Team Spirit

Chapter 182 (Seeking monthly votes, everyone!) Pepe follows Bago and becomes the Seven-Crown King.
Sky Sports: "Welcome to today's special program, inside Penguin Stadium! Today we have invited Ivanka Trump, the star of Penguin Stadium, to introduce us to this state-of-the-art stadium in the UK. Please welcome her..."

On television, Ivanka spoke eloquently, and when introducing the locker room, she emphasized: "As you can see, we have champagne cabinets in both the home and away locker rooms."

"We hope that both the home and away teams can celebrate with champagne after leading 3-0 at halftime."

"This is a celebration unique to Dartford, designed to give fans a better experience. It is also a mysterious blessing from the East."

"It's not, as some people are saying, a mockery of our away team."

"In fact, if the away team can achieve great success here, we will still wish them well and hope that they can celebrate with champagne here and carry on this Green Gun tradition."

“Essentially, we want any resounding victory to receive the attention it deserves. After all, football isn’t basketball; a 3-0 lead at halftime is very difficult, and we believe that performance deserves all the praise. We want to bring something new to football.”

"We also hope to encourage everyone to play attacking football in this way, because only this kind of football is more conducive to the promotion of football and can improve the viewing experience for fans."

"Fans are the most important thing in this sport!"

"In addition, our designated champagne is the Green Gun brand's special merchandise - the Gun King Champagne Dress Room Edition. For every bottle of champagne we consume, we donate one pound to children in the Third World."

"This is actually a charity project!"

"We hope that both teams' players will frequently pop champagne to support charity!"

After this episode aired, the discussion about Green Gunners' habit of "opening champagne at halftime" suddenly shifted.

In Europe, if you talk about human rights, they will think it's right even if it involves murder. Their level of thinking is so "high" that it is completely detached from reality.

Anyone who says there's something wrong with Green Gunners opening champagne in midfield is guilty of a heinous crime!

From a football perspective, many people previously believed that Green Gunners' actions were a malicious provocation against his opponent.

Even if it's not malicious, it will definitely cause conflict between the two parties and create trouble for themselves.

But now, guided by "lofty ideals," Green Gunners are working for the benefit of fans, to gain attention for players, and to contribute to the development of attacking football.

Therefore, they are willing to endure misunderstandings and potential retaliation from the other party.

How noble this is!
Green Gun?

This thing is called "Saint Green Gun"!
The long-standing rivalry between Arsenal and Dartford over the Gunners title has finally come to a conclusion.

Perhaps Arsenal could be called the Gunners.

But Dartford is the "Holy Lance" or "Holy Lance"!
Isn't it more sophisticated than your red, orange, yellow, cyan, blue, and purple?
Crucially, many Premier League teams also support Dartford's "champagne tradition".

Because they will be playing away at Penguins Stadium all season, and Dartford's strength has been reduced.

Everyone might have the chance to pop champagne at Penguin Stadium.

Based on this possibility alone, they wouldn't criticize this tradition.

This could very well become one of the defining characteristics that distinguishes the Premier League from other leagues.

……

[Ding! You have led your team to qualify for the Champions League for the first time and have received a reward:]

[Rhythmic Feint - Silver: Your cadence adjustment has been improved. Your feints will be more realistic.]

[Cadence adjustment: 82+1]

The second round of the Premier League kicked off on August 21.

Dartford will face a tough opponent, Everton, at home.

Green Gunners conceded two goals in the first half.

They ultimately lost 1-3 to the Toffees.

Former Celtics player Williams shone on defense, effectively limiting the recent form of Arshavin.

Jefferson, the "transfer hero," came off the bench and scored a goal, dealing a heavy blow to his former team.

Everton were very satisfied with the match afterward. When asked about the champagne tradition, their manager said with a slight regret: "Opening champagne at halftime is not a harmful ritual. On the contrary, it inspired our performance in this stadium."

“I really appreciate Dartford’s philosophy. It’s a ceremony that both sides can participate in, a competition of who is better, which perfectly aligns with the original purpose of football.”

"It's just a pity that we only had a two-goal lead in the first half, so we didn't deserve to celebrate with champagne."

