Chapter 121: Tian Ji's Horse Race

Netherlands, Amsterdam.

Cruyff sat upright in front of the TV, surrounded by a crowd of Ajax legendary players.

The fireplace warmed the spacious living room.

He spoke with a pure Amsterdam suburban accent, laughing: "Have you watched the first leg? I, along with Coach Michels and Coach Reynolds, have inherited his football philosophy!"

"Look at this goal! At 17, his speed is just like mine back then! Hmm! Plus, his feet are balanced! His leap!"

While speaking, his shoulders began to shrug.

Word order is chaotic!

This is a sign that the illness is about to flare up again!

Everyone quickly nodded in agreement.

Van Gaal sat in the corner, his expression disdainful; the two had been sniping at each other for years, but both being products of Ajax's youth academy, they still occasionally gathered.

What illness is he suffering from?

During his playing days, Cruyff was once thought to have a serious mental illness, causing the then-Michels to rack his brain and spend heavily on successive doctors.

To this day, his old friends still believe his psychological issues haven't been cured.

His signature move is frantic shoulder-shrugging!

Rijkaard rubbed his forehead, repeating that classic line from the last century: "Maradona can win by his own talent alone; Coach Cruyff can win by changing the team's tactics."

Bergkamp quickly added: "Exactly! That kid is just like the coach!"

Cruyff's shoulders stopped shrugging; he nodded satisfactorily: "Who will advance?"

Everyone hesitated a moment, then in unison said: "Leverkusen."

Bernabeu training base.

Real Madrid's stars finished their tactical meeting.

Bale hurriedly packed his bag, his mind already at the golf course.

Modric patted his shoulder.

"Luka, you called me for something? This isn't Tottenham; we don't need to discuss details—Wolfsburg has no chance of a comeback."

That's what he said.

Bale still stopped his steps and took Modric's draft paper.

He had excellent grades, coming from the most advanced Southampton youth tactical academy; after a brief glance, he understood his old teammate's intention.

"I've seen it! No problem, see you tomorrow... huh? Which team do you hope to meet in the quarter-finals?"

Modric thought for a moment, then smiled: "Leverkusen."

Bayer Arena.

Li Kang symbolically raised his hand in a celebratory gesture, causing many Leverkusen fans to burst into tears of joy!

West Germans are easily swept up by grand occasions; otherwise, they wouldn't have contributed to the rise of the Third Reich back then!

Havertz walked up bewildered, asking doubtfully: "Li, did I get an assist in the Champions League? The scoreboard! Really counts toward me!"

His teammates burst out laughing.

Before the celebrations could last long, the chief referee urged everyone to quickly return to their positions.

The coaching staff finally discussed and reached a conclusion: "Chief! We think..."

Tuopu Laotou blurted out: "Defend! Let Havertz stick to Wilshere!"

Dino suddenly realized: "They both possess an unparalleled sense of ball‑holding space and rhythm variation!"

The game restarted from the center circle.

Leverkusen's number of players pressing in the front line greatly decreased.

While maintaining formation and falling back,

Havertz doggedly chased Wilshere.

No tackling action.

No deliberate interception.

It was simply a sticky obstruction, hindering the opponent's ball‑release speed.

After several exchanges,

Wilshere grew a bit annoyed.

He couldn't shake off this 16‑year‑old youngster.

Even using pure physicality, he couldn't prevail.

I can't figure out what these German kids are eating nowadays—they're a head taller than me!

"If Havertz were marking someone else, it probably wouldn't have much effect!"

"Coincidentally, it's Wilshere he ended up marking."

"Their ball‑holding rhythms are very similar! Neither can fool the other!"

"Exchange‑child tactic! Tian Ji's horse race!"

"Leverkusen has given up its front‑line counter‑attack point! This period will shift back to positional play!"

Actually, the young Havertz is unsuitable as a front‑line counter‑attack point.

Son Heung‑min's absence has greatly reduced the team's overall counter‑attack efficiency, even eliminating their burst point.

After Leverkusen took the lead, they could only choose to defend.

After Wilshere handed off the linking duties to Cazorla,

Arsenal's advancing speed was not significantly affected.

But when they advanced into the thirty‑meter zone, they ran into a problem.

The passing and cutting speed just won't go up!

Havertz couldn't care less about any positioning or spacing, sticking tightly to Wilshere.

"The restrained British imperial star is nowhere near as good as Ramsey from the first leg!"

"Arsenal's passing and cutting system is not only missing an organizational core, but also lost a forward passing and receiving point!"

After receiving a pass from a teammate again.

Cazorla decides to do it himself, first tearing open Lewokusen's midfield defense!

Facing Kramer's interception!

He swayed his body, feinting to the left!

