I AM the Football Star

”Oh! Lock’s through ball is intercepted by Lam.”

In the blink of an eye, Lam wins the ball and immediately hoofs it down the right side of the pitch.

Bai Zhami takes off like a rocket; after he receives the ball there’s no Arsenal player within ten meters of him.

Plazza sprints over toward Bai Zhami.

Koschel is dragged out wide as well.

Just as they’re about to close down Bai Zhami, he suddenly plays it back.

Plazza steps up to cover for Bai Zhami, and the holding midfielder’s spot he originally occupied is left vacant.

Morici bursts forward to take the ball in the half-space, huge threat.

Arsenal’s back line keeps adjusting, shifting toward the right flank.

But right then Morici plays a diagonal through ball, straight over to the left.

Lu Yang cuts in off the ball from the left wing into the left half-space, takes the pass, sets himself, and shoots—one smooth motion!

With no one marking him, Lu Yang unleashes a cannon of a long‑range shot.

Batigoal buff activated!

Shooting at 95!

Power at 90!

Whoosh!

The ball rips into the net; Marduk’s ten fingers are more than a step too slow.

One–nil!

Under Arsenal’s wild bombardment, San Remo take the lead away from home.

Live group standings updated: San Remo move to 13 points, top of the group by far.

And if Arsenal keep drifting along on five points like this, they might not even make the Europa League.

”Oh! Brilliant, Lu Yang smashes in a worldie! The league break still couldn’t cool down that red‑hot feel for the ball!”

”This goal comes from Lock’s through ball being picked off. Lock oversimplified the situation!”

”Lam has been tracking Arsenal’s attacks through the middle the whole time.”

”With Arsenal unable to open things up on the flanks, going through the center isn’t anything new. Sotu has read it all; he must have prepared thoroughly before the match.”

To be fair, that line from the commentator shows some real insight.

Because in the pre‑match tactical brief, preventing central through balls was exactly what Maniero kept hammering home.

Yeah, Maniero.

His original words were: ’The middle will be Arsenal’s breakthrough point. San Remo may not be able to shut it down completely, but at the very least we must stop them launching attacks in the center via straight through balls.’

In the 43rd minute of the first half, Rubeus is knocked over by Kaint yet again.

It happens as the two are contesting the ball in a fierce challenge.

And the key point is, this time Kaint doesn’t even foul.

It’s a legal collision.

Rubeus is furious on the spot; with no whistle coming, he gets up and just shoves Kaint.

Kaint flashes that awkward ’fake smile boy’ grin, a bit at a loss.

Everyone’s playing just fine, so why are we suddenly throwing hands?

Rubeus sees the confusion in Kaint’s eyes and gets even angrier.

Playing your damn ’just fine’.

You’ve been cutting my legs off out there, you know that?

Tweet!

The Main Referee blows the whistle and rushes over, showing Rubeus a yellow card.

San Remo’s players also swarm over to put pressure on Rubeus.

Arsenal’s players immediately step in as well; both sides are holding people back and calming them down, so it doesn’t escalate into a mass brawl.

But the fans in the stands still rain boos down on the San Remo players.

In the end, it’s nil–one at halftime, Arsenal trailing at home.

Right after the first half ends, news comes through from the other match as well.

Sevilla three–one Sporting Lisbon!

They now sit second in Group D on eight points, snatching the Champions League knockout spot from Sporting Lisbon.

The initiative has already shifted into Sevilla’s hands.

During the halftime break, Mr. Winter gives Arsenal’s players a pep talk and makes certain adjustments in response to San Remo’s setup.

But whether it works or not, we’ll have to see on the pitch.

Because San Remo actually aren’t using anything complicated; their defensive strategy is very simple: one‑on‑one!

The simpler the method, the harder it is to crack.

You just have to win your one‑on‑one matchups, that’s all.

But Kaint and Lu Yang are just... enough to make your balls ache.

...

In the second half, Arsenal start working the middle.

Olic actively drops into midfield, and Gordon isn’t bombing forward so recklessly anymore.

They try to carve open San Remo’s defense with intricate central passing combinations.

But Lu Yang is way too alert.

As soon as Olic drops back, Lu Yang immediately follows him into midfield.

His positional freedom is way greater than Olic’s.

Once he’s in midfield, Lu Yang completely abandons the left winger’s spot and turns into a destroyer‑type midfielder.

For the moment, Arsenal still can’t find a way through.

In the 54th minute, the youngster Lock loses his composure and starts trying to force through balls on his own.

At first it looks like it’s kind of working.

So next, he keeps on attempting those through balls.

But Lam’s sense of positioning is excellent, and with Lu Yang sweeping in front of him, Lam hardly lets anything through.

Bang!

Lock’s through ball is intercepted by Moriba.

The reason Moriba starts today instead of Delarre is precisely because Moriba is the stronger defender.

Don’t be fooled by Moriba just being a black player—his imagination on the pitch is wild and creative.

Bang!

Moriba hits a Long Pass to Bai Zhami.

Bai Zhami kicks into gear, going one‑on‑one with Gordon.

Gordon’s Speed is blazing, and Bai Zhami can’t shake him.

But Bai Zhami isn’t in a rush; while running he suddenly plays a diagonal back pass, a bit of showboating really.

That pass has a very high technical difficulty.

So‑called diagonal back passing on the run is really about the relationship between the ball and the passer.

In a normal cross from the flank, you nudge the ball forward a meter or two, then catch up and whip in a Curvature cross; the spot where the ball first takes off will usually be two or three meters ahead of the passer.

If the Curvature is sufficient, the ball will arc back a bit in the air.

Whether a Winger or fullback can cross well is all about how good that curve is, whether they can precisely control the landing point, and so on.