Chapter 207: Sudden Incident — Emergency Assignment
Under the Champions League anthem,
players led by match officials, each holding a mascot's hand, stepped onto the Luz Stadium pitch.
In an instant, the full house exploded with earth-shaking cheers.
Although this was Xia Qi's second Champions League final, the roar still made his blood boil in that moment — a surge of daring and pride welled up in his chest.
Cristiano Ronaldo!
The big ear trophy!
Defense of the title!
Tonight,
the new wave would wash over the old!
"Penguin Sports!"
"Penguin Sports!"
"Dear viewers, welcome to Penguin's live broadcast of the 2013–2014 UEFA Champions League Final, coming to you live at midnight on the 25th!" Zhan Jun called.
"Hello viewers, I'm Zhang Lu."
"Tonight's match pits a Real Madrid side that wants their 11th Champions League trophy against an Arsenal side looking to defend their crown. Which team will triumph? We'll find out after 90 minutes…"
"The players are out!" Zhang Lu raised his voice.
"The referee is checking his watch; the game is about to start. Let's announce the starting line-ups.
Wearing white and attacking left-to-right on your screen is Real Madrid, who line up in their usual 4-3-3:
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Left back: Fábio Coentrão
Center backs: Raphaël Varane, Sergio Ramos
Right back: Dani Carvajal
Three midfielders: Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić
Three forwards: Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo
On the other side, wearing red and attacking right-to-left, is Arsenal in a 4-2-3-1.
Goalkeeper is…"
…
…
"Ding-dong"
"…."
"System detected the host's team is currently in difficulty. Matching host with attribute [Swift as the wind, still as the forest…]."
"…."
"Please choose 'Autonomous Mode' or 'One-Click AFK Mode'."
"Reminder: During AFK, the system will automatically execute all required actions for the host."
"One-click AFK!"
"..."
…
…
On the pitch, Xia Qi stood at the center circle. His surge of passion condensed into a single thought:
Score → Win the title!
Dutch referee Björn Kuipers was finishing final communications to his assistants via headset.
He kept an eye on his watch, then raised both arms and blew his whistle.
At the sound of the whistle, the stands of the Luz flashed like a galaxy of cameraphones.
"Dear viewers, the match has begun!"
Real Madrid had the ball. After the whistle, Cristiano Ronaldo lightly flicked the ball to Luka Modrić and then ran forward.
The ball was worked back to Sergio Ramos' feet.
Arsenal players pressed after the ball; by the time it reached Ramos, Arsenal's shape was stretched.
Ramos passed to Kroos, who sent a long ball toward Cristiano Ronaldo upfield.
Gustavo marked Ronaldo well; as Kroos played the ball, Gustavo grabbed Ronaldo briefly.
He released immediately, but Santi Cazorla intercepted the pass.
The Luz erupted with huge boos — the boos had the opposite effect. The Dutch referee signaled the counterattack was legal and play continued.
The boos grew louder!
Kevin De Bruyne received the ball and slipped it into the left channel of the box.
Xia Qi met the pass, took a deft touch, and the ball skimmed between Dani Carvajal's legs.
He accelerated past Carvajal, cut into the area.
The control and the nutmeg were beautiful!
Sadly, his final shot was blocked by Sergio Ramos' outstretched leg and deflected out for a corner.
Thunderous applause filled the Luz — some for Ramos, some for Xia Qi.
Xia Qi's control and nutmeg had imagination!
Having cleared the danger, Ramos strode up to Xia Qi and bellowed: "Don't show off your footwork, do you know why Neymar got injured?"
In AI mode, Xia Qi gave Ramos a cold glance; the battle-hardened Sergio Ramos shivered and swallowed his usual insults.
Ramos wasn't enraged because the nutmeg shamed him — he wanted to unsettle Xia Qi's mindset, like Marco Materazzi did to Zinedine Zidane.
But Xia Qi's look reminded him of an empty-handed martial artist and he suddenly felt timid, abandoning his plan.
The referee ran over and issued a verbal warning to Ramos — nutmegging is allowed and not an offense.
Fans supporting Xia Qi and Arsenal booed Ramos.
