Sporting Lisbon failed to seize the opportunity, so Torino had to seize theirs.
In the 79th minute, Kai repeated his old trick and dribbled laterally.
However, he was read by the opponent, who completed the interception and launched a counterattack.
Quagliarella received the ball and fired a long-range shot under a double team.
A corner kick was won.
Soon after, Torino earned another corner. Quagliarella's header missed the post by less than a meter.
Quagliarella grabbed his hair, cursing his bad luck.
But everyone could see that Quagliarella — and Torino — were gaining momentum.
At least, they looked better than Sporting Lisbon.
Kai immediately communicated with midfielder Semedo and center backs Ângelo and Manuel, asking them to pay extra attention to Quagliarella. If they really couldn't handle him, then foul him.
After that, Quagliarella, who was in great form, was indeed suppressed.
In the 86th minute, the match was approaching its end.
Kai held the ball on the right wing, but with no passing lanes available, he could only dribble laterally again.
The opponent went in for the steal.
This time, Kai was smarter. He used his body to shield the ball and was then knocked down by the defender.
The whistle blew.
Free kick.
Sporting Lisbon took a quick tactical free kick, and the ball returned to Kai's feet.
At this moment, Kai had already moved into a central position and was facing the right.
This meant his right foot could cover the entire left, center, and right of the attacking third — his passing threat was at MAX!
Boom!
A Torino midfielder lunged in, intercepted Kai's pass, and crashed into him, knocking him down.
This time, the referee immediately showed a yellow card and warned the Torino player.
Another free kick.
This one was now within direct shooting range.
Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take it.
After careful preparation, Ronaldo struck the ball, but it flew a meter over the crossbar. The quality wasn't great.
His free-kick form looked eerily similar to his later years.
A bit heartbreaking.
After all, his prime-era knuckleballs were once so terrifying.
Time continued to tick away, and the score remained 0–0.
If the match ended like this, Sporting Lisbon would be eliminated from the UEFA Youth League by Torino on points.
With only six points, they would definitely not rank as the best third-place team, and there would be no hope of advancing.
At the 90-minute mark, the fourth official raised the board for stoppage time.
Two minutes.
Overall, the second half had been fairly smooth.
As for the home advantage Torino enjoyed, it probably shaved off at least one minute of stoppage time.
Torino fans were very satisfied with this decision.
Meanwhile, Márcio was furiously complaining to the fourth official, shouting that our players had been knocked down multiple times. If there weren't at least five minutes added, he'd better not set foot in Lisbon in the future — otherwise, he could come in but wouldn't get out!
The fourth official contacted the referee via headset.
The referee walked over and showed Márcio a yellow card.
In the 92nd minute, Kai once again had the ball on the right flank.
Seeing that the match was about to end, the Torino players rushed him aggressively this time — ball or man, they didn't care. As long as there was no loss, anything went.
But Kai read their mentality perfectly and knew they would overcommit.
With his right foot, he dragged the ball backward to evade the first challenge.
Then he accelerated forward, narrowly dodging the opponent's deliberately outstretched legs.
Kai broke through and dribbled diagonally toward the center!
The situation unfolded like this.
The defender could have grabbed Kai or stayed with him, but because he overextended, he slipped.
At that moment, Kai became the most dangerous man on the pitch.
"This way!" Marcelino found space again on the right.
But calling it a run was generous — Torino simply ignored him, because even if he received the ball, he couldn't pose an immediate threat.
In fact, the Torino players were hoping Kai would pass to Marcelino.
"Kai!" Almost simultaneously, Ronaldo made a blind-side run into the box from the right, his route cutting sharply inward.
His position was far more dangerous than Marcelino's.
Almost all of Torino's center backs followed Ronaldo, blocking him from every angle and swarming him with bodies.
But Ronaldo was insanely fast, strong in contact, and still managed to cut inside.
But—
Kai's pass never came!
"Oh! What happened to Kai? He missed the best passing window!"
"Chris has already run past the receiving point and reached the right side of the penalty area!"
"Kai has only now adjusted his body to face the goal. From this angle, he can't pass to Cristiano Ronaldo on the right, nor to Marcelino even further right."
"And there's no one on the left to receive the ball either."
"Kai is shooting, he—"
Boom!
Outside of the foot!
Kai stared toward the goal as if someone was standing there.
"Outside-of-the-foot pass! Kai played the ball with the outside of his instep!"
"But it's a bit short. The curve can't catch up with Chris. Even if Chris turns back, it'll be too late."
"Wait… this… is this a shot?!"
Clang!
The ball smashed off the left post and bounced straight into the net.
Kai's outside-the-box strike sent shockwaves through the stadium!
An outside-of-the-foot goal!
The entire ground fell silent.
More than 20,000 Torino fans didn't even understand what had just happened.
But Kai understood it perfectly.
He genuinely had no passing angle. By the time one appeared, Ronaldo had already run past it.
Surrounded by multiple defenders, Ronaldo couldn't slow down — if he didn't accelerate, he'd be trapped; if he did, he'd overshoot the target.
With time running out, Kai had no choice but to gamble.
He treated the goal as a passing target, aimed about half a meter to the right of the post, and struck the ball with the outside of his foot.
But his precision wasn't perfect yet.
The ball missed its intended spot by half a meter.
That half-meter sent it straight into the post, leaving the Torino goalkeeper helpless.
If nothing else, this was one of the bizarre side effects of the outside-of-the-foot technique — a tiny chance of turning a pass into a shot.
The outside instep is one of the few techniques that can accidentally become a goal.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
Ronaldo was the first to sprint toward Kai.
Kai rushed to the corner flag and dropped to his knees in a stylish celebration, calm yet domineering!
He had been heavily restricted all game and played under constant pressure.
This lethal strike was the perfect way to vent his frustration.
"Oh! Unbelievable! Kai delivers a world-class outside-of-the-foot shot! Pure genius!"
"Before this match, he had never even attempted a shot like this, yet he pulls it off at the most critical moment!"
"Chris's run dragged away almost the entire defense, allowing the not-so-fast ball to reach the goal!"
"The goalkeeper was ready — but who could've expected it to hit the post!"
"A fatal blow! Kai strikes again in European competition!"
"Last time it was Plzeň, this time it's Torino. He's the ultimate killer of the UEFA Youth League!"
"What a big-game player! That kneeling celebration was pure elegance!"
Boom!
Cristiano Ronaldo charged in and tackled Kai to the ground.
The rest of the team piled on top, forming a human mountain.
If Márcio hadn't rushed in to break it up and drag everyone away, Kai's smaller frame might not have survived the celebration.
"This is a result that Torino will find very hard to swallow."
"But now, we must congratulate Sporting Lisbon U15. With this win, they overtake Torino by two points, finish second in the group, and advance directly to the knockout stage!"
"With seven points, Torino miss out on qualification and are officially eliminated."
"Congratulations to Sporting Lisbon — and to Kai!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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]