Chapter 85 — Scaring Off Hazard by Sacrificing Xia Qi — That Move Was Brilliant
Beep!!!
The match continued.
After the restart, Bayern still didn't play with both wings flying; they continued to advance slowly and deliberately.
The advantage of this approach was the compact three-line formation, making it hard for Arsenal to hit them on the break.
In short, it was Xia Qi's reputation for "one-man runs every match" that made Bayern wary.
Bastian Schweinsteiger crossed the halfway line and handed the command to Toni Kroos, whose first touch was a "deadly delivery."
The ball skidded along the turf at pace into the space behind Per Mertesacker like a scalpel — piercing Arsenal's entire defensive line.
At the same moment,
Thomas Müller timed his run perfectly, making a single-player break, but instead of shooting he played a diagonal pass from the left side of the box toward the far post.
"Müller!"
"Ah! Didn't shoot."
"Cross!"
"Mario Mandžukić!"
A huge roar rose in the Allianz Arena.
Amid the cheering, Mario Mandžukić and Per Mertesacker sprinted toward the ball from different directions.
Mandžukić charged from the center toward the far post, while Mertesacker moved from the left of the box toward the same post.
Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez shifted quickly to his left.
The three raced against the clock,
stirring adrenaline in everyone at the Allianz Arena.
Mertesacker judged that Mandžukić was faster and changed tactics, moving closer to the keeper to form a corner of coverage.
That way, when Mandžukić reached the ball five meters from the right post, the shooting angle would be tiny.
"Oh! That angle's tiny."
"Müller made it too complicated — he might as well have tried the blind shot himself."
Mandžukić stopped the ball and struck —
the shot was quick but from a very narrow angle. For Emiliano Martínez this kind of attempt was manageable; he gathered it into his arms.
"Mandžukić shoots!"
"Martínez gets down on his knees and grabs the ball."
"Arsenal's defensive action on that sequence was solid. Mertesacker and Martínez formed a corner and Mandžukić's shot went straight into Martínez's hands."
"This was Müller's fault — he should have shot."
Mandžukić clasped his head in regret at failing to pull his side level. Though he didn't score, he ignited the atmosphere.
Bayern fans clapped and stamped rhythmically; the odd-numbered stands chanted "Bayern" and the even-numbered stands answered "Forward!"
Seventy-five thousand people interacting instantly filled the fortress with menace.
That roar provided endless energy to the Bayern players, and three minutes later they came back again.
Arjen Robben received a pass from Bastian Schweinsteiger and started to fly down the right flank.
Robben was in the air while Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, and Kieran Gibbs chased on the ground; Arsenal's left side left him unchecked.
At the right of the box, facing Samuel Umtiti's defense, Robben rolled his body to create a shooting angle and curled a shot in the shape of a giant letter "C."
The ball was struck high — at first glance it looked like a high, wasteful loft — but at its apex it suddenly dipped toward the far corner.
Like a falling-leaf shot,
but not quite as light; it dropped fast, as if someone at the top had thrown the ball toward the far post.
Fortunately, Emiliano Martínez has the makings of a top-class keeper. At the crucial moment he dove and, as the ball threatened to cross the line, he just managed to parry it away.
Because it happened so suddenly, Martínez's only aim was to get a hand to it.
The ball's second bounce wasn't ideal; it flew toward Mandžukić.
Samuel Umtiti rushed to challenge Mandžukić. Mandžukić leapt and, although he got to the ball, Umtiti's interference sent it toward the stands.
That attack made the Allianz Arena erupt further — Bayern fans' cheers rose wave after wave, spurring the Bayern players and rattling Arsenal's nerves.
Martínez distributed from the goal kick; Jack Wilshere didn't rush the attack and played a few passes with the back line.
This was a calculated move.
After exchanging a few opinions, Toni Kroos decided to press forward.
Wilshere saw Kroos and Schweinsteiger closing in on him and then played the pass forward.
He and Xia Qi cooperated with great understanding, giving Xia Qi some lead time.
Xia Qi rewarded that trust. At the moment of the pass he instinctively burst forward.
While Schweinsteiger pressed up, Javi Martínez kept an eye on Xia Qi, but when Xia Qi launched he was half a beat slow.
