Chapter 787: The Battle for the Top
"Su, we will definitely beat Chelsea, right?"
Just before entering the stadium, Su Dong was standing in the player tunnel of the Etihad Stadium, making final preparations. Suddenly, a childish voice came to his ears. It was the little caddy next to him.
Su Dong smiled at him and nodded, "Of course, you watch the game."
Bending down and re-tying his shoelaces, Su Dong found that the little caddy was not tall and thin, but looked very energetic.
"Are you from the youth training academy?" Su Dong looked at him with favor and asked casually.
"Well, I'm in the U13 age group, but I'm only ten years old, and my name is Phil," the child said proudly.
It was not known whether he felt proud because Su Dong took the initiative to ask him questions, or he was proud that he was able to skip the grade and enter the U13 at the age of ten. Anyway, the first impression he gave Su Dong was confidence.
"You're a little thin. You still need to exercise more, otherwise you'll suffer." Su Dong reached out and touched his head.
The kid named Phil chuckled and said, "I don't rely on my body."
"Oh? Then what do you rely on?"
"Skills!" Phil said confidently, "I can get past everyone, just like you."
Su Dong was stunned at first, then he laughed. He felt like he had set a bad example.
"I'm not as good as you. I can't get past everyone."
"But I've watched a lot of your games, and no one could stop you, especially that time you dribbled past six people in a row. I thought that was amazing." Phil said with admiration on his face.
Su Dong recalled that it should be his experience in La Liga, which he himself had somewhat forgotten.
"That was an accident, Phil. Normally, I can't get past so many people. Two people would be enough to kill me."
"No, when I see you play, you always get past your opponents, and two or three people can't stop you." Phil retorted innocently.
Su Dong laughed again, "That's because I'm always running, not letting two or three opponents double-team me at the same time, and then using time and space, so you have this feeling. In fact, I can't do what you said, and I won't do it."
Seeing Phil's little head that seemed to understand but not really, Su Dong said something more for no reason.
"The current football tactics rely on overall operations. Everyone needs the help of teammates. You should also try to do this. This will make it easier for you to play the game."
It’s not known whether Phil understood it or not, and Su Dong had no way to teach him step by step.
These should be the jobs of youth team coaches. Su Dong just happened to come across them and mentioned them.
…
Chelsea players also came to the player tunnel.
The two teams met in the passage and were quite polite to each other.
Whether it is Chelsea or Manchester City, they are actually teams dominated by foreign players, and there are very few English players.
Even if we met, we were not familiar with each other.
On the contrary, the two "arch-enemies" Su Dong and Drogba are the most familiar.
When the Ivorian saw Sudong, he walked over to him and hugged him with a smile.
The two of them stood in the corner, chatting and laughing, which made the caddy Phil who was sandwiched in the middle a little depressed. He couldn't get a word in at all. He could only look up at the two "giants" and listen to their conversation and laughter.
Drogba has been in good form recently and he feels very confident that he can score again tonight.
Su Dong thought that he had little chance.
"Have you seen Pepe? His strength is no less than yours." Su Dong pointed at his best friend.
After hearing this, Pepe deliberately bent his arms and bulged his biceps, as if to tell Drogba, look, these are muscles.
Drogba just laughed, he was no stranger to Pepe.
The Chelsea coaching staff guessed that Manchester City would basically let Pepe defend Drogba, so Drogba also studied Pepe specifically and found that this guy's physical confrontation ability is indeed very strong.
But it's not to the extent that it can scare Drogba.
Looking at the world of football, how many people can suppress Drogba in a physical confrontation?
In a physical fight, the only one who convinced him was Su Dong.
Unfortunately, Su Dong is a center forward, not a central defender.
"Okay, okay, with your few pounds of muscles, don't come out and embarrass yourself." Drogba scolded with a smile.
There was a burst of laughter in the player tunnel, and even Pepe was amused.
Ancelotti is a head coach who is very well prepared for the game, and the tactics he designs for the players are also very detailed. This is why many people feel that Essien suddenly got it.
In fact, under Ancelotti's coaching, even the roughest players can play well.
Because, in order to gain a foothold in the Premier League, all players have very solid basic skills.
The same is true for the targeted tactics in the game. Ancelotti also tailored tactics for Drogba.
"I am very confident that I can score a goal in the game," Drogba said confidently.
Su Dong curled his lips and nodded: "Then I wish you good luck!"
This actually surprised Drogba a little.
Shouldn't I say some harsh words at this time? …………
…………
"Dear viewers, this is Sky TV."
"We are now at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, broadcasting live for you."
"Tonight we are going to present to you the focus match of the sixth round of the Premier League. This should also be the most exciting match of the Premier League so far this season, Manchester City will face Chelsea at home."
