Booth's hesitance, whether intentional or unintentional, filled Chen Yingxiong with joy and confidence. He knew that his desperate fighting style had worked.
He was called for two fouls and had many bruises on his body. He never frowned, but jumped up without hesitation and rushed towards Booth every time.
The bald guy gave in? Then I'll take another step forward!
…
Chen Yingxiong bumped into Booth again and again, causing people in the stands to exclaim from time to time. It also made the reporters even more confused.
"Is that kid banging his head against the wall?"
"What's going on? Can we score a goal like this?"
"Do you think you can defeat Booth with brute force alone?"
Chen Yingxiong could not hear the doubts from the stands. He was now full of fighting spirit and confidence. He was ready to fight Booth to the death. The weapon was naturally...his body!
It depends, can you endure it, or can I?
Every collision is a contest between bones and bones, muscles and muscles. The dull thud rings in the ears, followed by sweat splashing everywhere.
Then there was the pain.
But Chen Yingxiong didn't care at all.
His idea was very simple. There was a thick wall blocking his way. He couldn't go around it, or climb over it, so he had only one solution - to break it down!
This method was actually quite stupid and had no technical content at all. But this was the only method Chen Yingxiong had at the moment. And...it really fit his style.
Whoever stands in my way, I will knock them down!
…
Although Chen Yingxiong did not have an advantage in the previous contests with the Soviet wing defender, his teammates did not change their minds but passed the ball to him tirelessly.
This made Li Hao a little unhappy - he really couldn't understand why this Chinese kid was more popular than the three Koreans in the team...
But one person couldn't change anything. After just a few games, among the three Koreans, one, Hyun Yongmin had gradually lost his main position and has been marginalized little by little.
Now the only ones who could still play in the starting lineup were Li Hao and Jin Dongjin.
Still, he couldn't really understand why the Chinese kid who could only head the ball could stay in the starting lineup.
However, his dissatisfaction could not change the fact that the entire team was serving Chen Yingxiong.
In fact, the teammates who passed the ball to Chen Yingxiong were also looking forward to it. They wanted to see what Chen Yingxiong would do when facing such a strong defender.
Could he still complete a hat trick?
This was the suspense in the minds of almost all Zenit players.
…
Arshavin was constantly fulfilling his promise to Chen Yingxiong. Whenever he broke through, he made a high cross!
"Arshavin is a little abnormal today... Although he is usually happy to assist his teammates, he seems to be particularly thorough today... I didn't see him have any decent shots..." The commentator was also confused.
Of course he was confused. No outsider knew what was going on inside the Zenit team.
After Arshavin passed Soviet Wings' left back Suad Filekovic, he looked up at the penalty area to check on Chen Yingxiong's situation. Even if he wanted to help Chen Yingxiong, he couldn't just cross the ball without any consideration, right? That wouldn't be helping Chen Yingxiong, but rather hurting him.
When he looked up, he saw Chen Yingxiong on the penalty area line, raising his right hand, indicating that he should pass the ball high.
Arshavin kicked the ball towards the middle.
Seeing Arshavin's cross, Chen Yingxiong accelerated and rushed into the penalty area.
When Booth saw Chen Yingxiong rushing towards him, he gritted his teeth and prepared to fight.
Although his ribs were bruised and swollen and hurt when touched them, he still jumped up resolutely as the last barrier in front of the goalkeeper.
The two met again in the air!
At the same time, a little ahead of them, another central defender, Hussin, also jumped up, trying to kick the ball out first - from the fact that Booth always covered his chest with his hands, he could see that his teammate was in some trouble.
However, his judgment of where the football would land was off. He did not hit the football when he jumped up, but instead missed it.
The two men, gritting their teeth and with ferocious faces, collided with each other again!
"Bang!"
"Here we go again!" the commentator shouted.
Both of them lost their balance at the same time and fell down.
But what was different from the past was that... Soviet Wings goalkeeper Eduardo Lobos turned his head and looked up in surprise, where the football had just flown over the goal line!
"The ball...the ball went in!!!"
The commentator was stunned for a moment, then shouted.
