Chapter 121: First Victory in the Champions League

In this match, Tottenham Hotspur's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris began his professional career at the French Ligue 1 club Nice. In 2008, he transferred to the French powerhouse Lyon, where he earned the Ligue 1 Best Goalkeeper award three times and was selected for the Ligue 1 Team of the Year on three occasions. In 2012, he joined English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of 10 million euros and has remained with the club since.

Lloris is not a towering keeper over 1.90 meters, but he possesses a unique quality: his reflexes and speed in rushing out. His hallmark is explosive power and rapid off-the-line interventions. When opponents break through on goal one-on-one, Lloris often appears like a guardian angel, thwarting the attempt. His command of aerial balls is also exceptional; whenever the ball flies into the penalty area, he promptly leaps up to punch it clear. Since joining Spurs, he has repeatedly used this confident technique to neutralize aerial threats.

Notably, in a match against Swansea, Lloris even knocked out striker Michu, showcasing his assertiveness when rushing out. He particularly excels at stopping one-on-one chances and breakaways, with excellent positioning and reflexes that repeatedly deny seemingly certain goals. His miraculous performances in the Champions League group stage against Liverpool and in the World Cup qualifiers for France versus Ireland have been awe-inspiring.

Thanks to Lloris's skillful high and low saves, he managed in just the first half to deny two certain goals from Villarreal and block five shots aimed within the goal frame. Players like Dai Zhiwei, Castillejo, and Cheryshev suffered greatly from his presence. Tottenham, benefiting from Lloris's performance, maintained a 0-0 stalemate at halftime despite their attack failing to convert chances.

Back in the dressing room, the atmosphere among Villarreal players was somewhat subdued. Their counterattacks had been good, but facing such an outstanding goalkeeper left them helpless.

The first half was marked partly by Villarreal's bad luck, encountering a Lloris seemingly energized by stimulants, and partly by Tottenham’s several threatening forays into the Yellow Submarine’s penalty area. Fortunately, Asenjo was also in good form.

In many ways, the first half of this Champions League group match between Villarreal and Tottenham was a duel between the two goalkeepers.

For Villarreal, the first half was bleak, and it seemed this misfortune would continue into the second half.

During halftime, Villarreal’s coach Escrivá sharply reprimanded his players, urging them to show something in the second half. However, they seemed to forget this was Tottenham’s home ground, and the hosts would never tolerate a Champions League opening defeat on their own turf.

This season, due to renovations at Spurs’ old home, White Hart Lane, Tottenham temporarily played at Wembley. Both Tottenham and Villarreal were unfamiliar with this neutral ground, so many Villarreal players, including Dai Zhiwei, felt as if they were playing on a third-party field.

As the second half began, Tottenham launched fierce attacks on Villarreal’s goal in front of their home fans. Dai Zhiwei, seeing his defense strained, actively dropped back near the center circle to help with defense and look for counterattack opportunities.

However, he did not expect Tottenham’s wing breakthroughs to repeatedly tear through Villarreal’s backline. Mario Gaspar and Costa were completely disoriented by Spurs’ Son Heung-min and Lamela, and Villarreal was pressed so hard in their own half they could barely move.

In contrast to the increasingly quiet Dai Zhiwei, another Asian star shone brightly.

In the 52nd minute, Son Heung-min’s breakthrough earned Spurs a free kick. Alderweireld’s delivery into the box found Dier, whose header narrowly missed the post, making Asenjo break out in cold sweat.

Seeing Son’s activity on the flank, Bruno aided Costa in defending him, but Costa repeatedly failed to intercept Son’s ball. Without Bruno’s support, Villarreal’s flank might have collapsed again.

Dai Zhiwei remained calm watching Son’s brilliance, confident Tottenham would not keep up the siege indefinitely, and his own chance would come soon.

Indeed, about 15 minutes into the second half, Tottenham’s offensive momentum slowed.

Bruno took the opportunity to team up with Trigueros to reinforce midfield defense and quicken counterattacks, stabilizing the situation.

In the 57th minute, Castillejo burst into the box from the right and crossed, but Cheryshev’s shot from the far post went wide.

Then, Ben Davies nearly scored an own goal with a back pass, but the ball just missed.

After Tottenham’s intense early pressure, their players needed to recover physically. Their defensive retreat left Villarreal frustrated as Dai Zhiwei repeatedly penetrated the box but found no teammates to link up with.

“I can’t take on their entire defense alone, can I?” Dai Zhiwei gestured with both arms, urging his teammates to move forward and support him after being triple-marked and losing the ball again.

Following Escrivá’s instructions, Trigueros quickly passed the ball to Castillejo after a steal.

Castillejo turned and drove forward but kept an eye on the right flank where Spurs were defending tightly, reinforced by Dos Santos’s excellent first-half performance.

The right side was blocked, so they switched to the left, hoping Cheryshev could maintain composure in a critical moment.

Castillejo glanced at Cheryshev’s position and elegantly lifted his right foot to send a sharp, precise pass.

After the pass, Castillejo continued his forward run, aiming to stretch the defense and make a late run into the box.

Unexpectedly, Cheryshev feigned a fake run. Perhaps because he usually passed after receiving the ball, this fake was very effective. He dribbled past the defender on the flank and sprinted to the baseline.

“Here!” Castillejo raised his arms in the center, drawing the attention of many Tottenham defenders.

Castillejo charged toward the near post, and Cheryshev crossed immediately. Under Alderweireld’s interference, Castillejo jumped late and missed the header, watching the ball fly high over his head.

Just as everyone thought the attack would end, Dai Zhiwei appeared at the far post without anyone knowing when.

“Bang!” Dai Zhiwei met the ball almost without jumping, thrusting his forehead forward to connect with the fast-flying ball.

