Chapter 337 I won! Four consecutive Champions League titles! The battle of superstars! Let Platini give me the award! [Subscribe]
The "home team" locker room at the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
Manchester City players all sat in their seats.
Some of them looked relaxed and chatted and laughed freely, such as Messi, Kompany, Yaya Toure and others.
They have both been in many Champions League finals.
Although not all at Manchester City.
Others looked solemn and serious, obviously building up their emotions for the upcoming finals.
Some are already battle-hardened and are at the twilight of their careers.
But before going on stage, everyone was looking forward to the upcoming final.
Just now, Chairman Mubarak, accompanied by General Manager Soriano, Technical Director Begiristain and others, came to the locker room to cheer up all the players.
After Guardiola sent them out of the locker room, they chatted outside for a while.
Back in the locker room, everyone looked up at once.
Guardiola curled his lips and walked in front of the players with a smile.
It's about time.
It's time for the final mobilization.
"Tonight will be a very special Champions League final!"
Guardiola looked at the players in front of him and said lightly.
"I believe that everyone has already seen the news outside. The current situation is very... very chaotic."
Guardiola paused for a moment before thinking of a more appropriate adjective.
"Just now, the chairman and Ferran told me about this matter. They agree with me. As players and coaches, we don't have to pay attention to everything else."
"I only care about this game on the football field!"
The players nodded immediately.
"I don't know what will happen on the field later. Maybe it will happen, maybe it won't, but it doesn't matter!"
"As professional coaches and professional players, our task is to do our best to help Manchester City win the game tonight, no matter who our opponent is, understand?"
Guardiola's question was met with nods of approval from everyone.
"Bayswater Chinese are a very respectable opponent. We have players from this team, some of whom have been opponents for many years. I believe that no one will refute my point of view."
Yaya Toure, Kompany, Messi and others all nodded.
"They did something, in my opinion, very remarkable and great, but it has nothing to do with tonight's game!"
"We respect this opponent, so we will do our best to defeat them!"
"Yang Cheng and I are very good friends. We often chat. Whenever we go to London or he goes to Manchester for a game, we drink. I think he said something very good."
"Right, or, wrong!"
“We must persist in doing those things that our values believe are right.”
"Tonight, we are not discussing FIFA and UEFA, we are only concerned about the next game."
"We insist on doing what we believe is right, and that is the greatest support and affirmation for Yang Cheng!"
Guardiola's words were once again nodded in agreement by all Manchester City players.
FIFA and UEFA are actually not far away from them.
They also often feel some problems and pressure from these management bodies.
As players, although not as deep as the club, they are also aware of all the corruption.
No one will like these!
Therefore, they all emotionally identify with and support Yang Cheng.
Including Messi.
In those Panama Papers, there was a mention of the Argentine Julio Grondona.
In the summer of 2014, Messi attended the funeral of Julio Grondona.
This is a very complex and contradictory person.
All Argentines say he is a tyrant.
That's right, he dominated Argentine football for more than 30 years. He and his son made the domestic football environment and the Argentine Football Association a mess.
Everyone hates it! However, everyone also admits that if Grondona hadn't spoken for Argentina internationally, perhaps the situation of Argentine football would be countless times worse than it is now.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Argentina won the most prestigious World Cup titles and runner-ups in football history, but everyone only remembers Maradona.
But few people know that when Maradona was interfered with by Naples and was likely unable to represent Argentina in the World Cup, it was Grondona who stepped in to mediate and even threatened to use family resources to support Boca Juniors in buying back Maradona.
Coupled with negotiations with the Italian Football Association, this allowed Maradona to participate in the World Cup.
This is how Argentina became the champion!
But on the other hand, he, his two sons, and his family controlled Argentine football, blindly promoted shareholding reforms, and made the entire Argentine league a mess.
Over the past decade, Argentine players have been getting worse and worse.
So, when Grondona died, many Argentine football players attended his funeral and shouted: Day is coming.
The real world is always complex and contradictory.
But Messi felt that Yang Cheng dared to speak out at this time, and this alone was worthy of recognition and praise.
