Chapter 103: The Europa League Final

With two rounds remaining, Villarreal had already secured fourth place in the La Liga standings, clinching qualification for next season's Champions League and a berth in this season's Europa League final. Consequently, the final two La Liga matches had become nothing more than mere formalities for Villarreal.

Given that Dai Zhiwei's stamina had reached a critical threshold with a red light flashing, Marcelino had not even placed his name on the 18-man squad for these two fixtures.

As a result, Dai Zhiwei's league goals in his debut La Liga season were capped at 15—ranking 14th on the current La Liga scorers' list!

While this tally could not compare to the numbers of Suárez, Messi, or Ronaldo, it nonetheless established him as Villarreal's league top scorer, all the more impressive considering he had only played half the season.

Adding his 13 goals in the Europa League, he had already locked in the Europa League Golden Boot and the club's top scorer for the season.

His half-season haul had utterly overshadowed the team's other strikers like Bacambu and Soldado, and Villarreal's players and staff alike regarded him as the ultimate weapon to storm and capture goals on the 18th Europa League final!

Villarreal's Europa League final opponent was Sevilla, another La Liga club. Sevilla had become the first team to reach the Europa League final three consecutive years, having won the previous two.

If Sevilla were to claim the title, they would join Atlético Madrid in 2010 and Chelsea in 2013 as the third club to win the Europa League after being eliminated in the Champions League group stage.

Compared to Villarreal's previous dismal record in European competitions, Sevilla's historical record in the UEFA Cup and Europa League was undeniably illustrious. The club had already won the competition's championship trophy four times, a feat unmatched by any other European team.

Moreover, this Andalusian side was the first to reach the Europa League championship and runners-up finals in three consecutive seasons. Since Bayern Munich's back-to-back three-peat of the European Cup Championship in the 1970s, no team had achieved the three-peat in European competition. This season, Sevilla would stride toward that great triumph.

Perhaps because the final opponent was a team he had faced before, Dai Zhiwei felt no nerves or undue excitement; the night before the match, he had slept soundly.

The following evening, the Sevilla versus Villarreal showdown was about to begin. In the players' tunnel at the San Sebastián de los Reyes Park, Sevilla captain Keko led two young boys down the steps, ready to take the field. One of them, a boy of three or four years old, suddenly stopped, thumped his chest at Keko, stamped his foot, and muttered several sentences, seemingly displeased that Keko had touched his head.

At that moment, Bruno was leading the Villarreal players onto the pitch. The boy suddenly turned and extended a hand toward Bruno.

Noticing his completely opposite attitude toward Keko and Bruno, everyone assumed he was a fan of the Yellow Submarine. Dai Zhiwei even tried to mock Sevilla for using their young fan as a left ball boy.

But just as Bruno was about to shake his hand, the boy suddenly withdrew it and made a face at Bruno. Villarreal captain then felt both annoyed and amused, so he gently patted the boy's face.

Dai Zhiwei's laughter had not even left his lips before he had to swallow it back, his expression appearing somewhat comical.

"Haha! This little ball boy from Basel is such a cute kid!" the CCTV Sports Channel host Tao Dawei noticed the scene in the tunnel and laughed heartily. Dai Zhiwei's comical expression was broadcast on all the live media covering the Europa League final, and even more so, it was turned into various meme formats by netizens after the match.

For this match, Sevilla's Rami was back from suspension, and captain Keko returned to the starting lineup after recovering from injury. Villarreal, on the other hand, switched to a striker pairing of Dai Zhiwei and Bacambu, evidently because Marcelino was dissatisfied with Soldado's recent form.

Sevilla's lineup:
Goalkeeper: Soria
Defenders: Mariano, Rami, Cañas, Escudero
Midfield: Keko, Enzo
Forwards: Beto, Gameiro

Villarreal's lineup:
Goalkeeper: Asenjo
Defenders: Mario Gaspar, Bailly, Bonera, Lucena
Midfield: Trigueros, Bruno, Pina, Dos Santos
Strikers: Bacambu, Dai Zhiwei

After a series of activities, the match finally began under referee Lei Li's whistle.

Villarreal took the first kick-off. Dos Santos and Pina pulled the ball wide as much as possible to create space in the center for Bacambu and Dai Zhiwei.

