A Midfield Genius Like This Doesn't Deserve to Start?

Leo Kang made a few hand gestures.

His teammates nodded one after another, understanding at once.

They might look down on the mute Chinese kid, but they still had to follow the coaching staff's tactical arrangements. At least they had that much professionalism.

The assistant coach was a little confused.

He hadn't said anything to Leo about a change in tactics.

The kid's gestures seemed to mean, "Pass the ball to me! Keep up the pressing attack!"

Oh no.

The assistant coach hurriedly roared at the players.

Don't listen to him!

But his faint voice was quickly drowned out by the thunderous roar of tens of thousands of fans at Old Trafford.

The match resumed.

Borges took a throw-in.

After Brandt received the ball on the wing, Lingard and Varela immediately closed in on him from both sides.

He instinctively played the ball across to the middle!

Leo gently trapped it underfoot.

In God's Perspective,

he had a complete grasp of every detail on the pitch.

He leaned sharply backward,

using his body to hold off Herrera.

The Manchester United midfielder couldn't get in a single challenge!

Then Leo turned and struck the ball!

Before Fellaini could close in,

Leo sent a long ball over the top!

Then he surged forward.

Herrera rubbed his shoulder in pain. How is this kid so strong?

"Not bad! He can hold his own physically!"

"Beautiful! What a pass!"

The ball spun fiercely

as it dropped precisely into the empty space on Manchester United's right flank!

Son Heung-min accelerated sharply.

The instant he controlled the ball,

he couldn't help thinking, Leo's passes are so easy to play!

He barely needed to adjust.

With one touch, he swept the ball past his marker and cut toward Manchester United's penalty area!

On the touchline,

Van Gaal frowned. "What's going on? Are you sure he came through La Masia? He doesn't have any skill at all!"

The Manchester United manager recalled the Barcelona talents he had promoted years ago. If this had been one of them, he would have used delicate, dazzling footwork to leave Herrera completely bewildered!

Giggs flipped through the notes and murmured, "His vision, his awareness, and that pass all show the quality of La Masia's youth development."

On the other side,

Schmidt and his assistant coach were also a little bewildered.

"The kid was probably just lucky."

"Coach, we should focus on defending now, and on the second leg."

"Damn it, look at him—he's still making hand signals! He's telling the players at the back to push forward!"

On Bayer Leverkusen's bench,

BellArabi looked displeased. "If that mute Chinese kid had any sense, he'd know to cater to us..."

Çalhanoğlu shook his head, his gaze fixed on the pitch.

Of course, Leo couldn't direct the other players to push forward.

He could only direct one man: Kramer.

Son Heung-min charged into the penalty area.

Manchester United's defense collapsed around him.

De Gea didn't rush out. He stood firm on his line.

Blind and Carrick also blocked off his passing lanes!

There was no one to pass to!

Son Heung-min feinted toward the byline, wrong-footing Blind.

Then he whipped his left instep around the ball!

Bang!

The ball rocketed toward the far corner of Manchester United's goal!

"Beautiful!"

"Could this go in?!"

Gasps of amazement rang out from all four stands!

Manchester United center-back Smalling threw himself in front of the shot,

blocking the curling effort with his enormous backside!

Son Heung-min clutched his head in frustration. He was just about to give Leo a thumbs-up.

"What a shame!"

"But Manchester United's danger isn't over yet!"

The ball bounced out of the penalty area

and dropped right to Kramer!

The Bayer Leverkusen defensive midfielder controlled it with his chest.

He drew back his right leg.

Everyone thought he was going to shoot from distance.

Instead, he laid the ball off to the edge of the penalty arc!

Into open space.

A dark-haired figure took three strides forward.

His body leaned at an almost absurd angle!

His left leg swung high!

Like a god descending from the heavens!

It was a shot so flawless that even the most fastidious Premier League pundit couldn't find a single fault with it!

The sound of his instep striking the ball

seemed to hit every Manchester United fan right in the heart.

It rang through the night sky above Old Trafford.

The ball deformed violently,

like a cannonball,

driven by an unbelievable, overwhelming force!

It tore through Manchester United's defense.

A black blur shot through the air,

whistling toward Manchester United's goal!

Instinctive fear slowed De Gea's dive by a fraction!

As the ball slammed into the net,

the Manchester United goal frame shook violently!

2–1!!!

The whole stadium fell silent.

"Incredible!"

"Absolutely terrifying!"

"A thunderbolt from distance!"

"Unbelievable! Leo Kang, the young Chinese player, has scored in his Champions League debut, less than three minutes after coming on!"

"Kramer sets him up, and Leo Kang scores from distance! The gap is down to one, and the match is still in the balance!"

"Bayer Leverkusen have a lifeline!"

"And one more thing: De Gea and Leo Kang were teammates on Spain's National Youth Team. After all this time apart, Leo's way of saying hello was to blast one past him!"

The livestream chat in China

was just as stunned.

[ I thought the highlight reel was fake. That long-range rocket was absolutely insane! Batistuta? ]

[ Brother Leo's shot looks even more powerful than it was in the youth league. ]

[ That shot wasn't even the whole story! Watch the replay: Leo started the attack with that cross-field pass, directed a teammate to make a late run, and then showed incredible positioning before charging in to shoot! A midfield genius like this doesn't deserve to start for Bayer Leverkusen? What the hell is Çalhanoğlu good for? ]

[ Where's the guy who promised to eat thirty pounds of shit on livestream? ]

[ I need to know how much psychological damage De Gea just took. ]

[ How did a midfield genius like Leo Kang end up playing for Spain's National Youth Team? That means he can never represent China in a match! ]

On the touchline,

Van Gaal gaped in astonishment.

Giggs let go of the folder, and it dropped to the ground.

On the other side,

Schmidt felt dizzy.

He hurriedly grabbed his assistant coach by the shoulder. "Damn it, why didn't the coaching staff notice his..."

BellArabi and Çalhanoğlu looked as if they'd just eaten shit.

After a long silence, the DJ at Old Trafford finally announced the scorer's name.

Leo's teammates from Bayer Leverkusen rushed over to him.

But they saw him pick the ball out of the net

and raise a hand to refuse their celebrations.

Son Heung-min stared at him for a moment. "There are still a few minutes left! Leo thinks we can equalize—even take the lead!"

As he spoke,

his teammates followed the young Chinese player and sprinted toward the center circle.

De Gea bent forward slightly, resting both hands on his knees.

He watched the back of Bayer Leverkusen's number 10,

lost in thought.

The match resumed.

Manchester United kicked off from the center circle.

From God's Perspective, Leo couldn't make sense of Van Gaal's tactics.

Manchester United's attack appeared to be built around Fellaini in a "big circle" formation.

But Herrera was the real hub of the attack.

Even Carrick was excellent at distributing the ball from midfield.

So why was Blind the one playing the ball out from the back?

Van Gaal truly was a world-class manager.

The 87th minute.

Leo helped Kramer defend and intercepted Lingard.

Bayer Leverkusen's counterattack

was on again!

Thanks to 0oxiao Jian o0, book friend 160907165010051, and Bu Kuai Hou Hou Hou for the monthly tickets and tips, and thanks to everyone who votes for the book every day.

Thanks to everyone who's offered advice and criticism.

I'll read all your comments carefully.

But my abilities really are limited, and my writing isn't very good.

I hope this book can bring you even a little bit of happiness.