So, he agrees with what Guardiola said.
The best way to support and recognize Yang Cheng is to defeat him in the next game!
"at last!"
When the referee rang the bell to urge the players to enter the stadium, Guardiola clapped his hands vigorously, signaling everyone to stand up.
"I want to say one more thing here, I hope it will be a wonderful and clean football game tonight!"
"Also, do your best to bring the championship back!"
All the players cheered in unison!
…
"I'm so sorry, guys!"
40 meters away, in another locker room, Yang Cheng apologized to everyone when he was mobilizing the team.
"Because of some things between me and the club, it may have affected everyone, especially before the final."
Yang Cheng spread his hands helplessly and smiled bitterly: "I don't know what will happen in the next Champions League final. Maybe it will happen, maybe it won't happen. I can't be sure."
"But what I want to say is that I never regret the choices I made or the words I said."
"The only apology I need is from you!"
"You are the best players in the world, you are the best team in the world, and I think you deserve to win everything."
“I am so proud of you!”
"I sincerely hope that things outside the court will not interfere with and affect your performance on the court."
"I know this is difficult, but I really hope that you can focus on your game and give your best performance and condition to face the next game!"
"I believe you can win the championship!"
“We should win the championship!”
Just when Yang Cheng wanted to say something, Modric, who had been keeping his head down and tying his shoelaces, suddenly raised his head, looked directly at Yang Cheng, and asked loudly: "Boss, don't you trust us so much?"
This one sentence made Yang Cheng unable to say a single word of what he had prepared.
The locker room also became silent.
"I came to London when I was 18 and now I'm almost 30."
"I've been playing football with you for 12 years, and you're telling me this now?"
Modric first looked at his teammates on both sides, then looked at Yang Cheng, "Besides, I never think that you did anything wrong."
"On the contrary, as your player and as a member of Bayswater Chinese, I am proud of you and our team!"
"So, you don't have to say anything. When the game starts, just stand on the sidelines and watch us help you win the championship back!"
"Well said, Luca!"
Toni Kroos also spoke out in support of his partner.
"Boss, you did what you thought was right, and so did we. Now, the best thing for us to do is to win the game and win the championship!"
Gareth Bale also jumped up at this time.
"Platini should be here tonight too, right?"
Everyone saw a Welsh star who was eager to try.
Everyone still remembers how Platini treated Gareth Bale half a year ago.
Although he later apologized.
But the grudge has been established, how can it be resolved with just an apology?
"Boss, I will help you win the championship back later. I want Platini to see if I am worthy of the Ballon d'Or. I also want him to put the Champions League medal around my neck with his own hands!"
This is the Welsh's revenge!
The other players also spoke out in support.
Everyone's attitude was consistent.
Yang Cheng is right!
They have heard about and even experienced the corruption and darkness of FIFA and UEFA.
Yang Cheng dared to stand up, he is a hero! As a member of the Bayswater Chinese, they were not affected by the outside world, nor were they afraid of what would happen in the game later. They only had one thought now.
For Yang Cheng, bring the championship back! ...
Yang Cheng was quite moved by the players' statements.
Before we knew it, these guys had all matured.
Especially Modric.
Yang Cheng still remembers that when this shepherd boy came to London, he was skinny and looked like he would fall apart with the slightest bump, but now he has become the team's meritorious captain and a legendary star.
At this time, Yang Cheng felt more confident because he had the support of the players.
Of course, he was not completely unprepared for the upcoming game.
After the players, Brian Kidd, Frick and others left the locker room, Yang Cheng met Adam Crozier who came over in the player tunnel, who whispered to Yang Cheng.
"I met with David Gill and Collina and got to know them."
Needless to say, David Gill has been looking for connections everywhere in preparation for his run for the position of vice-president of FIFA over the past period of time.
That is the position left by Julio Grondona.
After Grondona's death, Blatter and FIFA followed convention and did not hold another election, but directly arranged for Figueiredo to take over.
But now, the term of office has expired and another election is needed.
David Gill admitted that he was very confident.
Both Platini and Bilal supported him to be elected as the vice-president to manage FIFA's treasury.
