The effect brought by the innate skill was that it could directly see the trajectory of the football's shot, expressed as a shining straight line.
At this very moment, Cao Baiming only saw a goal in front of him, with no discernible line, as this effect could only be activated during major matches.
Although there was no line displayed by the system, a trajectory for scoring had already formed in Cao Baiming's mind. This trajectory originated from his feet and headed straight for the goal's most obscure corner.
Cao Baiming had a total of four footballs at his feet. Looking at them, he unhesitatingly kicked the first one.
Henderson's eyes gleamed. He was fully prepared, his legs constantly shifting, his hands raised high, ready to dive and save Cao Baiming's shot.
However, as he moved to intercept, Henderson suddenly lowered his arms, completely giving up!
He couldn't make sense of this shot's trajectory at all. The ball was clearly heading towards the right side of the goal, so it wouldn't score, but then he remembered Cao Baiming's peculiar curving shots, which Henderson had witnessed before.
In that split second, he overthought it. In the end, instinct took over, and he chose to give up. Even if the ball somehow managed to find the net, he wouldn't have been able to save it!
This shot not only had a massive curve but also tremendous spin. More importantly, its power was immense, as if it could spark friction with the air as it spun.
Faced with such a shot, a goalkeeper's instinct was to simply give up!
As Cao Baiming expected, this shot found its way into the net. The surrounding players offered applause, deeply impressed. This was Cao Baiming's prowess, truly a world-class superstar, and his presence in the team was clearly different from everyone else's!
Looking at the ball that had entered the goal, Henderson appeared somewhat unconvinced, filled with regret. In that fleeting moment, why had his reaction suddenly turned cowardly?
Cao Baiming still had three more balls at his feet. Henderson rallied himself, immediately stood up, and returned to his goal line, placing his feet on the white line, ready.
The onlookers immediately stopped their applause. Cao Baiming, after a brief pause, directly kicked the second ball.
This time, he again used the outside of his instep to shoot. However, Cao Baiming switched feet entirely!
For the previous shot, he had used his right foot, but this time he switched directly to his left. The curve of the ball changed direction completely to the other side, presenting a near-perfect symmetrical image to what the crowd had just witnessed!
It was unbelievable to think that a normal human could kick a football with such symmetrical trajectories from both feet, yet they were seeing it with their own eyes.
The players of Nottingham Forest were clearly different from those of Arsenal. This was only the first time they had witnessed Cao Baiming's breathtaking maneuvers, as they hadn't been with him for long.
Without sufficient experience, to be subjected to such a shocking sight, everyone was stunned into silence, their expressions blank, almost drooling.
This also reminded them that besides his unbeatable football skills, Cao Baiming was also a one hundred percent two-footed player, with no weak foot, only a dominant one!
For this shot, Henderson finally controlled his instinctive reaction. He raised both hands high, trying his best to save the ball!
From his perspective, this shot followed almost the exact same line as the previous one; he just needed to intercept it in the same way. At this moment, Henderson's eyes seemed to glow with confidence.
As the ball flew towards the goal, Henderson simultaneously leaped high, diving towards the top left corner of the net. His hands were stretched far above his head, completely blocking that section of the goal.
However, in the next second, just before entering the goal, the ball suddenly dipped. It ultimately slipped through his armpit and into the net!
This was insane. The shot looked identical to the previous one, and the trajectory seemed the same, yet this one had a distinct downward trajectory!
If one were to use a high-definition, high-frame-rate camera to capture the entire process and analyze it frame by frame, who would have imagined that such a subtle difference between the two shots could result in such a massive discrepancy?
Only Cao Baiming himself knew that when he kicked the ball the second time, he had lightly brushed the ball's eye with his toe, adding a touch of topspin.
Some players couldn't comprehend the depth of this technique. At this point, they could only let out screams to express their shock.
Henderson, with a helpless sigh, slapped his thigh. He was filled with regret, thinking that if he had just been a little luckier, he might have actually saved that shot.
From the perspective of the onlookers, the ball had been less than a centimeter away from his arm; it was truly a matter of "a hair's breadth!"
With no other recourse, he prepared himself once more for Cao Baiming's third shot.
This time, Cao Baiming didn't spend any time adjusting. With what seemed like a casual kick, he sent the ball away. The football also curved towards the goal, but this time its trajectory was vastly different from the previous two.
Even before Cao Baiming kicked the ball, Henderson had already anticipated the direction and moved towards the left side of the goal, spreading his hands, ready to make the save.
Cao Baiming's eyes lit up. Watching the ball curve towards the goal, he knew this one would be a miss.
In the next second, Henderson made a heroic save, clenching his fists and powerfully punching the football out of the goal area!
"God, Henderson is amazing, so amazing!!!" The crowd watching was utterly thrilled. Compared to Cao Baiming steadily scoring another goal, their own goalkeeper successfully saving the shot was even more exhilarating!
After all, this was a save against Cao Baiming's shot! As everyone knew, in major tournaments, Cao Baiming's free kicks were not just 100% accurate, but at least 95% or higher!
For a moment, even Henderson himself couldn't believe it. Had he really succeeded just now? Had he saved Cao Baiming's shot? Was this real?