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

In the locker room, Fernandez looked at his players.

"Let's continue in the second half," he said. "Lille's midfielders and defenders have been physically battling Zhang too much, and they're already exhausted. Their stamina will definitely drop precipitously in the second half."

He looked at Zhang Kuang.

"Zhang, you can be more flexible in your positioning in the second half. If they double-team you on the flanks, drop back to midfield to support them. If they surround you in the middle, move to the wing."

There's no point in trying to outmuscle them physically; it will only limit your offensive capabilities. Luckily, you realized this at the end of the first half.

Otherwise, I would have reminded you at halftime. You've gotten yourself into a physical battle with them, holding your breath and trying to outmuscle them. The point is, you don't have to physically overpower them to humiliate them. This is a football field; you can score goals here.

Zhang Kuang nodded.

Meanwhile, in the home dressing room, Lille's head coach comforted the players.

"You did very well in the first half, and at one point you stifled Zhang's attack, forcing him into physical battles that drained his energy."

He's been hit so many times in the first half, he's probably exhausted. In the second half, he'll probably try to push himself to the limit and keep hitting you. If he doesn't, you should go up and hit him. You have to wear him down first.

Haven't you noticed? As long as Zhang from China can't score, Auxerre loses its attacking ability. So, once we exhaust Zhang from China's offense, it's time for us to counterattack.

Come on, everyone! If the opposing team beats our fans on the field first, and then wins the score against us, just imagine how our fans will feel? How will they view us?

The second half begins.

Lille's players continued to charge at Zhang Kuang within the rules. Zhang Kuang avoided what he could and charged at what he couldn't. He refused to believe that these people could outrun him; he was confident in his physical strength.

As a result, the audience seemed to be watching a rugby match rather than a football match, seeing the two sides colliding with each other with loud thuds.

The referee couldn't call a foul even if he wanted to, because everything was within the reasonable range; there was no dirty tackle, no underhanded tactics, and no malicious foul.

In the 52nd minute, Zhang Kuang received the ball in midfield, and two Lille defenders rushed towards him. Instead of forcing his way through, he passed the ball to Olic on the wing and then quickly made a run forward himself.

Olic receives the ball on the right wing and crosses it.

The ball flew towards the center of the penalty area, and Zhang Kuang jumped up from the edge of the six-yard box—

A header.

The ball was saved by Landreau, and Yellen followed up with a shot—which was also saved by Landreau.

"Wow, Lille's goalkeeper Landreau is on fire today, making several crucial saves against Zhang Kuang, Yellen, and Auxerre."

Bart praised it from the commentary box.

"Yes, in this match, Lille's players seemed to be fighting desperately against someone. Everyone played exceptionally well. If it weren't for Auxerre's arrogant player drawing Lille's attention, Auxerre would probably be the ones trailing now," Dugarry added.

Barthes: "That's right, but Zhang from China is really good at colliding. He's been colliding for almost an hour and he doesn't seem to have any problems at all. At least, I don't see any signs of exhaustion or that he can't hold on. But Lille's players are almost at their limit."

"Yes, if this continues, Lille is in danger."

In the 63rd minute, Zhang Kuang received the ball at the edge of the penalty area. Facing three Lille defenders closing in, he attempted a long-range shot—

The ball hit the goalpost and bounced out of bounds.

71 minutes.

Pedretti intercepted the ball in midfield and glanced up—Zhang Kuang was lurking behind Lille's defense.

Pedretti makes a long pass.

The ball flew through the air, over the entire Lille defense, and landed on the right side of the penalty area.

Zhang Kuang sprinted at full speed and received the ball on the right side of the penalty area.

Lille's goalkeeper, Landreau, rushed out of his goal to block the near post.

Zhang Kuang did not take a shot.

He flicked the ball sideways, shaking off Landreau's block, and then—

An empty door.

He raised his right foot and shot.

The ball slowly rolled into the goal.

2: 0.

