Five minutes into the game, the opposing team launched a strong attack, but San Remo held firm.
But Fanu didn’t lose heart and immediately launched a counter-press in the front field.
San Remo’s defense hasn’t faced this kind of pressure for a while since they have enough people in the back.
But now, Becher’s activated the right flank of San Remo, and most of the time, Versachi moved up from the defensive midfield to a more forward midfield position, occasionally even to Becher’s winger position.
Unknowingly, the number of players in San Remo’s defense was reduced.
Bang!
Naji was pressured and instinctively passed back to the goalkeeper.
And because of the opponent’s aggressive approach, he added force to the back pass.
As everyone knows, passing back to the goalkeeper is a common and normal action to relieve defensive pressure.
But usually, the goalkeeper will receive the back pass on either side of the goal.
The passer should also aim to pass the ball to either side of the goal.
This means even if the goalkeeper misses the ball, it would just go out of bounds and result in a corner for the opponent.
But Naji’s pass was directed straight to the goal.
On the other side, San Remo’s goalkeeper Jalard saw Naji in trouble and immediately moved to the right to be ready for the back pass.
Who would have known that Naji, with his "Saint One Peak" footwork, hit a curved shot with precision and force, helping Fanu take the lead.
Jalard looked at Naji helplessly. If you’d kicked even a bit towards my side, I might have been able to attempt a save.
If you had used less force, I could have tried to rush back and clear it.
But you kicked at your highest standard towards our goal. Have you forgotten that you were once ranked second on San Remo’s scoring list?
Are you trying to score against our own goal to surpass Lu Yang as the Italian Third Division top scorer?
After this own goal, Palacios gave Naji a stern talk.
Some bad habits in football really need to be corrected.
Because they can, unwittingly, lead you to a deep pit.
If you had slightly better playing habits, this own goal wouldn’t have happened.
Including errors like goalkeepers mishandling back passes or misjudging kick-offs, which have ruined top goalkeepers like Ulreich and Karius, who otherwise had skills and luck on their side.
But just two minutes later, Lu Yang forcefully responded to the own goal.
Becher’s received a pass on the right and started a dribble breakthrough from midfield.
His effect of falling back to receive is better than Lu Yang’s.
Because his breakthrough is stronger, while Lu Yang’s fallback can only continue to distribute the ball, and if tightly marked, it’s hard to launch an attack.
Becher’s bypassed the defender, bringing the ball to the right flank, then passed it before the opponent could double-team him.
Lu Yang received the pass at the left flank area.
The Fanu players panicked.
Lu Yang in the left flank area is a shooting machine.
They sent two players rushing towards him, and one even prepared to slide tackle.
But as Lu Yang received the ball, he trapped it, and just as it settled, he nutmegged both players with "Fried Meatballs" and completed the dribble.
The opponent’s player tugged at Lu Yang’s jersey.
But it was useless.
After dribbling past, Lu Yang immediately chose to shoot.
Batigoal unleashed!
The ball shot relentlessly into the top left corner, snugly in the corner.
The goalkeeper was crushed and tear-less.
In the past, Lu Yang’s long shots were not impossible to block, just not successfully.
Now, the goalkeeper can completely be a non-stick pan since this world-class shot aimed at the corner can’t be saved.
After scoring, Lu Yang ran towards Naji, brandishing a machine gun playfully shooting at him.
Naji, knowing he was at fault, played along, shaking his body as if hit and dramatically falling backward, crashing on the green field.
In this way, everyone’s resentment towards Naji dissipated completely.
After all, since Brother Lu dealt with Naji, this matter is considered over.
And Naji felt everyone’s displeasure with him, but the way Lu Yang dealt with it didn’t hurt Naji’s self-esteem.
This was another excellent control of the game’s atmosphere and pace.
After this goal, Fanu became noticeably impatient.
They really wanted to win.
They pressed forward en masse.
Yet, they couldn’t find any opportunities in the middle because Lu Yang, Versachi, and Latu Yidi were all piled in the center.
Lu Yang played a defensive attacking midfielder as always.
Now San Remo can still create threats even without him in the front.
Bang!
The opponents could only send a cross from the wing.
Naji successfully suppressed their central forward, heading the ball to Lu Yang.
Lu Yang quickly kicked the ball forward.
But it wasn’t a pass.
"Fast! So fast!"
"Lu Yang dribbles on the counter-attack, he didn’t pass immediately because his teammates weren’t in a good position."
"Fanu clearly studied San Remo’s counter-attacking tactics. They always boot the ball to the front at the first opportunity, letting Bai Zhami lead the counter. Eighty percent of Bai Zhami’s goals this season were scored this way."
"So they restrained San Remo’s two wingers, not giving them the chance to sprint. Both Becher’s and Fernandez had people on them. Lu Yang could only drive the ball himself."
"My god! How can he be so fast? Lu Yang is still pushing forward, he’s past the halfway line. He’s even outpaced left winger Fernandez."