"But to our surprise, after the game, Dartford gave us the champagne in the locker room, saying it was our trophy and we deserved it."

"I have to admit, Green... Holy Gun truly possesses a grand demeanor that ordinary teams lack!"

"Their amazing abilities have a reason! This might be one of the reasons!"

???

A defeat, but no one is paying attention to the score.

Everyone is talking about "Saint Gun King Champagne".

In no time, the small champagne factory that Jiang Mengyun had acquired received a large number of orders, operating at full capacity and unable to meet demand.

August 24th, the third round of the Premier League.

Dartford will travel to face Chelsea.

This is a fierce battle.

However, Green Gun's lineup and formation were quite disappointing.

Crouch/Giroud
Cicinho, Lu Kai, Modric/Mertens

Amorin/Pepe, Barton

Gareth Southgate, Vincent Kompany, Anthony Davis, Li Weifeng
Joe Hart

-

This is clearly a rotating lineup.

Dartford surprisingly kept their key players hidden in what should be a prestigious London derby?

No one can understand it.

Dartford have three games this week, a very tight schedule.

But they used to play more than sixty games every season and were used to playing three games a week. They were never like this before.

Besides... it's understandable to rotate players in less important cup matches.

A crucial Premier League rotation?
Unheard of!

Even Premier League giants only rotate their squads appropriately in March and April for the Champions League knockout stages.

However, when faced with matches such as the London derby, the Manchester derby, or the Manchester derby, they have no choice but to have their main players fight one battle after another.

Otherwise, the fans wouldn't let them off the hook.

Canterford...

Clearly, Dartford lost 0-2 to Chelsea without any suspense.

This summer's record signing Didier Drogba scored a goal, giving Vincent Kompany a taste of his own medicine.

The reporter interviewed some of the "Holy Lance Expeditionary Force" after the match.

Reporter: "What is your opinion on Dartford's rotation?"

A Saint Gunner fan: "Of course I support him."

Reporter: "But you lost the game."

A Saint-Germain fan said, "I know, but that's the Premier League, the toughest league in the world. As a newly promoted team, it's normal to lose."

Reporter: "But you have beaten Chelsea before. If you had gone all out, you would have had a chance."

A Chelsea fan commented: "That's true, but things are different now. We were dismantled by the big clubs in the summer, and we're only a fraction of our former strength. Chelsea, on the other hand, has a lot of top players, and they are one of the strongest teams this year."

The reporters were all dumbfounded.

Dartford fans were surprisingly not arrogant at all.

They're the "Green Gun Myth"!

Little did they know that The Voice of Green Guns had already begun working with fans in the summer to lower public expectations and prevent them from being swayed by public opinion, which could affect their strategic plans for the season.

The most crucial point here is to emphasize the uniqueness of the Premier League.

This is also true.

Many players who scored numerous goals in the second tier of the Premier League struggle to even reach double figures in a single season after moving to the Premier League.

The Premier League and the lower leagues truly have a barrier of strength.

They occasionally clash in cup competitions, and Dartford, having rested and ready, has a chance to win.

Playing against teams like these every day at the intensity of the Premier League would be unbearable for the players.

Especially young players.

Over the course of a decade, the English Premier League had the highest rate of young player attrition among all leagues in the world.

Players in other leagues are commodities, but players in the Premier League are expendable.

For Dartford at this stage, going all out in the Premier League would be too cost-effective, too disruptive, and crucially, they might not even be able to win.

Therefore, Lu Kai's Premier League strategy for this season is... bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

Get all the points you deserve, and give up the ones you don't deserve early on. Focus on staying in the Premier League and survive there.

Mourinho's Chelsea is a team you absolutely don't need to fight head-on with.

After the match, Mourinho was very dissatisfied with Alfred: "I don't know what Alfred was doing. Even if they fielded their strongest lineup, we could still win."

"Even if we win now, it won't be honorable!"

"Hopefully next time Alfred will respect the game, the Premier League, and the fans!"

Mourinho won the Champions League, but his overall evaluation is worse than that of Alfred, who won the UEFA Cup. Who can accept that?
I thought that coming to the Premier League would put us on equal footing.

