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Chapter 62: Trust
The second round of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 proceeded as scheduled at the Luminus Arena. Schalke 04 had to win or draw with a margin of two goals to advance, so they were truly fighting against the odds.
Just 6 minutes into the game, Genk orchestrated a brilliant combination in the forward area. Jason Aldridge received the ball on the left flank and passed it back to Gareth Barry in front of the penalty area. Barry pretended to shoot, causing the defending players to fall, and then pushed the ball sideways to Carl Bess in the middle.
Bess didn't stop the ball but rather flicked it to the right along with its momentum, bypassing the defenders' heads and entering the penalty area. Wang Feng, who had been waiting there, directly volleyed the dropping ball, piercing through the visitors' goal.
After scoring, Wang Feng dashed towards the stands, greeted by a tide of cheering fans. The Luminus Arena, which could accommodate twenty-five thousand people, was packed to the brim, resembling boiling water at that moment.
This goal dealt a massive blow to Schalke 04. For the next thirty minutes, they failed to organize any attacks. Head coach Herbert Visscher unusually used two substitutions in the first half, but the situation on the field remained unchanged.
In the 43rd minute, Genk won a free-kick in the opposition half when Barry was fouled. Wang Feng decided to take it. With continuous practice, he felt that his free-kick skills had improved significantly, enough to be considered a regular weapon.
With a "bang," Wang Feng used the inside of his right foot to kick the ball, which drew a curved trajectory in the air, bypassing the left side of the defensive wall, then bending towards the top right corner of the goal, similar to Beckham's famous "banana kick."
The Schalke 04 goalkeeper rushed to save the ball but ultimately failed to reach it, and the ball flew into the net after brushing against the post.
2-0! Wang Feng scored twice! The aggregate score now stood at 4-2, giving Genk an absolute advantage.
In the 60th minute of the second half, Wang Feng was substituted off, and Genk adopted a defensive stance to consolidate their lead. Schalke 04 only managed to pull one back in the 85th minute through Emil Mpensa, but it was too late.
Genk successfully advanced to the Europa League quarter-finals, equaling their best historical record! Wang Feng also topped the Europa League top scorer chart with 11 goals.
The last match of the two-week quadruple fixture was the 27th round of the Belgian Pro League, where Genk faced Standard Liege. Head coach Aimee Antonis opted for a rotation lineup, with Wang Feng and some other key players on the bench.
Although Genk had only a three-point lead over Anderlecht at the moment, the consecutive high-intensity matches had taken a toll on the players. Considering this, Antonis decided to rotate the squad.
However, seeing the large 0-1 scoreline, Antonis was still extremely anxious. Earlier, Anderlecht had defeated Club Brugge 5-0. If Genk lost this match, they would lose their top spot in the league due to inferior goal difference.
The situation on the field was still extremely dangerous for Genk, with poor performance both in attack and defense. Fortunately, the goalkeeper showed remarkable prowess and prevented the gap from widening further.
Antonis glanced back at Wang Feng sitting on the bench, who happened to look back at him. In that momentary eye contact, Antonis saw the determination and confidence in Wang Feng's eyes, as if saying, "Let me on the field, leave it to me."
So Antonis entrusted Wang Feng with full confidence, and in the 71st minute, Wang Feng was substituted on.
Seven minutes later, Wang Feng received the ball with his back to the goal on the right flank. He flicked the ball with his toe, bypassing the defending player's head from behind, and took advantage of the opportunity to shake off the defender.
As he approached the edge of the penalty area, facing the interception of two defenders inside the penalty area, Wang Feng dribbled horizontally along the edge of the penalty area to the left. He created a gap with his speed, then decisively shot without hesitation.
The ball rolled in a diagonal line on the ground, heading towards the bottom right corner of the goal. The Standard Liege goalkeeper dived to save the ball but failed to touch it due to a bounce on the ground, resulting in the ball deflecting into the net off his outstretched arm.
1-1! Genk leveled the score, and Wang Feng didn't disappoint the fans!
This score remained until the final whistle, and Genk barely secured one point, maintaining their pressure on Anderlecht with this slight advantage.
Finally, the grueling fixture came to an end, and the Genk players breathed a sigh of relief. The team welcomed a long-awaited two-day break.
Since Wang Feng's physical exertion was relatively high, the additional training mainly focused on recovery, canceling out any physical conditioning. Bess and Civu were reluctant to come to training early, so Wang Feng practiced ball control alone.
Setting up a row of wooden dummies in the forward area, Wang Feng used them to practice set-pieces from different positions: left, middle, and right, from twenty to thirty meters. With each attempt, he adjusted his approach, kicking position, body posture, and power, sending the ball into the air in strange trajectories, some hitting the dummies, others flying off.
With more practice, the number of times the ball entered the goal increased, but he still couldn't achieve a perfect record. Wang Feng realized that even if he ensured that each kick from the same position was exactly the same, variations in environmental conditions could still lead to successes or failures.
It's no wonder that even Beckham, renowned for his free-kicks, couldn't rely on them as a regular attacking weapon; they only occasionally produced stunning results. The reason Wang Feng's free-kick accuracy was so high so far was because he took them sparingly.
However, Wang Feng possessed unparalleled perception, so he could roughly grasp the best technique for each position's set-piece through practice, normalizing this attacking method. Imagine a forward who posed a significant threat within thirty meters of the penalty area; opponents wouldn't dare to foul him easily, fearing to give away free-kicks. That would be a terrifying scenario.
After indulging in this imagination for a while, Wang Feng snapped back to reality and resumed his practice. On the training ground, all that could be heard was the sound of "bang," "bang," "bang" as he kicked the ball.
After finishing a day of training, Wang Feng, as usual, took a shower at the club before leaving. This time, he also took a copy of Sofia Levski's player profile, which the club had just collected.
Sofia Levski was Genk's opponent in the Europa League quarter-finals, one of the most famous football clubs in Bulgaria. Their best achievement was also reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League, so their overall strength wasn't very strong. Genk could be said to have drawn a favorable opponent.
While the club executives celebrated, they also urgently collected information on the opposition, providing it to the coaching staff to devise tactics. The entire team hoped to overcome this opponent and create new history.