The first half ended with a score of one to one.
After leaving the field, Maël sat down with Gilbert, hydrating, stretching, and recovering their stamina together.
"So tired."
Gilbert wore a bitter expression, lamenting, "The pace is too fast. Not only do you have to keep running, but you also need to stay focused at all times. The pressure on both the body and mind is immense."
"You could write a paper about it."
Maël felt the same way, but first teased him, "On the physical and mental toll of fast-paced confrontation."
Gilbert rolled his eyes. Neither of them said anything more. After more than ten minutes, they returned to the field.
"Beep!"
With a whistle, the second half officially began.
Maël was fully focused, running tirelessly once again.
He was well aware that if he kept running like this, he would likely cramp after the 75th minute, but he still didn't manage his stamina.
As he always said, first impressions are crucial.
He wanted to fight for a brief moment of glory, rather than conserve stamina to finish the game.
After running for a while, he noticed that after the second half started, the players became more familiar with each other, and their teamwork improved.
The pace of the game accelerated again, with possession changing hands rapidly.
Each player had to constantly switch roles, sometimes sprinting quickly towards open spaces, and sometimes suddenly turning back to help teammates defend.
"Boom!"
In the 64th minute, Janu Hans, the Yellow Team midfielder, suddenly sent a long pass, accurately finding Ward on the right wing. The latter controlled the ball and charged into the penalty area, facing the defense head-on.
Before the defenders surrounded him, he observed Evans' position, and sent a cross.
"Boom!" Clean and crisp, Evans flicked his right foot, pushing the ball into the far corner. "Swish!"
Two to one!
The Yellow Team, with their superior overall strength and higher possession rate, rightfully took the lead again! "Nice!"
Maël, benefiting from his teammates' efforts, didn't hold back his praise, running towards Evans and the others to join the celebration.
After the restart, the Red Team launched a wave of counterattacks.
But after several unsuccessful all-out attacks, they once again fell into a disadvantageous position.
Coach Kevin also substituted two players from the bench at this time, replacing Evans, the Yellow Team's center forward, and a center back from the Red Team.
Maël's heart stirred as he saw the two new players, and he felt more confident about producing some stats.
Kevin had made substitutions that were almost polar opposites, both of which favored the Yellow Team's crosses from the wing.
He replaced Evans, who wasn't good at headers, with a tall center forward who was over 1.9 meters tall; and he replaced the Red Team's defender, who was better at headers, with a center back who was just over 1.8 meters tall.
Was he trying to give the tall center forward a chance to showcase his strengths?
"I can satisfy that need perfectly, and showcase my own strengths along the way."
Maël smiled, running even more actively, his desire for crosses from the byline reaching its peak.
With such a tall center forward standing in the middle, his crosses would become much easier.
As long as the ball speed was fast enough to prevent the goalkeeper from directly intercepting it, and the height was sufficient, then opportunities would naturally arise! He exhaled, the frustration of having several crosses cleared away vanished, and hope was rekindled.
"Boom!"
His next opportunity to cross came in the 71st minute, which didn't create a goal, but did result in a successful header.
The tall center forward, due to insufficient preparation, jumped a little late, resulting in a weak header that was easily caught.
However, the increased threat of the Yellow Team's crosses after the substitution was immediately apparent!
"Good job, brother, send a few more!"
The tall center forward gave Maël a thumbs up, appreciating the young lad's pass.
Maël waved back, then turned his head to see that he seemed to be marked by the opposing side midfielder, who was deliberately staying close.
In a 3-4-3 formation, wing defense generally relies on the two side midfielders dropping back.
If one of the three center-backs had to defend one-on-one, it would mean the defensive line was in an extremely dangerous situation.
From the start of the game, Maël had been matched up against this side midfielder, but fortunately, the opponent was more offensively inclined and hadn't put too much pressure on him.
But now, it seemed different.
"Lotton, you'll remember my name."
Lotton had realized Maël's threat to his team's defense and no longer underestimated him.
This was a physically strong young midfielder, the type who looked like he had amazing core Strength. He was also the one who tackled Maël at the start of the game.
