Chapter 2.12

On February 12th, the Champions League knockout stage officially began this season. Juventus and Celtic were the first to appear, with Juventus winning a clean 3-0 victory over their opponents on their away game.

Another match held at the same time garnered even more attention from Chinese fans.

Paris Saint-Germain faced Atletico Madrid on their home turf.

This was a contest between He Ying and Sun Pan, one a "spear" capable of conquering fortresses, the other an indestructible "shield." What would be the outcome of their clash?

Before the game, Sun Pan publicly challenged He Ying during an interview, saying, "Want to break through the goal I'm guarding? He might have to wait a little longer!"

Faced with Sun Pan's provocation, He Ying appeared relatively low-key, "I'm not very good at talking; I'm better at doing."

The Chinese media and fans saw this as banter between the two.

But these people didn't really understand Sun Pan and He Ying.

Although they were often seen together as part of the "Five Little Dragons," the relationships between the five were not all the same. Not everyone was close enough to share the same pants.

Zhou Yi had a good relationship with everyone. He had known Yang Muge and Sun Pan the longest, he had greatly helped Guo Nu, and he was also roommates with He Ying, so everyone was friends with him. But someone like him who could please everyone was an exception.

The relationship between Sun Pan and He Ying was definitely not as good as everyone thought. There was competition between them. During the filming of the reality show, Sun Pan disliked He Ying from the start, feeling that He Ying was pretentious.

Later, although he gradually accepted He Ying because of Zhou Yi, he would still look for opportunities to mock him.

Later on, they spent a long time together, studied abroad, and were pulled into a group by Zhou Yi, where they often chatted and joked, their relationship becoming closer than before. Hostility decreased, but the competitive spirit remained.

So, when Sun Pan said he wouldn't let He Ying score, he was absolutely serious, with absolutely no joking intention.

He Ying could also sense Sun Pan's attitude towards him, but he didn't care. No matter how many honors Sun Pan achieved, he didn't care. The only person he cared about was Zhou Yi. Only Zhou Yi's success could truly move him. Everything else was trivial.

Sun Pan's provocation didn't cause any emotional waves within him. But that didn't mean he lacked fighting spirit. He still wanted to score, not because he wanted to compete with Sun Pan, but because he wanted to help the team win, and he also wanted to use goals to help him gain a foothold in Paris Saint-Germain. Since transferring over from the winter break, he had already scored two goals, and his form was not bad. But if he wanted to get stable playing time at Paris Saint-Germain, he needed to perform even better.

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Because of the special nature of this match, Chinese television chose to broadcast it live.

The number of Chinese fans watching the game in front of their televisions set a record.

Amidst much anticipation, the game began.

From the start of the game, Atletico Madrid used their home advantage to launch a fierce attack on Paris Saint-Germain's goal.

Paris Saint-Germain could only resort to defensive counterattacks.

In terms of the flow of the game, Paris Saint-Germain was certainly at a disadvantage, but the defensive counterattack tactic was very suitable for He Ying.

In this match, he replaced Lavezzi and started. Coach Ancelotti's task for him was to use his speed to attack Atletico Madrid's defense, create trouble for Atletico Madrid's defense, and also create opportunities for his teammates.

In the tenth minute of the game, he created an opportunity for Ibrahimovic, crossing the ball after breaking through on the wing.

Ibrahimovic jumped high and headed for the goal!

But this threatening header was slapped out by Sun Pan with one hand.

An exclamation rang out over the Calderon Stadium.

"Good ball! He Ying's pass was beautiful, Ibrahimovic's shot was beautiful, and Sun Pan's save was also beautiful!" Chinese commentator He Ping exclaimed.

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Seven minutes later, Sun Pan and He Ying had their first face-to-face encounter.

He Ying received the ball from Ibrahimovic outside the penalty area and took a low shot. The ball skimmed along the grass into the penalty area, dodging the crowd and heading straight for the lower right corner of the goal.

However, this high-quality shot was ultimately pushed out by Sun Pan.

"Beautiful offense and defense!" He Ping was excited. "He Ying and Sun Pan had a direct dialogue! He Ying's shot was very tricky and sudden, but Sun Pan was highly focused and didn't give He Ying a chance!"

After saving He Ying's shot, Sun Pan got up from the ground and waved at He Ying, just like he taunted other opponents whose shots he had saved. He didn't show any favoritism because he knew He Ying.

He Ping smiled when he saw this scene, "Sun Pan is really an interesting person, he doesn't make any exceptions for friends... He has to save He Ying's shot, and he also wants to play psychological warfare on He Ying."

Television quickly cut to He Ying to see his expression.

He Ying was expressionless, and no one knew what he was thinking. No one knew whether He Ying's actions would have any impact on him.

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In the "Excluding Old Guo" group chat, Guo Nu was criticizing Sun Pan: "Sun Pan, that bastard! He's pulling this on his own people!"

