Chapter 433

As the football moved across the grass.

The cheers from the home stands surged like a flood, drowning the green pitch.

"Manchester City possession."

"Chelsea's five frontline players surged past midfield—is this still the familiar bus we know?"

"The congested midfield."

"Both teams pressing high!"

Diego Costa shouted trash talk at Fei Niao.

David Silva feinted right, broke left, shook off Hazard's entanglement, and quickly passed the ball to the flank.

Kyle Walker, clad in a Manchester City jersey, looked like a bulldozer!

After receiving the ball, he surged forward aggressively.

Accelerate!

As he drove through Chelsea's half into the forty-meter zone, two tall figures rushed toward him.

Li Kang and Rudiger.

One blocked the inside lane, the other sealed the outside.

Walker showed no desire to force a breakthrough; he halted his steps abruptly and hastily knocked the ball backward.

"How did Stones end up in this position?"

"He's playing more like a defensive midfielder now!"

"The advantage of Guardiola's high defensive line—it frees up a centre-back's coverage."

"Beautiful ground transfer!"

Thwack!

Stones' short pass, vision, and awareness—after a season of refinement—have improved significantly.

The ball rolled along the grass, diagonally shifted to midfield.

David Silva and Fabregas both appeared on the passing lane.

The two are genius midfielders who rose with the matador dynasty.

The former secured a better receiving position.

Just as he was about to trap the ball, he lightly lifted his foot to let it pass.

It slipped past.

The ball ignored their confrontation and continued rolling toward its destination.

"Beautiful!"

"De Bruyne!"

"Kante's coming too!"

"Data shows that in last season's encounters, De Bruyne held the upper hand, but Kante's recovery tackles went viral online."

"The highlights misled many fans... brilliant, half-turn dribble followed by a diagonal pass!"

The spectators momentarily failed to see De Bruyne's move.

The brief visual signal reached the brain as: the ball tapped once between De Bruyne and Kante, then bounced to the left flank!

Width.

The advantage of width.

Guardiola deployed the extreme 3-1-4-2 formation, allowing Manchester City to avoid congestion during buildup, instantly unlocking the advantage of six attacking points.

The light blue flood rapidly spread into Chelsea's dangerous zone!

"Is Sane crossing from this position?"

"Aguero's dummy run, offside trap beaten!"

"Caballero's positioning is too deep."

"Manchester City's chance!"

During his Atletico Madrid days, Aguero's style was incredibly fan-friendly—a true attacking fulcrum, a complete centre-forward who could dribble, pass, carry, and shoot, often single-handedly deciding matches.

Scoring after beating three defenders, scissor kicks in crowds, limitless wall-bangs... directing advances... soulful through balls—he delivered all kinds of spirited, godlike performances.

Matches where he single-handedly turned the tide were not uncommon.

Back then, Atletico Madrid's overall strength was in a slump; this South American genius bore a heavy burden.

After arriving in the Premier League, he formally transitioned into a pure striker.

Yin Tihade Stadium.

Blue-army fans were tense beyond measure.

Blue-moon fans cheered and leapt with joy.

Aguero, using movement to create space, carried the ball into the edge of the penalty arc, unchallenged!

Caballero, in front of Chelsea's goal, looked utterly flustered.

Beep!

The sudden whistle shattered everyone's anticipation.

"The assistant referee raised his flag!"

"Was it offside?"

"Ah! From the replay, Aguero was indeed in an offside position!"

"The offside trap failed!"

Aguero wore a helpless expression, walking toward the female assistant referee, chattering nonstop.

The moment they drew near.

He reached out and grabbed the female referee's neck.

The stands on all sides immediately erupted in various boos.

The livestream room.

Bullet comments flew across the screen.

-【How come this guy keeps touching the female referee? He's done this kind of thing before!】

-【Greasy!】

-【South American oil tycoon.】

-【The referee didn't give a card? Last time Diego Costa touched the male referee, he got a card!】

-【Chelsea are in danger this match, the goalkeeper's positioning is a serious issue, the formation is pushed too high, what's he doing hanging back so far?】

On the sideline.

Tuchel and Guardiola were making hand signs.

It looked like they were dueling with spells, or like middle-aged women arguing.

Caballero took a goal kick from the offside position of the opposing team.

A bit of pressure.