Maël also introduced himself, not too worried. As long as he didn't give Lotton a one-on-one opportunity, he still had a chance to pass the ball.
The opportunity came in the 78th minute of the match. The Red Team's midfielder intercepted the ball and launched a counterattack, with the entire team charging towards the Yellow Team's backfield in a spectacular scene.
But during a lateral pass, the ball was intercepted by the Yellow Team's midfielder, Janu Hans, because the pass was too weak.
The situation reversed instantly! "Receive!"
Janu Hans passed the ball to Maël, who was open on the wing. Maël then started dribbling towards the baseline.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
The sound of cleats heavily pounding the grass rang out as Lotton sprinted back, trying to use his Speed advantage to steal the ball from behind.
"Bang!" But he didn't expect that after noticing his pursuit, Maël slowed down, took a look, and nonchalantly sent in a Cross.
No intention of going to the baseline, directly a forty-five-degree angle bomb after the penalty area line!
The football curved into the penalty area, and the Yellow Team's tall center forward's eyes lit up instantly. He lowered his center of gravity first, then jumped high, looking back at the moon and heading the ball into the goal.
Under everyone's gaze, the football spun towards the goal and finally 'swished' into the net.
Here it comes again! Three to one!
"Yeah!!"
The Yellow Team's tall center forward landed and roared excitedly, then rushed towards Maël, who had passed the ball to him. "Nice! Bro! Nice!"
Maël was also very happy, having achieved 1 goal and 1 assist. This time, he couldn't pretend to be calm even if he wanted to.
The two became instantly familiar, jumping high and bumping chests.
"We are indispensable to each other."
Like Wolong and Fengchu, the excited pair praised each other. Maël patted his shoulder, acting like an old soul: "Congratulations."
Only Lotton was left behind with a frustrated expression, never expecting Maël to play so unpredictably.
Don't most wingers like to dribble towards the baseline?
After this goal, Maël gradually ran out of Stamina. The coaching staff on the sidelines noticed this and sent Evans, who had been taken off, back onto the field to play as a makeshift winger.
After coming down, Maël took a towel and lay on the ground, stretching his leg muscles to avoid soreness tomorrow.
Joelson walked up at some point, his face full of smiles, not even trying to hide his thoughts. "You really gave me a big surprise, kid. 1 goal and 1 assist, a very good performance and stats!"
"If only it were in the EFL Championship."
Maël's face relaxed, and he joked about the training match stats, "Wouldn't my value increase by 100,000 immediately?"
"17 years old, if you get 1 goal and 1 assist in the EFL Championship."
Joelson thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Transfermarkt would immediately mark your value at 3 million euros."
3 million euros?
Maël raised his eyebrows and smiled. It sounded good, but unfortunately, this wasn't the EFL Championship.
Suddenly, a series of footsteps sounded behind him. He looked back and saw Mr. Gareth Speed walking over.
"Maël."
Gareth Speed responded with a smile, which, for someone of his level, was a simple expression that could convey a lot.
He must greatly appreciate Maël's ability and the talent he's displaying at his age.
"I believe you'll definitely get opportunities this season."
Gareth Speed left those words, glanced at Joelson, and said to the latter, "Keep an eye on them, don't let them be corrupted by the bad boys in the team."
"Of course."
Joelson nodded in agreement, then watched Gareth Speed leave.
Once the other man was far away, he excitedly came to Maël's side and heavily patted Maël's shoulder. "Did you hear that? Did you hear that?"
He felt like he had finally made some contribution to the team.
"Is all I want just opportunities?"
Maël waved his hand and started with his clumsy jokes again, "What I want are goals and assists in professional leagues, and a 3 million euro price tag."
For some reason, when he's happy, he really likes to joke around with people.
[Skill: Observation lv1]
[Proficiency: (36/300)]
Glancing at the new skill progress after the end of the match, Maël was very satisfied. This rate of improvement exceeded expectations.
Seeking all kinds of recommendation tickets! Monthly tickets! Let's make a run for the new book chart! Thank you everyone!
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