The collision between Chen Yingxiong and Booth in the air just now was so violent that many people even closed their eyes reflexively, so few people had clearly seen it.
But this was not important, what was important was...the ball went in!
Chen Yingxiong, who fell to the ground, looked up at the goal and saw that the football had landed on the grass just inside the goal line...
Did the ball go in?
The ball went in!!
Chen Yingxiong roared, jumped up from the ground, and ran towards Arshavin who assisted him with his arms open.
…
"Beautiful! He did it!" Denisov jumped up from his seat on the bench, pumping his fist and shouting. "First goal!!"
Other substitutes also stood up from their positions and jumped to celebrate the goal.
On the field, other Zenit teammates also rushed to Chen Yingxiong to celebrate the goal.
Chen Yingxiong rushed over, hugged Arshavin, and then lifted him up!
"Thank you, Shava!" he shouted excitedly to Arshavin.
Arshavin's face turned red. "You... are... too... strong..." He was almost speechless.
Chen Yingxiong finally reacted and put Arshavin down.
Then his teammates rushed up and surrounded him, and Arshavin took the opportunity to retreat to the side, gasping for air.
This kid is so powerful... That was what Arshavin was thinking now.
The other teammates rushed up and patted Chen Yingxiong's shoulders, back and head. "First, first! Well done, hero!" They patted Chen Yingxiong's hair and shouted.
For once, he didn't care about this but raised a finger towards the stands where the media seats were.
A goal!
The "Kings of Face Covering" must cover their faces well, or you will be beaten to pieces by me!
…
The reporters in the media seats may not have understood the meaning of Chen Yingxiong's gesture, because many players would raise their index fingers towards the stands after scoring a goal.
But they were still very surprised, because Chen Yingxiong, who they thought was affected by his outings, actually scored a goal!
For a striker, scoring a goal meant that he was in good form. It was so simple to evaluate a striker. However, they certainly did not expect that in this game, within the Zenit team, Chen Yingxiong's standard for good form was... three goals!
Some people touched their faces involuntarily...
The reporters were all in mixed emotions. The fans didn't care. After Chen Yingxiong scored, they cheered loudly. "Hero--!!"
Russia was a very xenophobic country with a serious history of racial discrimination. But Chen Yingxiong had won the favour of many Zenit already. This showed that Chen Yingxiong had established his position, which was naturally all thanks to the fact that he had scored in every game until now.
"This is his third goal in his third game! Hero is crazy! Where did he come from?" The commentator of St. Petersburg local TV station, Sergeyevsky, also shouted excitedly. "It is rare for an 18-year-old to perform like this! He scored in each of his first three games! I guess we know why he's called Hero!"
This time, after Chen Yingxiong scored the goal, he did not show the number on his back to the camera lens, because he no longer had to do so...
Sergeyevsky vaguely felt that he was witnessing the rise of a star.
…
While the fans of Zenit St. Petersburg were celebrating the goal wildly, the players of Soviet Wings were a little depressed.
Seeing the ball being headed into the goal, Soviet Wings head coach Gadzhiev held his head in his hands, his face full of disappointment.
The other Soviet Wings players stood on the court in a daze. Although the previous situation was precarious, they were able to turn danger into safety every time. Booth and Hussin's defence was excellent, and the opponent's spearhead was completely contained. Who would have thought that the goal would come without any warning...
For them, the goal came without any sign, but for Booth, it was not unexpected. When he collided with Chen Yingxiong in the air again and again, the "bang bang bang" sound of the collision was hammering his heart, like a countdown, reminding him that the danger was approaching.
After falling to the ground with Chen Yingxiong, Matthew Booth did not get up immediately. He turned over on the ground, lying on his back, looking at the clear blue sky and gasping for breath.
This time, he had not retreated, not even a single step. He confronted No. 99 head-on. He successfully knocked his opponent over and was knocked over by the opponent, but he was unable to stop the ball from flying into the goal.
So he still failed.
Central defenders, can't afford to make… even one mistake!
A hand reached out.
Hussin's face appeared before him.
"How about it?"
Booth looked up at the sky. "Good opponent."
"Next time...we'll double-team him!"
Booth took Hussin's hand and got up from the ground.
"Good!"