Manchester City's high press was fierce.

Fortunately, David Luiz's footwork was solid, and his distribution was quick.

After a round of "this, then that, then that" omitting several hundred words of pressing and counter-pressing...

Chelsea's back line still managed to pass the ball to Li Kang's feet.

God's perspective also underwent a similar "this, then that, then that" omitting several hundred words of deconstructing the high defensive line.

The Etihad Stadium once again erupted in a wave of cheers.

"Pay attention, Walker's retreat range is huge!"

"Manchester City have re-established a four-defender backline!"

"Chelsea have slowed down their progression tempo."

Li Kang cut the ball back with the inside of his foot, a "Love's Magic Spin," shaking off David Silva's press.

With a slap!

The ball rolled toward Diego Costa, who had dropped deep to support.

Fàbregas and Stones were also "pulled" out by him.

"Chelsea's forward mishandled the trap... no! It was a brilliant lay-off!"

"Two birds with one stone—not only did he pull open the defense, but he also completed a wall-pass combination with Li Kang!"

Diego Costa indeed failed to control the ball under pressure.

Fortunately, he was in a position with his back to goal.

The ball bounced.

It happened to bounce onto Li Kang, who was making a forward run.

Li Kang didn't slow down, he carried the ball forward with his momentum and continued his advance.

Diego Costa didn't push forward, but continued to drop deep.

As per Tuchel's deployment.

He needed to frequently switch between "advancing striker" and "dropping striker" roles during the match.

On Manchester City's left flank, it was suddenly windy and cranes cried.

Walker, now in full-back mode, and Kompany quickly combined to intercept Chelsea's new core!

In the confined space, it was extremely crowded!

"No hard dribbling!"

"Li Kang passed the ball with his right foot to Azpilicueta, who had been pulled to the very flank!"

"Walker reacted quickly! Adjusted his defensive positioning!"

"Azpilicueta couldn't get past either... there are too many people in this zone, it's too crowded!"

"He chose to pass back!"

"Pass back to Diego Costa!"

"His thinking is very clear!"

"Three players in continuous combination, stumbling and fumbling, it looks like the ball might be lost at any moment!"

Li Kang accelerated and broke through the gap between Walker and Kompany's ribs.

Three steps into the penalty area.

The "dropping striker" Diego Costa, lagging behind, kicked the ball forward.

Thud!

Once again disturbed by Stones!

The pass was too hard!

The line was off!

It looked like it would go out for a goal kick!

"Oh dear... is Tuchel asking Lu Zhishen to do embroidery?"

"Fortunately, Li Kang has long legs!"

"A sliding hook... sweeping across to the front of the goal!"

From God's perspective.

Diego Costa's deep drop pulled away Firmino and Stones.

Kyle Walker and Kompany were also broken through by themselves and Hazard!

On the right flank, Pedro, the opponent only had Otamendi left!

Sideline.

Tuchel looked excited.

He believed he had found the balance between tactical ideal and Li Kang.

Just kick like this!

Crush "positional model lake-ification" with "positional model lake-ification"!

The other side.

Guardiola was so surprised he covered his mouth with both hands.

"Right flank!"

"Pedro!"

"Ghostly movement!"

"Shaken off Otamendi!"

"Open goal!"

"Oh no, my legs are still too short!"

The toe of the Lama Xi Ya demon sword couldn't reach the football...

Night fell.

Wave after wave of exclamations and regrets enveloped the Yin Ti Hade Stadium.

Manchester City goalkeeper-Edson couldn't help but sigh in relief: Li this kid, despite losing balance, still delivered a low cross that left people in a dilemma, and I barely had time to adjust my position.

Pedro felt a bit embarrassed.

He quickly got up, jogged to the left baseline of the goal, and grabbed Li Kang.

Live stream.

-【What's going on? Both sides are playing beautifully, yet no goal?】

-【You don't believe me, big ball cooled down, Diego Costa, he can't pull off fancy moves, Zhang Fei embroidering, luckily sent a straight pass.】

-【I think this is Tuchel's sheep assault on the strong side, he loved doing this in Dortmund.】

-【Let me analyze the game situation and tactical battle for everyone: like this... like this... then like that, did you all understand?】

-【Understood, both teams are amazing! Li Mingdeng is really handsome!】

Li Kang was pulled up by Pedro.

