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Chapter 313: Eradicating Evil
"king!!"

Commentator Connor Cowley exclaimed in surprise.

"A quadruple win?!"

Wang Lie, inside the penalty area, did not shoot, but instead sent the ball to the left.

There, Sergi Cabella rushed in from outside the penalty area, and in the process, he dribbled the ball from Wang Lie past center-back Vitali, creating an angle and shooting space. The Spanish midfielder immediately took a low shot!
The ball grazed past his national teammate Diego Ferrer and nestled into the near corner of the goal.

5: 0!

"Cabera! The fifth goal! This is Tyne's fifth goal against Sofia United in this match! This is a complete massacre! A total massacre!"

When Cabella scored, the Red League bar was silent except for Conor Cowley's roar.

No one sighed or groaned, and no one cursed.

Everyone just stared at the TV screen, as if they were watching a game that had nothing to do with them.

Actually, the atmosphere in the bar cooled down a lot after Alex Raven left.

Just like what Raven said before he left:
This is not the Sofia they wanted to see.

They wanted to see Sofia United, who had swept across Europe and England, so much so that any opponent who came to Redstone Stadium would be terrified even before the game started, making it impossible for them to play normally.

In this stadium, the team and fans worked together seamlessly, giving the visiting team a hellish day trip experience.

How could Sofia United have conceded five goals at home and been completely helpless back then?
Bar owner Dylan Newell suddenly remembered something and asked, "What's the biggest home defeat for Sofia United?"

Someone in the bar looked at him at the sound, a thoughtful expression on their face, clearly searching their memory.

Before they could even come up with a solution, commentator Connor Cowley, as if he had heard Newell's question, answered him during the live television broadcast:

"Tyne leads Sofia United by five goals! This scoreline has already tied the record for Sofia United's biggest loss here – a five-goal margin! Back in the 2015-2016 season, Skows beat Sofia United 6-1 at Redstone Stadium. That record is the best testament to the bitter rivalry between Sofia United and Skows, but now that record belongs to Tyne! And they're not just the century-old rivals of Sofia United..."

In terms of data and records, professional commentators are obviously better prepared than ordinary fans. Connor Cowley could recite them effortlessly during the live broadcast without having to recall them or search for them online.

There was another commotion in the Red League bar when Cowley mentioned the record.

"That's fucking shameful..."

Someone couldn't help but curse.

"Shapman's adjustments are tantamount to suicide!"

"But what can he do? When he's down by three goals, can he really guarantee he won't concede a goal by simply tightening his defense? Maybe Tyne came to this game with a mission!"

"Shapman did make some mistakes, just like the commentator said, he should have put Zarek in the middle as a shadow striker at the beginning of the second half..."

"Sigh, what's the point of saying all this now?"

"damn it……"

There are still people arguing.

In the end, however, all the arguments turned into a sigh and a curse.

※※※

When was the last time we lost by five goals at home?

Xiao Cheng, who was cheering for Cabella in his heart, suddenly heard a Sofia United fan in front of him ask this question.

He couldn't help but think about this in his heart:
Yes, when was the last time Sofia United lost by five goals at home?

It seems like it's been a very long time, hasn't it?
At least after he became a Sofia United fan because of Wang Lie, he had no recollection of such a situation.

So it definitely didn't happen in the last ten years.

Xiao Cheng even suspected that Sofia United might have a "dark history" of losing by five goals at home...

Just then, he heard another Sofia fan answer the first one:

"It seems... it was during the 2015-2016 season, when we lost 1-6 to the Scorsese here."

Xiao Cheng was a little surprised:

Yes, that has actually happened!
The 2015-2016 season was twenty-one years ago...

Fuck!
This happened when I was one year old!

Xiao Cheng sighed inwardly, while the Sofia fans immediately started cursing:
"Damn it, this is a disgrace!"

"It's bad enough that we lost five games to the Scousians, but now we're even losing five games to Tyne..."

“Alex is right, we shouldn’t have come to watch this game live…”

To be honest, hearing these fans' complaints, Xiao Cheng felt a pang of sympathy.

As a Chinese person, I can follow Wang Lie and shift my passion, from a Sofia United fan to a Tyne fan.

Judging from their accents, the Sofia United fans in front of him were all Manchester locals; they weren't so easily swayed by their love for Manchester.

If you don't support Sofia United, are you going to become a fan of their arch-rivals Clayton Athletic?

That would probably be worse than killing them; it would be like betraying their ancestors—and I’m not exaggerating. Many Sofia fans’ fathers and grandfathers were Sofia fans; this love and support is a family tradition.

You can dislike Sofia United, but you can't go and support their city rivals.

Although it's becoming increasingly common for families to like different teams, it's still unacceptable to switch allegiances after liking Sofia United for so long.

While Xiao Cheng sympathized with him, he didn't think Tyne should have beaten Sofia so badly.

If you don't listen to Wang Lie when he speaks nicely, or if you pretend not to understand, then prepare to be slapped by Wang Lie.