Forced, Lewokusen's defensive midfielder had no choice but to make a tackle!

In the blink of an eye.

Cazorla pushed with the inside of his left foot!

The ball rolled to the right!

Nimbly avoiding Kramer's outstretched long leg.

Then a light push with his right foot!

Man past, ball past!

Leaving only a dazed Kramer!

Arsenal fans erupted in warm applause.

"Wonderful to the extreme!"

"Yinniesita's signature skill: fried dough balls!"

"Cazorla says I can do this move too, playing with balanced feet brings a different flair!"

"The shock brought to the audience by the 'fried dough balls' has not yet subsided,"

Cazorla has touched the ball again, attempting to speed up!

What's being raised is not running speed!

But the speed of passing!

All the forward teammates' attacking runs are already under control!

He is the Gunners' gearbox!

Arsenal's passing and cutting will strangle Lewokusen's back line!

Raise!

Lewokusen's number 10 timely blocked in front of him.

I've been waiting a long time.

Against a top player with balanced feet, the True Eye's effect is not great.

Because their center-of-weight shifting speed is simply too fast!

Li Kang was waiting for Cazorla's first touch after his dribble!

Thud!

Couldn't see clearly what happened between the two.

The ball lifted off the ground and flew out of the midfield line!

Cazorla helplessly spread his hands toward his teammates.

"Li Kang's big clearance just now is crucial! He destroyed the starting point of the passing and cutting attack!"

"What a pity, all of Arsenal's forward players have already started running!"

"It's hard to imagine that a young Bundesliga midfielder could have strategic thinking comparable to Xavi and Pirlo!"

Duan Xuan and He Wei also made thorough data preparations.

After the first leg, most sports media conducted detailed analysis of the match.

Their conclusion was unanimous: the key to Lewokusen scoring two consecutive goals lay in Li Kang's change to the overall tactics!

They also specially dug out the heat maps of all Lewokusen's matches this season.

"A superstar can gain an advantage through individual ability alone, while Li Kang can turn the tide by changing the team's tactics."

Any sports media that doesn't hype Li Kang appears unprofessional.

Time passed minute by minute.

Arsenal's two organizational cores were entangled, unable to release the ball quickly.

Havertz marked Wilshere.

Li Kang marked Cazorla.

Lewokusen no longer wanted to score.

The whole team retreated to the edge of the penalty area.

Wenger was very worried; hardly anyone in the world could contain Wilshere and Cazorla.

But in Lewokusen, they encountered two nemeses.

"Boss, I suggest the task of organizing and linking be handed over to Bellerin."

"Relying on Giroud's hold-up play and Sanchez's impact, we definitely can..."

"Damn! Both came from La Masia! How the hell does Bellerin manage to loft a cross?!"

Bellerin was somewhat confused.

"That La Masia stuff needs to go back to the Spain B team, practicing with teammates, to be able to pull it off!"

He thought that, given the current situation, lofting a cross is the simplest and most efficient attacking method.

After Giroud was nutmegged several times by Kislin, his emotions fluctuated greatly; he was so anxious he wanted to take off his pants again.

Sanchez stood with hands on hips, a bitter look on his face, still thinking about advancing to the quarter-finals to meet Barcelona, thereby achieving revenge.

Lewokusen's air defense is strong! Over two consecutive seasons, this team has conceded only five goals from headers.

Even the shortest player, Brandt, has reached a height of 1.85 meters!

I can't quite figure out their team-building approach, but it works wonders against Arsenal!

Live broadcast room.

Bullet comments are becoming fewer.

-【What the heck? Lewokusen might actually pull off an upset and advance? Their opponent is Arsenal after all!】

-【As the Art of War says: 'One drum raises morale, the second wanes, the third exhausts!' Following the away-goal advantage rule, Arsenal must score at least two goals to have a chance to advance.】

-【I feel bad for the professor; even if he sold a few less, it wouldn't come to this!】

-【Arsenal always reaches the Champions League round of sixteen, but their opponents are always tough nuts to crack! Juventus over there is steady! Among the top five leagues, it's the most stable powerhouse, after all!】

Except for that goal scored shortly after kickoff.

The rest of the match had no highlights.

The emotions of both sets of fans gradually calmed, and they silently prayed to their respective deities in their hearts.

Related studies show that when watching team sports, people's faith can be devout or can waver.

Beep! Beep-beep~

The chief referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the first half!

Dino remarked, 'Boss, I never imagined the game would become this easy!'

Tuopu Laotou fell silent for a moment, his weathered hand gently stroking the crushed water bottle: 'Arsenal's bench still has several excellent midfielders; Wenger has many tricks.'

Don't let up! No one can predict what will happen in the next minute of the match!

Football is round!