This is to prepare for the next step, taking charge of FIFA.
"David Gill said that UEFA has been in chaos over the past two days. Platini, Infantino and Bilal all arrived in Berlin at noon and probably have not seen Collina."
Italian bald referee Collina joined the UEFA referee committee after retiring.
This committee is also quite interesting.
It has always been run by Italians.
Even though the Calciopoli scandal caused such a big stir, it is still a taboo for Italians.
This is actually more like a division of power.
Of course, Italian referees are also really good.
In the real world, there is no such thing as black and white.
Just like Collina, as a referee, his achievements are great, right?
But when he joined the UEFA Referees Committee, he still did things that challenged the values of ordinary fans.
For example, in terms of referee support and selection, there is also the appointment of some officials.
There are a lot of gray areas here.
Therefore, over the past few years, the relationship with referees has also been a focus of the club's external relations.
The Chinese in Bayswater have always been maintaining good relationships with referees in the Premier League, Europe, and even some international countries.
Especially in events like the International Champions Cup, the referees are all world-class and their appearance fees are very high.
Of course, many of the actions of the Chinese in Bayswater were defensive in nature.
To put it simply, don't take the initiative to criticize others, but try not to be criticized by others.
Sometimes, the club is thick-skinned and will not pursue the matter if it is slandered.
For example, in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, no penalty was awarded and a goal was disallowed. In the end, the Chinese in Bayswater didn't say anything.
After the game, the referee was treated as usual and given the necessary souvenirs. Everything went on as usual.
Because many times, the referee will be under some pressure when enforcing the law, and may even be forced to do so.
Give him some understanding this time, and maybe sometime in the future he will repay you to the best of his ability.
Just like this time.
"We met Collina in public and his original words were that the level of Turkish referees is very high."
Yang Cheng understood.
This proves that Platini, Infantino and others are indeed too busy to do anything right now.
This also made Yang Cheng feel relieved.
…
With the whistle of the Turkish referee Cakir, this world-renowned focus battle officially kicked off.
The number of fans who came to the Berlin Olympic Stadium reached 70,442.
Before this game, the live TV camera also switched to the stands.
Representatives of the British royal family, including Prince William and his wife, Prime Minister Cameron, London Mayor Ken Livingstone, as well as many officials including the British Sports Minister, the English Football Association, and the Premier League, all appeared in the stands.
After all, both teams in the final are from the Premier League.
UEFA President Michel Platini also sat on the podium, accompanied by Secretary General Infantino and others.
Perhaps because of special instructions, the commentator did not mention anything about the pre-match dispute.
But this feels a bit like trying to cover up one's own faults.
Both teams sent out their main players in this game.
Manchester City still adopted the 433 formation.
Goalkeeper: Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Defense: Chiellini, Kompany, Jerome Boateng and Zabaleta;
Midfield: Yaya Toure in the back, David Silva and Verratti in front;
Forwards: Reus, Aguero and Messi.
In this game, Guardiola used players in two positions differently than usual.
One is a left back.
Leighton Baines is 30 years old.
Before the game, many people were worried whether Leighton Baines could guard Gareth Bale.
Many people even concluded that the two flanks would be the key areas of attack for the Chinese in Bayswater.
Therefore, Guardiola arranged Chiellini to play on the left, hoping to use the Italian to defend Gareth Bale.
But as a central defender, although Chiellini originally played as a left back, whether he can adapt is also a question.
And then there is the midfield.
Guardiola has often used Xabi Alonso in the deep-lying midfield this season.
But everyone knows that if Xabi Alonso plays as a single defensive midfielder, defense will be a big problem.
Yaya Toure plays as a single defensive midfielder, and there are some risks in defense, but at least he has high balls and strength.
Moreover, making runs from behind is also Yaya Toure's forte.
But in terms of passing, especially long passes and organization, Yaya Toure is not as good as Xabi Alonso.
In fact, Guardiola's choice in this position is very luxurious.
And Fernandinho and Fernando.
Both players are defensive minded.
But Guardiola didn't use either of them. He just arranged Yaya Toure to start and Xabi Alonso sat on the bench.
