Boom!
Kai kept smashing the ball back.
Alas, it was pure humiliation!
The ball flew back and forth over Veloso's head, and he had never hated his height so much in his life.
Ronaldo burst into the penalty area and engaged in a fierce physical battle with another Benfica center-back.
During the clash, he managed to get a touch on the ball, but he wasn't in a shooting position. He could only shield the defender and lay the ball off again, sending a diagonal pass to Kai, who had also arrived in the box.
Boom!
An enraged Veloso launched himself into a flying tackle and finally got a touch on the ball, proving that he wasn't completely useless.
He poked the ball away—only for it to roll straight into Benfica's own goal with the same power and angle as a precise, wicked finish.
Veloso had scored an own goal.
The scoreboard changed again: five to two!
Veloso lay on the ground, covering his face, unwilling to get up for a long time.
Goalkeeper Weir was furious as well. After kicking the ball out of the net, he didn't even bother to pull Veloso up.
There was no doubt about it—Benfica were finished.
Sitting next to Nuno Gomes and João Pinto, "Old Veloso" wore a blank expression.
He could hear the senior management beside him cursing Veloso, calling him trash raised by some bastard.
But he couldn't refute it.
Because Veloso really had been completely blown apart.
After that, even Benfica's attack became limp.
The players had lost all belief in winning; they were just killing time on the pitch.
In the 79th minute, facing the dispirited Benfica players, Kai intercepted Amorim's pass with a beautiful sliding tackle, then faced the goalkeeper and unleashed a powerful shot.
Black Panther Hunting!
The ball slammed into the net with pinpoint accuracy.
Six to two!
Kai scored and assisted, dominating the match in every possible way.
After the goal, Kai raised his arms high and slowly turned, scanning the entire stadium.
It was as if he were asking: who else?
But then a bizarre scene unfolded. There were at least 30,000 Benfica fans at the Stadium of Light. Not only did no one hurl abuse at Kai—there was applause.
From scattered claps to a growing roar, until it became overwhelming!
"Caesar!"
"Caesar!"
"Caesar!"
A home-ground defection!
The mentality of Benfica's fans had completely collapsed.
They were applauding Kai's brilliance, and at the same time venting their dissatisfaction with their own players in this way.
The way to retaliate against you doesn't have to be killing you… sometimes, it's doing you a favor!
In the 82nd minute, a Benfica forward was brought down in the penalty area by Ângelo. Ângelo received a yellow card, and a penalty was awarded.
Amorim stepped up and converted the spot kick, completing his brace.
Six to three. Benfica pulled one back.
But there was no applause.
Amorim didn't celebrate. He simply turned around and walked back toward his own half with his head lowered.
He didn't even bother to retrieve the ball.
There was no Cristiano Ronaldo on their team—no one who could score three goals in ten minutes to level the score.
There was no Kai on their team—no one who could come and go at will within ten minutes and casually dish out three exquisite assists on demand.
Amorim's premonition was correct.
They couldn't claw their way back.
Even…
In the 88th minute, Kai played a quick pass down the wing and then surged forward.
After two passes, the ball arrived at Lourenço's feet. Lourenço carried it wide and then sent in a cross.
However, his technique was so rough that he failed to find Ronaldo, and the ball drifted toward the far post instead.
Veloso was clearly marking Kai, but Kai suddenly leapt into the air.
Veloso was completely dumbfounded.
Come on, brother!
It's already six to three!
Are you still going this hard?
Boom!
"Beautiful! This is the most beautiful diving header I've seen so far!"
"Header—goal! Kai scores his second!"
"In this match, he scored twice and provided four assists. He even forced Benfica's own goal and indirectly participated in Benfica's first goal!"
"Except for the opening ten minutes, his performance was absolutely godlike!"
"Although he's small, he dares to fight and charge, fearless and clever!"
"Sporting Lisbon have really found a treasure! A top student from the University of Lisbon comes to play football—how could he succeed without real ability?"
"The chants of 'Caesar' are ringing out again at the Stadium of Light!"
"It's as if the real Julius Caesar has descended upon the Stadium of Light!"
In the 90th minute, the referee blew the final whistle directly, without adding a single second of stoppage time.
He really couldn't bear to watch Benfica's young players suffer any longer.
If he'd blown the whistle even one second later, Portuguese football might have lost one—or several—professional players.
This brutal match was bound to leave a deep psychological scar on Benfica's youngsters.
Especially… Veloso.
…
"Sporting Lisbon's twin stars run riot at the Stadium of Light, winning by seven goals and breaking the head-to-head record between the two sides!"
"Benfica's 12-match winning streak comes to a tragic end! Has the season ended before the championship declaration was even made?"
"A U15 match robs the Portuguese Super League of all suspense! Porto should thank Sporting Lisbon for brutally crushing their arch-rivals Benfica!"
"Supernova Chris completes the Big Four for the first time! Not the next Simão—but the next Nuno Gomes?"
"João Pinto: We should buy Chris. He has the potential to become a super striker!"
"Caesar arrives at the Stadium of Light! Kai scores two goals and provides four assists, forcing Benfica fans to defect at home!"
"Caesar! Caesar! Caesar! Sporting Lisbon climb to third in the standings, just three points behind second place!"
"With things like this, it's almost a foregone conclusion that Sporting Lisbon will advance to the North–South Regional Tournament!"
"Marquesa: Chris playing as a center forward and Kai on the right wing were indeed my adjustments, but that's nothing to brag about. What matters more is how well Kai and Chris adapted to their new positions!"
"Benfica senior management furious—U15 head coach sacked on the spot!"
"Former Benfica U15 coach: We won almost every game this season, but lost the one we absolutely couldn't afford to lose. This is youth football—its stability can never compare to the first team."
"Breaking news! Miguel Veloso kicked out of the youth setup!"
"Controversy! Veloso's disastrous performance leads to his father António Veloso being criticized by thousands!"
"António Veloso clashes with fans and gets into a physical altercation, sparking massive controversy!"
"António: They cursed my son! He played well for half the season, but everyone fixates on this one match!"
"Benfica first team strips António of the captain's armband and suspends him internally for two matches!"
After the Lisbon Youth Derby, all kinds of news poured in one after another.
For the first time, Portuguese football media experienced the joy of Fleet Street in England.
It turned out you could write whatever the hell you wanted—and people would still read it!
Absolutely outrageous.
There is competition among football media outlets. With the development of European football, the market had long been solidified.
If you sold 30,000 more newspapers, I would sell 30,000 fewer.
But now, the Lisbon media discovered something shocking—everyone's sales were going up.
That meant the entire football news market had expanded.
The contribution of the Chinese community exceeded everyone's expectations.
Elsewhere in Portugal, the extra attention focused on Benfica and Sporting Lisbon was also a major factor.
For a time, the Sporting Lisbon youth team—and Veloso, who had been abandoned by Benfica—became the media's darlings.
However, the interviews and evaluations the two received were worlds apart.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 50+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]