Chapter 91: Suffocation

Zhang Jun looked at Li Yongle who was following him closely. He then attempted to persuade the other party to stop. “Are you not going on the offense? Why are you following me?”

Li Yongle flashed a smile and replied, “You don’t need to tell me that. I know what I am doing. Stopping you from scoring a goal is more important than scoring 10 goals by myself.”

Zhang Jun anticipated this response and shrugged helplessly. It would be better to figure out a way to break away instead of arguing endlessly.

Although Li Yongle was injured, his injury did not seem to affect him at all based on his performance in the past few minutes. His tackles were fierce, just like before. Positioning was still precise, and his fitness did not seem to have dropped. Zhang Jun looked at the thick gauze on Li Yongle’s knee. If his injury was really serious, then his willpower must be even more frightening then his skills.

After Yang Pan shook off Lu Qing’s tail, he passed the ball to Kaka before Zhang Yang could continue the chain.

Luo Bin was a little bit too slow. Kaka flexed his foot and passed the ball to Zhang Jun.

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Li Yongle and Zhang Jun moved at the same time. However, his legs were longer, so he managed to kick the ball first. When the ball shot towards Deng Rui, he repositioned it for a long kick.

Just as he raised his leg, he saw another leg flash by and took the ball from him.

“Ren Yu De appeared in front of Zhonyuan’s defender like a ghost! He has intercepted Deng Rui’s ball! Danger! Zhongyuan High School !”

After Ren Yu De took possession of the ball he had a narrow angle of the goal. However, Zhang Lintao did not dare to be careless and quickly moved to cover that angle.

Ren Yu De then took the shot!

Zhang Lintao seemed to have a premonition and dashed to the front post but he made the wrong judgement. When Ren Yu De kicked the ball with his left foot, his foot slightly hooked the ball and sent it to the back post!

But, Zhang Lintao indeed seemed to have God’s help on that day. He had rushed to the front post but the toe of his left boot touched the ball. This corner seeking shot by Ren Yu De, that was not fast or powerful, was stopped just from that touch!

Again, Li Yongle and Zhang Jun moved in at the same time again. However, Li Yongle still had the longer leg advantage as he slid on the ground to sweep the ball away from Zhang Jun’s toe.

“A narrow escape! Zhang Jun still have that keen sense while Li Yongle is still very fierce and tries his utmost. It is as though he is not injured at all!”

Zhang Lintao still had some lingering fear as he pulled Li Yongle up. “Thank you very much!”

“No… No problem… You did well… charging…” Li Yongle’s face was twisted and his voice distorted.

Zhang Lintao was shocked when he saw Li Yongle’s face. He then asked, “Are… Are you alright?”

Li Yongle struggled free of Zhang Lintao’s hand and replied, “No… It is nothing… important!” He then turned and walked away.

Zhang Jun looked at Li Yongle and went over to him again. He asked, “Is your injury really alright?”

Li Yongle glanced back at Zhang Jun sullenly. “What do you think? I will say it again. If you are still worried about small matters, I will make you regret throughout the year!” By that time his expression had recovered and he once again looked like a strong midfielder.

At this moment, Zhongyuan was at a total disadvantage. This made their captain Zhao Defeng very worried. Although his team was famous for defense, he knew that defending for a long time would lead to losses. He also knew that offense was the best defense. Therefore, he was always looking for an opening during defense. Now that the score was 2:1, he wanted to add salt to Shu Guang’s wounds.

“Kaka is once again controlling the ball and going on the offensive! Eighty percent of Shu Guang’s offensives were initiated by him. He is truly a ‘midfield engine’! However, Luo Bin from Zhongyuan is not to be outdone. Even since becoming a midfielder and getting thrown off by Kaka numerous times, he is still tenaciously hounding Kaka!”

Kaka heeled the ball, shaking off Luo Bin, causing him to stagger, and also attracting a burst of screaming from the girls in the stands.