Zhou Yi sent a mischievous smiling emoji, "That's just how Panpan is. If you're on the same team as him, you'll feel great, but if you're not on the same team, you'll want to strangle him every minute."

"He Ying must want to strangle Sun Pan right now," Guo Nu said.

"I don't know about that, but I don't think He Ying should be affected by Panpan, it's not good for him."

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He Ying didn't seem to be affected by Sun Pan. He didn't stop using shots to compete with Sun Pan in the subsequent games because his shot was saved and he was taunted by Sun Pan. He still played the same way as before, mainly active on the wing, using speed and skill to break through and create opportunities for his teammates. His number of shots didn't increase significantly after that.

Chinese fans might all want to see the showdown between Sun Pan and He Ying, so He Ying's approach disappointed some people, who felt that He Ying wasn't aggressive enough.

Of course, the vast majority of people supported He Ying's calm approach.

In fact, the protagonist of this game was not He Ying and Sun Pan, but the two teams.

Even if He Ying could break through Sun Pan's goal, he might not be able to help Paris Saint-Germain defeat Atletico Madrid.

It should be noted that the strength of this Atletico Madrid team should not be underestimated, and this is still Atletico Madrid's home ground.

In the nineteenth minute, Atletico Madrid broke the deadlock.

Their center forward Falcao used a chance in front of the goal to score the first goal for the team.

When Falcao scored, the entire Calderon Stadium erupted in cheers. Many Atletico Madrid players rushed towards Falcao to celebrate the goal with him.

Sun Pan, in front of the goal, didn't run up, but he was also very excited and did a somersault in front of the goal to celebrate.

The television broadcast even gave him a special close-up.

"Damn, he can steal the spotlight like this!" Guo Nu was speechless.

"Preventing Panpan from showing off is more painful than killing him, it's normal, normal." Zhou Yi understood Sun Pan very well.

Yang Muge sent a捂嘴笑 (wǔ zuǐ xiào, covering mouth laughing) emoji, expressing his agreement with Zhou Yi's statement.

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After taking the lead, Atletico Madrid's morale was greatly boosted. After the game restarted, they bombarded Paris Saint-Germain's goal, wanting to expand their lead as soon as possible.

For a time, amidst the cheers at the Calderon Stadium, Atletico Madrid's attack was like a tide, and Paris Saint-Germain appeared very passive.

But this also meant an opportunity for Paris Saint-Germain—a chance for a counterattack.

In the thirty-second minute, Paris Saint-Germain had a chance to launch a counterattack. Ibrahimovic used a taekwondo-like move in the middle to pass the ball to He Ying, who was cutting in on the wing.

He Ying used his foot to cushion the ball forward while running at high speed, and then accelerated to chase the ball.

"He Ying!! This is Paris Saint-Germain's counterattack opportunity! Can He Ying seize it?"

On Atletico Madrid's side, defender Godin had already approached He Ying, blocking the inside line and preventing him from cutting towards the center.

If He Ying didn't want to face Godin head-on, he could only flick the ball towards the wing, which would squeeze him to the wing, and the shooting angle would become smaller and smaller, and the threat to the goal would naturally become smaller and smaller.

Godin was on guard on the inside line, with no flaws exposed. Generally speaking, when attacking players encounter defenders of this level, because they lack confidence in breaking through, they will choose to develop towards the wing, and finally turn this fast break that can directly face the goalkeeper into a cross from the wing.

But He Ying didn't do that. Facing Godin, who had no flaws, he used the outside of his right foot to flick the ball towards the inside line, heading straight for Godin!

In the middle, Ibrahimovic was desperately cutting forward, while raising his arms to signal to Zhou Yi, hoping that Zhou Yi could see him and pass the ball over.

Attracting the attention of the defense and then passing the ball to other teammates was also one of Ancelotti's requirements for He Ying.

Seeing that He Ying was actually taking the initiative to lean in, Godin wanted to see what this kid was up to. He continued to stay in his position, while keeping a close eye on He Ying and the ball, wanting to see how He Ying would break through him.

Just as the two were about to meet, He Ying slowed down and then stretched out his left foot to step on the ball.

Then, before Godin could react to what was happening, he turned around, fixing the ball on the turf with his left foot, preventing the ball from continuing to roll forward. Halfway through the turn, he put his left foot down and stepped on the grass next to him, switched to his right foot, stepped on the ball and pulled it behind him!

At the same time, he completed the entire turn.

A Marseille Turn!

When Godin saw He Ying turn around, he realized something was wrong. He didn't care that he was too close to the penalty area at this time and that a foul might bring great danger. He only knew that if he didn't tackle, the danger would be even greater!

But he was still a half-beat late.

The ball was pulled away by He Ying's right foot before his outstretched foot arrived.

He tackled thin air!