Chapter 156: People's Joys and Sorrows Don't Overlap
Borussia Dortmund were anxious, angry.
Arsenal showed no sign of letting up after scoring their sixth goal.
There was no way they would meekly offer their necks to be slaughtered.
They would resist, of course.
There would be crushing force in response, inevitably.
Thus ice and fire played out.
At the whistle, Dortmund's players surged forward like stallions out of the gate, but the effect was poor.
When Marco Reus, İlkay Gündoğan and Sven Bender tried to press Kevin De Bruyne, Mikel Arteta and Gustavo like in the first half,
there was often a "third party" between them — Xia Qi.
Jürgen Klopp's "high press" was hijacked by Xia Qi; what remained in Dortmund's hands was only the high line without the pressing.
The press had been neutralized by Xia Qi.
Under Xia Qi's disruption, it would have been a miracle if Dortmund could establish any advantage on the pitch.
After several exchanges, Dortmund's attacks came to nothing.
In the 82nd minute, Serge Gnabry cut inside and shot; the ball clipped the post and went out, and Dortmund regained possession.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang received the ball and drove forward, just past the halfway line.
Xia Qi followed up.
Aubameyang immediately braked sharply, trying to burst inside.
Xia Qi executed the same sudden stop, turned and muscled in hard.
The two crashed together; Aubameyang came off slightly worse — though he kept the ball with shaky balance, he could no longer continue the dribble.
He couldn't pass, so he tried to shake Xia Qi off, nearly having the ball snatched away by Xia Qi.
Luckily he kept his balance; at the crucial moment he rolled the ball and turned, jutting his backside to shove Xia Qi back.
Xia Qi slipped aside and, in the blink of an eye, got back on him — the two tangled again.
"Pass it, Pierre!"
Reus saw Aubameyang locked down by Xia Qi and that Arsenal's defensive shape was already set; there was little point attacking that side again.
He wanted Aubameyang to move the ball.
Aubameyang had no choice.
If he kept squabbling they'd lose possession.
He held off Xia Qi with his body and slid a horizontal pass.
With his back to Xia Qi, he didn't see Xia Qi suddenly withdraw power at the instant of the pass, spin, and pounce toward Reus.
Xia Qi's feet arrived nearly simultaneously with the ball.
Reus saw Xia Qi sliding in and leapt high — partly to protect himself from injury, partly to try to see Xia Qi clear the ball out for a throw.
Because of Aubameyang's hesitation, Arsenal's defenders were already in position.
So Reus wanted a throw — it was natural.
But AI Xia Qi's computation was astounding; he twisted his ankle and hooked his toe back.
He stayed the slide and kept the ball in play!
The ball was not cleared out; it stayed on the field.
Having completed the stay-slide, Xia Qi sprang up quickly.
Reus and Aubameyang were beside him; other spaces across Dortmund's side were exposed.
This was a chance for a counter!
The ball flew accurately toward Mario Balotelli in the central area; Balotelli, with his back to goal, jumped and flicked the ball back, which landed on the right flank.
Gnabry sprinted forward to collect it.
"Arsenal launch a counter!"
Marcel Schmelzer had to step up to intercept.
Gnabry had many options the instant he got the ball; in a flash he chose team play and passed to Balotelli's near post.
It amounted to a quick wall pass up front.
Balotelli charged toward goal at speed. Dortmund's two centre-backs expected him to carry the ball into the box and sat deep in the six-yard area, but Balotelli didn't continue the run.
Instead he planted his left foot, braked sharply, and like lightning swung his right foot, striking the ball with the outside of his boot to bend a curved arc.
A crescent-moon slice,
skimming past Mats Hummels' left and flying toward goal.
"Balotelli, shoot!"
"A Quasi-curve! Don't be fooled by Balotelli's big frame — his technique can be very delicate. He used the outside of his boot to curl a strange arc, a bit like Beckham's trademark curve."
On the Dortmund goal line, Roman Weidenfeller moved two quick steps and then launched himself sideways to save.
In that instant he judged Balotelli's shot would almost certainly be tight to the post.
As he dived he was already picturing his celebration after the save.
Never pop the champagne at halftime — that's a rule!
Weidenfeller had calculated everything except for an inside man.
Right-back Łukasz Piszczek stormed in from the side and leapt high, preparing to head the clearance.