Just like everyone knows Robben will cut inside but can't stop him, Javi Martínez knew Xia Qi would make a forward run but still couldn't stop him.
Lahm quickly moved up to mark Xia Qi.
Xia Qi didn't act like a straightforward opponent — he feinted while decelerating, pretending a move, but didn't actually perform it; instead he nutmegged his defender.
In an instant, Lahm froze in place, mortified.
Where's my 40-meter blade now?
Cutting into the box, Xia Qi shook Dante to the point of wobbling, forcing Jérôme Boateng to abandon his central marking of Mario Balotelli and come to help.
Boateng shifted to cover, leaving Balotelli suddenly one-on-one with the keeper.
In AI mode Xia Qi had no hero complex; he opted for the statistically highest-percentage chance and passed the ball to Mario Balotelli.
"Chance!"
"Xia Qi is so alert."
"What vision!"
"Balotelli is through one-on-one."
For a moment,
everyone thought Arsenal would make it 2–0. Many Bayern fans sagged, deflated, slumped in their seats.
The raucous Allianz Arena went quiet in an instant like a study hall being reprimanded — shocked silence.
But tonight, Xia Qi had set a bad precedent.
Balotelli, with the ball, trapped it and tried to use his heel to flick it up from his back so the ball would loop over his head and toward goal.
In simpler terms: a scorpion kick!
He'd been inspired by Xia Qi's earlier goal.
Normally a scorpion kick is finished by the shooter leaping high and executing the final motion, but Balotelli wanted to create the pass and finish it himself — a far more difficult and unnecessary maneuver.
At his peak Balotelli was powerful and fast, but this delicate touch belonged only to Ronaldinho or the overpowered Xia Qi — no ordinary player could pull it off, certainly not Balotelli in this moment.
What unfolded stunned everyone.
Balotelli's heel flick failed to lift the ball; it flew backward and struck David Alaba in the face.
Alaba was bewildered,
Balotelli was bewildered,
Arsène Wenger was bewildered,
the fans were bewildered.
After a collective gasp the Allianz erupted once more into joy.
On the pitch,
Xia Qi sprinted for the ball.
Alaba, face streaked with blood and tears, saw a blue flash charging at him and, without thinking, booted it toward the touchline — a clearance.
But that clearance was calculated into the AI, as if it were a pass to Xia Qi. Xia Qi met the incoming ball with a flying bicycle kick.
On the Penguin live stream, viewers saw Xia Qi set up Balotelli with a pass. Zhan Jun applauded; a forward who can both score and create is a true striker.
Then Balotelli attempted his flashy move,
and all anyone could do was exclaim.
If Balotelli could be flashy and glorious like Xia Qi, that would be artistry; but...
Zhan Jun's reaction represented most Arsenal fans' feelings.
However, the attack wasn't over. Xia Qi extended the play, following up his pass with an overhead bicycle kick in the box.
"Xia Qi!"
"There's still a chance!"
"Bicycle kick!"
The Bayern fans who had been laughing at Balotelli fell silent.
In the box the Bayern players watched Xia Qi burst through the crowd. No one got to him in time; when they scrambled to close at his leap it was already too late.
A thunderous strike!
The ball flew like lightning toward goal.
Manuel Neuer reacted reflexively and made a world-class save, tipping the ball onto the crossbar.
It was a goalkeeping save of the highest order.
Neuer leapt up and thundered at Boateng, Dante, Lahm and others, furious.
Xia Qi watched Neuer's spit land on Lahm's face and, at that moment, wanted to ask who was captain.
Veteran coach Jupp Heynckes also rushed to the touchline. Like Neuer, he was furious at the defenders for that last line of defense before the whistle; captain Philipp Lahm was sprayed with spittle yet again.
The whistle hadn't sounded — the battle continued.
It's something even U-16 sides understand, but Lahm and others had been celebrating prematurely; they almost caused a disaster.
0–1 and 0–2 are two very different outcomes.
"Beautiful!"
"Oh! Neuer to the rescue — world-class goalkeeper performance."
"Neuer and the old boss are furious."
"Sure. A team like Bayern shouldn't make such a basic error, but Balotelli was too giddy."
"Wenger will be blowing a fuse."
On camera,
Wenger came to the sideline.
In the break while the referee awarded Arsenal a corner, Wenger called Balotelli and Xia Qi to the touchline.
