64: Chapter 64 A Genius Emerges in Desperate Circumstances! Director Yu Bai Ties the Game with Two Goals: Backheel Magic + Ghostly Assist!

With Kieran Richardson replacing Hutton, who was carried off on a stretcher due to injury, Tim Sherwood had used up two of his substitutions for the right-back position, even resorting to using a left-back to fill in.

He stood on the sidelines, his face ashen, fingers unconsciously tugging at the hem of his suit, filled with unease.

With the defense in such disarray, could they still withstand Leicester City's subsequent onslaught?

However, the greatest charm of football often lies in its unpredictability.

The 63rd minute.

Leicester City, having attacked for so long without success, saw their defensive line suffer a fatal lapse after repeatedly pushing up.

Jack Grealish, in hot form today, took the ball on the left flank. Facing pressure, he used a smooth drag-back turn to shake off his marker, then delivered a through ball that pierced the defensive line!

Striker Gabriel Agbonlahor understood the intent instantly, using his body to shield off Leicester City captain Wes Morgan, cleverly laying the ball back in the penalty area to set the stage for his teammate charging in from behind!

Winger Hill arrived in a flash, completely unmarked! He met the ball with a powerful, thunderous strike! The ball flew like a cannonball, soaring past the desperate reach of Kasper Schmeichel's fingertips and slamming into the top right corner of the net!

0:2! Aston Villa had scored another goal away from home!

"Goal!!! Aston Villa! A perfect counterattack!"

"Leicester City has paid the price for their recklessness!"

"A two-goal lead! Villa sees hope of taking all three points away from home!"

King Power Stadium fell silent instantly; the home fans held their heads in disbelief.

Claudio Ranieri was so angry on the sidelines that he smashed the water bottle in his hand onto the ground, splashing water everywhere. He slumped onto the bench, his face so dark it looked like it could drip water, roaring loudly at the assistant coach beside him, clearly extremely dissatisfied with the team's poor defensive organization.

The Blue Foxes players on the pitch also hung their heads, hands on their hips, their faces filled with annoyance and frustration.

Yu Bai was also a bit dazed. After he and Kante came on, it was clear that they had the initiative and the offensive momentum, controlling possession and creating more threats, but the result... was that their own goal had been breached once again.

The 66th minute.

A final stand!

After "arguing" with the assistant coach, Claudio Ranieri showed the decisiveness of a veteran manager.

He waved his hand, making his second substitution: bringing on striker Nathan Dyer for midfielder Gökhan Inler!

Going all out!

The formation instantly shifted from 4-4-2 to an extreme 4-2-1-3!

Danny Drinkwater and Kante formed the double-pivot defensive wall.

Mahrez, Vardy, and Dyer formed the trident up front.

And Yu Bai was given a brand new role — attacking midfielder, and even more, a free role in the front court!

During the brief interval while Dyer was coming on and the match hadn't restarted, Claudio Ranieri called Yu Bai to the sidelines, gripped his shoulders firmly with both hands, his gaze burning behind his glasses, speaking rapidly, every word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Yu! Listen! I need you to use every means necessary to tear apart, dismantle, and blow up this damn iron-clad defense of Aston Villa!"

"I don't care if you use Dribbling, Passing, or Shooting!"

"I am giving you the highest authority, the most complete freedom!"

"Forget your position! Go wherever you think you can create a threat!"

"I only want one result —"

Claudio Ranieri pointed to the distant Villa goal, his voice almost a low roar:

"Put the ball into that damn goal for me!"

Meeting his manager's almost fiery gaze, Yu Bai nodded firmly and heavily: "Understood, Boss!"

He turned and ran back onto the pitch, his mind echoing with the tactical philosophy Claudio Ranieri had repeatedly emphasized during the international break: "Combine the flanks and the center, move flexibly, and use your unpredictability to disrupt the opponent's defensive deployment."

Now, it was time to deliver.

The 72nd minute.

A suffocating siege!

Aston Villa retreated across the board, with 11 players huddled in their own thirty-meter zone, compressing the space to a suffocating degree.

Leicester City's Passing struggled to circulate in the narrow space.

On the right, Mahrez tried to cut inside again, faked an angle, and delivered a cross, but the ball was headed out of the penalty area by Villa's experienced center-back Lescott!

The danger was not cleared!

The ball flew high and floating toward the edge of the penalty area arc.

Yu Bai rushed toward the landing spot, stretching his leg to trap the bouncing ball, but the speed and spin were faster than expected, and his touch was a bit heavy, leaving the ball a step away from his body.

"Chance!"

