Chapter 681: Chapter 680: Deng Kai Got Faster
The winter transfer window lasts the entire month of January.
Even though Manchester City announced an early end to their dealings, other teams continued to make signings.
So this month saw considerable fluctuation in the performance of various teams.
But Manchester City’s performance didn’t fluctuate.
They won two consecutive games, increasing their winning streak across all competitions to sixteen.
That was quite frightening.
However, due to their signings, the effect wasn’t that shocking.
On January 21st, the English League Cup semi-finals were about to kick off.
England shifted its gaze from the noisy transfer activities to the pitch.
Because the competing teams were Middlesbrough and Bolton.
Fans: ???
Oh, no!
That’s the other semi-final.
The other semi-final featured Manchester City against Arsenal!
Just ask yourself if you’re excited or not.
Arsenal, currently undefeated in twenty-two rounds of the Premier League!
So strong it makes you shudder!
In the past, everyone called them the Gunners.
But this year, everyone was calling them the Gun Kings!
Manchester City, undefeated in thirty-one rounds of all competitions this season!
So strong it invokes fear!
In the past, everyone called them the Little Blue Moon.
But this year, the Terrifying Blue Moon has swept across the whole of Europe.
This confrontation, even by European standards, was a very attractive affair.
The English League Cup said, "What have we done to deserve so much media and fan attention?"
Now they were a bit embarrassed by their own £100,000 championship prize money.
After all, weren’t championship rewards in such heated competitions typically in the millions?
£100,000?
If you can’t play, don’t play at all!
As per tradition, this match was held at Cardiff Millennium Stadium.
Both teams were regular visitors to this stadium.
Before the match, both sides announced their starting line-ups.
Arsenal:
Henry, Reyes
Pires, Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Ljungberg
Ashley Cole, Campbell, Kolo Toure, Wu Xudong
Lehmann
=
New signing Reyes making the start was unexpected for many.
Wenger was very bold.
No wonder people say he excels in nurturing young talent.
For the English League Cup semi-finals, basically, all the big teams take it seriously and play their main squad.
The fact that Wenger gave Reyes a chance was something not everyone would do.
And since Lehmann joined Arsenal this season, he quickly replaced Seaman to become "The Only Man" at Arsenal!
Arsenal’s unbeaten run in the Premier League so far has been inseparable from Lehmann’s excellent form.
However, after seeing Manchester City’s line-up, people had to say that Maxa was a bit more ruthless.
Aside from Reyes, everyone Wenger played was from his main squad.
And Manchester City was still using their pure reserve line-up.
Torres, Villa
Deng Kai, Fabregas, David Silva
Mascherano
Ashley Young, Thiago Silva, Kompany, Sun Jihai
Neuer
=
Are you looking down on Arsenal, or what’s the deal?
Undefeated against undefeated!
First Team Substitute!
Arsenal’s win rate predicted on social media was far higher than Manchester City’s.
But this substitute team was actually not weak either.
Players like Torres, Villa, Fabregas, and David Silva, had already been jokingly referred to by fans as the "Spanish Dark Lords of Football."
This title was derived from the popular Japanese anime, Digimon.
Torres was unrivaled, like a lone wolf, reminiscent of the SteelSeadramon.
David Silva, with his slight build, was likened to Puppetmon.
David Villa, known for his kaleidoscope of offensive play and strongest threat, could be compared to Machinedramon.
Fabregas, with the highest talent and potential, was truly the core of the four, the Puppet King!
Moreover, the meeting of these two teams also had a huge highlight: the Chinese derby.
In previous encounters, because Sun Jihai was only a substitute, there hadn’t been much of a derby effect.
But this time, both Arsenal’s Genghis Khan and Manchester City’s Chinese Sun were starters.
Which had domestic fans exclaiming in enjoyment!
No matter what, a Chinese player would make it to the Football League Cup final, right?
As the players from both teams lined up in the tunnel, preparing to enter the field.
The atmosphere before the match was already at its peak.
On Arsenal’s substitute bench, Wenger was ready and stern.
Meanwhile, on Manchester City’s bench, Guardiola and others were discussing some personal data about players on the team recently.
Guardiola, "When did Kai’s speed become so fast? He could be considered a swift horse now, couldn’t he?"
Deschamps, "Hmm, Kai has shown a significant improvement in speed since last season. This season he’s intensified his speed training."
"Although he’s not as fast as Torres, Ashley Young, or Ribery, he’s already much stronger than players like Fabregas and Sun Jihai."
"You could call it an advantage."
Schmeichel, "Also, I feel like Kai’s playing style is changing. This season he’s become more extreme, he’s making both the central organization and wing breakthroughs even more distinctive."
"I think he’s trying to transform."
Maxa nodded, "After all, given his age, Kai’s physical development is almost fully realized. This is the time to really tap into his physical potential."
Guardiola and the others couldn’t help but sigh.
He now somewhat understood why Deng Kai wasn’t in a hurry to win the Golden Ball last year and why he said that once he won the Golden Ball, he might not give anyone else a chance.
You think Deng Kai was just bragging?
But in reality, it was just Deng Kai making a normal prediction based on his own condition.
Even when his body hadn’t reached its peak, he had already been able to win the Golden Ball.
What would happen when his body did reach its peak?
A player’s real peak should be from twenty-four to twenty-six years old.
And Deng Kai was not yet nineteen this year.
Even if he plummeted drastically after his peak period, he could still dominate the world football scene for at least another six to seven years.
For other football stars around the world, those six to seven years must feel like a nightmare.
With a whistle, the match officially began.
The third minute.
Pires did a spin move past a player on the wing, earning the team a free kick.
But Henry’s direct free kick shot high over the crossbar.
The ninth minute.
Thiago Silva showed off his long passing skills.
He launched an attack directly from the backfield, aiming a long pass for Torres, who was charging towards the front post.
Under the interference of Kolo Toure, Torres’s header went askew, failing to create a threat.
The fifteenth minute.
Deng Kai held the ball on the right flank.
Ashley Young quickly overlapped.
Deng Kai passed to Ashley Young.
Wu Xudong quickly followed up.
Ashley Young, without stopping the ball, immediately knocked it back.
Deng Kai received the ball and cut inside.
Wu Xudong turned to chase Deng Kai, Deng Kai feinted with his shoulder, pretending to dribble but actually nudged the ball and accelerated to complete the cut-in.
Wu Xudong tried to pursue, but found that Deng Kai’s speed was clearly much faster than in the past, making it difficult for him to catch up quickly.
Bang!
During the cut-in, Deng Kai used the outside of his boot to lob a pass directly to Torres.
Kolo Toure lifted his leg and kicked the football out of bounds, making a splendid clearance.
