Chapter 557: Chapter 556: Deng Kai vs Premier League Deng Kai
If you look at the big picture, you can find that players from certain places prefer to go to a few specific leagues.
Their main considerations are region and language.
These two factors even outweigh the fame of the team when it comes to young players choosing a team.
And Manchester City, being an "international big team" with players from all over the world, actually had a big problem with language.
If they couldn’t communicate, let alone tactics, even greeting each other was a hurdle.
But Deng Kai solved this trouble.
And as the team leader and tactical core, as long as Deng Kai could communicate with the other players, he essentially solved about ninety percent of the team’s tactical issues.
The remaining ten percent was the communication between the other players.
The ninth minute.
Deng Kai performed a stunning Marseille Turn in the middle and got past Jermaine.
Cheers immediately erupted on the spot.
Bang!
Deng Kai delivered a through pass.
Adriano received the ball and was on a breakaway.
Bang!
Adriano took a direct shot without stopping the ball.
The opposing goalkeeper charged out; he had no extra time to handle the ball.
And during this time, he had been practicing the Batistuta goal, focusing on taking a shot immediately after receiving the ball and direct shots.
Thump!
The football thudded against the opposing goalkeeper.
In the end, the goalkeeper grabbed the ball before Adriano could take a follow-up shot.
"Ah! What a pity! That was a very good opportunity!"
"The goal was in the mouth, and it flew away! Adriano, ah!"
"This is simply a waste of Deng Kai’s brilliant assist. That pass, along with the earlier dribble, might just make the top five goals of the round!"
"Adriano possesses explosive physical talent and exaggerated athletic ability, but in actual combat, he has never lived up to his threat!"
"He needs more time, but who knows how much more time Manchester City can give him."
As for this, Deng Kai’s answer was a long time.
It wasn’t that Adriano had failed to live up to his threat; in fact, he had delivered twice already.
He had comprehended the Batistuta goal twice.
But for some reasons, he had not been able to activate this powerful signature move.
It appeared as if he had left his shooting boots at home.
However, shooting boots don’t disappear.
They just moved from Adriano’s feet to those of the exploiter.
After this pass, Deng Kai was closely marked.
Manchester City’s offensive momentum thus slowed down.
Newcastle United gradually launched threatening attacks.
In the thirty-second minute, Jermaine delivered a wonderful through pass.
Essien was split open.
Dio reacted a beat too late, but he desperately stretched his leg, pushing his defensive capacity to the limit.
Bang!
Dio made a hair-raising defensive move.
He disrupted the football.
But then he sat on the grass, clutching his thigh.
Manchester City’s medical team entered the field.
They suspected Dio had a strain and it would be best for him to rest.
Dio insisted he could keep going.
In the early phase of the team, when the lineup was not yet settled,
Dio had already taken the lead in the scramble for the starting position, but if Chiellini could take advantage of the situation to sneak in, then Dio would be in trouble.
Many football stars had gone through this kind of situation on their road to fame.
Dio didn’t want to be the backdrop for that uncle.
Chiellini: Uncle? I’m only a month older than you!
But Maxa’s decision was not something his sister-in-law could influence.
Following Deng Kai’s slight shake of the head, Maxa substituted Chiellini for his sister-in-law.
Fighting with an injury is the easiest way to leave hidden troubles behind.
Deng Kai had high hopes for every player on the team.
They couldn’t be ruined by injuries.
The forty-fourth minute.
Newcastle United won a corner.
After the corner was taken, the football was cleared away.
But the Newcastle players immediately surrounded the referee, frantically slapping their arms, signaling a handball by a Manchester City player.
The referee, with an eagle-eye, found Adriano and showed him a yellow card.
At the same time, he pointed to the penalty spot.
Penalty kick!
"No way, this is too... Adriano gives away a penalty with a handball inside the box!"
"I’ve really had it with this next ’Ronaldo’! Can’t score, still bloody gives opportunities to the other side?"
"I feel like Manchester City got fleeced on this deal, could this guy be washed up?"
"This performance, definitely not worth ten million."
"Sigh! I originally thought just based on physical conditions Adriano would be worth more than ten million, and this deal would surely pay off, but now..."
Manchester City fans, accustomed to a frugal existence, were relatively harsh in their assessment of transfer players.
In situations like Adriano’s, fans of big clubs simply didn’t care.
At least, they were willing to give a player a dozen or so matches to prove themselves.
But for smaller clubs, the margin for error was too slim, they couldn’t afford to lose.
Eventually, with Jermaine converting the penalty, the sides ended the first half tied at one kick apiece.
Manchester City fans were disheartened.
Remembering the 0-3 loss from the previous round, could they be heading for another defeat this time?
...
After the second half started, both teams seemed to have made some targeted adjustments.
Newcastle United began to focus on Lahm, not giving him too much room to maneuver.
Whereas Manchester City started to transfer the ball frequently to the right wing to find Ribery and Maicon.
They made good use of the width of the pitch.
Some fans might not know, the size of the football field is not fixed.
Or rather, it is fixed within a relatively large range.
Even the size of the home field sometimes changes due to the team’s tactical adjustments.
Maine Road Stadium, for a long time, was the widest in the Premier League.
And this width was very suitable for Manchester City’s current strategy of switching play.
The fifty-third minute.
Receiving a transfer pass from Deng Kai, Ribery showed off his dribbling talent, dribbling, cutting inside, dribbling again, bypassing two players, and charging into the penalty area!
Bang!
With Ribery’s attempt at a low-angle shot,
The football struck the side netting.
The fans at the stadium let out a sound of regret, but they also gave Ribery a round of appreciative applause.
Conversely, on the bench, Maxa, Guardiola, Deschamps, and others shook their heads.
Maxa noticed Deng Kai’s move; following Deng Kai’s lead rarely went wrong.
Guardiola said, "Ribery’s shooting technique is still not excellent, forcing him to take low-angle shots; from a tactical standpoint, Newcastle United completed a very pretty defense."
Deschamps nodded, "His vision is actually decent, but he is still a bit nervous, focusing too much on dribbling, and thus didn’t observe his teammates’ positioning."
"His repeated dribbling caused him to miss the perfect opportunity to pass to Adriano. He also didn’t see Baggio with a chance at the back post... The final shot might look threatening, but it was indeed a forced one."
In this type of exchange, players like Grosso, Sun Jihai, his sister-in-law, Lehmann, Fowler, and others gained a deeper understanding of the team’s tactics.
This was a team that strongly emphasized the success of its tactics.
Ribery’s recent performance would be considered a highlight by the majority of fans and teams.
After all, without shots, there can be no goals, and Ribery had already made what appeared to be a rather nice shot.
But at Manchester City, this attack was deemed a failure.