"These two teams are the only two teams in the standings that have won five consecutive games. Chelsea's goals and conceded goals are slightly better than Manchester City's, but being able to win five consecutive games is enough to prove that the strength of these two teams is very competitive in the Premier League."
"These two teams will decide who will be at the top of the Premier League table tonight."
"Led by referee Andre Marina, players from both teams entered the stadium one after another."
"We see Chelsea in black."
"Ancelotti's lineup tonight is 4-3-3, with Cech as the goalkeeper, Ashley Cole, Alex, Terry and Ivanovic in the back line, Mikel in the midfield, Ramires and Essien in the front, and Malouda, Drogba and Anelka in the front.
"Before the game, Lampard was injured, so he did not enter the starting lineup for this game, but sat on the bench. There are also Kalou, Sturridge and Zhirkov, who are all outstanding players for Chelsea this season."
"In terms of bench depth, Chelsea is indeed better than Manchester City."
"Look at the starting lineup here at Manchester City."
"The goalkeeper is Joe Hart, the defense is Marcelo, Pepe, Kompany, and Zabaleta, the midfield is Busquets in the back, David Silva and Toni Kroos in the front, and the front court is the trident combination of Di Maria, Sudon and Sanchez."
"This is also Manchester City's starting lineup so far."
…
As captains, Su Dong and Terry both came to the referee Andre Marina.
He first shook hands with Terry, and then greeted the referee crew.
Guessing the side was actually just a routine, a kind of ritual in a football match. In the end, it was Terry who grabbed the serve for Chelsea.
"Come on!" Su Dong extended his hand to Terry again.
"You too!" Terry shook Su Dong's hand politely.
In fact, this was not the first time the two had encountered each other. Terry had suffered a lot in front of Su Dong, which made him angry. Naturally, he was not willing to say anything to encourage Su Dong.
He is a central defender. If he lets Su Dong, the center forward, cheer hard, wouldn't that be aiding the enemy?
…
After returning to his own half, Su Dong called all his teammates over.
They formed a circle, all gathered together, shoulder to shoulder, hands linked.
"Do you remember what the head coach said before the game?" Su Dong asked in a deep voice.
"Remember!" the teammates answered in unison.
Although he remembered it, Su Dong still emphasized it again.
"After the opening, we should not rush to attack, but patiently control the ball and not easily hand it over to Chelsea. We should keep our footing and keep the ball, and it is best to let Chelsea press forward to grab it. Do you understand?"
"clear!"
Ancelotti is the head coach of Italy. Guardiola has played football in Italy, so he is very clear about the defensive organizational ability of the Italian head coach. If he really defends tightly, no one can easily break through the team coached by the Italian head coach.
Isn’t there a saying?
All Italian coaches are tactical masters.
…
The game officially started after Drogba kicked the ball to Anelka! After the opening, Manchester City immediately pressed Chelsea and quickly took advantage of Ramires' pass error to steal the ball.
After successfully intercepting the ball, Manchester City quickly passed the ball back to the defense line.
Chelsea also rushed forward immediately, trying desperately to stop Manchester City from controlling the ball.
The ball quickly changed hands again, but just as Chelsea got the ball, Ramires made a mistake in passing when cooperating with Ashley Cole on the left and was intercepted by Toni Kroos again.
Manchester City once again quickly passed the ball back to the back line, and Chelsea pressed forward to grab the ball again, but this time, Chelsea failed to grab the ball.
After a wave of grabs, Chelsea gradually accepted the reality and stopped exerting pressure.
Obviously, Ancelotti is also very worried that blindly rushing forward will cause the team's defense to lose position.
Caution has always been Ancelotti's label.
Many people only remember his Christmas tree and four number ten tactics in AC Milan, but forget that he was hailed as the most conservative head coach in the history of the Zebra Army in Juventus.
Ancelotti's caution can be seen from the fact that he was able to win such an honor for the Zebras, which has gathered many famous coaches in history.
Manchester City passed the ball back and forth continuously, while Chelsea defended patiently.
Both sides acted flawlessly, leaving no loopholes for the other side, which made the situation look very stalemate and no one could break the situation.
In fact, in the first five minutes, neither side even had a single shot on goal, which is rare in such a strong dialogue.
Su Dong patiently looked for opportunities in the frontcourt and kept running.
In the eighth minute, Chelsea seized an opportunity. After Essien intercepted the ball, he quickly passed it to Mikel, then to Ashley Cole, who passed it to Malouda from the England left-back, launching an attack from the left.
Sorry, I've been busy these days and updated late!
(End of this chapter)
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