Chapter 228: Accompanying the Leader in a Football Match

Is it bitter? Think of Liverpool, the Red Army.

Is it bad? Look at Arsenal, the Gunners.

Liverpool fans have suffered in recent years; their beloved team always collapses at crucial title-deciding moments, and they've also encountered all sorts of bizarre objective factors.

Financial reasons once hindered the club's development, forcing them to sell off a group of key players.

Torres.

Suarez.

Sterling.

One by one, hopes of victory departed, yet massive debt still kept Liverpool gasping for breath.

Klopp arrived, yet they still suffered.

Heavy metal rock football could not quickly rescue Anfield; the squad still needed time to gel.

In last season's Europa League final, the fragile defence was overturned by Sevilla.

At that time, Liverpool were strong in attack but weak in defence — a sure-loss side — hurting not only their own fans' hearts but also harvesting many red-linked lottery players.

After many years, when neutral fans mention the Istanbul Miracle, their first thought is not champion Liverpool, but AC Milan.

At noon.

The red bus slowly drove toward Emirates Stadium.

"Our defenders are prone to losing position, and midfield may not hold the ball! But Arsenal also have many problems."

"Wenger hasn't yet figured out how to use the two-hundred-million-euro man!"

"Crush them!"

Klopp clenched his fists and loudly encouraged the players.

He was met with a roar of cheers.

After ten months of refinement, the German coach earned his players' respect.

Mané, through the window, excitedly borrowed a new phone from a teammate, but found even with an ultra-wide lens he couldn't fully capture Emirates Stadium's front.

In his first two seasons representing Southampton against Arsenal, he played only at night and hadn't yet had time to admire this modern stadium.

Residents walking dogs and jogging around the stadium showed no match-day passion.

Eight giant murals on the outer wall depicted the backs of Arsenal's 32 legendary stars.

"That's Bergkamp's statue."

"Henry."

"Adams."

"Mané, keep it down! You now represent Liverpool! Other players couldn't pull off such a foolish act."

Arsenal's dressing room seats are arranged like a "saddle".

Assistant coach Boerde was repeating the pre-match deployment.

Wenger pulled Li Kang aside, holding a small tactical board and said: "Integration takes time and process; Liverpool have a first-rate European attacking trio, but your main task isn't defence... play as you think fit, especially targeting Moreno's flank."

He excels at pre-match setup, but his in-game formation adjustment command lags behind other top coaches by a notch, so he's willing to give Li Kang full freedom.

"Don't stick rigidly to Arsenal's training methods."

"Don't overvalue the outcome of the opening round."

The past two Premier League seasons have been hellishly difficult.

Arsenal and Liverpool battle back and forth, usually even, but one lapse can see them crushed one-sidedly.

Li Kang glanced at the tactical board.

For a moment he couldn't fully grasp the coaching staff's intent.

Emirates Stadium.

Tens of thousands of Arsenal fans held aloft red-and-white scarves.

"TheArsenal~"

"GoodoldArsenal~"

"proudtosaythatname~"

Mascot Rex is a hat-wearing green-bellied dinosaur... also describable as a lizard.

He was enthusiastically shaking hands with young fans in the nearby stands, endearing and cute.

The gap between pitch and stands in Premier League grounds is very small.

"ESPN! ESPN! Now broadcasting live for you is the 2016/17 Premier League season opener!"

"Arse... Arsenal host Liverpool!"

"Gunners versus Reds, smoke everywhere!"

"I am the commentator for this match, Huang Xinggui!"

Player tunnel.

Players from both sides greeted each other warmly.

Many had played for Southampton before.

If the commentator gets overexcited, he might describe the game as: "Former Southampton winger drips past former Southampton defender... crosses into the box, former Southampton midfielder arrives at the back post."

Mané proactively greeted Li Kang, revealing a simple smile and flashing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Li, I saw your Euro Cup performance... stunning."

The scene was like: you return home for New Year, and a simple-minded childhood buddy happily circles around you.

His youthful experiences gave Mané deep affection for Eastern lands.

No time to linger in pleasantries.

The lineup moved.

The head referee, Oliver, led both teams' players out of the tunnel.

Emirates Stadium.

The singing abruptly stopped, replaced by frantic cheers.

Li Kang started.

Arsenal's new number 10's debut!