Lloris’s focus had been entirely on Castillejo at the near post. When he saw Dai Zhiwei’s header, he was too far forward to adjust in time. Even a dive to the far post was futile.

“Goooooooooooooooooooooal!”

Dai Zhiwei’s quick header found the net. Unlike most of his previous goals, this one fully showcased his instinct as an opportunistic striker.

Having withstood Tottenham’s fierce second-half onslaught, Villarreal struck first during a rare lapse from the hosts. This was the power of Dai Zhiwei as a top scorer!

1-0!

“Whew!” Dai Zhiwei celebrated with his signature gun gesture — if not now, then when?

Villarreal players rushed to congratulate him in the attack, and coach Escrivá grinned broadly. Taking the lead and equalizing the score would greatly ease the pressure for the rest of the match.

“Well done! I love you!” Bruno happily patted Dai Zhiwei on the shoulder.

No one had satisfied nearly the entire Villarreal squad and fans as much as Dai Zhiwei since joining the Yellow Submarine — but he had.

“No big deal!” Dai Zhiwei’s face radiated the joy of scoring, naturally because this was his first goal in the Champions League group stage proper.

Although he had scored three goals in the two-leg playoff against Monaco, those counted only toward his personal European goal tally, not the Golden Boot race, which excludes playoff goals.

With the lead, Villarreal’s morale soared. Tottenham was forced to push harder in attack, while Villarreal made personnel changes. Escrivá substituted Cheryshev for another “Soriano,” Roberto Soriano, to bolster midfield defense.

After the restart, Tottenham pressed forward in Villarreal’s half. From a bird’s-eye view, Villarreal’s half was filled with white and yellow dots, while Spurs had only one yellow and two white dots.

However, Dai Zhiwei soon reminded Spurs that numerical superiority does not guarantee attacking effectiveness.

In the 61st minute, Dai Zhiwei broke through on the right during a counterattack and crossed, but the follow-up shot from Roberto Soriano was blocked by Vertonghen for a corner. The substitute missed a golden chance to extend the lead immediately after coming on.

Six minutes later, Dai Zhiwei launched another attack.

After a pass from Bruno, the lively Dai Zhiwei received the ball and performed a dazzling series of step-overs before unleashing a fierce shot from outside the box. The ball struck Alderweireld’s side and went out for a goal kick.

“That must hurt,” Dai Zhiwei muttered softly, watching Alderweireld clutch his side where the ball had struck.

A sudden thought flashed through his mind: what if his fierce shot had struck a more sensitive spot?

“Too cruel!”

Villarreal’s counterattacks afterward were either blocked by Lloris or went off target.

Yet, thanks to Dai Zhiwei’s several threatening counters, Spurs dared not commit too many players forward, always keeping at least one holding midfielder and three defenders in their half.

In the 74th minute, Elkeson’s pass was intercepted by Bruno, who launched a quick counterattack with a powerful clearance.

“Great pass!” Dai Zhiwei saw Bruno’s ball flying right toward him and broke into a sprint.

Dier’s defensive role was to shadow Dai Zhiwei closely. After Dai Zhiwei turned his back to shield the ball, Dier quickly moved behind him to defend.

“Someone behind?” Dai Zhiwei heard the voice but didn’t turn around. Instead, he feinted right, then elegantly spun left with a quick drag of the ball, smoothly shaking off Dier’s tight marking.

Dier stared at Dai Zhiwei, feeling intense pressure. The two had clashed many times before, and Dier knew well how fearsome his opponent was.

Dai Zhiwei advanced with quick, small steps, suddenly launching a step-over with his right leg. Dier suppressed his urge to tackle and stood firmly in front of him, but Dai Zhiwei suddenly burst into motion with consecutive feints.

Dier moved to block Dai Zhiwei’s path and successfully stopped his breakthrough.

Eager to celebrate, Dier opened his mouth to shout but barely had time to rejoice before Dai Zhiwei made a sharp 90-degree turn and broke through on the other side.

A perfect sharp fake!

“Hold the line!”

Alderweireld, seeing Dai Zhiwei beat Dier and the ball rolling slightly away, rushed to clear the threat.

But just as he prepared to strike the ball, a fierce shout rang out—

“Get out of the way!”

Alderweireld was stunned. He hadn’t expected Dai Zhiwei to overtake him physically within two steps and poke the ball ahead.

“Damn!” Alderweireld cursed inwardly and reached out to hold Dai Zhiwei.

However, Dai Zhiwei had no intention of continuing the run. His feet moved rapidly, and his right foot curled a brilliant shot with a curve.

A fierce tiger shot?

No, a curving shot on the run!

He worried that a straight fierce tiger shot from outside the box might be saved by the still-on-fire Lloris again.

This was Dai Zhiwei’s first attempt at a curving shot in open play during a match—something he was not confident about even in training.

But as soon as the ball left his foot, he felt it was right.

Lloris quickly shifted sideways as the ball zipped into the box, then leapt instantly, his body stretching out fully with a long arm reaching for the flying ball.

“Go in!” Dai Zhiwei silently shouted.

“Bang!”

The ball traced an exaggerated arc and, after a barely audible sound, struck the post crisply before rebounding into the net.

“Goooooooooooooooooal!”

2-0!

Dai Zhiwei stood still, pointing both index fingers toward Wembley’s dazzling rainbow-lit sky.

At this moment, this night, he was the star of stars, shining brilliantly!

Dai Zhiwei’s goal sealed the match’s fate. Although Tottenham scored a consolation goal in the 84th minute, they could not overturn the result.

The 2-1 scoreline stood as the final result. Thanks to Dai Zhiwei’s brace, Villarreal secured a triumphant start to their Champions League group stage campaign, laying a solid foundation for qualification.

(End of chapter)