Chapter 31: Playing with Heartbeats, Chasing the Last-Gasp Winner (Part 2)
On the pitch,
of course Xia Qi would not stop running.
All the pressure had fallen on Joe Hart.
He and Xia Qi were teammates and friends;
he knew that in match condition Xia Qi was machine-like and rarely erred.
Although tonight he had been in peak form and saved Xia Qi's previous two shots, that didn't mean he could make a third consecutive miracle save.
Seeing Xia Qi beat Lescott, he decisively chose to come off his line.
If Xia Qi had been human he might have done as Ronaldo did — surge forward, pendulum past the keeper, and slot into an empty net.
Or like Arjen Robben, get intimate, shift left and right and then blast a shot.
But the AI was emotionless; it executed a play football history's humans had never seen.
Humans hadn't even conceived of such a choice.
He chose to drag the ball back sharply, open distance between himself and Joe Hart, then chip the ball — a cheeky spooned finish.
When the ball crashed into the net, the world erupted; turn and face a keeper's rush and you can not only "go forward" but also "retreat."
Before this goal humanity had been blind to that option; after it appeared it seemed so obvious.
The media praised Xia Qi's composure and leapfrog thinking.
In the days that followed the goal replayed constantly on sports channels and even other networks, especially educational programs.
Many lecturers and professors put the goal in their PowerPoints to encourage students to break out of fixed mindsets and embrace the world…
In short, Xia Qi went viral.
On the pitch,
after equalizing, Xia Qi swept coldly past Joe Hart, plucked the ball from the net and clutched it.
Arsenal's players rushed toward him to celebrate the equalizer, but Xia Qi, by picking up the ball, told them in action: the equalizer is only the start, the killer finish is the goal!
It was now the 93rd minute, and two minutes remained.
A last-gasp winner existed only in theory.
But humans have impulse and passion; the flame hidden beneath Xia Qi's iceberg inspired their fighting spirit and turned them a little wild.
Men remain boys at heart!
Per Mertesacker, a father of two, called to captain Mikel Arteta: "Let's go for it, I'm tired of drawing. Come on, captain."
"Let's go for it! Captain!"
Arteta felt his blood surge; how many years had it been? How long since Arsenal had felt so combative?
"Brothers, let's fight together, kill them with a last-gasp winner. Let's fight! Turn the impossible into possible! Arsenal—" (voice cracking)
Arteta looked around, raised his fist and shouted: "Invincible! (voice cracking)"
"Arsenal… invincible!"
"Arsenal, invincible!…"
Arsenal united, morale at its peak. They even urged Manchester City not to waste time and to hurry the game along.
That attitude angered City players and fans; there were arguments on the pitch which further stirred the crowd.
But in the end Xia Qi quietly bore it all: a pig's head was hurled from the stands in the south, the area of the most die-hard City fans.
The match was halted!
Wenger sprinted to the referee, indicating time should be added and protesting this crude act to the fourth official.
Mancini suddenly remembered he still had substitution slots; he had thought he didn't need them but for safety used them now!
No.13 Aleksandar Kolarov and No.33 Matija Nastasić were brought on with two minutes remaining, replacing Sergio Agüero and Joleon Lescott.
Vincent Kompany was considerate and Mario Balotelli warm-hearted; while the Arsenal players rushed at the crowd and referees to protest, those two ran to Xia Qi and gently wrapped him in their arms.
The iceberg Xia Qi's face was still expressionless, but the Xia Qi in his head was moved to tears.
"Mario, I won't mess with you again…"
"Kompany, thank you, I'm not that fragile."
"Xia Qi is strong, though tears welled in his eyes his face remained calm. Only mediocre people aren't envied! Come on, Xia Qi!"
"That was too much. Who could be thrown at with a pig's head? Cesc Fàbregas, Robin van Persie — couldn't they be hit with knives? That was City's own doing… Xia Qi didn't shout or demand to leave; he stood firm! We love you…"
"Balotelli asked the fans to quiet down. From now on Balotelli is my god. This is how competitive sport should be."
"…"
After that brief interlude the match resumed.
Time was short. City took the restart and were immediately met by Arsenal's full-press!
This move suited Manchester City perfectly!
Don't talk about Arsenal's "invincibility" being yesterday's news; even if tonight's Arsenal were the same proud club, a moneyed City was not scared.
Arteta pressed, Touré pushed the ball into his path, Javi García received and played a 45-meter direct pass that precisely tore through Arsenal's layered defense.
Balotelli was on Arsenal's left in the box; he chest-controlled, feinted with a nimble step to wrong-foot young right-back Kyle Jenkinson, created a shooting angle and performed his trademark — an inside-foot thunderbolt!
Jenkinson had been beaten off-balance. As he turned desperately to look at goal, he saw one of his own standing in front of the ball.
It was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain!
Last time, his presence in the box had led to a handball and Kieran Gibbs being sent off.
He'd become the team's scapegoat,
and now he redeemed himself by throwing his body in front of the shot — something he would never do in the past.
Balotelli's strike could have landed someone in hospital for days,
but tonight,
he was moved.
In his head there was only victory, only the team, only the last-gasp winner.
"Boom!"
A thunderous crack reverberated through the stadium; Balotelli's power was fearsome.
Oxlade-Chamberlain fell back as the ball flew high out of the area.
Cazorla and David Silva chased forward together.
The key moment came in their tussle!
Many timid fans closed their eyes and silently prayed.
Cazorla proved he was indeed the reliable "nanny" Arsenal could trust.
He won the duel!
The ball fell to Mikel Arteta's feet and was played instantly toward the top of City's penalty area.
Aleksandar Kolarov, newly on, sprinted toward the ball — fans cried: "Careful!" "Danger!" "There he comes!"
He was terrified, hairs raised on end. Before he could act, a gust passed his ear as Xia Qi accelerated past him.
Taking a ball clean off a defender — another take-on!
City fans were stunned and then screamed:
"Time's up!"
"Blow the whistle!"
"Referee's biased!"
"Quick, blow the whistle!"
Some even impersonated the referee's final whistle.
On the pitch,
Nastasić lunged to intercept but Xia Qi, at full speed, flicked the ball up over his head.
A chip dribble!
Nastasić tried to brake and turn forcibly, but doing both at once sent him tumbling.
Haste makes waste anywhere.
Xia Qi beat the man, pushed the ball and burst into the box in one flowing motion.
Vincent Kompany, unconcerned by the prospect of a red card, charged at Xia Qi and went recklessly for the man rather than the ball.
Xia Qi brought the ball under control, shifted his weight slightly as if a towering cliff absorbed the sea's poundings,
then calmly struck.
The ball screamed like a cannon toward goal.
It crossed the goal line before Joe Hart could dive.
Joe Hart, who had denied two of Xia Qi's certain goals, finally fell to Xia Qi's blade.
4–5!
94:23 on the clock!
A last-gasp winner!
"Can you imagine? This is football! How can you not love football? It's all about the heartbeat, it's all about the last-gasp winner! On a night when the impossible was overturned, how can you not love football?"
"Tonight, if you didn't watch, you missed out; if you did, this match will be etched in your memory.
On rocky roads ahead it will inspire you; on rainy nights when you're sad, it will lift you through the storm toward the light…"
(END CHAPTER)
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