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Chapter 220 You Are Science

"Ahahahaha!"

When the ball flew into the goal, the Tyne fans in the stands were overjoyed, and Robbie Dixie even put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily.

In fact, Liberty was very happy when he was sent off with a red card for a tackle on Wang Lie.

However, the joy has now reached a new level, because now Tyne not only has one more person than Scorsese, but also one more ball!

The big screen is playing a slow-motion replay of Wang Lie's goal.

The camera shot from the front of the wall, and everyone could clearly see how the football "penetrated" through the Skos's wall.

Harry Collins, who was among those who came to watch the game, was puzzled: "Why did Reyll jump up and dodge? Was he deliberately trying to avoid the ball?"

From the front, the movement of Damián Reil, the new defensive midfielder for Scots, does indeed look like he's dodging the ball.

He tucked his hands into his chest, tilted his neck, and bent his body to one side, making a dodging motion that really resembled someone afraid of being hit by a soccer ball.

“It’s not that bad to dodge the ball…” Jon Berg shook his head.

"Then why did he move aside? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just jump straight up?"

Berg couldn't answer Collins' question. After all, he wasn't Rael, nor had he faced Wang Lie's free kicks on the field. He couldn't imagine why Rael would do that.

Ryan, standing next to Tang Lin, gave him another big hug: "I told you we had to let Tang come to watch the game! As soon as he arrived, a gap appeared in the Skos team's wall!"

Robbie Dixie was also delighted: "Yes, yes, yes! It's all thanks to Don!"

Tang Lin, who was being held by him, didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You have to believe in science!"

“You are science!” Ryan said very seriously.

Tang Lin was speechless.

※※※

While the Tyne players were celebrating their goal, the Scorsese players were also making adjustments.

However, instead of bringing on a center-back as some had expected, Josep Gil did not continue with the starting three-defender formation.

He made adjustments based on the existing lineup.

He called the team captain, Masson Harper, to the sidelines, gave him instructions, and then sent him onto the field to relay them to the other teammates.

"Have Patrick and Gabriel drop back to play full-back, and you and Oliver will play center-back..."

Patrick McGowan is the team's starting right wing-back, but he is also a right-back. Gabriel Atala, on the other side, is similar; he can play both left-back and left wing-back.

With one less center-back, how can we maximize the integrity of our defensive line?
Gil's idea was to have the two starting wing-backs drop back and play as full-backs.

This changed the Skóss's formation from the initial 3-5-2 to a 4-3-2.

After Masson Harper returned to the field, he relayed head coach Gill's instructions to his teammates.

When the game restarted, everyone quickly saw the result of Gil's adjustments from the players' positioning.

"No substitutions, switching to a four-defender formation... Gil is clearly not happy about it!" commentator Connor Cowley remarked after seeing the Scottish formation on the field.

“Of course we’re not happy, after all, the game has only been going on for a little over twenty minutes.” Luke Milne scoffed. “If we start to tighten our defense now just because we’re down a man, then the Scorsese will be on the back foot for the next seventy minutes.”

"Gil's adjustment is correct. It is precisely at times like these that we should do the opposite." In the studio in the capital, thousands of miles away, commentator Zhao Chuanfeng was also analyzing for Chinese fans watching on television.

"With one less player, there's still plenty of time in the game. The Scots team really should maintain their counter-attacking ability. It's too early to give up now, and given Wang Lie's recent form, nobody knows if they can hold him off for over seventy minutes without scoring..."

This last reason is the most convincing.

Everyone can see Wang Lie's current hot streak.

If any team dares to park the bus when facing Wang Lie, allowing teams with Wang Lie to bombard them relentlessly within their 30-meter zone, then they should be prepared to concede a goal.

Because the Wang Lie of today is not the same Wang Lie who could only stand in the penalty area as a "target man" in the second half of last year.

He can compete for headers as a center forward in the penalty area, or pull out to threaten the goal with his long-range shots. He can also draw the defensive attention to himself and then deliver a brilliant pass.

Facing such an all-around Wang Lie, the Skos people's decision to defend in advance put them in a very unfavorable position.

Therefore, Jill did not make a conservative decision just because there were fewer people; on the contrary, it was the right thing to do.

His adjustment can be seen as a reassurance to the players on the field.

Masson Harper conveyed more than just tactical instructions to his teammates; he also sent an important message:
The game has just begun. Although we are down a man and behind in the score, this cannot break us, the people of Skos!

The team should continue to play the game according to the previously established tactical plan, and not panic!

Being down a man and trailing by one goal is certainly a difficult situation.

However, this predicament is not a dead end for the elite Scorsese family.

