Southampton kicked off first.

Lallana knocked the ball back to Lambert, who did not dribble forward but turned around and passed the ball back to Gu Ran in the defensive midfielder position.

Gu Ran dribbled the ball slowly in the backcourt, controlling the tempo of the game.

When playing against a super team like Manchester City, don't even think about playing offensively. You just have to play defensive counterattacks and patiently wait for Manchester City's physical energy to be depleted, and wait for their wingers and full-backs to come forward and reveal huge spaces behind them.

Gu Ran and Lambert passed the ball back in the backcourt, which drew boos from the Blue Moon fans at the scene.

Although Manchester City executives are eager to sign Gu Ran, Blue Moon diehards do not yet recognize Gu Ran - after all, this is the first time that Blue Moon fans have seen Gu Ran play football, and at first glance, Gu Ran's performance does not seem to be very positive.

After Gu Ran and Lambert passed the ball twice in the backcourt, Manchester City's center forward Balotelli couldn't bear the loneliness and rushed up to steal the ball.

Facing Balotelli who had just won the 2009 European Golden Boot, Gu Ran was not nervous at all. One second before Balotelli stretched out his foot, Gu Ran just flicked and pulled with his toes, easily avoiding Balotelli's interception.

The Blue Moon fans at the scene suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

The Saints fans who came from afar cheered excitedly! Gu Ran is indeed a super star of Southampton. Facing the world-class super star Balotelli, he was not afraid at all! As for Gu Ran himself, Balotelli's interception was too rough, and he didn't need to show his full level at all.

Balotelli is a center/forward, and his various offensive techniques are world-class, but stealing is indeed not Balotelli's strong point, not to mention that he rushes forward with too strong a purpose, and any defender with a little experience can predict his movements.

After Balotelli failed to steal the ball, his face suddenly looked a little embarrassed. He immediately reached out and grabbed Gu Ran's arm to prevent Gu Ran from getting away.

At the same time, midfielders No. 18 Gareth Barry and No. 14 Arturo Vidal rushed up together to strangle Gu Ran.

David Silva and James Milner on the left and right also quickly cut inside behind Gu Ran.

Once Barry and Vidal steal the ball from Gu Ran, "Hello Boy" David Silva and Milner will intercept the ball and shoot directly.

It can be said that Manchester City launched a fierce attack from the start and had a strong control over the midfield.

Gu Ran could have passed the ball again before the two ferocious wolves Barry and Vidal came up to press.

But Gu Ran did not panic - Lambert was closely guarded by Yaya Toure. Once Lambert received the ball, even if he could really catch it while running, Yaya Toure's extremely aggressiveness would snatch it away.

Faced with the impending double-team, Gu Ran simply chose to knock Balotelli away first, creating a space for himself to break through.

Balotelli is 189cm tall, weighs 88kg, and has extremely strong physical confrontation.

However, after being hit by Gu Ran, Balotelli lost his balance, staggered, and almost fell on the grass.

Gu Ran took the opportunity to strengthen his crotch pass and sent the ball through Balotelli's crotch. At the same time, he separated himself from the ball and passed Balotelli while receiving his own crotch pass. He then got rid of the double-team of Barry and Vidal and took the ball to the left.

The Blue Moon fans at the scene exclaimed again! The scene of Gu Ran teasing Balotelli was really wonderful.

The Blue Moon fans then realized why Manchester City executives had been clamoring to buy this Chinese player who had never had any professional training and had only played in English League One.

Gu Ran reminded the Blue Moons of their sun - Sun Jihai.

Of course, Sun Jihai does not have such delicate movements, nor is he the core of the midfield, but Gu Ran's performance as an opponent, like Sun Jihai, convinced the Blue Moons.

And this was only half a minute into the game.

Gu Ran dribbled the ball to the left, and Manchester City's midfielder and right back immediately double-teamed him.

Manchester City's 433 formation is not very defensive, but its ability to intercept on the spot is still good.

No. 2 Micah Richards rushed forward like a mad dog, his speed was like a black lightning in a sky blue jersey.

Barry and Vidal also quickly got into position.

Gu Ran used an upgraded "Top dribbling move: Cruyff turn + 3" to easily shake off Barry, who quickly reached out to grab Gu Ran's arm.

Gu Ran pulled hard, and Barry's nails left three bloody scratches on Gu Ran's arm.

The Southampton Saints fans at the scene suddenly booed wildly.

But the referee signaled that the game was in favor of Southampton, so he did not stop the game.

After Gu Ran got rid of Barry, he swung his leg to pass the ball to the front left when he touched the ball again.

Vidal and Richards immediately slid towards Gu Ran from two different positions at the same time.

Vidal slid towards Gu Ran's supporting leg, while Richards slid towards Gu Ran's swinging leg.

