Chapter 49: Tiger Strike

Amidst the astonished cries of the fans at Prince Abdullah Stadium, Dai Zhiwei drove the ball straight up the middle. For Al Ahli, only the two center backs, Khamis and Kwon Kyung-won, remained inside their box. Seeing Dai Zhiwei approach, Khamis hurried forward to intercept, while Kwon Kyung-won stayed close to the goal along with keeper Mahmoud, bracing for the possibility of Dai Zhiwei bursting into the box and shooting.

Dai Zhiwei, seeing Khamis coming, did not slow down to wait for his teammates, such as Elkeson or Goulart, to catch up. Instead, he decisively accelerated and cut to the right.

On the pitch, coaches always stress the importance of quick passing because even a moment’s hesitation can cause an opportunity to vanish. Dai Zhiwei was always resolute in his decisions—though sometimes, his choices weren’t the right ones.

Khamis realized Dai Zhiwei was only two steps from entering the box—he dared not let him advance any further and rushed up to block, preparing to use his body to cut off Dai Zhiwei’s route. Even if it meant conceding a dangerous free kick to Evergrande, Khamis was willing to take that risk.

When Dai Zhiwei was still two meters away from Khamis, he slowed fractionally, adjusted his stride with tiny steps, and moved toward the ball, his form taut as a drawn bow.

With a quick adjustment, Dai Zhiwei planted his right foot, twisted his torso, and, before Khamis could close him down, swung his left leg powerfully, smashing the ball from underneath.

“Tiger Strike!” Dai Zhiwei growled, childishly shouting the name of his technique.

With a thud, Khamis saw only a blur of black streak past; he barely had time to flinch instinctively. The ball, like a bullet, cut through the air with no arc, skimming past Khamis’s waist and heading straight for the far corner of the goal.

Dai Zhiwei’s twisted body, his leg fully extended, his arms swept back—before he could even recover his posture, the ball was already at the goal.

In front of the net, Mahmoud was still directing Kwon Kyung-won’s positioning, planning to track the shot and react. But just as Mahmoud bent his knees, the ball had already rocketed past him.

From where Dai Zhiwei shot to the goal line was at least twenty meters, yet Mahmoud had no time to react at all.

“It’s in! Evergrande scores again! Dai Zhiwei has put Evergrande back in the lead—brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Nineteen minutes into the second half, Dai Zhiwei scores from outside the box—unbelievable, simply incredible! If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time in his career that Dai Zhiwei has scored such a thunderous goal from outside the area! Wow! Has Dai Zhiwei just patched one of his few weaknesses?” In the broadcast booth, He Wei roared in disbelief.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!” Cries of amazement erupted near the commentary box, followed by a thunderous wave of cheers sweeping the stadium—

“Dai Zhiwei!”

“Dai Zhiwei!”

“Dai Zhiwei!”

Dai Zhiwei clenched his right fist, elated, and ran to the Evergrande supporters, raising his arms in triumph. To score a brace on the grand stage of the AFC Champions League final—his joy was beyond measure.

“Zhiwei, what a rocket!”

“A beautiful strike!”

“Man, that was amazing!” His teammates crowded around, showering him with praise.

“Haha! Just a little something!” Dai Zhiwei laughed heartily, arms wide.

But he quickly regained his composure, reflecting, “I still haven’t mastered the Tiger Strike. The wind-up is too long—if the defender had been any closer, I wouldn’t have even had a chance to shoot.”

“Sigh, I’ll have to keep practicing…”

His teammates were somewhat surprised by the goal. Even in training, Dai Zhiwei’s thunderous long shots from outside the box were rare. Yet in their eyes, Dai Zhiwei had made visible strides in just half a year—from a lone wolf who only knew how to break down the wing, to a prolific scorer, to a deadly aerial threat. Possessing a stunning long-range shot now seemed only natural.