As for the Italian veteran Pirlo, he has gradually lost his position.
There have been reports that he is likely to move back to Italy this summer or even retire.
The Chinese side in Bayswater also adopted a 433 formation.
Goalkeeper: Courtois; Defense: Marcelo, Thiago Silva, Van Dijk and Piszczek;
Midfield: Matic lies back, Toni Kroos and Modric are in the middle; Forwards: Hazard, Giroud and Gareth Bale.
This is basically the regular configuration that Yang Cheng often uses in the Champions League.
Defensive midfielders Matic and Casemiro are often rotated.
Although Casemiro has performed very well this season, Matic is obviously more calm at critical moments.
As for central defenders, Thiago Silva, Pepe and Van Dijk have all performed very well this season.
Yang Cheng and the coaching staff both felt that Van Dijk should be given the opportunity to appear in key matches.
The Dutch seem to be ready!
As soon as the game started, both sides entered into a typical Premier League fast-paced offense and defense.
The tempo of the game was immediately maxed out.
Manchester City took the first kick-off.
From the first attack, we can see some strategies of both sides.
Manchester City did not control the ball in the midfield too much, but chose to pass the ball quickly.
More often the ball is passed to the frontcourt, leaving it to Reus, Aguero and Messi to plan the attack in the frontcourt.
All three players have strong individual abilities.
As long as one person gets the ball, the other two will immediately follow and form cooperation.
David Silva behind will follow immediately.
This style of play is roughly the same as Guardiola's tactics at Manchester City this season.
The biggest difference is ball control.
Everyone could see from Manchester City's tactics from the start that Guardiola was not very confident about the ball possession rate in this game.
The iron triangle combination of Toni Kroos, Matic and Modric all have strong ball-handling and passing abilities.
More importantly, they work together very well.
Yang Cheng’s confidence also comes from this.
The iron triangle in the midfield remained stable, with a balanced offense and defense.
The three players in the frontcourt actively pressed.
When Manchester City made quick passes to the frontcourt, the Bayswater Chinese backcourt players focused more on compressing the space for the ball and avoided confronting Manchester City's front trident head-on.
This is also a very sensible strategy.
With the strength of Bayswater's Chinese defensive players, as long as they don't try to grab the ball easily, but aim to compress the opponent's space to get the ball, it will not be easy for Manchester City's trident to pass them.
But Messi is an exception.
The Argentines' ability to break through cannot be defended by one person alone.
So, after the opening, when Manchester City realized this, the ball moved to the frontcourt and gradually tilted towards Messi.
But every time the Argentine got the ball, there would be defensive players around him, blocking his forward path.
Even Marcelo was not very active in participating in the attack.
Although Messi plays as a right winger, when it comes to the game, he usually plays a free role.
For the Chinese in Bayswater, how to defend Messi is not something unfamiliar.
It can be said that both sides have done a lot of work on targeted tactics and have studied various offensive attempts based on the opponent's deployment.
The first threatening attack of the entire game came from Messi.
In the 11th minute of the game, the Argentine retreated to the middle of the midfield to get the ball.
At that time, Manchester City's entire midfield was suppressed by the Chinese from Bayswater.
After Messi retreated to receive the ball, he turned around and got rid of Matic's entanglement. Although he failed to completely break through with the ball, he sent a straight pass to behind the defense line.
Aguero quickly moved forward, caught up with Messi's pass, and rushed to the right side of the penalty area with the ball.
Thiago Silva chased all the way and successfully stuck to Aguero.
With the help of Courtois, the two of them can surely lock Aguero's shooting angle.
Unexpectedly, the Argentine suddenly stopped and kicked the ball to Reus on the left side of the penalty spot with his right foot.
At this critical moment, Van Dijk chased all the way and finally returned to his own penalty area. With a key sliding tackle, he blocked Reus' shot.
Not only that, after the Dutchman got up from the ground, he rushed forward again, intercepted the ball before it went out of the baseline, turned around and made a long pass, kicking the ball out of the penalty area and to the frontcourt.
The Bayswater Chinese quickly launched a counterattack.