He surveyed the entire Emirates Stadium.

The system notification sounded softly.

【Ding, mission triggered: Premier League debut!】

【Mission briefing: This is an attacking spectacle; your new coach won't assign you any defensive duties. Klopp is a nemesis of possession play, and your club teammates struggle to sustain long passing sequences. Don't fantasize about controlling the tempo—how to defeat this Liverpool side? Only by being even more frenzied in attack!】

【Mission reward: Liverpool Legend·Golden Treasure Chest.】

"Arsenal are wearing their red-and-white home kit!"

"Liverpool are wearing this season's black away kit!"

"Let's look at both teams' formations."

"Wow, both sides are playing a do-or-die style!"

"Wenger has set out a 4-1-3-2!"

"Goalkeeper: Čech."

"Defenders: Monreal, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Bellerín!"

"Single defensive midfielder: Cazorla!"

"Midfielders: Walcott, Li Kang, Sánchez!"

"Forwards: Giroud, Morata!"

The livestream exploded.

-【This isn't a cup match, is it? What's Wenger up to? Liverpool's firepower is so fierce, letting Cazorla play as a single defensive midfielder.】

-【Our factory has collapsed.】

-【Collapsed what? Arsenal vs. Liverpool matches always end in 2-2 or 3-3 draws, no matter how they play.】

-【Not letting Li Mingdeng play as defensive midfielder is hard to understand.】

-【This formation is actually four forwards, isn't it? No midfield control anymore?】

-【Don't worry, Wenger only pulls stunts in cup games. He won't mess around in the league—should be fully focused on attacking around Li Mingdeng; maybe the professor can unlock another tactical reform achievement.】

"Liverpool have set out a 4-3-3 formation."

"Goalkeeper: Karius!"

"Defenders: Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Moreno!"

"Single defensive midfielder: Henderson!"

"Midfielders: Wijnaldum, Lallana!"

"Forwards: Coutinho, Firmino, Mané!"

-【Mané and Karius... so many new Reds making their debut!】

-【Also an all-out attacking style! Adding Wijnaldum's attacking attributes, it's effectively four forwards!】

-【Not necessarily—it depends on how well Mané gels with his teammates.】

-【All are Southampton-produced stars—shame Liverpool didn't have enough summer transfer funds; otherwise, bringing in Van Dijk would've made it perfect.】

Beep!

Accompanied by the referee's whistle.

The match officially began!

Arsenal possession.

Morata kicked the ball off with his weaker foot, passing it back to Cazorla.

Cazorla touched it once and slipped a diagonal pass to Li Kang.

Arsenal's formation surged forward quickly.

After a few simple passes,

the ball crossed the midfield line and returned to Li Kang's feet.

A black-clad figure rapidly closed in.

Firmino!

Liverpool's shield-forward.

Defensive centre-forward.

He didn't immediately tackle.

He maintained a certain distance, waiting for Wijnaldum's support.

"Liverpool began pressing from the midfield line!"

"The players' movement patterns sliced through Arsenal's three lines of connection!"

"Klopp's signature 'crazy run' tactic."

"Li Kang's situation is a bit difficult—one versus two; newcomers need time to adapt to the Premier League..."

"Wow!"

Li Kang has been enjoying watching Liverpool match recordings lately.

He nudged the ball with the outside of his left foot.

The whole person rushed past from beside Firmino.

Without the star player module and the little foal's boost, the burst speed won't be fast.

Firmino had a black line on his face.

European Championship midfielder... just this?

He decisively kicked out.

The timing and heat were grasped very accurately.

Pa.

At the moment just before stabbing the ball.

The whole person was bounced away by a huge force!

The coming defensive reinforcement Wijnaldum was also blocked by teammates from the space to press and steal!

The whole place erupted in an uproar.

Everyone looked up at the LED screen in mid-air, watching the slow-motion replay moment.

"Outstanding!"

"Extraordinary!"

"Violent!"

"One rush, one charge, squeezed open two people!"

"Li Kang solved Liverpool's pressing in a very Premier League way!"

"Has it reached five seconds yet?"

"No!"

"Is he going to pass the ball?"

At this time, Liverpool's "five-second principle" was not yet fully perfected.

What is Klopp's five-second principle? It applies to the frantic pressing at kickoff and the counter-press after losing possession.

