I Was Nutted!!! (Seeking Recommendation Tickets!)

As the whistle blew, a strange expression appeared on Li Mingyu's face.

[Congratulations to the host for checking in at the La Masia Training Base. Obtained: Iniesta's Croqueta.]

You can check in at a training base too?

Li Mingyu was incredibly excited; this was a brilliant method.

[La Masia Training Base is a unique check-in location and cannot be repeated!]

Tch!

How boring!

I was actually hoping to come here and check in every single day.

What a stingy system.

"Li, receive the ball!"

Midfielder De Jong played a direct ground pass. Li Mingyu tucked his instep, brought the ball to a steady stop at his feet, and immediately accelerated. The defensive player behind him couldn't react in time, and he slipped right past him.

"Beautiful dribble!"

On the sidelines, head coach Koeman looked on in admiration.

Such fluid dribbling movements were truly a feast for the eyes.

However, yesterday's performance had put the opposing players on high alert. As soon as they saw Li Mingyu succeed in his breakthrough, two players immediately stepped up to block him.

Looking at the well-structured defense, if Li Mingyu dared to force his way through, he would certainly be stopped by the players behind.

Koeman had Li Mingyu join the starting lineup today and had set up careful defensive arrangements for the other side, hoping to see Li Mingyu's true level.

Yesterday's match, in truth, held little persuasive power for Koeman.

A hungry young man had faced a fatigued team that had already played for 80 minutes, and by using what was essentially a sneak attack, he had caught them completely off guard.

Huesca had been careless and hadn't reacted.

The main reason was that Huesca knew nothing about Li Mingyu, so after he went on, he threw a flurry of wild punches and knocked them straight to the ground.

Although the process was thrilling, it wasn't convincing enough.

Li Mingyu still needed to prove that he truly possessed the ability to storm the gates.

After all, the next opponent they would face was the currently red-hot Sevilla. Sevilla was currently five points behind Barca despite having played two fewer games.

However, there was good news for Barca: in a match yesterday, Real Madrid faced a challenge from Real Sociedad. After taking the lead, they conceded a goal near the end of the second half and ultimately had to settle for a draw.

This caused Real Madrid to miss the chance to catch up to Barca, and they currently remained three points behind Barca with one game in hand.

By now, Li Mingyu had entered the sights of every team in La Liga. The next opponent, Sevilla, would certainly assign someone specifically to mark Li Mingyu, as the speed he had exposed was actually quite easy to deal with.

Huesca had been stunned in the last match, and their key midfielder had lost his composure, which was what led to Li Mingyu's hat-trick.

Seeing the well-structured defense in front of him, a subtle smile appeared at the corner of Li Mingyu's mouth.

If it were the Li Mingyu of yesterday, facing such a defense, he probably would have only been able to dribble to the wing or pass back to a teammate.

But today, possessing Iniesta's Croqueta, Li Mingyu already had a plan in mind.

Li Mingyu charged toward the defensive players with long, swift strides, just as he had done yesterday.

Koeman frowned slightly and whispered, "Li, you're still too young!"

Defensive midfielder Fernandez saw Li Mingyu charging at him without a care and felt a surge of irritation.

Kid, even if your performance yesterday was brilliant, that's no reason to look down on your master Fernandez.

Fernandez tilted his body slightly, eyes locked firmly on the ball at Li Mingyu's feet, waiting for the moment the opponent made his move.

Li Mingyu quickly arrived in front of Fernandez. He didn't even bother with a feint and prepared to push the ball past Fernandez in one step.

"Kid, I've been waiting for this!"

Fernandez was experienced; he prepared to step across in front of Li Mingyu, intending to use his body to lean into him, slow his acceleration, and coordinate with his teammates to steal the ball.

Fernandez had it all planned out. He had even imagined that if he stole the ball, he would calmly wag his finger at Li Mingyu and say, "Young man, if you want to get past me, wait a few more years!"

Just thinking about it was exhilarating!

Maybe if the head coach saw such a brilliant tackle, he would give him a chance to play in the next match!

Fernandez had blocked the path completely. Just as he was about to lean into Li Mingyu, Li Mingyu suddenly accelerated and blew past Fernandez like a gust of wind.

Fernandez felt as if he had leaned into thin air, stumbled, and crashed straight to the ground.

Such fast speed!

On the sidelines, Koeman covered his forehead with his hand. This idiot—did he forget how that unlucky Garcia dislocated his shoulder yesterday?

After getting past Fernandez, center-back Umtiti was already standing by in full readiness.

The ball rolled between Li Mingyu and Umtiti, and it was closer to Umtiti.

Although Fernandez hadn't stopped Li Mingyu, the defensive system remained. Like a chain, the defense made the ball Li Mingyu had pushed forward look like it was about to be intercepted by Umtiti.

Watching Li Mingyu charge over like a reckless bull, a look of disdain appeared at the corner of Umtiti's mouth. Young man, you've narrowed your own path. Do you think I'm one of those scrub defenders from Huesca?

Let your master Umtiti teach you how to behave!

Umtiti did not stand his ground; the moment Li Mingyu bypassed Fernandez, he had already surged forward two steps.

Watching the ball roll toward him, Umtiti extended his right foot, preparing to clear it away immediately.

But then, a scene that shocked everyone unfolded.

Standing on the sidelines, Koeman widened his eyes, and a Spanish profanity burst straight out of his mouth.

Umtiti's movements seemed to be at 0.5x speed, while Li Mingyu's were at 2x speed, the distance between the two players and the ball shrinking rapidly.

The ball had been closer to Umtiti, but just as his extended foot was about to make contact, he realized with horror that Li Mingyu had already reached the front of the ball.

What kind of god-like speed is this!

However, Umtiti felt his instep touch the ball and his heart steadied. Damn, that scared the hell out of me. I thought I was going to crash. You're fast, sure, but you're still just a tiny bit short!

Li Mingyu pushed his speed to the limit, barely managing to stretch out his left foot to poke the ball.

Umtiti watched in disbelief as the ball slid horizontally right past his instep.

Li Mingyu's right foot followed up in a flash, giving the ball a light touch. After two collisions, the ball obediently passed right through Umtiti's open legs!

I've been nutmegged!