Gu Ran was just faking his move. When Vidal and Richards started to slide and were powerless to save the situation, Gu Ran took a step back and turned, quickly transferring the ball to the middle.

Lallana, who retreated to the middle and was unmarked, easily received the ball! Southampton Saints fans immediately cheered excitedly! They knew that in this game, Southampton was very weak and could hardly beat Manchester City, but from the opening wave of confrontation, Southampton team cooperated very well and was not passive at all!

Facing such a strong opponent as Manchester City, Southampton can still remain so calm, and the Saints fans are very satisfied!

After Lallana got the ball, he was not in a hurry to break through.

Given Lallana's physical condition, it is impossible for him to challenge any of these three people alone.

Lallana then kicked the ball to the front left.

At this time, on the left side of Southampton, Chamberlain was in the front with no one guarding him, while Manchester City's right winger Milner and right back Richards were already in Southampton's half. Lallana's pass was aimed behind the winger and full-back!

This is also the weakness of Manchester City's 433! Chamberlain jumped up and stopped the ball with his chest, then sprinted forward madly.

Richards, who had just slid and tackled Gu Ran, now covered his head and chased after him! Chamberlain was already very fast, and could be considered a first-class flying wing player in English League One. However, Richards was much faster than Chamberlain. At this age, Richards was good at everything except speed! Richards' current speed was definitely comparable to Gu Ran's maximum speed!

At this time, Gu Ran was not in a hurry to press forward, but retreated steadily to fill the position.

Southampton also had only Lallana and Gully to support Chamberlain who was sprinting on the left.

Chamberlain went deep into Manchester City's 30-meter area and then cut inside with the ball.

Richards sprinted over like lightning and used his elbow to block Chamberlain's body, preventing Chamberlain from cutting inside or passing the ball.

Chamberlain was also greatly shocked when he played against Richards for the first time.

Seeing that his speed was suppressed and Kompany on the opposite side was also coming over, Chamberlain could only barely make a cross.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart was standing relatively forward, and when Chamberlain passed the ball into the penalty area, Joe Hart sprinted up and caught the ball steadily in his arms.

Chamberlain sighed.

The Southampton Saints fans responded with warm applause.

At least Southampton's attack was quite satisfactory.

Richards is indeed fast. If Chamberlain hadn't chased back, the ball would have been steady and basically a fatal cross would have been made.

Of course, this is just the beginning. Richards is too fast, and he needs physical support.

If this happens several times, Richards will be exhausted.

Manchester City kicked the ball out of the goal. Yaya Toure received the ball and took it across the center line, only then did Southampton's defenders come up to strangle the defense.

Yaya Toure also relied on his strong body and continued to dribble forward against Lambert's face.

Gu Ran came quickly to support, but Yaya Toure didn't care at all and directly used his body to confront Gu Ran.

Gu Ran was even more unafraid and faced off against the world-class midfielder Yaya Toure head-on!

The moment their bodies touched, the same word appeared in their minds at the same time: Fuck!

Yaya Toure didn't expect that Gu Ran, who looked frail, could be as unshakable as a mountain! Gu Ran also didn't expect that Yaya Toure was so strong. Even if he used all his strength, he couldn't knock Yaya Toure away.

World class, it is indeed world class.

The gap is still quite large.

However, while Yaya Toure and Gu Ran were competing with each other, Lambert immediately poked Yaya Toure's foot.

Yaya Toure reacted quickly enough and immediately used his toes to protect the ball.

The football changed its direction and rolled rapidly towards the top of the penalty area.

Vidal responded quickly and passed the ball to left winger David Silva before Jaidi rushed up.

David Silva immediately cut inside with the ball.

Southampton's right-back Richardson quickly came forward to intercept.

David Silva dribbled the ball with his left and right feet in a super smooth way, easily knocking Richardson to the ground! Richardson quickly stretched out his foot to trip David Silva! But David Silva's footwork was very fast, and he changed his line directly to avoid Richardson's rough foul, and cut directly into the penalty area! Southampton's defense line quickly shrank! Gu Ran retreated to the middle of the penalty area in a violent and aesthetic way to make up for the interception.

David Silva calmly changed his line again in the chaotic penalty area, and with a flick of his toes, he let Gu Ran, who was sprinting towards him with violent aesthetics, pass—

Gu Ran is about to be passed by David Silva!

I have to say that David Silva's personal skills are really strong!

After David Silva let Gu Ran pass, he immediately used Gu Ran's body as a visual angle to block the shot and directly kicked the ball into the goal! This stop, dunk and then the shot showed the style of a master!

However, Gu Ran, who had already rushed out a whole body, stopped directly on the spot and swung his legs backwards...

Scorpion tail swing!

...(End of this chapter)