The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1 Chapter 193

His teammates rushed forward, embracing Gao.

They carefully avoided Gao’s injured shoulder, their faces filled with the excitement of the goal.

Gao was calm. After a simple celebration, he said to his teammates, “Come on, come on, there are still more than ten minutes left, we still have a chance!”

A draw.

Actually, for Bastia, it was an acceptable result, but the game had progressed to this point. No Bastia player would admit they didn’t want to win.

During the team celebration, De Bruyne didn’t speak to Gao. It wasn’t until they were walking back to the center circle that De Bruyne said to Gao, “That goal just now was awesome.”

Gao smiled in response.

Viktoria Plzeň was already in a physical slump at this point, and Gao’s goal further dampened their morale.

Horváth truly was a veteran, rich in experience.

As captain, he kept clapping his hands towards his teammates, “This is just an equalizer, we haven’t lost! There’s still time to score, cheer up and focus.”

He also said, “When I played in Japan, I saw too many situations where teams scored two goals in stoppage time, various last-minute winners and equalizers. The ball is round, you have to believe in yourselves!”

His teammates nodded.

On the sideline.

Vrba called Limberský over, “Mark Gao. If necessary, foul him. Don’t let him receive the ball so easily.”

“Alright!”

Beep!

The whistle blew, and the game resumed.

Bastia maintained a low defensive line. Viktoria Plzeň’s attacking rhythm also began to slow down as their physical strength declined.

Soon.

Vrba made personnel adjustments, substituting two players at once.

He took off Hora, who hadn’t performed well, and Duris, who was severely fatigued.

He brought on two midfielders, Martin Zeman and Feló, who was a product of Viktoria Plzeň’s own youth academy.

Vrba took off one midfielder and one forward, replacing them with two midfielders, hoping to control the tempo.

Whether they could score was secondary, but they couldn’t concede any more goals.

However,

Zeman, who had just come on, made a huge mistake. He might have just entered the game and hadn’t adapted yet; his pass was too short.

Kant saw the opportunity and intercepted the ball.

After the ball reached De Bruyne’s feet, De Bruyne sent a diagonal long pass directly to Gao.

Gao controlled the ball with the instep of his left foot. Facing Limberský’s defense, he didn’t waste much time.

He immediately pushed the ball forward.

Brutal.

He beat Limberský with pure speed!

Whoosh!

Viktoria Plzeň fans gasped instinctively. In their eyes, Limberský was the team’s left-sided stalwart, having performed well in the Champions League.

This left-back, also a product of Plzeň’s own youth academy, had a brief stint in the Premier League in 2005.

At just 22 years old, Limberský was noticed by the North London giants Tottenham and was loaned for half a season.

Unfortunately.

He was unlucky and couldn’t play due to injury. Ultimately, at the end of the season, Tottenham returned him.

Afterward, he returned to Plzeň and performed steadily. In the summer’s European Championship, Limberský represented the Czech national team and played three matches.

Therefore,

When the Viktoria Plzeň fans saw Limberský being completely bypassed by Gao as if he were a road, they were stunned.

Many Viktoria Plzeň fans had no impression of Gao.

At most, they had heard from pre-match media reports that there was a very strong player in Viktoria Plzeň’s opponent’s lineup, and that was it.

If Gao’s previous goal gave them an understanding of his ball control ability, then now they had a concrete understanding of Gao’s speed.

Gao charged forward.

In the middle, Horváth and Syslovský left Lukaku and converged on Gao.

Bastia didn’t have many attacking players.

Viktoria Plzeň chased back frantically, and relying on their numerical advantage, they were still able to piece together a defensive line.

Gao was known by fans for his dribbling speed being faster than his running speed without the ball.

At this moment,

Viktoria Plzeň’s players felt it.

Gao quickly dribbled the ball inwards.

Horváth and Syslovský rushed to catch up, still making it in time. One in front and one behind, they tried to block Gao.

Forcing Gao to go wide.

They had studied Bastia. Although Lukaku had a center-forward’s physique, he didn’t contest headers.

So they wanted Gao to pass the ball.

But,

Gao didn’t slow down or go wide. Instead, when he saw the two blocking him,

He dropped his shoulder to the left, his body in a forward charging posture.

