NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 58: Miracle goal
Anthony gritted his teeth and said, "Then you give it a try. Just this one free kick, and I'll sub you out." The team doctor was shocked and said, "Mr. Antonis, how can you make such a decision? This is very irresponsible."
Antonis just waved his hand and sighed deeply. He was also unwilling. If they were eliminated in this way, what would all the team's efforts amount to? Wang Feng was a miracle worker. Would he continue his magical performance?
"The game restarts, Genk's free-kick opportunity. What? Wang Feng is signaling from the sidelines, and he has received the referee's permission. He limps onto the field to take the penalty."
"Several Genk players gather to discuss something. What is Genk head coach Aimee Antonis doing? Let's look at the replay. The defender's studs kicked Wang Feng's ankle hard from behind, causing him to fall in pain. This must have caused an injury."
"Why doesn't Antonis substitute him off and let him continue on the field?"
The players surrounding Wang Feng tried to persuade him to get off the field quickly for treatment, but he smiled and said, "I'll get off after this kick. Watch me give them a tough one. The best way to deal with malicious fouls is to make the opponent completely despair."
Unable to persuade him, and with the tacit approval of the head coach, they had to step aside and let him take the kick.
Wang Feng silently dragged his injured leg back to the run-up position, his eyes revealing infinite determination, staring firmly at the opponent's goal. The cameras on the field captured this moment perfectly.
With the sound of the referee's whistle, Wang Feng began his run-up. He felt time passing slowly, each push and landing of his left foot causing unbearable pain, but his focus seemed to sharpen. In his mind, there was only the nearby football, the defensive wall, and the distant goal, connected by a line.
"Boom!" With a loud noise, the ball shot out like a cannon, piercing through the defensive wall and straight into the net.
After the shot, Wang Feng kneeled on one knee, clutching his painful left foot, watching the ball fly into the goal like a warrior. Moments later, the players on the field reacted. Genk teammates rushed to Wang Feng, with Civu and Barry helping him up, while others hugged him excitedly.
The stretcher, which had been waiting on the sidelines, quickly entered the field to carry Wang Feng off. The home fans in the stands were silent. After a moment, some fans spontaneously stood up and applauded Wang Feng's miraculous performance.
Head coach Antonis rushed over, nervously holding Wang Feng's hand, and asked, "How do you feel?" Wang Feng smiled and said, "It hurts a bit, but it's nothing serious." Antonis breathed a sigh of relief. "Leave it to your teammates from now on."
Wang Feng was substituted off! He pulled one back for Genk, and the current score on the field was 2-3, with Genk trailing. However, the aggregate score was 4-3 in favor of Genk. Prague Slavia needed to score two goals in the next 15 minutes to have a chance.
But at this moment, the Genk players were united and fearless even at 9 vs. 11. On the other hand, the opponents were already frightened by Wang Feng's miraculous performance. Despite the home referee's bias, they were repeatedly struck, starting to doubt if they had the ability to defeat this magical team.
With the long injury stoppage time ending without any change in the score, Genk successfully advanced to the Europa League round of 16!
The Genk players were too busy celebrating to care about anything else. They surrounded Antonis at the coaching bench, asking about Wang Feng's condition. Learning that Wang Feng only suffered a minor muscle injury, they breathed a sigh of relief and began to celebrate their victory wholeheartedly.
At the hospital near the stadium, Wang Feng watched his teammates' smiling faces on the live broadcast and smiled along. His little pain was worth it. Just like last time, when he arrived at the hospital, Wang Feng felt that the most severe injury had already healed. It was just some muscle bruising due to the exercise after the injury.
Through these two injuries, Wang Feng had a clearer understanding of his self-healing ability. If it were a major injury affecting his career, such as a fractured leg or a torn meniscus, it would heal instantly, like a download progress bar jumping from 50% to 90%.
Muscle strains and minor abrasions, on the other hand, would heal a bit slower, but they would still be fine within a few days, like a download progress bar jumping from 99.8% to 100%.
So in the eyes of the doctors, Wang Feng was extremely lucky. Despite serious malicious fouls, he didn't injure his bones or tendons, just some minor external injuries. And these minor injuries healed faster in Wang Feng's body, indicating his excellent physical condition.
Only Wang Feng himself knew that, whether it was the last time or this time, he was actually seriously injured. Especially this time, if it weren't for the encounter, he wouldn't have been able to stand up again to take the free kick, and he might have been out for the season.
In the post-match press conference, head coach Antonis criticized the referee in charge: "I don't know how he became a referee. To be honest, anyone who watched the game knows we suffered malicious fouls and got two players sent off."
"We will appeal to UEFA about the two red cards issue and will accuse Prague Slavia's defenders of their malicious actions."
Regarding Wang Feng's performance, Antonis gave high praise: "He was the key to our victory. At the most difficult moments of the game, he stepped up twice, especially with that free kick directly into the goal. You know, his foot was just injured, yet he could still produce such a high-quality shot, which is enough to show his ability and determination."
Many media outlets also cared about Wang Feng's injury. Antonis said, "We did a preliminary check on him, and there's nothing wrong, just a simple muscle injury. God bless, that damn bastard didn't cause any serious harm."
"We will conduct a comprehensive examination on Wang Feng after returning home, hoping everything is fine."
The head coach of Prague Slavia, in an interview, refused to comment on any issues regarding the referee and the defenders' malicious actions, just saying that the home team had done their best, but Genk performed better.
Regarding Wang Feng, he commented, "He is an excellent player and a remarkable warrior. Unfortunately, we don't have such a player in our team."
The next day, major European media outlets competed to report on the game, as it was too controversial. Belgian media stood on Genk's side, criticizing Prague Slavia's club and the referee.
Sports Bulletin's cover featured Wang Feng taking the free kick with a fierce look in his eyes, with the headline: "Angry Wang Feng Rampages at Eden Arena, Incompetent Clowns Only End in Obscurity." The article pointed out that the home team and the referee's poor performance almost buried Genk's victory, but Wang Feng, with his iron will, sealed the deal with one decisive blow.
The Latest News Bulletin sighed: "The killing intent in Wang Feng's eyes seemed to say, 'I've won this game,' and then he used a precise free kick to secure the victory."