The whole stadium applauded Van Dijk for his wonderful performance!
"The performance of this Dutch central defender is really eye-catching!"
“I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
"Just a moment ago, he was still so far away, and then he rushed over all of a sudden. His speed was really fast!"
"The point is, he's really fierce!"
"I can now say without a doubt that Van Dijk is one of the strongest central defenders in world football today."
…
The back-and-forth attacking between the two sides made all the fans feel very excited.
And there is another aspect of this game that makes everyone satisfied.
That's fluency.
There were basically no unnecessary small moves by both sides, but both sides tried their best to defend.
It can be said that they are all focused on football.
The same is true for referee Cakir.
Every penalty he made was well-judged.
Even the players on both sides were relatively polite on the court.
For example, when defending Reus's breakthrough with the ball, Piszczek went all the way back to defense and tackled Reus.
After the Polish defender, who was about to turn 30, shoveled the ball out of bounds, he turned around and reached out to pull up Reus.
The German winger did not linger, but grabbed Piszczek's hand and stood up again.
There was constant applause at the scene.
Obviously, it was a clean tackle.
Referee Cakir didn't even call a foul, but just gave Manchester City a throw-in.
“The atmosphere of this game is really different from many games we’ve seen before.”
"It was very smooth and very beautiful, but the most important thing was the spirit of the game shown by both sides."
"I think it's more of a return to the purest form of the game of football."
"Neither side had that many messy tricks, not many small movements, and the movements were not big. In addition, the passing and receiving of the ball were very skillful and smooth, so the game was really exciting."
But not long after the commentator finished praising, in the 18th minute, the Chinese in Bayswater launched a quick counterattack.
After getting the ball, Toni Kroos made a long diagonal pass and transferred the ball to the right side of the frontcourt.
Gareth Bale sprinted out at a breakneck speed.
The Welsh winger was like a bolt of lightning.
Chiellini's speed is not slow. He returned to defense very promptly and followed Gareth Bale all the way.
Gareth Bale rushed to the right side outside Manchester City's penalty area and was pressed closely by Chiellini, and never got a chance to stop the ball.
Just as the football was about to go out of the baseline, Gareth Bale suddenly thought of an idea, stepped forward quickly, and kicked the ball to the right side of the penalty area before the ball went out of the baseline.
After picking up the ball, Gareth Bale suddenly stopped, stopped his momentum, and immediately cut inside laterally.
Chiellini was shocked.
He originally thought the ball was going out of bounds.
But I didn't expect Gareth Bale to do this.
Just when Chiellini was about to turn around, the Welshman had already taken the lead and blocked Chiellini behind him, and rushed into the penalty area.
Kompany has returned to the penalty area, but he is on the right side of the penalty spot.
Because he had to consider Giroud who was behind.
When Kompany saw Gareth Bale break through Chiellini in this way, he no longer cared about Giroud and immediately pounced on Gareth Bale.
The Welshman caught up with the ball he had just picked out on the right side of the penalty area, and without waiting for Kompany to get close, he chased after him and shot with his left foot.
Kompany immediately raised his foot to block the ball, but was a beat too late.
The football flew out from Gareth Bale's left foot at an extremely fast speed, drew an arc, passed Ter Stegen's hands, and hit the goal behind him.
“The ball goes in!!!!”
"A very exciting shot from the right!"
"From Gareth Bale!"
"This is the strength of the world's top superstar!"
"Gareth Bale was alone, broke through Chiellini and suddenly shot from the right side of the penalty area."
“It was a really violent volley!”
"This is a typical Bale goal!"
After scoring the goal, Gareth Bale rushed out of the stadium in excitement.
The Welshman rushed all the way to the edge of the podium and celebrated his goal excitedly.
At this moment, the live TV camera also switched very specifically to the chairman's stand at the stadium.
Platini sat there motionless with a gloomy face.
But everyone could see that he was very dissatisfied with Gareth Bale's goal at this moment.
…
As Bayswater Chinese took the lead with a goal, the game began to become more and more open.
Especially Manchester City.
