"Cristiano Ronaldo, you play as the centre-forward. Lourenço, move to the left and pull wider."
On the big screen, Kai pointed here and there, quickly completing the positional adjustments.
He was clearly showing his leadership.
Benfica's coach showed little reaction after seeing the change.
Although moving Ronaldo to the centre disrupted their pre-match plan, Benfica were already in the lead.
This Sporting Lisbon side wasn't as strong as everyone had imagined.
Their so-called targeting wasn't fear — it was simply professionalism.
In the 15th minute, under Amorim's pressing, Kai decisively played a return pass.
Amorim smiled.
Back pass.
That's right.
Once you force the opponent's midfielder into becoming a "back-passing midfielder," the game is basically yours.
Amorim had won the past twelve matches this way.
Sure enough, centre-back Micael Ângelo, who received Kai's return pass, split the ball to right-back Ricardo Duarte.
Duarte then switched play back to Kai, who had drifted to the right to receive it.
As the ball rolled toward Kai, Amorim immediately stepped forward.
He didn't even need to tackle — just apply pressure, and Kai would pass back again.
Boom!
The ball flew past Amorim.
The trajectory wasn't fancy, but it was fast — too fast. Amorim was completely caught off guard.
This was… a forward pass!
Amorim turned to stare at Kai.
He didn't recycle it?
He's not afraid of being dispossessed?
Kai met Amorim's gaze.
He was nervous — but he didn't show it.
"Kai completes a first-time pass without stopping the ball!"
"And it's a long pass!"
"A diagonal ball from the right side of midfield straight into the heart of the attack!"
"Beautiful! Kai isn't a player who only passes backward. No matter where he is, his first instinct is to move forward with the ball!"
Trigueira applauded wildly in the stands.
Sporting Lisbon's senior management were also present at the Stadium of Light today.
It felt like a first-team derby atmosphere.
"Chris! Kai is looking for Chris!"
"Chris starts his run!"
The moment Ronaldo burst forward, Benfica centre-back Miguel Veloso immediately leaned into him, even using his hands to tug and obstruct him, trying to stop him from getting past.
After three or four meters, Ronaldo still hadn't shaken Veloso.
Veloso felt pleased.
This was his advantage as a centre-back — speed.
He might not be tall, but he was quick.
"Huh?" Benfica midfielder Alexander, who had tracked back to help, instantly sensed something was wrong.
He wanted to warn Veloso.
But everything happened too fast.
After sprinting for a few meters, Ronaldo suddenly slowed down and changed direction, cutting from Veloso's right to his left.
Sprint, deceleration, counter-run, sprint again — all in one fluid motion.
This time, Ronaldo floored it.
His speed exploded.
He blew past Veloso effortlessly and stormed into the penalty area.
"Perfect movement! Veloso is beaten!"
"Alexander is still too far away from Chris!"
"Swing of the leg — volley!"
"Goal!!!"
"One–one! Sporting Lisbon's superhero has arrived!"
"Chris finds space in the box with brilliant movement and finishes in one touch!"
"Veloso looks like a training cone!"
"And make no mistake — the biggest contributor to this goal isn't even Chris, but Kai, who delivered the pass perfectly from midfield!"
"His passing is razor-sharp. He's created the most shooting chances in the last five U15 league matches!"
"I even see a shadow of Rui Costa in him!"
Benfica fans immediately grew unhappy.
Rui Costa was their icon.
Don't randomly name-drop legends, alright?
Have some shame!
"He's lucky — he just found a huge gap!" Marquesa muttered, clearly not expecting Kai's idea of using Ronaldo as a centre-forward to work.
At the same time, Trigueira was explaining to the club executives in the stands:
"I was never optimistic about Chris becoming the next Simão. He relies too much on speed, and his style isn't smart enough."
"But now I've changed my view."
"I see a true striker's instinct in him. He may never be the kind of core attacker Simão was — combining passing and shooting."
"But he can definitely become a super finisher."
"He hasn't even trained as a centre-forward, yet he used a fake sprint to mislead Veloso, then accelerated again to attack the real landing point."
"On one hand, he trusts his speed and knows he has time to act."
"On the other, he clearly understands what he needs to do once he reaches the ball."
The executives nodded, then one of them said calmly:
"But a finisher doesn't sell."
Trigueira froze briefly, then nodded in agreement.
Jardel was the most lethal finisher in the Primeira Liga — and yet he couldn't even secure a spot in Brazil's national team.
Meanwhile, Brazil's new generation of wingers could easily make the squad and even start.
The market had already told Sporting Lisbon how to develop players.
So even though Ronaldo had shown strong potential as a centre-forward, the club would still mould him into a high-value winger.
Trigueira and the executives fell silent.
Because—
In the 19th minute, Sporting Lisbon midfielder José Semedo was pressed and slipped a short through ball to Kai.
Kai carried the ball while being shoulder-checked by Amorim, on the verge of losing possession.
But thanks to the strength gained from Cruyff's physical training, Kai managed to brace himself, arms pinned back, resisting Amorim's powerful frame.
Of course, he couldn't hold on forever.
Strength in duels came not just from the arms, but from legs and core — areas where Kai was still weak.
Yet just before falling, Kai released the ball.
A sudden through pass!
Straight down the middle, slicing through Benfica's defence.
The pass was almost identical to Toni Kroos's through ball when Busquets fell during the 2022–23 La Liga Clásico.
Benfica midfielder Alexander was completely taken out of the play.
Anyone with experience would've expected Kai to be dispossessed.
But instead — he threaded the ball.
A true scalpel pass.
Up front, Ronaldo took the ball, pushed it forward, and accelerated — all in one motion.
No tricks. No nonsense.
Just raw speed.
Benfica's defence was ripped apart instantly.
Veloso was fast for a centre-back, but compared to Ronaldo, he was still miles behind.
Facing goalkeeper Weir, Ronaldo finished calmly — perfect speed, power, and angle.
The net rippled.
Two goals.
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