Soccer: Maxed-out ball control, the skill is too overpowered.

Northern Spain, Basque Country.

Bilbao Training Base.

Head coach Ernesto Valverde stood silently with his arms crossed, while the 22 players on the field were conducting their final tactical drills.

In this situation, the members of Team 1 will basically be the starting lineup for tomorrow.

Team 2 consisted entirely of substitutes for practice.

Team 1 dominated the game, with solid defense and sharp counter-attacks leaving Team 2 in despair.

They built a huge 3-0 lead within 45 minutes.

Athletic Bilbao seems to be a very strong team.

As everyone knows, facing a substitute is one thing, but facing Atletico Madrid's first-team squad is quite another.

"Take a 10-minute break, then practice set-piece tactics again!"

It looks like we'll need to do some extra practice, and the players have no objections.

When the weak defeat the strong, set pieces are the most important element and the most effective means of achieving victory.

"We could have challenged for Champions League qualification, but this schedule is disgusting."

"Yeah, why Atlético Madrid?"

"Damn it!"

Valverde would love to kill all the football association officials who arranged the match schedule.

Athletic Bilbao was originally in good form and could have secured a top-4 position.

If a team suffers three consecutive defeats against Atletico Madrid, it could very well damage the players' confidence and cause their performance to fluctuate.

"Never mind, the competition hasn't even started yet, anything is possible."

"Really?"

"We've emphasized before that Atletico Madrid's points depend entirely on Lukaszczuk. So we can take a gamble; if we can completely shut down Lukaszczuk, we have a chance!"

The thought of facing a player like Lu Xiao on the other side is so overwhelming that it's hard to breathe.

However, Lu Xiao is not without weaknesses.

Leaving aside his off-the-ball movement, Lu Xiao's passing has not yet reached world-class level.

So Valverde wants to go all in!

……

"Lu, it's all up to you today. Is the tactical plan all right?"

"No problem, leave it to me."

The first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals: Athletic Bilbao vs. Atletico Madrid.

Lu Xiao led the starting lineup!

In preparation for the league match three days later, Griezmann and Torres will take turns resting.

There were only a few substitute players in the frontcourt to work with Lu Xiao.

Barring any surprises, Athletic Bilbao will most likely employ a defensive counter-attacking strategy, as will Atletico Madrid.

Neither side will commit too many troops to the offensive.

Lu Xiao can only rely on a few young substitutes such as Angel Correa, Luciano, and Carrasco.

Carrasco is a teammate of De Bruyne in the Belgian national team. Although their relationship is not as good as De Bruyne's, they are at least familiar with each other and have some cooperation on the field.

Simone knew without a second thought that Athletic Bilbao would definitely keep a close watch on Lu Xiao.

Therefore, Lu Xiao is not the main attacking player today; he is the decoy.

Playing as a number 9 on the field, his role was similar to that of Harry Kane later on: using the ball as a pivot to supply ammunition to his teammates.

"Doing this won't affect your tactical role; you can continue playing as usual in the starting lineup."

Simone made a point about it.

Lu Xiao was amused by him.

It's surprising that even the famous "bandit leader" is so hesitant and awkward.

"Don't worry, coach. I'd also like to practice my passing in a real game."

According to FIFA Career Mode data, Lu Xiao feels that his passing ability is at most a little over 80 points.

It's good for beating weaker opponents, but it falls short in high-level competitions.

To become a top striker in the world, in addition to off-the-ball movement, passing skills also need to be improved as soon as possible.

In the future development of football, the role of players will become increasingly diversified.

Those who rely on a single skill to succeed will gradually be eliminated.

Lu Xiao has a vision for the future, so he is naturally not satisfied with the status quo.

……

"Both sides played cautiously in the first half. Athletic Bilbao committed no more than four players to each attack, and Atletico Madrid did the same."

"After almost half an hour of play, both teams' full-backs have been making frequent overlapping runs into the box."

The score is currently tied at 0-0.

"Athletic Bilbao veteran Aduriz attempted two shots, but both failed to hit the target."

Atletico Madrid's key player, Lu Xiao, also had two shots: one inside the penalty area and one long-range powerful shot, which slightly threatened the goalkeeper.

"After Athletic Bilbao tightened their defense against Lu Xiao, neither side was able to create many good opportunities."

According to Spanish commentator José Ángel, the game will likely remain at a dull pace until the second half.

Just before the end of the first half, Atletico Madrid suddenly surged ahead!

They launched a relentless offensive in the attacking third.

"Mathias, okay, Lu Xiao dropped back in time to receive the ball."

"Marseille's spin move!! Beautiful!! Lue has successfully broken free!!"

"Bilbao has formed a four-person encirclement!"