Even the players in the frontcourt have completely let go.
The Argentine Messi was more like a hungry wolf. Every time he got the ball, he would make a fierce attack on the Chinese defense line in Bayswater.
And everyone knows that once Messi gets the ball and starts to move forward, it is very difficult to stop him.
Sometimes we even have to resort to foul tactics.
But not every foul works.
When the game reached the 29th minute, both sides were still playing at a fast pace.
Messi took the ball on the right flank and rushed forward, attracting Matic and Marcelo to his side at the same time, and continued to dribble into the penalty area.
This is obviously a bit unreasonable.
Marcelo made a tackle at a critical moment and knocked Messi down outside the right corner of the penalty area.
This was a foul. Although the action was clean, the referee still gave a yellow card and gave a free kick opportunity outside the right corner of the penalty area.
Verratti ran over and prepared to kick off.
Messi pointed his finger in front of him.
The Italian midfielder kicked the ball over.
As soon as Messi got the ball, there were four defensive players around him.
The two in front are Thiago Silva and Marcelo, with Matic on the left and Toni Kroos at the back right.
Four people double-teamed Messi at the same time.
Just when they were about to surround the Argentine like a sandwich and prevent him from entering the penalty area, Messi stopped the ball and started moving, his body swinging left and right at a very fast frequency.
He first dribbled the ball with his right foot to avoid Marcelo, then with his left foot, barely dribbling past Thiago Silva.
No one at the scene knew how the Argentines did it.
But he managed to get the ball out from the double-team of four defensive players.
And just as the question was in everyone's mind: How did he do it? The Argentine had just broken through Thiago Silva and, without giving the Brazilian center back a chance to chase, he sent a cross with his right foot.
The ball was passed in front of the goal.
Aguero rushed out first, fell to the ground and shot the ball into the goal of Bayswater Chinese.
1 to 1!
It’s tied!
The entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers once again! "It's so exciting!"
"My God, Messi managed to get the ball out even though he was surrounded by four players."
"The Argentine used his magical footwork to break through the layers of defense of the Chinese in Bayswater and assisted Aguero to score with a shovel shot in front of the goal, equalizing the score!"
"Now the game time is 30 minutes, and both sides are back to the same starting line!"
“This is Messi!”
"Messi is unreasonable!"
"It was exactly the same as Gareth Bale's shot just now. The defenders had no way to stop him."
"What is a top star?"
"They are!"
"Even if you know what they want to do, you can't stop them!"
…
After Manchester City equalized the score, the Chinese in Bayswater continued to intensify their offensive.
As the game progressed, Yang Cheng's team gradually began to gain the upper hand in the midfield.
In terms of ball possession, Bayswater Chinese were actually on par with Manchester City.
In the first 30 minutes, the difference was 51% to 49%.
Even the number of shots for both sides was almost the same, both were 5.
According to the on-site commentator, both sides did their best in targeted defense, but both sides' offense were always able to find some loopholes and create some opportunities.
As the Chinese in Bayswater began to intensify their attack, they gradually gained some advantages on the field.
But there are also regrets.
In the 37th minute, Gareth Bale dribbled the ball on the right, broke through two Manchester City defenders, and passed the ball in front of the goal with his right foot. Giroud was disturbed by Boateng and shot in front of the goal, but the ball went wide.
Then there was another header, also from Giroud, but it went high.
The French center is indeed a little lacking in shooting efficiency.
Manchester City strengthened their defense.
Especially the defense against Gareth Bale on the right.
After 40 minutes, the Chinese players of Bayswater began to intensify their attack on the left.
Marcelo also began to actively move forward and participate in the attack.
In the 44th minute, Hazard and Marcelo completed an offensive cooperation on the left. When the low ball was passed to the front point, Boateng kicked the ball out of the baseline before Giroud.
Corner kick.
Toni Kroos ran over, picked up the ball and put it in the corner.
At this moment, all Manchester City's defensive players retreated.
The two full-backs Piszczek and Marcelo withdrew from the 30-meter area.
Because the two central defenders Thiago Silva and Van Dijk have already entered the penalty area, ready to compete for the header.
