62: Chapter 62 A foul occurs on an open goal; Yu Bai angrily berates the referee: "If you don't need your eyes, donate them!"

King Power Stadium, a sea of blue.

In the fifth round of the Premier League, Leicester City hosted Aston Villa. The match began amidst deafening cheers.

With a hot start of three wins and one draw, the Foxes were determined to take down their opponents at home and continue their strong run.

On the bench.

Yu Bai, wearing a blue substitute vest, sat side-by-side with NGolo Kanté, who was also being rested for this match. The two occasionally exchanged low-voiced comments on the situation on the pitch.

"NGolo, how do you think that number 20 (Grealish) on their right flank is playing today?"

Yu Bai nudged Kante with his elbow.

Kante kept his eyes fixed on the pitch and nodded earnestly: "Mm, he's energetic and likes to dribble."

The match was intense; Leicester City held the initiative, but Aston Villa's defense was tenacious, and their counterattacks were quite threatening.

In the 39th minute, the tides turned!

Aston Villa's 20-year-old starlet Jack Grealish received the ball on the left flank. Facing the defense of Leicester City right-back Ritchie De Laet, he used a series of clever changes of direction and shoulder drops to slip right past him! After breaking into the penalty area, before Robert Huth could block him, he unleashed a low, flat shot that breached Kasper Schmeichel's defenses!

0-1! Aston Villa leads away from home!

"Damn it!" someone on the bench cursed.

Yu Bai also furrowed his brows. He looked at Kante beside him and asked: "NGolo, that goal just now... if you had been defending in that area, would you have covered that position and prevented him from getting a shot off so easily?"

Kante turned his head to look at Yu Bai, his expression the usual slightly dazed earnestness, and then nodded with absolute certainty and matter-of-factness: "Mm, I would."

Yu Bai was amused by his naive expression, which seemed to say "Isn't covering my position expected?", and laughed as he punched him on the shoulder: "Stop bragging! That ball was so fast!"

Kante blinked, looking a bit innocent. He really wasn't bragging; in his defensive map that covered the entire pitch, that position was indeed a spot where he would appear. But he didn't know how to explain it, so he just said "Mm" again and turned back to watch the game.

Kante: I'm just stating a fact.jpg

The first half ended with the score at 0-1. As the players headed to the dressing rooms, Yu Bai and Kante also stood up and followed.

...

In the home team's dressing room, the atmosphere was heavy.

Claudio Ranieri did not look pleased; he was very dissatisfied with the team's performance in the first half—dominating possession but failing to score, and missing their defensive assignments at the last moment. Without wasting any words, he picked up the tactics board and began making adjustments:

"In the second half, we must intensify our attack and speed up the tempo!"

"Substitutions!"

"Okazaki, Marc Albrighton, you two come off to rest."

"NGolo Kanté, Yu Bai, you two are on!"

Yu Bai's heart skipped a beat; he hadn't expected the substitutions to come so quickly! It seemed Claudio Ranieri was truly anxious.

He immediately focused, listening to Claudio Ranieri's brief instructions for the second-half formation and tactics (4-4-2, strengthening attacks on the flanks, Kante protecting the midfield, Yu Bai playing as a shadow striker alongside Vardy with freedom to improvise). Then, he and Kante were the first to run out of the dressing room to warm up on the sidelines.

Stretching, sprinting, Passing... feeling the familiar atmosphere of King Power Stadium and the cheers from the fans as they saw them warming up, Yu Bai's blood began to pump faster.

Beside him, Kante was working on his ankles when he suddenly spoke, his tone still that same matter-of-fact earnestness: "Yu, we need goals. In the second half, feel free to attack."

He paused, looked at Yu Bai, his eyes clear and reliable, "Leave your back to me. I will cover for you."

Yu Bai stopped his movements and looked at this teammate who was nearly a head shorter than him but seemed to contain infinite energy. His heart warmed, but his competitive spirit also flared up.

He shook his head with a smile and threw an arm around Kante's shoulder:

"Thanks, brother. But you don't need to specially look after me."

"I love defending!"

"However... if I charge too hard and really can't make it back," he leaned in closer, lowering his voice with a 'you know what I mean' smile, "you'll have to help me clean up my mess!"

"Also!"

Yu Bai remembered their teamwork in the last match, his eyes brightening, "Don't forget to look for the right moment to make a forward run! That goal we scored against Bournemouth in the last match was beautiful! I think we can replicate that kind of combination, or even come up with more tricks!"

Listening to this, Kante's face broke into that signature, slightly shy but very happy, naive smile, and he nodded vigorously: "Mm! Okay!"

He really enjoyed playing with Yu Bai; he felt their thoughts on the pitch were always inexplicably in sync—one attacking, one defending, one moving, one still—there was a strange, wonderful sense of complementarity.

...

The second half began amidst the fans' anticipation.

The introduction of Yu Bai and Kante, especially Yu Bai's appearance, instantly maxed out the expectations of the Chinese fans watching the match via CCTV!

"Yu Bai is on! It's up to you now!"

"Super sub! Go for it!"

"Kante is on too, the midfield toughness is guaranteed!"

Aston Villa manager, former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood, stood on the sidelines, his gaze sharp.

He was clearly wary of Yu Bai and had specifically arranged for midfielder Leandro Bacuna to play as a makeshift right-back, intending to use his Strength and aggressive tackling to contain Yu Bai, who might come off the bench.

Sherwood whispered to his assistant coach: "Get Alan (Hutton) warming up. If Bacuna can't handle that Chinese kid, sub on Hutton immediately!"

The veteran Hutton, though carrying a minor injury, was experienced and had a fierce style of play; he was Sherwood's "ultimate solution."

