Thud!
The ball flew toward the far corner of the goal.
Who could have expected Dudek to be caught off guard by Su Hang's deadly left-footed strike?
It came from an almost impossible angle.
Swish!
The ball hit the far corner netting.
Another impossible goal!
A goal net has four sides—the left and right side nets, the back vertical net, and the top edge net.
Most shots hit the back net.
Only those struck from the most extreme angles graze the side nets.
Such shots are nearly impossible to stop—and just as difficult to pull off.
"Goal! Su Hang again! It's Su Hang once more!"
"Incredible! Is there really no Premier League defender who can stop Su Hang? The answer is no!"
"Two-one! Su Hang is carrying Real Madrid again, knocking on the door of the Champions League quarterfinals!"
"Just like last season, Su Hang refuses to let Real Madrid fall out at the Round of 16!"
"Burning past Carragher! Forcing through Hyypiä! A left-footed finish from an impossible angle! Su Hang's technique isn't flashy—but it's terrifyingly effective!"
"Real Madrid has found a new Ronaldo!"
"He's easily one of the most dangerous forwards in this season's Champions League!"
"Seven goals! Su Hang has drawn level with AC Milan's Shevchenko, sharing the top spot on the Champions League scoring chart with the Ukrainian nuclear warhead!"
Amid the roaring boos of Anfield, Figo stood on the sideline, momentarily stunned.
He muttered, "He's learned it. He really learned it!"
"My flick-over dribble—he actually listened yesterday."
"And… he's even picked up my feint technique!"
Yes!
Not only Figo found it unbelievable—
even the system would have been shocked.
Su Hang had gained Figo's flick-over dribble as a skill,
but the way he sidestepped Hyypiä came entirely from his own study of Figo's playing habits—
Figo-style dribbling!
In his younger years, Figo's dribbling was sharp yet unpretentious.
His moves couldn't easily be summarized into a neat "signature skill."
The magic lay in one word—unpredictability.
Figo liked to keep his body ahead of the ball,
unlike most dribblers who preferred the ball in front of them.
This allowed him to protect the ball to the maximum.
The moment his foot swung back to pull the ball forward—
that was the essence of his technique.
That distance gave him full control:
he could push left, right, or even adjust mid-action depending on the defender's reaction.
It was like a slower, freer version of the Elastico.
Less flashy—but infinitely harder to defend.
It was much like Allen Iverson's crossover in basketball.
If you don't defend, he breezes past you.
If you do, he just switches sides.
By lifting the ball in that flicking motion, he naturally completed the first step of his sprint.
He effectively stole half a step—enough to leave a defender trailing even by half a body length.
This shared the same principle as the "Vertical Burst."
That's why Figo understood Vertical Burst so quickly and used it to relive his prime.
Visually, Figo's dribbles didn't always look explosive—he didn't blow past opponents in one motion.
The impact wasn't overwhelming,
but those who knew the move understood the control it gave—the calm of total mastery.
And crucially, this method worked more often than trying to completely beat the defender.
The latter demanded greater acceleration, sharper decisions, mental duels, and physical strength—not for everyone.
This technique perfectly matched Figo's physique—
a true genius move that even ordinary players could learn.
It was Figo's real secret weapon.
He had only briefly explained it to Su Hang the day before.
He never imagined Su Hang would actually pull it off.
After all, countless stars had tried but failed to replicate it.
Take Manchester United's "Little Ronaldo," Cristiano—
he relied on raw speed to blitz past defenders.
Or Barcelona's "Little Flea," Messi—
he absorbed Figo's essence and doubled it, dazzling defenders with his rhythm.
But those were elite variations.
Not everyone could make them work.
Only Su Hang.
Only he was truly ordinary!
Su Hang: ???
...
After that goal, Liverpool grew restless.
Benítez waved his arm and substituted Luis García for Robbie Fowler.
It wasn't that García had played poorly—
but Liverpool now held the attacking momentum and needed someone with greater finishing ability.
A playmaker like García was no longer what they needed.
With that change, Liverpool had four forwards on the pitch—
practically a 4-2-4 formation.
Alonso and Gerrard took turns distributing the ball,
feeding the four forwards to create chaos up front.
Simple and direct—but brutally effective.
It was the classic English approach when throwing everything forward in the dying moments.
Difficult to judge—
but it had created miracles before.
Like Manchester United's legendary 1999 comeback against Bayern Munich—
two goals in two minutes to win the Champions League—born from the same desperation.
More often, though, this style wasted chances without changing the scoreline.
83rd minute.
Alonso launched a long ball from the right side of the center circle,
a diagonal cross at a forty-five-degree angle.
Ramos and Crouch both leapt for it.
Crouch's header went wide.
But upon landing, he shoved Ramos in the chest.
Ramos staggered, then charged back at him—
the two started pushing, nearly brawling.
The referee rushed in to separate them.
"He elbowed me!" Crouch shouted, lifting his shirt to reveal red marks.
At 1.84 meters, Ramos couldn't outjump the 2.02-meter Crouch—
so he'd used "other methods" to disrupt him.
"What? Don't I have marks too?" Ramos retorted, pulling up his own shirt.
Su Hang quickly grabbed Ramos's hand.
Because—hey! There really weren't any marks!
In the end, both Ramos and Crouch received yellow cards.
Both had thrown hands.
The referee then warned Ramos:
keep the defense clean—one more "borderline" incident, and he'd get booked again.
Liverpool fans were furious.
They believed Ramos's earlier challenge deserved a penalty.
Real Madrid weren't happy either.
Su Hang stepped up to the referee.
"You can't just assume Ramos is a thug because he looks like one," he argued.
"Judge his next tackle by what he actually does, not by preconceived notions.
That's bias—you can't officiate like that."
Before the referee could reach for his pocket,
Su Hang grinned awkwardly and walked off.
The scuffle had already bought Real Madrid two minutes.
Even if the referee added a minute of stoppage time,
they had still gained one overall.
88th minute.
Fowler's shot was deflected by Helguera for a corner.
Liverpool took the corner.
Su Hang, back in the box, outmuscled his former teammate Morientes to clear the danger.
90th minute—
the fourth official raised the board: three minutes of added time.