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Chapter 287 Epiphany
Perhaps it was because Wang Lie had only taken two shots in the previous thirty minutes of the match, fully demonstrating his poor form in front of goal.

So during Tyne's attack, until Wang Lie suddenly appeared near the penalty spot to take a follow-up shot, the Sendham players did not pay attention to him.

Barnabas, Oliver, and Tucker all attracted the attention of Sendham players.

Wang Lie was completely absent from every stage of this attack.

It was as if the attack had nothing to do with him.

This explains why there wasn't a single Sadham player near Wang Lie when he took the rebound shot—logically, this man should have been heavily marked…

In fact, not only the Sendham players, but even Tyne's side, no one expected that Wang Lie would score in this attack.

From the moment Barnabas intercepted the ball, the team's attack consistently developed on the right flank, while Wang Lie played on the left.

After watching the replay of the goal, I realized that Wang Lie only made a diagonal run from the left flank to the center when Barnabas passed the ball back to Tucker.

Unlike before, when he wanted to participate in every attack as the protagonist.

Wang Lie himself really had this mindset – when the attack was launched, he didn't rush to participate, but stayed on the left wing. On the one hand, he wanted to help the team create space, and on the other hand, he wanted to observe whether the attack would develop in his direction.

As a result, they fought all the way into the 30-meter zone of Sendham, still on the right flank.

Only then did he begin to move towards the middle lane.

But he wasn't in a hurry, afraid that he would miss a shooting opportunity.

Before Tucker took the shot, he didn't yell for Tucker to pass him the ball.

He was right behind Tucker, watching him take the shot.

He won't get involved unless the ball ends up at his feet.

But in the end, the football still ended up on his side.

Wang Lie naturally had no reason to refuse such a "gift".

The rest was far too easy for him.

The goal that everyone had been talking about before the match finally came.

It's just not quite what everyone imagined or longed for. The goal wasn't some fancy, cool, or spectacular volley, bicycle kick, or world-class shot. It was just an ordinary close-range shot, a simple push shot at that.

But none of that matters, as long as the ball goes in.

Head coach McNeil on the sidelines visibly breathed a sigh of relief – the reason he started Wang Lie in this game was precisely to help Wang Lie score a goal.
Wang Lie has now scored, and the objective is achieved.

He could consider substituting Wang Lie at halftime.

That's always been his thinking—if Wang Lie scores in the first half, everyone will be happy, and he'll be substituted at halftime, and he believes Wang Lie won't have any objections.

The problem is that Wang Lie didn't score in the first half, so I might have to discuss with him privately during halftime whether to substitute him or not at all.

Actually, if his Champions League group stage match next week weren't an away game, he wouldn't be so conflicted.

Despite facing Ruhr United, the strongest team in the group, McNeil wasn't too worried.

Unless Ruhr United announces the dismissal of their head coach Sven Heldon after this weekend's league match.

Otherwise, given the feud between Wang Lie and Heldon, McNeil wouldn't need to worry about Wang Lie's condition at all.

※※※

After scoring, Wang Lie ran to the corner flag to celebrate as usual, while waving to his teammates, signaling them to come and celebrate with him.

Actually, he didn't need to do that; his teammates had already voluntarily and consciously rushed towards him.

His teammates are now more excited about this goal than he is.

Not only his teammates on the field, but also his teammates on the bench, had already gotten up from their seats and rushed to the corner flag to celebrate the goal with Wang Lie.

For example, Ribeiro and Vitini are the two biggest fans of the king.

Everyone surrounded Wang Lie in the corner flag area, hugging and high-fiving him to celebrate his goal.

They acted as if they had already won the game...

But actually, they're pretty much the same.

In the 34th minute of the first half, Tyne were leading Sendham by two goals at home. How could they not win?
Watching Wang Lie celebrate his goal with his teammates, commentator Connor Cowley excitedly remarked:
"Wang's scoring streak in the Premier League has been extended to fifteen consecutive league matches! Only Ronaldo Nascimento's nineteen-match scoring streak in La Liga remains ahead of him... four more! I wonder if Ronaldo feels the pressure. Given Wang's form, this isn't an impossible feat!"

He was much more excited than Marvin Bullock next to him, not only because he was emotionally biased towards Wang Lie, but also because, as an English commentator, Connor Cowley wanted this consecutive goal-scoring record to belong to the Premier League.

In the future, when people talk about consecutive goal-scoring records in leagues, they will mention the Premier League, instead of saying that Ronaldo set the record in La Liga as he does now.

