Chapter 454: Chapter 453: One Star, Six Arrows, Genghis Khan Wu Jisihan
"Wu Xudong has come on for Guardiola, and that substitution isn’t a big issue, as Guardiola’s performance today is just like the price of his autographed football in the Lisbon black market, not worth a penny!"
"But if Wu Xudong comes on, doesn’t that mean Deng Kai’s position has to drop back? Wu Xudong plays right-winger or right midfielder, he can play there, and he’s extremely fast."
"So Deng Kai and Tu Lei would form a double pivot, a double sweep. Deng Kai focuses on intercepting, while Tu Lei is on tackling. They have coordinated like this in the league before, and it was quite effective."
"Wait a minute! Tu Lei has also been subbed off! That means the fans won’t get to see the battle between the Tu Lei brothers. The camera also cuts to Kolo Toure on the Arsenal bench."
"Drogba? How could this be? It’s not defensive players like Veloso, Feng Te, or Deschamps that Sporting Lisbon is bringing on, but Drogba? This..."
The whole stadium was in shock.
Wenger kept turning his head to look at Trigella, wanting to confirm whether the latter had made a mistake with the substitution.
However, Trigella stood by the pitch, arms crossed, and nodded at Deng Kai.
Deng Kai then directed his teammates to switch positions.
Sporting Lisbon’s new formation quickly became apparent to everyone:
Ronaldo, Drogba, Ibrahimovic
Kaka, Ronaldinho, Wu Xudong
Deng Kai
Pepe, Vidic, Barzagli
Schmeichel.
3133!
Or you might say... One Star, Six Arrows! When they actually attack, Ibrahimovic will move towards the center, Wu Xudong will push forward.
This would form a four-striker system with Ronaldo, Drogba, Ibrahimovic, and Wu Xudong.
Even Kaka and Ronaldinho might make runs into the gaps among those four players at any time.
Under the most extreme circumstances, these six players could form a horizontal version of the one-line formation, with two or even more players always in open space.
If there were a card dealer, it would be the most unsolvable tactic in competitive sports such as football, basketball, rugby, and beyond – reckless bombardment!
"He’s gone mad, Trigella must have lost his mind! By doing this, Sporting Lisbon is pretty much handing over their entire backfield to Arsenal to play with. They are going to be shredded!" He Wei was bewildered.
He couldn’t believe this was a professional coach’s decision.
It was practically a giveaway.
Could Sporting Lisbon be involved in match-fixing?
Did Arsenal purchase their goal difference from them?
It makes sense.
After all, reaching the round of 16 in the Champions League fully met and even exceeded Sporting Lisbon’s expectations for this season’s Champions League.
Make some money on the goal difference, then bolster the squad next year.
Arsenal’s epiphany: instead of always being one step below Manchester United in the Premier League, why not blossom outside the wall by performing well in the Champions League and then come back stronger in England!
Brilliant!
"Football fans, the match is about to get exciting!" Huang Jianxiang had a different opinion, "This is the ultimate offensive formation! Considering that Deng Kai’s passes are hard to shut down completely, Sporting Lisbon’s counterattack wave is coming."
"Arsenal is a typical offensive team; now Sporting Lisbon wants to challenge them offensively, minimizing the strength gap between the two sides’ defenses."
"Go for it, Sporting Lisbon!"
"I believe you can create a miracle!"
He Wei, while looking at his commentary senior Huang Jianxiang who had gone crazy, scorned him and silently shouted in his heart: "Our Arsenal is unbeatable!"
One Star, Six Arrows, I’ve got an eight-heart, eight-arrow sapphire mirror.
The fifty-seventh minute, not more than five minutes since Sporting Lisbon’s bizarre adjustment.
Pepe intercepted and passed the ball to Deng Kai.
Bogkamp immediately tried to pressure Deng Kai.
But Deng Kai was too fast.
Bang!
Turning his body without looking at the opponent or the ball, he randomly swung his left or right leg and booted it!
He kicked it as if he was thrashing wildly!
The football flew towards the left flank ahead.
Ronaldo was lightning fast, engaging in a sprint duel with Lauren.
Lauren could have marked Deng Kai tightly.
But suddenly Kaka cut behind Lauren, and Ronaldo also actively moved over to the left attacking midfield position to support Deng Kai, forming a triangle with Lauren right in the middle of it.
The numerical advantage of Sporting Lisbon’s forwards was immediately apparent.
Lauren, to be on the safe side, could only let Ronaldo receive the ball, while he himself prevented Ronaldo’s cross and breakthrough, signaling his teammates to catch up with Kaka who was about to break into the penalty area.
Bang!
Ronaldo passed the ball back to the approaching Ronaldo.
Vieira, who had dashed to the scene, immediately turned around to cover Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, with his back to Vieira, passed the ball back to Deng Kai without stopping it.
Vieira, fearing that Ronaldo would turn around and get past him, stretched out his leg to try to intercept but kicked Ronaldo’s heel instead.
Ronaldo fell to the ground.
The referee put the whistle in his mouth, indicating the advantage to play on.
He Wei shook his head unconsciously.
Deng Kai should not have dealt with the ball, he should have asked the referee directly for a free-kick.
Because the spot where Ronaldo fell was good, it was a mid-to-long distance free-kick spot, highly suitable for a set piece.
And if Deng Kai lost the ball after dealing with it, Sporting Lisbon could basically be handing over a one-on-one to the opponent.
Does he not realize which is more important?
On the field.
Deng Kai faced the football and swung a big kick, feinting a pass that completely fooled the approaching pressure from Ljungberg.
Bang!
Deng Kai swung his leg again, this time for a real pass.
To the right of the penalty area, the back post.
The left wing’s Ronaldo, Kaka, and Ronaldo had just drawn the attention of Arsenal’s defenders.
Now the football moved to the right wing, making full use of the field’s range.
Drogba was locked in a fierce contest with Campbell inside the penalty area.
Ibrahimovic was also moving into the penalty area from the right side, but he was slower.
Outside of Ibrahimovic, Wu Xudong sped up from behind, his pace extremely fast.
Ashley Cole, who had just started, couldn’t catch up since he hadn’t reached his top speed yet.
The ball was meant for Wu Xudong.
And only Wu Xudong could catch up to it.
Bang!
When Wu Xudong reached the ball, he didn’t stop to control it, as Ashley Cole was quickly closing in.
After making a reverse diagonal pass, Wu Xudong rolled out of bounds due to momentum.
Even Ashley Cole couldn’t stop in time and charged out.
But Wu Xudong, after tumbling over, couldn’t even get up in time and knelt on the ground looking towards the goal.
To the right of the penalty area, slightly on the outside, Ibrahimovic deliberately moving slowly made Sporting Lisbon’s attack stratified.
Drogba and Wu Xudong were at the very front, and he was in the second tier.
To his left, just outside the penalty area arc, was Ronaldo, forming the third tier.
With such clear layers, the attack could roll in waves, just like an endless tide.
And if the tiki-taka failed to create an opportunity, the possession would be lost.
Bang!
Faced with Keown, Ibrahimovic decisively took a shot.
Keown lifted his left foot to block, betting that Ibrahimovic would go for the near post.
Similarly, Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Himan, also dove to that side.
Because Ibrahimovic, on the right side of the penalty area, would find it difficult to aim for the far post with his right foot—getting past a defender would be tough.
But...
