Chapter 89: Defeating the Opponent with Ease

In the first thirty minutes of the match, Villarreal had already taken a comfortable 2-0 lead over the visiting Sparta Prague. However, as the dark horse of this year’s Europa League, Sparta Prague was by no means an easy opponent, and in the final ten minutes of the first half, they launched a wave of attacks that left the fans of the Yellow Submarine breathless.

Dai Zhiwei barely felt any pressure up front, since Sparta Prague lined up with three defenders, rarely committing numbers to the attack. In fact, for the Yellow Submarine, Dai Zhiwei’s presence near the center line was already the strongest form of defense. After all, both previous goals had come from his pace on the counterattack, so as long as he remained in Sparta’s half, their three defenders dared not push forward with abandon.

As Sparta Prague surged forward, Villarreal seized another counterattacking opportunity. Bruno intercepted the ball in midfield and quickly played a low pass forward. Dai Zhiwei, with an outside-of-the-foot flick, tried to beat his man with a classic feint, sending the ball past Matejovsky’s left, but the latter blocked his path with his body.

Matejovsky matched Dai Zhiwei in both height and build, making it difficult for Dai to muscle past him. Left with little choice, Dai grabbed his opponent’s shirt, then burst forward, successfully outpacing Matejovsky’s defense. Just as he was about to continue his run with the ball, the referee’s whistle blew, penalizing him for a foul from behind.

“Did I really foul him?” Dai Zhiwei looked at the referee with an expression of pure innocence. Under the tutelage of veterans like Gao Lin, his “acting skills” had improved rapidly, but the referee remained unmoved.

“Ah, maybe I just don’t have the talent for this,” Dai Zhiwei muttered, shaking his head as he retreated. In some ways, he was a real chatterbox; he would often talk to himself during matches and enjoyed chatting with the referees—even if they usually ignored this peculiar player.

Villarreal’s defense had improved greatly this season, but compared to the world’s best backlines, it was still not flawless. Just before the end of the first half, Sparta Prague’s Dockal sent a long pass to the front for Konate, who had drifted wide to the right. Konate controlled the ball calmly, preparing to take on Mario, while Yuris quietly moved into the center, ready to receive the pass.

Reading the play perfectly, Konate passed to Yuris and immediately darted down the flank, drawing Mario with him toward the byline. Yuris received the ball near the right wing and, after a quick adjustment, found Bruno marking him tightly. With a deft touch of his left foot, Yuris dodged Bruno’s block, sending the ball toward the far post.

In the middle, Bailly and Krejci were both ready to contest the aerial ball, while Asenjo in goal was prepared to claim it. But just as Bailly was about to leap, a dark figure surged in from outside the box, springing high into the air. With no time to adjust, Bailly could only watch as Frydek flicked the ball with his head, sending it in a new direction.

Asenjo had anticipated Bailly clearing the danger, but to his shock, Frydek got there first, and the ball changed course. A quick-witted Krejci was waiting by the goal, and he deftly tapped the ball with his right foot, sending it into the net.

Just before halftime, Sparta Prague pulled one back, leaving Marcelino rather helpless. Narrowing the lead was one thing, but conceding an away goal was a much bigger headache. During the break, however, Marcelino only reminded his players to stay alert, confident that his team’s strength still surpassed the opposition.

Unfortunately, his words seemed to have little effect. At the start of the second half, Sparta Prague continued to threaten Villarreal’s defense, with Yuris’s runs in the middle causing Ruiz all sorts of trouble. Clearly, none of them had expected Sparta to attack with such intensity after the break.

As Bruno tightened up support on both flanks and Castillejo dropped back to help defend, Villarreal finally managed to steady the situation, albeit barely. With Villarreal under pressure, Dai Zhiwei fell silent for a while.

But on the football field, a star needs only a flash of brilliance to change the outcome. Just as Sparta Prague were pressing for an equalizer, Dai Zhiwei received a through ball from Trigueros at the edge of the box. Before Matejovsky could close him down, he slipped the ball to Mario on the right and then surged forward.