The system prompt sound softly rang.

【Ding! Detected teammate-Pedro's favorability toward you increased, bond established!】

【Blue Bond: Demon Sword Drawn Lv1!】

【Bond effect: Your breakthrough and arc control received a slight boost, Pedro feels several months younger.】

【Effect only active when both are on the field simultaneously.】

【Upon initial bond establishment, part of your ability recovers to peak state. (Only once per match)】

The shadow energy in Li Kang's brain instantly filled.

Full health again?

Originally, as time passed, energy had dropped to zero.

Kompany has OCD.

Dead ball phase.

When he saw Li Kang walk past him, the grass clippings on his dark blue jersey... made him unable to control himself.

Especially the area of the back number 10 logo.

Pat pat pat.

Old Kong finally couldn't resist reaching out, lightly brushing off the grass clippings on Li Kang.

Not far away.

Diego Costa was trading trash talk with Firmino.

"Match resumed!"

"Manchester City's backline launched an attack!"

"Stones' long pass!"

"This ball seems a bit too obvious... Chelsea's midfield barrier..."

An astonishing scene occurred.

Kanté's prediction of the landing point was very accurate.

He leapt high.

But the football brushed past above his head.

Although fans changed his height to 1.74 meters, his actual height is 1.67 meters!

"Defect!"

"The biggest defect of Chelsea's Kanté+Fabregas+Li Kang midfield trio."

"In 2017, modern football's height requirement for midfield-back players... must be at least 1.7 meters!"

"Jesus!"

Kanté didn't lose heart, immediately turned around and chased back!

Jesus, having taken off the football jersey, didn't dare be careless, quickly passed it to the flank!

It's Sané again!

At this stage, Guardiola's obsession with Manchester City's attacking patterns in the front line had reached a certain degree.

Can't mess around.

Every detail must follow his requirements!

Sané eased his speed, made a slight adjustment, and dared not casually kick a cross.

Waiting for David Silva's forward run!

Go along the ground!

In an instant, the dense attacking points of the Blue Moon's front line in Chelsea's half sparked a suffocating passing and running combination!

Half-space.

Width utilization.

Position rotation.

Vertical pull.

Edge rib transmission.

Like this, like that, then that again—individual technique exquisite, overall operation smooth.

Whether it was Li Ji's high-pressure frenzy or the tactical system's layered strangulation, neither could easily break through the Blue Moon's football!

The football arrived at the right rib, at De Bruyne's feet.

Walker overlapped the flank.

After De Bruyne played the diagonal through ball, he quickly retreated two steps.

Rüdiger then lunged toward Manchester City's full-back.

Walker touched the ball with one foot!

The football rolled once again toward De Bruyne.

"Too much left over—Chelsea seized this moment to already complete their defensive positioning!"

"Wow! Rainbow!"

Pa!

De Bruyne's big butt shook, his right leg making a small swing.

The football lifted off the ground.

Violent rotation.

Descending toward the area of the left goalpost.

In the air above Chelsea's penalty area, it traced an incredibly beautiful arc!

Perfect trajectory.

As if a gorgeous rainbow!

Chelsea goalkeeper-Caballero, a bit flustered.

Any goalkeeper in the world standing here would be flustered.

-【Dingding is hanging!】

Sané appeared at the landing point like a lion with an explosive hairstyle!

Header!

Pa!

Bullet out of the chamber!

Chelsea's goal seemed as if De Bruyne had blocked the sun with a gun to the temple, then Sané came to pull the trigger!

Caballero was powerless.

A chill swept through his entire body.

Despair...

In despair, a figure blocked his path!

Azpilicueta!

Pa!

Bang!

The football was headed out for a corner... AZP's forehead also heavily struck the goalpost!

"Goal-line clearance!"

"Azpilicueta stepped forward, using his actions to prove to the world: Chelsea, no matter what tactical system they use, their iron-blooded and tenacious spirit in their bones will not fade..."

"Iron-blooded spirit! It's okay even if we can't continue fighting! Chelsea's bench still has several excellent defenders..."

"Eh? No bleeding!"

"He got up as if nothing happened!"

"What is his head made of?"

"..."

"No matter what, Chelsea has already reached the most critical juncture, their defense shaking on the verge of collapse!"

