What the hell.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the kind of player who had to win. Whenever the team conceded, his face turned ugly as hell.
He didn't say anything out loud—but everyone knew he was cursing the defenders in his head.
Just like defenders silently cursed him when he blasted shots into the stands.
"Deng Kai is talking to his back line. He's young, but his on-field demeanor is very mature. As the midfield core, it's normal for him to communicate with the defense."
"Hey—Ricardo's laughing. Did Deng Kai just crack a joke?"
"Isn't that a bit too relaxed?"
"If this is their attitude after conceding, then that mistake earlier suddenly makes sense."
"Looks like Triguera doesn't enforce strict discipline. That's a classic weakness of youth coaches."
"Moreirense have been winning too much lately—they're getting carried away. Maybe they're treating Gil Vicente like just another team."
"If you don't respect the table, the table won't respect you."
"They're probably losing this one…"
The commentator suddenly choked mid-sentence.
Because right after kickoff, Gil Vicente—having learned their lesson—launched another aggressive press in the attacking third.
But this time, Pepe stayed calm.
He gave Fonte enough time, then received a clean pass back.
Under pressure, Pepe didn't panic—he just swung his leg and launched the ball long toward the left flank.
Cristiano Ronaldo sprinted like the wind, fighting for position.
The defender got there first and cleared it—but only out for a throw-in.
Serafim stepped up and hurled the ball forward.
It dropped to Ronaldo.
Ronaldo passed it back to Serafim.
Serafim returned it immediately.
At that moment, Kai moved in to support.
Ronaldo fired a sharp pass toward him.
The original plan was obvious—a quick one-two, using Kai as a wall.
But Gil Vicente's right-back reacted instantly, sticking to Ronaldo and cutting off the return route.
Then—
Kai's foot came down like instinct took over.
Instead of controlling it, he flicked the ball backward, accelerating the already fast pass.
A filthy backheel nutmeg!
At the same time, Kai spun to his right and burst forward.
Because he was positioned on the left half-space, the defender behind him had been guarding the inside lane, expecting him to cut in.
That slight central bias left the outside wide open.
And Kai exploited it perfectly.
If he had turned left, he'd have been smashed immediately.
But turning right?
Clean escape.
"He's through! Deng—Kai's acceleration is insane! He looks way faster than before!"
"Even though he took the outside route and ran a longer arc, he caught the defender completely off guard and got in front!"
Kai kept adjusting his stride, cutting inward while using his body to shield the defender.
As long as the opponent didn't go all-in on a foul, there was no way to stop him.
Boom!
From the left edge of the box, Kai planted his foot and unleashed a right-footed strike.
Outside of the boot.
The ball curled like a goddamn painting.
The Gil Vicente goalkeeper threw himself across goal—but against that kind of bend, all he could do was pray Kai hadn't struck it perfectly.
Whoosh!
Yeah… prayer denied.
The ball slammed into the far corner—unstoppable.
"GOAL! WHAT A STRIKE! A WORLD-CLASS SCREAMER FROM DENG KAI!"
"That's an instant response! Only two minutes after Gil Vicente's goal—if you ignore the celebration time, these two goals came back-to-back!"
"Nothing boosts morale like that!"
"Moreirense were on the verge of collapse after that defensive error—but Kai's goal changes everything!"
"The game is level again!"
"That move from Deng Kai was incredible. So intelligent!"
"Technically, his dribbling and close control might not be elite—but in terms of creativity? He's the best in his age group!"
"And his speed and shooting have improved massively compared to last season!"
After that goal, Moreirense came alive.
Kai was like a spark—his strike basically told his teammates:
"I've done my part. Now it's your turn."
And what's worse than being called weak?
Average.
That shit stings.
So now, everyone stepped up.
Aside from Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo, the rest of the team started taking on defenders one-on-one.
Because the point of a duel isn't always to beat your man—it's to create time and space.
Players who can't take people on, as Kai once told Ronaldo, end up playing passive football—forced to pass early under pressure, making mistakes.
And now?
Moreirense weren't passive anymore.
Over the next ten minutes, they overtook Gil Vicente in both total shots and shots on target.
In the 33rd minute, Fonte fed the ball to Alex.
Alex beat his man on the wing and whipped in a cross.
Unfortunately, the defender tracked back hard, forcing the ball too wide—it swung awkwardly from one side to the other like a badminton rally.
On the opposite flank, Kai—who had been active on the left all game—ran onto it and brought it under control.
Seeing Kai on the ball, Gil Vicente's players hesitated.
They didn't rush him.
They just dropped back, waiting for the pass.
A common mistake.
Boom!
Kai did pass.
But not where they expected.
He played it toward the far post—beyond the crowded center.
Most of Gil Vicente's players were packed in the middle.
Cristiano Ronaldo read it instantly.
He charged forward, leaned in, and nodded the ball back across goal.
The ball floated over everyone—
—and dropped straight into the net.
"BACK POST! AGAIN THE BACK POST! CRISTIANO RONALDO HEADS IT BACK—AND IT'S IN!"
"2–1! MOREIRENSE TAKE THE LEAD!"
"Look at Ronaldo's face—he clearly meant that as a pass to a teammate, but it went in! That's pure striker's luck!"
"He's now on 17 league goals—second in the Portuguese Liga scoring charts!"
"And remember—he and Deng Kai only joined in the winter window! Averaging over a goal per game—absolutely insane!"
Gil Vicente's players stood there, confused as hell.
How the hell were they behind?
But Moreirense?
They'd completely flipped the switch.
From cautious to aggressive.
From reactive to dominant.
On the pitch, the momentum had fully turned.
After going behind, Gil Vicente realized one thing—
Right now, chasing the score mattered less than not conceding again.
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