Chapter 719 - 133: 17-Second Wonder Goal! Epic Comeback! Watch Out, Wang Shuo Is Here! We Witnessed a Miracle

The French midfielder passed the ball back to Alexandre Song behind him. Song advanced to the base of the center circle and fired a diagonal pass toward the right side of Villarreal’s half. Marked by Catala, Walcott sent a backpass to Lichsteiner. Before the Swiss full-back could even receive the ball, he saw Wang Shuo raising his hand up ahead, pointing to the open space on the right side behind Walcott. Without stopping the ball, Lichsteiner sent it straight over with a one-touch pass. Since Walcott’s retreat had drawn out Villarreal’s left-back, Catala, the space behind him was left completely wide open.

Wang Shuo quickly made a diagonal run to the outside of the right corner of the penalty area, using the inside of his left foot to trap Lichsteiner’s pass perfectly. The moment he stopped the ball and turned to face the penalty box, Villarreal’s center-back, Musaquio, was already charging right in front of him.

One on one!

The Argentine center-back stood at only 1.82 meters tall, but he was incredibly agile and wasn’t even intimidated by Wang Shuo’s speed. His eyes were fixed fiercely on Wang Shuo, hands tucked behind his back as he readied himself to lunge forward at any moment.

Nowadays, defenders across the entire European football scene felt deeply conflicted when facing Wang Shuo. In their eyes, Wang Shuo was the ultimate prize—everyone wanted a piece of him to make a name for themselves! But they also worried that not only would they fail to get a piece, but they’d end up being made a fool of by him instead. Caught in this dilemma, they always faced Wang Shuo with fear and trepidation, as if confronting a formidable enemy.

Having just controlled the ball and turned, Wang Shuo had no intention of giving his opponent any time to prepare; he immediately pushed the ball forward. Currently, he was in Villarreal’s final third, with two defenders within a five-meter radius. The Domain Skills [Hunter] and [Controller] activated simultaneously.

Wang Shuo glanced at his opponent’s positioning. Musaquio was standing near the right corner of the penalty area, his back to the box and facing outward. This was an obvious defensive posture meant to guard against Wang Shuo running down the flank to the byline. Yet, his position was only half a body length ahead of Wang Shuo—a typical stance to defend against a cut inside. Although Wang Shuo’s professional career hadn’t been long, he had abundant experience in one-on-one situations. Musaquio’s stance was a classic case of wanting to have his cake and eat it too. Most importantly, the Argentine international was supremely confident in his own abilities. No matter how Wang Shuo moved, he believed he could keep up!

As Wang Shuo pushed the ball a step toward the byline, he noticed Musaquio’s feet sliding in a shuffle step. Clearly, he knew Wang Shuo was exceptionally good at changing speed and direction, so he used the shuffle to keep his center of gravity balanced and stable. This also reflected Musaquio’s mindset. Play it safe! A crossover step is better for changing directions; it has a quick start, allows for rapid adjustment of defensive positioning, and holds an advantage in dealing with explosive sprints or sudden changes in speed and direction. But it isn’t stable enough. A shuffle step, on the other hand, is more stable but disadvantageous for changing speed and direction.

Just from a glance, Wang Shuo saw right through it. Without giving the defender a second to react, his legs drove forcefully forward, launching himself into an explosive sprint toward the byline like a coiled spring. This sudden burst frightened Musaquio into hurriedly closing the gap, attempting to block Wang Shuo from sending a cross from the byline. But right at that moment, Wang Shuo braked abruptly. Chopping the ball back with his right foot, he pushed it laterally with his left, changing direction to cut inside. Musaquio reacted quickly, mimicking the sudden stop to adjust and stepping forward to give chase. However, after his change of direction, Wang Shuo launched into another explosive sprint. Dribbling inward, he instantly shook off Musaquio. Cutting along the edge of the penalty box, he unleashed a furious left-footed shot.

From the kickoff to Wang Shuo getting the ball, cutting inside, and finally taking the shot—only seventeen seconds had passed in total!

When Wang Shuo’s left foot—empowered by the [Domain Skill: Blasters]—fired a curling shot aiming for the far corner, goalkeeper Diego Lopez’s positioning was still relatively outward and toward the right. Even though Diego Lopez threw himself into a desperate diving save, he still couldn’t stop the ball from smashing into the net.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!! What a wonder goal!!

"My God! Only seventeen seconds into the game, Arsenal’s very first shot of the match has breached Villarreal’s goal! An earth-shattering wonder goal from Wang Shuo! The Gunners have once again secured a dream start! This is the true strength of Wang Shuo!

"We can see absolute disbelief plastered all over the Argentine center-back Musaquio’s face. It’s obvious that just moments ago, he was brimming with confidence, thinking he could defend against Wang Shuo’s breakthrough. But in reality, he couldn’t stop Wang Shuo at all. He was beaten and cut inside after a single encounter. Too incredible! Simply unbelievable!

"Let’s relive this brilliant wonder goal. Right into the top corner, the shooting angle was grasped perfectly. This is the caliber of a superstar! Whether it’s Wang Shuo or Messi, every single one of their shots is aimed straight for the dead corners. And the quality is always exceptionally high."

"Did you see that? That is Wang Shuo!" Over at the away team’s bench on the sidelines, Wenger clapped vigorously after seeing Wang Shuo fire off such a magnificent wonder goal. Grinning from ear to ear, he praised him repeatedly.

"He’s just so steady!" Pat Rice remarked with deep admiration.

But upon hearing this, Wenger shook his head repeatedly. "It’s not that he’s steady. It’s that his individual ability is just too strong. He’s head and shoulders above the rest!"

As a former professional player himself, Pat Rice pondered Wenger’s words for a moment and quickly understood. Wasn’t that the truth? It was precisely because his individual ability was so overwhelming that he appeared to have time to spare, making Wang Shuo seem incredibly steady. Because his margin for error was simply that high!