“Detestable! Although Imay lose to you in skills, but in spirit…” Luo Bin’s both hands were propped on the ground. He turned his body and swung his right leg towards the ball. “You are not my match!” Kaka had not expected that Luo Bin who was off-balance could switch his legs to obstruct the ball. To his surprise, the ball was intercepted.

“Luo Bin defended tenaciously. He has finally succeeded in intercepting Kaka’s ball!”

“Old Zhao!” Luo Bin shouted. While still lying on the ground he swept the ball straight to Zhao Defeng.

Li Hao and Zhao Defeng rushed to the ball at the same time. At that moment, nobody could tell who would reach the ball first.

Zhao Defeng suddenly stopped. He did not go straight for the ball but crossed in front of Li Hao. For a moment Li Hao could not move.

When the ball arrived, Li Hao wanted to grab it but Zhao Defeng was in right front of him. Besides that, the obstruction was just right, making him feel powerless and uncomfortable. However, he did not have any time to adjust. Since his opponent had already taken the initiative, he would not let his opponent get the ball easily!

However, Zhao Defeng did not stop the ball like what was expected. Instead, he allowed the ball to pass through his legs, then bent forward and ran past Li Hao!

Li Hao did understand what happened until he heard the commentator’s yell, “He has broken through! Zhao Defeng has advanced with the ball.”

“Damn!” Wang Ning rushed forward to intercept the ball. But, Zhao Defeng pushed the ball to the left with his right leg. Wang Ning thought that Zhao Defeng was going to breakthrough from the left. He started shifting his center of gravity to the right. However, after Zhao Defeng moved his right leg over, he immediately lightly tapped the ball to the right. As the ball went to the right, he also followed to breakthrough!

“He passed through another one! Clean and beautiful! Wang Ning did not even manage to get near!”

Shu Guang’s defenders became nervous. The opponent was just one person but he had already got through two players. They had been attacking vigorously earlier, meeting with resistance from Zhongyuan. At this moment Shu Guang’s defence was a little lax.

He Jialin continued to harass Shu Guang’s defenders. Zhang Yuchao and Zhang Yulin were like two sharp knives attacking from the sides. After seventy minutes, Zhongyuan’s men were still able to counterattack quickly, showing that they were extremely fit.

He Jialin, Zhang Yuchao, Zhang Yulin and also Zhao Defeng who was carrying the ball. Only these four intruded into Shu Guang’s half of the field but it was enough to set off a huge wave.

Shu Guang’s defenders were forced to withdraw in the face of their opponents advancing at full speed. They were unable to organize an effective defence for the time being.

Both midfielders had already been passed and the central back could not blindly withdraw anymore. Li Jieguang rushed up to Zhao Defeng. Zhao Defeng simply dropped his shoulder to the left and lifted his right leg.

Li Jieguang had thought that Zhao Defeng was about to pass the ball because Zhang Yulin was following on the right. As Li Jieguang moved to the left, Zhao Defeng’s right leg pulled the ball to the left and slipped past Li Jieguang’s right!

“The third one! Finally, Zhao Defeng is making headway! Shu Guang’s goal is in danger!”

“Lin Xiaofang! Don’t worry about him! Mark your man properly! Let him shoot! Chen Bo, Xie Wei! Guard the middle!” An Ke commanded the defenders loudly. At this moment, his tenor tone was like a tranquillizer. Hearing his voice, the others remembered that he was still there behind them and was absolutely dependable.

When An Ke shouted out, Zhao Defeng had to reconsider passing the ball to He Jialin. Now, he was considering passing the ball to the wingers. However, the were three defenders in the penalty box, lowering his chances of passing the ball. But he could also shoot the goal himself.

There was not much time for him to choose. He gritted his teeth and rushed into the space specially created for him. As soon as he entered the penalty area, he saw An Ke rush out.

“This idiot!” He chuckled and then took the shot.

