Chapter 853 - 19: Defeating Montpellier! Chasing a Perfect September! Puma News Arrives!

"Beep!"

"CCTV!

"CCTV!!

"You’re now watching the first round of the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League group stage. The two teams facing off are Montpellier Team and Arsenal, and the match is underway.

"Montpellier Team kicked off in the first half. This is the team that won the Ligue 1 title last season, but their current form is disappointing; they’ve gone three games without a win."

"..."

On the pitch, Arsenal, back to their 4-4-2, charged over the halfway line, sprinting up to press Montpellier Team’s backfield Ball Control.

"Bang...!"

"Scrrr...!"

Physical clashes started breaking out all over the pitch. Players were sliding in with tackles again and again, people were hitting the ground all the time, and everyone was fighting for the ball with extreme ferocity.

Ligue 1 teams have a pretty clear identity.

They like to look for those black and hard players, so physical confrontation has always been their strength. They also love to drag the game into this kind of wrestling match, trying to use that advantage to win.

But when they run into a team like Arsenal, so complete, so good at attacking in transition—

Their strength might not just disappear; it might even become a bad habit, a bad habit that costs them the game!

"Bocali! He’s called Mubwa over! They want to double-team the ball at Ma’el’s feet! A three-way clash, very intense!

"Ma’el’s balance is rock solid! He’s spinning like a top while controlling the ball, and those two really don’t have an answer... but they’re still trying!

"In the Premier League we rarely see this scene; players there mostly try to avoid physical contact with Ma’el.

"You can only say this Ligue 1 Montpellier Team Defender line, maybe because it’s their first time in the Champions League, first time facing this kind of player—fearless like newborn calves!"

"....."

While Bocali and Mubwa were entangled with Ma’el, the other defenders clearly let their guard down a little.

In their subconscious, it was like they thought the two had already slowed Ma’el’s dribbling Speed, dragged him into a wrestling match, and that winning the ball back was no big deal.

After all, no matter how strong Ma’el is, he still only has two legs. With no Speed and no space to operate, it shouldn’t be easy to beat four legs.

Out near the touchline, Ma’el spun around again, then tightened his core and drove sideways and back, heaving both men off him a bit.

Taking advantage of that gap, he turned his head for a quick Observation, and once he’d gauged their distance and angle, his right foot rolled the ball back. Then, with an outside-foot flick, he scooped the ball up with an outside roll.

"Whoosh.....!"

The ball popped up instantly, making Bocali and Mubwa freeze for a moment. Once the ball was in the air, their four-leg advantage became a lot harder to use.

But it was fine, as long as they didn’t let Ma’el himself get past, they could still kill this attack.

Worst case, just foul!

They felt their body positions were already low enough. In sync, they leaned into Ma’el, both hands reaching to grab at the back of his shirt.

"Thump...!"

Ma’el half-turned sideways to face the central attacking lane and nodded the ball forward over their heads, then cut inside and burst through.

He immediately felt the pressure from the two of them, but this time he was absolutely determined: he was going to bull through!

He’d been playing with tricks long enough; he couldn’t forget how he used to play in the first place!

"Dun-dun-dun...!"

Ma’el’s legs drove hard off the ground, exploding into a sprint. His core and waist snapped side to side, trying to shake them off completely.

Bocali and Mubwa suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness. They not only lost their balance in a flash, even their hands grabbing Ma’el’s shirt started to slip.

"Smack...!"

The taller Mubwa, with his higher center of gravity, was the first to go down, face-planting like a dog eating dirt. Once he lost all his strength, Bocali had to bear the full force of Ma’el’s forward surge.

"Smack...!"

Bocali went down soon after, sliding forward on his stomach for a bit.

"Too damn fast!" His face was full of frustration. It was like only now did he really understand what "Champions of Europe, strongest player in the Premier League" meant, what it meant to face Arsenal and the France team’s double captain.

"He really is a beast." Mubwa added a complaint of his own. All they could do was watch Ma’el’s back as he burst into the box and brought the ball under control.

"Ma’el’s in! Classic Ma’el-style dribbling! A bit of trickery, a bit of Speed and Power, and most importantly that unstoppable momentum!

"Another burst to the byline, he accelerates past the tracking Sai Xi! A clipped cross to the far post!

"Giroud!!

"One–nil! Way too easy! Just three minutes into the match and Ma’el has already blown up Montpellier Team’s back line!

"This goal is mainly down to Montpellier Team’s complacency. When Ma’el slowed down on the flank, the others should’ve shifted over to double and triple up, at least form a three- or four-man defensive unit to be safe.

"But maybe they built up too much confidence from all those successful attempts in Ligue 1 last season. They trusted themselves too much, thought two men would be enough to stop Ma’el!"

"..."

On the pitch, Giroud pressed his hands together over his chest, his face full of apology as he gestured to the home fans.

This was his boyhood club; no matter what, he shouldn’t celebrate after scoring.

But he still ran over to Ma’el, hugged him, and slapped palms, thanking him for the assist.

"We’ve opened the floodgates!"

Ma’el’s face was lit with excitement as he said, "First Champions League goal, huh. Hope this one brings us some good luck for this campaign."

A smile spread across Giroud’s face. He nodded and said, "Most importantly, it brings you luck. I know you definitely want both the Champions League Golden Boot and Assist King titles."

"Hahaha....."

Ma’el laughed and patted his arm. "Those two titles are nice and all, but what I want more is to lead this team to the trophy."