Mario, facing Enhamer Nesu’s defense, drifted slowly toward the center. As Dai Zhiwei raced toward the penalty spot, Mario’s right boot feinted a pass, prompting Enhamer Nesu to turn back in pursuit. But after just two steps, Enhamer Nesu realized Mario’s pass had only been a ruse; with a clever step-over, Mario sent the ball back across to the center.

Naturally, the pass was aimed at Dai Zhiwei. The two had completed an unconventional one-two. Before Matejovsky could cover, Dai Zhiwei swung his left foot, sending the ball arcing rapidly toward the far corner.

It all happened so suddenly: Dai Zhiwei’s shot was quick and powerful, leaving little time to react. Unfortunately, his stride was slightly off, and although the shot was with his left, goalkeeper Bicik was well positioned. With quick footwork, Bicik lunged back and managed to tip the ball over the crossbar with his fingertips.

That was Villarreal’s first shot on target in the second half, but Bicik denied them again. Dai Zhiwei shook his arm in frustration, muttering to himself—he had high hopes for that attempt.

The game ebbed and flowed. On Sparta’s counter, Krejci broke forward with the ball, only to be shouldered fiercely by Trigueros. Stumbling, Krejci shielded the ball, spun around, and played it back to Dockal, shooting a glare at Trigueros as he did so.

Dockal immediately switched play to Konate on the right, who tried to outfox Mario with a feint, but before he could act, Villarreal’s captain Bruno arrived quietly and stole the ball.

Bruno wasted no time after the successful interception, launching a long pass forward. It wasn’t perfectly accurate, but it was quick enough that Sparta’s players couldn’t recover in time.

Up front, Dai Zhiwei and Rados both sprinted, but Dai, closer to the ball’s landing spot, reached it first. Rados lunged in with a fierce slide tackle, but Dai Zhiwei simply knocked the ball forward with a big touch, breezing past Rados, who scrambled to turn and chase.

Dai Zhiwei sprinted ahead, with Rados in pursuit and Brabec as the final barrier before the Sparta goalkeeper. Brabec adjusted his steps cautiously, hoping to slow Dai Zhiwei down. But Dai, at full tilt, had no interest in fancy moves—just another big touch past Brabec.

In a blur, both ball and player split around Brabec. With Brabec beaten, Dai Zhiwei was already on the edge of the box, and Sparta’s goalkeeper Bicik, realizing the danger, abandoned his line to close him down.

But Dai Zhiwei, with calm composure, sent a delicate chip sailing just over the advancing Bicik’s head. The ball descended gracefully, landing straight into the empty net.

3-1!

With his eighth Europa League goal of the season, Dai Zhiwei restored Villarreal’s commanding advantage. After scoring, he once again mimed blowing the smoke from his finger—his now trademark celebration.

Buoyed by the goal, the Yellow Submarine pressed their advantage. Substitute Dos Santos dribbled past several defenders down the flank. Brabec, waiting near midfield, rushed forward to intercept, while Enhamer Nesu moved centrally to cover.

Before Brabec could close him down, Dos Santos played a cross to the middle. Dai Zhiwei received it instantly, with only Enhamer Nesu between him and the goal.

But Dai Zhiwei didn’t try to dribble past; instead, he surprised everyone with a long-range lob from outside the box. Enhamer Nesu followed the ball’s flight, stunned, as Bicik—unbeknownst to him—had already come off his line and was now desperately racing back.

This time, however, the ball didn’t find the net. It struck the crossbar and was quickly cleared by the retreating Rados.

“So close, just a bit more!” Dai Zhiwei muttered, ruffling his hair in frustration. Shots that hit the post or bar are the most exasperating—missing by a mile is one thing, but coming up just short by mere inches is truly galling.

When the final whistle blew, Villarreal had claimed a comfortable 3-1 victory over Sparta Prague in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals. With his goal, Dai Zhiwei maintained his lead atop the tournament's scoring charts. The only blemish was that Sparta Prague had managed to “steal” a precious away goal.