Soccer: If they're using these kinds of cheats, what's the point of training?

Halftime, away team locker room.

Fernandez closed the door and remained silent for a few seconds.

"We played well in the first half," he said, looking at his players. "But Nice's defense is starting to adapt. They'll press more aggressively in the second half, so we need to play faster."

He walked to the tactics board and drew a few lines.

"Zhang, don't drop so deep in the second half." He drew a circle at the edge of the penalty area with a marker. "Just stand here. If Nice's defensive midfielder comes out, the space in the middle will be for Yellen and Olic. If the defensive midfielder doesn't come out, you receive the ball in this position—and shoot directly."

Zhang nodded frantically, without saying anything more.

"Bielsa, in the second half, cross less and cut inside more," Fernandez continued. "Nice's full-backs aren't very fast, so you can create opportunities with your left foot."

Bielsa nodded.

"Finally," Fernandez tossed his marker aside, looking at everyone, "we need to score one more in the last fifteen minutes of the second half. If we score the second one, the game will be over."

Meanwhile, in the home team's locker room, Nice's head coach Nicolé was furious, especially about the defense against Zhang Kuang, which Nicolé was very dissatisfied with, believing that the team had not done a good job in limiting Zhang Kuang.

"Fofana, Digar, what's wrong with you two? One of you got a yellow card after just touching Zhang, and the other only made brief contact before becoming hesitant and timid. Are Chinese kids that scary? Can't you even touch them?"

Nicole questions Fofana and Digar.

Digar: "Coach, that Chinese guy is a bit strange. We can't outrun him, and we can't outrun him either. His positioning is too unpredictable."

Also, I got a yellow card for messing with him. I secretly pinched him, and he secretly hit me back. The hit hurt so much that I fell to the ground.

Then he accused me of racism, and in my anger I called him a "yellow-skinned monkey," and that's how I got a yellow card. The worst part is that this guy also threatened me, saying he'd kill me if I tried anything funny again.

"???" Not only was the head coach stunned, but all the players in Nice were also stunned. This Chinese guy is so fierce?

"He hit you, why didn't you tell the referee?" Nicole questioned.

Digal glanced at Fofana, who then lifted his shirt.

"Coach, I was also hit by that Chinese guy Zhang. I even lifted my shirt to show the referee, but there were no external injuries. But the pain was so bad that I almost fainted."

I just had the team doctor check him out, and there were no injuries. I suspect that kid knows some kind of Eastern martial arts, which is why we didn't dare to use any underhanded tactics later.

But simply defending against him isn't enough to stop him. That kid doesn't look strong, but his body is like a lump of iron. If we bump into him, our bones ache, and it's very difficult to move him."

Defenders Mbiwa and Oe nodded in agreement, expressing their indignation that they had made multiple physical contacts but couldn't budge the monster at all.

He possesses immense strength, a very rigid body, and incredible speed. He has unpredictable positioning, powerful long-range shots, and formidable headers.

When Nicoler heard these descriptions and complaints from the players, he realized that this Chinese player, Zhang, was much more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.

Nicole: "Alright, since we can't physically overpower him, let's cut off his passes and block all passing lanes to Zhang in China..."

At the start of the second half, Nice made the first substitution.

They substituted a striker with a defensive midfielder, changing their formation from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1. The five midfielders lined up in a row, their choking zone extending from the center circle all the way to the edge of the penalty area, with only one goal—to prevent Zhang Kuang from receiving the ball in dangerous positions and to cut off his passing lanes.

In the 52nd minute, Zhang Kuang received the ball just outside the penalty area, and Digar immediately closed him down. Zhang Kuang turned his back to Digar, passed the ball to Olic who was making a run down the wing, and then turned and charged into the penalty area.

"Don't let the ball pass to that Chinese guy, intercept him, intercept him!" Nice's coach shouted from the sidelines.

Olic didn't cross the ball; instead, he cut inside.

Nice's left-back followed his movement, but Olic's technique was not bad. He made a feint to create angle and then passed the ball across to the middle with his left foot.

Zhang Kuang received the ball at the edge of the penalty area.

The ball bounced in front of him, with just the right force and height.

He lifted his right foot.

"Bang—"

Another long-range shot.

This time the ball was faster and the angle was more tricky, heading straight for the bottom right corner of the goal.

Lamé reacted quickly this time, springing out like a spring and blocking the ball out of bounds with his right hand.

"Beautiful save!" Butt shouted. "That wild shot was so dangerous! If Lamé hadn't reacted in time, it would have been a sure goal!"

"Zhang's long-range shots are incredibly threatening. I feel they're on par with Ronaldo and Messi. They're precise, powerful, and fast."

"Yes, he's a very distinctive player. His shots are beautiful, pleasing to the eye, and have a violent aesthetic..."

Zhang Kuang stood arrogantly at the top of the penalty area, hands on his hips, watching the ball fly out of bounds, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Not urgent.

