The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Chapter 434 - 92: Volley! Suppressing Liverpool! That Bizarre Curve

Wang Shuo surged forward at high speed, breaking into the penalty area and bringing the ball under control with a single touch.

Facing a scrambling Kalg, Wang Shuo feinted a cut inside, then suddenly chopped the ball to his left with his right foot.

He was on the verge of getting past Kalg.

Once past him, Wang Shuo would have a clear shot with his left foot.

But just at that crucial moment, Kalg suddenly stuck out a leg and tripped Wang Shuo.

Losing his balance, Wang Shuo pitched forward onto the grass.

Anyone could see it wasn’t a dive.

The Dortmund fans erupted, screaming for a penalty.

Götze and his teammates quickly rushed over.

But the referee, Rizzoli, never blew his whistle. He didn’t book Wang Shuo for a dive, either; he simply waved for play to continue.

The entire stadium instantly erupted in a cascade of boos.

The Dortmund players had no time to argue; they had to hustle back to defend.

After scrambling to his feet, Wang Shuo saw Klopp roaring on the sideline, venting his frustration.

’Deep down, he knew the reason why.’

’This is a final!’

’Award a penalty 13 minutes in? Kalg was the last man back. Should he get a red card?’

’Even with just a penalty, given how the match has gone so far, Liverpool wouldn’t be able to stop them. All the suspense would be gone!’

Any fan who regularly watched football knew this was a common tactic for referees.

To some extent, their job wasn’t to maintain fairness and impartiality in the game.

Their job was to make the match more suspenseful, more exciting!

These were the unwritten rules of the European Football Scene!

Despite the deafening boos from the fans, the match had to go on.

Wang Shuo jogged back, and during a Throw-In, he made his way over to Rizzoli. He pointed at his boot, where the stud marks from Kalg’s challenge were clearly visible.

"Look at this!" Wang Shuo didn’t need to say more; the message was obvious.

’Even though the European Football Scene has its own rules, he could still protest, try to win a few sympathy points.’

Rizzoli just smiled at Wang Shuo, said nothing, and walked away.

But barely twenty seconds later, Götze was brought down by Mascherano while on a run through the middle of the pitch.

Rizzoli awarded Dortmund a free kick in a central position in the attacking half.

It was about 23 meters from the goal.

And it was dead center!

Wang Shuo stepped up without hesitation. As he bent over to place the ball, he couldn’t help but find it amusing.

’He wasn’t sure if this chance was the result of his earlier plea for sympathy.’

But he had to admit, all the top referees were masters at smoothing things over.

Or rather, they knew how to maintain the match’s suspense while leaving both teams with no grounds for complaint, perhaps even satisfied with their officiating.

This was the art of refereeing!

The referees who officiated major events like the UEFA Europa League final or the Champions League final were all masters of this art.

"Want me to run a play?" Shahin asked as he came over.

Wang Shuo shook his head.

Liverpool began to form a wall near the edge of the penalty area.

’Left foot?’

’Or right foot?’

After a moment’s thought, Wang Shuo slowly walked to the right of the ball.

He had actually taken a few free kicks recently.

Since Dortmund’s attack had been stronger on the left flank in the second half of the season, they had earned more free kicks on that side. Wang Shuo had taken them all with his right foot but had failed to score.

Shots from his left foot were far more unpredictable than those from his right.

This baffled the Liverpool players on the pitch.

Who could believe that a right-footed player had mastered the art of taking free kicks with his left foot!

"Judging by Wang Shuo’s run-up, we can see he’s planning to take it with his left foot."

"He’s scored a spectacular direct free kick with his left foot before."

"Let’s see if Wang Shuo can do it again this time."

Once Rizzoli was satisfied with the wall’s position, he slowly backed away. After confirming Wang Shuo was ready, he raised the silver whistle to his lips and blew.

The moment the whistle blew, Wang Shuo began his quick run-up.

As he reached the ball, he planted his right foot firmly, leaned his body to the side, and swung his left foot through in a rapid motion.

In that instant, all the force in his body was transferred through his left foot and into the ball.

A dull THUMP echoed across the pitch as the ball rocketed off Wang Shuo’s left foot. It carved a path through the air, clearing the top of the wall before dipping sharply.

Reina quickly read the ball’s trajectory. After a quick shuffle of his feet, he launched himself sideways in a full-stretch dive.

He was confident he could push the ball wide.

But just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw the ball take an unnatural dip in mid-air.

It completely threw off his initial calculation.

He scrambled to adjust, but it was too late.

The ball shot past Reina’s gloves and into the back of the Liverpool net.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"IT’S IN!!"

"The 15th minute! It’s the 15th minute!"

"A direct free kick from Wang Shuo finds the back of the Liverpool net!"

"Dortmund take a one-nil lead!"

"Wang Shuo has done it again, scoring an absolutely brilliant free kick with that magical left foot of his."

"We can see the curve on that shot was incredibly unpredictable, and it had so much pace. Even though Reina guessed the right way, he still couldn’t get to it."

"Dortmund have finally broken the deadlock!"

Wang Shuo raced off the pitch, sprinting all the way to the stands where the Dortmund fans were sectioned off, pumping his fists and roaring in celebration.

He was met by the roar of the Dortmund fans, all of them chanting "Wang Shuo."