Facing the ball skimming toward him at pace, Leo’s expression sharpened.
He knew exactly how poor his finishing was.
With a Finishing stat of only 53, a laced drive would most likely skew wide or sail into the stands.
So he chose the safest option.
An inside-foot push shot.
“Don’t let him shoot!” The goalkeeper’s shout rang out as Leo swung his right leg and struck the ball clean through the center with his instep.
A heartbeat later, the ball was a blur, skimming across the grass and flying toward the net.
The distance was too short.
And Leo had deliberately aimed for the far post, against the keeper’s momentum.
The goalkeeper could only spread his arms on instinct.
It was nowhere near enough.
The ball hit the back of the net.
“Goal!!!” “GOALLLLL!” Leo stared at the ball resting inside the goal.
He blinked once, and the realization hit him like a wave.
His first professional goal.
His first Championship goal.
Just like that.
A second later, the emotion caught up with him.
His face lit up and he tore away toward the corner flag, arms spread wide, before dropping into a knee slide.
He had watched Mahrez pull off that same slick celebration and filed it away for the moment he scored his own.
He only managed two short tracks in the turf.
But the away fans did not care one bit.
They roared their approval.
“Great goal!” “Beautiful!” “Damn, I love this kid!” Leo rose to his feet at the corner flag and threw his arms wide.
His expression was fierce, his eyes burning bright.
Like a king surveying his domain, he drank in the cheers and adoration of the Leicester City faithful.
Right then, that eighteen-year-old owned Elland Road.
The photographers along the sideline hammered their shutters, capturing the image that would mark the first milestone of Leo Hale’s career.
Two-nil.
In the space of five minutes, one assist and one goal from Leo had put Leicester City two ahead of Leeds United at Elland Road.
The sudden swing left tens of thousands of home fans shell-shocked, their faces blank with disbelief.
Hadn’t they spent the first sixty minutes pinning Leicester back and attacking in waves?
How had everything flipped so fast?
How had they conceded twice?
Then they looked at the Leicester players mobbing Leo in celebration, and it clicked.
Him.
The moment that black-haired kid came off the bench, everything changed.
The jeers and abuse had not fazed him at all.
If anything, they had lit a fire inside him and unlocked another gear.
In five short minutes, he had delivered an assist and scored a goal himself.
A cold thread of regret wound through the Leeds support.
If they had not booed him, had not poked the bear, would he have played this well?
Or had the outcome been sealed the instant his name was called to enter the match?
Two goals down.
A little over ten minutes of regular time left.
Under their manager’s frantic shouts from the touchline, the Leeds players pressed with desperate aggression, throwing everything forward in one last push.
Even a consolation goal would send their fans home with something less than pure bitterness and rage.
But with Leo pulling the strings, Leicester kept the ball and killed the game cold.
Leeds never got a sniff.
The home players and their supporters could only watch the clock bleed out, second by second, until the final whistle.
“Beep.
Beep.
Beeeeep.” The match ended Leeds United 0, Leicester City 2.
The visiting Foxes had swept past the Whites and banked three points to stay firm at the top of the table.
Leeds, meanwhile, slipped even further from the top six and the promotion playoff places.
After the final whistle, the player who had come on for thirty minutes and delivered one goal and one assist was awarded the highest rating of the match: 7.75.
Leo Hale was named Man of the Match.
No argument.
Still in his kit, he stopped in the mixed zone to face the Sky Sports cameras for his post-match interview.
“Leo.
Is it okay if I call you that?” Leo shrugged and flashed a bright, easy smile.
“Of course.
Call me Hale if you prefer.” “A goal and an assist.
Quite a special night, isn’t it?” “It is.
I’m grateful to the manager for putting me on, and I’m happy I could help the team get the win.
Thanks to my teammates for their support too.” “What can you say about the team’s performance?” “On the team side, I’m really pleased with our defense.
Away matches are never easy.” The reporter fired off a few more questions and found Leo’s answers smooth and watertight every time.
So he shifted gears and aimed for something sharper.
“Leo, when you came on, the home fans at Elland Road booed you.
And throughout the second half, every time you touched the ball, the boos rang out again.
I’d like to know: did any of that affect you?” “Honestly, this was my first time at Elland Road.
The fans here are certainly…
passionate.” Leo put a deliberate weight on the word “passionate” and paired it with a raised eyebrow.
The reporter cracked a smile.
“As for the boos, I can’t say they bothered me much.” “In a way, they just gave me more fuel to play better.” “They wouldn’t boo that loud if they didn’t think I was a threat to their team, right?” The answer was charming but still too polished.
The reporter was not satisfied.
He sharpened the questions further.
“Let’s talk about that foul.” “It was clearly a bookable offense.
The referee saw it and showed the yellow card.
I respect and support the referee’s decision.” “After the card, Michael Brown came up and said something to you.
We’re all curious.
Can you share what was said?” Leo seemed to have seen this one coming.
He smiled, just slightly, and answered with a pointed calm.
“That stays between us.
But everything that happens on the pitch is part of the game.” “We’re on different sides.
We both fight hard for our team to win.” After a few more exchanges, the Sky Sports reporter found himself thinking: This kid was no ordinary player.
He had come into this interview hoping to mine some explosive headline from the Championship newcomer.
Instead, the handsome teenager in front of the camera had handled himself with total composure.
Had the club’s press officer drilled him for this, or was he just naturally this smooth?
The reporter never got the answer he wanted.
The brief interview came to an end.
Back in the away dressing room, two system prompts rang out inside Leo’s mind.
[Ding!] [Achievement Unlocked: Championship Debut Goal] [Achievement Rating: B] [Reward: 1 Free Attribute Point] [Achievement Unlocked: Championship Man of the Match] [Achievement Rating: B] [Reward: 1 Free Attribute Point]