Seeing Ye Chen step up to take the free kick, Inter Milan's goalkeeper, Júlio César, immediately tensed up.

The original five-man wall was increased to six, and Wesley Sneijder was even instructed to lie down behind it!

This was all to block a potential ground shot from Ye Chen.

Although Ye Chen's professional career was short, his free-kick ability had earned widespread recognition within the football community.

Regarding the "banana kick" (referring to the curved trajectory of the ball), there was a saying: people used to think only David Beckham could execute it, but now they realize only Beckham could execute it in that iconic way.

Since Beckham's departure from top-level football, the true "banana kick" had rarely been seen.

Until the emergence of a young man.

He replicated Beckham's halfway-line goal, and also brought the "banana kick" back to the forefront of football.

That person was none other than Ye Chen!

Standing at the free-kick spot, Ye Chen knew this was his last chance.

A goal meant obtaining an upgrade card and an additional SS-level skill.

A miss meant being substituted and losing an SS-level skill!

Ye Chen currently possessed only three SS-level skills: the "Banana Kick," "Cannon Shot," and "Iron Body"!

Frankly, he couldn't afford to lose any of them.

The "Banana Kick" was his free-kick trump card, "Cannon Shot" was a fusion skill (likely implying a combination of techniques), and without it, he would lose the "Guaranteed Long Shot Goal" card. As for "Iron Body"... its importance was self-evident (presumably referring to enhanced physical resilience).

But this distance...

"Whistle!"

The referee blew the whistle.

Everyone watched Ye Chen intently!

Ye Chen's body was slightly angled, he cleared his mind of any distractions, and focused on the goal.

César was positioned towards the right post, leaving the left side to the wall.

Of course, directly shooting on goal through the left was difficult, given the short distance and the challenge of curving the ball around the wall.

The wall's height, both standing and jumping, posed a significant obstacle.

Furthermore, with Sneijder lying on the ground, a low shot along the ground was impossible.

"Messi!"

"Messi!"

"Messi!"

Someone started chanting again!

They were attempting to disrupt Ye Chen.

Clearly, they were afraid!

Afraid that Ye Chen would equalize the score again.

However, Ye Chen had an idea. He recalled how, in his later career, Lionel Messi practically treated free kicks like penalty kicks.

And this type of close-range free kick was Messi's specialty!

If it were Messi, how would he shoot?

Ye Chen closed his eyes and considered it.

Soon, he opened his eyes.

A flash of light seemed to emanate from them.

Ye Chen took a slow run-up, his body exhibiting a distinct twist. Simultaneously, he used the inside of his right foot to curl the ball.

Anyone who has played football knows that to kick a curved ball, the body's posture influences the ball's spin. A prime example is Beckham, whose body rotation and supporting foot angle were significant, ensuring the ball's trajectory.

The football sailed just over Javier Zanetti's head, curving visibly towards the left top corner of the goal!

César, positioned on the right, froze as he saw the ball's trajectory.

Damn it!

What kind of sorcery was this?

Did this kid from China know magic?

"Swish!"

The football curled into the top corner of the goal.

After scoring, Ye Chen clenched his fist, a smile finally appearing on his calm face!

His SS-level skills were safe!

Inside the Tencent Sports livestream studio, Zhang Lu exclaimed the moment the ball went in.

"Beautiful!"

"That goal was magnificent!"

Commentator Zhan Jun also gave an exaggerated "Wow!" "That goal was a work of art! Just based on technique alone, Ye Chen is already among the top ten players in the world!"

Zhang Lu nodded in agreement. "And did you notice? Ye Chen didn't celebrate wildly after scoring, but instead had an expression as if he expected it... So composed. That's the kind of player who can withstand any storm!"

Zhan Jun nodded. "A promising future!"

Zhan Jun's tone suddenly became more excited. "This free-kick goal reminds one of the summer of 2010, when Deng Zhuoxiang refused to be substituted and scored a world-class goal to help China defeat the mighty France!"

However, on the field, Ye Chen didn't celebrate, but the traveling Dortmund fans jumped up in excitement!

"Ye Chen!"

"Ye Chen!"

"Ye Chen!"

The fans roared. Ye Chen had been truly amazing today.

Almost single-handedly carrying Dortmund in the match.

Such extreme individual heroism could not help but excite the fans.

Most importantly, this goal was the equalizer!

It had to be said that this match was truly... surreal.

Every time one side took the lead, the other managed to equalize within two minutes!

Just like Inter Milan before, now Ye Chen had done the same.

Ye Chen clapped towards the Dortmund fans and ran towards the sideline.

His teammates came up to congratulate him.

"Ye, you're truly the strongest man in Asia!"

"Ye, great job!"

"Another hat-trick! Amazing!"

Ye Chen responded with a smile and ran off the field.

As he reached the sideline, some Inter Milan fans suddenly stood up and applauded Ye Chen!

One, two, and soon it became a wave, a large number of them...

From previous jeers and boos to now standing ovations, this was the process of a strong player proving himself.

Many fans at the stadium were conquered by Ye Chen's performance.

He was a 17-year-old boy; you couldn't ask for more!

Even though they had tried everything to disrupt Ye Chen, they had failed.

The applause grew louder and louder, eventually turning into cheers!

"Ye Chen!"

"Ye Chen!"

"Ye Chen!"

This was the first time Ye Chen had heard fans chanting his name like this in an away game.

Tens of thousands of opposing fans were cheering for him!

Ye Chen smiled, clapped, and gave a thumbs-up to the fans around him.

A smile dissolved the animosity!

Just as Ye Chen was coming off, the advertising boards rolled again...

It was a Chinese game advertisement!

"Come and chop me if you're a true brother!" (This is a literal translation of a common Chinese game advertisement slogan. It's meant to convey a sense of camaraderie and challenge).

Ye Chen's smile widened.

This ad placement was perfect!

Jürgen Klopp gave Ye Chen a big hug.

"Ye, brilliant!" Klopp had a bright smile on his face. This goal had once again validated his idea.

If you want Ye Chen to score, just have someone warm up...

As long as he felt a sense of crisis, he would score!

And it worked every time.

"Boss, you're too sly! Didn't you promise not to substitute me?" Ye Chen said to Klopp through gritted teeth.

"Sly? What does that mean?" Klopp raised an eyebrow, but he didn't dwell on it. He whispered to Ye Chen, "I just don't want you to get too tired. Save some bullets; we're shooting at Werder Bremen in three days!"

(This last line contains a pun in Chinese that is difficult to translate directly. The word "shoot" can also mean "score" in a football context. Ye Chen's response plays on this double meaning.)

Ye Chen suddenly had an idea. "Boss, 'sly' in our Chinese slang means very handsome. You're very sly!"

"Looks like you're not just a great player, but you have excellent taste too!" Klopp's smile widened. "That's right, I'm very sly!"

Wang Chu, sitting on the bench, couldn't help but burst out laughing when he heard Klopp's words.

Ye Chen quickly coughed, signaling Wang Chu not to give him away.

Wang Chu gave Ye Chen a thumbs-up. "Brother Chen, you're amazing!"

He dared to openly call Klopp sly and even trick him.

Ye Chen didn't take it seriously. It's okay for you to break your promise and substitute me, but I can't tease you?

No way!