The media of Portsmouth swarmed the scene.
Under the night sky at Portsmouth's home ground, local reporters and fans alike were brimming with anticipation.
They hoped their team would be the one to finally put an end to Crystal Palace's terrifying ten-game winning streak!
If successful, it would bring an incredible boost in morale and visibility to their club.
Even several media outlets from London were present.
They were a bit anxious—after all, Crystal Palace was now the face of South London.
Every win pushed London's football reputation higher, and if the streak ended, it would hurt the entire city's spotlight.
Looking at the heavily rotated Crystal Palace lineup, the London journalists were disheartened.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth's manager Richie stood confidently on the sidelines, as if reliving the night three years ago when they lifted the FA Cup.
However...
That ambition—to end Crystal Palace's winning streak—was doused in ice-cold reality just seven minutes into the game!
At first, Portsmouth came out flying.
Richie had made it clear to his players:
"Crystal Palace has rotated 90% of their main squad to prepare for the cup—this isn't the team that won ten straight."
His words lit a fire under the players.
They pushed hard in the opening minutes, pressing into Palace's half with intense attacks.
Portsmouth striker Stedson was especially active against Palace's mostly reserve backline.
His eyes burned with hunger for a goal.
But reality didn't match expectation.
This "weakened" Crystal Palace defense... wasn't so weak after all.
From the touchline, manager Holloway nodded with satisfaction.
This was the result of countless hours spent with Kai reorganizing the rotation strategy.
Every single match had its rotation mapped out.
At least one main player would always be present in every vertical and horizontal connection across the pitch.
Old guided new, strong carried weak.
This ensured there were no weak links for opponents to exploit.
Even better—they reverted to the 5-4-1 formation Kai introduced when he first joined the team.
The additional defensive coverage significantly reduced errors.
And once the defense held, offense was never a worry with Kai on the pitch.
The midfield general. The Eagle King of Crystal Palace.
Just seeing Kai out there filled the entire team with unshakable belief.
7th Minute!
Stedson dribbled toward the edge of Palace's box.
But a substitute defender from Palace read him like a book.
A sharp sliding tackle stripped the ball away and cleared it from danger!
The away fans burst into applause!
Klein, on the same side, quickly tapped the ball diagonally to Kai, who began organizing the counterattack.
From the touchline, Richie's face darkened.
Clearly, this version of Crystal Palace wasn't as fragile as he hoped.
And worst of all?
Kai now had the ball.
Richie smirked, "Their striker isn't James Vaughan. He's not smart enough—he ran right into our trap. This counterattack is dead."
His assistant glanced over and relaxed.
With Portsmouth's backline in position, the threat should be minimal...
But then—Kai moved up two steps.
God-view: Activated.
Before anyone could even comprehend, Kai launched a long, diagonal ball from his own half—not to Zaha, but to the opposite wing!
Recovering from injury, Galván burst forward.
He reached the ball before it touched the ground!
The away fans went wild!
Richie was stunned.
What kind of pass was that?!
Over 60 yards. Pinpoint. Like it had a homing system.
From defense to the wide midfield—perfectly placed.
At the same time, Kai surged forward, sprinting from deep midfield into Portsmouth's half.
The defenders hesitated, unsure who to mark.
Two center-backs stood ready in the box.
But Kai... slowed down around 20 yards from goal.
Galván, meanwhile, hit the byline.
He paused, scanned the field, and smashed the ball back in a sharp inverted triangle pass to Kai.
Now standing nearly 30 meters from goal.
The Portsmouth defenders locked eyes on Zaha, convinced Kai would make a sneaky pass his way.
But what happened next... no one expected.
BANG!
Without even stopping the ball, Kai unleashed a rocket shot!
A golden line carved through the night!
A ferocious blast from outside the box!
The Portsmouth keeper leaped with all his might—
—but it was useless.
WHOOSH!
The ball tore into the net, sending it flying high!
GOALLLLLLL!!
1–0!!
Under 10 minutes into the game—Crystal Palace had taken the lead!
The away stand exploded in cheers!
Kai didn't hold back—he intentionally used his golden line skill early to secure a lead for the team.
A goal like this silenced the home crowd completely.
The Portsmouth fans were frozen in confusion and fear.
The Palace fans? Dancing in the stands.
On the pitch, Palace players swarmed Kai in celebration.
The London media went wild capturing the moment.
Of course!
Facing a team from London, tiny Portsmouth never stood a chance!
This goal from Kai sent London's pride soaring.
"YES!"
Holloway clenched his fist on the sideline, fired up.
What is a true genius?
He can feed others to become top scorers.
And if he wants—he can become one himself.
That's Kai.
The midfield brain and the goal-scoring engine.
Not far away, Richie stared blankly at the black-haired figure on the field.
His mind went numb.
Portsmouth's media was dead silent.
Where was the weak Crystal Palace we were promised?
Where was the upset win to end their streak?
Not even ten minutes in, and they were already behind.
The local reporters began bashing their own team mercilessly.
And Portsmouth's suffering didn't stop there.
30th Minute.
For the first time this season, Zaha started a match—and he shined.
After warming into the game, his runs became more decisive.
He began using the off-ball movement techniques Kai taught him in training.
Then came his moment.
A beautiful run beat the offside trap.
Kai delivered another perfect golden line long pass.
Zaha broke into the box!
Faced the keeper—
Curled it to the far corner!
2–0!!
Crystal Palace doubled their lead away from home!
That was the last straw.
The home fans erupted in loud boos, lashing out at their own players.
Portsmouth's manager quickly disappeared from sight, hiding on the bench.
His home ground had become Crystal Palace's celebration arena.
At halftime, the London media were euphoric:
This is our London genius!
A real midfield maestro doesn't choose which striker to pass to.
Even a substitute striker can score with his support!