Chapter 174: Batigol's Cannon — Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Two-goal man!"
"Xia Qi has scored his second goal of the match!"
"A perfect blend of power and technique — knocking Jérôme Boateng aside is pure brute force, the Cruyff-style turn is pleasing to the eye; these two totally different styles are fused together by Xia Qi…"
In the Penguin live stream, Zhan Jun was almost hysterical in his praise of Xia Qi.
On the pitch, Xia Qi spread his arms and ran toward the north stand. Amid the roar of Arsenal fans he leapt up, spun 180 degrees, and then pointed both thumbs at the name on his back.
For a moment,
the only sound between heaven and earth was
"Xia Qi!"
"Xia Qi!"
"Xia Qi!"
On the touchline, Pep Guardiola watched the replay on the big screen with great interest. Seeing Xia Qi's turn as silky as a Dove chocolate, Guardiola clutched his head in surprise;
seeing Xia Qi crush Boateng using raw body strength, he clutched his head again;
seeing Xia Qi's composed chip, he clutched his head a third time.
Those three unbelieving expressions were later turned into widely shared reaction images by fans…
The match continued.
Now it was Arsenal's turn to surge.
Not long after Bayern restarted, Mikel Arteta intercepted Arjen Robben's ball.
Santi Cazorla received Arteta's return on the right, looked up at the front, and suddenly launched a long pass —
a diagonal cross-field ball!
The ball flew across half the pitch from the right to the left.
On the left flank, Xia Qi lightly clipped the ball twice as it came, first cutting away two-thirds of its pace to remove its momentum, then slicing a layer off the ball to take away its downward drift.
As a result the nearly-dead ball obediently stopped at his feet. To perform a Marcelo-style chest control would have required an extra cushion touch,
but at that moment Xia Qi didn't need to cushion the ball; no extra touch was necessary.
Xia Qi's control caused a stir in the Penguin live chat, but at the Allianz Arena the reaction was relatively muted.
That level of first touch is mid-to-upper tier among the big five leagues, basic practice for top clubs.
Xia Qi controlled, and Javi Martínez quickly rushed up to compress his space and drive him toward the touchline.
Xia Qi feigned surrender, pulling the ball back with his right foot as if to retreat to the line, but when Javi Martínez stepped in to close, Xia Qi nudged the ball through his legs with his toe.
Nutmeg!
This is a humiliation just behind the rainbow flick. Martínez, turning in anger, tried to accelerate and, intending to elbow Xia Qi when shoulder-to-shoulder, couldn't catch him despite digging in with everything.
He could only push hard with both hands on Xia Qi.
Operating solo, Xia Qi didn't have Al's panoramic view.
He took a solid shove,
stumbled forward a step,
and as he tried to brace with his hands the force from behind was too strong to use the ground as a prop.
After a few faltering steps he fell inside the penalty area line.
A chorus of boos rose over the Allianz — Bayern fans saw Xia Qi's fall as a dive for a penalty!
Heavens bear witness!
Xia Qi just didn't want to fall; he'd rather be the one to use the ground to spring from!
Ouch, that hurt!!
Beep!
Seeing Xia Qi go down, the referee decisively blew his whistle, signaled that Bayern players need not argue, booked Javi Martínez for a yellow and awarded Arsenal a free kick.
"How can that be a free kick?"
Mario Balotelli, Kevin De Bruyne and others protested angrily.
Xia Qi waved his hand, signaling teammates not to argue.
That attitude made the Bayern players think a little more of Xia Qi.
After conferring with Kevin De Bruyne, Xia Qi decided to take it himself. The spot was just outside the big penalty area, less than 20 meters from goal — a range where De Bruyne's curve is harder to execute cleanly.
From here, Xia Qi's thunderous "Batigol" free kick actually had better odds.
Xia Qi placed the ball, waved teammates to spread out and contest the box, openly telling the opponents he would shoot straight.
"Xia Qi is confident — certain the opponent can't stop him."
"Among Xia Qi's eighteen weapons the free kick is a bit simple — just brute force making miracles happen. Whether you announce it or not, it's the same."
"Mr. Zhang, are you saying Xia Qi's generous with his method?"
"Heh, I wouldn't dare…"
…
Xia Qi stood over the ball, eyes fixed on the goal as if trying to pierce it.
