A Brace of Hats, Vengeance Achieved (Seeking Collections, Seeking Recommendations)

Li Mingyu looked with surprise at Lekue, who stood to his front-right, blocking his path to cut inside, and revealed a sneer of disdain.

Because in front of him lay a wide-open, straight path down the flank.

He hadn't expected the opponent to be so arrogant as to concede the entire wing to him.

Li Mingyu didn't bother with feints; he simply accelerated, tapped the ball forward, and gave chase with long, powerful strides.

Seeing Li Mingyu's movement, Lekue also sneered, closing in on him immediately, intending to greet him with a shoulder check to welcome him to San Mames Stadium.

When Li Mingyu saw Lekue closing the distance, he immediately understood the opponent's intent, but since he hadn't reached his top speed yet, he knew that if he were truly latched onto, he would likely be sent sprawling, just as Lekue had done to Dembele earlier.

Li Mingyu adjusted his running line, veering toward his front-left.

Lekue felt his shoulder about to make contact with Li Mingyu and wore a savage grin, preparing to exert force and knock the slender lad off the pitch.

But as he put his weight into the hit, he was horrified to find that Li Mingyu was moving away from him.

Not forward, but to the left.

Lekue's charge merely grazed Li Mingyu's shoulder without making solid contact; Li Mingyu stumbled only slightly before continuing his sprint with long, determined strides.

Lekue, however, was the unlucky one; having poured his entire strength into the attempt, he hit nothing but air—a situation no one could handle gracefully.

Lekue face-planted directly onto the turf, looking utterly humiliated.

On the sidelines, Dembele jumped up from the bench, dancing and waving his arms in celebration.

You grandson, you finally got what was coming to you.

Li, you're truly my brother; you avenged me the moment you stepped on the pitch!

It wasn't just Dembele; the entire Barca bench was roaring with laughter.

This had already become a staple performance for Barca.

Because basically, whenever Li Mingyu played, whether it was an opposing defender or a goalkeeper, someone would inevitably become a victim under his feet, ending up sprawled on the ground.

With Lekue's defense gone, the path in front of Li Mingyu became even wider.

Now, there was no one left who could stop Li Mingyu from cutting inside.

Li Mingyu used the outside of his right foot to push the ball forward, charging toward the half-space of Athletic Bilbao.

Griezmann and Messi also began to sprint wildly, pulling the opponent's defense apart for Li Mingyu.

Athletic Bilbao's center-back Balenziaga rushed over to meet him.

But his defensive positioning was poor, as he had been forced to cover out of position.

Li Mingyu flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot, feinting as if to continue cutting toward the center, which spooked Balenziaga into shifting his center of gravity toward the middle.

Suddenly, Li Mingyu executed a stylish Flip Flap, pulling the ball back, and quickly stepped forward with his left foot to block the ball's return path.

A Flip Flap followed by a Croqueta.

Balenziaga was left stumbling and off-balance, though his strong base allowed him to keep his footing.

But Li Mingyu had already slipped past him and charged into the penalty area.

Li Mingyu surged from the half-space into the box, where only the goalkeeper remained.

Simon, the goalkeeper, let out a roar and rushed out, attempting to close down Li Mingyu's shooting angle.

The familiar scene unfolded.

Li Mingyu's legs flickered over the ball, his body swaying like a Pendulum Dribble.

Simon's legs couldn't react in time, and he sat down on the grass, watching in despair as Li Mingyu dribbled right past him.

He finished it with ease.

This was Li Mingyu's fifth La Liga match, and aside from the previous game against Real Sociedad where he failed to sit the keeper down, in the other four matches, all four goalkeepers had become victims under his feet.

The Pendulum Dribble was a lethal weapon; when facing a keeper, they had no way to judge the move. Even if they knew it was a feint, muscle memory would force them to react against their own brain's command, leading to a misjudgment and leaving them sitting on the ground, staring at the sky.

Back in the day, Ronaldo used this very move to leave countless goalkeepers in regret.

Li Mingyu's brilliant goal naturally couldn't escape the enthusiastic "caresses" of his teammates.

Hair ruffling, back slapping, and butt kicking.

Especially the butt kicking—Li Mingyu could never identify the culprit, and even when he watched the replays after the match, it was hard to spot who was responsible.

0:4, Athletic Bilbao suffered another fatal blow.

This strike shattered the morale of Athletic Bilbao.

What people fear most isn't despair, but being given hope only to have it snatched away.

That was exactly the case for Athletic Bilbao; at the start of the second half, they saw Barca's weakness and hesitation, which ignited their hope of leveling the score.

But Li Mingyu's solo run, dribbling past two defenders and then cleanly rounding the keeper to tap into an empty net, was like taking the faces of everyone on the Athletic Bilbao team and stomping on them repeatedly.

It was truly heart-wrenching!

The match resumed from the center circle.

The Barcelona players clearly sensed that their opponents' morale was plummeting rapidly, to the point where even their defensive challenges lacked their previous aggression.

As the saying goes, there is no room for mercy in the world of football.

With Li Mingyu acting as a fresh force, the entire right flank of the Athletic Bilbao defense became as good as non-existent.

Lekue, having just taken a tumble, was clutching his arm as he was substituted off for treatment.

The new defender brought on, Martinez, was tall but slow to turn, which ultimately made him the breakthrough point for Li Mingyu.

In the 80th minute of the second half, Li Mingyu accelerated in a straight line, bypassed Martinez's defense, and continued to cut inside. At the edge of the penalty area, he unleashed an inswinging curler that sailed past the toes of two center-backs and the fingertips of goalkeeper Simon, striking the inside of the post before bouncing into the net.

0:5, Barca now led Athletic Bilbao by five goals away from home.

This goal completely broke the spirit of Athletic Bilbao.

Their focus was scattered, and their defense lacked coordination.

In the 87th minute, Messi threaded a through ball that pierced through five players, tearing apart the entire Athletic Bilbao defensive line.

Li Mingyu surged in from the flank and received the pass inside the penalty area.

Goalkeeper Simon had no intention of coming off his line.

As long as I don't move, you won't be able to shake me.

Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice.

After receiving the ball, Li Mingyu unleashed a powerful strike, shattering Simon's goal once more.

0:6, both Messi and Li Mingyu had completed their hat-tricks.

Revenge was complete.