This is not only Wang Lie's personal glory, but also the glory of the Premier League.

As it turns out, even though Wang Lie is 38 years old, he is still the number one star in the Premier League!
※※※

After the celebration ended, Wang Lie and his teammates walked back to their own half of the court.

At that moment, his vision was suddenly filled with golden light.

After the golden light faded, a huge number appeared before his eyes.

31
Unlike the excitement he felt every time he saw golden numbers before, this time when he saw the numbers appear, he felt a very complicated emotion.

There is peace, there is relief, and there is helplessness.

Happiness was actually the least represented emotion in that group.

This glittering number, which you desperately want but can never have.

Once I calmed down, the goals started coming, and my body felt younger...

He even had a sudden realization:

At first, when he didn't know the pattern, he didn't know how many goals he needed to become a year younger, so he could only focus on scoring goals, scoring goals, and scoring more goals, concentrating on doing this one thing well.

You will naturally become young when you are meant to be young.

Once he understood the pattern, he started counting down the goals, hoping to regain his youth, which affected his mindset and made him anxious about every single goal.

Logically speaking, he is a veteran who has been through countless battles, and nothing should be able to stir his emotions.

But he longed to be young, longed to be a few years younger.

Let alone him, how many people can remain calm and composed in the face of rejuvenation?

Although such desires are human nature, Wang Lie still felt that he should not be controlled by these emotions.

Otherwise, in a future important match, he might fall into the same obsessive state he was in during the previous match against Canada.

Fortunately, it was just an international friendly match.

But what if it's a crucial match that decides the champion?
For example, in the Champions League final, there was very little time left in the game, and the team was down by two goals.

He's just one goal away from making himself a year younger before the World Cup. His cheat code expires before the World Cup, and this is his last chance to become younger.

But at this moment, his teammate has a better chance than him; if he passes the ball to his teammate, they can score.

Although they haven't been able to equalize, narrowing the gap to one goal can boost morale. Who knows, they might actually pull off a miraculous equalizer in the final moments, forcing the game into extra time or a penalty shootout...

What should he do in this situation?
Would he prioritize looking younger over the team's chances of winning?
This is definitely not an easy question to answer.

Some might say, "What a coincidence! It just happens to satisfy all the assumed conditions?"

Indeed, it's highly unlikely that such a difficult choice would actually happen in the Champions League final. However, that doesn't mean a similar dilemma is impossible.

According to the Fibonacci sequence, if Wang Lie scores another thirty-four goals, he will become a year younger.

Considering that he will be turning thirty-nine next February, his current age of "thirty-one" will then become "thirty-two"...

Therefore, he needs to score thirty-four goals to keep his physical condition stable at the level of a thirty-one-year-old.

Because if he gets younger next time, he'll need to score fifty-five goals, which is unlikely.

So, that 34-goal performance was very likely his last chance to become younger.

Even if they miss the Champions League final, what about other crucial matches?
Wang Lie didn't want to gamble on what would turn out to be a meaningless match.

The best way is to start now and try not to let yourself be controlled by that feeling of gain and loss.

He can no longer pretend he doesn't know how many goals he'll need next time he's young; now he has to face the countdown head-on.

Next time the countdown is about to reach zero, he needs to maintain a calm mindset, just like he did today.

At the same time, he needs to focus more on the goal itself, rather than distinguishing between the first goal and the thirty-fourth goal.

Just like before, every goal is very important.

So, keep going, Wang Lie.

Never stop until it's over.

keep it up!

※※※

In fact, when he saw Wang Lie running towards the ball, the Sendham coach suddenly crouched down, because he had already guessed the outcome of this attack.

As expected, Wang Lie scored, and his plan failed.

Since Oliver scored, his team has successfully withstood Tyne's relentless attack for thirty minutes.

He was very satisfied with the team's performance, especially the fact that Wang Lie did not score a goal.

Just now, he was already thinking about how to adjust personnel and tactics during halftime.

As long as the team can hold onto this score and be only one goal behind, there will still be room for maneuver in the second half.

Solidify the defense, then seize the opportunity to counterattack.

Who knows, we might even be able to escape unscathed from the away game...

As a result, his prepared speech has now been declared invalid.

However, the Sendham manager has not completely lost confidence and is still trying to think of a way to break the deadlock.

Being down by two goals is completely different from being down by one goal, and the strategy should be different as well.

The good news is that Wang Lie has already scored, so he probably won't be pushing himself to score any more goals, and Tyne might substitute him early to prepare for the Champions League group stage match next week.

