It's over, it's over, my heart cried out in despair. Three against one, wouldn't that force Lin Xi to unleash her inner strength? What if she injured someone!
In a moment of desperation, I shouted, "Hey! Brother Lin! Pass it to me! Pass it to me!"
Lin Xi thought I wanted to show off in front of Chen Lu. She glanced in my direction. There was no space, but she still kicked a high ball over a defender's head. It was a bit too far ahead. I chased it with all my might. When I reached the ball, I found no one in front of me, only the goalkeeper. This position was right between two defenders. Only then did I realize Lin Xi hadn't passed too far; I had run too slow!
But I still looked at Lin Xi with concern. The three experts had already closed within five meters of her. Seeing that she had passed the ball to me, they had no reason to foul an off-ball player, so they had to chase after me. I dribbled cautiously. A regular defender was chasing me. I knew a few dribbling moves. I did a step-over and got past him, charging into the penalty area, facing the goalkeeper directly. Just as I was about to shoot, a figure darted in from the side. It was the young man who had injured Chen Feng. He was still five or six meters away when he lunged in for a slide tackle.
I decided to avenge Chen Feng. I could have dodged his slide tackle after shooting, but I didn't. After shooting the ball with my right foot, I stopped in place and lifted my left foot, waiting for him to tackle my right foot!
*Crack!*
After a crisp sound, my ankle felt a wave of... pain? It felt like someone had lightly tapped me with chopsticks. I saw the young man tumble to the ground, clutching his right foot and moaning incessantly. I also faked falling, clutching my right foot and imitating him, even shouting louder than him.
My teammates immediately pressured the referee. The referee blew his whistle and showed the young man a yellow card, making it clear it was a foul. But then, he pointed to the penalty spot.
A penalty kick? Did that mean the goal I had scored with "great peril" was invalid!
My teammates were naturally indignant. They questioned the referee, "We clearly scored a goal, why are we getting a penalty kick?"
"And the foul happened after the shot and goal, there's no reason to disallow the goal!" another player, who clearly understood football rules, chimed in. Indeed, that was the case.
The referee remained silent, but he didn't change his decision. It was then that I noticed another professional player from the opposing team was changing clothes with the goalkeeper, preparing to defend the penalty.
This was allowed by the rules. As long as they were players on the field, anyone could attempt to save a penalty, with the referee's permission. However, they had to wear the goalkeeper's jersey when saving a penalty, and change back after the penalty was taken. The reason this was rarely seen in matches was that professional goalkeepers underwent specialized training from a young age. The other ten outfield players on any team would not have goalkeeping skills as good as the goalkeeper, hence no substitution. Even if a substitution occurred, it would typically be to bring on a reserve goalkeeper. Unless all substitution slots were used and the goalkeeper was injured, making them feel unreliable in goal, would they potentially give up the goalkeeping position.
The referee naturally allowed this action by the opposing team. I stopped playing dead and got up from the ground, picked up the ball, and walked to the penalty spot.
"Brother, is your leg okay? We all heard a crack just now..." a teammate asked me kindly.
I waved my hand, "Even if my leg is broken, I'll score the goal first."
On the other side, the young man was still rolling on the ground after receiving the yellow card. Song Wenzhi rushed over and kicked him, "Damn it, stop faking! Get up already!"
"Boss Song, I, I'm not faking, damn it! My leg, my leg is broken!" the young man cried out hoarsely.
His teammates finally realized something was wrong and quickly gathered around. I also saw it: the young man's right ankle had swollen to the size of an ostrich egg.
"Damn it, useless piece of crap! You injure someone else and then break your own leg! Waste! Someone, someone, hurry up and carry him off, don't delay the match!" Song Wenzhi roared.