Chapter 594: Chapter 593 Slowly Cultivated
Pattern!
Deng Kai almost ignored Katie Price, sparing her a last shred of dignity.
After all, he really wasn’t interested in buses.
Having dated dozens of boyfriends... is that really dating?
It’s more like running appointments, isn’t it?
Ready to go at any time?
How green would one have to be?
Looking forward to a stroke of luck and a surge?
Truly unnecessary.
...
On January 21st, the second leg of the English League Cup semi-final finally arrived.
In terms of condition, Manchester City seemed a bit worn out.
But Liverpool weren’t having an easy time either; the pressure of the league was substantial.
So the match was mainly about strength.
And in terms of strength... naturally, Liverpool was stronger.
Liverpool’s starting lineup for today was:
Heskey, Owen
Simon, Gerard, Schmeichel, Danny Murphy
Riise, Happia, Kilop, Carragher
Dudek.
This lineup was ranked second in the Premier League last year!
On the other hand, Manchester City’s starting lineup was:
Baggio, Fowler, Ribery
Deng Kai, Essien, Tu Lei
Grosso, Chiellini, Hierro, Maicon
Lehmann.
It was their strongest lineup.
For this match, Katie Price appeared directly in the stands of Maine Road Stadium.
Some of the audience started jeering.
But most Manchester City fans did not respond.
Because they understood Deng Kai well, they knew he didn’t like such women, so they didn’t join in the jeering.
Feng Te, on the other hand, kept checking his phone, then glancing at Price, looking as though his soul had been hooked away.
He even forgot to turn off the water cooler and didn’t notice.
He was completely off his game today.
This seriously affected the atmosphere on the substitutes’ bench.
This led directly to Ribery lacking sufficient drive to score after creating a chance at the beginning of the match.
Without Feng Te’s encouragement, Ribery didn’t even feel like playing football.
This is the importance of a cheerleading squad!
"Oh! What a pity!"
"Less than a minute into the game, and Ribery already shows a strong move on Riise on the right wing!"
"He’s playing very offensively today!"
"This might be related to Riise’s previous attack on Deng Kai. Today, the whole Manchester City team doesn’t look too happy, indicating Deng Kai’s status within the team."
"After getting past Riise, Ribery makes a tight-angled shot from inside the box that hits the side netting."
"Defending players and the goalkeeper aren’t out of position or making mistakes, so it’s difficult for Ribery to score from such an angle."
"His shooting skills aren’t stellar, and while being ambidextrous is an advantage that usually masks this shortcoming, it becomes apparent whenever he doesn’t find the opportunity with his left foot."
Eighth minute.
Ribery is on fire.
After receiving the ball, he took on Riise one-on-one, outmaneuvering him with three consecutive changes in direction and cutting inside.
Riise is quite speedy and strong, rarely looking so embarrassed being beaten this way.
Facing Happia’s defense, Ribery played a backward pass.
Tu Lei rushed up to shoot after receiving the ball, but Kilop blocked the shot in time, and Tu Lei’s attempt ultimately went wide of the goal.
Twelfth minute, cheers from the fans filled Maine Road Stadium.
Ribery challenges Riise one-on-one for the third time today.
However, this time he faked a move and made a real pass, then cut inside without the ball, effortlessly breaking through Riise’s defense.
Tu Lei receives Ribery’s pass in stride.
Beside him, Deng Kai sends a through ball, aiming for Ribery who is about to break into the box.
However, Happia had been closely observing Deng Kai.
There was some truth to what Riise had said; Liverpool had a whole plan for defending against Deng Kai.
It was definitely not just one player who needed to be wary of Deng Kai.
At least three Liverpool players were almost always paying attention to Deng Kai.
During his run, Happia stretched out his leg to disrupt Deng Kai’s through pass.
But he couldn’t muster much force.
The football lightly deflected, falling at the feet of the advancing Robbie Fowler.
Fowler lifted his foot and shot.
How could Dudek possibly save such an attack that was almost like shooting practice?
"GOAL! Robbie Fowler scores against his former club!"
"One-nil! Manchester City takes the lead! Liverpool’s own genius killer has killed Liverpool!"
"With that, the aggregate score is now three to three. Manchester City has two away goals, making them the leading side!"
"Of course, this goal seems to stem from Happia’s mistake, but in reality, it was a highlight of Deng Kai’s individual ability. Happia did everything he could to block Deng Kai’s pass."
"Otherwise, Manchester City would have scored anyway; it’s just that the scorer would have switched from Fowler to Ribery."
"Ribery truly is the best performer on the field so far today; he has completely turned Riise into a sieve! Riise is totally off his game!"
The seventeenth minute.
Simon received Gerard’s pass and made a break down the left, cutting inside seamlessly.
Bang!
After shaking off Maicon, Simon kicked the football toward the far post.
Heskey was in a good position to finish with a close-range flick, but unfortunately, the ball flew over the stands.
Hesky the plane, oh no... Heskey’s renown is well deserved.
The twentieth minute.
Gerard delivered a precise lofted pass.
Owen burst into the penalty area and, with Hierro blocking the angle to shoot, could only push the ball towards the far post, sliding past the goal.
The twenty-second minute.
Manchester City initiated a press in the attacking third.
Liverpool’s central defender Kilop managed to pass the ball out amid the encirclement.
Fowler’s slide tackle failed to intercept and instead brought down Kilop.
The referee immediately blew the whistle and showed a yellow card.
The home crowd responded to the referee’s decision with booing.
There was nothing wrong with the referee’s call, but this was Manchester City’s home ground after all.
The twenty-eighth minute.
Deng Kai pulled wide to the left, facing off against Danny Murphy.
Deng Kai quickly got past Danny Murphy with a flash.
Carragher had to move up to block Deng Kai.
With a flick of his heel, Deng Kai passed the ball.
Grosso, moving up the flank, took the ball, dribbled a step, then made a backward triangle pass, sending the football sweeping into the penalty area.
Robbie Fowler reacted quickly, stretching out his foot to touch the ball.
But unfortunately, with Kilop’s interference, his attempt didn’t amount to a shot but only changed the direction of the ball.
The football rolled towards the far post.
Ribery, who had entered the penalty box, shook off Riise’s pulling and rushed to the post to make a quick shot.
"GOAL! Two-nil!"
"Ribery has scored after all!"
"I said it, with Riise playing like this, Ribery was bound to score today!"
"Riise is not only unable to guard Ribery, but he can’t even limit him!"
"Riise should be substituted; he’s having a nightmare today!"
"Didn’t the Norwegian drill go partying last night? He looks so limp today!"
"Now the aggregate score is four to three!"
"Liverpool not only needs to score but they also need two goals if they want to make it to the English League Cup Final."
Manchester City are on the rise!
Everyone realized that Riise had no answer for Ribery.
The thirty-second minute.
Deng Kai swapped positions with Tu Lei and, after receiving Ribery’s pass, dribbled horizontally past Gerard and was brought down by Kilop.
The referee, fair and just, showed Kilop a yellow card.
Unfortunately, Deng Kai’s free-kick from a great position went just over the crossbar.
