Reverse

Chapter 279 Ribeiro's Way
Actually, when Barnabas passed the ball forward, Wang Lie didn't start moving immediately because he was still in an offside position.

He waited until the Milan defense line retreated collectively before hiding in the crowd and running forward.

As he started, he glanced back at Vitini and saw the Brazilian lad running with his head down, clearly accelerating and sprinting at full speed.

So when the ball first hit the ground in front of Ribeiro, Wang Lie slowed down slightly—because he didn't know what Ribeiro would do next. Since Vitini was accelerating ahead of him, he should stay slightly behind to add depth to the attack and avoid running in the same line as Vitini. This way, if Ribeiro wanted to pass the ball, he would at least have another option.

When he realized that Ribeiro hadn't received or passed the ball immediately, but instead let it continue forward, Wang Lie restarted his acceleration and charged into the penalty area with his arms raised.

Like a pathfinder carrying a torch in the dark, they are very conspicuous.

He was trying to draw the attention of the Milan City defenders.

As expected, Milan's two defenders, Gavitto and Pedro, were drawn to Wang Lie.

Even though Ribeiro had dribbled past two players on the wing and was almost on a rampage, the two of them still resolutely went to double-team Wang Lie.

why?
Clearly, Wang Lie's goal in the first half has convinced all the Milan players that no matter what the situation, Ribeiro will pass the ball to Wang Lie whenever there is an opportunity in front of the goal.

And this is indeed the case.

Despite having space to shoot, Ribeiro, having created an opening, passed the ball to Wang Lie.

Therefore, Gavitto and Pedro's defensive choices were not problematic—if Wang Lie hadn't intentionally let the ball pass through...

In fact, from the moment he raised his hand and rushed into the penalty area, Wang Lie had already planned how to handle the ball.

Otherwise, why would he run to meet him with his hands outstretched?
Raising his hand immediately draws everyone's attention to him. If it's for a shot, why would he do that? He could just quietly approach the target and then suddenly leap out to deliver a fatal blow.

He was doing this to create opportunities for Vitini, because he knew Vitini had a better chance than him. If his plan succeeded, Vitini would be facing an empty net, with no Milan players on his side.

Vitini did not disappoint, scoring a goal to give his team a two-goal lead over Milan.

Wang Lie needs to score goals, that's true, but he needs to ensure the team wins even more.

Victory takes precedence over everything else.

After scoring, Vitini excitedly ran towards Wang Lie, who had let him pass the ball: "Thank you, Wang! Thank you!"

Wang Lie patted his head: "Why are you thanking me? You're the one who seized this opportunity! Besides, if anyone should be thanked, it should be the person who helped you..."

He put one arm around Vitini and waved to Ribeiro with his other hand, signaling him to come up.

After Ribeiro ran up, he put his arm around one of them, and the three of them laughed happily.

Seeing this, Luo Jin also laughed happily, "This is Tyne's offensive trident! It's also Wang Lie's 'left and right arms' in the literal sense, ha!"

※※※

Federico Papacioli stood on the sidelines, looked up at the sky, and sighed inwardly.

He knew that if the formation moved forward, there was a possibility that Tyne could exploit the gaps behind them, and the possibility was not low.

But he did it anyway because he wanted to take a gamble, hoping that he could equalize the score before Tyne scored.

As soon as he can equalize the score, he immediately switches back to defensive counter-attacking mode, and the game will return to the rhythm he has planned.

The result was obvious: he lost his bet.

He hadn't expected Tyne to exploit the gap behind his defense so quickly and break through...

He thought he hadn't underestimated Tyne's offensive firepower, but now it seems he still underestimated its strength.

Wang Lie, Vitini, and Ribeiro are all exceptionally talented individuals; any one of them could single-handedly change the course of a game, let alone the combined abilities of the three, not to mention the chemistry between them.

That is, they all admired Wang Lie.

Because of Wang Lie, Vitini's temper has become less volatile, and she has become more reserved.

Ribeiro is even more extreme; he was willing to forgo scoring himself so that Wang Lie could score...

Papacio shook his head inwardly.

He knew that Wang Lie was an idol to many players in the football world because of his strong personality, but he had previously only regarded the relationship between idol and fan as ordinary.

As a fan, being able to speak up for your idol when they are being criticized is considered being a very loyal fan, and having such fans makes you a truly worthy idol.

But whether it's Vitini or Ribeiro, they are willing to go to such lengths for their idols—not just to speak up for them, but also to help them with their actions.

As someone who considers himself rational, Papacioli simply cannot understand this kind of thing, especially when it comes to Ribeiro.

When he heard that one of his top lieutenants was going to leave the team to chase after a celebrity, he thought he had misheard. After repeatedly confirming that he hadn't misheard, he began to wonder if he was dreaming.

After realizing that he wasn't dreaming, he could only conclude that something was wrong with the world that caused this bug—if he didn't think this way, he couldn't find a reasonable explanation in his own understanding to match the current reality.

He knew Ribeiro was a fan of Wang Lie, but was it necessary to go to such lengths?