We've already taken the lead.

Time is on our side in Auxerre.

In the 58th minute, Pedroti launched a long pass from the backfield directly to Zhang Kuang.

The ball fell through the air, and Zhang Kuang, with his back to the goal, leaned against Mbiwa and chested the ball down. The instant the ball hit the ground, he flicked it with his heel to Yellen behind him.

Yellen unleashed a furious shot, which Lamé saved, infuriating Yellen who pounded the turf in frustration. He was determined to score, as he knew that if he didn't, he would lose his position as the team's top scorer.

Moreover, after Zhang Kuang joined the team, he had more opportunities because he drew away a lot of defenders, reducing the defensive pressure on him.

In addition, although Zhang Kuang's basic skills such as passing, receiving, and dribbling are somewhat lacking, his final pass as a pivot is still very threatening; it's just that he has never been able to seize the opportunity.

64th minute, corner kick.

Birsa sent the ball near the six-yard box, sprinting left and right, weaving through gaps in the defense. Suddenly, he moved from the front of the penalty area to the right byline, and while the ball was still in the air, he leaped into the air—

This time, no one could stop him, because no one expected someone to be able to block the ball in the middle, before it even reached its landing point.

Then the ball was headed away by Zhang Kuang, who did a backheel shot, and the ball slammed into the goal. Nice's goalkeeper turned pale, thinking the ball was sure to go in, but it was blocked by a Nice defender standing on the goal line.

"Wow, that was dangerous! Huh? Renato, the newly signed center-back for Nice, has scored! He rushed to the front of the goal and used his body to block what seemed like a sure goal."

"Wow, what a pity, what a pity, what a waste of such a good goal. Such unpredictable positioning, coupled with amazing jumping and fierce heading, it's such a shame it didn't go in."

"Has anyone noticed that Zhang's headers are a lot like Cristiano Ronaldo's?"

"Hey, you know what, it really does look like it..."

"A second corner kick in a row! Auxerre have been launching a fierce attack during this period!"

Unfortunately, this corner kick posed no threat; the ball was taken too close to the goal and was caught by Nice's goalkeeper who leaped high to make it.

67 minutes.

Pedretti intercepted the ball in midfield, looked up and saw that Zhang Kuang had already started from the edge of the penalty area and was rushing towards Nice's penalty area.

This was not an organized attack, but a counterattack. His ferocious speed left Nice's entire defense unable to keep up—when he sprinted at full speed, he was like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, and no one could hold him back.

Without hesitation, Pedretti launched a long pass of over forty meters towards the edge of Nice's penalty area.

Zhang Kuang judged the landing point while running and received the ball two steps to the right of the top of the arc.

This time, he faced Nice's entire defensive line—Mbiwa and Oye, one in front and one behind, forming a barrier.

His arrogance did not slow down.

He took a step to the side with his right foot, and Mbiwa moved to block in front of him. Zhang Kuang cut the ball back with his left foot, and Mbiwa moved to the side again—then, at the moment Mbiwa shifted his weight, Zhang Kuang gently poked the ball between Mbiwa's legs with the toe of his right foot.

The ball and the player passed each other.

Mbiwa was completely dumbfounded.

Zhang Kuang swept past him, forming a single blade.

Lamé abandoned the door and left.

Zhang Kuang glanced at Lame's position and chose the simplest method—

Right-footed curl shot.

The ball traced a beautiful arc, flew over Lamé's head, and fell into the goal behind him.

2: 0.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!" The commentators roared in amazement; it was incredibly exciting.

No one expected that Zhang Kuang's goal this time wouldn't be a header or a long-range shot, but rather a chip shot past the goalkeeper after getting past him.

"Siu————!"

The flamboyant celebrations reappeared in the corner flag area.

This time, Auxerre's bench erupted.

Assistant coach Stefano rushed to the sidelines, waving his fist and shouting.

Fernandez raised his hands above his head and clapped.

"A brace! A wild brace!" Bate's voice was hoarse. "Two games, five goals! This Chinese guy is insane!"

Dugarry shook his head in the broadcast booth: "He's not crazy, he's strong. I take back what I said after the last round."

"What are you saying?"

"I said he might be a dark horse in the second half of the Ligue 1 season," Dugarry said. "Now I'm correcting myself—he's not a dark horse, he's a genuine top striker."

Two goals, one a powerful long-range shot, the other a chip shot on a one-on-one situation. His shooting skills are so comprehensive, equally adept with both feet, strong in headers, strong in long-range shots, and now he can even score in one-on-one situations.

He's only 18. I can't imagine what he'll be like at 25.

"Maybe he was already at Real Madrid or Barcelona by then," Batistuta replied with a smile.

"Maybe."

In the 76th minute, Fernandez made a substitution.

Zhang Kuang was replaced by Daniel Niculae.