He took a deep breath, felt the crowd's din, his blood began to boil.
He stepped back a few paces, gauging distance, then set himself to strike.
A confident glint shone in his eyes, as if to tell everyone: this shot is mine.
The referee's whistle blew,
and Xia Qi ran at the ball like an arrow from a bow. One step from the ball he swung his foot hard and the ball flew like a cannonball.
It traced a beautiful arc in the air, heading for the top-right corner.
Manuel Neuer dived, but was a beat too late; the ball brushed his fingertips and sped toward the net.
Despair swelled in Neuer's chest; he turned, unwilling to accept it,
only to see the ball strike the outside of the post and bounce out.
A deafening cheer erupted in the Allianz, as if Bayern had scored.
Xia Qi clicked his tongue in regret.
He'd beaten the wall and the keeper — agonizingly, it didn't clear the post.
Bayern pressed on but failed to score on their next attack.
In the Penguin live feed Zhan Jun delivered his halftime spiel in the tone of a storytelling master:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the first half has ended with the two teams locked at two apiece. Tonight's match is a goal feast! We hope the second half brings more spectacular goals. Please don't go away; after the ads we'll be back."
…
In the dressing room,
Pep Guardiola held a stern face and personally got involved in demonstration, instructing players hand-in-hand how to pass and receive.
"Right now I'm Mario Götze. Javi, you need to be to my left-rear so I can find you easily under pressure. Thiago, you and Thomas Müller must be ahead on my left and right…"
In his first year with the Bavarians, Guardiola played both father and mother, delivering the Guardiola philosophy through match after match amidst doubts…
On the other side, Arsène Wenger fretted over Bayern's wing breakthroughs. Last time Xia Qi dropped back to help defend and clipped Bayern's wings — what about this time?
He was not willing!!!
Wenger was really not going to accept his carefully built midfield centered on Kevin De Bruyne being so compromised…
After pondering, Wenger decided to bring Xia Qi back into midfield.
"Serge, you play up top in the second half!" Serge Gnabry was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
Gnabry is an all-around forward and can play center, though he's more at home on the right wing.
"Kids, in the second half we play two strikers — Xia Qi, Kevin, and Mama Cazorla…"
Hearing Wenger call Cazorla "Mama" the dressing room erupted in laughter.
After the laughs Wenger said: "I need you three to combine and run the team…"
A very interesting second half,
no substitutions were made but the teams' spirits changed. Bayern tried to play Tiki-Taka from the middle, while Arsenal pressed high.
As the second half began,
Arsenal's three-core looked very lively. Serge Gnabry first burst into the box and on receiving De Bruyne's pass fired with his left from a tight angle but missed — the ball went straight into Manuel Neuer's hands.
Though not a goal, it buoyed Arsenal's morale.
Two-striker plus three-core = efficient!!!
The effect was tangible!
Guardiola and his Bayern were a bit flustered.
They had planned to battle for possession with Arsenal, but unexpected aggressive pressing forced them to cede it — that magnanimous stance unsettled Bayern.
"The tactical duel between two masters — Wenger is slightly ahead for now…"
"Wenger's tactics are varied and flexible; Guardiola takes possession play to the extreme. In his first season the Bayern side hasn't mastered the essence of passing yet, and Wenger's sudden pressing has caused some chaos. We shouldn't hastily conclude Guardiola is inferior to Wenger.
I believe Guardiola will become a top-three coach of this century; Wenger might make top twenty…"
Arsenal played well at the start of the second half but failed to convert chances.
For Bayern, they only needed to withstand Arsenal's ten minutes of furious pressing at the start,
drain Arsenal's energy with those seeming-to-be-intense-but-futile attacks,
and when Arsenal started tiring, Bayern would use their refined passing to seize control.
At that point Arsenal would be on the chopping block…
So although the scene was perilous, Guardiola remained calm, welcoming Wenger to "eat him in a single gulp…"
Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti, José Mourinho, and Atlético Madrid's Diego Simeone had all fallen to Barça this way.
On the other side, Wenger noticed a big flaw in his two-striker setup: the ability of the two strikers to win flick-ons.
Gnabry and Balotelli are both top-level target men by themselves, but together sometimes 1 + 1 < 2!
It's not scientific, but it's the fact!
