Chapter 1013: The Final Battle at Wembley

With the whistle of the referee Dodd, Su Dong in the center circle quickly kicked the ball to Sanchez, who passed the ball back directly to Kompany on the back line.

This was Manchester City's strategy after the opening, trying to stabilize the game.

Liverpool's front trident immediately pressed towards Manchester City's defense, but the midfield and back line were still concentrated on the center line and their own half, which also showed Liverpool's caution.

Only three players were involved in the frontcourt pressing. Needless to say, it was basically impossible to win the ball, especially since Gerrard did not retreat forward with Busquets, causing Suarez to have to go back and forth between Manchester City's two central defenders and Busquets.

After turning back twice, Suarez also gave up.

Damn, the game has just started, how can you be so embarrassing?

The two wingers Bellamy and Downing also slowed down their pressing and chose to retreat closer to the midfield.

In the unnamed game of the final, both teams started out cautiously, testing their opponents.

Manchester City controlled the ball and the tempo patiently and was not in a hurry to attack, while Liverpool focused on interference in the frontcourt and defense in the midfield and backcourt. They were unwilling to invest in pressing for fear of affecting the level of defense.

It is not difficult to see from this that Dalglish is still quite wary of Manchester City.

The first shot of the game came in the first minute of the game. It was a pass from Toni Kroos. When Su Dong stopped the ball, he dribbled past Scottel and shot directly, a long shot of about 25 meters.

The shot failed to control the momentum of the ball and was a little too high.

Su Dong's shot was more to boost the team's morale and at the same time suppress the spirit of Liverpool players.

It was obvious that Liverpool became more cautious after being attacked by a long-range shot, which directly led to a stalemate in the game for a period of time, and neither side got any more shooting opportunities.

Both teams were testing and penetrating each other, patiently waiting for opportunities to arise.

…

"The game was very intense, but both sides were cautious."

"There will be no name in the final. I believe all the fans watching this game should be mentally prepared for this."

"Manchester City now has a high ball possession rate, which is over 70%. They are more patient in passing the ball back and forth in the midfield and passing it forward when they find an opportunity. However, the players in the front court are more focused on protecting the ball and trying their best to keep the ball."

"Liverpool are reducing their pressure. Even Bellamy, Suarez and Downing are actively retreating to the midfield to defend. Once they lose the ball, they immediately retreat and are very determined to take their positions. Dalglish is obviously also afraid of Manchester City's counterattack as soon as they steal the ball, and Liverpool's defense is indeed very solid."

"This is Manchester City's manager, Guardiola."

…

Guardiola did not notice that he was being captured in close-up by the live camera. He went straight to the sidelines and kept making various gestures to the players on the field, occasionally shouting a few times to remind the players to pay close attention to changes in the situation.

Manchester City players basically understand what Guardiola means, which is to remain stable.

In the top five European leagues, when any team is determined to defend tightly, it is very difficult to break through. This is why the iron bucket formation has become a global problem.

Through passing and controlling the ball, Manchester City controlled the ball and rhythm of the game, which means they had the initiative. Naturally, they did not want Liverpool to be too conservative. It would be best for them to press forward and attack Manchester City, but this was not realistic.

Dalglish's attitude is to attach importance to defense, and Manchester City's strategy is to patiently control the ball near the center line, patiently look for opportunities, and pull the opponent's defense through passing and players' off-ball running to see if they can create a gap in the defense and then attack.

The reason for choosing the center line is that we don't want Liverpool's formation to be compressed too tightly, otherwise it will become an iron bucket formation, which will be very troublesome if we really attack.

Therefore, Manchester City always passes the ball forward when they find an opportunity. After the frontcourt players get the ball, if there is no chance, they pass it back and reorganize. The overall formation does not press forward, the focus is basically near the center line, and the overall position is obviously lower than usual.

Guardiola's gestures and shouts on the sidelines were actually reminding the players of their positions.

Did Liverpool know?

I know, Dalglish knows it very clearly.

To use an inappropriate metaphor, possession of the ball is the carrot that Manchester City hangs in front of Liverpool's donkey.

Does Liverpool want it? Who doesn't? As long as a team wants to win, who doesn't want the ball? Only when you have the ball can you counterattack and have the chance to score.

Then can we just keep guarding it?

It's not impossible, but the question is, who can guarantee that their defense will not make mistakes under Manchester City's repeated pulling and penetration?

Especially when Manchester City has a top scorer like Su Dong.

Just defending without daring to counterattack when there is a chance, isn't this a slow suicide? To some extent, the game between Manchester City and Liverpool is whether this carrot will be eaten by Liverpool.