Villa's defensive system reacted instantly, pressing outward like a reflex, and in an instant, two or three players pounced on Yu Bai and the ball that had slightly slipped out of control!

Rushing to the forefront was Grealish, who had been performing excellently today, with a strong presence on both ends of the pitch!

His eyes gleamed; he wanted to intercept the ball and completely stifle this Leicester City attack.

At this moment, Yu Bai was facing away from the goal, and Grealish was closing in fiercely from behind.

In a flash of lightning, Yu Bai performed a move that left everyone stunned —

Facing the dropping ball, he lightly flicked his left instep upward, lifting the ball over his own head, which also caused Grealish, who was lunging forward, to miss completely!

Before the ball landed, Yu Bai, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, sensed Grealish quickly adjusting his center of gravity to pounce again. He met the falling ball and flicked it lightly again with the outside of his right foot!

Two consecutive flick-overs!

The ball never touched the ground!

The movement was fluent, elegant, and full of imagination, as if Zizou had possessed him! In the most crowded area at the edge of the penalty arc, he used the most effortless way to toy with Grealish, who was pressing the hardest!

"Wow!"

Even the home fans couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

Grealish was a bit heated by this elegant "humiliation." After steadying himself, his eyes hardened, preparing to use a rougher method to turn up the intensity on Yu Bai and teach him a lesson.

However, just as the ball dropped for the second time, on the verge of touching the grass —

Facing away from the goal, seemingly having exhausted his flamboyant tricks, Yu Bai, from an almost impossible angle, when everyone thought he was going to turn or pass back...

His right foot, like a snake striking, used his heel to gently and covertly tap the falling ball backward!

"Pop!"

A soft sound.

The ball changed direction, obediently and eerily hugging the grass, drilling through the crowd, carving out a short but fatal straight line, rolling toward that lethal open space on the right side of the Villa small penalty area!

A surgical heel through ball!

Villa's entire defensive line, because of their collective outward pressure, was at the critical state of "playing offside."

Leicester City's attacking players, also worried about offside, subconsciously moved backward with the Villa defense.

Only one person was an exception — Vardy.

This top striker had a beastly instinct for the offside line. The moment Yu Bai tapped the ball with his heel, Vardy, who had also been moving backward, suddenly stopped his body. His brain made a judgment in 0.01 seconds: Not offside!

He made almost no adjustment, a swift half-turn, and Yu Bai's pass, as if it had eyes, rolled perfectly to the front of his most comfortable right foot!

No need to adjust! No need to think!

Vardy swung his leg, a calm strike with his right foot. The ball wasn't fast, but the angle was extremely tricky, heading straight for the far corner!

Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan was completely fooled by this sudden pass that pierced the entire defensive line and Vardy's ghostly run. He dived to the side in a panic, but it was too late!

"Swish—!!!"

The crisp sound of the net, like the sound of nature, resounded through King Power Stadium!

1:2! Leicester City pulled one back!

"Goooooooal!!! Vardy! Yu Bai's brilliant heel assist!"

"This pass! Gods Eye View!"

"A work of art! An absolute work of art in Passing!"

After scoring, Vardy didn't celebrate. He rushed into the goal, scooped up the ball, hugged it, turned, and ran toward the center circle, shouting at the stands while running, urging his teammates to come back quickly and save time!

But as he ran past Yu Bai, he bumped into Yu Bai's shoulder firmly and solidly, then shouted at his ear with all his might, his face full of irrepressible excitement and appreciation:

"Good ball! Yu!"

"You are a damn genius!"

Yu Bai smiled. He saw the looks of shock and ecstasy cast by his teammates around him, and heard the roaring cheers and shouts that had reignited King Power Stadium.

He subconsciously looked to the sidelines. Claudio Ranieri was standing there, hands in his suit pockets, his eyes behind his glasses shining amazingly.

Their eyes met in the air. Claudio Ranieri didn't say anything, just firmly and slowly gave Yu Bai a thumbs up.

Everything was understood without words.

[Holy crap! Young master's heel! I'm stunned!]

[Vardy: This dish was fed right into my stomach, no digestion needed!]

[A flash of genius! Young master can brag about this ball for a lifetime!]

[Claudio Ranieri: See, this is why I dared to gamble!]

This assist, full of imagination and penetration, not only ignited the stadium but also stunned the commentary box:

"Amazing!"

"Unbelievable!"

"What else can I say? This goal came entirely from a stroke of genius from Yu Bai!"

The local commentator's voice trembled.

"Who can say otherwise? Look at Leicester City this season; they play with such passion. And look at Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal; their attacks often fall into a deadlock."

