As the saying goes, if God does not take what He wants, He will make you pay the price.
Those who do not cherish opportunities will be punished by God.
Twenty-one minutes.
Sporting Lisbon launched another frontcourt press.
But this time, Chaves' center-back seized the opportunity and played a grounded long pass that directly pierced Sporting Lisbon's chaotic midfield and frontcourt lines.
This was a hidden danger that frontcourt pressing tactics were bound to create.
A Chaves forward received the ball — four on four in the frontcourt!
The forward took two touches and laid the ball back to the advancing midfielder.
The situation instantly turned into a three-on-two in the frontcourt!
Chaves three, Sporting Lisbon two.
Boom!
Another pass followed.
The Chaves striker broke free one-on-one and calmly slotted the ball past Sporting Lisbon's goalkeeper.
One–zero!
Chaves broke the deadlock and took the lead!
The fans in the stadium erupted.
Being pinned down and rubbed into the ground for most of the match, only to suddenly take the lead — that feeling was intoxicating.
With morale surging, Chaves shook off their earlier frustration and once again became the stronger side over the next several minutes.
On Sporting Lisbon's side, fear of being cut open again caused the pressing intensity to drop sharply.
Once the players' ideas were no longer unified, any tactic lost its meaning.
Sporting Lisbon was hammered during this stretch and had little strength to fight back.
This kind of dramatic fluctuation is the biggest characteristic of youth matches.
When things go well, they look terrifying.
When things go badly, they collapse just as spectacularly.
In the 29th minute, Chaves attacked fiercely. If their left winger hadn't been poor with his finishing, the score would have changed again.
In the 35th minute, Chaves pressured Sporting Lisbon near the penalty area.
In the 37th minute, Kai won the ball with a tackle, stealing possession but also losing balance as both players went down.
Cristiano Ronaldo, nearby, immediately cleared the ball, sprinted forward with it, carried it across half the pitch by himself, and finally used his speed and shooting ability to force a corner kick.
.
After Sporting Lisbon's No. 10 took the corner, the No. 2 center-back rose high and, with help from Ronaldo's interference, nodded the ball into the net.
One–one!
Sporting Lisbon finally pulled level.
After that, both sides raised their intensity, desperate to break the deadlock again.
The match entered a fierce stage.
It almost devolved into a chaotic situation where everyone was hacking at each other.
At one point, the referee blew his whistle repeatedly to stop play.
This resulted in three minutes of stoppage time in the first half.
In the final minute of first-half stoppage time, Kai received a pass from Ronaldo and unleashed a long-range shot.
Although there were no conditions to trigger Panther Hunt, the opposing center-back threw himself into the block and deflected the ball out for a corner.
Another corner kick.
This time, the opposing center-back won the aerial duel and cleared the ball out of the box.
But the second ball was collected by a Sporting Lisbon player.
After three quick passes, the ball reached Kai, who had drifted to the right flank.
There was no shooting angle, and the timing for Panther Hunt had already passed.
Kai could only whip in a sharp pass from the wing — Tintin's stream-of-consciousness pass.
The ball was too fast, instantly throwing the penalty area into chaos.
It struck a Chaves defender's foot and rebounded toward goal. The Chaves goalkeeper reacted quickly and blocked it.
But the sharp-eyed Ronaldo followed up immediately and smashed the rebound into the net.
Two–one!
Sporting Lisbon U15 conceded first, then scored twice — completing a rare comeback!
…
During halftime, Maxa kept working with Cristiano Ronaldo and the other forwards, explaining how to take advantage of the quality balls delivered by Kai.
Cristiano Ronaldo was dead inside.
You talk like a sharp-tongued professor.
If you could actually kick two decent shots, why don't you experience Kai's passes yourself before calling them "good chances"?
Stopping his pass isn't stopping the ball.
It's like catching bullets with your bare hands!
When I shot after receiving his pass, my feet went numb — it felt like I'd kicked my own cock!
Kai himself knew exactly what was going on and even defended Ronaldo and the others.
"Coach, it's fine. It's my fault. My passing isn't good enough yet. I'll keep working on it in the second half."
Compared to Ronaldo's frustration, Kai's attitude made the difference painfully clear.
Maxa looked at Kai with complicated eyes, as if thinking: You still see the bigger picture.
Kai didn't need to think to know that after the match, Maxa would definitely brag about him while drinking with fans at the bar.
Talking about how Kai was Sporting Lisbon's greatest inheritance, the club's future treasure, and so on.
This wasn't just empty praise — it was recognition from the coach.
After the second half began, Chaves clearly wanted to equalize and played aggressively.
The intensity on both sides escalated.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo was knocked down twice by opposing defenders, the second time being particularly dangerous — he was nearly injured.
Because Sporting Lisbon were leading, they slowed the game slightly, which further fueled Chaves' aggression.
Kai knew this couldn't continue.
In the 60th minute, he slid in fiercely and flattened Chaves' No. 10.
Kai didn't argue at all when the referee showed him a yellow card.
But when several Chaves players rushed over to confront him, he refused to back down.
Seeing Kai surrounded, Ronaldo immediately sprinted over.
Only then did the other Sporting Lisbon players react and rush in to support him.
Kai took the initiative to stop Ronaldo and calm the situation.
The opposing players were also warned by the referee.
On the surface, Kai seemed to be at a disadvantage — booked and briefly surrounded.
But afterward, Sporting Lisbon's toughness skyrocketed, and the shift was obvious.
Maxa didn't understand it.
But Chaves' youth coach clearly felt the change in "momentum" on the pitch.
It was hard to believe that a 13-year-old player could influence — or even actively control — the atmosphere of a match.
Yet the facts made it impossible not to believe.
In the 63rd minute, Kai, who had just received a yellow card, made another gambling tackle and completed a frontcourt steal.
Chaves' players exploded in anger and wanted to argue with him.
But the referee's eyes were sharp.
He signaled that it was a clean tackle.
Kai hadn't even made real contact — it was nearly a textbook technical tackle for someone of his age.
And Kai didn't give the opponent a chance to retaliate.
After the tackle, he popped up, dragged the ball behind his foot, slipped past a challenge, and immediately pushed forward!
Another defender tried to pull him back but was shoved aside by Kai and nearly sent flying.
Cruyff's upper-body strength bonus kicked in.
Elite ball control, explosive power, and brutal arm strength.
Once a player like this starts charging forward, who can stop him?
Kai burst into space effortlessly.
After a quick exchange, the ball was played back to his feet.
With almost no one marking him, Kai drove straight into the penalty area.
Boom!
Kai was brought down by the opposing center-back.
The referee blew his whistle without hesitation.
Yellow dot set meal!
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