After all, Morici is the midfield core of the National Youth Team personally selected by Maniero.
He still has something to offer.
Bam!
Morici did not disappoint Balera’s "trust" in him. He dribbled horizontally in the midfield, lured Balera to press forward, and then passed the ball to the returning Becher’s.
Becher’s made a one-touch pass, playing a wall pass, rendering Drake’s pressing useless.
Morici ran into position and directly lifted his foot rocket for a pass-shot.
Lu Yang and Sogel teamed up like twin arrows.
In the end, Lu Yang successfully seized the point, gaining a good opportunity just outside the penalty area.
Although the opponent’s central defender narrowed Lu Yang’s shooting angle by positioning.
But Lu Yang’s long shot...
Bam!
Lu Yang raised his foot!
Batistuta...
Bam!
The football was single-handedly flicked over the crossbar.
San Remo gained a corner kick opportunity.
At this moment, San Remo fans were quite unaccustomed; many of them had already stood up, ready to celebrate.
Lu Yang’s long shot is known to be accurate and threatening, so how was it saved this time?
"Wow! Ameluci is really on fire today! Lu Yang’s long shot was saved!"
"Ameluci denied San Remo the chance to equalize!"
"This is the standard of a top Serie A goalkeeper!"
"Lu Yang’s long shots are a major weapon in lower leagues, rarely being saved. But facing the top Serie A level, Lu Yang’s long shots need more work!"
"Hmm, both in terms of angle and strength, Lu Yang’s shot quality still needs improvement. This shot wasn’t as explosive as Drake’s earlier long shot!"
The commentators were skewed in their narration again.
It’s understandable since Drake is the vice captain of the Italy National Team, a defensive midfielder, and also a famous heavy cannon shooter.
With such a profile, scoring a goal certainly draws praise.
But Lu Yang didn’t appreciate the commentators’ deliberate belittling of him.
His recent shot was visibly superior to Drake’s.
Only it didn’t go in.
The notion of judging only by goals and wins can indeed be infuriating.
"Keep it up, you almost broke through my guarded gate!" Ameluci said to Lu Yang, who was still thinking about that shot near the penalty area.
He half intended to provoke Lu Yang, to make him irrational.
And half was genuinely praising Lu Yang.
Because... others might not know, but he’s clear about the power of Lu Yang’s shot just now.
His left hand is still a bit numb now!
This kid’s shot is really heavy.
And the angle was tricky... if his central defender hadn’t blocked some of the shooting angle with his body, Ameluci wonders if he could have saved that shot.
This save was almost at his limit.
But this shot didn’t seem to be Lu Yang’s limit.
"Stay with him!" Ameluci told his central defender.
Then, Morici took a tactical corner, not crossing the ball directly but passing it to the nearby Becher’s.
Becher’s made a cross.
The point of this tactical corner was to let the trailing Lu Yang compete for a header.
Since there was no direct cross, the Rome defenders were slightly deceived.
Then the San Remo players stirred chaos in the penalty area, and Lu Yang seized the opportunity to surge forward, leaving his marker behind.
Bam!
Lu Yang jumped high, executing a Lion’s Head Shake!
He precisely connected with the ball, striking with great force.
Bam!
Yet again the football thudded loudly.
Once more, it was saved by Ameluci.
His positioning just happened to block the path of Lu Yang’s header.
You could say he was lucky.
But it could also be that his positional judgment is truly impressive.
"Damn!" Sotu couldn’t help but complain on the sidelines, "We’ve really hit a tough one today! Even in Serie A, there aren’t many goalkeepers this strong! How did we end up facing one, and a fired-up Ameluci at that!"
Old Tom felt a bit of his passion wane for the first time: "Sotu, do you think... we might..."
"No." Sotu replied instantly.
"Are you that confident?" Old Tom thought, I didn’t even finish my sentence.
Sotu glanced at Lu Yang in the field and said, "I just have confidence in him."
Old Tom followed his gaze and saw Lu Yang shake his head, then slightly smile and say to Ameluci, "Remember my last goal? Before that, you also saved two sure goals. So... according to the rules, next time, I’m definitely scoring!"
Ameluci, impressed by Lu Yang’s sharp calculations, also smiled and said, "Have you considered the possibility of an arithmetic or geometric series?"
Lu Yang was dumbfounded.
Damn!
Is everyone in Italy as smart as college graduates?
Even you know high school math?
"Just wait, I’ll be back!" Lu Yang left a sentence and rushed back to prepare for defense.
Ameluci watched Lu Yang’s back, first smiling because he found this young man interesting.
But then his smile froze.
Because the recent save was really just luck.
Wouldn’t... Lu Yang have another shot at goal?
If he does... can I save it again?
Suddenly Ameluci didn’t feel as confident.
One is a goalkeeper who saved four out of five sure goals.
The other is an attacking player having two of three sure goals saved.
Why does the former feel less confident now?
...
In the ensuing ten minutes, both sides played back and forth.