Xia Qi thought he was done for; still in match mode, he felt unable to defend Balotelli.
Surprisingly, Wenger didn't mention Balotelli's flashy attempt at all. Instead he tore into Xia Qi, berating him for not finishing cleanly on his last goal — even though it went in — and said there would be punishment.
After the match, demotion to the reserves for a week…
Balotelli stood to the side with a look that said ordinary mortals wouldn't understand. He had already prepared his defense.
Sure enough, after reprimanding Xia Qi, Wenger turned to Balotelli: "Your forward runs were good; you're excellent. You made the same mistake as Xia Qi.
Your penalty will be accepted by Xia Qi, so Xia Qi, you will spend two weeks in the reserves before you return. When you get back to London, pack your bags and report to the reserves."
Wenger's punishment stunned both Balotelli and Xia Qi...
Balotelli blinked those large, contrasting eyes — he didn't know whether he was being respected or favored in Wenger's view.
Xia Qi walked expressionless toward Bayern's penalty area. After a moment's thought he couldn't help but admire the old hand's cunning.
Mourinho and Mancini couldn't have pulled that off; Wenger knew he couldn't change Balotelli but he could control him.
The method was simple:
When Balotelli erred, punish his closest friend — Xia Qi.
Xia Qi thought this tactic would be very effective.
Balotelli grew up in a discriminatory environment with few friends, so he treasured family and friends unusually much.
Punishing Xia Qi rather than Balotelli would restrain Balotelli more.
At that moment Balotelli's ashamed, regretful expression proved the trick worked.
Xia Qi had to admit: brilliant! Truly brilliant!
But why did it have to be him that got sacrificed???
Charge extra for this!
Online, fans erupted...
"Someone tell me what just happened? Why not shoot? Is Balotelli an undercover agent?"
"Don't shout — Balotelli's done crazier. Remember that Marseille-turn finish?"
"You have to admit, Wenger's patient. Mancini might have subbed Balotelli off on the spot, but Wenger let him stay."
Fans didn't realize Wenger stood on the shoulders of Mourinho and Mancini.
He learned from both legendary coaches, taking a different approach: praise and affirmation, and using friendships as constraints...
"What a pity for Xia Qi's lovely pass."
"And Xia Qi's bicycle kick too — I have an ominous feeling. If Balotelli and Xia Qi miss the chance to extend the lead, they'll be damned..."
"Ptooey! Just ptooey!"
"If Arsenal still exits at the UCL last 16, then well deserved!"
"..."
The match continued.
Wilshere swung the corner.
Balotelli headed — almost prying the ball from Neuer's fingers.
"This is bad, the bad feeling's getting stronger..."
"Shut up, boost Bayern!"
On the pitch,
Neuer rolled the goal kick out.
Bayern continued to press forward deliberately, as if they weren't the team behind.
After several passes, Bayern pinned Arsenal out near the top of the box.
Toni Kroos began to "unsheathe the knife." Under Kroos and Schweinsteiger's orchestration, Bayern's midfield and front constantly shifted positions.
Santi Cazorla fouled Müller on the left edge of the box, and the referee awarded Bayern a dangerous free kick.
It was an excellent spot — only 18 meters from goal — the kind of distance that has produced many classic free-kick goals.
Balotelli jumped back into the wall; Xia Qi waited near the center circle for the counter.
Kroos noticed Arsenal hadn't put someone lying behind the wall, so he took a low shot.
A cunning strike!
The ball slid under the jumping wall,
struck Balotelli's foot and changed direction.
In front of goal, Martínez saw the ball slip under the wall and dived — but the deflection changed its path. He could only watch helplessly as it flew into the net.
Martínez was stunned,
Balotelli was stunned,
Xia Qi was stunned,
Wenger was stunned...
It was for real — Balotelli was an undercover agent!
On the pitch, Bayern fans and players froze a moment, then erupted into ecstatic joy.
Allianz Arena went mad;
Bayern fans had waited a long time for this moment...
They waved everything they had — flags, scarves...
Kroos was mobbed and pinned to the turf by his teammates amid a pile of joyous players.
Even Jupp Heynckes could hardly contain himself, embracing his assistants enthusiastically...
1–1!
Bayern had finally equalized.
(END CHAPTER)
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