"Come on, come on, my form is here!"
"I feel full of strength all over my body!"
"Today the ball is so obedient, it feels like it's become my third leg!"
Ronaldo seemed extremely excited.
He was the classic big-game player.
He quickly proved his words with actions.
Just two minutes later.
After receiving a pass from his teammate Araújo on the wing, Ronaldo charged straight down the left, knocking over the defenders chasing him.
Overtake, cut inside, create space, long shot, score!
All in one motion!
Two goals already!
Everyone in the stands couldn't help applauding his brilliant solo performance.
Casa Pia decisively chose to double-team Ronaldo.
But Ronaldo still caused chaos on the wing, even forcing two defenders off injured. The second challenge even earned the opponent a yellow card.
Nineteenth minute.
The energetic Ronaldo completed a steal in the frontcourt.
He passed the ball to Kai and immediately sprinted forward.
Kai shot directly.
Casa Pia's centre-back blocked it with his body.
The ball rebounded back to Kai.
Kai didn't stop it and instantly played a volleyed through pass.
Cristiano Ronaldo cushioned the ball with his chest and slipped past the Casa Pia defender.
The Casa Pia goalkeeper rushed out.
The ball slid from Ronaldo's chest down to his calf.
Before it could drop further, Ronaldo flicked it with his calf, and the ball blasted straight into the net.
"Oh my God! Worth it! The ticket price is absolutely worth it!"
"In the 19th minute, Sporting Lisbon leads 3–0!"
"The player Kai once called Ronaldo did not disappoint his Caesar! From the first goal to completing the hat trick, it only took twelve minutes!"
"That sexy movement, the stable one-on-one finishing, the unmatched speed among his peers, the sharp cut-ins and powerful long shots, plus his control at full sprint… I'm starting to believe he might really become the next—"
"Alien!"
"This is the most beautiful goal so far. Whether it's Kai's pass or Ronaldo's control, it's pure freestyle football!"
"The fans are shouting 'CD! CD!' — the nickname for the Ronaldo and Kai duo!"
"I have to admit, that play just now was a top-tier improv CD combo!"
From this moment on, no one doubted Sporting Lisbon would win today.
The only question was… how many more would they score?
In the 23rd minute, Sporting Lisbon went crazy again.
Ronaldo kept demanding the ball on the left. His position was excellent, but defenders were swarming him.
Kai glanced at Ronaldo and kicked with the outside of his boot.
The ball flew toward Marcelino on the right.
He was in an even better position than Ronaldo.
After two touches, Marcelino got greedy and forced a cross, though the quality wasn't bad.
Lourenço jumped high, but he was far shorter than the opposing centre-back.
The defender cleared the ball out of the penalty area.
Boom!
The next second, the ball screamed back and smashed into the net.
The fans instantly exploded.
"Caesar!"
"Caesar!"
"Caesar!"
Kai volleyed the rebound from the top of the box. Under heavy pressure, the strike was unbelievably clean and went straight in.
Goal. Four–nil!
The entire stadium was boiling.
But on Casa Pia's side, frustration started to show. They began making rougher tackles.
This time Kai truly slowed the tempo, protecting his teammates.
Only then did Casa Pia regain a little control.
In the 39th minute, Casa Pia finally produced their only real threat.
They worked the ball down the wing and passed to the advancing midfielder.
The midfielder swept the ball across the right side of the box.
Sporting Lisbon's defensive midfielder, Semedo, came to clear it but accidentally deflected it into his own net.
An own goal.
Casa Pia pulled one back.
After that, they played even dirtier.
At this point, even if Kai wanted to speed things up again, he couldn't.
This was the awkward reality of being a midfielder.
Controlling the rhythm is one thing.
Restarting the rhythm is another.
It's not just blindly passing forward or dribbling.
You have to ignite everyone's attacking instinct and make them charge together.
Kai couldn't fully do that yet.
Finally, the first half ended under Casa Pia's pressure.
During halftime, Kai talked with his teammates and clarified the plan.
Keep attacking!
Although his in-game adjustments were still lacking, he could reorganize the team during the break.
Some average coaches could only influence the team during halftime.
Truly great coaches could change the entire game through substitutions and sideline guidance.
Back to the match.
In the 49th minute, Kai made a sliding tackle to win the ball in midfield, then launched a long pass to Ronaldo on the left.
Cristiano Ronaldo was unstoppable, beat his man again, cut inside, and forced a corner with his shot.
Sporting Lisbon midfielder Sérgio took the corner.
Ronaldo lost his marker with a feint, jumped high, and powered in a header.
Fourth goal!
At this moment, many scouts in the stands couldn't sit still.
They pulled out Ronaldo's files and reread them over and over, writing the same note:
"Superstar potential. Extremely high growth ceiling. Recommend immediate signing."
Below it were their proposed prices.
From 200,000 euros to 1 million euros.
Don't think that's cheap.
At this level, even tens of thousands is already expensive.
Many players in the top five leagues were only worth one or two million.
Sixty-fourth minute.
After receiving a pass, Kai made another no-look pass, threading the ball directly to Sérgio charging forward.
Sérgio crossed decisively.
Lourenço followed up and scored.
Six–one!
Sporting Lisbon made second-placed Casa Pia look like the bottom team.
Sérgio, who had already provided two assists, also caught the attention of several scouts.
Most of them were local Portuguese scouts, different from the European scouts watching Ronaldo and Kai.
Their clubs didn't have much money.
They specialized in bargain hunting.
"Sérgio is a very good midfielder. In an average team, he could even be the core," a scout from Boavista told a senior executive. "He used to be the core of Sporting Lisbon U15 too."
"But after Kai arrived, he became more of a utility worker. That's not great for his development."
The Boavista executive said, "So you think Kai should give Sérgio more space instead of dominating everything like now?"
The scout shook his head.
Sérgio and Kai weren't on the same level at all.
There was no comparison.
In the eyes of professionals, Kai was more than twice the player Sérgio was.
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