In this way, the "Sword of Damocles" won't always be hanging over their team's head.

If Tyne's players are already leading by two goals in the first half, they might become complacent.

They must have thought they were sure to win.

If they underestimate their opponents, our team will have a chance.

Although his pre-match goal of preventing Wang Lie from scoring is no longer achievable, it does not mean that his team is in dire straits.

As long as you remain calm and composed, there is still a glimmer of hope!
The Setham manager, who was squatting on the ground, couldn't help but pound the ground with his fist. He then jumped up, trying to tell his players not to panic, to hold firm, and that they would find a way by halftime...

However, because he got up too quickly and too suddenly, he felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, his body swayed, and he fell backward.

Fortunately, the assistant coach was nearby and noticed the head coach's unusual behavior, so he immediately reached out to help him up.

He thought the head coach was discouraged by Wang Lie's goal...

Unexpectedly, the head coach grabbed his arm and whispered, "Tell the team to hold firm! We absolutely cannot concede another goal before the end of the first half!"

※※※

Although the assistant coach conveyed the head coach's latest instructions to the players on the field while the Tyne players were celebrating, the blow to the players was not something that could be recovered from in just a minute or two.

Regardless of what the head coach was thinking, at least these players genuinely aimed to prevent Wang Lie from scoring before the match.

They genuinely wanted to end Wang Lie's scoring streak at their feet...

What a great honor!
As a result, all the boasts they made before the match were shattered by Wang Lie's goal at this moment, not only crushing their ambitions but also making them look utterly humiliated...

How could someone possibly regain their rational thinking and start planning for the second half as quickly as the head coach?

It's fair to say that, although both goals were conceded, the one against Wang Lie dealt them a far greater blow than the one against Oliver.

So despite the assistant coach's calls to them from the sidelines, urging them to hold firm, the Sendham players were unable to immediately commit to the game once it started.

Despite being the team that kicked off and having the right to start, they hastily ended possession of the ball and relinquished control.

They didn't even think about how to make good use of this kickoff to create a threat to Tyne's goal or boost the team's morale.

After possession changed, Tyne's center-back Luca Helic opted for a long pass forward to find center-forward Peter Oliver.

However, it is difficult to control the accuracy of such long passes of fifty or sixty meters, and Hlic is not the type of center-back who is good at passing the ball.

So his pass didn't reach Oliver, but because the pass was powerful and flew far enough, it went directly into Sendham's penalty area and was headed away by Sendham's center-back.

Although Oliver missed the first ball, he got the second. He jumped in the air and headed the ball to Wang Lie, who was nearby.

Wang Lie was originally facing the direction of the attack, but when the ball flew towards him, he turned and used his chest to stop the ball to his left.

This allowed him to evade the Sendham players who came up to defend him.

Then, before the ball hit the ground, he used the momentum of his twisting body to swing his left foot and unleash a powerful shot!
The ball pierced through Sendham's sparse defense and headed straight for the top left corner of the goal!

"Wang Lie...fire directly—!!"

The Sendham goalkeeper leaped into the air and stretched out his hand, but he still couldn't touch the ball.

It wasn't because he reacted slowly, but because Wang Lie's shot was at such a tricky angle!

A volley shot that went straight for the corner!

How could Sendham's goalkeeper possibly save that?
He could only hover in the air, watching helplessly as the ball slipped through the junction of the goalpost and the crossbar and into the goal!
"Wow—this...goal!! Goal!! Another goal!! My God! This is unbelievable! Wang scored two goals in just two minutes! In the 36th minute, Tyne leads Sedham 3-0! Wang has killed the game!!"

Conor Cowley screamed in shock, his reaction even more astonishing than Oliver's goal just two minutes into the game.

Luo Jin also praised Wang Lie highly:

"Thailand is like two different teams with and without Wang Lie! Last time, in the same situation, Wang Lie didn't start, and as a result, Tain struggled against the relatively weak Hughesro. This time, Wang Lie started and scored two goals and provided one assist, leading the rotation substitutes to a three-goal lead in the first half! This is the role of Wang Lie as the core of the team! Whether against the current or with the current, Wang Lie will always be the mainstay!"

No one thought he was exaggerating, because everything he said was true.

At the very least, Sendham's manager would agree with that.

He stood on the sidelines, looking up at the sky and sighing deeply.

Okay, now we don't have to rack our brains trying to figure out how to both defend against Tyne's attacks in the second half and find an opportunity to equalize...

He and the Sendham team are all free!
(End of this chapter)