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Chapter 253 We Must Live Up to the King's Praise
Enrique dos Santos Miranda glanced at the screen in the box, which showed a close-up of his son.

My son just made a mistake during the game, stopping the ball that Wang Lie passed directly out of bounds.

The Lille fans in the stands let out gloating laughter.

Beside Miranda, his wife, with her youngest son Lucas in her arms, said to her husband with concern, "Isn't Vitini under too much pressure?"

The husband shook his head: "I don't know..."

Even if he knew, he couldn't tell his wife.

Does he have to admit that his son was under too much pressure and underperformed?
How worried must the wife be?

Today is my son's first Champions League match, and his whole family flew in from Brazil just to witness this historic moment.

To be honest, from his father's perspective, his son Vitini's performance in the first half was quite good; he was very active and created several threats.

However, since Tyne is now down 1-2, many people may only remember the chances that Vitini wasted in the first half, and not the chances he created.

This is the most awkward part of football matches.

Sometimes, you try your best and perform well, but because the result is not satisfactory, it's as if your excellent performance in the competition has been erased.

If Tyne ultimately loses this game, the chances his son missed will be repeatedly replayed afterward, and his son will be heavily criticized online, as if his son were the culprit behind Tyne's loss...

This isn't just him being overly pessimistic; similar scenarios have played out countless times in the past.

He knew that with his son's personality and temperament, he would always get himself into such disputes and troubles.

He felt this was unfair, but there was nothing he could do.

Fortunately, such situations have become less and less frequent since Wang Lie came to Taien.

It has almost disappeared now.

The reason for this might be that Tyne hasn't lost a game in a long time.

But if Tyne loses this Champions League match, then things could get complicated.

Actually, considering that this is Tain's first time participating in the Champions League, and it's an away game, losing to Atlético Lille wouldn't be an unbelievable result.

But the online trolls don't care about these objective factors; they only vent their negative emotions on his son.

So even from a selfish and anxious perspective, Miranda didn't want Tyne to lose.

Even though it's their first time participating in the Champions League, they don't want to lose.

※※※

"Vitini!"

Vitini was looking down, frustrated by his poor ball control, when he heard Wang Lie calling him. He immediately turned around and saw Wang Lie giving him a thumbs up.

He knew that Wang Lie was worried about his emotional fluctuations and poor mindset, which was why he gave him a thumbs up.

But he himself should know that his performance on this ball was absolutely not worthy of Wang Lie's thumbs up.

However, he still gave Wang Lie a smile.

At the same time, he secretly vowed to himself that he must truly live up to Wang Lie's praise with his performance!

※※※

Seeing this, Youssef Chapchet turned to his assistant coach and smiled.

Use your expression to say to him:

look.

The assistant coach did see it, so he smiled and nodded in response.

Chapchette walked to the sidelines and gestured to his players to continue creating opportunities on the right flank. If Vitini got the ball, they had to immediately move up and surround him.

You must engage in physical contact; you must use both your hands and feet.

Don't be afraid of committing fouls.

Since it's on the wing anyway, even if we give Tyne a free kick in the attacking third, it's unlikely to pose a direct threat to our goal.

Ten minutes into the second half, although the score had not changed, McNeil and Varo had already discerned Lille's tactical intentions.

Varo said, "Lille are targeting our left flank."

“Yes, they think Nova and Vitini are our weaknesses,” McNeil nodded.

"What do you think?" Varo turned to ask him.

"They are certainly our weakness."

McNeil's answer surprised Varo, and just as he was about to ask why, McNeil added:
“But they also have an opportunity. Because Lille will definitely think that Vitini has underperformed due to mental issues. So when they defend, they will lower their guard against Vitini… To be honest, Cesar. If it were last year's Vitini, I could only pray to God that he still had a shred of sanity. But now, I have nothing to worry about, and I'm even a little hopeful…”

Although McNeil covered his mouth while speaking, Varo could still hear the amusement in his tone.

Varo also knew what McNeil was expecting.

Vitini's transformation was evident to those who interacted with him daily.

Vitini is maturing rapidly in training, matches, and the locker room.

However, the outside world obviously knows very little about this.

He could even say that even Vitini's family members might not know him as well as his coaches and players.

Of course, outsiders can analyze Vitini's performance through match footage and draw some scattered conclusions from the fact that Vitini's performance has improved.

These scattered conclusions will not change the prejudices in people's hearts. They would rather believe that Vitini is just occasionally not acting crazy than that Vitini has been completely transformed.

Moreover, they would tirelessly observe Vitini with a magnifying glass, trying to deduce the answers they wanted from the Brazilian boy's every move.