There's not even a need for Jill to give a passionate speech to explain this.

Every Skos player knows this.

So when the game restarted, the Skos people, who had unified their thinking, were not stunned by the sudden blow.

Although Tyne had the upper hand on the field, Scorsese did not completely collapse into a defensive stance and park the bus, but instead actively seized every opportunity to launch counter-attacks.

In these counterattacks, Chi Zhen was quite active, even overshadowing his strike partner Victor Del Mora.

Although he is a forward, Chi Zhen covers a very wide range of activities during the game, from the left wing to the center, and from the center circle to Tain's penalty area.

Chi Zhen, who drops back to receive the ball, can also use his dribbling skills and speed to drive the team's attack.

Chi Zhen is the kind of player who is only threatening when he has the ball. Putting him at the forefront and waiting for his teammates to pass him the ball is not his forte.

In the 37th minute, Chi Zhen dropped back to the center circle to receive the ball.

He was facing away from the direction of the attack when he received the ball.

Tyne's defensive midfielder, Isara, was positioned behind him, preventing him from turning around.

But Chi Zhen used the outside of his right foot to deflect the ball behind him while turning around!

Isara hadn't expected Chi Zhen's turn to be so smooth; with a simple sidestep, he had already been shaken off by Chi Zhen!
"Chi! That was a brilliant escape!"

Because his turn was so smooth, when Chi Zhen turned and caught up with the ball, Tain's defenders didn't have time to come up to cover him. He controlled the ball without any interference and dribbled towards Tain's penalty area.

After drawing Tyne's center-back O'Neill up, he didn't continue to go it alone, but immediately passed the ball to attacking midfielder Ryan Boissiere, who was receiving the ball at the penalty arc.

After completing the pass, he suddenly accelerated forward, cutting straight into the space left behind by Oni!

At the same time, Boissière, who had already understood the situation, chose to pass the ball directly into the open space without stopping it as it was passed by Chi Zhen!
The pool tremor accelerated and plunged straight into the gap!
Facing the rolling ball, he half-turned, raised his right foot, and made a move to push it directly into the far corner.

This prompted Tyne's center-back Katic, who came up to cover, to lose his balance and make a sliding tackle to block the shot.

His right foot flicked the ball towards the byline, while he twisted and chased after it. As he approached the byline, he swung his left foot and swept the ball across the face of goal!

At this moment, goalkeeper Elliott Goetz and most of Tyne's defenders were drawn to his series of breakthroughs, leaving the far post of the goal empty!

"Chi Zhen sweeps across!"

The football flew low to the ground, heading towards the far post.

Skos' other striker, Victor Del Mora, made a desperate tackle on the ball, but he was a step too slow, and the ball slipped past his toes!

A huge sigh of relief rose from the stands at Lize Park, the sighs of Tyne fans who had narrowly escaped death.

"Oh no!! Delmora!! He missed the perfect opportunity that the pool created for him!"

"Der Mora—he didn't touch the ball! Sigh! Chi Zhen was playing so well before, but he failed at the last minute!"

The commentators all felt sorry for Chi Zhen.

After completing the pass, Chi Zhen lost his balance and fell off the field. But he still kept his body upright and peered towards the goal, wanting to see if Del Mora would seize the opportunity to equalize.

What he witnessed was Del Mora narrowly missing the ball.

He yelled, rolled back onto the ground, and then slammed his fist on the grass in front of the billboard.

But he quickly got up from the ground, and it was hard to tell what other emotions were on his face.

It was as if all the dissatisfaction, resentment, and shock in his heart had been smashed into the grass with that punch.

Delmora, who had missed her chance, was like a child who had broken her father's beloved vase. After getting up from the ground, she hunched over and secretly glanced at Chi Zhen, afraid of seeing him fly into a rage.

But Chi Zhen didn't.

He just yelled at Delmora, "It's okay, Victor! Again!"

Since he was going to challenge and compete with Brother Wang, Chi Zhen felt that he should at least learn from Brother Wang in every aspect, such as learning to be someone who could lead the team like Brother Wang.

A person who is supposed to lead a team should at least not fly into a rage at their teammates after they squander the opportunities they've created, right?

So despite feeling extremely regretful and unwilling, Chi Zhen could only quickly adjust his mindset and tell himself to create a better opportunity next time...

※※※

The ball that Chi Zhen passed to Del Mora was the best attacking opportunity for the Scots team in the first half.

Del Mora's failure to capitalize on the chance even broke the composure of Scots' head coach, Gil, who slammed his water bottle onto the grass on the bench and then turned to assistant coach Dadier, yelling, "If Del Mora had started moving earlier, he would have had the ball! Instead, he just stood there like a spectator!"

