Chapter 120: The Overpowered Goalkeeper

After returning from national team duty, Dai Zhiwei was unfazed by the exhaustion of travel, bringing his excellent form and luck back to Villarreal.

Following the international break, Villarreal’s first match was a La Liga Round 3 clash against Malaga. Although the match was held at Malaga's home ground, Villarreal—or rather, Dai Zhiwei—did not leave the opposition with a shred of dignity in front of their home fans, effectively ending the suspense of the match by halftime.

In the 33rd minute, Dai Zhiwei cut into the right side of the penalty area and pulled the ball back; Cheryshev fired a powerful shot into the top corner from 14 yards out: 1-0! Five minutes later, Dai Zhiwei surged into the box again and was brought down by a Malaga defender, earning a penalty. He stepped up and converted it himself: 2-0! In the 44th minute, Trigueros delivered a pass; once again, it was Dai Zhiwei who unleashed a fierce 12-yard strike from the right side of the box. After the goalkeeper parried it, Dai reacted sharply to net the rebound: 3-0.

Having secured a brace, Dai Zhiwei had completely extinguished the suspense of the match, and manager Escriba substituted him off at halftime.

After the 3-0 rout of Malaga, although Dai Zhiwei enjoyed a full second half of rest, he had to prepare immediately for his maiden UEFA Champions League campaign after a brief adjustment. Following their comeback win against Monaco to qualify for the group stage, Villarreal had been handed a favorable draw.

On August 25, the 2016-17 Champions League group stage draw and the UEFA Best Player in Europe award ceremony were held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo. Ultimately, Barcelona, Manchester City, and Borussia Mönchengladbach were placed in the same group, setting up a reunion for Guardiola and his newly signed goalkeeper, Bravo, against their former club. Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund met for the fourth time in five seasons, and last season's semi-finalists, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, crossed paths once again. Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal were grouped together, while Premier League champions Leicester City were drawn against Porto, the team that had eliminated Roma.

Villarreal was drawn into Group E, the most evenly matched group, alongside CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen, and Tottenham Hotspur. As third and fourth-tier teams, the overall strength of Tottenham and Villarreal was arguably equal to, if not better than, that of CSKA Moscow and Leverkusen.

The much-anticipated Europa League winners, Villarreal, had finally returned to the Champions League stage after years of waiting. Being drawn with CSKA Moscow and "The Factory" Bayer Leverkusen was considered a good draw for the top two seeds, but the addition of the formidable third-seed Tottenham Hotspur muddied the waters. Compared to other groups, the top two seeds, CSKA Moscow and Leverkusen, barely held an advantage in terms of qualifying. CSKA had lost Musa, Leverkusen’s core player Çalhanoğlu was mired in transfer rumors, and the progress of the young Tottenham squad was plain to see. After a coaching change, Villarreal’s victory over Ligue 1 powerhouse Monaco in the playoffs had proven their own strength. It was entirely possible that this group would see a "bizarre" outcome where the third and fourth seeds advanced.

Villarreal’s first Champions League group stage opponent was Tottenham Hotspur, arguably the strongest team in Group E. Last season, Spurs narrowly missed out on the title, finishing 3rd in the Premier League with 19 wins, 13 draws, and 6 losses—11 points behind champions Leicester City, having scored 69 goals and conceded 35. Nevertheless, third place was the highest ranking in Tottenham’s Premier League history. This season, Pochettino retained all his core players and added reinforcements; their goal in the Champions League was certainly not just to gain experience.

Pochettino maintained his customary 4-2-3-1 formation, emphasizing passing and control when in possession, requiring the four attacking players to constantly swap positions to disrupt the opponent's defensive line. One of the two defensive midfielders would actively push forward, and fullbacks Rose and Walker possessed significant speed and explosiveness, participating heavily in the attack. Defensively, Pochettino demanded relentless running and aggressive pressing, putting intense pressure on the opposition, especially the ball carrier. As of now, Tottenham remained unbeaten in the Premier League after four rounds, with two wins and two draws.

