Chapter 159: This Killer Can Sniper from Distance
The ball popped out and Luke Shaw rushed forward with a huge clearance.
The ball flew into Manchester United's half. A yellow flash and a red flash sprinted together toward the ball's landing spot.
"...Luke Shaw's pass — he's still looking for the Xia Qi zone. Arsenal on the counter!"
"Ryan Giggs is chasing the ball too. Oh, Giggs... haha... Giggs is resorting to his old tricks. That Welsh sports car is aging — he can only stop Xia Qi with those methods..."
On the pitch,
seeing Xia Qi ready to bolt away, Ryan Giggs, in desperation, grabbed the hem of Xia Qi's shirt.
Xia Qi didn't collapse with the pull; he practically carried on running as if unaffected.
Giggs froze for an instant — let go and it's embarrassing, don't let go and it's embarrassing.
He steeled himself, threw caution to the wind, and clung to Xia Qi's shirt like he'd lost his dignity.
Then, a jaw-dropping scene happened.
Whether Giggs was too weak or the Arsenal shirt was just too well made,
on the pitch, Ryan Giggs was literally dragged along by Xia Qi.
A tractor!
Literally: one drags, one pulls! "Ji" is an onomatopoeic sound — the scrape noise of something rubbing on the turf.
The referee had the whistle in his mouth but did not blow it; he was right not to, advantage to the attack.
Old Trafford erupted!
Many long-time Red Devils had tears in their eyes and howled in outraged grief!
Once upon a time the Class of '92's Ryan Giggs was hailed as the left-wing deity; now the once-flying left winger couldn't even fly and had fallen to fouling in defense.
The saddest part — the foul didn't even stop anything!
Poor white hair!
Xia Qi charged on; Giggs, refusing to let go, had been pulled to the ground. The merciless Xia Qi didn't stop — he stomped the accelerator and sprinted two or three more meters. Giggs finally ran out of strength and loosened his grip; feeling suddenly light, Xia Qi shot off like an arrow released from a bow.
[Although I support Xia Qi, seeing Giggs being dragged and faceplanting still pains me — the old general's hair has turned white, heroes fade.]
[So brutal, inhumane. Will Giggs be left with a lifetime psychological shadow?]
[Advantage to the attack; what did Xia Qi do wrong? Of course Giggs defending his best isn't wrong either. The mistake was the superb quality of that shirt — it held on so well. Will sales go up? One tiny question: where can I buy the same kit domestically?]
[This proves that choice is more important than effort. If Giggs had grabbed the trousers instead...]
[Pervert!!! Too bad he didn't grab the trousers...]
Giggs's effort was not entirely wasted.
After shaking off Giggs, Xia Qi lost the one-on-one chance with the keeper.
Nemanja Vidić and Phil Jones had both tracked back.
At this stage the match was a close-quarters contest.
Vidić and Jones showed no mercy; without hesitation they slid in directly at Xia Qi.
Xia Qi was decisive too: you slide, I pass!
The ball arced over Phil Jones's body and flew toward the byline.
After releasing the pass, Xia Qi leaped over Jones's thigh and chased the ball with all his might.
Elsewhere, Mario Balotelli, Kevin De Bruyne and Serge Gnabry made runs — the first two in the center one after the other, Gnabry sprinting down the right.
"Xia Qi has passed to the version of himself three seconds in the future. If he can catch up with the ball and deliver the cross, Arsenal will be numerically superior in Manchester United's penalty area."
Amid United fans' jeers and curses as people fell, Xia Qi tore down the left flank like a whirlwind, and before the ball crossed the byline he swung in the cross.
The ball flew into the United penalty box with a rapid, exaggerated arc.
David de Gea, preparing to catch, instantly recognized the curve trick and decisively stepped back two paces.
Sure enough!
The ball didn't dip into the near net but eerily flew to the far post.
De Gea judged correctly,
but of what use was that??
At the far post Mario Balotelli bowed and shot — a narrow-angle volley.
De Gea dove to block instantly.
But the ball was too fast and the shooting distance too close; in the end De Gea still couldn't reach it.
"Goal!"
"What a dramatic scene — Manchester United were on the attack and suddenly Arsenal struck on the counter. Xia Qi assisted Balotelli for the goal. Arsenal lead 2–1 and have turned it around."
"Although Balotelli scored, the most spectacular moment was Xia Qi dragging Giggs in his run..."