Away fans were worried and anxious.

Uncomfortable.

How did Guardiola's Manchester City become so strong this season?

The stability of the high-speed pass-and-run was too high, with almost no mistakes.

Which European team could withstand their advance in a "front high press"?

Azpilicueta rubbed his forehead, got up again, with mixed feelings: it wasn't that he was worried about his own injury, but rather that if Sané had just laid the ball off to the middle... he would have been out of position for nothing!

Fortunately, Sané was independent enough, not liking to pass, just like Pedro.

On the sidelines.

Tuchel clapped vigorously.

He was satisfied with the players' performance.

Dino frowned: "Boss, if we don't set up a low defensive block next, it will be very dangerous."

Chelsea's new head coach answered seriously: "No, facing this Manchester City, if we choose to defend low, then... we would be like frogs boiled in warm water!"

"Boss, the theory of boiling frogs in warm water is wrong!"

"..."

On the other side.

Guardiola continued his gesticulating hand seals.

No one knew what was going on in his mind.

Time passed by the minute and second.

After experiencing the opening exchange of fire.

Gradually, both sides intentionally slowed down the game's tempo.

David Silva and De Bruyne did not play frontal collisions, but created magic in the half-spaces.

Sané and Walker on the flanks did not have traditional "wing play".

Instead, they frequently rotated into the central channel.

Jesus' position kept dropping deeper.

Li Kang was full of energy, he multiple times wanted to assist the defensive line, but found it unnecessary... if he suddenly dropped back to assist in open play defense, it would only squeeze his teammates' defensive space and disrupt the unified defensive mindset.

Open play defense.

Not positional defense.

Chelsea's last line of defense was very solid. Azpilicueta and Cahill had already developed great chemistry over the years.

Although David Luiz was a returnee and Rüdiger was a new signing.

But their plug-and-play execution was very strong.

Who isn't a T0... bah bah bah, T1 center back!

The calls gradually subsided.

The Blue Army fans were in despair.

The Blue Army players were not despairing, but grew suspicious:

Because before the match started, Tuchel had already made tactical changes for different time periods of the game.

Is it reliable or not?

In the 35th minute of the match.

Kanté finally won a duel against De Bruyne!

"Another moment that can be included in the highlights!"

"The thick ding-ding fell down!"

"No problem!"

"The little giant's tracking tackle was very clean!"

Tuchel's expression was calm, he quickly made hand seals!

He had waited a long time!

Finally, he got the chance to adjust!

Why attack at this time period?

Because like this, like this, then like that... an excellent head coach must seize the strengths and weaknesses at different time periods of the game!

Fabregas received Kanté's pass.

Diego Costa began to activate.

"The Fabregas-Costa connection"?

No.

Li Kang moved forward from the left half-space, Pedro dropped back to get closer to the middle.

La Masia youth training magical triangle!

In an instant, the patterned Chelsea silenced the Etihad Stadium!

Stones and Kompany had to be dragged along by Diego Costa!

In the left half-space, Fernandinho and David Silva, Walker three people basically couldn't stop the opponent's ground push!

Li Kang and two alumni from the Film and Television Academy made consecutive one-touch passes.

The distance shortened!

Reasonable running, maintaining a reasonable triangle.

Manchester City's central barrier was torn open in an instant!

Fernandinho did not give up, he prepared to use a foul to disrupt Chelsea's this attack!

He reached out to grab Li Kang.

There was no malicious intent.

However, that terrifying force dragged his steps.

His knee accidentally bumped into Li Kang's crotch.

Pfft?

How could it be a slap?

The feeling was like a hard iron plate?

Did this kid wear iron underwear?

Guardiola was also making hand signs.

Reminding the disciples to pay attention to blocking Li Kang's passing connections while contracting the defensive line.

'Tuchel's attacking system will definitely not give Li any freedom.'

'Once Li enters the thirty-meter zone, the best solution can only be a pass!'

Li Kang shook off the strong Fei Niao.

The shadow in his brain spread to the extreme.

Continue charging forward.

An afro-haired figure closely followed: the lightning-fast Sane.

Stones no longer assisted in defending Kompany, adjusted direction, and tried to intercept Li Kang head-on.

Now is different from the past!

