54th minute!
Crystal Palace cleared the ball from the back.
The ball soared toward the midfield area.
Right outside Burnley's penalty box—Kai was already positioned under the falling ball!
Burnley's defenders, still marking Vaughn and Zaha, were caught off guard!
They hadn't expected Crystal Palace's No. 10 to press up this far!
Kai controlled the ball and instantly attracted the attention of two to three Burnley defenders.
But instead of pushing forward, he slightly retreated.
From the No. 9 position, he dropped back to the No. 10 role!
Burnley's backline and midfield were suddenly torn open!
Their man-marking system fell into disarray!
And right at that moment—
The defender who had been marking Vaughn lost his position!
He was fooled by Kai's movement and momentarily abandoned Vaughn to cover Kai.
But that one moment of hesitation cost him—he failed to return to Vaughn in time!
Kai seized the fleeting opportunity with precision!
He gently scooped the ball off the ground—
Full vision activated!
Another no-look pass!
A golden trajectory—the "Cruise Missile" module activated!
The ball arced in the air—
And landed perfectly at Vaughn's feet!
Just as he had promised Kai—
He did not waste this impeccable assist!
He surged into the box!
Low shot—goal!!!
GOALLLL!!!
2–3!!
Crystal Palace clawed another one back!
Vaughn threw his arms into the air, roaring with joy!
It was an exhilarating moment!
He felt like he'd returned to his glory days at Everton!
Back when the media hailed him as a "genius!"
"OHHHHHHHH!!!"
The Selhurst Park crowd erupted in thunderous celebration!
They saw the flicker of hope in this desperate fightback!
And once again—it was Kai!
In a time of crisis, he reignited their flame of hope!
Kai spread his arms wide, saluting the fans!
The stadium was shaking with cheers!
On the sideline, Holloway and Millen embraced in pure excitement!
Their faith in Kai—completely justified!
The scouts in the stands could no longer stay seated.
It was simply unreal!
Who could turn down a player whose playing style was so adaptive, who could switch tactical roles mid-match based on the opponent's setup?
And more than that—this genius had just performed a textbook demonstration of the long-lost "False 9.5" position in front of tens of thousands of fans!
This style, long gone from modern football!
Michel Platini, Zico, Roberto Baggio—
Cantona!
They were once masters of the 9.5 role.
But the evolution of football had consigned this position to history.
And now, today, in this very moment—
It was as if Cantona himself had come alive again at Selhurst Park!
That commanding, brilliant genius on the pitch—
It mirrored the King's glory in every way!
A Manchester United scout was on the verge of tears!
They missed the King so much!
And if this young lad one day walked into Old Trafford...
He just might be the one to lead the Red Devils back to greatness!
This wasn't just a fantasy!
The scout hurriedly texted Sir Alex Ferguson.
The message was:
"After losing Eric Cantona and saying goodbye to Cristiano Ronaldo… we may have finally found the next heir to the Red Devils' No. 7!"
Elsewhere in the stands—
Mendes pumped his fist with excitement!
"A genius! A true genius! I don't even need to understand tactics—just the elegance of his play and the crowd's reaction is enough to stir the blood!"
The agent titan, who managed countless global stars, was hooked!
He had to sign this prodigy—he couldn't let him fall into another agent's hands!
At Selhurst Park—
The fans roared with earth-shaking cheers!
Bathed in the golden afternoon sun, Kai's shadow stretched long across the pitch. The sunlight lit up his handsome profile—
Female fans screamed.
His name soared through the air above the stadium.
Right now, as he stood on the field, he looked like a young king.
And he was leading Crystal Palace in a desperate counterattack!
On the sideline, the Burnley manager didn't dare gamble any further.
He called over his assistant coach and slammed the tactics board.
"Forget going toe to toe. From now on—we defend this win!"
"We can't end up in the playoffs. We must finish top two in the league! We cannot let this game slip!"
Kai's fierce momentum had thoroughly rattled the Burnley coach.
Not long ago, he had boldly claimed they would crush Crystal Palace—
Now, he swallowed those words whole.
All he could think about now was protecting the slender one-goal lead.
To carry the win out of Selhurst.
But the waves of deafening cheers rising around him—
Only made the Burnley manager more and more uneasy...