113: Chapter 113 Was that a pass or a shot? It was marksmanship!

Per Mertesacker and Héctor Bellerín have an "advantage" — the referee tonight is Lee Mason.

This referee, known for "loose officiating," has the fewest yellow cards per game (2.54) among referees who have officiated more than 15 Premier League matches this season, far below the League average of 3.18, and has not issued a single red card so far this season.

He advocates for game fluidity and has an extremely high tolerance for "reasonable" physical contact, not blowing the whistle easily.

What does this mean?

It means many fouls that teeter on the edge of legality, or even obvious tactical fouls, might only result in verbal warnings rather than cards.

This is exactly what Per Mertesacker and Héctor Bellerín want — using continuous, clever, low-risk fouls to break Yu Bai's rhythm, drain his patience, and ideally, provoke him.

Aren't you good at Dribbling? Are you a master at beating defenders?

I'll just grab you, bump you with my body, and use tactical fouls to interrupt you.

Let's see how you continue your Dribbling!

...

"Beep—!"

Referee Lee Mason blew his whistle, the North London Derby officially began!

White Hart Lane erupted with a deafening roar! Singing, shouting, booing, swept through every corner like a tsunami.

However, when Yu Bai touched the ball for the first time on the left flank, the sound from the stands wasn't entirely cheers.

Piercing boos came from the away stands, unsurprising, as it was a "gift" from Arsenal fans to their former youth "traitor".

But what was somewhat surprising was the sporadic but clear booing that also rang out from parts of the home stands.

Some Tottenham fans had clearly believed the ridiculous rumors that "Yu Bai is intentionally underperforming in the Premier League to help Leicester City".

In the standings, Leicester City (63 points) led Tottenham (56 points) by 7 points, and these fans paranoidly believed that if Yu Bai had "given his all," Tottenham could have earned at least 6 more points, which would have made the title race completely different.

They partially blamed the team's recent struggles in the League on Yu Bai's "lack of focus."

[Are there actually Tottenham home fans booing Yu Bai? Have they lost their minds?]

[The pressure of the standings is too high, the fans have lost their rationality a bit.]

[The young master is under huge pressure today, attacked from both inside and out.]

Yu Bai heard those boos; the movement of his feet paused imperceptibly, but there was no change in expression on his face. He passed the ball back to the supporting Christian Eriksen and made a quick forward run.

From the very beginning, the match entered the "foul rhythm" preset by Arsenal.

3rd minute.

Yu Bai dropped back to the left side of the midfield to receive the ball. He lightly glided past the pressing Aaron Ramsey. Just as he was about to accelerate forward, Francis Coquelin came from the side with a ruthless collision, knocking him and the ball to the ground.

"Beep!" Lee Mason blew the whistle, a foul, but no card.

Francis Coquelin reached out to pull Yu Bai up, looking innocent.

8th minute.

Yu Bai got the ball in the same area again. Facing Héctor Bellerín, he used a beautiful La Croqueta to get past the Spanish winger. He cut inside one step, and Per Mertesacker's massive frame immediately moved over. He didn't tackle, but instead used his body to firmly block the position, with a subtle pushing motion from his arm, causing Yu Bai to lose balance and fall.

"Beep!" Lee Mason blew the whistle again, still just a foul, giving Per Mertesacker a verbal warning to watch his actions.

12th minute.

Yu Bai tried to do a one-two with Erik Lamela on the flank. The ball was passed, he ran past, and Héctor Bellerín reached out directly, grabbed Yu Bai's jersey, and pulled him to a dead stop!

"Beep!" The third whistle. Still a common foul, no yellow card.

Yu Bai's rhythm was cut into pieces by these frequent, deliberate, yet "perfectly measured" tactical fouls. He was almost unable to use his Dribbling to advance into dangerous areas.

Lee Mason's loose officiating made players on both sides even more unscrupulous with their fouls.

14th minute, a turning point seemed to appear.

Yu Bai received the ball with his back to the goal near the halfway line on the left flank, with Héctor Bellerín marking him closely.

Yu Bai leaned into his opponent, suddenly feinted with a shoulder drop to the left, then immediately pushed the ball forward to the right with his right foot, while simultaneously exploding into a sprint!

With 80 in explosive power, he started instantly, darting along the sideline like an arrow off a bowstring!

Héctor Bellerín was fooled by the feint, his turn was slightly slow, and when he restarted, Yu Bai was already half a body length ahead!

The Spaniard gritted his teeth and chased desperately, but while running at high speed, Yu Bai suddenly made a sharp stop! He dragged the ball back with his right foot!

Héctor Bellerín couldn't stop in time, and his whole body was completely thrown off by this sudden change of rhythm, stumbling forward, almost falling to the ground!

"He's past him! Yu Bai brilliantly toyed with Héctor Bellerín!" The commentator exclaimed.

Cheers and gasps erupted from the Tottenham fans in the stands!

However, the crisis was not over. After getting past Héctor Bellerín, Yu Bai cut inside, just as he entered the dangerous half-space area —

Per Mertesacker's tall figure moved across like a mobile wall!

He didn't choose to tackle recklessly; instead, eyeing the line Yu Bai was cutting into, he opened his arms wide, just like a defensive player in American football, and solidly, without any avoidance, wrapped his arms around Yu Bai's waist! With force from his arms, he "nailed" Yu Bai to the spot! Both of Yu Bai's feet were almost off the ground!

"Beep—!!!"

Lee Mason's whistle was much sharper this time. He ran over and signaled a foul by Per Mertesacker.

Yu Bai was furious at this blatant body-slamming move. He struggled to break free from Per Mertesacker's arms, stood firm, and faced the running referee Lee Mason, holding up his right hand, showing one, two, three, four fingers, and said loudly:

"This is the fourth time! Mr. Referee! This is the fourth time they have committed a tactical foul on me!"

He then made a "pulling out a card" gesture to pressure Lee Mason.

Per Mertesacker stood nearby, a look of undisguised mockery on his face, spreading his hands and saying to Yu Bai:

"Just this?"

"The Premier League's Dribbling king? The three-time consecutive Player of the Month?"

"I just reached out and hugged you, and you can't handle it?"

"Keep trying to pass me? Use your Dribbling and try to get past me again?"

Yu Bai turned his head, looked at Per Mertesacker's smug face, laughed out of extreme anger, and shook his head:

"German, you... it's a waste of talent for you to play football."

"You should go to WWE, that's more suitable for a 'body-slamming master' like you."

Lee Mason did not issue a card, just gave Per Mertesacker another verbal warning, and then signaled for a Tottenham Free kick.

Christian Eriksen took the Free kick quickly, Passing the ball directly to Yu Bai, who was standing near the foul spot, seemingly still "communicating" with Per Mertesacker.

Yu Bai, with his back to the attacking direction, stepped on the ball with his left foot.

Seeing the ball come over, Per Mertesacker stopped mocking, and like a heavy tank, menacingly approached Yu Bai, ready to use his body to pressure him again.

However, just as Per Mertesacker was about to get close, and everyone thought Yu Bai would again fall into a struggle or be forced to pass back —

Yu Bai, with his back to Per Mertesacker, without even turning fully, used his right instep to suddenly, unexpectedly, thrust the ball forward after stepping on it!

Is this a Passing? Or a Shooting? No one knew!

People only knew that Per Mertesacker was almost "sent away" by Yu Bai!

This was simply a powerful "accurate shot" aimed at Per Mertesacker's chest!

It's marksmanship!