Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past him.
Oh no!
Lee Kang-in felt the hand he'd placed on Li Mingyu disappear—and realized Li Mingyu was no longer there.
Lee Kang-in turned around and saw Li Mingyu sprinting wildly down the wing toward the byline, with no defenders anywhere near him.
Valencia's two fullbacks, Gabriel and Correa, had been positioned closer to the center. Since the ball was on the opposite side, they had shifted over as well.
Lee Kang-in had been marking Li Mingyu, so there hadn't seemed to be much of a problem on that side.
But Li Mingyu had accelerated past Lee Kang-in in an instant, catching Valencia's defense off guard.
Messi had a clear view of the field on the other side. Spotting Li Mingyu's run, he sent a long cross-field pass straight to his feet.
Li Mingyu brought the ball under control with ease, without slowing down at all, and immediately cut inside.
Lee Kang-in was hot on his heels, and the two fullbacks were closing in as well.
If Li Mingyu kept pushing inward, he would probably end up surrounded by all three of them.
But to Li Mingyu, the only defenders he had to deal with were the two in front of him. He wasn't even counting Lee Kang-in behind him.
Looking at the two fullbacks' positions, Li Mingyu didn't hesitate for a moment. He pushed the ball forward with the outside of his foot and charged straight at them.
How arrogant!
Did he really think so little of us?
Valencia's back line was furious.
The winger Correa firmly blocked Li Mingyu's route inside, preparing to work with fullback Gabriel to trap him and take the ball away.
As Li Mingyu dribbled at full speed, he suddenly slammed on the brakes, throwing Correa off balance and making him stumble.
But Lee Kang-in was already right behind him. Seeing Li Mingyu's move, Lee Kang-in didn't hold back and charged into him from behind.
Li Mingyu suddenly accelerated again, nudging the ball with the inside of his right foot and continuing toward the byline.
Lee Kang-in crashed into empty space, while Correa had only just regained his balance and couldn't make a second defensive move.
That tiny stop-and-go trick had left both defenders out of position.
Even Li Mingyu could feel his legs going weak. That sudden stop had put a lot of strain on his knees.
He'd have to do that kind of stop-and-start move less often. Just look at what had happened to Ronaldo's knees.
Next, Li Mingyu faced the opposing fullback, Gabriel. A simple Croqueta was enough to make him stumble.
Li Mingyu nudged the ball with the outside of his foot and charged into the penalty area.
The opposing center-backs were pinned down by Griezmann, Messi, and the others. None of them could break away to mark him.
Li Mingyu was one-on-one with the goalkeeper again.
The Valencia goalkeeper came rushing out, swearing under his breath. Li Mingyu made a slow-motion move with his left foot, then his right, and the keeper sank miserably to the ground. Li Mingyu fired a shot and ended his nightmare.
Beneath Li Mingyu's football boots, another goalkeeper's spirit was roaring helplessly.
Seeing his teammates swarm over to celebrate with him, Li Mingyu's scalp prickled. The Butt-Kicking Demon, stay away!
Li Mingyu turned and tried to run, but Griezmann came flying in and didn't care what he wanted. He leaped on him and held him tight.
Let go of me!
Let me go!
I want to be free!
No!
Not my butt!
Sure enough, surrounded by everyone, Li Mingyu suffered the triple assault: a head rub, a slap on the back, and a kick to the butt.
Messi was the most excited. He ruffled Li Mingyu's stylish hair until it looked like a bird's nest, then chuckled, "Li, great job! You fooled another goalkeeper. Are you going to dribble every keeper you ever come up against?"
Barca's goalkeeper, Ter Stegen, was too far away to run over, so he danced by himself in front of the goal to entertain himself.
Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his back. What the hell? Was someone plotting against him?
Ter Stegen gazed at the opposing goalkeeper from afar. He couldn't see the other man's expression, but he couldn't help thinking, Why am I finding this so funny? Hehehe!--
Goalkeepers from all the La Liga teams watching the live broadcast turned dark-faced. Damn it, the Goalkeeper Dribbling Demon was at it again.
Every goalkeeper knew that Li Mingyu would try to dribble past them when he was one-on-one. But knowing that was one thing; in that moment, their bodies and brains seemed to work separately.
Brain: Idiot, he's trying to dribble past you. Don't fall for it!
Body: Damn it, you think I don't know? But I can't control myself!
Li Mingyu's goal completely crushed Valencia's morale.
He'd gone on a solo run and torn through their entire right flank.
Lee Kang-in stared at Li Mingyu's retreating figure, gloom written all over his face, and spat angrily.
Damn it, I was this close to stopping him!
From then on, Barca played with even greater ease.
But with nothing left to lose, Valencia finally showed the class of one of La Liga's top five teams and went on the attack against Barca.
In the eighty-second minute, Valencia launched a long ball from the back, finding Lee Kang-in.
Lee Kang-in brought the ball under control about thirty-five meters from the goal.
There was open space ahead of him, making it a perfect chance for a counterattack.
Lee Kang-in surged forward, dribbling quickly as he watched the positions of his teammates in the middle.
Li Mingyu was still in Valencia's half and couldn't get back in time. All he could do was hope Barca's defense would hold up.
But Barca's back line had barely been tested all game, and had grown a little complacent.
Lee Kang-in accelerated straight past Alba with ease.
In the middle, three Valencia players made well-spaced runs into the penalty area.
Lee Kang-in's pass came at just the right moment.
Valencia's striker, Maxi Gomez, spread his arms like a roc and outjumped Pique, powering a header toward goal.
Ter Stegen stretched out his arm, but couldn't reach the ball. All he could do was watch it fly toward the goal behind him.
Lee Mingyu had felt uneasy the moment Lee Kang-in crossed the ball. When he saw the opposing striker win the header and get off a dangerous shot, he clenched his right fist hard.
The Lucky Bracelet on his right wrist flashed blue and red, unnoticed by everyone.
With a loud clang!
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