He came from the outside in; whether he misread the ball's flight or the spin had a trick, his header became a header on goal.
Mid-air, Weidenfeller saw a figure in his own colours blocking his view and his tense heart eased.
But the next second was cruel: the ball didn't fly toward the byline. It skimmed over his head and dropped into the opposite side of the net.
Spine-chilling!
Weidenfeller felt something seriously wrong — that ball looked like it had been headed by a striker, not a defender.
No way, no way!
Sure enough,
the ball curled into the goal!
Weidenfeller could only watch it sail into the empty net…
"You…"
Weidenfeller saw Piszczek's stunned face and swallowed an expletive back down.
"My god! Arsenal's talisman is on them — everything goes their way."
"Weidenfeller could only cry; he could have dealt with it, but his teammate had to meddle…"
"Arsenal's seventh goal is an own goal — credited to Polish defender Łukasz Piszczek."
"People's joys and sorrows are not shared: Balotelli was ecstatic while Piszczek was in agony…"
Although it was an own goal, that didn't stop Balotelli celebrating — at the whistle he sprinted to the south stand and did a bodybuilder chest-show.
The Emirates erupted in thunderous cheers.
Some girls shouted to Balotelli in the stands: "Take off your shirt, Mario!" "Take off your shirt and I'll go on a date with you."
Mikel Arteta, close behind Balotelli, hurried to embrace him.
Fuck — both sides had a traitor in their ranks; luckily one was only in the stands.
On the touchline, Thomas Tuchel was staring at Xia Qi; Xia Qi had no statistic on that Arsenal attack.
But the counter's origin was Xia Qi's interception of Reus' pass…
So damn sweet!
An all-around hexagonal warrior!
No wonder his mentor wanted to bring him to Anfield.
Play resumed.
Leading 7–2 by five goals, Arsenal didn't drop back to play ultra-defensively; Wenger didn't allow them to take it easy. This Arsenal side, averaging just 24 years old, certainly pressed on in the spirit of the 1982 "Rafi" game.
Seven-Up and Rafi were both great thrashings, but Rafi fetched a higher price, right?
It really is because Rafi had better value for money — definitely not because Arsenal wanted to humiliate their opponents.
With Xia Qi involved in midfield defense, Arsenal's midfield was rock-solid.
Dortmund quickly lost possession again,
and Arsenal counterattacked.
Kevin De Bruyne drove forward down the center; Xia Qi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang enacted their "love-hate" duel on the left, tangling all the way down the flank.
Xia Qi's feet seemed to run on wind and fire — even the fleet-footed flying-sheep feet were somewhat inferior; he quickly overtook the forward Balotelli, who had originally been the furthest man forward.
Aubameyang initially could keep up with Xia Qi but was soon a yard behind.
Refusing to be outdone, Aubameyang gritted his teeth and launched a chase!
Suddenly!
Xia Qi braked sharply!
Aubameyang was caught off guard and ran past; Xia Qi seized the chance to cut inside.
Telepathic Kevin De Bruyne slid the ball to Xia Qi's front spot.
Aubameyang, having run past, skidded to a halt, spun — and bit down, sliding in toward the leg Xia Qi would receive on.
"Ding dong, [Majin Buu] attribute activating…"
A reckless sliding tackle and a yellow card disrupted the attack — not a bad trade.
In an instant,
Aubameyang slid into Xia Qi's left foot.
He at least showed some mercy — he pulled his studs back — but the force wasn't small!
Aubameyang's right leg smashed into Xia Qi's left foot.
However,
the one in pain was not Xia Qi but himself.
Aubameyang's right leg seemed to hit a stone post; the reaction force sent pain through him and he couldn't help but cry out in agony.
Xia Qi only stumbled and nudged the ball slightly further away.
What the hell was that???
The tackler ended up clutching his own foot in pain.
Are you a comedian hired by monkeys?
The Emirates was quiet for two or three seconds, then exploded into huge laughter.
Amid the laughter, Xia Qi didn't boot the ball out of play — perhaps because the AI had no feelings, or because the AI judged Aubameyang's injury wasn't severe.
On the touchline, Tuchel grew sourer: an unstoppable forward — how are you supposed to defend that?
Stand to attention, at ease, take the beating???
Mats Hummels didn't dare let Xia Qi into the box and rushed at him.
Right as he lunged forward,
Xia Qi leaned left and violently struck the ball with his right foot.