"Goal! Goal! Goal! Zhang Kuang scores his second goal! After five or six shots in a row, he finally scores again. The game is over. Zhang Kuang has firmly secured the top spot on the goal-scoring chart with 17 goals, and none of them were penalties. His achievements are truly remarkable."

"Yes, Zhang Kuang has made his own boast. When he joined Auxerre, he said he would win the Golden Boot, and now that goal is getting closer and closer. He is currently the top scorer with 13 league games left. With his current form, it's no longer a question of winning the Golden Boot, but whether he can break the record."

Liu Jianhong: "I just looked at the data, and this record is probably hard to break, because the record for most goals in a single French Ligue 1 season was set in the 1970-71 season by player Josip Scoblar, who scored 44 goals in a single season."

Zhang Kuang only played half a season, so this record is unlikely to be broken. If given a full season, he might be able to create a miracle.

Xu Yang: "Huh? 44 goals in a single season? That's certainly quite difficult. But I believe that as long as Zhang Kuang maintains his good form, he will eventually score a record number of goals in a full season."

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After falling behind 0-2, Lille's players suddenly lost their spirit and all looked at their head coach—before, when everyone believed that "hard work will pay off," they were still pushing forward with all their might.

But when they fail no matter how hard they try, that spirit dissipates, and once it dissipates, they begin to doubt everything.

For example, whether their head coach's tactics were correct; arrogance was like an insurmountable wall, leaving Lille's players and coaches extremely disheartened.

Lille's head coach Rudi Garcia punched the canopy of the substitutes' bench the moment he saw Zhang Kuang score, breaking a piece of it.

He couldn't care less about how his teammates were playing, because even he himself was starting to doubt himself. Fortunately, Lille's captain, Rio Mavuba, managed to stabilize the team in time, preventing a large-scale collapse and allowing them to remain resilient.

In the 78th minute, Zhang Kuang was substituted off the field because he was still being relentlessly tackled by Lille players, who vented their frustration about the team's deficit on him.

Although Fernandez didn't appreciate the arrogant attitude, he couldn't afford to let the current arrogance go to waste for the remaining 13 league matches, so he was substituted.

After his arrogant exit from the field, Rudi Garcia returned to the sidelines, seemingly regaining his confidence.

He wanted to prove that Auxerre, without his arrogance, was no match for Lille.

Sure enough, in the next 15 minutes of added time, Lille almost equalized, with their striker Gervinho scoring in the 85th minute.

This player later transferred to the Chinese Super League and was once very popular.

Unfortunately, time is running out for Lille, and Auxerre's defense is quite strong.

The match ended with Auxerre defeating Lille 2-1 away from home.

Zhang Kuang only scored two goals in this match, but the value of those two goals far exceeded the score itself.

At the post-match press conference, Fernandez angrily condemned Lille and their fans.

"In my 30 years in the industry, I have never seen such a terrible incident." The old coach's voice trembled. "Fans threw bricks at the players, six people jumped down to hit one person, and then the opposing team, in order to limit Zhang's arrogance on the field, all of them bumped into Zhang, trying to injure him."

I hope the French Football Federation will investigate this matter and punish Lille. If players' safety cannot be guaranteed, what kind of sport is that?

Lille's head coach, Rudi Garcia, sat next to him, looking embarrassed.

"I regret the fans' behavior," he said, "but I don't think that arrogant response was appropriate. He could have easily avoided those fans instead of confronting them."

"Avoid?" Fernandez sneered. "He was hit by bricks! Beaten by six men! How did you expect him to avoid it? Fly?"

Garcia fell silent.

The reporters took notes quickly.

After the game, reporters wanted to interview Zhang Kuang, the MVP of the match, but security personnel escorted him away early for safety reasons.

The following day, the French Football Federation announced an investigation into Lille.

Lille's home stadium may be shut down for several matches, and they will inevitably be fined.

But that's a story for another time.

After the match, Zhang Kuang was taken away by Humphrey, and four women were already eager to see him.

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