"The match has barely started and the tension is already high. Ramos didn't like Xia Qi's nutmeg, while Gustavo is putting pressure on Cristiano. Their methods differ but the aim is the same…"
"Here comes Arsenal's first corner."
Kevin De Bruyne swung it in from the left. Mario Balotelli at the near post flicked it — not heading goalwards but nodding it toward the penalty spot. That was a set-piece plan that should have seen Xia Qi bend in to shoot.
But Ramos had held Xia Qi with shoves and grabs and prevented him from getting free. Ramos didn't have it all his way either.
AI subtly had Xia Qi give Ramos an elbow; Ramos, in pain, grabbed Xia Qi's arm to stop himself falling.
Ramos obviously knew that rolling on the ground would make him look weak — would the Four Great Villains still keep their reputations?
Only cowards call the ref!
Both ended worse off than the other!
The ball around the penalty spot became a free-for-all; Real Madrid's box turned chaotic.
From the chaos, Luke Shaw's toe poked the ball before Balotelli and got it to Iker Casillas' hands.
Balotelli stamped his foot in anger and chased Shaw, grabbing him by the arm: "Traitor, huh?"
Xia Qi didn't drop back; he filled in for Balotelli, positioning himself as Arsenal's spearhead.
Casemiro and Ramos stole glances at Xia Qi and discussed marking tactics.
Play continued.
Real Madrid took a goal kick. After a one-two in midfield between Modrić and Karim Benzema, the ball was recycled to Gareth Bale, who attacked and crossed.
Cristiano Ronaldo, tightly marked by Per Mertesacker and Samuel Umtiti, still forced a shot.
But new-generation keeper Martínez wouldn't allow surprises from that scrappy shot.
Martínez quickly released a goal kick. Cazorla launched a long ball from the back, searching for Xia Qi.
Xia Qi and Casemiro leapt together. Casemiro jumped from behind and tried to elbow Xia Qi.
But the scene didn't turn into Casemiro embarrassing himself; instead Casemiro ended up being toppled by Xia Qi.
Casemiro lay on the ground looking at Ramos with blinking, innocent eyes — more like a cuddly panda than a fierce tiger.
Ramos was speechless: that expression should be used to appeal to the ref!
Sure enough, no whistle blew.
"That's a difference in strength."
"Unbelievable how big the gap in physical power is between them."
"Casemiro's positioning was actually pretty good — maybe even a bit better than Xia Qi's — but he just can't handle him!"
"Xia Qi pushed back like a bulldozer…"
"That chunky tiger is a bit soft. Some players who look big don't have much strength."
In 2014 Casemiro had not yet become renowned; Zhang Lu had underestimated him.
Strength is relative.
In the air, Xia Qi flicked a header to the left for Balotelli.
Balotelli received and faced Dani Carvajal.
If Balotelli could dribble past Carvajal like Xia Qi did, he could replicate Xia Qi's early assist.
Balotelli thought: Xia Qi nutmegged, so I must be artistic too — I'll try a rainbow flick.
But Carvajal read him and lunged in a sliding tackle the instant Balotelli trapped the ball.
The sudden sliding tackle knocked Balotelli's ball out for a throw and sent Balotelli crashing to the turf.
"Great defending!"
"Balotelli's dribble was too fancy."
"In high-level matches defenders won't give you much time."
Inside the box, Xia Qi — who had shoved Ramos behind him — saw Balotelli's cut fail and had to withdraw from the area.
Cazorla threw it back in.
Luke Shaw took it, looked up, and launched a 45-degree diagonal long ball.
It travelled from the left to Real Madrid's right flank.
It was a Pirlo-like pass, cutting through the gap between Modrić and Varane, landing behind Fábio Coentrão.
Walcott burst forward. Coentrão turned to face him, but by the time he spun, Walcott had already pushed forward into the box.
"Stop him!"
Iker Casillas panicked; he saw the danger and knew he couldn't let Walcott cut inside.
Raphaël Varane hurried out.
Walcott feinted a wide cut and then pulled the ball back the other way, changing direction sharply. He didn't fully beat Varane but had created a crossing angle.
Walcott crossed.
A second earlier, Xia Qi and Balotelli had switched positions — this time Balotelli stayed behind Xia Qi instead of moving to the left.
