Football: The strongest post-2000s Chapter 029

Li Qing’s not-so-accurate long pass had a positive effect. Derby County U 18’s defensive system quickly shifted from their defensive left to the right, to the extent that they ignored the most threatening player, Li Qing.

Glennon managed to deliver a high-quality cross before the opposing defender closed in. Center-forward Glen McAuley leaped high, but he couldn’t fully jump due to interference from the opposing center-back. The onrushing goalkeeper, seeing the aerial ball coming fiercely, didn’t dare to catch it directly with his hands and instead punched it out.

The ball flew outside the penalty area. Fans watching the match instinctively let out a cheer when they saw a familiar face at the landing spot: “Awooo—”

Liverpool U 18 head coach Neil Critchley personally saw Li Qing winding up his left foot while running, looking like he was going to take a direct long shot without stopping the ball. The Derby County U 18 players, who were pushing out, were startled and instinctively reacted by jumping to block.

Li Qing’s mouth curved slightly upwards, and he thought, “Five-star skill card, use.”

The five-star skill trial cards obtained from the beginner’s gift package had long been used up. This time, he was using a five-star skill card freshly ‘stocked’ from the system shop, priced at 5 gold coins, with the exact same effect as the trial card.

Li Qing, who exaggeratedly swung his left foot, seemed to establish a natural rapport with the ball at that moment. With the inside of his instep, he subtly nudged the ball to the right, then with his right foot, he sharply poked the landing ball into the penalty area.

His excellent explosiveness was perfectly demonstrated at this moment. The entire dribbling move was fluid and highly watchable, completed almost in a flash, so much so that the Derby County U 18 defenders didn’t react in time. They wanted to foul but were helpless as Li Qing had already dribbled into the penalty area.

The flustered center-back Mills stretched out his leg to try and tackle the ball, but Li Qing’s foot speed was faster. He took the ball away a step ahead, directly facing the goalkeeper.

Li Qing, possessing Precise Shot LV 2, made a very decisive choice. He used the inside of his left foot to execute a push shot. The ball rolled close to the ground towards the near post, helping Liverpool U 18 open the scoring at home.

Derby County U 18 head coach Jake Walker shook his head in frustration. His defensive tactics set before the match were correct; what he hadn’t anticipated was that Li Qing, who was previously sharp in breakthroughs and calm in shooting, also possessed such broad vision.

Liverpool U 18 head coach Neil Critchley, besides being excited, also had a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

It turned out Li Qing was even more well-rounded than imagined!

Li Qing, who scored the goal, wasn’t overly excited, because he saw his shortcomings.

To compete in the Premier League, there was still a long way to go.

He was almost helpless against the tight marking of Derby County U 18 defenders in this match. What about the Premier League, which was several levels higher in intensity?

His technical skills on the ball must be improved, otherwise, a five-star skill card costing 5 gold coins would be a bottomless pit. Long passes also needed more practice, after all, not every long pass would have an ‘extraordinary’ performance like the recent distribution.

As for his ability to poach goals in front of the net, there was no rush to improve that.

One step at a time.

According to the schedule, Liverpool U 18’s next league match was an away game against Everton U 18 in mid-January next year, which was a full month away. Therefore, he decided to improve himself during this period!

Derby County U 18, who restarted the match, made some probing attacks. Perhaps due to their apprehension of Liverpool U 18’s almost abnormal counter-attacking ability, the number of players involved in attack was always limited.

Neil Critchley shook his head. What he hoped to see was the opponent pushing forward to attack, thereby leaving counter-attacking space for Li Qing. However, Derby County U 18 players didn’t commit much to offense, meaning the away team was more focused on defense.

Fortunately, they were already leading, so Neil Critchley wasn’t too anxious for his team to extend the lead.

Derby County U 18’s laid-back style of play continued until the seventieth minute of the match. Three consecutive substitutions targeting the attacking end easily revealed their determination.

Li Qing, who had been conserving his energy, became spirited, because… he knew his opportunity was coming!

As expected!

Derby County U 18, having strengthened their attack, showed a clear decline in defensive quality. In the seventy-ninth minute, Li Qing received a long clearance from goalkeeper Kamil Grabara, dribbled past two players, and appeared very calm when facing the goalkeeper. He faked a shot and then deftly dribbled past the onrushing goalkeeper who had left his goal, before slotting the ball into an empty net, helping Liverpool U 18 extend their lead to two goals.

Due to severe physical exertion, Li Qing was largely ineffective in the remaining match time, but his presence on the field brought immense pressure to the Derby County U 18 players.

The 2- 0 score remained unchanged until the end of the match.

Since Manchester City U 18 also won their match this round, the points difference between them did not narrow.

However, Li Qing, who scored twice this round, once again attracted the attention of various media outlets focusing on youth training, occupying a significant portion of their football sections.

As the last round of the National Youth Super League in 2016 concluded, media outlets following youth training were already looking forward to the FA Youth Cup Round of 16 match in mid-January next year at the Manchester City Football Academy.

Based on the recent performances of both teams, some media outlets renamed this match a “clash of titans” played in advance, though Manchester City U 18 was more favored. They had exceptionally talented young players like Nico González, Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden, and Brahim Díaz, while Liverpool U 18 only had Glen McAuley, Li Qing, and Brewster…

However, Li Qing didn’t pay too much attention to these media reports, because he still needed to continue his studies and improve himself.

The shortcomings exposed in the previous home match against a highly targeted Derby County U 18 had to be remedied as soon as possible!