※※※

The Sofia fans at Redstone Stadium also realized that their team had equaled a shameful record in this match.

When Cabella scored, the commotion in the stadium wasn't that great yet—perhaps everyone had become a bit numb.

But when news of their tie of the shameful record spread through the stands at Redstone Stadium, they were met with boos.

As the word spread, the boos grew louder.

Wang Lie stood amidst the storm of boos.

Then he looked up at the big screen.

The television broadcast signal appeared on it, showing the view from the main grandstand.

The image shows John Barker, owner of Sofia United, and his associates, including club general manager Jonathan Hall.

Barker remained calm, as if he were blind, unable to see the score, and deaf, unable to hear the boos.

Hall, standing next to him, had a more expressive face, his brows furrowed and his complexion visibly unpleasant.

5-0, Tyne handed Sofia United a defeat that rivaled their long-standing rivalry.

But can such a failure shake Hall's position?

Wang Lie could figure it out even with his ass: it's impossible.

Because Hall still has someone to take the blame for him.

That's the team's head coach, Meler Shapman.

So it was pretty predictable that Shapman would be sacked after this game.

Furthermore, Hall will place all the blame for this crushing defeat and the poor performance so far this season on Shapman, who has already resigned and been dismissed.

Then, by using official mouthpieces and partner media for propaganda and whitewashing, they ultimately convinced most of the bewildered Sofia United fans that the problems all stemmed from the incompetent manager.

Then start the next loop.

Wang Lie didn't expect to shake the club's general manager's position with one or two games, nor did he expect to change the club's ownership in a short period of time.

So if Hall wants to start another cycle, fine, I'll see how many more head coaches you can go through...

He raised his hands and clapped loudly as Tyne's teammates came up to celebrate with him, reminding them:

"The game isn't over yet! Don't let your guard down, guys. Let's keep going!" No one was shocked by Wang Lie's words, because they knew that Wang Lie wouldn't be so easily satisfied against Sofia United!
So everyone responded enthusiastically: "Keep going! Keep going! Keep hitting them!"

※※※

After the game restarted, McNeil made some adjustments.

"Tain is also making a substitution... Do you think 5-0 is enough? So you want to slow down the pace and give more substitutes some playing time?"

Seeing the commotion on Tyne's bench, Conor Cauley guessed.

Marvin Block said with great certainty, "Of course. What's the point of chasing a five-goal lead? Besides, Sam came from Sofia United..."

His implication was that McNeil was a Soforth player and had an emotional attachment to the club, so when he learned that he had equaled Scorsese's record at Redstone Stadium, he should have known it was time to stop.

You've already given your former team a resounding slap and a tremendous humiliation. You can't continue to hurt your former team like Wang did, can you?
As he had hoped, the first player to approach McNeil was left-back Charlie Cohen, last season's starting left-back, whose defensive abilities were stronger than his offensive ones.

So bringing him on instead of Anderson Nova, who has a stronger offensive game, is clearly a move to slow down the pace and focus on defense.

The second person to walk from the bench to McNeil's side was Peter Oliver.

Upon seeing this candidate, Marvin Block felt confident:

"McNeil is probably going to replace Wang with Oliver; it's a head-to-head substitution..."

In fact, not only him, but even Oliver himself thought so. When he walked up to McNeil, he asked, "Boss, should I replace Wang?"

To his surprise, McNeil gave him an unexpected answer: "No, you replace Ribeiro."

Oliver's eyes widened, but he quickly nodded.

Before McNeil could tell him his task after he went on the court, he already knew what to do—he was definitely going to go up and set up the ball for Wang.

With a five-goal lead, the manager didn't substitute Wang, which means he wanted to keep him on the field to continue scoring goals, right?
Sure enough, McNeil then told him, "When you come on the court, be in the middle, do your job of supporting and stretching the defense, and create opportunities for your teammates..."

He didn't mention Wang directly, perhaps because he was considering the team as a whole, but he himself didn't need to.

Thinking of this, Oliver grinned: "Don't worry, boss, I know what to do."

※※※

Apart from Marvin Block, the other commentators also believed that McNeil would replace Wang Lie with Oliver.

Zhao Zhou thought so too, but he didn't think it was the right decision: "Let Brother Wang stay on the field... A hat-trick, how can that satisfy Brother Wang? Sigh! McNeil is still sentimental... If you take Brother Wang off early, he won't get applause from the whole stadium, he'll only get boos, right?"

Logically speaking, when leading by five goals, it's perfectly normal to substitute the player who was instrumental in the team's victory; there's nothing to say about it, and it's not something anyone can fault.

However, Zhao Zhou also had his own selfish motives. It wasn't because he hated Sofia United to the core, but simply because he wanted to see Wang Lie score more goals.

A hat-trick is usually enough to get a player substituted early for rest. But against Wang Lie of Sofia United, a hat-trick feels like basic stuff – Wang Lie has only managed four hat-tricks against his favorite opponent in his career, Scorsese, and now he's already had three against Sofia United.