For example, if he didn't score or made a mistake in controlling the ball, Vitini would hold his head in his hands, looking very frustrated and angry, which would be a normal reaction that no one would care about if it happened to other players.

But in Vitini's case, it was proof of his loss of emotional control.

※※※

When Anderson Nova received the ball on the left flank of the backfield, Lille's striker Thiago Miranda quickly moved up to press him.

Meanwhile, another striker, Younis Perat, pressed down on Tyne's center-back, Mattia Katic, in the middle, reducing Nova's passing options.

Fu Xiaofeng was positioned in the path of Nova's pass to the center of the midfield.

Atletico Lille blocked all possible passing lanes for Nova, but they didn't press Vitini too closely when he dropped back.

It seems like they deliberately let Vitini go to Nova.

As expected, under pressure from Thiago Miranda, Nova chose to pass the ball to Vitini, who came up to receive it.

Just as the ball was passed to Vitini, Lille's right-back Noah Scarpinati and right winger Angelo Cambage seemed to hear the starting gun, accelerating towards Vitini from two different directions.

This was a trap specifically set for him!

Upon seeing this, Cabella immediately moved closer to Vitini and called out to him, "Hey! Over here!"

Time was of the essence, so he couldn't possibly tell Vitini the details of his current situation. He could only tell him to focus on passing the ball to him.

I'm sure Vitini understands.

However, as he did this, Fu Xiaofeng was also moving closer to him, making it difficult for Vitini to pass the ball to him.

In short, Lille's tactics are to create an opportunity for Vitini to confront Lille players, preventing him from passing the ball and then using a numerical advantage to win it back. If they can't win the ball back, they'll foul him; the point is to force Vitini out of possession, provoke him, make him lose his temper and composure, and detonate this "bomb"!
But what happened next left the Lille players wide-eyed:
Without even turning around to look, Vitini suddenly hooked the ball behind him with his foot!
As the ball flew over the heads of Scarpinati and Cambage, Vitini turned and slipped between them!

"Wow!!"

"A beautiful turn! Vitini!"

"Acrobatic dribbling skills!"

The commentators exclaimed in surprise.

Meanwhile, Lille fans in the stands were also exclaiming in surprise.

The few Tyne fans were cheering:

"Charge, Vitini!!"

No one expected that Vitini could shake off two defenders in such an imaginative way.

Because right-back Scarpinati rushed up but failed to stop Vitini, Lille's right flank in the backfield is now completely empty!
Before Vitini became Tyne's weakness, Lille's right flank became their weakness first!

And it was deadly!
"Oh my gosh! Tyne's chance! Vitini!!"

"Watch out! Tyne's counter-attack! Lille's backline is open!"

Amid cheers and exclamations, Vitini caught up with the ball, and before it even hit the ground, he forcefully pushed it forward!
He kicked the football more than ten meters away in an instant, and he could make the most of his speed advantage, turning dribbling into a race.

Lille's center-back Yassin Meyer is running from the center to the wing to cover.

However, as a traditional center-back, speed is not his advantage.

He had just reached the ball when it was swatted away by Vitini who had caught up!

"Vitini! Beautiful! He's over Meyer! Huge chance! Lille is in danger!"

Inside the box, Vitini's brother Lucas shouted excitedly, "Charge! Vitini!! Charge!"

His mother was cheering just like him.

The father, however, kept his eyes glued to the court and remained silent.

He was clearly much more experienced than his wife and children, and knew that one shouldn't be too happy until the very end.

If this attack ultimately results in a goal, whether it's scored by his son or assisted by him, it's a good thing.

But if this attack doesn't result in a goal, it won't really help change his son's situation...

This is the most tense moment, and he doesn't have time to scream!
※※※

Lille's head coach, Youssef Chapchet, was also too busy to speak up; he had been watching the game from the sidelines.

From the moment Vitini suddenly flicked the ball backward, he stared wide-eyed at the Brazilian boy.

Although his mouth was open, no sound came out of his throat.

When Vitini dribbled past center-back Meyer, his heart almost stopped!
If a head coach still can't see the magnitude of the crisis his team is facing, then he should resign immediately!

The entire stadium at Aske City was filled with boos, clearly showing that Lille's fans realized how dangerous their team was!

Besides Vitini, Wang Lie is also advancing in the middle lane.

Further along, on the right flank, is Tyne's right winger, Miguel Ribeiro.

This left Lille's remaining center-back, Gino Saiddi, unsure of what to do: rush forward to mark Vitini, or stay in the middle to keep an eye on Wang Lie...

Go defend against Vitini, what if the opponent passes the ball to Wang Lie?
If Vitini stays in the middle and waits for Wang Lie, it means he can take a shot without any defenders or interference.

