radicalducati Chapter 14 The Fall of the Killer King
Chapter 14 The Fall of the Killer King
In an instant, the entire Stade Louis II fell into an eerie silence.
"Yeahhhhhhhh!!!"
A second later, the stands in Monaco erupted in deafening shouts.
"Jiang Ming controls the ball in midfield, turns and dribbles past Defort, then accurately passes to Bernardo Silva on the wing!"
"B. Silva faced the goalkeeper one-on-one, calmly slotted the ball into the net!"
"1-2!!"
Commentator Sun Chen couldn't hide his excitement, "After nearly 20 shots without scoring, Monaco has finally broken through this barrier!"
In the stands, 6000 Monaco fans cheered wildly.
"Come on!!"
"One more! Just one more!!"
They could vaguely see that the team had finally crawled halfway out of hell, and was just one goal away from a complete resurrection.
In the chat room, the comments that were originally just complaints suddenly exploded:
"Holy crap! Monaco scored already?!"
"Did Anderlecht hold firm throughout the match, only to relax at the last moment?"
"B. Silva truly deserves to be called Monaco's new generation's core player; the goalkeeper simply couldn't handle that one-on-one chance!"
"Isn't this goal thanks to Jiang Shen? He came off the bench and already provided an assist!"
"God-like? Where's the god-like aspect? I think it was just Defor's own mistake that gave Jiang Ming a lucky break."
……
Bernardo Silva did not celebrate; instead, he charged straight into the goal and picked up the ball with a clear purpose.
During the incident, Anderlecht's goalkeeper Proto tried to stop him, but he was pushed away.
Jiang Ming also hurriedly ran back to the center circle and rearranged the formation with his teammates.
Time is running out, we must seize every minute and second.
Jardim, standing on the sidelines, glanced up at the remaining time on the big screen and unconsciously gripped the railing of the substitutes' bench.
"There's still enough time, there's still enough time..."
The next ten minutes or so must have felt like an eternity to him.
……
On the other side, the Anderlecht pitch was already in an uproar.
"Steven, can you please stand still?"
"We could have won if we had just held on, but this time you've made the whole team cover for you again."
DeFol had just been given a nimble military drill by Jiang Ming and then criticized by Captain Deschamps, which made him furious.
DeFoul immediately exploded, retorting, "Shut up! Olivier! I'm also the team's vice-captain!"
"Don't use that lecturing tone! On the field, I'm a player, and I have my own job to do!"
Deschamps was taken aback by what he heard and suppressed his anger.
As the captain, he has to focus on the game and can't afford to cause conflict at this time.
"Okay, do it your way."
"Hoo—" Deford exhaled a heavy breath.
His gaze was fixed on the Monaco midfielder, that black-haired, yellow-skinned figure.
He had just learned that Jiang Ming, who had shaken him off, was actually a Chinese player.
"And yet he's Chinese..." Deford's face was frighteningly grim.
He hadn't taken this Asian substitute seriously at all, thinking he was just someone Monaco sent up to generate buzz.
As a result, he was so badly outmaneuvered by the opponent that he stumbled and lost face in front of the global live broadcast.
He couldn't even imagine how many people would see his disheveled appearance through the Europa League broadcast.
……
This goal was like a timely rain after a long drought, instantly giving the entire Monaco team a shot in the arm.
As the match reached the 86th minute, Jiang Ming's ball handling became increasingly adept, and his play became more and more stable.
He gradually improved the team's overall rhythm through quick short passes and distribution.
Jardim, watching from the sidelines, became increasingly stunned. He felt that Jiang Ming's playing style was strangely familiar, as if it were a style of play that had long been eliminated by modern football.
"Snap—"
Jiang Ming passed the ball to the left wing.
Carrillo, who was originally scheduled to play as one of the two strikers, was temporarily moved to the left winger position after El Shaarawy was substituted.
He's not particularly fast, but he has a solid center foundation and can hold off opponents with his back to the basket when he gets the ball.
At the same time, their own left-back Coentrao made a rapid overlapping run down the flank.
Carrillo became a temporary pivot on the wing, exchanging passes and cuts with Coentrao.
Coentrao received the pass back, immediately accelerated down the wing, glanced up at the center of the middle, and then lofted the ball into the penalty area with his left foot.
Traore was already waiting in the penalty area, raising his elbow to hold down the defender and then leaping up.
The ball hit his head and flew straight towards the goal.