Van Dijk's headers are also a very important offensive weapon for the Bayswater Chinese.
Manchester City is also facing a formidable enemy.
Gianni Vio also ran to the sidelines to direct the game again.
But just when everyone thought that Toni Kroos would kick the ball directly into the penalty area, he suddenly chose to kick the ball quickly and kicked it directly to Hazard.
After passing the ball, Toni Kroos ran quickly towards the penalty area.
Manchester City was well prepared.
At the same time when Hazard got the ball, Zabaleta pressed forward and forced the Belgian to retreat.
When Toni Kroos rushed into the penalty area to avoid being in an offside position, he was blocked behind him by Yaya Toure who reacted in time.
The German midfielder kept observing the situation around him and immediately stretched out his hand and called out, "Marcelo."
Hazard immediately sent a pass back.
The ball was passed back along the left sideline and landed right at the feet of Marcelo who was running in from behind.
The Brazilian saw Toni Kroos's gesture before he even received the ball.
Pass it to him.
Although Yaya Toure blocked Toni Kroos behind him, he actually had to be wary of Hazard not passing the ball, but dribbling past Zabaleta and making a cross diagonally near the bottom line of the penalty area.
This is very dangerous.
At this moment, the restricted area is full of people.
Therefore, Yaya Toure's attention is always on Hazard, Zabaleta, and Toni Kroos behind him.
When Toni Kroos called Marcelo, Yaya Toure looked at Hazard almost reflexively.
But just after taking this look, Toni Kroos behind him quickly stepped forward, rushed to his left front, and pointed in front of himself, asking Marcelo to pass the ball quickly.
Yaya Toure followed immediately.
Even though he missed a great opportunity, he still had to block Toni Kroos.
Marcelo's pass landed accurately at Toni Kroos' feet.
But the German midfielder did not stop the ball, but blocked it directly. The ball was passed to the bottom line through the narrow channel behind Zabaleta and in front of Yaya Toure.
Hazard was originally walking close to Zabaleta, fearing that he would be offside.
After Toni Kroos passed the ball, he immediately started to move forward, caught up with Toni Kroos's pass near the baseline, and then kicked the ball with his left foot, sending a high ball.
At the front of the penalty area, Van Dijk suddenly went forward and headed the ball into Manchester City's goal from close range! "GOAL!!!"
"2 to 1!"
"Before the end of the first half, the Bayswater Chinese once again broke through Manchester City's goal."
"Assist from Hazard, Van Dijk's header!"
"It was a wonderful tactical corner kick, very unexpected."
"Everyone thought that Bayswater Chinese would take a direct corner kick, but unexpectedly, they chose a quick tactical corner kick and played a wonderful combination."
"Manchester City's corner kick defense was broken down like this!"
…
The first half ended with a score of 2-1.
But after the change of sides in the second half, Manchester City launched an attack again and began to continuously invest manpower.
The Bayswater Chinese began to slow down the pace appropriately, trying to control the game.
After all, we are leading.
Yang Cheng also hopes that the team will take advantage of Manchester City's active forward pressure and strive to counterattack from behind.
In the 54th minute, Matic successfully intercepted the ball outside his own penalty area and quickly passed the ball to Modric.
Modric dribbled the ball forward, and after crossing the center line, he immediately sent a mid-range half-high ball directly to the right rib of the frontcourt.
Gareth Bale made a forward run at the fastest speed, took the best position first, blocked Chiellini with his body, and then stopped the ball with his left foot to Giroud who was following behind.
The French center forward was slow and slightly behind Gareth Bale. After stopping the ball, he dribbled the ball diagonally forward with his left foot and passed the ball behind his back.
The football was passed between Boateng and Kompany, bounced off the ground in Manchester City's penalty area, and then fell to the left side of the penalty area.
At almost the same time, Hazard quickly cut into the penalty area.
The Belgian's speed was not that fast, but Zabaleta was always stuck behind him.
Giroud's pass bounced off the ground and landed right in front of Hazard.
In terms of scoring goals, the French center forward is indeed average in efficiency.
But he did a great job passing the ball.