But given the current situation, what's the point of dividing things?

This has the same effect as Wenger substituting his key players early in the Community Shield; Dartford won the trophy, but no one could really believe they were stronger than Arsenal.

That's just their tactical evasion.

Are all these old Dengs so shameless?

Can't you just let us beat you up in a real fight?
Mourinho was furious, but his boss Abramovich was happy.

Immediately after the match, leave the Green Gun team behind—no, I mean the Holy Gun team—and take them to London's best nightclub, with Abramovich footing the bill for everything!
Amidst the clinking of glasses, Abramovich happily exclaimed, "Holy Gunner conceded three precious points to help us climb to the top of the Premier League; that's truly a generous gesture!"

Lu Kai said politely, "It's not about providing any assistance; Chelsea's strength is the main factor. With this dream squad, winning the Premier League title this season is just around the corner!"

"Let's raise this glass in advance and wish Autumn C a championship victory!"

Abu was overjoyed.

That night, the players had a great time drinking, but when they woke up, Barton was in jail!
Lu Kai quickly went to find out what was going on.

It turned out that Peipei had accidentally spilled wine on someone else, and after apologizing, the other person wouldn't let it go.

What's Peipei's temper like?
They immediately started fighting.

Professional players are all highly skilled, and the opponent was driven away.

As a result, when Pepe left the bar, the other party ambushed him with their men.

Barton and Pepe happened to be together, so they led their men in another battle against the other side. Unexpectedly, the London police were unusually diligent today and responded quickly.

At the crucial moment, Patton let Pepe run first, while he himself was caught.

Such brawls are commonplace in English football, and Barton will inevitably be detained for a week and will miss some matches.

But at this time, Peipei was still a relatively simple and irritable little boy who was afraid of the police.

The thought of "Pago" being arrested because of him filled him with remorse.

Lu Kai quickly helped Barton resolve the matter.

He could have posted bail to get Barton out, but this was also an opportunity.

So after discussing it with Patton, Patton stayed in the station with peace of mind, and a small sum of money appeared in his account, allowing him to take paid leave.

Lu Kai then returned to the pond convenience store.

Unable to sit still, Peipei rushed out to greet him, but when he realized that only Lu Kai had returned, tears streamed down his face.

“Bago, Bago… Waaah!” Pepe felt extremely guilty.

Lu Kai sighed, asked Jiang Mengyun to make him a cup of matcha Four Seasons Spring tea, and then said to Peipei, "The law of law enforcement is quite strict in London."

“Barton has a bad record, so he can’t be released on bail.”

"And if the media takes this opportunity to stir up trouble, his career might be ruined..."

Peipei's face turned deathly pale.

He never expected things to get this serious.

Barton is a national team player!
If I am forced to retire because of my own impulsiveness, even if I atone with my death, I cannot make up for it.

Lu Kai gave Jiang Mengyun a look, and Jiang Mengyun made Peipei a watermelon iced drink: "I heard that with Barton's situation, will the child be unable to work in the British government system in the future?"

"If I can't be a Member of Parliament, I can't be the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom."

"And if even the grandson is no good, the disaster will affect three generations!"

Peipei's legs went weak, and she sat down, struggling to breathe.

Ashley Young, listening from the side, muttered in confusion, "Isn't working in the police station a plus for these positions? Why is it not acceptable?"

Modric cautioned, "They might have misremembered; they might have thought it was the central mainland."

Ashley Young suddenly realized: "Should we remind them? So that Pepe doesn't feel too guilty about it."

Amolin grabbed Ashley Young: "Young!"

Ashley Young realized again: "Yeah, Modric, you found out, why didn't you say so? You wanted me to say it? Trying to frame me?"

Modric shrugged.

Seeing that Peipei's emotions had calmed down, Lu Kai said to her, "Peipei, let's not talk about whether what you did was right or wrong, but Barton has always been incredibly good to you."

"You should really thank him properly when he gets out."

He treats you like a younger brother!

Pepe nodded through her tears, "Brother, Patton is my brother from now on! I'll do whatever he tells me to do!"

