"Grossi has completely lost his head, and it was entirely unnecessary. Ternana finally had a man sent off, handing Brescia the numerical advantage, but by earning himself a red card, he's wiped out that hard-won edge in an instant..."
Actually, it wasn't completely unnecessary. At the very least, anyone thinking about putting a malicious tackle on Sandro in the future would have to weigh whether they were tough enough to handle the retaliation.
Grossi had his own ulterior motives.
While he certainly wanted to stand up for his teammate, his main driving force was his high regard for Sandro's potential. He wanted to earn the honorary title of 'Xiao's Enforcer.'
That hit on Dilinio was essentially his pledge of allegiance.
But the fallout was bound to sting for a while. After all, the referee had already blown the whistle to halt play; committing an act of violence after the whistle guaranteed a hefty fine and a suspension.
"Sandro started his run from his own half, carrying the ball on a fifty-meter sprint and blowing past two defenders in a row. Ternana had to pay the price of a straight red card just to stop him.
"Are there still any doubts now?
"Sandro doesn't just have the ability to be a starter; he has the potential to become the core of this team.
"Congratulations to Brescia. They really hit the jackpot, and it looks highly likely they've claimed the grand prize of the Serie B transfer window..."
The match resumed.
Ternana were forced into a substitution, taking off a forward for a defender, while Brescia made no changes.
Coletti took the resulting free kick, blasting it straight into the stands.
Spooked by Sandro's relentless charge, Ternana finally dropped deep and played far more conservatively. Their four defenders were so terrified they didn't dare step a single foot past the halfway line.
The battle for possession concentrated in the midfield, remaining a fierce deadlock. Bored out of his mind up front, Sandro simply dropped back into the midfield.
Just as Giampaolo had hoped, his arrival immediately shattered the balance between the two sides. Brescia swiftly gained the upper hand, pushing the ball into dangerous areas.
Despite never having played a full match for the first team, Sandro had earned his teammates' absolute trust at lightning speed through his highlight-reel performances and dominant showings on the training pitch. The moment they saw an opening, they immediately fed the ball to his feet.
Sandro did not let them down. He repeatedly created scoring threats through sheer individual ability, and his occasional flashes of brilliant passing instantly lifted the squad's spirits.
Of course, while his technical ability was flawless, he still lacked actual match experience.
After all, in his previous life, he had been crippled before he even got the chance to step onto a professional pitch. Boasting about his 'experience' was utter nonsense.
It was only during these occasional flashes of rawness that everyone remembered: oh, he was actually a rookie, and this was only his second official match...
"Sandro's presence on the pitch has brought a significant improvement to Brescia. Their attacking tempo has noticeably sped up, and they are starting to pin their opponents back. But now, they need to convert this on-field dominance into an actual lead on the scoreboard!"
"You can tell that his coordination with his teammates is still quite rusty, forcing him to rely on his individual abilities to crack the game open. However, even if used purely as an attacking spearhead, he is undoubtedly the most dangerous player in Brescia's lineup.
"I know I've said this many times already, but I can't help but marvel at him. He has truly brought us a massive, massive surprise!"
The Brescia fans were already more than satisfied.
Sandro's skills were clearly in a league of their own.
Aside from the stat-obsessed few who believed a player was useless without a goal or an assist, everyone had genuinely acknowledged Sandro's talent.
Factoring in his youth and striking good looks, Sandro was practically the player of their dreams.
But Sandro himself was not satisfied.
In the 76th minute, he carried the ball forward, launching yet another assault on Ternana's back line.
Unfortunately, Ternana had learned their lesson. They compressed their defensive line deep into their own half, maintaining a tight formation that left him very little space to break through. After dribbling past two players once again, Sandro had no choice but to try his luck with a shot from outside the box, only for the ball to smack solidly into a defender.
Ternana seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack, but it yielded nothing. The two sides settled back into a familiar deadlock: Brescia pinning Ternana back, while Ternana stubbornly held the line.
The match soon reached the 83rd minute.
Sandro carried the ball straight down the middle, driving into the penalty box before sliding a diagonal pass toward Caracciolo.
Caracciolo immediately tapped the ball back into his path.
The execution was flawless, but the intent behind their give-and-go was a bit too obvious. A Ternana defender stepped up just in time, intercepting the ball to neutralize the threat.
The ball was passed out to Ternana's number 8. Just as everyone thought Brescia's attack had come to an end, Coletti suddenly came charging out of nowhere, cleanly stealing the ball back with a beautiful sliding tackle.
Sandro and Caracciolo instantly sprinted into position, pulling defenders away to create space for a pass. But Coletti looked up, clearly having forgotten the manager's strict instructions to 'pass the ball to Sandro as much as possible.' He took two steps to adjust his footing and unleashed a brilliant strike that looked destined to be a spectacular goal!
The ball traced a beautiful arc as it soared toward the left side of the net. However, just as everyone thought it was going in, Ternana's goalkeeper leaped across, pulling off a world-class save.
He got both hands to it, parrying the ball away.
But the danger for Ternana was far from over. The deflected ball flew awkwardly straight toward one of their own defenders.
Seeing the ball rocketing straight at his face, the panicked defender hastily ducked, letting it sail right over his head. That split-second dodge was the only reason he didn't accidentally score the first own goal of the Serie B season.
However, before he even had time to praise his own quick thinking, a torrent of curses from his teammates flooded his ears.
Sandro hadn't expected to be involved in this phase of the attack at all.
His own heading ability was better left unmentioned. Since Cardboard Bro had suffered a cervical spine injury in the past, he never dared to practice headers, leaving his aerial skills equally atrocious. Because of this, when it came to crosses that required battling in the air, Sandro fully assumed his only role was to stand in front of the net like a lucky mascot.
He never expected the ball to inexplicably fly right toward him...
He hurriedly hopped up, trapping the ball against his chest.
As the ball dropped, he didn't bring it all the way down to his feet. Instead, as if possessed, he forcefully popped the ball back into the air with his thigh, spun around, and leaped up once more.
Flipping upside down in mid-air, he snapped his right leg straight, whipping his foot viciously against the descending ball.
Before the ball even knew what hit it, it was rocketing straight toward the dead center of the goal.
The goalkeeper was still sprawled on the ground, feeling like an absolute legend for his previous save. Who could have known his teammates could be this utterly useless?
I just stopped a blazing long shot, and you guys still managed to let it fly right back in?!
The Brescia fans instantly erupted into cheers, and the commentator had already started dragging out a long, passionate scream of "GOAL", but in the stands, Xiao Zhe and Olivia—along with Michel, who was watching the live broadcast at home—jumped out of their seats in pure terror.
A bicycle kick???!!!
With the state of your spine, what gives you the right to try a bicycle kick???