Chen Anno's Number One Henchman

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The whistle sounded. Chen Anno began his run-up, planting his left supporting foot about twenty centimeters from the ball, his left hand rising as his right leg swung through.

The inside of his right foot slammed hard into the ball!

The ball almost skimmed Andre's scalp as it cleared the wall, lifting a few strands of his hair, drawing an arc through the air as it flew straight toward the upper-right corner of the goal.

In front of the goal, Cassio threw himself into a desperate save, stretching his body out with everything he had as he watched the ball grow larger and larger in his eyes.

"Just a little closer... just a little closer..." Cassio hated only that his right arm could not grow a few more centimeters.

Then that damned sound reached his ears again. He did not even need to look to know the ball was in.

"Beautiful!! Beautiful!! Beautiful!!"

Li Batian's voice cracked outright as he shouted, jumping up from his chair.

"A brace!! Chen Anno is fucking awesome!!"

"That free kick was just too fucking incredible! The curve, the power, the angle—flawless. It was like I was seeing Beckham put on a Sao Paulo jersey!!"

The entire Morumbi Stadium fell into madness once more. As Chen Anno ran, he even saw fans holding up a cartoon portrait of him, with his name written on it.

[He can dribble, he can pass, he can shoot, and he even has an exquisite free kick. Most importantly, he's only seventeen. A Chen Anno like this actually couldn't get a game for us these past two years!!!!]

[Heh... not only could he not get a game for two years, he even paid money, and those sons of bitches still thought Chen Anno hadn't paid enough, so they just wouldn't let him play!]

[All right, brothers, just watch the match properly. Stop bringing up all that messy stuff. Isn't Chen Anno doing pretty well now?]

[Exactly! I support Chen Anno. I hope once he leaves, he never comes back. Best if he joins the Brazil team and plays in the World Cup next year.]

[The brother upstairs is right. Support Chen Anno. No matter where he plays, we'll support him!]

Chen Anno's brace helped Sao Paulo take a two-goal lead at home. He had already become the hero of this match.

Very soon, the first half ended. With the score at 2–0, the Sao Paulo players walked into the players' tunnel with relaxed smiles on their faces.

In the stands, Sao Paulo fans set off fiery-red fireworks, as if they were celebrating the team's victory in advance.

Inside the home team's locker room.

As soon as Ramalho came in, he praised Chen Anno's outstanding performance in the first half. "Beautifully done, Anno, especially that final free kick. Your training results showed."

Beside him, the old captain Ceni handed him a bottle of mineral water and also patted him on the shoulder with a proud look on his face.

Lucio also came over then. "Kid, well done! But in the second half, you need to be extra careful. This is a derby. Corinthians aren't that easy to deal with. In the second half, they'll definitely give you special attention. Remember the body-contact techniques I told you about before. Don't get injured."

"I understand." Chen Anno unscrewed the cap and took a small sip of water. "I'll be careful."

After the short rest, the second half between the two sides quickly began.

The two teams switched ends and resumed play, and Corinthians were the first to make a substitution.

No. 7 Pato replaced No. 20 Danilo, and Corinthians also changed their formation to 4-3-3.

"Eh... brothers, Pato has come on. Does anyone still remember this former Milan golden boy? This is the player who created the fastest goal in Champions League history."

Although this former golden boy's form had declined badly, he was still, after all, a player who had made a name for himself at a European giant.

Clearly, Corinthians were going to start attacking with everything they had in the second half.

Sure enough, as soon as the second half began, Corinthians launched a fierce assault.

In the 53rd minute of the match.

Pato dropped back to receive the ball and played it out to the right flank. Romarinho broke through down the wing, then sent the ball into the penalty area.

Guerrero got there before Rafael and snapped a header at goal. The ball flew past Ceni's outstretched fingers and into the far corner of the net.

2–1!

Corinthians pulled one back!

"Hiss... this is bad! The second half has only just started, and Corinthians have already pulled one back. Looking at this attacking momentum, who knows if Sao Paulo can hold on?!" Li Batian sounded rather worried.

Sure enough, after pulling one goal back, Corinthians seemed to be injected with adrenaline, wave after wave madly charging at Sao Paulo's defensive line.

During this stretch, center-back Lucio and goalkeeper Ceni were run ragged. For a veteran past thirty-five and another past forty, it really was making things difficult for them.

Seeing the team's defensive pressure increase sharply, even Chen Anno had no choice but to drop back and take part in defending.

Although they were very passive, while defending, Chen Anno was also constantly looking for chances to counterattack.

Especially when Corinthians pressed forward in force—if they could find a chance to launch a counter, they would definitely snuff out the opponent's momentum in an instant.

Hard work paid off. Finally, in the 70th minute of the match, Chen Anno spotted his chance and successfully intercepted Sheik's pass.

"Eh... beautiful tackle, Chen Anno... gives it to the right, Sao Paulo's counterattack!" Li Batian instantly perked up.

Jadson received Chen Anno's pass and sprinted wildly all the way down the wing. Because Corinthians had been pressing relatively high during this period, their backfield was extremely empty.

"Jadson... Old Jia... pick up the pace a little... Old Jia really doesn't have our Chen Anno's speed... eh... still good, Old Jia has cut inside..."

"Old Jia, pass it!! Beautiful!!"

"Fabiano in the middle... shoot, beautiful!!"

"3–1!"

"What do you say, brothers? Am I, Old Li, awesome or not?"

The livestream chat went wild, spamming "Old Li is awesome" and "Old Li 666."

Li Batian was beside himself with excitement. Sao Paulo had finally stretched the score to 3–1 through a counterattack, helping him make good on the brag he had just thrown out.

The fans in the stands were just as fired up. Over on the south stand, fiery red fireworks had already swallowed up more than half the terrace.

"Brothers, credit where it's due—Chen Anno's performance today is absolutely world-class. He's been flawless on both ends, attack and defense. Nothing else to say. From now on, I, Li Batian, am Chen Anno's number-one lackey... uh... no, number-one fan!"

After finally pulling one back, only to be knocked back to reality by another counterattack, Corinthians naturally refused to accept it.

They kept attacking like mad, repeatedly bombing balls into Sao Paulo's penalty area.

But Sao Paulo had gradually begun to get used to their opponent's rhythm, and with their morale now up, they stood united and kept their defensive line impregnable.

In particular, after Chen Anno dropped back into his own half, several of his accurate long passes added a great deal of threat to Sao Paulo's counterattacks.

If Fabiano's ability to seize chances had not been so hard to talk about, the score might have long since stopped being 3–1.

So with Chen Anno dropping back, Corinthians simply did not dare push their formation too far up.

Soon, the match reached the 85th minute.

Ramalho made a substitution, bringing Aloisio on for Chen Anno, letting him enjoy the fans' cheers on his own.

"Holy shit! Sao Paulo have taken Chen Anno off. Looks like they're trying to protect this 3–1 scoreline."

When Chen Anno walked off the pitch, the entire Morumbi Stadium erupted in thunderous applause, chanting his name in unison. This was the fans' absolute recognition of the 17-year-old boy.

In the 93rd minute, the referee blew the final whistle.

Sao Paulo defeated the visiting Corinthians 3–1, taking the initiative in the first leg of the Recopa Sudamericana.

In this match, Chen Anno was named Man of the Match thanks to his two goals, while also maintaining his record of scoring in five consecutive matches.