After receiving the pass from Tristan, Eto'o returned the ball and quickly turned to sprint forward.
N'Gonga stopped the ball at his feet but didn't pass it to the wings. Instead, in an unexpected move, he started to dribble forward—his ball control wasn't bad, but due to his age, his physical condition had declined, so he usually didn't make such runs anymore.
The traditional German sweeper tactic emphasizes the surprising forward run of a sweeper, who breaks the opponent's one-on-one defensive formation with a sudden burst, creating a brief local advantage to create scoring opportunities. For a veteran like N'Gonga, who rarely makes attacking runs, such a surprise move still served the purpose of a sweeper breaking forward to assist in an attack.
Guerrero, who was facing N'Gonga, was bypassed. The young Bilbao player wasn't particularly good at defense, and even though he was six years younger than N'Gonga, it didn't matter.
After passing Guerrero, seeing that the defense was slightly disorganized, N'Gonga immediately made the decision to pass the ball back to Eto'o, who had dropped deeper to receive it.
On the training field, the young forward from Cameroon had already shown off his technical ability and speed. Eto'o, with the classic flexibility and physical prowess typical of a black athlete, was a skilled dribbler!
He received the ball, turned, and charged forward!
Bilbao's defensive midfielder, Gurendos, barely had time to react when he saw a shadow flash past him. Eto'o was too quick!
In his mind, Gurendos thought, "How fast!"
Before his brain could catch up, his body reacted instinctively. He quickly turned half a step to try to block Eto'o's path, attempting to push him off balance while reaching for the ball with a sliding tackle!
Eto'o didn't seem very strong, so Gurendos thought his challenge would be enough to throw Eto'o off balance, slowing him down or possibly even intercepting the ball...
However, none of the expected outcomes occurred.
When Gurendos collided with Eto'o, it felt as though there was immense strength hidden in Eto'o's body. He slightly shifted his weight, and his balance was hardly affected. He pushed the ball a step forward, avoiding Gurendos' sliding tackle, then accelerated, leaving the midfielder behind!
Having shaken off the defensive midfielder, Eto'o took two long strides to catch up with the ball, while Tristan did his best to block Bilbao's two defenders, giving Eto'o the space to shoot!
Seeing this, Eto'o no longer hesitated. Even though he could have dribbled into the box, Bilbao's defensive formation had already reorganized, so shooting from here was probably the best option!
As Eto'o sprinted forward, he swung his right leg and powerfully struck the ball!
With a strong flex of his thigh muscles, the ball surged off the ground like an enraged dragon, flying straight toward the top right corner of the goal!
As previously mentioned, Bilbao's defense hadn't fallen apart—which meant there were still enough players in front of Mallorca's goalkeeper, Lafuente, along with Tristan, who was creating constant interference. Lafuente's view of the ball was nearly impossible!
And Eto'o's long shot was almost directly aimed at Tristan!
Eto'o didn't shout for Tristan to dodge, because if he did, the force of the shot would be affected by the release of air from his mouth. Plus, the ball was traveling too quickly for him to have time to shout...
But Eto'o knew Tristan would make the right decision. Over their time together, Eto'o had learned that although Tristan looked like the stereotypical big, muscular guy with little brainpower, his reflexes were quick!
And Tristan's judgment was spot on—when the ball was coming directly toward him, Tristan immediately relaxed his muscles, let go of the two Bilbao defenders he had been wrestling with, and swiftly tilted his body to the right...
The ball, cutting through the air, whistled past his ear. The sound was so sharp it made his eardrum throb, showing just how powerful Eto'o's shot had been!
With that one quick move, Lafuente saw the ball coming straight at him!
However, it was too late—at the distance of 16.5 meters from the goal line, the ball reached the goal in under a second, and in that fraction of a second, the goalkeeper needed to react and perform a save!
Lafuente did react, but as he leapt toward the ball, he realized with despair that he was just short...
Trying his best to extend his arm in midair, he barely brushed the ball with his fingertips—enough to touch it but not enough to keep it from flying past him...