"Duang—"
But the header hit the crossbar squarely.
"No!"
Traore looked frustrated; he was so close to equalizing, so close to saving the team.
"It's okay! Just keep playing! Keep going!" Yardin shouted from the sidelines.
The team's momentum has picked up, and he has reason to believe in his players.
Just then, the fourth official on the sidelines raised the stoppage time board.
The striking red number [6] above indicates that there are only six minutes of stoppage time remaining.
The Monaco players looked at the numbers and cursed inwardly at how little time they had left.
The Anderlecht players, however, were thinking, "How come there are still six minutes left?"
The two sides had been fighting to the very last moment, and every second was agonizing.
Jiang Minggang received the ball at the top of the arc, and De Vrij rushed up in a rage.
He wanted to regain his lost face by taking this Chinese man as a role model.
Defort charged forward recklessly, even though Jiang Ming had already passed the ball away.
"Thump—"
With a muffled thud, Jiang Ming was knocked to the ground.
Fortunately, he noticed DeFol's actions at the last moment and quickly turned to block.
However, Jiang Ming's body was still too weak, and he fell to the ground.
"What are you doing?!"
Fabinho rushed over immediately and shoved Defort, yelling, "You son of a bitch, don't you have any sportsmanship?"
A conflict erupted between the two sides instantly. The referee blew his whistle, rushed over, and forcefully pushed the crowd away.
To quell his anger, he first gave Defour a yellow card.
"No, no, no, I was going for the ball, but I couldn't stop!" Defort raised his hands, looking completely innocent.
However, referee Graffie seemed to have a change of heart and upheld the decision.
This "killing king" finally received his second yellow card, turning it into a red card, and De Vrij was sent off!
The Anderlecht players surrounded them to argue, but it was no use.
Moutinho pulled Jiang Ming to his feet: "Kid, can you still play?"
"It's okay, I can manage." Jiang Ming rubbed his sore arms.
That was a really hard hit; it almost tore the seams off his jersey.
Monaco were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty arc, nearly 30 meters from the goal, which wasn't a great opportunity.
Bernardo Silva, holding the ball and observing the angle, turned his head and saw Jiang Ming staring at him.
"...You don't want to take this free kick, do you?"
Jiang Ming shook his head: "Now is the crucial moment, you should do it."
Bernardo Silva was embarrassed: What do you mean by "now is a critical moment"? So you really want to punish me?
Jiang Ming's consideration was that Ronaldinho, as one of the world's top free-kick masters, was a role model for him, and therefore his free-kick skills should also be very strong.
We'll try again in the next match if we have the chance.
The human wall was formed, and Seat B stepped back two steps and raised his right hand to signal.
"Bang—"
The ball flew over everyone's heads in an arc.
The ball wasn't moving fast; it was more of a precise cross than a shot.
Traore was tightly marked by two defenders and could only barely get a touch on the ball when he headed it.
He headed the ball to the far post.
Nobody noticed.
Jiang Ming had quietly slipped away there at some point, as if he had planned it in advance.
By the time Anderlecht's defenders reacted, Jiang Ming had already begun his move.
He controlled the ball with his right foot and looked up to observe.
The goalkeeper was out of position, and the defenders moved forward.
He swung his leg and unleashed a powerful shot.
The ball was shot out and flew straight into the far corner.
"How about that?!" the English commentator exclaimed in surprise.
Yaldin slammed down the water bottle in his hand, his voice booming from his throat: "I knew it! I knew it! Changing personnel this time was the right thing to do!"
Mbappe jumped to his feet from the bench, shouting repeatedly, "That's my buddy! I gave him his first assist in the U19!"
If the assistant coach hadn't stopped him, he might have actually been allowed to rush onto the field.
"Monaco free kick! Bernardo Silva takes the kick, lobbing it into the box! Traoré heads it on! Jiang Ming arrives at the far post! He fires a low shot into the far corner!!!"
"2-2!!"
"In the 93rd minute! Monaco has miraculously equalized!"
"This will be a crucial equalizer!!"
Monaco fans went wild, with waves of people waving flags and chanting in the stands.
The Monaco players rushed up and surrounded Jiang Ming.
The emotions that had been suppressed all day were finally released completely.
Jiang Ming raised his hand, placed it on his forehead, gazed into the distance, and enjoyed the enthusiastic chants of the fans filling the stadium.
"JIANG!!"
"JIANG!!"