Chapter 152: A Chaotic Battle to Preserve the Record
Although Pavón fell to the ground rather awkwardly, he was actually quite pleased. If he, the one initiating the collision, had been sent tumbling from the recoil, then the one being hit must have suffered even more. Even if he didn't send the opponent flying, at the very least, they should have been knocked down.
Pavón wasn't worried about committing a foul. Even though he landed inside the penalty area, the collision had definitely occurred outside of it. Moreover, the contact was in that gray area between a foul and a fair challenge. Even if the referee decided to penalize him, it was unlikely he'd receive a yellow card.
So, as he fell, Pavón eagerly lifted his head to see Drogba hit the ground as well. However, what he saw instead left him utterly shocked...
After taking Pavón's powerful hit, Drogba stumbled forward, seemingly about to collapse just like Pavón had. But with each step, he regained his balance bit by bit. After staggering forward for three or four steps, his posture was already upright again, and with two large strides inside the penalty area, he caught up with the ball!
"Ohhh! What an incredible balance! He managed to stabilize himself so quickly after that impact—Real Madrid is in danger, it's a one-on-one!"
José watched the situation inside the box intently. He had anticipated something like this, but now Drogba had a near breakaway chance. The only issue was that the angle wasn't ideal; he wasn't facing the goal directly. Given his shooting ability, this was a situation where he could easily squander the opportunity...
As the Mallorca fans erupted in cheers, Drogba shifted the ball leftward to face the goal directly. At this moment, Casillas had already spread his arms wide and rushed out!
Seeing Casillas' quick reaction, Drogba panicked a little. He knew exactly how unreliable his finishing could be. On top of that, his footwork had gotten a bit messy when he adjusted his angle. In his attempt to control the ball with the inside of his foot, he instead accidentally jabbed it with his toe...
What does it mean to win by accident? Drogba's shot was the perfect example. He had meant to set up his shot, but instead, his toe-poke sent the ball flying straight toward goal!