Lu Kai said, "Just fighting won't do. The key is whether you can hold back when he tells you to!"

Pepe gritted her teeth and said, "From now on, if Brother Bago tells me to back down, even if the other party is my mortal enemy, I won't utter a sound!"

Lu Kai nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, everyone, go back to training. There's nothing to see here."

After everyone left, Lu Kai called Alfred over: "You can show him Pepe's defensive midfield tactics book now. Starting tomorrow, Pepe will officially begin his Green Gun defensive midfield transformation training."

First, I want to apologize to Rodri!

From now on, you can only be called "Little Peipei".

……

Sky Sports: "A disgrace to England? England international Barton jailed for nightclub brawl, will miss the European Super Cup due to detention!"

BBC: "Alfred is furious and will strengthen discipline within the Green Gun to prevent a similar incident from happening again!"

The Echo: "Lu Kai spoke out in support of Patton, arguing that Patton has already paid the price for his actions and should not suffer unjust punishment outside the law. Furthermore, they were the ones ambushed, and this was not a one-sided brawl."

Manchester Evening News: "Barton suspected of taking the blame for his teammate! The assailant was someone else; who made Barton so protective?"

The Times: "England manager Stanley said in an interview that the national team will not stop calling up Barton because of this incident. The national team always prioritizes the players' ability and should not mix in too many non-competitive elements."

The Sun: "The Page 3 girl claims that Barton got into a fight because someone harassed her, and that Barton was ambushed after intervening. She is willing to spend the night with Barton while he is in custody and has already submitted an application to the London police!"

If you're talking about witty banter, then The Sun is definitely number one.

Their meddling turned it into a romantic affair.

Given Patton's reputation, this is not a detriment to him at all; on the contrary, it is a credit to him.

After this battle, Pepe's temper remained fiery, but he now followed Patton's lead without question.

Although Lu Kai has not completely tamed Peipei's fiery temper, he has found the key to unlocking it.

Just as Lu Kai's instructions were like Patton's switch.

Patton has now become Pepe's switch.

There's a food chain among the tough guys on the court!

In addition, following this incident, some media outlets believe that Dartford's rotation of Chelsea players involved the transfer of benefits.

But nobody supported them.

Dartford's rotation strategy is clearly aimed at preparing for the European Super Cup.

"The Voice of Green Guns": "Saint Guns is aiming for the club's first-ever European Super Cup! Lu Kai calls it one of the most important trophies!"

Sky Sports: "The Premier League heretics, Dartford! Just like Arsenal, who are obsessed with their unbeaten Premier League record, Dartford are obsessed with the pursuit of trophies and cannot give up any of them!"

BBC: "Datford suffers from title-winning syndrome! They can't distinguish between ordinary trophies and the Premier League, which is the real foundation. Dartford will inevitably be relegated this season!"

Diario Sport: "They picked up the European Super League but lost the Premier League! Dartford are like a stupid dog, giving up the most important thing for a team!"

Many media outlets believe that Dartford's rotation of players in the Premier League stems from their reluctance to let go of the competition.

Once you become obsessed with something, all your actions will be affected by it, thus creating obvious flaws.

For many top clubs, neither the Red Gunners nor the Green Gunners are a threat this season.

On August 26, the UEFA Super Cup kicked off at the Stade Louis II.

This stadium has a capacity of just over 20,000 people, which is less than Dartford's own Penguin Stadium.

Green Gun is really something, to say something like that.

The UEFA Super Cup will feature last season's Champions League winners Porto against UEFA Cup winners Dartford.

Both teams suffered similar fates – losing a large number of key players in the summer.

However, compared to Porto, Dartford's blood loss was significantly more severe.

Therefore, the general public has a slightly higher opinion of Porto.

In addition, Porto is ultimately the Champions League champion. Although the Champions League was not very popular last season, people still believe that the Champions League winner is stronger in terms of strength.

Porto's starting lineup is:
McCarthy, Postiga

Meireles
Leal, Costinha, Maniche
Valente, Costa, Ricardo, Setaridis
拜亚
-

This lineup features three defensive midfielders, which is a typical sign of a lack of confidence in the attack after "losing too much strength," so they start by focusing on defense.

