The second half kicked off.
Leon stood in goal once more, and something in his eyes had shifted.
"Leoia will have to push everyone forward and fight for it if they want to turn this around!"
"But committing everyone forward makes them wide open to the counter-attack!"
"That Eastern goalkeeper for Leoia is going to get peppered with shots!"
"It's a tough ask. They're as good as beaten."
Watson took a sip of water in the stands and muttered to himself.
As a scout for Milan, Watson was naturally familiar with every player in the satellite club Leoia.
He had glanced at Leon once before and moved straight on.
Just like every player from the East, there was nothing worth a second look.
"Push everyone forward!"
"Attack! Attack!"
Head coach Burke Abel was shouting at the top of his lungs from the touchline the moment the second half began, waving his arms in a frenzy.
Leoia switched to a 4-3-3 formation for the second half.
Out on the pitch, every Leoia player except Leon had pushed past the halfway line.
"Should've done this from the start!"
"Shoot! We can win this!"
With everyone committed forward, Leoia began to carve out a few chances on goal.
Hachim Mastour's quality started to show.
As the only player in Leoia's attack capable of holding the ball up, Hachim Mastour beat two Barcelona B players in quick succession.
"Hey! Over here!"
Leoia forward Yure Baso made a surging run into the box, raising his hand to call for the ball from Hachim Mastour.
Hachim Mastour paid no attention and jabbed the ball to the right to create a sliver of space before forcing a shot.
The ball flew clean into the stands.
Yure Baso shook his head in resignation but said nothing.
As a young player on loan for development, Hachim Mastour had his privileges at the club.
"Strong dribbling, but there's no guarantee those runs will work at a higher level."
"His passing awareness is poor. If he doesn't improve that, he'll never reach the top."
Watson kept writing in the stands, his notes flowing more smoothly now that the light rain had stopped.
"Oh no!"
"It's over! It's finished!"
Watson suddenly heard a collective groan from the supporters around him and snapped his gaze back to the pitch.
Leoia's shot had come to nothing, and Barcelona B went straight for a quick goal kick.
Barcelona B goalkeeper Adrián Otola launched a long ball upfield with one big boot.
Catching Leoia's defensive line pushed too high, Barcelona B striker Mari Dongou made a perfectly timed run to beat the offside trap, bursting clear and leaving the entire Leoia back line trailing in his wake.
Mari Dongou was a physical specimen, devastating in pace and explosive power.
Last season, he had even made an appearance for Barcelona in La Liga.
Playing in this Copa del Rey tie, he was on a completely different level from everyone else on the pitch.
Both of Barcelona B's goals in the first half had been scored by Mari Dongou.
If he could put this one-on-one away, Mari Dongou would complete a hat-trick.
"Get back! Get back!"
"Oh, for f**k's sake!"
Head coach Burke Abel had been bellowing from the touchline.
When he saw that Leoia's defenders were not only failing to close the gap but falling further and further behind, Burke Abel gave up inside.
There was no way Leon could stop Mari Dongou one-on-one. This ball was going in.
The match was over.
Leoia's Copa del Rey run had come to an end.
And he himself was even at risk of losing his job.
Mari Dongou was moving at a frightening pace, already bearing down on the edge of the penalty area.
Leon watched him charging toward goal and felt something harden in his eyes.
Leon rushed off his line.
He hadn't had time yet to fully understand the system, only that his talent ability 'One-on-One Dive' had activated.
And if Leon stood rooted on his line, he would be giving Mari Dongou far too much of the goal to aim at.
He had no idea how he would possibly make the save that way.
So Leon chose to charge straight at Mari Dongou, doing everything he could to narrow the angle.
"What the hell is he doing? For f**k's sake! A reckless charge like that and he'll get left for dead!"
"After this match, sack that Eastern lad. Every time he plays, he's a disaster."
"It's going to be 0-3. It's completely hopeless."
The home supporters in the stands turned on Leon again, their abuse raining down.
Out on the pitch, Mari Dongou saw Leon rush off his line and smiled faintly.
At that moment, Mari Dongou had already made up his mind about how he was going to finish this.
He would do it just like his idol Ronaldo Nazário: take Leon completely out of the picture and tap the ball into an open net.
With Leon closing in fast, Mari Dongou faked the shot and sent Leon sprawling to the ground.
'Damn it.'
Leon cursed inwardly. His all-round ability was still far too weak.
One feint was all it took to send him tumbling.
"It's finished!"
The hearts of every Leoia supporter in the ground sank the moment Leon hit the deck.
"Wait. What the bloody hell!"
Out on the pitch, Mari Dongou casually nudged the ball to the outside with the outer edge of his boot, then pushed forward to shoot.
He swung his leg.
Huh?
He swung clean through nothing.
Where was the ball?
Where had the ball gone?
Mari Dongou proceeded to deliver one of the most memorable scenes ever witnessed on a football pitch.
After spinning a full 360 degrees and staring up at the sky, he still had no idea where the ball had ended up.
From where the supporters were sitting, he looked every bit the fool.
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