He abandoned his status and position as a key player for a top club, and went to a newly rich team to start all over again...

does it worth?
Although Ribeiro's current club, the "nouveau riche," is leading his Milan team by two goals, Papacholi still doesn't think Ribeiro's choice was correct.

After all, the season has only just begun, and the outcome of a single match at this stage will not have a decisive impact on the final result of the season.

Even if Tyne wins today's game, it doesn't mean they can win the whole season.

After some internal reflection, Papadopoulos has made his decision:
Having already fallen behind by two goals, given Milan's attacking firepower, even a full-scale attack would be unlikely to level the score before conceding another goal.

Since that's the case, we might as well switch to the style of play we're good at: defense and counter-attack.

Even if we're guaranteed to lose this match, we can't afford to concede any more goals. When we finally advance from this group of death, every goal difference will be crucial. Conceding even one less goal could significantly increase our chances of advancing.

Besides... what if we can score a goal on a counter-attack in the remaining time of the game?

※※※

"...Dear viewers, if you didn't see the score, you would definitely think the game had just begun and Milan City hadn't conceded a goal yet. But in reality, Milan City has already conceded two goals... The game has returned to what Milan City fans are familiar with: Milan City is tightening its defense, while its opponents are launching a barrage of attacks."

"I completely understand why Papacioli did that. After all, losing by two goals is better than losing by three or four. Papacioli came into this game with a defensive mindset; he wasn't adequately prepared offensively, so he had to accept the loss..."

"Whether from a theoretical or practical standpoint, Papacioli's approach was flawless. But just imagine, a top Italian club, facing a Champions League newcomer making its debut, forced to passively defend itself, unable to retaliate… I think even Milan fans familiar with the team's tactical style would likely have some reservations upon witnessing this..."

"Of course, it's unfair to place all the blame on head coach Papacioli, given that the team lost a key attacking player, Miguel Ribeiro, this season, which severely impacted their attacking strength. I wonder what you Milan fans thought when you saw Ribeiro already provide two assists in the first half..."

Regardless of what the Milan fans think, Lionel Latanzio, watching on TV, was extremely displeased when he heard the commentator say that.

It wasn't just because his team was down by two goals while he could only sit at home as a spectator.

Even at this point, the commentator was still mentioning Ribeiro, the "traitor" who had already left the team.

They're saying that Ribeiro's departure has severely impacted Milan's attack...

Why don't you say that I came after Ribeiro left?

So ultimately, it comes down to this: I feel I can't make up for the loss to the team's attack caused by Ribeiro's departure...

He knew his performance wasn't convincing enough.

After all, he only scored one goal since joining Milan City.

Everyone remembers Ribeiro now, simply because he has a three-year history and a good reputation, while I've only just arrived and need time to prove myself.

But he firmly believed that his future in Milan would be brighter than Ribeiro's, and that his achievements in football would be greater than Ribeiro's.

Because Ribeiro, who is 1.88 meters tall, relies entirely on his speed and physical strength to force his way through the field, he needs enough space. If there is no space, his impact will be diminished.

He, on the other hand, is not tall, standing at only 1.7 meters, but he is very agile. He has an advantage against the dense defenses common in Italian football.

Ribeiro's playing style relies heavily on physicality, while his footwork is relatively rough. Once injured, his explosive power decreases, and this lack of technique becomes a fatal factor limiting his potential.

They rely on technique and flexible rhythm; clearly, this style of play is more sustainable, with greater potential for future growth. There is evidence to support this:

Although his statistics after joining the team were not impressive, with only one goal and one assist, head coach Papacioli insisted on keeping him in the starting lineup.

This fully demonstrates how highly the head coach regards him.

All he has to do is give it his all to prove that the head coach made the right choice.

There's no way to win this match, but he will try his best to make a comeback when the two sides meet in the next round.

For Milan, that match will be a revenge game.

And he will be the sharpest blade of revenge!
※※※

Latanzio's analysis of Ribeiro actually makes some sense. Considering Ribeiro's technical characteristics, compared to Latanzio, he is indeed not good at maneuvering and dribbling through dense defenses.

Standing at 1.88 meters tall, his center of gravity is too high. Compared to Latanzio, who is 1.7 meters tall, every movement he makes seems somewhat delayed.

Although the delay of each individual movement is not high, the combined effect of these delays is that Ribeiro's dribbling is not graceful and elegant, and looks somewhat stiff and mechanical.

Compared to Latanzio, Ribeiro is truly a rusty tin man.

However, Latanzio overlooked one point, and a very important one at that:
If Ribeiro is truly helpless against a tight defense, as he believes, then how did he manage to score seventeen goals and provide seven assists for Milan last season?

Or is Milan the only team in all of Italy that excels at defense?

So the actual situation might be like this: Miguel Ribeiro's performance when facing a tight defense was not as elegant and graceful as Latanzio's, but that doesn't mean he was helpless and at a loss.

He has his methods and his own style of playing football.

Regardless of the process, just look at the result.