The bench also features Portuguese young talents such as Quaresma and Almeida.

One of the main reasons why Quaresma was rejected by Barcelona was that Barcelona signed Valbuena.

Coincidentally, Dartford's starting lineup was a 4-2-3-1:

弗兰
Arshavin, Lu Kai, Ribery
Carrick and Touré

Ashley Young, Vidic, Cannavaro, Maicon

Foster

-

Compared to Dartford's previous three-striker or two-striker formations, this lineup is significantly more conservative.

Dartford has abandoned its unorthodox left-wing tactics and begun to emphasize overall passing, possession, and flanking maneuvers.

This is also because their center forwards have become significantly less tough this season, making it impossible for them to directly penetrate the opponent's penalty area and cause a stir.

They used the team's and the center's retreat, along with Lu Kai's forward runs, to create trouble for the opposing defenders.

It wasn't as direct and dominant as last season.

But if played well, the damage can be considerable.

After all, this lineup means that Lu Kai will spend almost half the time penetrating into the penalty area, playing as a center forward.

Sometimes Forlán even transforms into "Frank Lampard," receiving the ball outside the penalty area and unleashing long-range shots!

In addition, Dartford's squad has mostly been rested and is full of energy.

With a whistle, the game officially begins.

Both sides played very cautiously.

For a full five minutes, they basically didn't make any threatening passes.

Everyone was afraid of being retaliated against.

Compared to the Community Shield and Champions League qualifiers, the pace of this match was different for both sides.

In the previous two games, the team was still in the process of getting used to each other and experimenting, so they could play aggressively and score big points.

However, both sides have now basically entered a formal state in their respective leagues, with stable lineups and tactics.

In other words, the previous few matches were indeed more like warm-up games.

This European Super Cup, however, is more like a real league or cup competition. These kinds of matches are much harder to play.

In the fifth minute, Carrick passed the ball to the left wing, but the pass was poorly executed.

Ashley Young had to change his running path to catch up with the ball before he could deliver a through pass near the sideline.

Arshavin followed up with the ball and swept it across the penalty area.

Fran, Lu Kai, and Ribery are vying for the point.

But only Lu Kai pretended to move forward, but actually retreated in time.

As expected, Arshavin's cross pass this time didn't go to the very front.

Even though Lu Kai took a step back, the ball was still behind him.

Lu Kai turned sideways and swung his leg, forcefully shooting the ball.

Portugal's legendary goalkeeper Baía made a decisive save, diving to make a diagonal save.

If Lu Kai had taken a high-quality close-range shot, Baja would have been able to make the save.

however……

The football bounced high, more like it had been kicked wrong.

It didn't fly diagonally, but instead flew towards the near corner.

This is the result of forcing a shot even when the ball is behind you.

It looked more like a spoon shot.

Baia watched helplessly as this low-quality human attack succeeded, and he deeply regretted his own lack of quick reaction.

If he were even slightly less skilled, he would have been able to save that shot.

"GOAL!"

"One to zero!"

"Datford scored on their very first attack, just five minutes into the game!"

"Lu Kai has once again opened the scoring for the team. He's scored 80% of Dartford's first goals this season!"

"It seems that after the departure of strikers Drogba and Gilardino, Lu Kai has shouldered the heavy responsibility of scoring for the team!"

Fans who haven't watched Green Gunners games much would probably be stunned to hear this kind of commentary.

Does this commentator mean that Lu Kai wasn't the team's main attacker at all last season?
However, both "Mundo Deportivo" and "World Sport" clearly stated that Lu Kai used a top-tier team to feed his data.

Isn't this a conflict?
Looking at Lu Kai's total of 43 goals across all competitions last season, if he didn't shoulder the scoring responsibility... what will happen this season?

In the seventh minute, Porto also launched an attack.

Costinha passed the ball to Greek full-back Seitaridis, who had an outstanding performance in this European Championship and was selected for the best XI.

Setaridis delivers a cross.

McCarthy's header went over the bar.

In the 14th minute, Ribery dribbled past Valente on the right flank and, near the penalty area, cut inside before delivering a cross.

