A Man Can't Say No (Seeking Collection and Recommendation)

"Oh, he's coming, he's coming, he's coming with the Pendulum Dribble!"

"A beautiful Pendulum Dribble to get past him; Bounou looks like a clown being toyed with."

"That's the second one! After Huesca's goalkeeper was shaken by Li in the last match, this is already the second keeper to fall before him!"

"To all the goalkeepers in La Liga, I hope you can stand firm when facing Li!"

"If Li could shake every goalkeeper in La Liga at least once, what a magical scene that would be!"

"Haha, now that you mention it, I'm wide awake—I can already picture it in my mind!"

Less than ten minutes into the match, Sevilla, playing at home, had already been pumped for two goals by Barca.

Every player on the Sevilla squad was left stunned.

Weren't they saying that Barca was full of internal conflicts this year?

Weren't they saying that since Messi wasn't on the opposing side, they could win?

Liars, you're all liars!

Sevilla's head coach, Lopetegui, turned green; he hadn't expected this number 36 on the opposing team to be so powerful.

Taking advantage of the time before the restart, he hurriedly called his captain and several defensive players over to start frantically giving them instructions.

It must be said that Sevilla's ability to adjust is truly strong.

After the restart, the confusion on the faces of the Sevilla players vanished, replaced by a solemn focus, and their passing became much steadier.

After a few rounds of frantic pressing, the Barca players realized it was ineffective and slowly retreated to their own half; after all, such intense pressing consumes a massive amount of stamina!

About fifteen minutes in, Li Mingyu was already drenched in sweat. He had been the most active in the pressing just moments ago, and the disadvantage in his stamina was suddenly laid bare.

"Oh, it seems our Barca's Li isn't as durable as he looks!"

"Indeed, considering he possesses such high speed, it wouldn't be realistic for him to have great stamina as well!"

"Haha, I reckon both head coaches have already spotted this issue; it's just a matter of how they play this game of chess!"

Indeed, both head coaches had discovered Li Mingyu's problem.

Koeman's expression was somewhat grim; he hadn't expected Li Mingyu's stamina to be this poor. He had only been running for ten minutes and was already gasping for air—how could this possibly work?

Young man, being handsome is useless; if your stamina isn't up to par, nothing else matters!

Lopetegui, meanwhile, wore a fox-like smile. He walked to the edge of the pitch and began directing his team, shifting the focus of their attacks entirely to Li Mingyu's side.

Although Li Mingyu didn't need to participate in defense, the attacking pressure on his flank forced him to track back.

After a few rounds of offense and defense, Li Mingyu felt like his lungs were about to explode.

He was merely a rookie just called up from the reserve team, completely unable to adapt to the intense speed of offense and defense in the top-tier league.

In reserve team matches, a stamina stat of 70 was enough to handle the entire game.

But upon arriving in the top league, the tempo of play had increased several times over. A stamina of 70 was essentially only enough for half a match; even with the halftime break, he would be completely drained within ten to fifteen minutes of the second half.

Basically, in the first team, most players needed a stamina stat above 80 to last past the 80th minute, and only those with stamina above 90 could endure a full match.

In truth, Barca's defense was a major problem this year; among the top five in the league, they had conceded the most goals.

Actually, Sevilla's initial strategy hadn't been wrong: use offense to crush a Barca side missing Messi.

It was mainly because Barca had seized two opportunities early on that they had managed to score two consecutive goals.

As Li Mingyu's stamina dipped and he lost his ability to threaten the Sevilla backline, Sevilla's offensive wave crashed toward Barca like a rising tide.

Li Mingyu knew his stamina was a major issue. Under Koeman's instructions, he had stopped defending and began jogging to recover his energy.

This was equivalent to Barca playing a man down.

For a time, Barca's backfield was in a state of panic; Sevilla's midfield and forwards had pinned Barca within their own thirty-meter zone, leaving them unable to move.

Li Mingyu stood near the center circle, while Griezmann and Dembele had both dropped back to defend.

Sevilla was extremely vigilant, with their two center-backs hanging back to ensure Barca had no opportunity for direct long-ball counterattacks to find Li Mingyu.

Watching his own goal being repeatedly threatened, Li Mingyu gritted his teeth and pounded his thigh.

Train stamina!

That was Li Mingyu's next goal.

Sitting in the stands, Messi shook his head in disappointment. He hadn't expected Li Mingyu's stamina to be this poor; with such conditioning, he could never be a starter for the first team.

A long road ahead!

Koeman's expression was very grave. This match had to be won; Messi would be able to return for the next one, and then the team's attacking line would be complete.

Li Mingyu could be used as a secret weapon, sent on in the second half. This would not only solve his stamina issues but also provide the team with an additional way to attack.

In the thirtieth minute, Barca's backline finally left an opening that the opponent seized. Sevilla midfielder Jordan played a subtle through ball, and striker En-Nesyri charged directly from the flank into the Barca penalty area.

Barca's defenders raised their hands in unison to signal offside, but the linesman did not raise his flag.

En-Nesyri was truly worthy of being Sevilla's top scorer; with a calm low shot, he pierced through Ter Stegen's defenses.

1-2, Sevilla, playing at home, pulled a goal back.

Standing near the center circle, Li Mingyu let out a long sigh.

Due to the injury of the team's main defender Pique, Barca's current backline lacked any chemistry; the offside trap just now failed because the right-back had lagged behind, allowing En-Nesyri to easily charge into the penalty area and score.

Barca's on-field captain, midfielder Busquets, clapped his hands forcefully and said, "Everyone, perk up! We are Barca, we are going to win!"

A phrase that Li Mingyu had blurted out in the previous match had now become something Barca players frequently kept on their lips.

Ter Stegen fished the ball out of the net, threw it hard toward the front court, and shook his head.

Watching the opposition celebrate joyfully, De Jong waved his hand, calling Li Mingyu, Griezmann, and Dembele to his side.

Seeing their team score, the entire Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium erupted into a frenzy.

The fans in the stands were incredibly excited because their team had now begun to press Barca and attack.

In the past dozen years or so, such a situation had never been seen before.

A single Messi had been enough to make the Sevillistas afraid to step even an inch out of line.