After the referee ruled the goal valid he strode toward Giggs.
Manchester United's players groaned inwardly; Wayne Rooney hurried to the referee and pleaded, "Ref, this is a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding??" The referee smiled and pointed to the drag marks on the turf.
Rooney cursed silently: bastard!
The epithet, of course, was aimed at Xia Qi — the humanoid monster!
Seeing the long evidence, Rooney dropped the argument and put on a smile, praying with his hands: "Ref, he's sorry, give a verbal warning and it won't happen again."
The referee brushed past Rooney. "You tell me how to do my job?" He then produced a yellow card.
United breathed a collective sigh of relief — a yellow was acceptable.
By the letter of the laws it could even have been a red card, because Giggs at that moment was effectively the last man.
Sir Alex Ferguson on the touchline was not pleased; he barked at the fourth official, "Why only a yellow? They've scored. If it were our foul the goal would be ruled out."
The fourth official, all business, replied, "Sir, if you wish to protest the decision you may file an appeal with the FA."
Ferguson grumbled and stalked back to the dugout. What riled him wasn't just the yellow but the 1–2 scoreline — after ten league games United were eighth, ten points behind Arsenal, and a defeat here would make their title hopes vanish.
The stadium LED replayed the "tractor" clip. That image had more impact than the goal.
Seeing Giggs dragged along like a dead dog, Old Trafford went ballistic; Xia Qi's eighteen generations of female relatives were all insulted in turn...
Arsenal fans were, of course, feeling quite different...
[Tsk tsk, Giggs pulled hard. If Xia Qi had been a flimsy kid he'd have been toppled. ]
[If someone says Xia Qi's as strong as "Old Nine" (a nickname), show me — does Nine have this strength?]
[This moment will become a "grave memory" — something one never wants to recall.]
…
The match continued. In the final six minutes of the first half neither side scored.
When the halftime whistle blew, Sir Alex Ferguson stalked into the players' tunnel with a thunderous face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, halftime. Manchester United trail Arsenal 1–2 at Old Trafford."
"If United can't turn this around in the second half, Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement plans may have to be postponed."
"This match has actually seen United play quite well, just poor finishing. Xia Qi's overall performance wasn't great — perhaps his worst since debut — yet both of Arsenal's goals are related to him, so calling him out of form isn't quite right..."
...
In the visitors' dressing room
Arsène Wenger: "In the first half we played well. I saw everyone's effort, especially during those ten-odd minutes when Xia Qi disappeared."
Laughter of good spirit echoed in the dressing room.
Mario Balotelli, who got on best with Xia Qi, laughed loudest: "Back in the day Xia Qi used to take us flying. Now we should be taking him flying..."
Xia Qi grew anxious. Who flew whom was irrelevant, but he worried Wenger might sub him.
"Boss, tonight I'm the assassin — I'll hide myself. It's a completely different style... please don't substitute me."
Who was he kidding? No one believed him!
"This is Old Trafford. Ferguson will not accept defeat, and they can't afford to. So in the second half they'll be even crazier. Xia, I need you to help defensively; we need to see you in more positions."
Xia Qi went pale — asking a stealth player like Nie Yinniang to defend was a tall order.
Seeing the usually invincible Xia Qi's face screwed up, everyone relaxed and laughter filled the room.
God, what kind of friends have I made?!
…
The second half began. United did indeed become crazier, and prepared Arsenal met them in open trading of blows.
Both sides from the restart engaged with bayonet-like intensity.
"The second half is fierce. Both teams have simultaneously increased their fight for midfield control. Physical challenges keep occurring; every touch is far from perfect, nearly all completed amid jostling and bumping."
In the 48th minute Patrice Evra made a late run to the back post and crossed; Wayne Rooney's header was collected by Emiliano Martínez.
Two minutes later Arsenal replied. Serge Gnabry burst down the flank and cut inside; the ball was booted away from Jones clearing it out of the box.
In the 56th minute Kevin De Bruyne dribbled through the middle and was intercepted by Michael Carrick, who was sharp and quick and poked the ball out to Patrice Evra overlapping on the flank.
Evra quickly drove to the byline before Serge Aurier's tackle, and threaded a diagonal pass.
The ball found Per Mertesacker's back; Robin van Persie, like a pouncing leopard, darted forward.
Offside trap beaten, one-on-one with Martínez.
