As a forr starting center-back for Barça, 30-year-old Oleg had always been proud.
Even after coming to Ajax, he still felt like he was playing for Barça.
At most, his physical abilities had declined a bit with age.
But he was still more than capable of handling a young punk like Wang Shuo.
Especially since it was widely rumored that Wang Shuo was weak in physical confrontations.
As for the goal conceded at the 25-minute mark, Oleg believed the biggest responsibility lay with Alderweireld.
He, on the other hand, had simply made an unavoidable mistake that all center-backs make when forced to react hastily.
Six minutes later, when Wang Shuo dropped back to receive the ball with his back to the goal, a fierce glint flashed in Oleg’s eyes.
’A chance for revenge!’
A pass from the midfielder Shahin was about to reach Wang Shuo’s feet.
Oleg rushed forward, slamming his entire body into Wang Shuo’s back. He even pressed down on Wang Shuo’s shoulders with both hands, preventing him from jumping.
Just as Wang Shuo stuck out his foot to control the ball, Oleg kicked out from Wang Shuo’s right side.
As an experienced defender, he knew, of course, that the probability of this kick connecting with the ball was extrely low.
But he didn’t care.
Even if he didn’t hit the ball, hitting the man would be just as good.
It would count as challenging for the ball, and the most the referee would do was call a foul.
And indeed, he didn’t hit the ball, kicking Wang Shuo squarely on the calf instead.
Wang Shuo managed to control the ball a split second before, but after taking a hard kick to the calf, he lost so control and his touch was heavy.
At the sa ti, Oleg was still pressing down on his shoulders, causing a naless fire to flare up inside him.
They say that defenders from Spain play dirty, no less so than defenders from South Arica.
Oleg was just like that!
Perhaps their physical challenges weren’t particularly outstanding, but they had more petty fouls and disgusting tactics up their sleeves.
But a series of deep breaths was like pouring a basin of cold water on that naless fire.
He instantly cleared his head.
’Losing my temper now is useless!’
With a quick thought, he imdiately channeled all his strength into his legs, leaned back, and slamd his chest solidly into Oleg, causing the Spanish defender to stumble and take a step back.
Oleg clearly hadn’t expected the supposedly frail and non-confrontational Wang Shuo to suddenly exert his strength and challenge him. It caught him completely off guard.
Wang Shuo seized the opportunity to dip his shoulder, bend down, and turn... He powerfully broke free from Oleg’s grasp and quickly brought the over-hit ball back under control with his right foot.
This series of actions all happened in an extrely short amount of ti.
By the ti Oleg reacted, Wang Shuo had already turned and was facing directly toward the goal.
Oleg’s face fell. He imdiately took a step forward, trying to mark him tightly again.
But Wang Shuo was not only a step ahead in reaction ti, his movents were also clearly faster. He kicked the ball hard in front of him and took off at top speed, chasing after it like a cheetah bursting from the tall grass.
Before Oleg could even turn around, Wang Shuo had already rushed past him, leaving the defender stunned and gaping.
’So fast!’
’I can’t catch him!’
Alderweireld rushed over from the side to help defend, intending to use his shoulder to block Wang Shuo and force him to slow down.
But Wang Shuo wasn’t as fragile as they expected, nor did he lose his balance after the shove.
On the contrary, Wang Shuo was a fraction of a second faster, causing Alderweireld to miss his target.
The Belgian defender reacted quickly enough, imdiately reaching out and grabbing hard onto Wang Shuo’s right shoulder.
But he didn’t dare make the action too obvious, grabbing and then imdiately letting go.
But Wang Shuo only tilted his body, his speed dropping slightly, but he kept charging forward.
This astonished Alderweireld, and he reached out to grab him again.
But this ti, Wang Shuo was prepared.
The mont his opponent’s hand touched his right shoulder, Wang Shuo imdiately swung his own right arm, forcefully shrugging off Alderweireld’s hand. He shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
Having seized the advantageous position, just as he crossed the line into the penalty area, Wang Shuo deliberately took a diagonal step with his right foot, planting himself directly in Alderweireld’s sprinting path.
The Belgian center-back’s optimal chance for a First Move was gone, and he was forced to slow down.
If he collided with him, Wang Shuo would absolutely go down without hesitation, and that would an a yellow card plus a penalty kick!
’Bastard!’
’So cunning!’
Alderweireld was now completely on the defensive, watching helplessly as Wang Shuo dribbled the ball into the left side of the penalty area.
He could only trail passively from behind and to the side, keeping his eyes glued to Wang Shuo’s right foot.
If he shot with his right foot, Alderweireld would dive without hesitation to block Wang Shuo’s shooting angle as much as possible.
And his left foot?
That was for the goalkeeper, Stekelenburg, to handle.
And what about Stekelenburg?
After using his body to shield the ball from Alderweireld, Wang Shuo’s attention was completely focused on the Ajax goalkeeper.
He had rushed off his line, charging toward the left corner of the six-yard box and coming right at him.
In that instant, a flood of information flashed through Wang Shuo’s mind.
’Stekelenburg and Alderweireld have good chemistry.’
’Even though I’ve seized the First Move, I can’t use my right foot, and the Shooting angle is very narrow.’
’And Stekelenburg has my left foot covered.’
’What should I do?’
Wang Shuo suddenly slowed down, taking a series of small, quick steps to adjust.
This both astonished Alderweireld and Stekelenburg and left them completely unable to guess what Wang Shuo was planning to do.
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