If Liverpool got the ball and seized the opportunity to score a goal, then Manchester City would lose.

If Liverpool tries to eat the carrots, causing mistakes in their defense and being caught by Manchester City, then Liverpool loses.

Guardiola and Dalglish are both very aware of this, so they are not aggressive and are very cautious and play it safe.

Such matches were very intense, with both sides showing great hostility, but they were also very restrained and cautious, and no unnecessary actions were taken.

The game continued in this intense yet dull rhythm for ten minutes.

Apart from Su Dong's long shot at the beginning of the game, neither side even had a shot on goal.

But whether it is the 90,000 fans in Wembley Stadium or all the fans around the world watching the game in front of the TV, they can easily feel the tension and intensity conveyed by this game.

It's like two top martial arts masters fighting with swords. Either they don't attack, or their attacks are fatal.

…

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In the twelfth minute, the second shot of the game came, still a long shot.

Sanchez from Manchester City dribbled the ball sideways from the right side of the penalty area, suddenly turned into the penalty area and took a long shot, but the ball went directly out of the bottom line of the court and was still quite a distance from the goal.

This attack also allowed Manchester City to gradually increase its offensive intensity.

After more than ten minutes of testing, Manchester City tried to put more pressure on Liverpool and wanted to create more opportunities.

Liverpool retreated into their own half, but Gerrard also increased his suppression and interference on Busquets.

In the 16th minute, Liverpool suddenly completed an interception in front of their own 30-meter area, successfully intercepted Toni Kroos' pass, and quickly launched a counterattack, making a long pass directly to Bellamy.

Liverpool's winger made a quick run forward down the wing, and after stopping the ball, he met Zabaleta who had returned to defense in time in the penalty area.

Although this Manchester City right-back is not as good as Marcelo in attack, he has always been diligent. When it is time for him to come back, he always gets into position at the first time. This is much more reliable than Marcelo on the left.

After stopping the ball, Bellamy went straight to Zabaleta. When the two met, Bellamy created a gap and passed the ball across the penalty area, finding Suarez.

The Uruguayan striker stopped the ball before Kompany, made a series of feints and dribbles in the penalty area, and relied on his personal ability to create a gap in Kompany and shot directly.

Kompany was no pushover either. He limited Suarez's shooting angle, and Courtois blocked this angle, so Suarez's shot looked like it hit Courtois' arms directly.

Even though he was an opponent and was in the front line, Su Dong still secretly cheered for Suarez's shot.

Apart from anything else, just based on his personal ability, there is definitely no one else like him in the Liverpool team.

Even in the Premier League, there are really not many players with Suarez's ability.

Su Dong called out to teammates including Toni Kroos and Busquets, signaling the team to stabilize the defense in the midfield and backcourt and to move the defense line back towards the goal appropriately.

This looks like Manchester City is still in shock after being counterattacked by Liverpool and wants to make some space for Liverpool, but this also contains another meaning, which is to let Liverpool taste the sweetness and push forward a little.

After Liverpool made their first shot through a counterattack after stealing the ball, they began to press and intercept more actively near the center line, and in the 21st minute, they once again stole the ball and launched a counterattack.

After receiving the pass from Henderson, Downing directly attacked the gap behind Marcelo that was exposed after his forward run.

After Pepe threw Suarez to Kompany, he ran to the outside of the penalty area to support Marcelo. At the same time, he also seized the opportunity and directly entangled Downing.

The Liverpool winger tried to break through Pepe but failed and could only make a cross with difficulty. However, on the right side of the penalty spot, Downing's pass was intercepted by Busquets who retreated in time and passed to the unguarded Toni Kroos.

Suddenly, the situation took a turn for the worse. Liverpool, who were originally on a counterattack, were suddenly counterattacked after Manchester City intercepted the ball.

Toni Kroos stopped the ball, looked forward, and made a long pass.

The football accurately crossed most of the field, crossed the center line, and landed directly behind Liverpool's defense.

Su Dong advanced at the fastest speed, competing with Daniel Agger in speed. He managed to overtake Daniel Agger and kicked Toni Kroos' long pass in front of him. After blocking Daniel Agger's body with his whole body, he forcibly shook off the Liverpool central defender and continued to sprint forward.

Daniel Agger saw that he couldn't stop Su Dong and tried to kick out to stop him, but Su Dong dodged him again. He lost his balance, staggered and almost fell, and completely lost the chance to stop Su Dong.

Skrtel had been lagging at the back of the team. Seeing that Daniel Agger couldn't stop Su Dong, he rushed over to assist in defense and both he and Su Dong broke into the right side of Liverpool's penalty area.

(End of this chapter)