Cañas suddenly surged forward, disrupting Sevilla's midfield defense. Before they could adjust, Cañas passed the ball to Dai Zhiwei up ahead.

Rami immediately closed in without hesitation, fiercely pressing up on Dai Zhiwei. However, Dai Zhiwei's skillful feint caught him off guard.

Dai Zhiwei did not stop the ball but instead used the back of his right foot to flick it lightly backward to Bacambu behind him. With a clever turn, he immediately left Rami trailing behind.

Bacambu firmly held off the Sevilla center-back Cañas behind him, using a right-footed instep to make a one-two pass with Dai Zhiwei.

Dai Zhiwei suddenly accelerated past Keko on the recovery, receiving Bacambu's pass and immediately bursting into the penalty area.

But at that very moment, Rami suddenly slid in from the side for a horizontal tackle, sending both Dai Zhiwei and the ball flying through the air.

"I didn't foul! No foul!" Rami immediately stood up from the ground, waving his hands and shouting at the referee.

Villarreal players rushed toward the referee, demanding a penalty. However, the referee made no gesture, signaling that Villarreal should take a throw-in.

This left the Villarreal players very dissatisfied, but referee Lei Li insisted on his decision. The Villarreal players had no choice but to send the ball out of bounds.

"Hey! Kid, was that comfortable?" Rami stuck close to Dai Zhiwei from behind and whispered provocatively.

Dai Zhiwei remained expressionless and silent. He understood that saying anything now would only invite more garbage talk from Rami.

To slap the opponent, one had to score.

Villarreal started the match with an aggressive approach, which came as a surprise to everyone. After all, football finals rarely featured open games; most were dull confrontations. Marcelino had made a bold tactic.

Villarreal's onslaught forced Sevilla to defend desperately at times, but soon after, they adjusted and were not without counterattacking ability.

The two teams quickly settled into a fast-paced rhythm, showcasing the characteristics of La Liga players to the fullest.

In the fourth minute, Beto's quick counterattack crossed the ball to Gameiro, but Bailly made a crucial interception.

In the thirteenth minute, Mario Gaspar crossed from the right, and Dai Zhiwei's header from 12 yards out on the left side went wide of the near post.

In the seventeenth minute, Villarreal almost scored. Lucena crossed from the left, Dai Zhiwei headed it across, Dos Santos returned the ball, and Bacambu swept a left-footed shot from 14 yards out. The ball grazed the right post and went out.

In the twenty-first minute, Dos Santos slipped past Rami on the right and crossed. Dai Zhiwei headed toward goal from 10 yards out, sending it into Soria's net.

"Today my shooting form is really good!"

Dai Zhiwei clenched his fist. He felt that his current form was the best in the past month, with only a gap of time before he scored again.

Afterward, Mariano's long shot from the right was saved by Asenjo. Villarreal's players carefully passed the ball in their own half, preferring to waste chances rather than hand possession to the opponent.

Before they knew it, the ball had reached Sevilla's half. Trigueros received Bruno's pass and sent a direct through ball to Dai Zhiwei up ahead.

Dai Zhiwei accelerated to receive the ball, retreating as he did so. Rami followed up without hesitation. Keko, with his excellent positioning, obviously believed that even if Dai Zhiwei received the ball in this position, it would not pose too much threat.

Dai Zhiwei stared fixedly at the incoming ball. Suddenly, he flicked his toe under the ball, lifted it slightly, and volleyed it over his head. Then he quickly turned, startling Rami. He saw Dai Zhiwei disappear at high speed right in front of him.

A beautiful chip over the shoulder!

"Hmph! Is that how you shake me off? You're too..."

Keko originally had no regard for Dai Zhiwei's skill, but just as he turned, he was shocked by Dai Zhiwei.

Dai Zhiwei adjusted his footing with small steps after turning and immediately unleashed a powerful shot. The entire Sevilla team could only stare in astonishment as the ball carved a long arc through the air, almost without any spin or curve, slamming hard into Soria's net.

Soria had not expected the opponent to shoot from over 30 meters away. He took a backward step and leaped up, only to watch helplessly as the ball slid off his fingertips.

"Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooal!"

With Dai Zhiwei's first goal of the match, Villarreal led Sevilla 1-0 in the Europa League final!

"So easy!"

