The second half began.
Under Kai's guidance, Holloway made a few more subtle substitutions.
Vaughan came on in place of Zaha to start the second half.
He was determined to solidify his position at the top of the scorer's chart!
70th minute.
Vaughan latched onto a brilliant lofted through ball from Kai, drove towards the Portsmouth goal, and blasted it into the near corner!
3–0!!
With that goal, Vaughan no longer had to share the top scorer spot with another forward.
Now, with a one-goal lead, he stood alone at the top of this season's Championship scoring chart!
"Kai! I'm getting the Golden Boot!!"
Vaughan ran up to Kai, dropped to one knee, and mockingly bowed in worship.
Kai laughed and pulled him up with a smile.
Crystal Palace's players celebrated, hugging and cheering on the pitch.
In the stands, Portsmouth fans were already beginning to leave in droves.
Ten minutes later, Palace struck again!
It was another lightning counterattack from the midfield.
Kai, brilliantly using the Cantona "False Nine" module, tore through the lines from the No.10 role all the way up to No.9.
Now positioned up front, right on the edge of the box, Kai let loose another long-range rocket!
Even without the Golden Line boost, his Gerrard long-shot module gave him monstrous shooting power from distance.
4–0!!
Two goals, two assists from Kai!
Crystal Palace had gone on another rampage!
Boos from the home crowd mixed with wild cheers from the away fans.
Near the end of the match, Portsmouth managed to squeeze in a consolation goal.
But it wasn't enough to redeem anything.
No fans cheered. No applause. Nothing.
Full-time whistle blew.
Crystal Palace 4–1 Portsmouth!
Eleven straight wins in the league!
Despite heavy rotation, Crystal Palace's momentum was unrelenting!
They kept marching forward, full speed!
The London media exploded with excitement once again.
After the match, Vaughan found Kai:
"Kai, my former club, Everton, is interested in me again. I might head back to Merseyside next season and play in the Premier League…"
Kai was genuinely happy for his striker.
This once-lost star, once hyped as a prodigy by the media, had rediscovered his brilliance under Kai's leadership.
"If all goes well… see you in the Champions League next season."
Kai said with a grin.
Vaughan froze for a second, stunned by those words.
His eyes reflected something indescribable.
But fans didn't have long to dwell on that.
Just two days later, in Round 22 of the Championship,
Crystal Palace swept Derby County 3–0 at home!
Kai delivered two goals and one assist, while Vaughan netted another!
That marked an unprecedented twelve-match winning streak for Crystal Palace!
Headlines flooded in:
"Who Can Stop This Crystal Palace? A Terrifying 12 Wins in a Row!"
"The Eagle King Has Delivered! Palace Now Boasts Both the Assist King and the Golden Boot Leader!"
"Despite Competing on Two Fronts, Palace Roars Ahead in the League!"
"Man City Boss Mancini Talks Up Balotelli: 'If we meet Palace in the FA Cup, the world will know who the real genius is!'"
Among English football fans, the buzz was unstoppable.
Crystal Palace's name was now being mentioned alongside Premier League giants like Man City, Man United, and Arsenal.
For a club that had been battling relegation just last season, this was almost unbelievable.
And since Palace decided to compete on two fronts,
these recent rotation-heavy matches gave Holloway a major surprise:
He discovered that Kai's scoring ability had skyrocketed!
In the last two matches, this super talent had scored four goals, two per game, including at least one long-range screamer each time.
This had the coaching staff overjoyed.
They finally realized:
Kai isn't just a Golden Boot-making machine. He's a Golden Boot contender himself!
Holloway even began to fear a terrifying possibility:
"What if we end the season with two players tied for the Golden Boot?"
Though unlikely, the mere thought had him too excited to sleep!
This version of Crystal Palace felt absolutely unstoppable!
And now, with the Derby County match wrapped up…
Their next big challenge was already here:
The FA Cup awaits!