Chapter 72: Rising Swiftly to Power

"Sigh, why do I feel a little happy about this?" Dai Zhiwei thought to himself as he watched Villarreal lose 0-1 to Athletic Bilbao on television, bidding farewell to the King's Cup. In this match, although Athletic Bilbao, who had overturned a 3-2 deficit in the first leg away, played evenly with Villarreal, their forwards managed to score, while Villarreal’s attacking line was utterly disappointing. Despite 22 attempts on goal, they failed to break through and could only swallow a bitter 0-1 defeat and exit the cup.

Dai Zhiwei hadn’t traveled with the team due to a mild cold, but the four forwards—both starters and substitutes—who did play, with their lackluster performances, sent a clear message to Marcelino: they were nowhere near Dai Zhiwei’s level, who had scored as soon as he took the pitch previously.

"Hey, maybe my starting chance is coming soon!" Dai Zhiwei boasted at home. "But I’d better recover from this damn cold first!"

He wasn’t wrong. On the morning of the 21st round of La Liga against Espanyol, Marcelino announced in the locker room that Dai Zhiwei would be in the starting lineup that day.

Of course, Dai had to thank Bakambu, who had twisted his ankle during training the previous day and was forced to sit out.

"Poor guy," Dai thought, his mind full of emotions. "You should go to the Chinese Super League and earn a fortune—that would suit you better!"

For this match, coach Marcelino made slight adjustments to the lineup, the biggest being Dai Zhiwei partnering with Soldado up front.

Espanyol’s starting eleven: Pau; A. Gonzalez, Javi Lopez, Andia, Duarte; Burgui, Pape Diop, Asensio, Gerard; Moreno, Caicedo.

Villarreal’s starting eleven: Areola; Gaspar, Musacchio, Bailly, Costa; Dos Santos, Suarez, Bruno Soriano, Trigueros; Soldado, Dai Zhiwei.

In the players’ tunnel before the match, Dai Zhiwei kept adjusting his kit. This time, he wore Villarreal’s short-sleeved jersey over a thermal compression shirt, his feet shod in his own endorsed boots, and his shin guards—hidden beneath his socks—were special: they bore the image of Tsubasa Oozora.

He had commissioned these “Captain Tsubasa” shin guards from 361 Degrees, and heard they sold quite well in China.

"Oozora, bless me today!" Though he had already debuted and scored in La Liga, starting for Villarreal for the first time still made Dai Zhiwei a bit nervous.

After Villarreal announced the starting lineup with Dai Zhiwei included, fans back in China erupted in excitement. Having scored a winner as a substitute in the last match, and now starting again, how long had it been since Chinese football had produced such a shining overseas talent?

Chinese fans had grown used to their players sitting on the bench abroad, rarely making matchday squads, and only appearing in friendly matches to “polish their resumes.”

A player like Dai Zhiwei, who made his mark, was enough to drive them wild!

Moreover, unlike the previous match against Real Betis, which started at 3:30 a.m. Beijing time, this Villarreal vs. Espanyol match kicked off at 1:15 a.m. on a Sunday. It was still the middle of the night for most, but Chinese fans’ passion kept them glued to their screens.

Of course, the national sports channel did its part by broadcasting the match live.

Once the game began, Espanyol, playing at home, showed no fear of the La Liga powerhouse Villarreal, engaging in open, back-and-forth attacks.

Dai Zhiwei was closely marked, but he doubted Burgui, a converted forward, could do much to stop him.

In the 6th minute, Espanyol struck first. Their fullback Duarte cut in from the wing and unleashed a long shot from the edge of the box, but Areola caught it securely. It was the match’s first shot and signaled the start of an attacking duel.

Three minutes later, Villarreal responded. Dai Zhiwei seized on Burgui’s slow retreat, received a through ball from captain Bruno Soriano, broke into the box, and unleashed a powerful left-footed strike from fifteen yards out, left of goal, just before A. Gonzalez could close him down.

The shot had tremendous power, and even the Espanyol goalkeeper seemed resigned, but the ball flew narrowly wide of the post. Dai Zhiwei missed a golden chance to break the deadlock.

