And this slightly spinning pass just landed in front of Perrotta, who puffed out his chest and executed a perfect ball control while running.
Due to the excellence of the passer, this difficult ball control became quite easy.
Perrotta, smooth in controlling the ball, did not slow down much but rushed directly towards the penalty area.
However, Tessli was faster and had already caught up with Perrotta, starting to apply physical pressure.
Yet, he did not realize that Perrotta no longer had the ball at his feet.
It turns out, after receiving the ball, Perrotta had already used his heel to flick the ball backward while dragging along an unsuspecting Tessli.
Bam!
Kolber, closely following behind, immediately made a powerful shot.
However, Marduk performed brilliantly, managing to save the ball.
Countless Italy fans sighed in disappointment.
Kolber’s shot was brilliant, no issues.
Did Marduk take something?
But soon, hope rekindled in the eyes of the Italy fans.
Because Lu Yang, who started at the same time as Kolber, also charged into the penalty area.
It was he who pulled away White, giving Kolber the chance to shoot.
Lu Yang and White engaged in physical confrontation on the right side of the penalty area.
At the moment, the ball saved by Marduk flew towards them.
Kolber’s shot had considerable power, and after being saved, the ball moved with great speed.
Lu Yang, with his back to the goal, instinctively lifted his foot, intercepting the ball with a scorpion tail-like move and absorbed the ball’s force.
The ball fell down rapidly but not too fast.
Lu Yang pressed against White with his hands and used his same foot, in a "Dancing Apsara" motion, quickly retracting the leg that had been lifted in front of himself.
This was slower than simply putting down the leg.
But quicker than dropping the leg and then lifting it again to kick the ball.
Thus, the complete action resembled a child kicking a scooter, one and three-quarter turns! Right foot lifted and retracted, and then lifted again.
When lifted the second time, the heel struck the ball that was about to land.
The ball was kicked out!
Same foot scorpion tail + heel shot!
Seamless execution!
Such imaginative play.
No one imagined such a situation.
Stopping the rapidly moving saved ball was already incredible, and then immediately connecting it with a shot... there was absolutely no time for thought.
Everything was just instinct!
It was all just kicking football, ah no... purely instinct!
When the ball entered the net, Marduk, White, Tessli, Kolber, Perrotta, none of them understood what happened.
"Two... Two-goal lead!"
"GOAL!"
"Italy takes the lead!"
"Four to three! Crazy!"
"Who would have thought Italy could lead again in this game!"
"Kolber’s shot was saved by Marduk, but Lu Yang followed up with a supplementary shot!"
"This supplementary shot is the most unbelievable one I’ve ever seen!"
"I see glimpses of the famous dance ’Dunhuang Flying Apsara’ in this shot!"
"This must be the inspiration from Eastern culture for Lu Yang!"
"This is the imagination belonging to China!"
The commentators were full of praise.
Until CCYV5’s Luo Cheng muttered, "Am I the only one who thinks the move looks somewhat familiar?"
Beside him, Tang Yuqin raised an eyebrow and said, "It reminded me of the scene of my little nephew riding a scooter."
The words awoke people from their dreams, and Chinese fans collectively burst out in laughter.
This goal brought great help to Italy.
From now on, they just needed to do what they are already good at.
Just like England’s backline height was insufficient to withstand Perrotta’s headers.
England’s forward line was also not tall.
They abandoned the traditional long pass and aerial tactics but didn’t imagine one day they’d need this strategy to recover the deficit.
Instantly, many people began to criticize why England didn’t bring a large central forward this time?
England’s head coach was bitter.
First, do we even have a six-foot-three big striker in England?
The Premier League doesn’t provide room for such strikers.
Premiere League demands all the forwards have speed.
Secondly, the pivot role, receiving with back to the goal, could be done by the little cannonball Mike Loring, couldn’t it?
In terms of tactical needs, the little cannonball copes with more situations and suits this England better.
You all said before, Mike Loring is England’s most perfect center forward, didn’t you forget?
Lastly, even if there really is such a big central forward, can they really compete for headers with this Italy?
Chiavich, Bernulin, Praxedes, Lam, Pellegrini, Lu Yang, this team has too many players over six-foot-one; the penalty area is an absolute no-fly zone.
Extra time 1st half ends.
In the second half, England continues to press intensely.
But they made the same mistakes as Portugal.
Praxedes completed an interception outside the penalty area and directly passed it to the left front.
Kolbella receives the ball on the flank, swiftly advancing with the ball.
Lu Yang makes a fast dash into England’s penalty area, his speed noticeably faster than before, breaking away from nearly everyone with a hundred-meter sprint.
Many were stunned.
They know Lu Yang’s stamina is good.
But his stamina being so good that when in extra time’s second half his speed doesn’t drop but increases, that’s just insane!
Bam!
England’s right back Nelvi pulled back early, letting go of Kolber and charging towards Lu Yang.