Give it your all to press within five seconds; if you can't win it back, reshape the defensive formation.

Klopp looked at Arsenal's number 10 on the green field, somewhat puzzled.

Not continuing to advance?

Not short-pass penetration?

But directly kicking long?

Is there a receiving point up front? Giroud and Morata are both tightly marked.

Emirates Stadium.

The football left Li Kang's left foot.

In mid-air, a wonderful trajectory was immediately outlined.

Straight down to the right flank.

A red-and-white figure flashed past!

Bellerin!

The wing speedster produced by La Masia youth training!

It seemed as if no one noticed when he burst into speed.

"Li Kang's this ball... passes to a spot, not to a person!"

"Klain's turning speed is very fast!"

"He and Bellerin, the two of them, seem to be having a track and field race!"

"Oh dear!"

"How did he get overtaken by one position!"

"After the football landed, it actually bounced back on the spot! Kroos's signature—gravity wave!"

Amid the cheers of the whole crowd.

Bellerin touched the ball first.

He couldn't help but secretly marvel: this kind of pass is too comfortable.

Klain is not weak; as a forward-born player, his... defense is equally solid, now it's just that he lost in the local speed duel.

Pa!

Liverpool's full-back came too late to block!

Bellerin had already completed the crossing kick!

The football plummeted straight into Liverpool's big penalty area.

The fans on site were a bit slow to react: Is this still Arsenal's beautiful football?

On the sidelines.

Assistant coach Boerde waved his fists and shouted loudly.

"Boss, Li's long pass is really direct!"

"It just tore open Liverpool's flank defense."

Wenger subconsciously reached for the zipper, only to find he was wearing a button-down shirt today.

A hint of confusion appeared on his face: "I told Li not to stick to midfield transitions, didn't expect him to go straight for the long pass."

On the other side.

Klopp stood in the technical area, wildly howling.

Yes.

Liverpool's head coach is starting to get into form.

Inside the penalty area.

Giroud and Lovren jumped at the same time, but failed to win the first header.

"Back post!"

"Morata!"

A tall figure appeared, occupying everyone's line of sight.

Terrifying jumping height.

Unbelievable body coordination.

The spectators couldn't help but open their mouths wide: fifty million euros, worth every penny!

Morata completely outclassed Klavan.

He won the ball!

Goalkeeper Karius quickly adjusted his position; he felt bitter inside, having encountered young Li Kang in the Bundesliga, and now in his Liverpool debut in the Premier League, he faced an evolved version of Li Kang!

"Oh? Morata isn't even shooting?"

"He laid the ball off to the better-positioned Walcott!"

"Set up the cannon!"

"The little tiger can't get his foot on it!"

Walcott had no chance to shoot.

Henderson timely filled the gap!

Although his on-paper strength at this stage still falls far short of the T0 threshold, once he puts on the Liverpool jersey, he transforms into a terrifyingly effective English-style midfielder.

No entanglement.

Arsenal's little tiger passed the ball to the advancing Sanchez.

"Playing too complicatedly!"

"Morata could have shot directly from that spot!"

"Why so many passes?"

"All this passing back and forth is redundant."

The sturdy Chilean was quickly intercepted by Moreno!

Yes!

Although this Liverpool full-back is prone to losing position, he possesses exceptionally good positional awareness!

Sanchez's thigh tensed.

He prepared to take it himself.

He prepared to devour Moreno raw, then unleash a thunderous strike to the far corner!

In the flash of lightning and stone.

Li Kang's figure appeared in his vision.

The words Wenger had once instructed on the training ground echoed in his ears.

Damn it.

How is this kid's movement so good?

Pa!

The Arsenal thigh who loves solo duels... passed the ball!

"Still passing? Too redundant..."

"It's not like we're playing ball with the boss!"

"Wow, this is beautiful football!"

No one was marking Li Kang.

The complex and redundant attacking play actually gave him ample time to run from midfield to the edge of the penalty area.

The director switched to a close-up shot.

The red and white jerseys fluttered loudly in the wind!

Body slightly tilted.

Arm swing.

Kicked off.

Li Kang pulled the trigger on Arsenal.

In his vision, Ronaldinho's phantom gradually faded.

Peng!

Not a sky-shattering explosion!

The football traced an extremely exaggerated arc above Liverpool's penalty area.

Violent swerve!