A long-range cannon!
Worldie!
The ball traced a white arc into the net. Weidenfeller had only time to make a futile save motion.
"A world-class strike!"
"Congrats to Arsenal for delivering the hoped-for 1982 Rafi-like thrashing. For Arsenal fans tonight will be unforgettable, and for Dortmund fans it would be best if this was only a dream…"
"Tonight Arsenal's eight goals — Xia Qi scored half of them. This is Xia Qi's night; we can clearly hear Arsenal fans at the Emirates crazily chanting his name."
[Amazing! Strongly urge the professor to keep Xia Qi up front — a Xia Qi who scores four in one match is the pure Xia Qi and the best Xia Qi.]
[Yeah, I loved the early Xia Qi most — he never celebrated after goals, so cool and arrogant.]
[Miss him +1…]
[Miss him +2…]
[Miss him +3…]
[Pray for Roman Weidenfeller's psychological shadow, pray for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's psychological shadow… Xia Qi slays hearts and minds!]
The moment the ball flew into the net, Xia Qi slid toward the south stand rails…
On the touchline, Wenger told Thomas Vermaelen to warm up.
Five minutes later Vermaelen took the captain's armband from Xia Qi's hand; Xia Qi was substituted off to a standing ovation from the crowd.
With Vermaelen on, Arsenal shifted to a five-back setup — a signal that the battle was done and the weapons put away.
After the restart, Arsenal didn't press hard for more goals, nor did Dortmund.
Both sides, in tacit agreement, ran down the clock.
When the final whistle blew, the Emirates erupted in deafening cheers.
The Champions League group stage wasn't over, but Arsenal fans were already dreaming of the knockout rounds.
At the whistle, Tuchel straightened his collar, walked over to Wenger and shook hands:
"Congratulations to you."
"Thank you."
"Tonight your tactics were superb. I was caught unawares; before the next match I'll find a way to respond."
Wenger smiled without refuting; privately he thought: "Only a fool would play Xia Qi as a pure striker! Xia Qi's best position is the attacking libero up front. Becks‑Xia Qi‑Bauer!"
On the pitch, the players who'd produced the 1982-style rout were excited and did not head straight to the dressing room after the whistle.
They stayed to interact with the fans.
Xia Qi gave away his match-worn shirt and everyone's shirts to the supporters in the stands after his four-goal haul.
[Arsenal players really pamper their fans — I want to go see the game live. I wonder if I can get a Xia Qi shirt…]
[Let's organize a group — I want to go too…]
After the match, captain Thomas Vermaelen was interviewed by Sky Sports.
"We're so happy not just because we scored eight goals, but because we got through the toughest period. Will and Theo will return fit soon; we'll become even stronger…"
"This season our aim is definitely to defend the title and also to win the FA Cup. If possible, to repeat an unbeaten title run.
"I know that's a great record, but I feel this group might be even stronger than the ones with the greats — at least we are European champions, aren't we?"
Vermaelen's interview fired up Arsenal's enthusiasm; an unbeaten title was an irresistible temptation and sparked heated discussion.
Many football veterans didn't think Xia Qi's generation could be stronger than Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp's era.
Steven Gerrard: "That Arsenal were not only successful but beautiful to watch. Their flowing attacking waves are something Xia Qi's lot can't match… I'm sure Xia Qi's side won't surpass the predecessors!"
David Beckham: "I'd rather believe Arsenal will defend both the Premier League and the Champions League than accept they could go unbeaten — that's too difficult, and the Premier League environment is different now."
Journalist Cheryl interviewed Xia Qi specifically.
"Achievements aren't earned by talk — they're won match by match. Frankly, I don't know if we'll equal our predecessors' records,
but I do know if you start by thinking you can't, the result will be failure. If you firmly believe and work for it, only then can you succeed."
"So you think Arsenal should do less talking and more doing, right?"
"Of course!"
The debate over whether Arsenal could go unbeaten did not die away after Xia Qi's interview; betting companies even opened markets on it…
Training at Colney became even more intense.
Wenger announced in training that the team would stop experimenting this season; from now on they'd play two main systems, and in both starting XIs Xia Qi would play the libero/attacking libero role.
Pat Rice, the veteran coach, tailored Xia Qi's training to the special requirements of the libero role…
fitness, movement, organization, crossing…
(END CHAPTER)
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