In the 47th minute.

The opportunity came unexpectedly!

Leicester City intercepted the ball in the backfield and launched a fast counterattack!

"Drinkwater" delivered a precise long pass, finding Riyad Mahrez charging at high speed down the right flank!

The Algerian magician received the ball, faced the defense, and displayed his individual ability to the fullest!

He forced his way past the opposing fullback with pure speed, drove all the way to the byline, and while almost losing his balance, delivered a powerful, low cross with his weaker right foot!

The ball was extremely fast with a tricky trajectory, bypassing the Aston Villa center-back who tried to clear it at the near post, and also evading Vardy's flying sliding shot! The ball rolled toward the far post with heavy spin!

"Far post! It's open!"

"Yu Bai!"

A bolt of blue lightning arrived just in time! It was Yu Bai! Relying on his ghostly positioning and precise judgment of the ball's drop point, he beat everyone to that most lethal position!

Facing what was almost half an open goal, the ball right in front of him! Yu Bai adjusted his stride, ready to complete the surefire tap-in...

However!

Just as he planted his standing foot and was about to swing his Shooting leg, in a split second, Bacuna, who was half a step behind him and had completely lost his defensive position, stealthily and viciously stuck out his right leg, hooking it into the ankle of Yu Bai's left standing leg!

"Thud!"

"Ah!"

A dull thud and a short cry of pain! Yu Bai's standing leg was tripped, and he instantly lost his balance, tumbling forward! Bacuna himself also lost his center of gravity due to this dirty trick, stumbling and falling to the ground!

The two of them were tangled together in Aston Villa's six-yard box! And that perfect, certain goal-scoring opportunity just slipped away right before their eyes, slowly rolling out over the byline...

"What the f***!!!"

King Power Stadium instantly erupted in a massive roar, mixed with anger and disbelief!

The moment Yu Bai hit the ground, fury surged to his head!

He sprang up from the ground at lightning speed, not even looking at the fallen Bacuna, and charged straight at the nearest referee, Mike Dean, arms raised high, his face flushed red with anger and agitation:

"Foul! That's a f***ing blatant foul! He tripped me! That was an open goal! Mr. Referee?! Did you see that?!"

Yu Bai's English was fast and urgent, every word firing at Dean like a bullet.

Mike Dean, the famous Premier League referee known for his "confidence" and "controversy," had a cold and firm expression. He shook his head and waved his hands in an X-shape across his chest—no foul, play on!

"What the F***?!"

Yu Bai was nearly driven mad with rage. He pointed to where he had just fallen, then pointed to Bacuna, who was still sitting on the ground with an innocent (fake) look on his face, his voice cracking from extreme anger:

"If you're not going to use your f***ing eyes, can you just f***ing donate them?!"

"That's not a foul?! Then there are no fouls in football anymore! Everyone can just stick their legs out and trip people at will!"

This sentence was faintly captured by the long-range audio system and instantly ignited the entire stadium!

"Red card! Penalty!"

"Corrupt referee! Dean is an idiot!"

"You're not calling that?! Are you blind?!"

Bacuna also "reacted" by now, quickly scrambling up from the ground, rushing over, and shoving Yu Bai away from Dean, shouting: "Hey! Calm down! Don't yell at the referee!"

He was feeling very guilty and terrified that Dean might change his mind after being yelled at by Yu Bai.

Yu Bai was already in a rage, and being pushed made him even more furious. He shoved Bacuna hard, making him stagger, while cursing filthily: "Get lost! You know damn well! That was a foul! It was a penalty! It should be a red card and a penalty!"

"Hey!"

"Stop it!"

Seeing this, players from both sides immediately swarmed in from all directions, pushing, shoving, and arguing. The scene instantly turned chaotic, and a conflict was on the verge of breaking out!

Just then, a short but incredibly swift figure squeezed into the crowd like a cannonball, grabbed Yu Bai tightly from behind, and dragged him backward, while urgently saying in his ear in English with a French accent: "Yu! Calm down! Hey! Look at me! Calm down!"

It was NGolo Kanté! He was like a human accessory, firmly locking down the nearly berserk Yu Bai.

Referee Dean's whistle finally blew. He separated the crowd, his face livid. After consulting with the linesman, he made a "classic" compromise decision—

He walked up to Yu Bai and Bacuna and flashed a yellow card to each of them!

"Punishing both sides equally?!"

"Dean, I'll…"

"This decision is ridiculous!"

Yu Bai looked at the yellow card in front of him, so angry he almost laughed. His chest heaved violently, and he still wanted to argue, but he was held back tightly by Kante and the captain Wes Morgan, who had rushed over.

On the sidelines, Aston Villa manager Sherwood did not hesitate for a second and immediately roared at his assistant coach: "Substitution! Now!"

The electronic board lit up: number 7 Bacuna off, number 21 Alan Hutton on.

Hutton, a Scottish international, a famous "hard man" right-back in the Premier League, had a fierce style, was experienced, and was constantly using dirty tricks.

He ran onto the pitch quickly, and Sherwood grabbed him, whispering through gritted teeth in his ear:

"Alan, you have only one task—"

He pointed to Yu Bai, who was being consoled by his teammates but still looked completely defiant.

"Lock him down! Use any means necessary! I want him to disappear from this match, starting from this moment!"

Hutton licked his somewhat cracked lips, a flash of ruthlessness and excitement in his eyes, and nodded heavily: "Don't worry, Boss."

His gaze toward Yu Bai was like a hunter eyeing its prey.

"I'll let this arrogant little brat..."

"...get a good taste of what real Premier League defense is."