Although this first Champions League group match was held at Tottenham’s home ground, the atmosphere was muted because they had moved their home games to Wembley Stadium for the season. During the pre-match warm-ups, the Villarreal players were relaxed, the atmosphere nowhere near as tense as a typical away game. Dai Zhiwei even practiced two curved shots from the center circle.

Both sides started with the same 4-2-3-1 formation: Tottenham led by Harry Kane as the lone striker, and Villarreal led by Dai Zhiwei.

Tottenham lineup: Lloris; Kyle Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Ben Davies; Dier, Alli; Lamela, Eriksen, Son Heung-min; Harry Kane.
Villarreal lineup: Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, Musacchio, Ruiz, Costa; Trigueros, Bruno; Dos Santos, Castillejo, Cheryshev; Dai Zhiwei.

"Hi!" In the player tunnel, Son Heung-min specifically greeted Dai Zhiwei, as both could speak English. Because of their presence, the match was dubbed the "Asian Derby" by the outside world.

"We are going to take the victory in this match!" Son Heung-min said with a smile, clearly still harboring feelings about South Korea failing to beat China at home during the World Cup qualifiers.

"Haha, you stole my line!" Although Dai Zhiwei had a strong aversion to the Koreans, he had a decent impression of Son Heung-min and responded with a smile, though his words showed no sign of yielding. "It will be us who win this match!"

However, once the match began, Tottenham's attack nearly turned Dai Zhiwei’s declaration into mere bravado. Under Tottenham’s opening onslaught, Dai Zhiwei watched the shaky "Yellow Submarine" defense from the front and had to abandon his attacking position, rushing back to the midfield to help defend. Although the top-tier La Liga defensive midfield duo of Bruno and Trigueros defended actively, they could not stem the tide of Tottenham's attacks. Facing the rapid offensive play of the Premier League side, Villarreal’s midfield defense was somewhat chaotic.

In the 4th minute, Son Heung-min made a breakthrough on the wing and crossed the ball. Harry Kane failed to connect with the shot, but Mario Gaspar made a mistake, miscontrolling the ball and accidentally laying it right in front of Harry Kane. Kane and Ruiz both dived for the ball, but Kane was faster, poking the ball from under Ruiz’s armpit toward the goal before the defender had fully fallen.

Praise be to the Yellow Submarine's guardian, Asenjo, at this moment! If not for his superhuman reaction speed, subconsciously stretching out a toe to deflect the ball away from the goal, Villarreal would have fallen behind early in an away match. After scrambling to his feet, Asenjo unleashed a torrent of abuse at the backline; even Musacchio was caught in the crossfire, showing just how dissatisfied the keeper was. After all, not every goalkeeper is De Gea.

The match continued. Villarreal fullback Costa cleared the ball in the chaos, and Dai Zhiwei sprinted toward it with Alli on his heels, but Costa’s clearance was too powerful, sending the ball directly out of play. Dai Zhiwei was exhausted from the chase and didn't even have the energy to give Costa a thumbs-up.

"The sluggish midfield has caused a downturn in both attack and defense; they are completely disconnected," the assistant coach whispered to Escriba. Escriba frowned without speaking. While some of the Villarreal players had played in the Champions League before, Escriba was a complete novice; he hadn't even grasped the difference between the Champions League and La Liga.

Fortunately, while Escriba was agonizing, the players on the pitch had a clear plan. Bruno, the team captain, fought actively in the midfield. After he and Costa combined to dispossess Lamela, Dai Zhiwei sprinted forward, but just as he turned to call for the ball, he saw Costa’s pass blocked out of play by Lamela. Costa looked embarrassed; having made two passing errors, he blushed and gestured an apology to Dai Zhiwei. Seeing Costa’s distress, Dai Zhiwei didn't feel like complaining and returned a thumbs-up.