"Hope I can deflect it out for a corner..." thought Lafuente as he began to descend, but then he heard a familiar "whoosh" sound behind him...
Lafuente's heart sank instantly!
The stands fell silent!
Hundreds of Mallorca fans erupted into a roar from a corner of the stadium...
In that moment, the world seemed to freeze—there was the jubilant Mallorca fans jumping up, Bilbao fans holding their heads in disbelief, Fernandez with his mouth agape, Eto'o still in the motion of shooting, and Lafuente descending to the ground...
José raised his arms wide and let out a loud yell!
Everything came to life again, with Mallorca fans jumping in ecstasy, Bilbao fans holding their heads in anguish, Fernandez with a bitter expression, and Lafuente crashing heavily to the ground...
Eto'o pulled his shot and, arms outstretched, ran to the sideline where he was greeted by José with an embrace!
"Well done, Samuel!" José cheered as he patted Eto'o's back. Eto'o had shown his worth by scoring in under two minutes after coming on as a substitute!
Although this wasn't the typical kind of goal you'd expect from Eto'o, José was sure that with such a start, Eto'o would continue to contribute his trademark goals, bringing a refreshing style of attack to Mallorca!
Without a doubt, this goal was incredibly important both for Eto'o and for the match!
Though Eto'o was a free loan, with half his salary covered by Real Madrid, if a newly signed striker couldn't score regularly, it would hinder his career development. Now that Eto'o had scored, especially coming on as a substitute when the game was tied, his future at Mallorca looked much brighter!
And for the match, this goal, coming just two minutes after the equalizer, was equally crucial!
If Guerrero's earlier goal had shifted the momentum toward Bilbao, this goal, which gave Mallorca the lead again, firmly tilted the balance back toward the home team!
There was no doubt about it!
Having just escaped a dangerous situation and seeing hope of victory, Bilbao's morale took a huge blow just two minutes later when Eto'o unleashed a world-class shot from distance. It was like pouring a bucket of ice-cold water over someone full of heat—it chilled them to the bone!
The blow from this goal was even worse than being behind the whole game!
Though Bilbao kept attacking with renewed energy under Guerrero's leadership, Mallorca, bolstered by their experienced veterans, took control, pressing Bilbao into their own half, knowing it was the perfect moment to strike a fallen opponent...
And so, despite their aging legs, Mallorca's veterans managed to suppress Bilbao, and with the latter's attacking players also tired from earlier efforts, Mallorca's defense wasn't too worried about counterattacks. They aimed to extend their lead before it was too late!
78th Minute, Mallorca Seals the Victory!
With Bilbao retreating to a defensive position, Eto'o drifted out of the box, and N'Gonga immediately passed the ball to him.
Stankovic was better at crossing and wing play, while Ibagasa, like him, excelled at wing runs. But this loaned player might be the key to breaking the deadlock through the middle...
Eto'o didn't disappoint. He received the ball and immediately dribbled toward the box with determination!
Speed, change of direction, breakthrough!
Eto'o stormed into the box and fired a left-footed shot on his first touch!
The ball was blocked by a Bilbao defender's desperate lunge, sending it high into the air. Tristan, waiting for the rebound, leaped to head the ball toward goal, but Lafuente managed to deflect the header, pushing it back into the penalty area. As Bilbao defenders lined up for the clearance, a small figure appeared in the box, quickly sticking out a leg to poke the falling ball...
"GOOOOAL! It's in! 3-1! The goal is by Ariel Ibagasa! The Argentine, the shortest player on the field, got to the ball first in the crowded box! This goal was similar to Guerrero's earlier strike, but it has delivered an even heavier blow to Bilbao... Mallorca is winning for sure!"
The small Argentine ran in celebration as his teammates chased after him, excited for this hard-earned victory, one of José's most difficult since taking charge, but now sweetened by success.
José raised his hand high, showing four fingers—he had maintained his winning streak since taking over!
But what excited him even more was the proof that his decision to bring in Eto'o was the right one.
The cheetah from Cameroon had finally roared in Mallorca!