Another commentator chimed in, with undisguised sarcasm and regret in his tone, "I think they all need a player like Yu Bai — capable of Dribbling, Passing, and Shooting, full of creativity! And what happened? Tottenham loaned him to a direct competitor! Arsenal didn't even give him a professional contract! This is simply one of the most baffling football decisions of the century!"

He paused, throwing out an even more painful fact: "Don't forget, friends, look at the standings! Leicester City is currently at the top of the table! They have a chance to compete for a Champions League spot! And one of their most important attacking weapons right now is loaned from a competitor!"

A word awakened countless dreamers.

London, Mauricio Pochettino's home.

After learning that Yu Bai had come off the bench, the young Argentine manager had turned on the TV again.

When he saw that exquisite heel assist, the hand holding his coffee cup trembled imperceptibly.

His previous view was completely overturned.

How could a player who could make such a pass be "selfish"? How could he "not know how to pass"? The only explanation is: It's not that he couldn't pass, but he didn't want to, or... he felt he had a better option at the time.

This grasp of reading the game and timing of Passing is the quality of a top-tier playmaker.

Mauricio Pochettino fell into deep thought, his brows furrowed.

Maybe... find a way to terminate the loan early in the winter window and bring him back?

This thought grew stronger and stronger.

Loaning Yu Bai to the red-hot Leicester City, how is this any different from aiding the enemy?

Look at the standings; Leicester City is currently higher in points than Tottenham!

Just then, on the TV screen, the situation changed again!

The 78th minute.

Leicester City continued to apply pressure in the front court. After Kante intercepted the ball in midfield, he didn't drag it out. He took a look at the front court and sent a lobbed through ball to the left rib of the Villa penalty area!

A blue shadow, like a ghost in the dark forest, while the Villa defensive line's attention was attracted by Vardy and others, silently inserted from the back, successfully beating the offside trap!

It was Yu Bai!

He judged the line and landing point of Kante's pass correctly. As the ball dropped, he made a light leap forward, using the instep of his right foot, as if taking down a feather, to steadily trap the ball in front of him!

The combination of man and ball was flawless!

The moment he landed, Yu Bai made no adjustments. As the Villa defender chased back frantically and goalkeeper Guzan completely sealed the near post, he used the momentum of his landing to turn his body slightly to the left, while his right instep flicked like a scalpel —

Not a shot, but a pass!

The ball hugged the grass, not fast, but the line was extremely tricky, Passing exactly through the only gap between the two defenders rushing over, rolling to that most fatal no-man's land on the edge of the small penalty area!

There, arriving in a flash, was the top-tier sniffer Jamie Vardy!

He didn't even need to adjust his steps; he met the ball with a relaxed push!

2:2! Jamie Vardy scored a brace! Leicester City miraculously equalized the score!

"Gooooooooooooooal!!! Vardy! A brace! Yu Bai's ghost run + a perfect assist!"

"Equalized! Incredible Leicester City! Incredible Yu Bai!"

"From 0:2 to 2:2! They did it!"

Vardy himself was stunned for a moment, then erupted with huge ecstasy. He laughed, pointed crazily at Yu Bai who had delivered the nanny-level assist for him, and then opened his arms!

Yu Bai laughed, rushed over in a few steps, leaped up, and jumped into Vardy's arms! The two hugged tightly! All the Leicester City players rushed over crazily, piling on top of them!

King Power Stadium was completely boiling, and the blue ocean surged with huge waves!

[It happened again! Young master's second assist! Director of the comeback!]

[Ghost run + elegant flick, young master's football IQ!]

[Vardy: I'm stuffed with assists today! Thanks, Chef Xiao Bai!]

[From hell to heaven! This is football!]

London, Mauricio Pochettino's home.

The young Argentine manager looked at the 17-year-old boy on the TV, surrounded by the blue crowd and laughing brilliantly, and slowly and longly breathed out a turbid breath, as if he wanted to spit out all the shock, regret, admiration, and complex emotions in his chest.

He leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, opened them a few seconds later, stared at the frozen celebration screen, and muttered to himself, his voice full of unspeakable complex emotions:

"Yu Bai..."

"Your growth speed... is truly amazing, no, it's terrifying."

"The grasp of Passing timing, the ability to read the defense... just right, flawless."

"Claudio Ranieri..."

He read the opponent manager's name, his eyes deep, "What kind of magic did you cast on him?"

"I really... am starting to get curious."

And more than that, it was a cold, gradually clear realization:

He seemed to have really let go of an extraordinary "monster."