But for Al Ahli’s coach and players, it was a different story. Nearly everyone was stunned by Dai Zhiwei’s sudden cannon of a shot. The head coach even leapt to his feet.

In past matches, Dai Zhiwei’s options outside the box were almost always to pass or dribble; his long shots posed little threat. So, whether this wonder strike was luck or not, Al Ahli would have to drastically adjust their defensive strategy. They could no longer allow Dai Zhiwei such freedom outside the box, nor let him have space to shoot.

Al Ahli could not risk another long-range thunderbolt like this piercing their net.

After a delay of more than a minute, play resumed.

Al Ahli’s players were unfazed by Dai Zhiwei’s goal. Their superb footballing mentality saw them quickly adjust and launch a fierce attack.

The battle in midfield intensified. For Evergrande, Paulinho and Huang Bowen were like twin meat grinders, relentlessly disrupting Al Ahli’s buildup. Hasan and his teammates struggled to organize attacks, while Zheng Zhi and Goulart fought valiantly on defense.

But in West Asia, the odds of the referee not favoring the home side are slim. Soon enough, the referee brandished two yellow cards, warning Evergrande that persisting with their “meat grinder” tactics would risk ejections.

With the referee’s backing, Al Ahli unleashed a seamless, flowing offensive, frequently utilizing the flanks and Xiao Ge’s tireless runs to stretch Evergrande’s back line.

With SH Carl and other late runners surging forward, Al Ahli’s attacks came crashing like waves.

Yet Evergrande was no less formidable. Their powerful individual drives in the attacking third left Al Ahli’s defense in disarray. Goulart and Dai Zhiwei’s breakthroughs created constant danger for Khamis and Kwon Kyung-won, while Elkeson’s threat in the middle was like a bone stuck in the throat—Evergrande’s counterattacks were equally impressive.

At this point, both managers watched intensely from the sidelines as the action surged back and forth, neither side relenting.

By this stage, neither manager—neither a world-class tactician—could do more than rely on their players’ performance.

In the 71st minute, Haikal’s direct free kick from 25 yards on the right soared over the bar, missing a golden chance.

In the 74th, substitute Abbas delivered a pass, and fellow substitute Asedi’s shot from the right edge of the box also missed.

In the 77th minute, Asedi returned the ball to Abbas, who unleashed a fierce 25-yard drive that deflected off Paulinho’s shoulder and went out. From the subsequent right corner, Khamis’s header from twelve yards was easily claimed by Zeng Cheng.

Soon, with only fifteen minutes remaining, both sides’ attacks began to wane due to fatigue. Evergrande, whenever they gained possession, slowed the game with intricate passing to run down the clock.

At this point, sportsmanship took a back seat—even Dai Zhiwei, upon receiving the ball up front, would use his exceptional dribbling and speed to carry it to the corner flag, eating away at the precious seconds.

With little drama in the latter half, the officials inexplicably added five minutes of stoppage time, much to the Evergrande bench’s displeasure—Cannavaro and his staff repeatedly voiced their complaints.

Fortunately, Evergrande’s players remained calm, neutralizing the home side’s attacks one after another.

“Three minutes left—hold on, hold on!”

Cannavaro had already undone the top two buttons of his shirt. With all three substitutions used, there was nothing left but to trust his players on the pitch.

As the match entered the 95th minute, Al Ahli mounted one final attack from a throw-in; even keeper Mahmoud surged into Evergrande’s box, dreaming of a goalkeeper’s miracle equalizer.

But miracles are called miracles for a reason—because they are so rare.

At last, as Liu Jian hoofed the ball clear, the referee blew the final whistle. Evergrande had triumphed 2-1 in the first leg of the AFC Champions League final!

To return home with a victory and two precious away goals was a satisfying outcome for Evergrande.

And for Al Ahli, trailing by only a single goal in the aggregate, all was still to play for.

In short, the suspense for this season’s Asian crown remained very much alive.