Today's Manchester City defense has the confidence to assassinate Yin Biliya, the hero, the Bullfighter Dynasty sword-wielder, Bei lai yin, the king, the French nightmare, the Arsenal commander, the Stamford Bridge talker...

Come on!

A surprising scene occurred.

At the moment the three approached.

The True Eye burst forth.

Li Kang slowed down, pushed the ball diagonally forward with his left foot, then pulled it back!

"Fake pass, real pull!"

"V-shaped dribble!"

"Tricked out the most comfortable breakthrough path!"

"Rushed past!"

"Stones and Sane are very tenacious... terrifying turning speed!"

"But they have already lost their positional advantage, and during the pursuit, their body's center of gravity is hard to grasp..."

"People and horses overturned!"

Guardiola clutched his head with both hands, expression bewildered.

At this moment, it is Manchester City's defense that is shaking and about to fall!

Azar, Pedro, and Fabregas did not slack off!

The three widened the attacking width.

Diego Costa stopped his steps, waiting for the change in the attacking path... preparing to have a man-to-man physical battle with Kompany.

Goalkeeper-Ederson stepped forward!

At this moment.

He seemed to be possessed by a "sallying-type" goalkeeper from twenty years ago!

Guardiola-style Manchester City's "goalkeeper+defender" three-dimensional defense already showed its embryonic form in 2017!

It's useless!

Pa!

The crisp sound of ball contact!

The football left Li Kang's left foot instep.

After teammates pulled Manchester City's defense to a certain extent, his own shot would make all such "this way, that way, then that way" tactical maneuvering... dissipate like smoke.

The football rose quickly.

Then fell quickly.

In the air above Manchester City's penalty area, a beautiful arc was traced!

The force was just right.

The trajectory had no deviation.

The ball speed was neither fast nor slow.

Ederson quickly turned around, ran back... at this moment, he finally experienced what Nuriel felt.

Manchester City fans were in a dazed state: Why does our goalkeeper stand so far forward?

The football fell into the goal line range.

Ederson reached out and scooped it.

The referee's watch vibrated, then signaled the goal was valid.

0:1!

!

"Beautiful!"

"Goal scored!"

"Elegant arc!"

"Gentle chip shot!"

"Break the deadlock!"

"Li Kang scored his first Premier League goal of his Chelsea career!"

"A moment worth commemorating!"

"He once again breached the Etihad Stadium!"

"A crack has appeared in the rising Blue Moon dynasty!"

"Ederson's positioning is utterly irrational—he should know Li Kang's chip-shooting prowess, honed by Norin!"

Live chat.

Danmaku flying everywhere.

-【So handsome.】

-【Without Li Mingdeng lagging behind, he can easily link up with teammates' passes to advance!】

-【Pedro dropped back into midfield, immediately following Chelsea's ground passing, catching Manchester City off guard.】

-【Chelsea now has the ultimate Havertz—otherwise, why put Pedro on? Playing traditional patterns, wouldn't it be better to put William on?】

-【If they don't keep passing, the weak spot will still be left for Li Mingdeng to handle himself.】

-【Spanish training match?】

Li Kang basked in the spotlight.

The shadow in his mind shrank.

The red line of God's perspective... remained unmoved in this match: Tuchel had already devised the optimal solution to break the deadlock.

The Chelsea fans traveling with the team chanted slogans.

"KeeptheBlueFlagFlyingHigh！

！

The substitutes on the bench couldn't help but leave their seats, rushing to the sidelines to throw punches in celebration!

Diego Costa was the first to rush to the scene, holding Li Kang's hand.

Hazard glanced at the match time on the big screen overhead, unable to help but marvel: playing alongside Li Kang, winning is too easy.

Fabregas and Pedro bumped fists: their thoughts seemed to drift back to 2010 in South Africa.

The sidelines.

Tuchel wore a smile on his face.

Dino's expression was excited as he said:

"Manchester City will indeed set up a '3-3' and '2-3' defensive midfield block in this match."

"Part of their defensive strength is used to restrict Hazard off the ball."

"The main idea is to disrupt our medium- to long-range passing and receiving connections."

"The short ground passes by Li, Pedro, and Fabregas have disrupted..."

Tuchel shook his head: "Actually, it's not that complicated."

He turned and walked toward the coach's bench, pulling out a tactical board: "Next, we will respond to Guardiola's changes through variation."