Despite Milan's tight defense, Tyne, already leading by two goals, continued to attack and showed no signs of giving up.

The Tyne fans in the stands were also cheering for their team's attack, enjoying the thrill of thrashing a long-established powerhouse on their home turf.

At this point, few people were thinking about whether Tyne's continued attack would allow Milan to launch a successful counterattack...

In fact, Milan has been waiting for just such an opportunity.

Head coach Sam McNeil glanced at the time on the big screen from the sidelines.

The match lasted sixty-six minutes.

He has already asked the assistant coach to go to the warm-up area to call people back; they need to make substitutions.

A two-goal lead is still not safe, but considering the possibility of a counter-attack, a 2-0 scoreline is not unacceptable...

McNeil is preparing to substitute Ribeiro.

Bero performed very well in this match, but this also consumed a lot of his energy. In order to protect him, and also to let him receive the cheers of the home fans.

McCannir needs to substitute him early.

At this moment, Vitini received the ball on the left wing. Facing Milan's dense defense, he did not choose to force his way through, but instead passed the ball laterally to Cabella.

Cabella received the ball on the left flank and also made a lateral pass.

He passed the ball to Ribeiro on the right wing.

As the ball flew toward Ribeiro, the Tyne fans in the stands began to cheer loudly, encouraging the Portuguese player.

His pre-match declaration of loyalty, coupled with his outstanding performance in the game, has caused his standing among Tyne fans to skyrocket, probably only behind Wang Lie and Vitini...

Cabella passed a high ball, so Ribeiro stopped the ball with his chest and then quickly passed it to Pisano, who was coming up to receive it, while accelerating forward after passing the ball.

Pisano then passed the ball in the direction of his forward run.

The rest was just a battle of speed and strength between Ribeiro and Anelli.

Just as he was about to catch up with the ball, Ribeiro cut across in front of Anelli, causing them to collide head-on.

Anelli was forced to brake suddenly, and Ribeiro himself was also knocked off balance, but he managed to gain a favorable position.

Then, despite Anelli's interference and collisions from behind, he dribbled the ball towards the penalty area.

Meanwhile, Milan's center-back Lorenzo del Caro, seeing his partner lose the initiative in defense, also ran over to help defend.

Facing a double-team and being very close to the byline, Ribeiro suddenly stopped and used his right foot to cut the ball back.

It looked like he could only turn around to protect the ball and then pass it to a teammate who came up to receive it.

But this time, after Ribeiro cut the ball back, he tried to push it into the penalty area with his left foot.

However, with two people guarding him, he failed to control his strength and precision.

When the ball was pushed out, it hit Del Carlo's shin and bounced back.

Ribeiro was ready to accelerate and rush over, but the ball bounced back.

He could only brake suddenly and stretch his leg back to reach the ball.

At this point, his breakthrough could be considered a failure, as he completely stopped and became entangled in a battle with Anelli and Del Carlo.

Three players stretched out their legs to contest for the ball. Ribeiro and Del Carlo exchanged kicks, but Ribeiro managed to use his strength advantage to pull the ball out and then poked it through Del Carlo's legs.

That kick caused Ribeiro to lose his balance, but he braced himself with his hands and maintained his balance with his strong core strength, preventing him from falling completely to the ground.

Then he staggered past Del Caro, leaving Anelli behind, and chased the ball into the penalty area.

Although he seemed to stumble and fall, neither dashing nor handsome, as if any mishap at any stage would lead to failure, he still managed to break through!

"Ribeiro, break in!"

The cheers from the stands grew louder again!
After catching up with the ball in the penalty area, Ribeiro looked up towards the center.

Wang Lie was in the middle, and Vitini was at the far post, but both of them were surrounded by Milan players.

The area where he was located was now the most vulnerable, because he had left Del Carlo and Anelli behind, resulting in a relatively weak defense here...

Ribeiro noticed that Wang Lie in the middle suddenly stepped back and created a triangular passing angle.

However, his retreat looked more like walking into a trap, because the area he retreated to was also filled with Milan City players.

In the densely populated restricted area, no matter how Wang Lie ran, it was difficult for him to create an opening.

If the ball had been passed to Wang Lie, it would have been hard to say that it would have been a good scoring opportunity.

However, his run attracted the attention of the Milan City defenders.

Even goalkeeper Angelo Riva briefly glanced at Wang Lie in the middle.

Ribery realized that this was the "better opportunity".

Although the shooting angle wasn't very wide...

But who says you can't score if the angle isn't right?
Ribeiro unleashed a powerful right-footed shot!
The football flew straight towards the near corner!

Milan goalkeeper Angelo Riva's attention was drawn to Wang Lie, and he was momentarily distracted, which Ribeiro seized upon!
It's impossible for Liva, who is 1.97 meters tall, to land directly on the ground and use his hands to catch himself; he can only sit on the ground.

But even sitting down was slow!
The ball slipped through the gap between the near post and his body before he even sat down and went into the goal!

Ribeiro scored his first official goal for Tyne!

(End of this chapter)