Lightning Strikes Again
Boom!
Kai chased down the ball at full speed, hooked it back just before it crossed the line, and whipped in a cross while sliding.
His momentum carried him forward. He rolled several times and crashed straight into the advertising boards.
An Ajax defender immediately raised his arm, signaling that the ball had gone out.
But the linesman shook his head firmly.
Still in play.
Kai's cross wasn't perfect in terms of curve — but it was viciously fast.
Most Ajax players hadn't even recovered their defensive shape yet.
So much so that when Cristiano Ronaldo stormed into the penalty area, Ajax's center-back was still talking to his teammate about positioning.
Boom!
Ronaldo rose high and smashed a powerful header toward goal.
GOAL!
"Well done!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo has scored twice! Sporting CP still have hope!"
"What a razor-sharp counterattack!"
"Veloso's steal, Deng Kai's long pass, Kai's desperate save and cross, Ronaldo's finish — the entire sequence took less than seven seconds! That was pure lightning!"
"Kai's save deserves huge praise. When everyone thought the ball was gone, only he kept sprinting!"
"He's unbelievably fast!"
Clash of Tempers
After scoring, Ronaldo immediately ran into the net to grab the ball.
But Ajax's goalkeeper shoved him away.
Conceding twice in quick succession had clearly pissed him off.
And Ronaldo?
Paranoid geniuses don't exactly have calm tempers.
He shoved the goalkeeper back.
The two squared up instantly.
Players from both sides rushed in to separate them.
Deng Kai grabbed Ronaldo and dragged him away forcefully.
"Don't be stupid! Wake up! It doesn't matter if they lose a goalkeeper — but we can't lose our top scorer!"
The phrase top scorer snapped Ronaldo back to reality.
That's the thing about true obsessives.
They'll ignore everyone else's interests.
They'll even sacrifice their own comfort and emotions.
But they won't sacrifice their goal.
This scuffle fizzled quickly. No dirty moves, no punches thrown. The referee didn't even bother showing cards.
But as Deng Kai pulled Ronaldo away, Wesley Sneijder kept staring at Deng Kai.
"That guy's annoying as hell," Rafael van der Vaart muttered, assuming Sneijder meant Ronaldo. "Two goals and he acts like he's the best in the world. Doesn't he realize they're still behind?"
Sneijder shook his head.
"I'm not looking at Ronaldo."
Van der Vaart blinked.
"It's Deng Kai," Sneijder said quietly. "He's directing everything. We've been led around by the nose."
Van der Vaart didn't fully grasp it — not because he wasn't smart, but because he was trapped inside the battle.
Sneijder didn't elaborate.
It was too late now.
Van der Vaart's stamina was visibly fading.
And Ajax's attack depended heavily on him.
Sneijder could only hope his partner held on long enough to score one more goal.
One more goal — and Sporting would collapse.
The Midfield Duel
78th minute.
Sneijder, deep in midfield, launched another long diagonal.
Even though Lourenço and Kai pressed him intentionally, Sneijder's passing was so clean and decisive that it resembled Deng Kai's own style.
Van der Vaart couldn't be completely locked down.
Neither could Sneijder's passes.
But this time, as van der Vaart tried to dribble, Semedo barged him aside with a heavy shoulder challenge.
Legal.
Van der Vaart lost balance — fatigue showing.
Semedo cleared to Araújo, who quickly found Ronaldo on the left.
Ronaldo surged down the flank and earned a free kick.
Unfortunately, Deng Kai's rehearsed set-piece routine was read perfectly by Sneijder, who intercepted the disguised pass.
Deng Kai looked up.
Sneijder looked back.
Their eyes met.
Sneijder: I see through you, mastermind.
Deng Kai: Seeing it doesn't mean you can stop it.
The tension between the two midfield brains was suffocating.
80th Minute – Breaking the Pattern
Sneijder sprayed the ball wide again, orchestrating from deep like a card dealer controlling the table.
Ajax tried to find van der Vaart.
But van der Vaart wasn't even making aggressive runs anymore.
The ball had to be recycled backward.
Eventually, Ajax lost possession.
Sporting immediately looked for Deng Kai.
The front three exploded forward.
But Sneijder, playing deep, anticipated it. He rushed forward and blocked Deng Kai's passing lane.
If Sneijder was Ajax's dealer…
Then Deng Kai was Sporting's.
Counterattacks depend on a dealer.
Teams that blindly smash the ball forward during counters rarely improve their quality.
When you find your dealer first, even if it slows the tempo slightly, the counter becomes twice as lethal.
Double.
Seventy percent of Sporting's dangerous chances tonight had originated from Deng Kai's distribution.
Sneijder stepped in to delay him.
Even if he couldn't steal the ball, he could break the rhythm.
But as he closed in, he noticed something unsettling.
The corner of Deng Kai's mouth curled upward.
Boom!
Right-back Duarte, unable to pass to Deng Kai under pressure, sent the ball backward to center-back Manuel.
Manuel didn't hesitate.
He smashed a long ball forward.
Sneijder's eyes widened.
Wait.
They're not looking for Deng Kai?
That's just a low-quality hoof-ball counterattack—
But…
Two green-and-white figures had already torn through Ajax's defensive line.
Too fast.
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Kai.
Two bolts of lightning.
The ball dropped near the top of the box.
Both sprinted past everyone else.
Just before the ball descended, Kai suddenly veered right, dragging a defender with him and opening space.
Ronaldo killed the ball with a perfect touch and burst into the penalty area.
The Ajax goalkeeper froze.
One attacker to the left.
One to the right.
How do you defend that?
Ronaldo adjusted his steps, half-turning toward the right as if preparing to square the ball to Kai.
Fair enough.
Kai had just assisted him earlier.
The goalkeeper hesitated.
That split-second was fatal.
Boom!
Ronaldo twisted his hips mid-motion.
The fake pass turned into a vicious shot toward the near post.
The ball rocketed in.
The goalkeeper didn't even get off the ground.
Pass?
Sorry.
Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't have a pass button on his controller.
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