Half a beat before Walcott's cross, Xia Qi ran toward the right side of the box as if to shorten the distance for Walcott's pass.
Ramos followed tightly. Xia Qi suddenly stopped and accelerated toward goal. Ramos, thrown off, pulled and grabbed trying to spoil Xia Qi's sprint.
The cross arrived — not to Xia Qi's near post but to his far post.
Real Madrid's defenders had been toyed with!
Balotelli was the orchestrator — no wonder he hadn't dropped left.
Balotelli cushioned the ball and without hesitation hammered a right-footed drive.
Real Madrid's players all assumed Xia Qi was the shooter, so Balotelli's strike caught them unprepared.
Iker Casillas was among them!
Fortunately, Casillas' "San Casillas" aura remained. His reflexes were world-class.
By instinct he dived and, with his fingertips, grazed the ball enough to tip it out for a corner.
"Oh! …"
Gasps rang out.
"San Casillas! He saved Real Madrid — he's the team's rock…"
"In the first six or seven minutes Arsenal have played better than Real Madrid and created chances, but they haven't taken them."
"The surprising thing is that tonight the Champions League top scorer Xia Qi is playing as a creator."
"Although it's a bit of a waste of his talents, Wenger's tactics have been pretty successful so far. If not for Casillas' extraordinary save, Arsenal might already be ahead."
…
…
Squandering chances invites retribution.
In the 16th minute, retribution came.
Kevin De Bruyne suddenly decelerated and stopped during a forward run without contact.
He clutched his thigh and abandoned pursuit.
Seeing that, Zhan Jun cried out: "De Bruyne looks in trouble! Oh no! Please don't be injured — he has sacrificed so much for the World Cup. If… phew… no ifs."
Tears already welled in Kevin De Bruyne's eyes on the broadcast.
He worried for his thigh and for his Champions League and World Cup hopes.
No professional wants to miss a stage like this.
"Look at De Bruyne's expression — this injury could be serious…"
Xia Qi exited AI mode and sprinted to De Bruyne.
"How is it?"
"It feels like a strain. If it's not serious I'll take a local injection and come back."
"No. Without you, who will treat me to ice cream after the World Cup?"
"Well, you could sit out and recover! Don't worry, the earth will keep turning without you."
On the sideline, Wenger had leapt in celebration after Balotelli's shot; now he leapt again in concern. He waved for the medical staff.
After a quick check the team doctor made the substitution signal to a hopeful Wenger.
Instantly, loud sighs of regret rose around the Luz.
"De Bruyne can't continue; only 16 minutes in and Wenger is forced to make a substitution. De Bruyne is a vital component of Wenger's tactics — after the change, can Arsenal still hold the advantage?"
"The defending-champion curse! This is a test for Arsenal."
"De Bruyne injured and Jack Wilshere stayed in London injured — who's left in Arsenal's midfield? Should they bring on Mikel Arteta? He's a bit inferior to De Bruyne."
"It looks like Wenger has few options beyond this. Wilshere's organizational ability would have helped; it's a pity he stayed home to heal."
On the stretcher, De Bruyne sat up: "Sorry, Boss… I…"
He hung his head and apologized to Wenger.
Wenger patted his head affectionately: "If possible, don't rush to the hospital. This big-ear trophy bears your sweat. Without you its color would be incomplete."
"Boss, I can take a local injection!"
De Bruyne, moved, blurted it out.
"Haha, I don't want to be Belgium's public enemy. Kevin, I'll bet your teammates will win this trophy for you — for your sake, they'll only grow stronger…"
"Wenger has made a substitution — why is the forward Serge Gnabry warming up?"
"Xia Qi is dropping back; Xia Qi is moving into midfield. In the 16th minute, Kevin De Bruyne was unexpectedly injured, and Xia Qi was given the emergency assignment to fall back into midfield — a good choice…"
De Bruyne's injury happened suddenly and Gnabry hadn't warmed up. To protect player health, Arsenal would play with one less specialist under Xia Qi's on-field leadership.
Real Madrid naturally seized the chance and pressed toward Arsenal's goal, trying to establish their advantage while Gnabry warmed up…
(END CHAPTER)
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