Chapter 76: The First Goal in European Competition

"Soldado has a wide range of activity up front and is very aggressive in his challenges; by comparison, Dai Zhiwei seems rather subdued," the Spanish commentator in the live broadcast began analyzing the performances of the Yellow Submarine's forwards.
"However, that shot Dai Zhiwei took from the edge of the box just now was quite impressive," another guest commentator clearly held a different opinion. "You must remember, this is his first European competition, his first encounter with an Italian team, and to deliver such a performance is remarkable."

While the two commentators continued to debate, Napoli switched play with a long ball from the right; the trajectory was clear, but their left-sided player failed to control it, and the ball flew out of bounds.

Villarreal quickly restarted with a throw-in, launching a counterattack. On the right, they produced a brilliant combination: Dos Santos flicked the ball with his heel, Bruno delivered a deft pass, and Dai Zhiwei received the ball, bursting into the penalty area.

A sharp feint!

For the first time in this match, Dai Zhiwei unleashed a signature move, and Chiriches was completely caught off guard. After a bewildering shift left and right, he stumbled and nearly fell, powerless as Dai Zhiwei surged forward.

Once past Chiriches, the only obstacle between Dai Zhiwei and the goal was Reina, standing guard on the line.

One-on-one!

But the seasoned Reina expertly blocked the angle to the near post. Yet Dai Zhiwei’s handling of the situation was superb.

Confronted by Reina’s resolute defense, Dai Zhiwei didn’t opt for a powerful strike toward the near corner—after all, no matter how fierce, a tiger shot can’t knock a burly man into the goal, as seen in cartoons.

Instead, Dai Zhiwei chose finesse over force, curling the ball with the instep toward the far post; it struck the upright and bounced into the net, Reina left helpless as he watched the ball nestle in the net.

This goal, reminiscent of Grosso’s famous curling strike in the 2006 World Cup, was even more audacious and technically demanding!

"Gooooooooooooal!"

The Spanish TV commentator, stunned for a moment, shouted and laughed, drawing out the word in celebration of Dai Zhiwei’s goal—moments ago, his colleague had criticized Dai Zhiwei, only for him to score live, a perfect reversal!

Moreover, this exquisite curler perfectly showcased Dai Zhiwei’s confidence.

I don’t care if it’s difficult; I just believe it will go in!

On the pitch, Dai Zhiwei was visibly excited, running to the corner flag, nodding repeatedly at the camera, and performing LeBron James’s iconic celebratory stride.

Scoring is just that simple!

Truth be told, at the start of the match, Dai Zhiwei struggled to adapt to the Italian team's defensive style. Yet Napoli’s defensive standard couldn't completely freeze him, especially when they hadn’t given him enough respect.

For a striker of Dai Zhiwei’s caliber, unless the opposition employs targeted defensive tactics or assigns a top defender to mark him, it’s difficult to keep him from scoring.

Dai Zhiwei had netted his first European competition goal—even if it was just in the Europa League, every step he took now was a height never before reached by a player from China.

Dai Zhiwei wanted to prove to European and world football that Chinese players are not inherently poor at football. Given the right platform, they can shine brilliantly!

Soldado on the pitch, Bakambu and Leo on the bench, and the rest of Villarreal’s forwards were all filled with complicated emotions upon seeing Dai Zhiwei score again.

Although Soldado had provided the most assists of his career this season, when it came to goal-scoring ability, no one in the Yellow Submarine could compare to Dai Zhiwei.

Ultimately, goals are the hardest metric for evaluating a striker!

With Dai Zhiwei breaking the deadlock for Villarreal, the team began focusing their attacks through him, leaving Chiriches in greater despair.

Once again Villarreal’s midfield delivered a long pass to Dai Zhiwei, and the duel was still between him and Chiriches.

Chiriches was no novice, but Dai Zhiwei’s previous breakthrough had shattered his confidence—for even now, he didn’t know how to intercept that move.

Facing Dai Zhiwei’s sharp feint again, Chiriches could only resort to fouling, stopping Dai Zhiwei’s run and conceding a long-range free kick.