In the 11th minute, Bruno took the ball in midfield and completed a series of combinations with Dos Santos. Bruno lofted a pass to the corner of the penalty area, where Dai Zhiwei finally made his presence felt for the first time in over half an hour. He followed up on the left and unleashed a powerful shot, but it hit Lloris and bounced out for a corner.

"My left foot is still lacking," Dai Zhiwei thought. He had intended to use the outside of his foot to curl the ball into the far corner, bypassing Lloris, but as a right-footed player, his control with his left was relatively inferior.

Dai Zhiwei knew that although he was nearing the "Epic" player level—with only a handful of players in the world currently boasting higher stats than his—he still had a major flaw: his weak foot. At present, he could only be considered a fairly balanced player, still relying heavily on his right foot, which was far superior in ball control. His stats reflected this: an 86 rating for his right foot, versus a 75 for his left. Messi’s dominant foot was also far superior to his non-dominant one; his left foot was arguably the best in the history of football, and while his right wasn't bad, the gap was significant, leading opponents to know he would almost always cut inside to the left. Of course, knowing and being able to stop it were two different things.

"I'll discuss it with Tsubasa when I get back; see if there's a quick solution in the system." Dai Zhiwei had practiced his left foot before, or he wouldn't have reached a 75 rating, but he spent most of his time practicing skills like the "Right-Angle Feint" and "Curved Shot" with his right foot.

Five minutes after Lloris blocked his shot, Trigueros intercepted the ball in midfield and surged forward. His high-quality pass allowed Dos Santos to cross from the touchline, and Dai Zhiwei headed the ball back toward the middle. Having nurtured his "Elle Sid Pierre’s Eiffel Pass" skill to the intermediate stage, Dai Zhiwei’s sense of positioning and ability were growing stronger. His header allowed Castillejo to attempt a difficult outside-of-the-foot volley from the edge of the box.

The ball swerved with intense spin and a sudden dip toward the top corner. Just as it was about to tuck into the dead corner, a large hand appeared in front of the goal. The ball struck the gloved hand and bounced off the post, and Lloris was sent flying, crashing into the turf. Castillejo clutched his head in regret. Although he had a precise long-range shot, he had relied on luck to pull off such a high-level strike; he didn't know when the next opportunity would come.

Having seen two certain goals blocked by Lloris, Dai Zhiwei couldn't remain calm. Sometimes, as a striker, encountering an "overpowered" goalkeeper like this was incredibly frustrating. For some reason, he had an ominous feeling. "He won't keep playing like this, will he? Give me a chance to breathe!"

"If only every match could be like Karius in the Champions League final, what a perfect life that would be!" he muttered to himself while searching for gaps in the penalty area.

On the other side, Trigueros slowly walked toward Dos Santos and, catching the Tottenham players off guard, sprinted toward the corner flag. Dos Santos immediately played a short corner to Trigueros, who glanced at the box before delivering a cross. The ball was fast and flat, arcing toward the far post, far away from Lloris’s defensive zone. Before Dai Zhiwei had mastered the curved shot, Trigueros was Villarreal’s top set-piece specialist with a formidable long-range shot. Just as everyone thought he was going for a shot at the far post, Dai Zhiwei suddenly burst out from the middle and smashed his head into the rapidly spinning ball.

With no defender interfering, Dai Zhiwei’s jump and header were fluid. The violent impact increased the ball's speed as it changed trajectory toward the goal with a "bang." Lloris, standing on the goal line, was preparing to move toward the far post when he saw Dai Zhiwei’s header. In less than half a second, he threw his body sideways, arm extended, and somehow managed to tip the ball over the crossbar right on the line.

That was a header from the edge of the six-yard box—a point-blank range—yet Lloris had miraculously denied it. The Villarreal fans were nearly in despair.

"Damn, is he on something?"

Dai Zhiwei stared blankly at the god-like Lloris, his mind filled with nothing but lamentations. How could he not overcome this final line of defense?