At this moment, looking at their own fans, the players of Bayern Munich on the field, witnessing such a performance, felt their despair reaching an extreme.
Just moments ago, they were feeling smug, believing that holding the opponent scoreless for 20 minutes was an achievement worth boasting about. But their brief moment of elation was immediately met with a harsh reality.
This was a brutal slap in the face. Cao Baming never showed mercy when striking, regardless of who stood in his way.
The Bayern Munich players appeared dejected, having lost the will to continue fighting.
The match had only just passed 20 minutes. To think that Cao Baming would stop at just one goal would be exceedingly naive.
This was not something only Cao Baming understood; those familiar with him knew that once he got going, he entered a state of extreme frenzy from which he was unstoppable.
What could they do now? At this moment, the Bayern Munich players were in a panic, yet utterly helpless.
Some players might not have been completely despairing but were on the verge. They looked helplessly towards the sidelines for their head coach, only to see a face even more filled with despair than their own.
There was no hope, none whatsoever. They hadn't planned to win this match anyway. Losing badly or losing gracefully, it was all the same. They gave up.
Some fans had already begun to leave. Keep in mind, the match had only been playing for a little over 20 minutes, and they had paid good money to watch. They had paid, they were in their seats, but they could no longer bear to watch.
Generally, even in a boring match, most fans would at least wait until halftime before leaving. But at this moment, looking around, at least a thousand people had already seen enough. Furthermore, this was Arsenal's home ground, and Bayern Munich's fans were already in the minority.
The remaining die-hard fans were holding on by sheer determination, feeling out of place amidst the overwhelming presence of opposing fans. Their only solace might have been the knowledge that there were others on the field enduring the same torment as them.
Two more minutes passed. It was precisely a two-minute mark. Bayern Munich had just regained possession, only to lose it again within ten seconds.
Cao Baming, positioned as a defensive midfielder, had an expansive range, like an octopus. His vision was not limited to what was directly in front of him; it was quite certain that he could perceive everything happening around him in a 360-degree radius.
And this interception, as expected, came from Cao Baming.
Even though Nelson failed to capitalize on this opportunity, it was not a setback for Arsenal. The matter was almost too insignificant to mention.
As Arsenal fans, they could see that the chemistry between Nelson and Messi still needed refinement. However, it wasn't their fault; they had rarely connected on the field, and even in training matches, they might have been on different sides due to luck.
Their opportunities to play together had been even fewer. Generally, if Cao Baming was willing to act as a pivot for the entire team, a third forward player would be entirely unnecessary.
After all, despite his age, Messi could still perform at a world-class level when playing as a striker.
Cao Baming was not discouraged by the wasted opportunity, as he had already known it wasn't a prime chance. The real opportunity was yet to come.
At this moment, the opportunity Cao Baming felt was not in the distant future, but rather within the next ten seconds.
His sense of time wasn't precise enough to pinpoint a specific second, but he knew that within ten seconds, at most within thirty, this opportunity would fall into his possession.
As fate would have it, things unfolded exactly as he predicted. Fifteen seconds later, a cross from Henry arrived at Cao Baming's feet. This opportunity was almost identical to the previous one.
And at this moment, the Bayern Munich defenders had reverted to their earlier state. If they couldn't defend against it last time, how could they possibly defend against it now?
Even though he was still forty meters away from the goal, Cao Baming began to sprint forward immediately after receiving the ball, instantly surpassing several players around him.
The fans by the sidelines, even now, were exclaiming in amazement. They were astonished to witness a scene that seemed almost unreal, something that shouldn't happen in the real world.
Cao Baming, who could have taken a long shot, looked at the path ahead of him, a path that offered a nearly 100% clear shot. He knew it was a shooting lane, but it wasn't necessary at this moment.
Dribbling forward and then beating the goalkeeper was a fresh approach he hadn't tried much before.
Since scoring had become so effortless, to the point of being unimaginably easy, he might as well use this opportunity to play around. Nothing was more important than having fun.
All his attributes had been converted to speed. His current maximum of 100 attribute points was drawn from defensive stats, and he had barely touched his shooting. By converting all his attribute points to speed, Cao Baming once again felt the sensation of soaring through the clouds, a feeling he had experienced in the simulator.
He felt as if he was flying, the friction of the air against his face causing a sharp sting. Yet, this sensation was strangely familiar!
The two center-backs were left behind by more than five meters within a single second. They were even more bewildered than the last time.
Was it over just like that? What had just happened?
At this moment, mirroring their confusion, all the fans watching the match and the other players on the field were filled with questions. At this point, apart from question marks, no other words could describe their state of mind.