Trigueros took the free kick quickly, sending the ball to the edge of Napoli’s box. With both defenders, Hysaj and Chiriches, drawn to Dai Zhiwei, Soldado smartly seized the opportunity for a header at goal. However, the distance meant it posed little threat to Reina, who collected it easily.

Reina threw the ball out, and Napoli took advantage of Villarreal’s lagging defense to launch a rapid counterattack. Gabbiadini lofted the ball into the box, but Higuain was a step too slow and missed it.

Eager to equalize, Napoli pressed forward. Valdifiori found Higuain on the right side of the box with a long pass, but Ruiz intercepted and put the ball out of play.

Koulibaly then delivered from the right, only for the ball to be headed clear. Napoli tried again, lofting the ball into the box from the edge; Mertens prepared to shoot but was tackled by Costa.

Hamšík then broke through on the right, sending in a well-placed cross, but Higuain’s header flew over the bar.

For a moment, Villarreal’s goal was under siege, and Napoli seemed on the verge of equalizing.

However, after weathering Napoli’s triple assault, the home team Villarreal rallied with their supporters’ encouragement, and Dai Zhiwei forced a breakthrough.

Faced with Chiriches, whose composure was already crumbling, Dai Zhiwei treated him as if he were nothing. As Hysaj moved in to double-team, Dai Zhiwei decisively delivered a superb pass.

Dai Zhiwei had already cleared the central channel for Dos Santos; as long as Dos Santos received the ball cleanly, it would be a fantastic opportunity, but just as he did, the referee’s whistle blew—Dos Santos was judged offside.

Dai Zhiwei felt it was a mistaken call, but he knew this was an unavoidable part of football; in fact, as former FIFA president Blatter once said, errors in judgment are part of football’s charm.

"Really?" Dai Zhiwei smiled as he approached the assistant referee, speaking in Portuguese with the Portuguese linesman.

Being proficient in several languages has its advantages—it prevents the referee from misunderstanding your intentions.

"I feel Dos Santos was at least a yard behind," Dai Zhiwei said, gesturing to show the distance.

In this way, Dai Zhiwei applied some pressure on the linesman, knowing the main referee wouldn’t brandish a yellow card for such a mild protest, especially at home.

Higuain, meanwhile, reciprocated for Villarreal’s perceived injustice with two successive mistakes in controlling the ball. The Argentine striker’s form was mediocre in this match, making it difficult for Napoli to mount deep attacks.

Villarreal’s offense was similarly lackluster. Dai Zhiwei was in fine form, but Soldado seemed to have lost his scoring boots, sending another shot far wide and dashing Dai Zhiwei’s hopes of providing an assist.

Napoli’s flanks then began to threaten. First, Hamšík from the right, near the center, delivered a through ball, but Mertens couldn’t get past Musacchio, and Areola collected the ball.

Napoli then switched their attack to the left. Strinić joined the attack, broke through, and sent in a cross, but the receiver failed to get a shot away.

A minute later, Napoli once again mounted an attack from the left, Strinić executing a wall pass with a teammate. Costa deflected the ball out for a corner, but the referee awarded a goal kick, leaving Strinić visibly unhappy.

Nevertheless, Napoli’s wing play had shown its threat in these few attacks.

Fortunately for Villarreal, Napoli’s surge came late. Before they could threaten Areola, the referee blew for halftime.

After a brief fifteen-minute rest, both teams returned to the pitch, and the Estadio de la Cerámica was once again alive with excitement.

"What a great atmosphere!" Dai Zhiwei had grown fond of this stadium; though smaller than Tianhe Stadium, the match atmosphere felt even better.

The football here is purer!

At halftime, Sarri was clearly dissatisfied with being behind, and Napoli made an early substitution: Insigne came on for the ineffective Higuain.

"What?" Dai Zhiwei couldn’t understand the change; after all, as Napoli’s star player, Higuain was their greatest threat to Villarreal—was Sarri sabotaging his own formation?

Watching Napoli’s lackluster performance in the second half, Dai Zhiwei was struck by an unbelievable thought: "Has Napoli given up on this match?"