The players celebrated enthusiastically, and the fans, equally excited, began to dance together.
Far away in Tangguo, Arsenal fans were already beating gongs and drums. This was a phenomenal start!
Most of them were fans of Cao Baiming, coming to watch the game because of him.
Cao Baiming's popularity in Tangguo had long exploded.
Although this goal wasn't scored by Cao Baiming himself, his assist was even more crucial, tearing through countless defensive lines!
It was beautiful! Compared to Chelsea's idle forwards, he was on a completely different level!
Indeed, at this point in the match, Chelsea still had zero shots!
The fans were going crazy.
"What kind of football is this? They don't attack, and they can't defend!"
"I'm hoping Drogba can come on, but even he can't save this!"
"Attack already!"
The fans were hoarse from shouting, but Chelsea was primarily a defensive team.
Everyone knew this, but they were truly unwilling to accept it!
Every rare attacking opportunity they got was thwarted at the defense line, the ball never even reaching the penalty area.
How the current Chelsea fans wished their team had a monster like Cao Baiming, who could shoot from midfield!
That way, they'd at least have a few shots on goal!
At the 30-minute mark, Chelsea finally managed a weak shot, which even hit Cao Baiming's leg, resulting in a corner kick!
"Opportunity!"
"Opportunity!"
Tuchel roared from the sidelines, directing the tactical arrangements for the corner.
In his opinion, the biggest scoring opportunity in this match might come from a corner!
Although Chelsea wasn't a team that relied on corners, and they didn't have an abundance of tall players, they still had an edge over Arsenal in that regard.
Soon, the corner was taken, tracing a beautiful arc in the air above the penalty box, heading towards the far post!
This time, Cao Baiming's inverted run successfully avoided the ball's trajectory, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, he wouldn't have to make a fool of himself with a header!
Currently, Cao Baiming's heading ability was his biggest weakness, something he hardly possessed.
He could only try his best to avoid the ball and let his teammates handle it to avoid embarrassment in front of the fans.
Holding secured the first touch, but under interference, he couldn't clear the ball far enough!
The second touch fell to a Chelsea player. Upon closer inspection, it was Pedro, who was known for his powerful long-range shots!
There wasn't a single defender near him!
Seeing the ball come to him comfortably, Pedro controlled it over his head and then waited for it to drop to the perfect height for a spectacular overhead kick!
He was trying to replicate Zidane's "super goal from outside the box"!
The goalkeeper was no pushover, making a world-class save and pushing the ball away again!
This time, the ball wasn't recovered by Chelsea but was won by White!
Instantly, Arsenal launched a swift counter-attack!
Cao Baiming sprinted forward at full speed!
As a defender, his forward push led to top midfielder Vieira covering for him, though this was a pre-arranged tactic by the coach.
White dribbled forward and then passed the ball, a low driven pass diagonally towards Cao Baiming with ample lead time.
Although his speed wasn't enough to match the players beside him, Cao Baiming could shoot directly once he received the ball!
All of Chelsea's players swarmed towards him instantly, but their speed couldn't match the speed of the football!
White's pass reached Cao Baiming's feet first.
Ahead, Nelson was already running near the edge of the penalty area, signaling for the ball, while Ødegaard on the wing had also found space!
Seeing this, Chelsea had no choice but to defend!
In an instant, Chelsea felt a shortage of personnel!
In front of Cao Baiming, only two defenders remained, giving him three options!
Pass to the side, a through ball, or a direct shot!
For him, passing backward was out of the question; only offense!
He was a defender, what was there to pass backward for!
But the players intercepting Cao Baiming were no pushovers! James and Kanté!
Two mountains!
There was a popular saying that no hurdle was insurmountable, but for Kanté, who was truly insurmountable, there was a reason for it!
Kanté was known as the "beast midfielder," with superb defensive awareness, positioning, and physical strength.
And how would he fare against Cao Baiming?
You might be good at defending forwards, but let's see how a defender teaches you to play!
Cao Baiming's eyes flashed, and after a shoulder-drop fake, a gap rapidly opened between them!
Cao Baiming accelerated, pushing forward as if the path ahead was clear!
Kanté lunged to tackle the ball, but he missed the ball and lost his balance, almost falling!
Cao Baiming, carrying the weight of two mountains, managed to bring the ball forward, earning a round of applause from the fans.
At this moment, he had made up his mind!
Shoot directly!
Kanté was chasing him from behind, and a defender was also providing timely cover from the front.
Cao Baiming glanced at the goal. It was about thirty meters away, slightly off-center. This position was suitable for a shot!
If he hesitated for another second, the opposing defender would be there!
Two clear lines appeared before his eyes, with numbers greater than seventy!
Cao Baiming adjusted himself and suddenly unleashed his shot!
No one expected Cao Baiming to shoot from this position!
The goalkeeper quickly focused, spread his legs, and began to anticipate the ball's trajectory!
The entire stadium erupted, all eyes following the ball's flight!
Cao Baiming could only pray!
*Boom!* A crisp sound!
"The crossbar again! The crossbar again!"
The commentator exclaimed regretfully, watching the ball hit the crossbar and rebound dozens of meters into the air!
"The speed and angle of this shot were excellent! If it had been a little lower, the goalkeeper probably wouldn't have saved it!"
"I didn't expect Cao Baiming to aim for such an extreme angle even from this distance!"
As the commentator spoke, the ball had still not fallen!
How high had it flown!
After several more seconds, the ball finally landed on the top netting above the goal.
The goalkeeper kicked the ball out to the staff on the sideline, and the referee awarded a goal kick.
Cao Baiming shook his head in frustration.
It seemed his luck was a bit off today!
However, this was already his third shot of the match!
If the system counted this as a shot on target.
As long as he got one more chance, carrying the ball past the halfway line, any random shot would be a guaranteed goal!
The first half was nearing its end, and the players' stamina was beginning to wane, their performance slightly declining.
Just as Arteta thought they could go into halftime with a lead, in the injury time, a long-range shot from Matic silenced everyone!
"World-class goal!!!"
"A long-range shot from Matic! He's equalized the score!"
Chelsea fans finally saw hope and cheered enthusiastically!