Chapter 619: Chapter 618 All Citizens Become Soldiers
Because of Wu Xudong’s presence, everyone envied Arsenal for having sprinters as fullbacks on both sides, and even their substitute was a hundred-meter dash athlete.
But when it comes to flank configurations, Manchester City was actually not bad at all.
The fifty-fourth minute.
Wu Xudong and Lahm came face to face on the narrow path.
Ribery, leveraging Wu Xudong’s restraint, easily received the ball on the flank, made it to the baseline, and delivered a Backward Triangle Pass.
Vieira came up from the back, ready to unleash a blast.
But he was taken down by Lahm’s tackle.
Lahm received a yellow card.
The offenses of both sides were fiercely competitive.
The sixty-second minute.
Henry received the ball on the flank and after a series of fakes, he shook off Maicon.
But Henry was brought down by Maicon’s mis-timed tackle before he could cut inside.
Maicon also received a yellow card.
In just twenty minutes, both sides repeatedly engaged in high-speed confrontations on the flanks.
The midfielders hardly had time to catch their breath.
But the legs of the players on the flanks were beginning to wobble.
"Is the situation very dangerous? Manchester City is playing so desperately, yet they still haven’t managed to find an opportunity!" Victoria asked Ronaldo.
Ronaldo shook his head, "No, the situation is good. Arsenal has been dragged into Manchester City’s rhythm. Their flank players’ stamina is being wasted in high-speed running back and forth on the flanks."
"Arsenal’s flanks are indeed fast, but their attack often relies on coordination. And today... especially after Lahm joined the fray, their coordination has diminished."
Victoria: "Then why don’t they coordinate?"
Ronaldo laughed: "Because they can’t! Every player’s control over the football is limited. Some players can’t control the ball when they speed up to ten kilometers per hour."
"Some at twenty kilometers, very few can control the ball at thirty kilometers per hour."
"Manchester City deliberately pushed the pace to a level where neither side can control the ball, so their flank players can only cross, unable to execute sharp combinations."
Victoria seemed to half understand, "No wonder you always kick the ball as soon as you receive it, because you’re not good at controlling it, right? I remember David saying that the only thing you lack now is control over the football."
Ronaldo: ...
Ronaldo: "David was talking behind my back? Next season I won’t let him get a single assist off of me!"
Victoria didn’t respond.
There were some things Ronaldo probably didn’t know yet.
But Deng Kai knew.
David had called a few days earlier, troubled about this matter, and had specifically asked for Deng Kai’s opinion.
Deng Kai supported David starting a new journey, even though he thought it might not go that smoothly for David there.
But David’s commercial value would climb to a new level because of it.
In the sixty-fourth minute, with the ball kicked out to the sidelines, Manchester City began to make substitutions.
And they made two at once, using up all their substitution options.
Undoubtedly, Manchester City was ready to launch a real counterattack.
"Sun Jihai was a like-for-like substitution for Maicon."
"Ashley Young replaced Grosso in the same manner."
"The real China derby has emerged, and both Wu Xudong and Sun Jihai are playing as right-backs."
"Sun Jihai is a utility player, capable of playing from the front to the backline. His strength is his versatility, which also means he lacks distinctive features. He replaced Maicon mainly due to Maicon’s fitness and yellow card issues."
"Ashley Young has demonstrated the abilities expected of a Premier League player this season. He’s fast, loves to dribble, very entertaining to watch, but not very effective in actuality."
The commentary was quite insightful.
The sixty-sixth minute.
Deng Kai returned to the backline asking his teammates for the ball and kept waving his hands, signaling them to push forward.
Manchester City players focused intently, knowing that the moment was finally upon them.
"Deng Kai passed to Lahm, Lahm passed it back, then surged forward."
"Deng Kai made a lateral pass to Thiago Silva. Thiago Silva played the football to Ribery, and then he himself made a run forward."
"Ribery tried to break through on the flank... Sun Jihai overlaps! Ribery passed the football forward to Sun Jihai."
"Van Bronckhorst’s defense was spot on, he didn’t lose his position."
"Sun Jihai switched play across a wide area, passing the football to Lahm who was surging up the left flank. Manchester City’s two full-backs virtually occupied the entire width of the pitch."
"Lahm drove forward with the ball, Wu Xudong quickly charged at Lahm. Lahm kicked the football forward... Ashley Young ran wild like a horse freed from its reins."
"Kolo Toure stepped out to defend. Baggio had crept into Arsenal’s box calling for the ball, a good opportunity... Unfortunately, Ashley Young didn’t see him; he was too set on taking on his man."
"Ashley Young moved erratically; his sole aim with the ball at his feet may have been to keep Kolo Toure from daring to tackle."
Boom!
With Lahm’s hint, Ashley Young saw Yaya Toure making a run from behind.
He made a Backward Triangle Pass, sparing "Yang Buguo" any embarrassment.
Boom!
Yaya Toure took a powerful shot from the outside of the penalty area on the left.
Himan, for once, tarnished his own reputation.
He made a spectacular save.
This was partly due to Ashley Young’s pass lacking the element of surprise; Himan was already well-prepared.
Chaos in the penalty area.
Baggio seized the moment to take a follow-up shot.
Unfortunately, Campbell stretched out his foot and blocked the football out of the penalty area.
Deng Kai, who had previously called for his teammates to move forward from the backfield, had also moved up after passing the ball, and he swiped at the bouncing ball...
Vieira forcefully pushed Deng Kai aside.
There was suspicion of a foul.
The referee put the whistle to his mouth.
But because Vieira’s own focus was on disrupting Deng Kai, he also had no mind to attend to the football.
As the football bounced back up, before fully rising, it was blasted away by a blue figure.
Whoosh!
The football flew toward the goal at almost ground level, heading straight for the top corner.
"GOAL!"
"Thiago Silva! That strike, a flying sword beneath the cherry blossoms! It goes straight for Arsenal’s vitals!"
"Manchester City’s center-backs have even moved up to the top of the penalty area!"
"Manchester City is mobilizing everyone."
"Following Deng Kai’s call for his teammates to press forward, during the last attack, there were as many as eight players gathered in Manchester City’s offensive half."
"Even Hierro and Chiellini, who were last back, had moved past the halfway line."
"And the rest of the players had all entered the attacking third!"
"Manchester City really went all in!"
"Although the 19-year-old Thiago Silva couldn’t beat Chiellini for a starting spot, Deng Kai had once publicly praised his footwork, considering Thiago Silva’s technique to be incredibly outstanding among defenders."
"Today Thiago Silva proved that."
"That powerful strike was executed perfectly! Famous for their long-range strikes, even Lampard or Gerrard couldn’t easily produce a shot of such quality—a world-class goal!"
Two to three!
Less than three minutes after making substitutions, Manchester City scored a goal.
And Sun Jihai and Ashley Young, who had just come on, were both involved in this attack, putting in fine performances.
