This time, Paredes did not quickly look away as he had at the start of the match.
He finally began to look at this River Plate midfielder seriously.
His River Plate teammates were still celebrating.
Giovanni wrapped his arm around Tobías’s shoulder and shook his fist at the Boca Juniors stands.
The Boca Juniors fans immediately erupted in jeers.
“Asshole!”
“Don’t get cocky!”
“The match isn’t over yet!”
Giovanni laughed even louder.
He turned his head and said to Tobías, “They’re getting anxious.”
Tobías looked at the center circle.
“They’ll get even more anxious.”
Giovanni was stunned for a moment, then grinned.
“I like that.”
On the other side, Paredes, who had just been dispossessed by Tobías, stood in place with a complex expression.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t been dispossessed before; in a football match, everyone loses the ball eventually.
But this time was different.
He had just dribbled past several players; the flow, the tempo, and the momentum were all on Boca Juniors’ side.
Just when he was closest to finishing an attacking wave, Tobías poked the ball away.
Then, with a long pass that wasn’t perfect but was extremely lethal, he turned it into a River Plate goal.
This was a slap in the face, very direct.
His Boca Juniors teammates walked over and patted him.
“It’s okay, Paredes, we still have time.”
“Keep giving us the ball.”
Paredes nodded without saying a word.
The River Plate celebration finally ended, and the players returned to their own half.
The scoreboard changed to 1–0.
On the European broadcast feed, the commentary team was reacting.
“Tobías got an assist!”
“Who said he was invisible just now?
Come out!”
“That interception was so cool!
Paredes was cleanly dispossessed!”
“After winning the ball, he pierced the entire defensive line with one kick.
Is this the guy the Chinese national youth team didn’t want?”
“Giovanni’s run was also awesome.
The ball was drifting away, but he still managed to catch up.”
“Don’t overhype it.
That pass was clearly off-target; it was purely the striker’s speed that saved it.”
“Yeah, the quality of the pass was average.
If Giovanni couldn’t run like that, the ball would’ve been lost.”
“The point is he saw the gap!
Most midfielders would only pass back to the goalkeeper after winning the ball.”
“Was it a fluke?
“Tobías gets an assist, and you guys say it’s a fluke again.”
“Gu Fei is the core of the national youth team back home, while Tobías is getting assists in the River Plate derby.
The gap is a bit glaring.”
“With Gu Fei’s physique and background, he’s obviously the core in China.
Someone like Tobías who doesn’t understand the rules can’t stay in the country.”
“Don’t drag Gu Fei into this; at least Gu Fei is a starter for the national youth team.”
“A starter?
A starter who tackles studs-up from behind to injure people, right?”
“Don’t rush to deify him yet.
Paredes was also very strong just now; there was an element of luck in that kick from Tobías.”
“Right, I admit this play was good, but saying he’s better than Paredes is ridiculous.”
“Let’s see what happens next.
If he can really keep suppressing Paredes, then I’ll be convinced.”
The viewership numbers on the broadcast were still rising.
Three thousand, five thousand, ten thousand.
Many people had just come to watch the spectacle, wanting to see if Tobías, who had been banned by the Chinese national football team, would make a fool of himself in South America.
Yet, less than twenty minutes into the match, he had intercepted Paredes and assisted Giovanni’s goal.
In an instant, the topic of conversation had completely changed.
Some were excited, some were stubborn, and some started digging up old grudges.
But regardless, the name Tobías was already flooding the commentary.
High up in the stands, Diego Simeone sat back down, but his gaze remained on Tobías.
He was, of course, happy about Giovanni’s goal.
But as a coach, he wanted to see the rest of the match even more.
Whether a player is a genius cannot be judged by just one round of play.
Especially for a midfielder.
The real test is whether you can continue to make the right choices after the opponent makes adjustments.
Diego Simeone said in a low voice, “Next, Boca Juniors will give the ball to Paredes more often.”
An aide asked, “How do you think River Plate will respond?”
Diego Simeone looked at Tobías on the pitch.
“Watch this kid.”
“If he just had a flash of brilliance, then Paredes will regain control of the match.”
“If he truly has top-tier football IQ…”
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
“Then this derby will be very interesting.”
On the sidelines, the Boca head coach had already called Paredes to his side.
He lowered his voice and spoke quickly, “Don’t rush.”
“That midfielder has good interception ability, but he isn’t fast.
Don’t give him another chance to tackle you head-on.”
“Support more, drop back more, and use passing and possession to draw him out.”
Paredes nodded.
“Understood.”
The Boca head coach patted his shoulder.
“You are our core; bring the match back to your rhythm.”
Paredes turned and walked back to the center circle; his expression was more focused than before.
Boca Juniors did not rush forward as they had just now; they began to feed the ball to Paredes.
The defenders passed horizontally, the midfielders played it back, the wingers stretched wide, and the strikers constantly dropped back to support.
The entire Boca Juniors team seemed to have suddenly switched to a different style of play.
They were no longer charging hard into River Plate’s territory, but instead using continuous passing and movement to pull the River Plate midfield out.
The Boca head coach stood on the sidelines and shouted, “Don’t rush!
Keep the ball moving!
Draw that midfielder out!”
Paredes raised his hand to ask for the ball, and the Boca Juniors defensive midfielder immediately pushed it to him.
Gate rushed up immediately, but Paredes didn’t stop the ball; he gently tapped it with the inside of his foot to a teammate behind him and turned to run forward himself.
One pass, two passes, three passes—three Boca Juniors attacking players moved simultaneously.
The right winger cut inside, the striker dropped back, and the left winger sprinted forward.
The River Plate midfield was immediately stretched, and the Boca Juniors fans in the stands regained their energy.
“That’s it!”
“Make River Plate chase the ball!”
“Paredes, tear them apart!”
On the European broadcast feed, the commentary was rolling again.
“Boca Juniors has made adjustments.”
“This is the real rhythm of Paredes; just now was just a mistake.”
“Try that interception from Tobías again?
They aren’t going to challenge you one-on-one anymore.”
“Once the passing and possession start, the defensive midfielder is the most uncomfortable.”
On the pitch, Paredes received the ball again.
This time, he didn’t dribble; he pushed it with his right foot and sent the ball directly to the right flank.
After receiving the ball, the Boca Juniors right winger pretended to drive to the byline, then suddenly passed it back.
Paredes sprinted forward to support, and without stopping the ball, he played a diagonal pass to the striker in the middle.
A one-two-three combination!
The three Boca Juniors attacking players moved as if it had been rehearsed; every time the ball rolled, the River Plate defensive line was pulled back a step.
Gate was left behind.
The other River Plate midfielder was also pulled out of position by Paredes’s run.
The Boca Juniors striker received the ball with his back to the goal and flicked it with his heel.
The football threaded through between two River Plate defensive players.
Paredes had already surged forward!
In that instant, the edge of the River Plate penalty area had been pierced.
The hearts of the River Plate fans in the stands tightened suddenly.
The entire Boca Juniors bench stood up.
“It’s in!”
“Paredes!”
“Shoot!”
Paredes rushed toward the ball.
There was only one center back left in front of him, and the right winger had already surged into the half-space of the penalty area.
As long as he touched the ball, he could either shoot himself or pass it across to an open goal.
Everyone thought Boca Juniors was about to equalize this time.
But just at the moment Paredes prepared to receive the ball, Tobías moved.
/c/DRUNK_TL(remove space between)