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Before the Stags made their substitutions, the Pirates were awarded an indirect free kick from their own half due to a pushing foul by the Stags.

After the substitutions were completed, the Pirates' center-back took the indirect free kick and passed it to Albert in midfield.

Without the constant man-marking from the "sticky plaster" Bohr, the Pirates' captain, Albert, played much more freely. The moment he received the ball, he used his excellent vision to launch a lofted through ball toward the right wing—targeting Gu Ran's blindside.

The Pirates' winger immediately sprinted forward to chase the ball!

The Manchester students in the stands erupted in cheers, eager to see the Pirates tear through the Stags' left flank once again!

But this time, Gu Ran's positioning was significantly better than Temp's.

Even though the ball was played behind him, Gu Ran wasn't out of position. Instead, he was in a more favorable spot than the Pirates' winger.

The moment Albert made his pass, Gu Ran had already turned and sprinted to intercept it.

The ball dropped into the 30-meter mark on the right wing, bouncing toward the sideline.

Gu Ran reached it first, controlling it cleanly before the Pirates' winger could close in!

It wasn't just a matter of speed—it was a matter of stamina and positioning.

Carter's one-on-one training sessions with Gu Ran had paid off at this moment.

The Pirates' winger was visibly stunned—he hadn't expected Gu Ran to be faster than him. After all, his previous matchup against Temp had been ridiculously easy, so he hadn't even gone full speed this time.

Now, he could only watch as Gu Ran calmly played a lateral pass to Bread.

Gu Ran's first touch of the match—an immediate defensive clearance!

Bread took the ball and dribbled toward the center.

In the first half, the strategy had been pure defense, hoofing long balls forward and letting the forwards chase.

But after the formation switch in the second half, the strategy had changed.

Now, it was all about possession, passing, and dismantling the Pirates' defensive shape.

Bread calmly passed the ball to Shuimen, who had dropped into midfield to receive it.

Shuimen, immediately swarmed by three defenders, quickly switched the play to the right wing, where Blindside was waiting.

The Pirates, despite playing with less intensity, were still defensively sound—breaking them down wasn't going to be easy.

Blindside had no viable passing options and could only play the ball back to Bread to reset the play.

Gu Ran raised his hand on the left flank, signaling for the ball.

Bread hesitated.

Gu Ran had performed well in training, but this was a national tournament match.

Just as Bread was hesitating, Carter's furious voice roared from the sideline.

"BREAD! LEFT WING! PASS TO THE LEFT WING! WHAT, YOU NEED ME TO HAND YOU A SHOVEL FIRST?!"

With Carter screaming at him, Bread stopped hesitating.

Albert rushed forward to press him, so Bread immediately passed the ball to the left wing.

Gu Ran received the pass while on the move.

The Pirates' winger charged forward to intercept, sneering as he taunted, "Hey, China boy, can you even dribble?"

Gu Ran, unfazed, hit him with a counter-taunt:

"Yeah, I dribble your mom's snowy white ball!"

The Pirates' winger stared in disbelief.

**Gu Ran seized the moment—**a quick change of direction and he was past him, cutting inside instead of sticking to the flank!

The Pirates' winger, furious, chased after him while waving his hand at the referee.

"REF! REF! THIS CHINA BOY IS INSULTING ME!!!"

But the referee, arms raised, kept his eyes on the ball, shouting—

"Advantage! Play on!"

Gu Ran accelerated.

His superior stamina gave him the edge.

His teammates, familiar with his movement patterns from training, immediately adjusted their positions to support him.

But the Pirates' defense was caught off guard.

They had expected the left-wing attack—Carter had screamed the instruction out loud!

So they had shifted their defensive shape to overload that side.

But they hadn't expected Gu Ran to cut inside instead!

A left-back charging through the center?!

What kind of play was this?!

If they could just steal the ball off him, they could immediately counter with a fast break, exploiting the gap on the left.

Albert sprinted forward to close him down.

Other Pirates' players realized their mistake and hurriedly shifted toward the center, preparing for a counterattack.

But Gu Ran wasn't flustered.

Albert pressed him hard, shoulder-checking him.

But before Albert could get his foot in, Gu Ran executed a flawless drag-back turn—

A step forward with his left foot—

A quick flick of the ball behind his right foot—

A classic Ronaldo drag-back turn!

This move wasn't something he had copied from another player.

This was pure muscle memory from his past life playing street football.

Normally, his younger body would struggle with this move—

But earlier, Gu Ran had picked up Albert's "Dynamic Ball Control" training.

With superior ball control and past experience, Gu Ran executed the move fluidly!

The moment the ball was flicked—

Gu Ran spun and sprinted forward, regaining control.

Albert, caught off guard, twisted his body to react—

But his balance was off.

He tripped and fell flat onto the grass!

The entire Manchester crowd went silent.

What the hell just happened?!

Albert just got beaten?!

And he fell face-first into the turf?!

That was their captain—their ace!

And he just got wrecked by a Chinese substitute left-back?!

Albert, humiliated, scrambled to his feet, his face full of disbelief.

But by then, Gu Ran was already five or six meters ahead.

Albert had no chance of catching up.

On the sideline, the Pirates' suited coach yelled furiously.

"STOP HIM! DO NOT LET HIM CROSS! MARK THE TWO STRIKERS—ESPECIALLY THE BIG GUY!"

The Pirates' defenders rushed to collapse onto Gu Ran.

But Gu Ran remained calm, continuing his horizontal dribble in the attacking third.

By now, the Stags' formation had completely shifted.

Bread dropped back to cover Gu Ran's vacated space to prevent a counterattack.

Pretty Boy and Glider—the two strikers—moved into the box, yelling for the ball and disrupting defenders.

Meanwhile, Shuimen—the "false 9"—

Quietly slipped into the empty left-wing space.

Gu Ran knew the game plan.

Pretty Boy and Glider were decoys.

Carter's attacking strategy was still built around the false 9.

The team's priority was always to get the ball to Shuimen.

The moment Shuimen arrived at the left side of the box—

Gu Ran activated his "Golden Right Foot" skill.

Precision long pass.

Boom.

A 40-meter diagonal lob.

The ball soared through the air—perfectly weighted.

Shuimen barely needed to move—he just controlled it effortlessly.

The Pirates' entire defensive shape had been ripped apart!

The Pirates' players gasped in shock.

The suited coach's eyes widened in disbelief.

Their defense had been shredded apart—by a Chinese left-back who had just subbed in.

The left side of the box—completely open!

Shuimen drove inside.

Three-on-two inside the box!

The Pirates' goalkeeper rushed out to cut off his angle!

Two defenders scrambled toward him.

But Shuimen didn't hesitate.

He squared it across the box—

To Pretty Boy, unmarked in the center!

Pretty Boy didn't even need to adjust.

One-touch cannon shot!

BOOM!

GOOOOOOOOOAL!!!