Li Mingyu looked in surprise at Lekue, who stood to his front right, blocking his route to cut inside. A disdainful smirk tugged at his lips.
Because right in front of him was a wide-open lane down the wing.
He hadn't expected his opponent to be so arrogant as to give him the entire flank.
Li Mingyu dropped the feints, accelerated at once, and knocked the ball forward with a touch before racing after it in long strides.
Seeing Li Mingyu's move, Lekue smirked too. He closed in, ready to greet Li Mingyu with a shoulder and welcome him to San Mames Stadium.
Li Mingyu knew what Lekue was planning as soon as he came close. But he hadn't reached full speed yet. If Lekue got tight to him, he'd probably be sent sprawling—just like Dembele had been when Lekue brought him down earlier.
Li Mingyu adjusted his running line and started veering to his front left.
Lekue felt his shoulder was about to connect with Li Mingyu's. A cruel grin spread across his face as he prepared to put all his strength into sending the skinny youngster flying.
But when he threw his weight into it, he was horrified to find Li Mingyu moving away from him.
Not forward, but to the left.
Lekue's shoulder clipped Li Mingyu's, but the impact wasn't solid. Li Mingyu stumbled slightly, then continued charging forward in long strides.
But Lekue was the unlucky one. He'd used all his strength and hit nothing. Who could take that?
Lekue went sprawling face-first onto the ground, looking utterly wretched.
Dembele, watching from the Barcelona bench, sprang up and started waving his arms around at the touchline.
You bastard, look at you now!
Li, you're a real brother. You got revenge for me the moment you came on!
And Dembele wasn't the only one. The entire Barcelona bench was in stitches.
It had become a regular feature for Barcelona.
Whenever Li Mingyu came on, whether it was an opposing defender or goalkeeper, someone was bound to end up on the ground at his feet.
With Lekue no longer defending him, Li Mingyu had an even clearer path ahead.
Now no one could stop him from cutting inside.
Li Mingyu nudged the ball with the outside of his right foot and charged toward the right half-space of Athletic Bilbao's defense.
Griezmann and Messi began sprinting too, pulling the opposing defense out of shape to make room for Li Mingyu.
Athletic Bilbao center-back Balenziaga hurried over to meet him.
But he was poorly positioned to defend, since he'd only come over to cover.
Li Mingyu pushed the ball with the outside of his right foot, making it look as if he were cutting farther toward the middle. Balenziaga shifted his weight that way by a fraction.
Then Li Mingyu pulled the ball back with a stylish Flip Flap, quickly stepping forward with his left foot to shield it as it came back toward him.
A Flip Flap, followed by a Croqueta.
Balenziaga was left stumbling in every direction, but his powerful lower body let him keep his footing.
Li Mingyu had already slipped past him and charged into the penalty area.
Li Mingyu stormed in from the half-space, and now only the goalkeeper stood between him and the goal.
Simon roared and rushed out, trying to cut off Li Mingyu's shooting angle.
A familiar scene unfolded.
Li Mingyu's legs swayed twice over the ball, his body rocking from side to side like a pendulum.
Simon's legs couldn't react in time. He dropped onto his backside, watching helplessly as Li Mingyu knocked the ball past him.
A simple finish.
This was Li Mingyu's fifth La Liga match. In all but the previous game against Real Sociedad, when he hadn't managed to send the goalkeeper to the ground, he'd left the opposing keeper sprawled in each of his other four games.
The Pendulum Dribble was a devastating weapon. Goalkeepers had no way to read him. Even if they knew the move was a feint, muscle memory made them react against their better judgment. They guessed wrong, landed on the ground, and stared up at the sky.
Ronaldo had used this very move to leave countless goalkeepers cursing their luck.
After Li Mingyu's spectacular goal, his teammates naturally swarmed him with their enthusiastic affection.
Ruffling his hair, slapping his back, kicking his butt.
The worst was the butt-kicking. Li Mingyu could never figure out who had kicked him, and even when he watched the replay after the match, it was hard to spot the culprit.
0:4. Athletic Bilbao had taken another devastating blow.
The blow crushed the team's morale.
People weren't most afraid of despair; they were most afraid of being given hope, only to have it snatched away.
That was exactly what happened to Athletic Bilbao. At the start of the second half, they'd seen Barcelona weaken and retreat, and hope had flared that they might level the score.
But then Li Mingyu went on a solo run, beat two defenders, left the goalkeeper in the dust, and scored into an empty net.
It was as if he'd placed the faces of everyone on Athletic Bilbao beneath his feet and stomped on them.
Cruelty at its finest!
Play resumed from the center circle.
Barcelona's players could clearly sense the opposing team's morale plummeting. Even their defending had lost its earlier aggression.
As they always said, there was no mercy in the world of football.
With Li Mingyu adding fresh energy, Athletic Bilbao's entire right flank was as good as nonexistent.
After his fall, Lekue had clutched his arm and been substituted to receive treatment.
The new defender, Martinez, was tall, but slow to turn. He became Li Mingyu's next target.
In the 80th minute, Li Mingyu accelerated straight past Martinez, continued cutting inside, and curled the ball with the inside of his foot from the edge of the penalty area. It sailed over the feet of the two center-backs and the fingertips of Simon, struck the inside of the post, and bounced into the net.
0:5. Barcelona now led Athletic Bilbao by five goals away from home.
That goal finally made Athletic Bilbao give up.
Their attention was scattered, and their defense had lost all coordination.
In the 87th minute, Messi threaded a pass straight through five players, slicing open Athletic Bilbao's entire defense.
Li Mingyu charged in from the half-space and received the ball inside the box.
Simon made no move to come off his line.
If I don't move, you can't send me sprawling.
Once was enough. It wouldn't happen twice.
Li Mingyu took the ball and unleashed a powerful shot, beating Simon.
0:6. Messi and Li Mingyu had both scored hat tricks.
Revenge complete.
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