I AM the Football Star

The emotionally charged Stiepelman yelled out, instantly reviving the Parc des Princes.

”Stiepelman! Stiepelman!”

The fans shouted Stiepelman’s name, anticipating his powerful retaliation.

In the seventy-third minute, Miguel crossed the ball at a forty-five degree angle, hanging it into the penalty area.

Stiepelman and Naji tangled continuously, with Naji as usual keeping his upper body close to Stiepelman’s, bringing their heads incredibly close.

But this time, Stiepelman didn’t dodge at all and even actively pressed his head against Naji’s.

Though not using the injured area, it showed he seemed to have overcome the physiological fear from his brow bone fracture.

Bam!

Stiepelman exerted perfectly, but unfortunately headed a bit too high.

The ball hit the crossbar and flew out of bounds.

Areola had a scare.

In the seventy-fifth minute, Sevajos won back the ball and then kicked it directly towards San Remo’s penalty area.

Stiepelman out-heads Naji to fight for the ball, but Areola made a daring leap to claim the ball before Stiepelman touched it a second time.

The two also collided because of this, and eventually the main referee blew for Stiepelman’s offensive foul as he had collided with Areola who had controlled the ball.

Stiepelman gave Sevajos a thumbs up.

In the seventy-eighth minute, Lande headed out Lu Yang’s cross.

In aerial battles, Talista was completely dominated by Lande.

Paris Saint-Germain began to organize their attack.

Miguel faced strong interception by Camihong on the right flank, passing the ball to Sevajos and then ran empty to the bottom line.

On the other side, Boe moved towards Sevajos, ready to receive the ball.

Sevajos raised his right foot, seemingly to pass the ball to Boe at the left front, but in the next moment… Bam!

The ball flew straight forward, passing by Lam’s left hand side.

Meanwhile, Sevajos ran past Lam’s right hand side.

Fake pass, direct rush!

Ball separate from player!

Sevajos made a stunning play.

Bernulin immediately stepped forward.

Sevajos prematurely struck the ball with a Marseille Turn.

Bernulin was bypassed.

Sevajos was touched by Bernulin’s body, affecting his speed and balance, but he still caught up to the ball instantly… Ahead was clear!

Bam!

A strong shot!

Sevajos took a long shot from outside the penalty area.

Areola was completely focused, diving to the save.

Bam!

He tipped the ball out of bounds.

Areola was drenched in sweat.

Too dangerous.

This Paris Saint-Germain’s forward quartet individually possesses incredible explosive capabilities.

”Oh no! What a pity!” The commentator felt regret, ”Sevajos just had a flash of brilliance, getting past two players beautifully!”

”If this shot had gone in, it would surely be one of the top ten Champions League goals this season.”

”Areola executed a very high-quality save.”

”Sevajos’ body remains slightly weak, affected by Bernulin’s challenge. Bernulin was clever with this move, although surpassed, he still affected the opponent significantly.”

”Looking now, Sevajos transferring to Paris Saint-Germain was the right decision. If he had gone to the Premier League, the defensive stances and rhythm there might have made Sevajos indistinguishable among them.”

”Paris Saint-Germain now gained a corner. Their last goal came from a corner; they have two tall players whom San Remo cannot deal with.”

”Lande also came up; Paris Saint-Germain is determined for this corner.”

On the field, players from both sides were jockeying for positions in the penalty area.

The main referee blew his whistle twice.

Once to remind Talista not to overdo his actions.

The other to remind Lande, who was marking Talista, to not overdo his actions.

Both of them were getting heated.

As for Naji, he stood in front of Lande, behind Stiepelman.

As San Remo’s highest peak, he had to look after Paris Saint-Germain’s two tall players.

However, he wouldn’t be too pressured as Lu Yang was blocking in front of Stiepelman.

Lu Yang and Talista are both adept at headers; though only 1.85 and 1.87 meters tall, their strong body confrontation ability and football intelligence always helped them beat those central defenders.

Their involvement in aerial duels made Naji feel much safer.

Bam!

Miguel took the corner kick, curling it with extraordinary curvature.

”It’s Stiepelman!”

Lu Yang immediately confirmed the location of the corner’s drop.

But behind him, a tremendous force was already being exerted.

Stiepelman pressed Lu Yang’s shoulder, then flew up entirely.

He jumped early.

Lu Yang had all the power but no place to use it, unable to leap and instead offered Stiepelman an upward force.

This is why we often see central defenders jumping early when contesting headers, particularly when someone else is competing with them.

If they don’t jump early, they won’t have the chance because others would pin them down.

But jumping early, unless possessing exceptional aerial ability, often leads to missing the header.

Some experienced forwards specialize in ”tempting” opposing defenders to jump early, then remain behind waiting for them to miss the header.

Once successful, it’s almost a perfect unguarded shooting opportunity.

”Ha!”

Naji took a step forward and jumped up immediately, right behind Stiepelman.