Facing Sofia United, the team that had previously kicked Wang Lie out of the game, Zhao Zhou hoped that Wang Lie could score more goals. This had nothing to do with what he said before the game; it was simply Zhao Zhou's own desire for revenge.

Therefore, he felt that McNeil's move to replace Wang Lie was theoretically correct, but emotionally he could not accept it.

When Oliver and Charlie Cohen walked to the sidelines and the fourth official placed the two substitution boards at their feet, he realized that "99" was not among the four sets of numbers displayed on them.

Oliver's number is 9, and on the sign with his number, the corresponding number on the other side is 11—that's Miguel Ribeiro's number!

Zhao Zhou's eyes widened, then he burst into excited laughter: "Haha! McNeil didn't want to substitute Brother Wang! Haha! That's right, that's more like it! We should keep Brother Wang on the field so that those Sofia United fans can really feel the terror of going against Brother Wang!"

The other commentators also noticed this and exclaimed in surprise:

"Olivier isn't replacing Wang? He's replacing Ribeiro?!"

"McNeil left the king on the field!"

"McNeil is trying to wipe out his former employer!"

"So, was there any explanation for McNeil's sudden departure from the Soforth United youth academy to become a head coach elsewhere?"

"Ah... so it turns out Wang isn't the only one dissatisfied with Sofia!"

Marvin Block fell silent, simply holding the microphone away from his mouth and staring blankly at the audience.

To be honest, seeing him like this, Connor Cowley felt a little sorry for him—he had been slapped in the face far too many times that night…

※※※

As everyone expected, after the substitution, Tyne did not tighten the defense but continued to attack.

Sofia United also did not withdraw.

To attack against attack.

The two teams continued their offensive battle.

Although it was a back-and-forth attack, Tyne's offense was more threatening.

Even after Oliver came on, the attacking threat did not diminish.

Oliver's role as a target man in the attacking third is outstanding.

He also liberated Wang Lie.

After Ribeiro left the field, Wang Lie went to the right side, but he didn't stay there for long.

He can appear anywhere that poses a threat.

For example, after he ceded the right flank to Jacob Barnabas, he didn't go to the center of the penalty area himself, but instead moved to the outside of the penalty area.

This allows Barnabas to either directly cross the ball to Oliver in the middle or pass it back to Wang Lie outside the penalty area, increasing the richness and variety of Tyne's attacking options.

This makes it harder for Sofia to form a defensive partnership – if he goes to defend Wang Lie, his defense in front of the goal will be relatively weaker. Although Oliver is not good at scoring goals, he is good at heading.

If the ball is moved to the center of the penalty area, Wang Lie could receive it outside the penalty area and score with a long-range shot.

In the 76th minute, Wang Lie took a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, but fortunately, Sofia United's center-back Travi bravely blocked the shot with his chest.

But at the same time, he was also knocked backward by the football!

This shows just how powerful Wang Lie's shot was!
But he immediately got up from the ground, prompting Marvin Block to complain, "Lie down a little longer! Do you guys really need time right now?"

He was upset that Travi hadn't taken the opportunity to delay the game.

The score is now 5-0, and Bullock hopes to end the game with this score so that at least Sofia United's biggest home defeat record won't be broken, which would save Sofia United some face. Ever since he saw McNeil's substitutions, he has made not conceding goals his ultimate goal.

At this point, Marvin Block was too lazy to maintain his impartial and objective image in front of everyone; he was genuinely desperate...

Losing 0-9 to Tyne away from home is humiliating enough.

If they break another record at home, then being defeated twice by Tyne with a shameful record at both home and away would be a disgrace x2!

Under no circumstances should such a thing be allowed to happen.

Fortunately, as the match time approached, the players' physical strength was greatly depleted, and Sofia United's desire to launch an attack was somewhat lacking, so they began to tighten their defense. Meanwhile, Tyne's offensive attacks also weakened due to physical reasons.

Perhaps they really can end this game with a score of 0-5?

Just as Marvin Block was filled with anticipation, in the 80th minute, Tyne's attack reached the Sofia United penalty area.

The ball was passed to center forward Oliver.

He stopped the ball with his chest while his back was to the goal.

Taking advantage of his moment to control the ball, Tyler Murphy rammed into him from behind while simultaneously stretching out his leg to try and destroy the ball.

However, Oliver was not so easily dispossessed. Even though Murphy had pushed him forward, he still managed to maintain his balance and then flicked the ball towards himself.

"Olive...pass the ball! King!"

Wang Lie got there before Travi and Bastin Alatere could, and kicked the ball first!
"Wang Lie—Great shot!! Beautiful!!!"

Zhao Zhou raised his arms and shouted in the live broadcast room.

"6-0!! Sofia United's biggest home defeat record has been set! Wang Lie has given Sofia United another shameful record! That's more like it! Ha, that's more like it! That's how it should be! Eradicate evil completely!"

(End of this chapter)