Horváth immediately followed to intercept, but how could Horváth keep up with Gao’s speed, especially at 37 years old?

As Horváth retreated, Gao quickly cut the ball to the right, towards Syslovský.

Syslovský was well-positioned.

But Gao’s intention wasn’t him.

This was just to fake out Horváth!

Indeed,

Gao cut the ball, and Horváth quickly moved a little closer to Syslovský’s position.

This was the chance!

Gao suddenly accelerated, using Horváth to block Syslovský’s position. And with Horváth’s back-and-forth movement, being 37 years old and having played the entire match, he simply couldn’t keep up with Gao’s pace.

This kind of dribbling was stunning.

Vrba couldn’t help but clench his fists, holding his breath. If Gao got past them, it would be almost a direct path into the box. The other center-back, Procházka, was tied up by Lukaku, and he couldn’t cover in time.

However,

Just when everyone thought Gao was going to get past, Horváth used all his strength, grabbing Gao while slamming into him.

Gao, in motion, was knocked off balance and fell to the ground.

As he fell, Gao instinctively landed on his shoulder. This was a subconscious action developed from long practice on how to fall.

Usually, it was fine,

But this time, Horváth happened to knock him down to his left side. When Gao’s left shoulder hit the ground,

A sharp pain shot through him.

Ah!

Gao fell, clutching his shoulder and screaming.

Beep!

The referee’s whistle immediately followed. It was a foul. As he was reaching into his pocket for a card,

A loud roar came—

“What the f*ck are you doing?!”

Rothen saw Gao get knocked down and sprinted over, directly pushing Horváth to the ground, pointing at him with a fierce expression.

Limberský, who had caught up, immediately retaliated and pushed Rothen.

Players from both sides immediately rushed over, some pulling them apart, some pushing.

Beep beep beep!

The referee’s whistle blew several times rapidly. He went up and separated the players, and the linesman also rushed over to separate the two sides.

It was chaotic.

De Bruyne, meanwhile, immediately called for the team doctor as soon as he checked on Gao.

After examining Gao, the team doctor looked grim, “It’s twisted again. You might not be able to play, Gao. You need to rest.”

“Quick, pain relief! I can still play!” Gao grimaced, pointing at his shoulder.

At the same time, he glanced at the system.

[Moderate left shoulder joint sprain: Second injury, recovery time reduced by 30%, current estimated recovery time 13 days.]

Hiss!

The team doctor continuously sprayed chloroethane aerosol on Gao’s shoulder to relieve the pain.

This scene,

When broadcast to Bastia, it incited anger and countless curses among the Bastia people.

“Fils de pute! They did it on purpose! They saw Gao score and were afraid of Gao scoring a last-minute winner, so they wanted to take Gao out!”

“Putain de merde! Too hateful! These people can’t win, so they use this method. Damn it, if we hadn’t fought Paris for a whole game three days ago, with their strength, we wouldn’t be afraid at all!”

“I hope Gao is okay. His left shoulder injury wasn’t fully healed, and now it’s injured again.”

Martin slammed his hand on the table, yelling, “Damn! Rothen was too gentle! If it were me, I’d kick him right there! Damn it, that old guy was trying to end Gao’s career!”

The entire pub was extremely agitated.

No one in Bastia could stay calm when they saw Gao injured.

Thiago Silva, who injured Gao last time, had his social media flooded with angry comments from Bastia fans.

Silva had to close his social media comment section.

But in his teammates’ comment sections, there were still Bastia fans’ abusive comments.

Doosan Arena.

The situation on the field was brought under control, and the referee handed out yellow cards.

At this time in the stands, Viktoria Plzeň fans were furious, even wanting to rush onto the field to help their home team fight.

Hajibegić looked at Gao with concern.

It wasn’t until the team doctor gave him a thumbs-up that Hajibegić finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Gao held De Bruyne’s hand and stood up.

De Bruyne frowned, “Can you really still play?”

Gao’s shoulder had just been sprayed with two or three times the usual amount of chloroethane. He knew Gao wasn’t as relaxed as he appeared.

Gao patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, it’s completely fine. Let’s hurry.”