“He was probably completely absorbed by Chi’s brilliant performance…” Dadier was also disappointed, but he still had to comfort Gil: “But Chi’s performance in this match was indeed outstanding…”

He did indeed reassure Jill, who nodded and said, "I told you, in this match, we need a player who's eager to prove himself. He'll be the key player in this match..."

Not long after he finished speaking, Tyne launched an attack.

Wang Lie feigned a long-range shot in front of the penalty area, but after swinging his right leg, he pushed the ball away and passed it to Miguel Ribeiro behind the Nechescos defense on the wing.

After receiving the ball, the latter shot with his left foot towards the far corner, but it was poked out of bounds by Scots goalkeeper Leonardo Lucero with his toe.

The Scottish coach, Gil, on the sidelines was terrified: "Damn it!"

With the first half drawing ever closer, he certainly didn't want his team to concede another goal.

With one less player and only one goal behind, it's relatively easy to catch up in the second half.

If the opponent extends their lead to two goals near the end of the first half, it will be a huge blow to the team's morale and will also disrupt his plans and strategies...

When both players are down by one goal, the difficulty of falling behind by one goal is drastically different from falling behind by two goals.

Although in the last round of the league, Tyne completed an epic match under similar circumstances.

However, this does not mean that the Scots people could also complete the same competition under the same conditions...

After all, Tyne has a god-like figure named Wang Lie, but who does the Skos people have?
Do you expect Chi Zhen to be like his national team predecessors, a god descending to earth?
Jill did have high hopes for Chi Zhen, but not to this extent...

Fortunately, Scots did not concede another goal until the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

As soon as the whistle blew, both teams lowered their heads and hurriedly left the field, entering the player tunnel and returning to the locker room.

The Scots players were naturally in low spirits because they were behind in the score.

Although Tyne was in the lead, the players were not very happy because they were unable to extend their lead in the second half.

But the Tyne fans in the stands were very happy.

Harry Collins looked at the scoreboard on the big screen, which showed the halftime score:

Tyne 1:0 Scorsese
He murmured, "I never thought we'd be leading the Scorsese team at halftime..."

Although Tyne had defeated the Scouts last season, at halftime in that game, Tyne was trailing the Scouts 1-2.

But only six months later, Tyne was leading the Scorsese team 1-0 in the first half.

After Harry Collins finished his remark, Robbie Dixie burst into triumphant laughter: "Aha! Because Don came to watch the game today, Harry! He's Tyne's lucky charm! With him around, the team is sure to be blessed with good fortune!"

Jon Berger, while believing that Don Lin had indeed brought good luck to the team, didn't want Dixie to steal the spotlight, so he stepped forward to retort: ​​"If that's really the case, why are we only leading by one goal instead of more? Why was Ribeiro's shot blocked by Lucero with his toe?"

Dixie was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words to refute Berg's statement.

Which is better for the team, a 1-0 score or a 2-0 score?

Of course the latter.

If Tang Lin's ability to bring good luck to the team is true, then Tyne should have been leading at least 2-0 in the first half of this match, instead of the current 1-0.

So, we're only one goal ahead of Scorsese, does that mean it has nothing to do with Don? At the very least, Don hasn't lived up to his "lucky charm" reputation...

Just as Dixie's mind was stuck in a loop, Ryan, who was next to him, stepped forward to refute Berg: "That's blind, extreme superstition, Jon!"

Jon Berg was completely bewildered: "???"

He never expected those words to come out of Ryan's mouth...

Who exactly said that Tang, even if he were in China, could radiate his luck to Tyne's match from 8,000 kilometers away?

It wasn't you, kid, was it?
Before Berg could question Ryan, Ryan explained, "Don does have a lucky streak, but he's not a god. His abilities have limits. He's already done a great job by helping us take down a center-back from Scorsese and ensuring that Wang's free kicks go through the wall. What more do you want? Jon, I have to criticize you. Just because Don is your loanee doesn't mean you can be so rude!"

Jon Berg was dumbfounded. He was now incredibly impressed with Ryan. This old guy was simply gifted in some ways!
He can actually make such blatant nonsense sound like a coherent and logical argument... The key is that after listening to him say it, I actually felt a little tempted to believe him!
It's fucking outrageous!
While Berg stared in disbelief, Ryan patted Tang Lin on the shoulder and said, "Relax, Tang, don't feel pressured. You've done enough!"

Tang Lin was both amused and exasperated.

What did I do? I didn't do anything, uncle!

No...you really have to believe in science!

(End of this chapter)