Old Trafford sounded an early roar of triumph. Many United fans were already on their feet, fists clenched, ready to celebrate van Persie's goal with their three-finger salute.
On the pitch,
Martínez abandoned his line; van Persie took the ball, feinted and lofted a chip. The ball struck the crossbar.
"Oh! Captain Van Persie, oh Captain Van Persie!"
"Van Persie without a control touch is the Captain; with the touch he's just Van Persie!"
The match went on. De Bruyne again collected centrally; Carrick again attempted to pounce, but this time De Bruyne didn't give him the chance and threaded the ball sideways to shift possession.
Mikel Arteta got on the ball but was intercepted by van Persie — they were former teammates and knew each other well.
Van Persie didn't rush his strike. He waited until Arteta attempted to drive; then he surged, used his shoulder to shove Arteta aside and completed the tackle.
"Nice counter-press."
"Van Persie is particularly lively tonight — playing the old club spikes his adrenaline..."
In midfield Wayne Rooney shouted, raised his arm and sprinted forward; van Persie glanced at Rooney but didn't pass directly.
The ball went to Wilfried Zaha, who drove forward and suddenly crossed. The ball wound up behind Samuel Umtiti.
Umtiti didn't hurry to turn; he accelerated to collide with Rooney — stopping Rooney was the same as stopping the ball.
Rooney stooped, powered with his feet, and accelerated a second time, escaping Umtiti's marking.
Umtiti thought it better to foul than let Rooney get past, so he reached out to grab him.
But Rooney, despite his stocky build, was agile. At the critical moment he twisted his waist in a ravishing, dazzling wriggle to escape Umtiti's "lecherous hand."
"Rooney's cut into the box!"
Old Trafford held its breath and dared not celebrate early. United fans watched every movement of Rooney as if hunted.
With the crowd's eyes upon him, Rooney ignored Martínez's off-the-line rush,
pulled the ball across the ground and struck a screaming shot.
The ball skimmed past Martínez at waist height and slipped into the near corner.
2–2!
"Goal!"
"Rooney levels for Manchester United."
Old Trafford trembled the instant the ball hit the net...
After Rooney's goal the two sides became cautious again; by this point the pre-match betting and predictions had turned into jokes.
Both sides were evenly matched — tonight was not a night for a dark, murderous ambush.
Arsenal restarted. De Bruyne and Arteta didn't rush forward.
They waited for a chance.
Arsenal's front three moved without the ball.
Ryan Giggs was defending Xia Qi — Ferguson believed only Giggs could keep up with Xia Qi's pace.
Faced with Giggs' close marking, Xia Qi constantly changed position: forward, backward, sudden stops, bursts, changes of direction...
Giggs felt Xia Qi was just running about for no reason — the purpose seemed to be to tire him out. That was devious!
Giggs decided to conserve energy; after all, Xia Qi looked transparent tonight...
Xia Qi made a turn-back run; Giggs didn't follow as before and a gap opened beside Xia Qi.
Kevin De Bruyne, far away, sensed it quickly and fired a super-long-range cruise missile from deep.
Xia Qi immediately ran along the missile's trajectory, sprinted to the ball's landing spot, executed a sudden brake, steadied himself, then turned. At about 25 meters from goal, with his back to the net, he leapt high.
In mid-air he did an inverted flourish — head down, feet up.
His two feet were different: the right foot bent down, the left hooked up.
As the ball fell, his left foot swung down rapidly to give support, and the right foot's instep viciously hooked the ball.
"Scissor-volley!" (an overhead volley / bicycle-ish technique)
With Zhan Jun's cry, the ball streaked like a meteor, a white slash toward Manchester United's goal.
David de Gea misjudged when Xia Qi turned; he thought Xia Qi was going to combine, since Xia Qi was about 25 meters out and facing away — a relatively safe distance.
Xia Qi jumped and executed the overhead strike in an instant; by the time De Gea tried to save, the ball was roaring in.
De Gea dived, but the ball had already slipped into the net.
"Goal!"
"What a genius idea!"
"Xia Qi sniped Manchester United from range. After Rooney equalized, Xia Qi quickly scored a second to put Arsenal ahead again."
"Tonight's match has been a seesaw of goals. This is the 65th minute and five goals have already been scored."
"Tonight is a feast of evenly matched scoring. Although Arsenal lead by one, the outcome is still uncertain."
(END CHAPTER)
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