Chapter 660: Chapter 659: The last person to score such a goal has already become the leader of Manchester City.
With a whistle, the match officially began.
But in the first ten minutes, Villa and Torres didn’t produce any chemistry.
Of course, this had a lot to do with the whole midfield and defense being made up of substitutes.
Most opportunities were wasted by Fabregas and David Silva at this stage.
The two of them, along with Deng Kai, were all attackers.
All had a strong autonomy.
The result was the breakdown of the attacking system, lack of fluidity, and too much individual play.
But after ten minutes, Deng Kai made adjustments.
The three "cores" came to an understanding and developed a rapport.
When three attackers were on together, the midfield became empty.
But as the three attackers took turns surging forward, the waves of attack were relentless.
The fourteenth minute.
David Silva carried the ball forward.
Faced with the opposition’s pressure, Silva and Villa orchestrated a wall pass.
Then a long ball was launched to find Deng Kai, who was making a forward run on the left flank.
At the same time, Torres and Villa also started running, pressuring the opponent’s defense line.
This gave Deng Kai space to control the ball.
After controlling it, he passed it sideways with a lift of his foot.
Torres was already in an offside position.
But it didn’t matter.
Because the pass was intended for "little Fab."
Fabregas rushed up and fired a precise shot.
The football drilled into the goal frame.
One to zero!
Among the five Manchester City players, Torres and Villa were in Nottingham Forest’s penalty area.
Deng Kai and "little Fab" were in the larger penalty area.
David Silva was less than a meter outside the right side of the penalty area.
All five men were practically inside the opponent’s home.
How do you defend against that?
Nottingham Forest’s players rushed towards the referee, protesting that Torres was offside.
But the referee shook his head. While Torres was offside, he then moved to the side, not materially affecting the goalkeeper’s save or the central defenders’ blockade.
In other words, he didn’t benefit from it.
Thus, the goal was valid.
In his office in Porto, far away in Lisbon, Mourinho’s pupils constricted.
Offside tactics!
Is Maxa really that brilliant?
Mourinho, known for his defensive strategies, had his own unique views on counter-attacking defense.
And defense is inseparable from creating offsides.
But he had not anticipated that Maxa had already been researching proactive offside tactics.
This tactic required high football intelligence from the players.
The offside player seemed not to benefit.
But in reality... how could they not affect the defensive players’ judgment during the offside process?
Torres’s movement this time pulled the defense away for Deng Kai.
Though he subsequently moved out of the dangerous area, the goalkeeper and central defenders were still somewhat distracted by him during their defense.
This wasn’t unsporting, it was sophisticated.
Like an external factor, it was a legitimate use of the rules.
Mourinho had a premonition that he would have a battle with this Manchester City team!
This Manchester City team would undoubtedly occupy a very important position in the future Premier League.
...
The seventeenth minute.
After an unsuccessful break through the center, Fabregas passed the ball back to Deng Kai.
Deng Kai didn’t stop the ball and sent out a lobbed through ball immediately.
Torres exploded from a standstill, accelerating swiftly.
He outpaced the opposing central defenders, who were already a step behind, and broke into a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, scoring with a powerful shot.
Two to zero!
Torres’s mobility was more than a notch above that of the Nottingham Forest players!
His explosiveness was among the best in all of Manchester City.
The twentieth minute.
Manchester City’s army pressed on, launching attack after attack.
The opposition’s continual blocks led to dangerous moments.
The football, deflected off an opposing central defender to the outside of the penalty area, was met by Deng Kai, who then passed it sideways again.
Manchester City central defender Thiago Silva struck the ball with a long-range shot that ripped a hole through the net.
Three to zero!
A tremendous cheer suddenly erupted from the crowd.
Everyone looked up at the big screen.
On it was Deng Kai’s name, followed by three different times.
Twenty minutes, a hat-trick of assists!
"Unnoticed, Deng Kai already has three assists!"
"My God, did all this come too easily?"
"Is this really Manchester City’s pure reserve lineup?"
"The oldest in this lineup is the twenty-six-year-old Sun Jihai, followed by the twenty-two-year-old Villa. The youngest is the seventeen-year-old Fabregas."
"This is essentially a youth team, for goodness’ sake!"
"This is terrifying! Could it be that all of Manchester City’s young players will become superstars in the future?"
On the pitch.
The fans began to sing the song they had written for Deng Kai.
As one song ended, the twenty-fourth minute came.
Mascherano made an interception and then quickly passed forward, Deng Kai, with his brilliant leap, didn’t touch the ball.
Villa then received the ball, and instead of shooting from distance, he nudged the football forward.
Torres once again blew past the defenders, catching up with the ball and scoring with a swift strike.
Four to zero!
"GOAL! Torres scores his second of the match!"
"In the past ten minutes, Manchester City have scored four goals! Their attacking power is too strong!"
"Manchester City has unleashed a quadruple critical strike!"
"Nottingham Forest’s League Cup journey this season has ended within ten minutes!"
"It’s not by chance, it’s destiny. Because this is the most fearsome home ground in all of England, welcome to Hell Stadium!"
Up in the stands, a wave of blue surged.
The terrifying Blue Moon, bringing despair.
Manchester City then eased their onslaught.
Because Nottingham Forest had completely retreated into their shell.
Deng Kai took the opportunity to let other players in the team practice some tactical cooperation on the field.
These real match opportunities were incredibly valuable.
They couldn’t always break the opposition down this early.
Lockrun: Are you sure?
The forty-first minute.
David Silva and Sun Jihai performed a give-and-go on the right flank.
Sun Jihai did not drive to the baseline but chose to cross directly when he had the chance to shoot.
It was a bit risky.
But with his skill, he sent a curved ball that cleared the defense of the opposing left-back and center-back.
The opposing goalkeeper rushed out.
But Torres was too fast, he reached the ball ahead of the goalkeeper’s anticipation and flicked it with the tip of his boot.
Torres was then brought down by the goalkeeper.
But he turned to watch the ball.
The black and white spirit fell into the net.
"GOAL! A hat-trick! Torres has achieved his first hat-trick of his Manchester City career!"
"He’s having too good of a day!"
"With such a player, it’s no wonder Spain wanted to call him up!"
"It’s hard to imagine, Manchester City’s reserve forward is of international level, perhaps their undefeated record so far this season is no fluke!"
"Five to zero! Manchester City has dealt a heavy blow to Nottingham Forest!"
"This English Premier League undefeated record holder is so powerless in front of the terrifying Blue Moon. We have every reason to look forward to more undefeated performances from Manchester City!"
The fans cheered wildly, as if they were witnessing a glorious season.
They started chanting the slogan Arsenal used last season: "Undefeated Blue Moon! Undefeated Manchester City!"
Maxa was in a panic.
Spit, spit, spit, the bad omens aren’t coming true, but the good ones are!
Arsenal had just started chanting that slogan last season before they lost a match soon after.
Wenger: Are you being polite?
The last minute of the first half.
Another Manchester City player scored!
Ashley Young, while defending against a cross, headed a beautiful curved ball. It beat his own goalkeeper Neuer, helping Nottingham Forest pull back a goal.
Feng Te was left dumbfounded on the bench.
Such a high-difficulty own goal was rare to see.
Ashley Young is a genius!
The last person who scored such a miraculous own goal now has become the leader of Manchester City’s locker room!
Ashley Young, keep it up!
Through wind and rain.
Chinese food and milk tea await you!