Costa stretched out his foot to block.

The ball bounced towards the left side of the penalty area, where Ashley Young, who had made a run into the box, unleashed a powerful shot that sent the ball flying wide.

In the 18th minute, Leal sent a long pass to Postiga on the wing. Postiga caught up with the ball, adjusted his direction, and broke into the penalty area from the side before executing a cutback pass.

Maniche, who had made a run, unleashed a high-quality long-range shot.

Foster made a one-handed save, and the ball landed near the goal.

Cannavaro cleared the ball out of bounds before McCarthy could react.

In the 23rd minute, Ashley Young made a run down the left flank and crossed the ball to Lu Kai.

The ball was intercepted by Maniche.

Maniche used a cross-field feint to deceive Ashley Young, who was immediately pressing for the ball, and then passed it across to Costinha to receive it.

Lu Kai rushed towards Costinia immediately and engaged in a fierce battle with him.

Costinha hadn't expected Lu Kai's attack to be so fierce, but his defensive skills were clearly very strong, and he kept taking the opportunity to extend his leg.

The ball was eventually intercepted by Lu Kai and bounced towards Ashley Young.

Kostiani pushed Lu Kai aside and rushed toward Ashley Young.

Ashley Young pushed forward, essentially making a headbutt.

Lu Kai made a forward run to receive the ball, accelerating towards the opponent's penalty area, giving Maniche no chance to catch up.

Facing Ricardo, Lu Kai moved left and right, using the [Rhythmic Feint] technique.

Then, with a feint shot, he pulled the ball to the left to get past Ricardo, entered the left side of the penalty area, and passed it across with his left foot.

Fran scored with a close-range shot.

"GOAL! Two to zero!"

"Lu Kai intercepted the ball in the attacking third and launched an attack, providing an assist."

"Forlán has not missed open goals like he did at Manchester United, and his shooting skills seem to have improved since he came to Dartford."

"The aftereffects of Mourinho's departure and taking Porto's two defensive stars with him have appeared. Porto's defense is clearly not keeping up and is not as perfect as last season."

"Porto's top priority right now is to contain Lu Kai. Dartford will be much easier to deal with if Lu Kai isn't there."

"And if we can't defend, we might as well try to attack, after all, Dartford's defense isn't very good right now. The gap between Carrick and Essien is still quite obvious."

In the 38th minute, Porto combined on the right flank, and Seitaridis crossed from the byline.

Half-height ball.

The curves are very well done.

Cannavaro limited McCarthy's movement.

Postiga knew he couldn't out-compete Vidic, so after the initial contact, he used the momentum to bounce to the back post.

Vidic's job was simply to contain the opponent, not to worry about the ball.

But now that the opponent has broken out of control of the area, he has to clear the ball.

Otherwise, if the ball had flown to the far post, Postiga could have had a chance to shoot.

boom!
Vidic hastily stretched out his leg.

However, their clearance strategy was unclear, and the ball flew into their own goal.

"Oh! An own goal!"

"1-2, Porto has pulled one back."

"Vidic is a very good player in terms of physical condition, with good height and strength. But his weaknesses are also obvious: he is slow and slow in speed."

That explanation is correct.

Vidic is a force to be reckoned with in tough battles.

But he struggles when he encounters players with clever ideas.

Ultimately, the first half ended 2-1, with Dartford scoring three goals.

During halftime, Alfred focused on helping Vidic adjust his mindset and forget about the own goal.

Dartford has always emphasized the development of its players' mental and cultural well-being, which helps them recover from setbacks more quickly.

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and started the game again.

In the 47th minute, Cannavaro made a long pass from the backfield, directly connecting with Lu Kai.

Lu Kai then chipped the ball over the top, delivering a through pass.

Forlán broke through on goal, but was offside, and the linesman raised his flag.

In the 51st minute, Porto engaged in a fierce battle for possession in Dartford's own half.

Leal kicked Vidic's shin, and the two fell to the ground in a scramble for the ball.

Vidic injured Leal by pressing him down.

Porto's new manager is simply speechless.

These big men are too much of a liability to other players.

