From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Here!”

During this time, Ma’el kept moving behind Martin Kelly, or dropping deep to receive the ball, once again employing his stamina-draining tactics.

Of course, his methods were not limited to just these; he often waited near the center for long shot and dipping shot opportunities.

But Liverpool seemed determined to weather this period of counterattacks, pulling the whole team back near the penalty area for deep defense, using relentless clearances and blocks to crush Arsenal’s attacking confidence.

”One to nil... we’re going to Wembley Stadium...!” With their fans continuously encouraging them with songs, they quickly regained the momentum to take control again.

It seemed that Arsenal’s counterattack was about to end, and the match on the pitch would return to a balanced offensive exchange.

”Scrape!”

In the 44th minute of the match, Gerrard tackled Ma’el’s dribble, got up, and quickly passed the ball to the left front to Tang Ning, who then dribbled the ball to start a counter-attack.

Ma’el was knocked to the ground, sitting up and gesturing to the referee, but was ignored.

He could only get up, dust off the clippings and mud from his thigh, and reposition himself to wait for another opportunity.

He noticed the opponent’s defensive line and found that Liverpool was still very cautious, not committing too many resources in the counter-attack, with most defenders still near their penalty area.

”Tang Ning facing Sagna’s defense! It’s not easy to break through! Turns around, trying to pass, it’s a feint, but he still wants to dribble to the baseline!

”A crossing pass! Zhu Lu heads it clear, the ball at the second point is picked up by Rosicky!

”Liverpool’s players have come up again, their pressing in place is very effective, often able to cut off Arsenal’s counterattacks and create good attacking opportunities for the team!

”Rosicky! Using his body to fend off Kuyt and Henderson, but he’s not Ma’el; the ball is intercepted!

”Liverpool once again seizes the opportunity to transition... Rosicky doesn’t give up! He charges at Henderson who’s advancing with the ball, a brilliant tackle!

”Even though his body isn’t an advantage against Henderson, he still managed to cleverly swipe the ball away from Henderson’s control.

”Fought for it!”

”.....”

”Boom!”

At the top of the arc, Rosicky didn’t even look as he sent a long pass towards the left flank at the front field.

First, he feared the opponent might regain possession, second, he believed as long as he played it to an approximate spot, Ma’el would have a chance to seize it.

Sure enough, just after he passed the ball, he felt his footing suddenly slip away, falling forward after receiving a harsh kick from behind.

This is the pace of attack and defense at the moment; even if he had taken one more glance, the pass wouldn’t have gone through!

The intensity of the championship match!

After falling, Rosicky felt mostly okay, but fearing Ma’el wouldn’t reach the ball, he covered his face and cried out in pain, ”Ah.....!”

If Ma’el didn’t catch the ball, the referee would call a foul, and the possession would still be theirs.

After shouting twice, Rosicky didn’t hear a whistle, wanting badly to peek at the situation, but not daring to get up, he opened a gap between his fingers.

Through his fingers, he saw Martin Kelly seemed to have taken early position on the left flank and was about to head the ball clear.

”Boom!”

Before Ma’el could apply pressure, he headed it, but misjudged the direction, heading it forward instead of to the sides.

It seemed he wanted to use Ma’el’s forward momentum to head the ball behind him, overcoming his reaction gap to regain the ball under control.

”Boom!”

But Martin Kelly didn’t expect Ma’el to jump quickly, tilting his head to the side to divert the ball back in front instead of behind.

In an instant, Martin Kelly became the one whose reaction gap got exploited; he was charging forward to Ma’el’s rear, but the ball flew towards the back of his head.

The opponent used the method he had devised for himself, countering him and bypassing him!

”Dun dun dun!”

Ma’el was already much faster than him, and now accelerated a few paces faster, instantly widening the gap between them by five meters.

Out of position!

”Martin Kelly got too confident! At this position, trying to bypass Ma’el with such a presumptuous way is very difficult!

”He must know, Ma’el’s reaction speed is world-class, yet he still took the gamble!

”Sometimes, mistakes come from misjudging the situation! Now it’s Arsenal’s attacking round, Liverpool has six defending in their half, Arsenal has four attacking!

”But Liverpool’s return chasing is very quick, Henderson and others are already past the central circle arc, they are united in their defense!”

”...”

”One to nil... one to nil...! We’re going to Wembley....!”

On the field, the Liverpool fans’ singing continued, they seemed unconcerned about Arsenal posing a threat in this attack.

Their defense line was very dense, mid and front-line players were all chasing back, soon forming an iron defense in front of the penalty area; no way could Ma’el just fly over their defensive line.

”Just hold onto your Premier League unbeaten streak.... next time we’ll....!”

”Boom boom...!” Ma’el pushed through these chants towards Liverpool’s goal, choosing not to go on the baseline but directly towards the top of the penalty arc.

Wenger had mentioned pre-match, that area was relatively empty, and now it indeed appeared so.

He wasn’t preparing for anything complicated, knowing that would allow time for the pursuing defenders to catch up, so he went straight for a long shot.

”Ohhh.....!” As if sensing his intent, Arsenal’s fans gradually stood from their seats, Ma’el’s crosscutting was very swift, it seemed nobody could stop him.