Chapter 661: Chapter 660 Deng Kai Is Becoming More and More Low-Key
The second half resumed.
Manchester City’s style of play had not changed at all.
In the sixty-first minute,
Fabregas made a forward run, pulling away the opposing defensive midfielder.
Deng Kai easily connected with David Silva.
Silva passed the ball directly without controlling it first, delivering the football into the feet of Villa inside the box.
At that moment, Torres, Fabregas, Deng Kai, and Ashley Young were all near the penalty area, presenting an abundance of opportunities.
Villa glanced towards Torres while drawing back his right foot.
A no-look shot!
Whoosh!
The football entered the range of the goal.
"Six to one! Villa has also opened his scoring account in the League Cup!"
"Manchester City is still widening the gap, and this has turned into another massacre!"
"Villa, the lone hero, with so many opportunities, decisively chooses to take the shot himself. This is a striker with immense inner strength."
"A substitution signal has been shown on the sidelines, Guardiola is communicating with the fourth official, Manchester City is making a change."
"The young Croatian, Mandzukic, comes on for Torres, who completed a hat-trick."
"Vidal and Nainggolan replace Fabregas and David Silva."
"The fans give a warm round of applause to the players being substituted off, they are very satisfied with the performance of the Spanish trio!"
"There’s a minor positional shift on the field, with Vidal and Nainggolan on the left and right, respectively, Deng Kai taking an advanced central position, and Mascherano sitting in a deeper central role, forming a diamond-shaped midfield."
In the sixty-ninth minute,
Mandzukic habitually dropped back to link up with his teammates.
Deng Kai passed the ball to Mandzukic and then made a forward run, but was blocked by an opposing defender.
Consequently, Deng Kai gave up advancing forward.
After receiving the ball, Mandzukic played it out to Vidal on the left flank.
Vidal briefly faced off with an opponent, preparing to pass to Deng Kai.
Bang!
Vidal slotted the football forward on the left side, opting not to pass it back to Deng Kai.
Because Ashley Young was making a run up the flank.
Ashley Young kicked up a wind beneath his feet, bursting past the opposing full-back with one move...
It wasn’t a cross!
Ashley Young made a backward triangle pass!
Even though he had already run into a great position to cross.
But, as a disciple of Feng Te, he knew well that your performance in this team didn’t really matter.
What mattered was whether you could make Deng Kai perform even better—that was the real key to how far you could go in this team!
Feng Te: "Young, remember this. As a player, goals and assists are actually not important. What’s important is making Deng Kai feel comfortable."
"Whether it’s Mr. Maxa or I, the real key to our success is one thing, that’s to make Deng Kai feel comfortable enough within the team, and even more in the dressing room."
This was Ashley Young’s advantage.
As a center-back, Feng Te rarely had the chance to directly link up with Deng Kai.
But Ashley Young, as a winger-type full-back, was different.
He had plenty of opportunities to "serve" Deng Kai.
Bang!
"Eh, Ashley Young’s handling this time is quite interesting."
"Wouldn’t a direct cross from the baseline be better? With Villa and Mandzukic creating a dual threat, they set up two distinct offensive points in the central area of the box."
"Although Ashley Young’s crossing is weak, in an unguarded situation, he should be able to deliver a clever pass."
"Deng Kai has the ball in an advanced position on the left side, but with a defender right in front of him, it’s difficult to create a direct shot at goal."
The opposing center-back charges out fiercely!
He knows their defense is about to be breached.
In this position, given Deng Kai’s caliber as the world’s best midfielder, almost any pass could be an assist.
He must take Deng Kai down...
Bang!
Deng Kai performs a Marseille Turn and bypasses the center-back.
Bursting into the penalty area.
"He’s through! Deng Kai breaks into the penalty area!"
"This is an absolute one-on-one!"
"The goalkeeper charges out!"
"Fried meatball! Deng Kai uses the ’fried meatball’ to fake out the goalkeeper from Nottingham Forest!"
"Hitting the open goal!"
"Seven to one!"
"Absolutely spectacular!"
"Ashley Young is definitely the first contributor to this brilliant goal!"
"Without his pass, we couldn’t have witnessed such a stunning individual performance by Deng Kai!"
"Compared to his explosive form last season, Deng Kai has been relatively low-key so far this season!"
???
In the eleventh round of the Premier League, eleven goals and seven assists.
In the two legs of the Europa League, three goals and two assists.
One match in the League Cup, three assists so far.
This mind-blowing efficiency, you call it low-key?
But, to tell you the truth, in terms of flamboyance, Deng Kai really has been more low-key.
Possibly because other teammates have increased their goals and assists this season, and there have been more highlight moments.
It might also be because Deng Kai is making it look all too easy.
In any case, before you look at the data, you wouldn’t think there is anything spectacular about Deng Kai.
The goal he scored today was one of the more beautiful ones Deng Kai has scored this season so far.
But in the past, most of his goals were this glamorous.
In the eighty-first minute.
Manchester City’s performance continued.
The youngest player on the team, Nainggolan, took a long shot from thirty meters out from the goal, earth-shattering.
But the aim was slightly off.
It was parried by Nottingham Forest’s goalkeeper.
Mandzukic competed for position in the penalty area and headed the ball on.
Deng Kai made a diagonal pass without stopping the ball.
Villa raised his foot to shoot.
In their urgency, the opposition brought Villa down.
The referee immediately blew the whistle.
Red card package!
Nottingham Forest faces the battle with ten men!
Deng Kai then calmly converted the penalty, changing the score to eight to one.
The fans in the stands erupted into wild cheers.
For these fans, seeing Deng Kai score, even if it’s just one goal, is more delightful than seeing another player perform a hat-trick!
Torres: ???
In the eighty-seventh minute.
Nainggolan moved from the right flank to the center.
Deng Kai passed the ball to Nainggolan, then sprinted out from behind him.
Nainggolan backheeled it right to Deng Kai.
Deng Kai then passed it sideways to Vidal.
Vidal made a wall-pass.
The three midfielders combined in small spaces, effortlessly breaking through Nottingham Forest’s defensive line.
Deng Kai burst into the penalty area, perfectly timing his run with the ball.
Mandzukic and Villa pulled defenders left and right in the box.
The entire penalty area was torn open.
Deng Kai faced the opposing goalkeeper near the penalty spot.
The Nottingham Forest goalkeeper, with a do-or-die attitude, charged out of goal once again.
Deng Kai glanced towards Mandzukic on the left.
Leaning left, he swung his right leg, feigning a curve shot to the right.
A no-look shot.
Villa had already used this trick earlier.
Under Deng Kai’s "left or right" feint, Nottingham Forest’s goalkeeper’s mind went completely blank, unsure of how to react.
Bang!
The ball flew out.
Neither left nor right.
The answer is a nutmeg!
The ball passed through both the keeper’s legs and the goal’s.
Stirring up white spray.
Nottingham Forest’s goalkeeper ended up sitting like a duck on the pitch, despondently banging his head against the ground.