Between two evils, choose the lesser. Saidi hesitated for only a moment, but made his decision in a flash—to stay where he was and guard Wang Lie!

Because the past has proven time and again how powerful Wang Lie is, in his mind, the threat that Wang Lie can pose is certainly greater than that of Vitini.

Moreover... given Vitini's unstable emotions and mentality, who can guarantee that he won't waste such a one-on-one opportunity?

After all, this opportunity was too good, good enough to give him ample time to adjust his perspective, think, and express his emotions.

Professional players... no, even ordinary fans know that when an opportunity is too good, good enough for a player to overthink and prepare for too long, then the ball will most likely be wasted.

So perhaps Lille's situation isn't as bad as everyone thinks.

Wang Lie was initially rushing towards the goal, but when he noticed that Lille's center-back Seidi had chosen to mark him instead of leaving Vitini open, he changed his mind, suddenly slowed down, and left Seidi outside the penalty area.

Meanwhile, Miguel Ribeiro continued his charge into the penalty area.

In this way, Vitini can either shoot himself or pass the ball across to Ribeiro who is making a run at the far post.

Saiddi was immediately caught in a dilemma:

He could either stay with Wang Lie, or Vitini could pass the ball to Ribeiro, allowing the latter to shoot directly into an empty net, since goalkeeper Laurent Vinier had already blocked Vitini's shooting angle at the near post.

Either he goes to defend Ribeiro, and then Vitini, dribbling into the penalty area, makes a cutback pass to Wang Lie outside the box. Although Wang Lie is further from the goal, for him, a shot from this distance is practically non-existent and poses no obstacle whatsoever!
Sure enough, Ribeiro raised his arm, asking Vitini for the ball.

Vitini looked up at him, then raised his right foot, seemingly to pass the ball to him.

When goalkeeper Laurent Vinier, who had already run to the near post, saw Vitini's move, he immediately prepared to shift his weight and dive back – he had to do it in advance, because if he waited until he saw Vitini pass the ball and then dived back, it would be too late!

But just as he shifted his weight, Vitini's right foot suddenly straightened, changing from a passing stance to a shooting stance!

The football he drew flew straight towards the near corner of the goal!
Laurent Vinier's center of gravity had shifted at this point, and he could only instinctively fall to the ground, stretching out his trailing leg in an attempt to block the ball!
He failed!
The football grazed his foot and the inside of the goalpost before slipping through the only gap into the net!

"Wow—! Goal...goal! Goal! Goal—! Vitini! He scored! He equalized for Tyne!"

"In the 17th minute of the second half, and the 62nd minute of the match, Vitini scores! 2-2! The two sides are back to square one!!"

"Vitini has scored his first ever Champions League goal! What a historic night! Tyne's first Champions League goal! Vitini's first Champions League goal! Tyne, playing away, are more tenacious than many people imagined!"

"A beautiful counter-attack goal! Vitini created this counter-attack opportunity and then seized it himself! This time he didn't miss it like he did in the first half!"

Amid the commentators' shouts and cheers, Vitini's parents embraced tightly in their box.

This time, Father could finally celebrate without worry!

Vitini's brother, Lucas, was jumping and shouting in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

At this moment, in this private room, they are the happiest group of people.

Compared to his excited family, Vitini, who scored the goal, seemed still in shock, unable to believe that his first Champions League goal had come so suddenly...

After taking the shot, he kept staring at the inside of the goal, repeatedly confirming that the ball was indeed inside the goal, and not a visual illusion caused by flying past the outside of the goalpost and disturbing the side netting.

Only then could he finally be sure that he had scored!

He happily turned and ran towards the corner flag area to celebrate, not even seeing Wang Lie rushing over to hug him...

He left his idol behind and pumped his fist at the Tyne fans who had traveled with the team to the second tier of the stands, thanking them for their support.

Wang Lie ran up at that moment, hugged him tightly, and shouted in his ear, "Well done, Vitini! A milestone in your career, congratulations!"

Vitini then turned to Wang Lie and said, "I have not let you down, Your Majesty! I have not let you down!"

Although Wang Lie didn't quite understand why Vitini was suddenly saying all this out of the blue, he didn't press her for an answer. Instead, he vigorously ruffled Vitini's curly hair and said, "Very good!"

The other teammates rushed over and hugged the two of them.

Seeing the players hugging and celebrating, McNeil and assistant coach Varro on the sidelines high-fived and laughed: "Haha! This is exactly what I've been expecting!"

In front of the home team's bench, Atlético Lille's head coach, Youssef Chapchet, remained motionless in the same position he had been in after Vitini's lobbed turn, as if he had truly become a statue...

(End of this chapter)