After scoring, Dai Zhiwei stood right in front of Rami, shrugged his shoulders, and spread his hands as if to say: So simple to score, what can I do?

This celebration move was really too showy!

But this goal was indeed impressive!

In fact, he truly felt that this goal had been too easy, far easier than even the team's training matches.

As if he had just swung his leg casually and scored?

"Maybe, today I can do something great?" Dai Zhiwei pondered.

A beautiful chip, a graceful turn, a shocking long-range shot.

When Dai Zhiwei unleashed a shot from 30 meters away that pierced Sevilla's defense, the entire San Sebastián de los Reyes Park was stunned. How could he produce such a wonderful goal?

Sevilla fans were stunned and incredulous, while Villarreal fans enjoyed the joy brought by Dai Zhiwei to the fullest, roaring madly toward the pitch.

"Damn! If I had been one step slower, he would have scored."

Rami and Cañas's partnership had made Sevilla's defense rock solid. He was the cornerstone of Sevilla's two consecutive Europa League titles and three consecutive final appearances, possessing enviable strength and glory.

But now, he had been played by the little devil in front of him, and even provocatively so. Rami's pride had suffered a huge blow.

Rami shouted loudly at Dai Zhiwei, immediately drawing the referee's attention.

Celebrating a goal was fine, but conflict could not occur. He sensed the strong tension between Dai Zhiwei and Rami and immediately ran toward them.

Cañas and other Sevilla players all gathered around Rami, while young players like Dos Santos stood by Dai Zhiwei's side.

The atmosphere between the two sides grew increasingly tense, and the fans in the stands also shouted provocations at each other.

Actually, the standoff lasted only a few seconds.

The referee separated the players, warning both Rami and Dai Zhiwei to control their emotions.

For the remainder of the first half, Sevilla wanted to equalize, but Villarreal employed a counterattacking strategy, contracting their defense and waiting for the half-time break.

However, both teams knew that a 1-0 score at half-time meant nothing much—it only indicated who had the initiative.

After the start of the second half, the confrontation between Dai Zhiwei and Rami drew even more attention. Whenever Dai Zhiwei had a chance to touch the ball, Sevilla fans booed loudly to disturb him.

However, when Dai Zhiwei immersed himself fully in the match, he could only hear buzzing in his ears and paid no attention to it.

In fact, even with amplification in the noisy stadium, it was difficult to convey the sounds clearly to the players' ears.

Villarreal's attack: Dai Zhiwei received the ball with his back to goal, and Rami followed closely.

Dai Zhiwei faked left and right while facing the goal, then stepped the ball and turned to pull it back, facing Rami directly.

However, Rami was not about to let him go. He extended a foot to tackle as Dai Zhiwei was still unsteady.

Dai Zhiwei hesitated whether to break through or pass. Rami's tackle decided it for him. He flicked the ball over Rami's foot with the outside of his foot, and while Dai Zhiwei sprinted past, Rami had not yet recovered his footing and was successfully bypassed.

From receiving the ball to turning and chip over the shoulder, the entire sequence was smooth and fluid, like flowing water. Even the veteran commentator could not help but praise it.

Rami felt the most clearly. He sensed that the player who had gotten past him was like Messi. Although the difficulty of the move looked simple, it was actually effortless, reflecting only a certain level. Only when one reached a certain realm could one perform it so lightly.

After bypassing Rami, Dai Zhiwei dribbled forward unhindered. Keko and Enzo followed him. Previously, they had been in recovery, and seeing Rami bypassed, they immediately chased after Dai Zhiwei.

Enzo immediately used his body to collide with Dai Zhiwei, trying to use his frame to block Dai Zhiwei's shooting leg.

But Dai Zhiwei deflected the ball outward with his left foot. Although he stumbled, he still kept control of the ball at his feet.

Dai Zhiwei stumbled forward with the ball. Although he was still far from his optimal shooting distance, if he continued to dribble, he would inevitably fall into a three-man trap by Enzo, Keko, and Rami.

Since that was the case, Dai Zhiwei simply gave up carrying the ball. Clenching his teeth, he stomped the ground hard with his left foot and then slammed his right foot into the ball. The ball whipped with strong sidespin, flying along the grass like a low slash toward Sevilla's goal.

After kicking the ball, Dai Zhiwei suddenly had an idea: "It seems... something else has appeared?"

(The chapter ends.)