew toward the left upper corner of the goal.
Guzan had guessed the dive direction correctly, but he had dived for the lower left. While he was falling, the ball nestled into the upper-left corner.
In a split second, the subtlety of the header was invisible to the eye.
But in the slow-motion replay its craftsmanship became clear.
Villa Park erupted with a burst of loud boos and curses after the whistle.
...
"Xia Qi's header."
"Vertical distance from point of contact to ground: 2.97 meters. This is the highest headed goal in world football — Xia Qi is the airborne man of the pitch."
"Beautiful. Besides the height, the brilliance lies in his heading technique — he made the correct choice in a flash..."
"At the 50th minute, Xia Qi heads home to make it 2–1! Arsenal have pulled one back!"
"You can always trust Xia Qi!"
At Villa Park,
Vlaar, Luna, Guzan... many Aston Villa players gaped at the big screen.
In a flash they felt nothing, but in slow motion,
Vlaar saw how his tug looked like a baby pulling at an adult — no, a baby is stronger than me, he bowed his head in shame...
Luna saw himself only up to Xia Qi's abdomen at his peak and opened his mouth in disbelief...
Guzan realized he had misread the header's nature and reddened with embarrassment...
In short, Xia Qi's header wiped away Villa's joy of the lead.
On the pitch Arsenal players rushed at Xia Qi and knocked him to the ground...
The floodgate had finally opened — with a good start the rest of the time would be easier to play.
On the sideline,
Wenger and Pat Rice embraced.
One goal doesn't prove everything, but from that goal you could see the players' effort and tolerance...
Aston Villa's coach shouted from the touchline: "Double-team that Chinese kid."
"Mark him tight!"
At the moment they still led by one; if they could hang on to the score until the end, even a conservative, unattractive performance would be acceptable.
"Arsenal have pulled one back. Although they still trail, the Arsenal players have found the key to unlock victory..."
Play resumed and Arsenal's pressure did not ease. Confident, Kevin De Bruyne and Cazorla sparked a chemistry of "love."
They no longer demanded the other play to their tune but willingly lowered themselves to cooperate.
At one moment you're the hub and I'm the deputy; then the roles reverse.
Like a couple who will grow old together, after yielding to each other, Arsenal produced momentum.
In ten minutes they battered Aston Villa around the pitch; in that period Arsenal had four shots.
"Arsenal are back! Balotelli with a windmill shot — beautiful! Luna blocked it with his body and saved Villa."
"Xia Qi, a push-shot! My God! Guzan did a miracle save, flicking Xia Qi's close-range attempt out for a corner."
"Guzan got up and berated his defenders. His anxious expression shows the pressure he's under. Arsenal have woken like a tiger..."
"At Villa Park no one is singing anymore; Aston Villa fans have solemn faces..."
"If Aston Villa can't stop Arsenal's frenzy, defending alone won't hold. After all, both Xia Qi and Balotelli are individually too strong..."
Commentator Zhang Lu wasn't entirely wrong.
Aston Villa's compact defensive strategy had indeed troubled Arsenal; if Villa hadn't defended so stoutly, their second concession might already have occurred.
However, Arsenal had ways to break down tight defense: outstanding individual technique, brute strength, and harmonious combination play.
Arsenal's attacking midfielders and forwards possessed both the technique and cohesion to combine,
and as for brute force, Balotelli was the first of the post-Messi-Ronaldo era in that regard, and Xia Qi was widely recognized as the leading successor in raw power; their ability to punch through defenses was unquestionable.
Once the whole Arsenal side woke up, Villa's defense couldn't keep pace.
Weakness is original sin!
"Run!"
De Bruyne, who had regained confidence, shouted to the forward line.
Xia Qi, Balotelli, and Walcott continuously exchanged positions, covering and creating for one another.
Aston Villa's defense grew increasingly strained.
Seeing Villa's fraying defense, Wenger knew the second goal was imminent. He leaned forward from the bench, chin on hand, eyes fixed on the pitch.
On the field, Walcott broke through and laid the ball to Xia Qi.
In the dugout Wenger and watching Arsenal fans suddenly felt it again — that familiar feeling had returned.
Clark rushed at Xia Qi to try to dispossess him, but Xia Qi stepped over the ball, turned with his backside and knocked Clark aside.
He turned and shot — again Guzan produced a world-class save to force the ball out for a corner.
Wenger and Arsenal fans sighed together.
To shoot inside a dense box and force a save — Xia Qi had done all he could; only luck was missing.
Arsenal won a corner.
De Bruyne stood over it to take it, while Xia Qi, Balotelli, Mertesacker and other tall players crowded the box to attack the delivery.
Xia Qi was tightly marked inside the box; Al-Xia Qi perhaps felt the chance there was limited.
He moved back from the little box to the line of the big box.
Aston Villa's coach immediately pointed at Xia Qi, shouting loudly: "Mark that Chinese boy tightly."
Al-Xia Qi showed no expression and didn't respond to the coach's shout.
At that moment Vlaar scurried over to defend Xia Qi.
At the corner area, as De Bruyne raised his arm to signal a set-play, Balotelli and Mertesacker in the box suddenly began to move about,
turning the penalty area into a boiling mess...
This was an open plan.
Aston Villa defenders dared not stop marking others, so the area in front of the goal became a chaos.
It turned out Clark had been trailing Mertesacker and had run out of the front post position.
At that precise moment,
De Bruyne delivered the corner.
The ball traced a precise arc toward the front-post area — exactly the spot Clark had vacated.
And at that moment,
standing on the edge of the box, Xia Qi darted forward like an arrow from a bow.
Although Vlaar was fully focused on marking, Xia Qi's double speed was incredibly fast. He flashed forward and Vlaar's hand only grabbed air.
"Ding dong, [Airborne Flyer] attribute activated…"
On the pitch, Xia Qi charging forward resembled a plane taking off —
throttle up → pull
knees bend → lift gear
lean back → raise nose
Facing the incoming ball, he leaned his head back and powered the header down.
A dinked header!
The ball was slotted into the net from the front-post point with a short, quick strike.
Guzan rushed out on the line but the ball was too quick and the distance too close — he couldn't make it.
"Goal!"
"2–2!"
"Arsenal have come from two down to draw level — no, this is a 'two down to three' swing; once Arsenal build momentum they can certainly take the win..."
(END CHAPTER)
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