Chapter 637: Chapter 636: Collapse in an Instant
As the referee blew the whistle, the first match of the new season for the top five leagues officially began.
More than a hundred media outlets broadcast this game.
This "first game" definitely held great significance.
Otherwise, the mere Community Shield Cup shouldn’t have attracted such fervor.
As the match started, it seemed like both sets of players were a bit out of sorts.
In the first two minutes, each team made a low-level mistake.
The third minute.
Manchester City organized an attack.
Ribery completed a long pass on the wing.
Adriano retreated to position himself, chested the ball down, and passed it back to Deng Kai.
Deng Kai lifted his foot to pass to the side, sending the football to Baggio’s feet.
Baggio, at the edge of the large penalty area, received the ball, turned, and planned to dribble into the box.
But Keane, quick-eyed and quick-handed, stretched out his foot and touched the ball.
The football went briefly out of control.
But Baggio, evergreen in his prime, poked the ball quickly, rolling it towards Deng Kai.
Deng Kai received the ball and immediately flicked it, laterally dribbling in front of the large penalty area, eluding Scholes who was behind him, and redistributed the possession, passing it to the right wing.
Ribery received the ball and after a series of feints, he picked up speed.
At this point, Ribery was also somewhat famous in the Premier League.
His dribbling was excellent, his breaks were sharp, and his ball control was commendable.
Phil Neville, being cautious, kept retreating in battle, and Ribery pressed him back into the large penalty area.
"Here!"
Adriano advanced to the front of the small box.
He provided a touching point for Ribery and also pulled Silvestre away.
Bang!
Ribery passed back to Maicon, who had drifted to the right flank.
Bang!
Maicon’s long pass sailed, lifting the football into the large penalty area.
But not for Adriano—he was offside.
The football flew towards the far post.
In the center, Deng Kai had surged forward after passing the ball, attracting Keane.
Slightly behind the middle, Baggio had also burst into the large penalty area, colliding with Ferdinand.
Baggio stumbled a bit.
In a physical contest, he definitely couldn’t compare with Ferdinand, who was already considered the Premier League’s top center-back.
But Baggio still managed to draw Ferdinand’s attention away.
The real far post.
Lahm caught up in time, and with a little angle, volleyed with his right foot.
Whoosh!
The football found a miraculous path between the near post and Howard’s right leg, drilling into the goal.
"GOAL! Third minute! Manchester City takes the lead!"
"This is classic Manchester City play!"
"The whole team presses up! High pressure!"
"The right-back passes the ball outside the opponent’s large penalty box, the left-back shoots outside the opponent’s small box, this sort of combination you only see from Manchester City!"
"Manchester City’s tactics are terrifyingly aggressive!"
On the bench, Fabregas and David Silva, watching Deng Kai’s performance, gained a deeper understanding of Manchester City’s tactics.
Manchester City placed great emphasis on quick ball release and short-pass combinations.
But players like Deng Kai, Ribery, and Baggio had actually quite a high level of freedom in the front field—they could engage in extensive dribbling.
This delighted the two young midfielders.
Manchester City was not a team that limited opportunities for individual performances.
However... If it was just that, the team didn’t seem all that strong, did it?
The maneuvers just now were within the capabilities of both Fabregas and David Silva.
Fabregas could even employ more tricks and poses when receiving and distributing the ball!
The fifth minute.
Essien, the Water Buffalo, made a spectacular interception in the backfield, snatching the ball right from Vanni’s feet on his retreat and then passed it to Deng Kai.
Deng Kai’s peripheral vision caught Scholes, and without stopping the ball under his feet, he played a pass to Tu Lei before turning and darting forward from the other side.
Scholes couldn’t hold back Deng Kai.
After receiving the ball, Tu Lei adjusted slightly and, seeing that Deng Kai was being followed by Keane, passed the football to Ribery on the right wing.
Everyone thought Ribery was going to make a break for it, but instead, he played a straight pass forward to the right wing.
Manchester City’s striker Adriano surged forward on the right, chasing the ball.
"Oh! Ribery’s pass is too strong, the ball is about to roll out of play."
"Adriano’s burst of speed has been underestimated by many, don’t judge him solely as a target man from last season; his athletic talent isn’t inferior to Ronaldo’s!"
"However, Ribery had no choice, if he didn’t hit the ball that hard, the speed wouldn’t have been enough to get past Phil."
Bang!
Before the ball could roll out, Adriano rushed over and turned to deliver a backheel pass.
There was certainly no precision to speak of; it was good enough just to save it.
Inside the penalty area, at the position to the right of the penalty spot.
Deng Kai continued his firm run forward after a brief entanglement with Keane at the top of the arc. Keane’s attention was momentarily divided by the advancing Tu Lei, allowing Deng Kai to slip by.
As a result, Deng Kai was now perfectly positioned to receive Adriano’s return pass.
Silvestre charged towards Deng Kai.
Keane had regained his position and was once again in pursuit behind Deng Kai.
Bang!
Deng Kai threw himself forward, delivering a sliding shot.
Silvestre hadn’t expected Deng Kai to be so decisive.
Mainly because the unpredictability of a sliding shot was too high.
This return pass, with a conventional shot by Deng Kai, was almost a sure goal.
But Silvestre could have cleared it first.
Yet Deng Kai chose to slide for the shot, which could very well have ended up helping Manchester United clear the ball.
It was a one-step process.
Swoosh!
Deng Kai’s boot fiercely drove the ball upwards.
He hit the sweet spot!
The ball shot into the net like lightning.
Howard’s reaction wasn’t slow, but there was no stopping Deng Kai’s determined kick.
The scoreboard changed.
Two-nil.
"GOAL! Shout his name with me, the king of Manchester..."
"Deng Kai!"
"A beautiful slide shot!"
"A firm advance!"
"Deng Kai’s handling always exudes a sense of class!"
"He doesn’t show off, but his judgment of the football is always extremely precise!"
"The difficulty of this slide shot lies not in the shot, but in the slide. Deng Kai has a very high level of skill in sliding tackles!"
"Last season, Deng Kai was the player in the Premier League with over fifteen goals who made the most tackles and had the highest success rate of tackles!"
"If there was a Best Defender award in the Premier League, Deng Kai might not win it, but he should certainly be one of the nominees."
"Five minutes, two goals, Manchester City have made a dream start!"
"This infrastructure is truly solid; even with players like Fowler and Grosso departing, Manchester City’s chemistry still exists!"
In the seventh minute, Manchester United launched an attack.
But their "new Beckham," Berrion, attempted to play Lahm on his own.
Instead, he was met with Lahm’s strong tackle.
A tackle like that actually depends quite a bit on physicality or speed.
If you’re physically strong, you can bump into someone, and while they lose control, you’ll have ample time to slide in.
If you’re fast, the opponent’s movements seem relatively slow to you, and you can always get ahead of their path to make the tackle.
It’s almost a guaranteed success every time.
Later, Manchester United’s young right-back Wan Bissaka’s tackling was of the speed variety.
And Lahm was likewise of the speed variety.
In the ninth minute, the Manchester City offensive persisted.
Maicon and Ribery continued overlapping on the wing.