Should football ban players who are 1.9 meters tall and have a huge weight from playing?

Porto brought on substitute Quaresma and switched to a 4-3-3 formation, with Postiga moving to the left and Quaresma to the right, indicating they were preparing for a major attack.

Cannavaro takes a free kick from the backfield, looking for Lu Kai.

However, the opposing midfielder, Costiani, had already marked Lu Kai, and Lu Kai was unable to maintain possession of the ball.

After all, Costiani was one of the best defensive midfielders during that period.

Toure gets into position and flicks the ball to his teammate.

But Meireles headed the ball away, and it eventually fell to Portillo's feet.

Portillo burst into the penalty area and unleashed a left-footed shot.

Unfortunately, it lacked power.

Foster calmly collected the ball.

In the 59th minute, Porto launched a sustained attack with possession of the ball.

Dartford provided tight defense.

As a result, Quaresma dribbled laterally from the right, stretching and deforming the Green Gun's defense.

Quaresma then passed the ball back to Maniche, before turning and making a run forward.

Instead of using a one-two pass, Maniche took a long-range shot and went it alone.

His long-range shots are quite sharp.

Foster was a fraction of a second too late.

The football grazed the post and flew into the goal.

"Two to two!"

Porto have equalized!

"Quaresma's effects were immediate."

"In fact, I've always thought that Quaresma didn't perform well at Barcelona because his ball possession required him to clash with Ronaldinho and Saviola."

"Quaresma's performance this season is something to look forward to!"

This goal conceded is why Dartford have been using two defensive midfielders more often this season.

Carrick's defensive ability is not as good as Essien's, so he needs Toure's help.

However, two people can't be as in sync as one person, and gaps often appear at the defensive transitions.

At this point, the game seemed to have returned to the beginning, but the pace had already entered a heated phase.

Both sides have a thorough understanding of each other.

In the 61st minute, Arshavin dribbled down the left flank, broke into the penalty area, and chipped a pass to the right.

Unfortunately, the opponent's defensive cover was quick; Ribery had barely received the ball when the opponent intercepted it.

The two players collided inside the penalty area, both stumbling.

However, Ribery was more agile and immediately turned to regain control of the ball.

He watched as Lu Kai surged forward into the penalty area and delivered a lob pass.

"Oh dear, this has become a huge rumor!"

"Ribery went too far in order to prevent the ball from being intercepted."

"His passing still needs polishing in the details."

Lu Kai watched the ball fly through the air from the edge of the penalty area, shoved Costa away from sticking to him, and then turned and fell backward.

A hasty bicycle kick.

The movements were not fluid.

But its advantage lies in its suddenness.

Baía made a timely save, but the ball bounced and went through his legs.

Time is also destiny.

“GOAL!!!”

"3-2! Lu Kai has once again given his team the lead!"

"He's not a center forward, but he's better than one. He scored twice and carried the team toward the European Super Cup!"

In the 65th minute, Dartford made a substitution.

Crouch replaced Forlán.

The latter still caused a lot of trouble and exhaustion for the opposing defenders today.

In the 71st minute, Lu Kai outjumped Maniche on the left wing and headed the ball to Maniche.

Arshavin received the ball and drove straight in, cutting inside to the top of the penalty area while being surrounded by three players.

This breakthrough was very strange.

It seemed that his three opponents were giving him a wide berth and hadn't attacked him physically.

But actually, it was because he was constantly making feints and subtly adjusting his angle by changing the rhythm, never giving his opponent a chance to get close.

boom!
Arshavin takes a long-range shot.

Baía lived up to his legendary status, making a crucial save.

Corner kick.

boom!
Arshavin takes the corner kick.

Dartford is filled with tall people.

Crouch, Vidic, Toure, Carrick—who could stand that?

Ashley Young, Maicon, and Lu Kai are all 1.8345 meters tall.

Crouch flicks the ball on with his head at the near post, a perfect 68-degree arc!

A 2.02-meter tall player rushing to the near post is unstoppable.

However, this also means that Vidic, Toure, Carrick, and others who jumped at the same time had no chance to score.

boom!
Lu Kai, who didn't jump immediately, rushed towards the football and delivered a powerful header.