Atletico Madrid substitute midfielder Matias, a 22-year-old Argentine.

He made a bold pass, a through ball down the middle to find Lu Xiao, who was surrounded by four players at the moment!

Completely encircled by the opponent.

"The young man's pass was a bit hasty, but luckily it was Lu Xiao who managed to protect the ball..."

The commentator also wanted to criticize the young substitute midfielder.

Unexpectedly, Lu Xiao did not lose the ball despite being surrounded by four players. He skillfully maneuvered and dribbled the ball, creating an opening and feigning a move to the right.

"This is bad!"

"Stop him!!"

Athletic Bilbao players' first reaction was to disrupt Lu Xiao's pass at all costs!

Angel Correa on the right is completely empty!

At the same time, two players made direct tackles, completely blocking Lu Xiao's passing route.

Another player blocked his path to prevent him from breaking through, while the player behind him tried to circle around to defend and cut off Lu Xiao's passing space on the other side.

Lu Xiao's only option was to shield the ball with his back to the goal and pass it back to his teammates to reorganize the offense.

The pace will definitely be slowed down, and Bilbao's defensive retreat will be effective, closing the fleeting window of opportunity completely.

At that very moment, Lu Xiao indeed made a passing feint!

He circled the ball with his right foot, flicked it back, and turned, just as the defender had predicted.

"call--"

"We finally managed to defend against it."

As everyone knows, you can't rush to steal the ball when defending against Lu Xiao.

As long as you force him to pass back or sideways, you've successfully defended.

This frozen moment looks a lot like an interactive quiz in a football program.

Question: Which passing route will Lu Xiao choose at this moment?

A. Pass the ball back to center-back Jiménez.

B. A cross to full-back Juanfran.

C. The ball is passed back to Matias, the defensive midfielder on the other side.

Judging from the image, there are no other options left, and everyone thinks so.

But at that moment, a scene suddenly flashed through Lu Xiao's mind!

Before consciousness could react, the body acted first!

Lu Xiao actually spun nearly 270 degrees using his left foot as a pivot!

"Oops!!"

By the time the defenders realized the crisis, it was too late!

Lu Xiao delivered a stunning curling shot with the outside of his right foot, piercing through the opponent's flank and heading straight for the penalty area!

[Monster Pass]!

Simulate Kevin De Bruyne!

"God!! It really came!"

Substitute striker Luciano always remembered Lu Xiao's advice.

"Brother, as long as I have the ball, you can go all out and make a run forward."

Without hesitation, Luciano made a decisive forward run to provide support, and the ball indeed slipped past his feet and sped forward.

Run forward quickly, comfortably receive the ball, evade the defender's blockade, and decisively shoot from a tight angle!

Whoosh—

The football went into the net!

After a brief silence at the Athletic Bilbao home stadium, the away stands erupted in thunderous cheers!

"Oh oh oh oh—Lu Xiao!"

"Oh oh oh oh—Lu Xiao!"

"He is our guardian angel! He is Atlético Madrid's knight!"

"Unstoppable, piercing through all enemies!"

……

The second half has just begun, in the 54th minute.

Lu Xiao followed suit, suddenly executing a "Cruyff turn" while surrounded by three players.

Immediately afterwards, a scalpel was thrust straight in from between the people!

The football accurately pierced through three lines of defense!

Angel Correa received the ball inside the penalty area and had a one-on-one opportunity, easily slotting the ball into the net!

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Atletico Madrid!

"Lu, you're amazing!"

"How did this even get leaked out? You're something else, Lu!!"

"Invincible!! Invincible!!"

Lu Xiao's Atletico Madrid teammates excitedly stepped forward and gave him a high five.

Lu Xiao, however, seemed uninterested.

"Athletic Bilbao's defense is still not top-notch."

If this ball were in the defense of Real Madrid or Barcelona, ​​would it have been so easy to pass it out?

Lu Xiao subconsciously imagined the defense of a world-class team.

It's probably not that easy to spread.

Players like Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Modric, Busquets, and Mascherano will put even more pressure on the defense.

Even the mid-to-upper-tier teams in the Premier League have a higher level of defense than this.

Little did they know, both head coaches were already speechless at Lu Xiao's performance today.

Simeone pointed at the field, his eyes wide:

"His passing has improved so quickly? Did you give him special training?"

"No, I thought it was part of your training plan!"

Athletic Bilbao coach Valverde's pupils dilated in shock:

"Impossible! No, impossible!"

In less than half a year, a Golden Boot winner with mediocre passing skills has become a passing master.

If that's true, a net worth of 1.5 million is an underestimation of him!

"His net worth is probably over 2 million!"

"It seems... our journey in the King's Cup will end here."