This was not over yet.
In the 25th minute, Kai chose to receive the ball on the right wing, even though the situation in midfield was already very unfavorable.
Seeing that Amorim was being targeted by Kai again and again, Benfica's coach immediately made an adjustment, asking Amorim to switch sides with João Vieira on the left and letting Vieira deal with Kai instead.
Vieira was not as tall or strong as Amorim, but he was far more flexible.
Relying on his agility — and still being taller and stronger than Kai — Vieira tried to bully him physically and steal the ball.
At the same time, this adjustment also prevented Kai from repeating his earlier long-pass routine.
Sporting Lisbon's first goal had come from Kai's long pass from this very position.
But no one expected that Kai, who usually released the ball with one touch, would suddenly pull a trick this time.
He dragged the ball back with his sole, shook Vieira off balance, and burst forward with the ball in a single motion.
Sporting Lisbon right winger Edgar Marcelino immediately cut inside without the ball. When he realized Kai wasn't passing right away, he quickly pulled back and received Kai's short pass in the right half-space outside the penalty area.
There was nothing wrong with this movement — it was actually quite smart — but it was also slightly greedy.
Both of Marcelino's movements were clear ball-demanding actions.
He treated himself as the main threat and didn't think about helping Kai or trying to draw away Benfica's left-back Bruno Simão.
As a result, Simão stayed firmly in position and directly blocked Kai's passing lane.
Kai lifted his right foot, clearly preparing for a long pass.
Simão immediately stretched his leg out to block.
Everyone knew Kai was one of the best passers in the U15 league.
But—nothing happened.
Kai tapped the ball lightly, faked the pass, slipped past Simão, and entered the penalty area from the flank.
Simão had been careless.
He was easily shaken off by Kai's very basic feint. On one hand, he feared Kai's passing ability; on the other, he underestimated Kai's dribbling.
Kai rarely showed his dribbling skills, and his speed wasn't outstanding. Even if he was beaten, Simão believed he could recover.
However—
Boom!
Kai didn't give Simão any chance to chase back. The moment he got past him, he immediately delivered the ball!
Miguel Veloso, who had come over to cover, had only reached halfway when he saw the ball sail over his head.
All he could do was turn around and watch as a green-and-white figure pushed the ball toward goal.
"Kai delivers the pass! What incredible vision — he beats Simão, and without even lifting his head, he picks out the pass!"
"Veloso is caught in between and completely bypassed!"
"Chris appears again between Benfica's two centre-backs!"
"He leaps—header!"
"Three–one! Oh my God! Chris completes a hat trick!"
"And why do I emphasize the word hat trick? Because we've got two of them! Chris scores a hat trick, and Kai completes a hat trick of assists!"
"Sporting Lisbon have scored three goals in just ten minutes! They've completely lost their minds!"
"Benfica must react immediately. They're facing two monsters — one a strategist, the other unstoppable."
"If Kai and Chris can't be contained, Benfica could suffer a disastrous defeat today!"
After the goal, Cristiano Ronaldo sprinted toward Kai in excitement. The two embraced, celebrated, and then ran together toward the corner flag.
Teammates swarmed in one after another.
The small group of Sporting Lisbon fans erupted in cheers.
Meanwhile, Benfica's side fell silent.
The cameras repeatedly focused on Benfica's chairman, as well as club legends Nuno Gomes and João Pinto, who were watching from the stands.
Pinto joked with the club executives:
"This kid has the potential to become a top centre-forward. Buy him quickly. Sporting Lisbon bought our youth players — now it's our turn to buy theirs."
One executive shook his head:
"No need. We already have Gomes. The Portuguese national team's striker position will be his for the next ten or fifteen years."
Gomes smiled confidently. He believed it too.
…
Facing a ten-minute burst where Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick and Kai assisted all three, Benfica's coach finally realized these two were special.
He immediately regretted not reacting the moment Sporting Lisbon adjusted their formation.
"Alexander, forget your position. Man-mark their No. 24. Don't let him touch the ball!"
"Veloso, ignore everyone else. Focus only on Chris. You're the centre-back — this is your job! Don't disappoint me!"
"Amorim, switch back with Vieira. You assist Alexander in marking Kai the entire time!"
"Vieira, our next attacks will go through you!"
After a series of instructions, the match entered a new rhythm.
Kai quickly experienced the joy of double-marking.
For nearly ten minutes, he barely touched the ball.
He was completely isolated from the rest of Sporting Lisbon by two players.
As for Ronaldo, being marked by Veloso wasn't an unsolvable problem.
The real issue was—
No one could get the ball to him.
Without Kai's passing, Sporting Lisbon reverted to their old problem: they couldn't progress the ball through midfield.
In the 41st minute, Amorim, while still helping mark Kai, managed to intercept the ball in midfield and immediately switched play to the right.
Benfica right-back João Pereira surged forward, carrying the ball straight into the attacking third — even driving it into the penalty area.
Sporting Lisbon left-back Pedro Araújo clashed fiercely with Pereira.
Pereira wasn't just fast; he was technically solid. Even though he failed to break through, he never lost possession.
Boom!
He cut the ball back centrally.
João Vieira, arriving late, struck a long shot from the edge of the box.
A stunning worldie!
Three–two.
Benfica pulled one back.
The two sides then traded attacks without further goals and entered halftime.
Maxa rushed into the dressing room.
Originally, he had never expected to win this match, so his mindset had been relaxed.
But when Kai helped turn the score to three–one, Maxa got greedy.
Greed is a sin, a serious sin!
"Kai, they actually double-teamed you. That's disgusting!" Maxa said indignantly, handing Kai some water. "Do you have any other ideas?"
"How about we defend for the rest of the game? We're still leading. A one-goal win is still a win!"
Kai thought for a moment.
"That's doable. I can move to right wing, and then another midfielder can fill my position to strengthen the defense."
Maxa nodded.
"Okay… wait, what did you say? Right wing? You?"
The two locked eyes.
Maxa immediately realized his distrust was too obvious and hurriedly changed his tone:
"You're on the right wing — won't you touch the ball too little?"
"You're the core of this team! How can you perform without the ball? I'm counting on you today, Mr. Kai!"
When it came to being shameless, Marquesa had truly perfected the art.
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