The football went into the net.

Baya was powerless to help.

"GOAL! Four to two!"

Dartford scores again!

"Lu Kai completes a hat trick!"

"He's in incredibly good form today!"

"Despite Dartford's poor performance today, Lu Kai still held up a patch of green!"

On the field, Lu Kai rushed towards the corner flag and leaped high into the air.

The entire stadium roared victory chants along with him:

Luuuuu!

Porto is somewhat helpless about this.

They continued Mourinho's tactics and achieved great success on both the offensive and defensive ends.

In addition, the team still has many veterans of Mourinho's style, and the players' individual abilities are also quite good.

But without Mourinho, they lacked the most crucial element... adaptability, or rather, the ability to counter specific situations.

They are at a loss once someone on the other side has the ability to break their system.

It cannot deploy or restrict the opponent, nor can it change its own system to patch vulnerabilities.

To put it bluntly, if it's not your own thing, you can't use it as you please.

Dartford, aware that the score was unsatisfactory, substituted Ribery with Amorim to strengthen their defense.

The team changed its formation to 4-3-2-1.

Crouch as the lone striker, with Arshavin and Lu Kai as the two attacking midfielders.

The three defensive midfielders are behind.

This formation means giving Porto appropriate space on the flanks, but not allowing them to hold the ball or attack in the middle.

After all, Porto's only goal came from the middle.

Own goals scored from the flanks are, after all, a low-probability event.

Some coaches who cannot distinguish between priorities believe that everything has a probability, thus failing to make the most correct on-the-spot commands.

A true commander is one who can choose the most advantageous option from a range of probabilities.

Instead of choosing the perfect solution to execute, because there is no perfect solution.

In the 77th minute, Quaresma indeed got more opportunities on the wing and delivered a cross.

But Vidic cleared the ball with a header.

In the 78th minute, Vidic cleared the corner kick again, demonstrating his aerial dominance.

Porto substituted Almeida for McCarthy.

Almeida is also a 1.91-meter tall center forward, 20 years old this year, and is considered by Portugal to be the hope for the future of the forward line.

It was already the 81st minute when Dartford made a substitution to stall for time.

Vardy replaced Arshavin.

With two strikers up front, Vardy's speed can deter Porto and relieve defensive pressure.

In the 85th minute, Carrick intercepted the ball in the backfield and passed it back to Cannavaro.

Cannavaro launched a counter-attack with a long pass.

Vardy showcased his speed talent, outrunning Costa and creating a one-on-one opportunity.

However, he hesitated slightly after entering the penalty area, intimidated by Baía's momentum, and did not shoot immediately, allowing Valente to follow up.

Valente extended his leg from behind to provide strength, while simultaneously challenging Vardy.

As a result, Vardy's superior footwork allowed him to pry the ball away first, and Valente kicked him in the ankle, causing him to fall to the ground.

Even as he fell to the ground, Vardy immediately caught the ball, preventing the opponent from launching a counter-attack.

beep!

The referee blew the whistle.

Finger point shot.

Dartford's bench erupted in cheers.

"Oh! Vardy has won a penalty for the team."

"Turning a one-on-one chance into a penalty isn't too bad, especially considering Vardy is still so young."

“Lu Kai has arrived at the penalty spot. He is undoubtedly Dartford’s first-choice penalty taker.”

"Run-up...shoot...goal!"

"5-2! Dartford secures the victory!"

"Lu Kai has scored four goals!"

"It wasn't easy, this victory was really hard-won. I believe everyone could see that Dartford was not up to the task."

"Apart from Lu Kai, they were almost completely shut down by Porto, but it was Lu Kai who scored four goals and provided one assist, contributing to five goals in total, and shattering Porto into pieces!"

"It was a closely contested match, but the score was somewhat lopsided."

Finally, the game ended with three whistles.

Dartford's players rushed onto the pitch.

This is their sixth club trophy this year!
Unprecedented, six-time champion!

But at the same time, this is also the seventh championship trophy that Lu Kai and other England internationals have lifted this year!
A legend who created the world, a seven-time champion!
(End of this chapter)