Lautaro without Romelu Lukaku is a top Serie A striker; Lautaro with Lukaku is Inter's rising star.
That's just how it is!
It's maddening, right?
Seeing the problem, Wenger paced and anxiously watched the pitch, his body language rich with tension.
Seeing even the usually genteel Wenger so anxious, Guardiola crossed his legs and couldn't help a slight upward curl of the mouth…
On the pitch, though Xia Qi wasn't in his Al state, he'd been influenced by Al and smelled a hint of the opponent's collapse.
The two strikers needed a catalyst!
Xia Qi raised his arm and shouted loudly, asking teammates to get him the ball.
Seeing Xia Qi step up, Guardiola felt a twinge of liking, but didn't believe Xia Qi could change much.
Guardiola admitted that the brace-scoring Xia Qi had strong finishing ability, but now he was away from the penalty area —
a tiger off the mountain, still fierce but no longer the lord of the forest.
A Xia Qi far from the box is far less dangerous…
On the pitch, under Xia Qi's lead, Arsenal launched an attack.
On the left, Xia Qi switched into "one-run-each-game" mode, beating Thiago and Javi Martínez in succession.
Facing Bayern captain Philipp Lahm's defense, Xia Qi nudged the ball to his right foot, feinted to cut into the box.
Lahm saw his right shoulder dip and followed.
Seeing Lahm tricked, Xia Qi slammed on the brakes, pulled the ball back, and twisted the other way to beat another man.
From the touchline, Guardiola remained unflustered. He believed Xia Qi on the outside lane was unlikely to do anything decisive.
He trusted his carefully built defensive structure wasn't that easy to break by a simple low cross.
As Xia Qi pushed forward on the left, he suddenly passed to the left-front and slipped across in front of the chasing Lahm into the box.
Lahm, bypassed by Xia Qi's run across, lost the chance to chase the ball.
At the moment Xia Qi released the pass, Luke Shaw — the left-back behind Xia Qi — sprinted forward,
bypassing Lahm and Xia Qi to chase the ball.
Luke Shaw, upon receiving the ball, didn't combine with Xia Qi. Xia Qi was double-marked by Lahm and Boateng,
and didn't play the ball into the box directly. The previous ten minutes had shown simple give-and-go combinations weren't enough to split Bayern.
They needed more variety.
The ball moved in a back-and-forth triangle to Kevin De Bruyne, who quickly redistributed it to Serge Gnabry.
Gnabry tried to use his speed to break the line but was tightly shackled by David Alaba and couldn't shake free,
so he had to pass back again.
Seeing Arsenal forced into two backward passes, Guardiola glanced over at Wenger with a tactical look.
Wenger, however, had already calmed; he put his hands in his pockets… wait, did he not actually put them in? No, they weren't in…
Guardiola smiled — almost had him fooled. The professor's zipper and pockets are full of surprises…
On the pitch,
seeing the attack stall,
Xia Qi left the box and raised a hand for the ball.
For a moment Kevin De Bruyne's pride took a hit. He pursed his lips, hesitated slightly, then passed the ball to Xia Qi.
Kevin De Bruyne is outwardly gentle but inwardly strong. After suffering a betrayal by Thibaut Courtois and with support from national team coaches and teammates, De Bruyne had chosen to exercise restraint for the World Cup after careful thought.
If he could endure being cuckolded, this was nothing.
Xia Qi didn't know he'd accidentally hurt De Bruyne's feelings. He pulled the ball and turned to face Bayern's goal.
He was about 40 meters from the goal.
The closest defender was Bayern captain Philipp Lahm, who didn't immediately close him down.
Habitual thinking kills,
Lahm assumed Xia Qi, like De Bruyne, would combine with the two strikers.
"Keep an eye on that one who's a bit mad," Lahm shouted in English to Jérôme Boateng.
He wanted to rile Balotelli; if he could get a yellow or red that would be a big win.
Guardiola, on the touchline, thought the same. He signaled defenders to watch not only the two central forwards but also the full-backs and the defensive midfielders pushing up.
Xia Qi smiled.
It seemed people had too few of his long shots to remember; they only recall those unbelievable divine strikes but forget he is a disciple of Gabriel Batistuta.
In Lahm's horrified gaze, Batigol — boom, boom, boom!
The ball traced an arc and sped toward goal…
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10