As he walked towards the penalty spot, Cao Baiming mentally mapped out the trajectory of his shot.
He soon reached the spot, and as Cao Baiming stood near the penalty mark, everyone's mood grew tense.
In football, a penalty kick is a heart-pounding event that most ignites male hormones. It's a challenge of nearly 50% uncertainty for both the shooter and the goalkeeper. Whoever can maintain a better mindset is more likely to emerge victorious.
Cao Baiming now stood there, facing the goal. The goalkeeper on the opposite side was already flustered. For him, it was perhaps no longer about nervousness; after all, he had already conceded 10 goals in the last 40 minutes.
What was one more?
For Cao Baiming, this penalty kick carried no pressure whatsoever; it was just another goal.
The probability of the opposing goalkeeper saving this shot was virtually zero. Cao Baiming was quite confident of this!
Not only were the coaching staff and substitute players of both teams watching from the sidelines, but other personnel working on the field were also casting their gaze towards the area in front of the goal.
Although it wasn't like a formal match with millions of spectators watching from the sidelines, Cao Baiming's penalty kick still garnered everyone's attention. All eyes were on what was about to happen.
This wasn't just any penalty kick; it was the first one Cao Baiming was taking for Nottingham Forest since joining the team. If he scored, it would be a perfectly perfect start.
As the referee blew his whistle, Cao Baiming took a step forward and unleashed a powerful shot. The ball flew directly from its spot, soaring towards the top left corner of the goal!
The trajectory of the ball in the air was a perfect straight line, with almost no curve. Its power was equally astonishing.
The shot found the back of the net without a doubt. Faced with such speed, the goalkeeper couldn't react in time. Moreover, his performance in this friendly match had been, to put it mildly, abysmal.
After scoring, Cao Baiming turned and made a gesture to his teammates. The other players of Nottingham Forest were filled with admiration. The speed of the shot was incredibly fast, so fast they felt it was beyond human capability.
By now, in this half of the friendly match, they had a deeper understanding of Cao Baiming. They knew what a terrifying presence he was. What they had only heard through rumors or seen in occasional highlights from match footage paled in comparison to witnessing it firsthand.
Now, as teammates, they had the best view in the house, watching Cao Baiming repeatedly perform unbelievable actions in the most outrageous ways. They could only lament their own limited perspectives in the past.
The ball entered the net without spin, but the moment it hit the net, it almost tore it apart. The goalkeeper stood beside it, and for a fleeting second, he had a hallucination that if it were a regular net from a local park, this shot might have ripped right through it!
With this final goal, Cao Baiming felt satisfied. This penalty kick had successfully brought the first half to a perfect close. After the celebration, the referee immediately blew the whistle for halftime.
Although it was a friendly match, the expressions on the faces of the opposing players told the whole story. Their current mood was utterly dismal.
There was hardly any sense of "friendship" anymore. Standing on the field now felt incredibly awkward, as losing to the opposition 11-0 was simply too embarrassing!
What was worse for them was that this was only the first half. If the second half doubled the score, what then?
The players desperately wanted to find the head coach to express their feelings and have the second half of the match canceled.
It's a friendly match, after all. If it's for friendship, a point where it stops should be enough, right? We already know you're good; there's no need to play the second half!
However, these were just the thoughts in the players' minds. No one dared to say it aloud, and they knew that even if they did, it would be an impossible request.
Now, everything pointed to one fact: the second half was unlikely to improve. The situation could only get worse.
Perhaps the score could become thirty-nil in the second half. It was entirely possible, and even quite probable!
After much thought, it seemed better to end the match now. They would accept the 11-0 score. They couldn't win if they were outmatched; the gap in strength was evident to everyone!
As the players walked off the field, the Nottingham Forest players swarmed towards Cao Baiming. They might not have had much to say, but they simply wanted to be closer to the star player.
They had truly experienced Cao Baiming's power. If it weren't for him, playing against this first-division team, while they might still win, achieving such a dominant score would have been impossible.
This kind of frenzy was something none of them had ever experienced before. It was all thanks to Cao Baiming!
Thinking about the upcoming Premier League season, with such a terrifying player leading the team against the top clubs, it seemed like there would be no problem!
A burning fire ignited in their hearts. The Premier League was just around the corner, and they were eager to face real strong opponents!
In the past, facing teams like Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool, they would have been at their mercy. But the future would be entirely different!
With Cao Baiming as the core of the team, they had a real chance of winning!