What are you thinking, Ethan is not for sale
"Gomez, pass me the ball!"
Thanks to his teammate's aggressive pressing, Valencia finally got the ball back under control.
Rohan immediately called for the ball.
Gomez hesitated for a moment, thinking to himself that it's rare for a rookie to ask for the ball so confidently on his debut.
But trusting Rohan, he passed the ball anyway.
Since they were a bit far apart, the pass came in a bit fast.
Rohan stretched out his foot to control it, stopping the ball about three feet away.
Luckily, he was positioned a bit back, and there were no opponents nearby, so no mistake happened.
His basics were a bit rough.
Rohan mentally facepalmed, but managed to keep a confident look on his face.
After securing the ball, Rohan scanned the field for his teammates' positions while dribbling towards the right flank.
Just as he crossed midfield, Rodrigo, who had been in an offside position, suddenly made a break, sprinting past the defenders towards the opponent's box.
Almost simultaneously, the seemingly nonchalant Rohan made his move, sending a sharp through ball right to Rodrigo's feet as he entered the box.
Beautiful pass.
Nuno's eyes lit up, almost jumping with excitement.
He had originally thought Rohan was only good at set pieces and planned to train him as a forward.
But after seeing that pass, he felt Rohan was better suited in midfield.
"Free role in the front."
These words almost subconsciously popped into his mind and stuck there.
Nuno chuckled and shook his head, murmuring, "Let's see what else this kid can do."
That was a really smooth pass.
That was Rodrigo's first thought as he received the ball.
Without any adjustment, he pushed the ball towards the far corner of the goal.
As the ball hit the net, the Zenit players raised their hands, signaling for offside.
But the linesman made no indication.
The whistle blew.
Goal valid.
The score was tied, and Rodrigo couldn't contain his excitement any longer.
He ran crazily towards the sidelines, celebrating with the home fans.
The rest of the team quickly followed, piling on him in celebration.
"Beautiful, Rodrigo, you're the hero today."
"You're buying dinner when we get back!"
"Get off me, you lot, you're crushing me!"
Rodrigo struggled to push his teammates off, then quickly ran over to Rohan and gave him a big bear hug.
"Rohan, that was a beautiful pass, I haven't received such a smooth one in ages."
Rohan gave him a thumbs up, smiling, "It was your shot that was beautiful."
"Heh heh."
Rodrigo scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, "Rohan, do you think we can win this game?"
Rohan glanced at him, "Is that even a question? Just keep passing me the ball, and I'll take us to the Champions League knockout stages."
"Ha, you're not modest at all."
As the game continued.
Rohan, who had contributed a goal and an assist within ten minutes of playing, quickly became the focus of the opposition's defense.
Every time he got the ball, two players would close him down.
One blocking the passing lanes, the other pressing him closely.
Rohan knew with his dribbling and physicality, he wouldn't get much from them.
So, he had no choice but to pass the ball early to his teammates.
Nuno noticed this too.
During a break in play, he called Alcácer over to the sidelines, signaling him to try more dribbles to create space for Rohan.
With the score leveled, Alcácer felt much less pressure.
His moves were fluid, showing off skills usually only seen in training.
Marseille turns, nutmegs—it was a delight for the spectators.
But to the Zenit players, these flashy moves seemed like a provocation.
They temporarily abandoned their tight marking on Rohan, shifting their focus to Alcácer.
"Heh, finally."
Alcácer was pleased, immediately speeding up and dribbling the ball away from Rohan.
Rohan, understanding the plan, quickly moved to the center.
Seeing Rohan unmarked, Alcácer then crossed the ball to him in the middle.
The defenders near the box rushed up, determined to close in on Rohan the moment he received the ball and snatch it away.
Inside the box, Rodrigo was tightly marked by two towering Zenit center-backs, unable to turn and receive the ball.
"This ball's going to be intercepted."
Nuno immediately predicted this from the sidelines.
To prevent a counterattack, he frantically waved and shouted, signaling his players to fall back.
Rohan was well aware of his situation too.
No fancy dribbling skills, no strong physical presence.
The moment he received the ball, the chances of losing it were 99%.
But he didn't panic.
"SSS-level skill: Guaranteed Goal activated."
Facing the incoming cross, Rohan didn't bother to control or even touch the ball first.
Instead, he directly took the shot.
"Boom!"
With a dull thud, the ball rocketed into the net at 80 mph.
A world-class goal.
The referee immediately blew the whistle, signaling the goal was valid.
"Did that just go in?"
The Valencia players, who were rushing back to defend, stopped in their tracks, momentarily forgetting to celebrate.
Rodrigo was the first to snap out of it, rushing towards Rohan and tackling him to the ground.
"Rohan, that was an amazing goal, thank you."
"Rohan, you're the best gift God could have given Valencia."
Alcácer, limping a bit, also came over to join the celebration.
He had really pushed himself to make that pass.
"These guys play rough."
As more and more Valencia players joined the celebration, Rohan finally felt the overwhelming pressure of being piled on.
"These guys are seriously heavy."
On the sidelines, Nuno was ecstatic.
He roared at the top of his lungs, reveling in the thrill of the comeback.
Zenit's coach Boas approached with a scowl, "Nuno, such a great player must have cost Valencia a fortune, huh?"
"Heh, just a million euros."
Nuno chuckled, truthfully responding.
"You old trickster, you're playing me."
Boas glared, angrily retorting, "You're pulling my leg. A player this versatile, and you're telling me he cost just a million euros? Only if the seller was out of their mind."
Nuno rolled his eyes, dismissively saying, "Believe it or not."
Boas pondered for a moment, then whispered, "Would you consider selling him? I could convince my club to offer 20 million euros."
Nuno glanced at him with disdain, "Dreaming already? Rohan is not for sale."
Boas seemed reluctant to give up, gritting his teeth, "30 million euros, that's my final offer."
Nuno ignored him.
Back on the field.
Thanks to Rohan's two goals and an assist, Valencia had turned the score around to 3:2.
Now, their task was to hold onto this one-goal lead and take home the three points.
Nuno quickly made some substitutions.
He pulled Alcácer and Mina, who had been excellent upfront, and brought on two defensive midfielders.
The aim was to strengthen their midfield interception capabilities and disrupt the opponent's attacking rhythm as much as possible.
Zenit also made adjustments.
They pulled a midfielder and added a striker, hoping to at least equalize in the remaining time.
After all, losing at home was not something easy to explain to their fans.
But Valencia didn't give them a chance.
In the remaining ten minutes, this Spanish team, with their superior technical skills and midfield numbers, firmly controlled the game, dragging the 3:2 scoreline to the final whistle.
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