Both sides then eased off slightly, but just over ten minutes later, in the 21st minute, Villarreal attacked again. Trigueros broke down the wing and crossed. Surrounded by A. Gonzalez in front and Burgui behind, Dai Zhiwei cleverly headed the ball back to Bruno Soriano, whose shot from the edge of the box was parried by Pau, who then quickly gathered the rebound.

Though Dai Zhiwei’s two attacking moves failed to breach Espanyol’s goal, both his powerful shot in the box and his clever set-up put immense pressure on the opposition’s defense.

In the 28th minute, Espanyol center-back Andia finally resorted to a clumsy challenge from behind to bring down Dai Zhiwei, earning himself a yellow card from the referee.

But if Andia and Espanyol thought that rough play would intimidate Dai Zhiwei, they were sorely mistaken.

When it came to roughness, the Chinese Super League was at least the equal of any top league.

Less than two minutes after Andia’s foul, Dai Zhiwei received the ball on the right side of the box, feinted sharply, and slipped past Andia as if passing a traffic cone, immediately firing a fierce shot from sixteen yards out.

It was a direct, decisive move, showing no hesitation or concern from the previous foul, but unfortunately, the ball again missed the target, failing to make Andia pay.

But Dai Zhiwei’s inability to score didn’t mean Villarreal lacked chances.

Just three minutes after Dai’s missed opportunity, in the 34th minute, Villarreal took the lead—Bruno Soriano passed, Dai Zhiwei, ahead of Burgui in the center of the box, poked the ball goalward from fifteen yards, but Pau in the Espanyol goal reacted swiftly to save.

Soldado, though well past his prime, still had his instincts. He was first to the loose ball, kept it in play near the right byline, and cut it back.

Dai Zhiwei was already poised to unleash a thunderous shot!

But—

Bang!

Just as Dai Zhiwei prepared to strike, a toe prodded the ball first, altering its trajectory and sending it into the top left corner of the net.

An absolute stunner!

“Huh?” Dai Zhiwei was puzzled; he hadn’t seen any Villarreal player close enough to score—who had put it in?

Turning, he saw Espanyol defender A. Gonzalez clutching his head in despair.

A. Gonzalez, trying to clear the ball in front of Dai Zhiwei, had turned it into his own net.

1-0!

Villarreal led the hosts!

Dai Zhiwei gave a helpless smile, both for the opponent’s own goal and for missing the chance to score his second La Liga goal.

However, A. Gonzalez’s own goal was so expertly executed that Dai Zhiwei had to admire it—even he might not have finished so well: the angle and power were flawless!

It seems the theory that every defender who scores own goals has a hidden striker’s talent is not without merit!

Chinese fans, watching in the early hours, suppressed their cheers, unconcerned that it was nearly 2 a.m.

Though Dai Zhiwei hadn’t scored, he was directly involved—without his threat, A. Gonzalez wouldn’t have been forced into that mistake.

This was, of course, quite different from the “indirect assists” the Chinese media used to credit their overseas players with.

Yet forcing an own goal wasn’t enough for the devoted fans staying up past 2 a.m. They wanted to see Dai Zhiwei score himself!

A forward who doesn’t score—what kind of forward is that?

After A. Gonzalez “helped” Villarreal break the deadlock, both sides intensified their attacks, but neither could find another goal.

The second half began with Villarreal on the front foot, but Soldado’s two early long-range efforts both missed.

“Sigh.” Watching Soldado, Dai Zhiwei shook his head. Back when Soldado made his name at Real Madrid, Dai was still in elementary school. Who would have thought his career would peak so early?

Soldado’s current form was a warning to Dai Zhiwei.

Villarreal’s sustained pressure eventually provoked Espanyol’s young coach Sergio, only 39, to order an all-out attack, leaving Villarreal’s defense in disarray. In the 58th minute, Trigueros was forced into a foul and shown a yellow card by referee Riley.

But Espanyol were not to be outdone. Three minutes later, Javi Lopez fouled Dai Zhiwei near the edge of the box and was also booked.

The free kick was in a promising position—not quite ideal for a direct shot, but perfect for a cross.

Espanyol’s penalty area was suddenly filled with tension and danger.