Contrary to Cristiano Ronaldo's excited performance and his inclination not to pass the ball after receiving it...
Deng Kai, who had just completed an assist, wasn't particularly eye-catching on the field.
His passes were conservative; he didn't hold onto the ball.
Because his current stats were relatively low, he had to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.
But he had great strength in his arms and could always easily shove off defenders to find open space, so he ended up with possession of the ball quite often.
This was contradictory.
So, to the outside world, he appeared to be a conservative midfielder who squandered opportunities, receiving so many good passes but doing nothing with them but backpasses.
This style was not popular at all.
As the saying goes, you can't walk by the river without getting your shoes wet.
The 83rd minute.
After receiving a pass from a teammate, Deng Kai was trapped and dispossessed by Amorim.
Subsequently, Amorim made a through pass, Cristiano Ronaldo cut in without the ball, received the pass and, with a slick move, easily got past Feng Te.
Bang!
Cristiano Ronaldo took a shot at goal.
The football hit the net with a clean strike.
After scoring, Cristiano Ronaldo immediately turned and rushed towards Deng Kai, wanting to show his old rival how formidable he was.
However, midway through his run, the head referee blew the whistle, then signaled that the goal was disallowed.
"Oh! The head referee believes that there was a foul before the goal, so it's invalid."
"It was Amorim! He fouled Deng Kai during the tackle, his arm hit Deng Kai's face while they were contesting for the ball."
"Deng Kai is too short, Amorim didn't mean to hit him, but unfortunately, the height of his swinging arm was just right."
"However, as I said before, there's a big problem with Deng Kai's playing style; he's too hesitant to advance, whether it be passing or moving. He's wasted many opportunities today, and there are consequences for wasting opportunities."
"He'll probably continue to lose possession. Amorim fouled this time, but the head referee can't blow the whistle for a foul every time."
"On the other hand, Chris's form today is really hot, with his touch burning up; he was so close to scoring a super hat-trick."
The match continued.
The 86th minute.
Figo's team's forward, Almeida, scored a header, but the assistant referee signaled offside, and once again the goal was disallowed.
Almeida furiously kicked the turf to vent his dissatisfaction.
Although he had contributed an assist today, as a forward, he'd rather score goals.
The goal scorer is the star!
The 89th minute.
The Black Panther Team won a corner.
After the corner was taken, Almeida and Veloso joined forces to pressurize Feng Te, who, affected, didn't jump. Almeida successfully headed the ball away, making an excellent defense.
Outside the penalty area, Deng Kai, who had not joined in the contest for the header, ran hard and finally controlled the ball near the sideline.
But he knew someone was around him.
He wasn't the only one running; someone else was too.
And the opponent was much faster than Deng Kai.
So, after stopping the ball, Deng Kai didn't immediately dribble to accelerate but instead pulled the ball back and kept it under control.
Bang!
Deng Kai was tackled to the ground, rolling out of bounds with the ball.
If he had sped up just then, the ball would have been intercepted by the opponent rather than retained.
However, the opponent wasn't mean; after knocking down Deng Kai, he reached out to embrace him protectively, preventing any injury from the fall.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo!
He made a standard striker's tackle.
If he hadn't done that, Deng Kai could have adjusted his position to make a cross and create a chance to score.
Cristiano Ronaldo stopped Deng Kai but paid a price for it.
The head referee came over and showed Cristiano Ronaldo a yellow card.
And he awarded the Black Panther Team a free kick.
Cristiano Ronaldo accepted it without protest.
The Black Panther Team took a tactically planned free kick, but after just a couple of passes, Amorim broke up the play and kicked the ball out of bounds again.
The pressure from Figo's team defense was enormous.
But this throw-in was exactly what Deng Kai was looking for.
"Feng Te!" Deng Kai called to his teammate.
Feng Te, who was already walking back, saw Deng Kai holding the football and immediately entered the penalty area.
He got it!
The grenade throw-in!
Not just him, everyone on the field knew what was about to happen.
"The same trick won't work a second time," Ronaldo said as he followed Feng Te to Deng Kai.
Although he wasn't as tall as Feng Te, he could jump... he could really jump.
Deng Kai was pondering the football's landing point when he suddenly felt a burning sensation on the back of his head.
He turned around and was almost blinded by the glare.
The sun was very strong this afternoon!
Wait, the sun?
A light bulb went off in Deng Kai's head.
He signaled for Feng Te to move out a bit, and Feng Te understood, moving from inside the small box to the outside.
Deng Kai started to back up, took a running start, and then threw the "grenade" in his hand!
The football once again invaded Figo's team's penalty airspace, turning into an aerial bomb.
Feng Te leaped high into the air.
But in front of him was Ronaldo, beside him was Almeida, and behind him was Veloso; he had no chance of reaching the ball with a header.
Then, someone with a sharp eye realized the ball didn't seem to be thrown for Feng Te.
This was...
"Back post!" Guardiola was the first to determine.
"The goalkeeper and most defenders have been drawn out by Feng Te!" Costa's eyes lit up.
"Does he think he's playing basketball, trying to throw the football directly into the goal?" Jia De'er sneered, "But football doesn't allow that, a throw-in can't go directly into goal; he is wasting an attacking opportunity."
"Only strikers are entitled to waste chances in a team, not other players, and he's obviously not a good midfielder!"
Guardiola rolled his eyes.
He didn't have time to argue with Jia De'er anymore.
As mentioned before, if you find someone's actions to be illogical, it might only be because you have different information than they do.
Deng Kai was taking a gamble.
But what exactly was he betting on?
Remembering Deng Kai's action of turning his head earlier, Guardiola also turned to look behind him and was then dazzled by the sun, blinded by the light.
He turned his head back helplessly, but on the way back, he had an epiphany and excitedly snapped his neck.
"The sun! He's gambling on the sun!" said Guardiola as he finished speaking.
Figo's goalkeeper Bruno Vale hurriedly returned to the front of the goal and then dived to make the save.
His movement was good, and he managed to get back in time.
But after turning his head, his eyes were met with a bright light, blinding him to everything else.
In a white world, his fingers touched the football.
But then the ball slipped through his hands.
He hit the ground hard.
And then he heard the roar of the fans around him, like a tsunami of cheers.
"My God! My God! It's a goal!"
"Is this real? Deng Kai threw the throw-in directly into the goal!"
"By rules, this should be an invalid attempt, since a throw-in can't go directly into the goal."
"But Bruno Vale touched the football! He touched it!"
"Exactly! The main referee signals the goal is valid! It's an own goal! Bruno Vale made a save he'll regret for a long time!"
"If he had done nothing, his team wouldn't have conceded."
"Incredible! The creator of the goal once again is Deng Kai!"
"His performance on the field is controversial, but the results are indisputable. After coming off the bench, with one assist and one caused own goal, he helped the team equalize the score!"
"I don't know if he has the potential to be a star, but he's definitely a lucky charm!"
"Now both sides are back on the same starting line, are we heading to a penalty shootout?"
Many matches would go to extra time if tied in regular time, and if still tied, a penalty shootout would ensue.
But considering the stamina of these young players, the game's format was set to go directly to a penalty shootout after a tie in regular time.
It's definitely a tense moment that would cause everyone's adrenaline to skyrocket.
For a moment, the camera focused again on Deng Kai.
Can they keep from conceding in the last few minutes of added time?