Mysterious and unpredictable!

Though it looked like a thunderous strike, the shot delivered was light and agile.

Karius had indeed been schooled by Li Kang's cannon before.

He instinctively chose his position immediately, preparing to give his all to deliver a standout performance in his debut match.

But he never expected the opponent to unleash such an inside-of-the-foot curler!

Liverpool's goalkeeper stood frozen like a wooden chicken.

Looking foolishly at the football falling into the net pocket!

"Wow!"

"Amazing!"

"Top-notch!"

"Outstanding!"

"Devilish curve! Straight into the dead corner!"

"Arsenal's new number 10 Li Kang! A perfect Premier League debut!"

"He is the deadly finisher of the last pass in beautiful football!"

Live broadcast room.

Bullet comments flooding the screen wildly.

-【What the hell is this! Li Mingdeng is too awesome!】

-【He made Arsenal's attack more three-dimensional!】

-【Karius looks like an idiot, isn't he supposed to be a Bundesliga genius goalkeeper?】

-【He's not stupid, his positioning is great, it's just a judgment error, can only say Li Xiaozi's curve shot is off the charts!】

-【A bit like Messi's style?】

-【No, it's Ronaldinho's style, Messi's shooting motion looks light but actually the ball speed and power are extremely explosive, their shooting characteristics are opposite.】

-【Don't rush, Liverpool are very good at playing against the wind! Their attack is very strong.】

Emirates Stadium.

The bowl-shaped stands trembled with a red-and-white wave like surging tides hitting the shore.

Cheers rang out incessantly.

The 200 million pound man helped the team break open the situation.

"Lee!

!"

"eonyougunners!

!"

Teammates quickly surrounded the goal-scoring hero.

Playing with Li Kang is too easy!

The distant goalkeeper Cech suddenly felt the happiness of De Gea.

Sanchez hesitated a moment, then laughed and dove into the crowd.

He actually doesn't like going solo, nor does he like slowing down the team's attacking rhythm.

Just that the former Premier League assist king, his ball distribution speed hasn't fully synced with the Chilean's running rhythm yet.

It seems, this season the championship trophy isn't that far away.

Morata patted his shoulder and said:

"You little brat did well, the connection between the Copa America champion and the European Cup champion!"

"What did the coach say again? Just like kicking with him personally, try to revolve the attack around Li."

Everyone laughed heartily.

One side rejoiced.

One side grieved.

Henderson hugged Karius's head, then lofted the ball to Coutinho.

"Cheer up! The game has just begun!"

"Arsenal's defense is just as fragile in front of us!"

Mané looked at Li Kang's back, inexplicably excited and thrilled.

Sideline of the pitch.

Boerde specially imitated Klopp's celebration gesture: throwing quick punches at the air!

Wenger happily clapped his hands.

Li's goal made him very happy.

Sanchez's pass also made him feel very relieved.

Glancing at the bench, he couldn't help but feel: with Li, Arsenal has many more cards to play.

"No need to make any changes."

"Let Li focus on attacking."

"Liverpool's defensive problem is very serious, especially Moreno's flank."

The other side.

Klopp angrily roared.

Pa!

He accidentally flung his glasses onto the turf.

He quickly gestured to summon Wijnaldum, saying: "I told you many times before the match... why didn't you mark Li!"

"How simple the attack Li orchestrates at Arsenal is, long pass from midfield to the space behind the flank, passing to point not to man, exploiting Bellerin's speed trait, thus indirectly exploiting Morata's aerial advantage... did you notice Li's gesture? Just changed twice!"

"The subsequent passes and receptions in Arsenal's front line are all for him alone."

"Waiting for his forward run."

"Such a tactic violating attacking rhythm, how could it break through our goal?"

Van de Beek is Ajax's top student, of course he could understand.

But the little black egg still maintained a helpless, bitter expression: Kant can't even mark Li, what more can my midfielder with maxed-out attacking attributes do?

That kid is like having eyes all over his body, omniscient and omnipotent on the pitch, always able to get a step ahead of me.

The match restarted from the center circle.

Firmino kicked off and passed back to Henderson.

Liverpool's midfield and forward formation immediately spread out.

It was as if a black flood surged, frenziedly devouring the red-and-white half.

You can underestimate Liverpool's defense, but you can never underestimate their attack.