When Hazard caught up, the ball fell down again.
The Belgian didn't stop the ball and shot directly with his right foot.
When everyone thought Hazard would shoot in the far corner, the Belgian suddenly chose to shoot in the near corner.
The ball almost brushed the base of the right post and went into Manchester City's goal.
Ter Stegen's save came a little late.
"3 to 1!"
"Hazard scores another goal for Bayswater Chinese!"
"My God, the Chinese in Bayswater are counterattacking so fast!"
"From intercepting the ball to counterattacking, Manchester City's defense didn't even have time to react before the back line was penetrated again."
"Now, Guardiola's team is facing a very troublesome problem."
"If they push forward and attack, the defense behind them will become a problem."
"But if we don't press forward, we will be behind in the score now."
"Now it depends on what Guardiola will choose."
…
Guardiola did make substitutions quickly.
In the 59th minute, Xabi Alonso replaced Zabaleta.
Manchester City started to play with three defenders.
Chiellini, Kompany and Boateng.
In the midfield, Xabi Alonso moved back and Yaya Toure was given more authority to move forward and participate in the attack.
It was precisely this adjustment that, in the 73rd minute, Yaya Toure received a pass from Messi at the front of the penalty area, held up Matic with his body, and sent a lob pass to the right side of the penalty area.
Aguero broke into the right side of the penalty area, stopped the ball with his foot, and then shot low again, breaking through the goal guarded by Courtois.
2 to 3!
This goal also rekindled the hope of Manchester City players.
Although throughout the game, Messi seemed to be locked in a cage and had little space to get the ball.
But the Argentine was still able to use his possession and passing to create opportunities for his teammates around him.
Both of Manchester City's goals were inseparable from Messi's ball possession and organizational planning.
And after catching up to 2-3, Manchester City players obviously felt that they still had a chance.
So, Manchester City began to increase its offensive intensity.
Especially in the 75th minute, Guardiola replaced Verratti, who was very exhausted, with Thiago.
But it was precisely this substitution that caused problems for Manchester City.
In the 79th minute, Thiago was dribbling the ball in the midfield and was successfully intercepted by Modric, who then passed the ball to Toni Kroos.
The German midfielder made a long diagonal pass and sent the ball far behind Manchester City.
At this moment, the entire Blue Moon defense line has crossed the center line.
Almost at the same time, Gareth Bale, like a red lightning, quickly penetrated Manchester City's defense line and sprinted forward desperately.
Chiellini desperately chased back, trying to stick to Gareth Bale.
But the Welsh were not afraid at all.
Especially after rushing into Manchester City's half, the speed was getting faster and faster.
Everyone could clearly see that the Welsh team gradually caught up from being one body length behind.
After entering Manchester City's 30-meter area, he even surpassed Chiellini, caught up with the football that bounced off the ground, and kicked the ball into the penalty area.
Chiellini reached out to hold Gareth Bale back and prevent him from entering the penalty area.
Even if it means getting a red card, it doesn't matter! But when he reached out to grab it, he touched the wet jersey on Gareth Bale's back.
When my hand was about to grab the jersey, it slipped.
Not only did he fail to catch it, he even stumbled.
Gareth Bale quickly caught up with the ball he had dribbled out, and facing the attacking Ter Stegen, he calmly shot with his right foot.
As a result, he tripped over Ter Stegen who was lying on the ground to save the ball, lost his balance and fell forward, tumbling twice before falling out of the baseline of the court.
But after he lifted the football high, it passed over Ter Stegen's head and slowly fell into the empty goal.
Turkish referee Cakir had to rush all the way and finally managed to get outside the penalty area.
There is no way, Gareth Bale is too fast!
But Cakir blew the whistle directly to indicate that the goal was valid.
4 to 2!
The whole stadium erupted in cheers.
Manchester City's players did not protest.
Because they all know it very well.
This ball is either a penalty or a goal.
And the score on the scoreboard just changed from 2 to 3 to 2 to 4!
Yang Cheng clenched his fists excitedly.
Winner!
He began to look forward to Platini's award! (End of this chapter)
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