After the chaotic scene ended, Rothen and others came over to ask about Gao. Seeing that Gao was fine, they walked towards the penalty area with relief.

Bastia free kick.

After this period of chaos, the time had already reached 85 minutes. At this moment, any set piece was an opportunity.

Especially when both teams’ players were experiencing a decline in physical strength.

In the final moments of most matches, the probability of scoring from a set piece was very high.

This included last-second winners and equalizers.

Players from both sides gathered near the penalty area. The ball was just outside the right side of the box, less than two meters away.

It was originally a golden opportunity created by Gao’s individual dribbling ability, but unfortunately, it was fouled by Horváth.

Gao stood outside the box, the pain in his shoulder temporarily suppressed.

He kept turning his head, calculating if he had any chances.

De Bruyne and Rothen stood in front of the ball, one on the left and one on the right.

Beep!

The referee’s whistle blew.

Rothen started first. He ran past the ball after his run-up.

Bang!

The next moment, De Bruyne opened his body and curled a shot, sending the ball high into the air.

It soared over the nearest wall and headed straight for the near post.

Goalkeeper Kozačik had set up a five-man wall at the near post, and he stood at the far post.

He thought that the ball, being short-range, wouldn’t clear the wall.

However,

De Bruyne’s curled shot managed to clear the wall perfectly and flew into the net.

Swish!

When the ball landed in the net, Kozačik didn’t even make a save attempt.

Goal!

“…”

The Doosan Arena, which had just been filled with noise, suddenly fell silent at this moment.

Goal?

They stared at the ball in disbelief.

Dumbfounded,

De Bruyne let out a roar the moment he saw the ball go in, his face instantly flushed with excitement.

Excited!

He rushed towards Gao, shouting, “Gao, C’est pour toi!!”

This goal is for you.

Gao laughed and hugged De Bruyne.

He hadn’t actually expected De Bruyne to score directly from a free kick. This was De Bruyne’s Europa League debut, and also his first Europa League goal.

Of course,

This wasn’t De Bruyne’s European competition debut.

Because he had already played in the Champions League when he was at Genk in Belgium, and it was precisely because he encountered Chelsea in the Champions League that he was noticed by Chelsea.

These thoughts were instantly scattered by the enthusiasm of his teammates.

Everyone rushed towards Gao.

All gathered together.

In the very center were De Bruyne and Gao, still embracing.

A free-kick goal in the 85th minute.

Bastia came from behind to beat Viktoria Plzeň.

At such a moment.

The silent Doosan Arena echoed with the shouts of the Bastia fans.

“Bastia!!”

“Bastia!!!”

Modesto had already taken off his jersey and was waving it in his hand.

He stood on his seat, shouting with all his might.

Shouting Bastia with all his strength.

The rest of the fans were the same. Although there were few of them in the stadium, at this moment, their voices could be heard throughout the entire venue.

Some of the fans even shed tears as they shouted.

It had been over forty years since their last European victory.

That was a generation ago!

“Bastia!”

The TF 1 commentator was also incredibly excited, “Bastia has turned the score around! De Bruyne! This young player, on loan from Chelsea to Bastia, has shown his ability, scoring directly from a free kick!

See? This is Bastia’s youth storm!

No matter when, there will always be a player who steps up—Gao, Lukaku, Klose, and now De Bruyne. They prove with their actions that youth is never an issue!”

The distant Mediterranean Sea,

Seemed to boil with the shouts of the Bastia people.

The night could not cover their excitement.

On the sidelines.

Hajibegić and the substitute players, assistant coaches, all embraced each other in celebration, their faces filled with excitement.

Only they knew how difficult this match had been for Bastia.

Chatham even rushed down from the stands behind the bench.

Joining in the celebration.

Viktoria Plzeň’s players looked dejected when they saw the goal go in.

Vrba frowned tightly.

For them, the progression of this match felt like a joke played by fate.

Giving them hope, then slowly taking that hope away.

Until it left them in despair.

The time on the scoreboard ticked by, minute by minute. Vrba looked at it.

There was still time,

But did they still have a chance?

The Bastia players felt a surge of renewed strength after witnessing such a turn of events.

With only a few minutes left, they had only one belief—

Hold the lead!