At the stands, the mixed sounds of cheering and cries of alarm erupted forth.

“What the hell!” An Ke was seemingly charged with an unknown extraordinary power. He suddenly jumped from the ground and flew up like a rocket. His hands stretched out and he, unexpectedly, plucked Zhao Defeng’s shot from the air.

“A perfect save! An Ke’s spectacular leap, with his 1.88 m height, made a jaw dropping save! Zhao Defeng is also shocked! He never thought his shot would be caught by An Ke in midair. However, his goal shoot was faultless. It is a pity there is no goal! It was a brilliant counterattack! Even the spectators are applauding enthusiastically!”

An Ke did not waste time and quickly put the ball onto the field. For Shu Guang, time is life. Every second takes away a glimmer of hope.

Luo Bin was not inferior to Kaka in headers and they both competed for the ball in the air. In the end, the midfielder Luo Bin struck the ball with his head and sent it flying.

However, Shu Guang did not give up. Wang Ning rushed to the ball again. Zhang Yuchao tried to stop him but lost in the physical confrontation. Wang Ning successfully wrested the ball.

Wang Ning did not pass the ball to Yang Pan but instead, he moved the ball to the left side of the field. Ren Yu De caught the ball on the instep and then turned around. He had stopped the ball and turned around so smoothly that there was a burst of cheers and applause.

Liu Chao did not dare to be negligent. The moment he came near, he marked Ren Yu De carefully. Instead of kicking, he constantly used his body to cram Ren Yu De to the touchline, so that Ren Yu De’s available space became smaller and smaller.

However, Ren Yu De was like a person who could play better when forced into a corner. He leaned his back against Liu Chao and placed his right foot on the ball. At that moment, the ball was close to the sidelines. If he was not careful, the ball would cross the line and go out of bound.

How would one say this?

Only the skilful can be audacious .

Just when everyone believed that Ren Yu De had been forced into a corner with no way out, while putting more strength into his back, he pulled his right foot backwards. He then hooked the ball up with his left foot. After that, his right foot flicked it over their heads, with the ball flying behind Luo Chao!

After completing this tossing action, Ren Yu De immediately slackened his body and turned!

“Beautiful! I never imagined that you can get pass another player this way!”

Liu Chao was thrown off by Ren Yu De’s sudden body slackening action and this allowed Ren Yu De to escape!

After that, Ren Yu De did not continue into the penalty zone and instead chose to pass the ball.

This ball pass made Zhang Lintao feel very uncomfortable. He was afraid of rashly charging out to the outer periphery. He could only watch helplessly as the ball approached the goal area.

Deng Rui was also feeling uncomfortable. He did not even dare to stretch his leg out and disrupt it, fearing a careless mistake.

However, Li Yongle could not care about all that. If he did not stretch his leg out, the ball would definitely reach Zhang Jun who was right behind him. He could smell the scent of a wolf from the person he was marking, Zhang Jun.

Li Yongle kicked his leg, mindful of the timing. His hooked his toes and manage to send the ball behind him and Zhang Jun as well. Zhongyuan once again got through another crisis!

Lu Qing long kicked the ball that Li Yongle hooked in, sending it out of the way. The intense and acute competition did not allow him time to think about how to handle the incoming ball. When he saw the ball enter the penalty zone, there was only one thought in his mind. “Send it out!”

“An intense attack and defense! Stupendous! Brilliant! The finals have become really exciting after the forty seventh minute! I believe the audience is not disappointed! This is probably the most exciting final in Luoyang ever since it was proclaimed a sports center!”

“That’s right. However, this amazing final is about to end. There is only five minutes left. If injury time is included, then it would be about seven minutes left. At that time, the referee will blow the final whistle. The competition for the winner is entering its final lap.”

The winter noon was not particularly hot. However, those that were spectating the match, personally experiencing the atmosphere and watching the 22 players running nonstop on the field, would certainly feel that summer was coming…