Chapter 1 The Beginning

As the football moved across the turf, the cheers erupting from the home stands overwhelmed the pitch like a tidal wave.

"Manchester City ball."

"Chelsea's five forwards are past the center circle. Is this really the defensive bus we know?"

"A crowded midfield."

"High-pressing battles from both sides!"

Diego Costa started trash-talking Fernandinho.

David Silva weaved right and feinted left, shaking off Hazard's entanglement before quickly passing the ball to the wing.

Kyle Walker, wearing the Manchester City jersey, was like a bulldozer!

He took the ball and surged forward.

Accelerating!

As he barreled through Chelsea's half, two tall figures quickly rushed over.

Li Kang and Rudiger.

One blocked the inside, the other the outside.

Walker had no desire to force his way through, abruptly stopping and knocking the ball back.

"How did Stones end up in that position?"

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

"The advantage of Guardiola's high-pressing defense is freeing up a center-back's range."

"Beautiful ground pass!"

*Thwack!*

Stones' short passes, vision, and awareness have improved a lot after a season of training.

The football stuck to the grass, diagonally shifting to the center.

David Silva and Fabregas appeared on the passing lane at the same time.

The two were genius midfielders who rose with the Spanish Dynasty.

The former had a better position to receive the ball.

But at the moment of stopping the ball, he lightly lifted his foot and let it pass.

The football ignored the two and continued to roll towards its destination.

"Beautiful!"

"De Bruyne!"

"Kante's coming too!"

"Data shows that De Bruyne has had the upper hand in their previous encounters last season, but Kante's chase-down tackles have gone viral."

"Highlights mislead many fans...a beautiful turn to get past and a diagonal pass!"

The audience couldn't see De Bruyne's movement for a moment.

The brief visual information transmitted to the brain became: the football tapped between De Bruyne and Kante and then bounced to the left wing!

Width.

The advantage of width.

Guardiola unleashed an extreme 3-1-4-2 formation, giving Manchester City more ways to avoid the midfield battles during the advance, and they could spread out the advantage of six attacking points the moment they accelerated.

The light blue torrent quickly spread to Chelsea's danger zone!

"Sane crosses from this position?"

"Aguero's feint run, successful offside trap!"

"Caballero's positioning is too far back."

"Manchester City's chance!"

Aguero during his time at Atletico Madrid was a fan favorite with his playing style. A true offensive core, an all-around striker, capable of breaking through, passing, dribbling, and shooting. He often single-handedly solved battles.

Goals from dribbling past three players, bicycle kicks in the crowd, extreme one-two passes, commanding advances, soul-stirring through balls... he produced all kinds of inspired and divine performances.

Comebacks and single-handedly turning the tide were not uncommon.

At that time, Atletico Madrid's overall strength was in a slump, and this South American genius shouldered a heavy burden.

After he came to the Premier League, he officially transformed into a pure scorer.

Etihad Stadium.

The Blues fans were extremely nervous.

The Sky Blues fans cheered.

Aguero, who used his run to create a space advantage, dribbled the ball to the edge of the box, with no one interfering!

Caballero in front of Chelsea's goal looked extremely embarrassed.

*Beep!*

A sudden whistle interrupted everyone's expectations.

"The linesman raised the flag!"

"Offside?"

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

"Failed offside trap!"

Aguero looked helpless. He walked towards the female linesman, talking incessantly.

The moment he got close, he reached out and touched the female referee's neck.

Boos immediately rang out from all four stands.

Livestream.

Barrage of comments flew across the screen.

-


[Why is this guy always touching female referees? He's done this before!]

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[Sleazy!]

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[South American grease king.]

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[Shouldn't the referee give him a card for that? Diego Costa got a card for touching a male referee last time!]

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[Chelsea are in danger in this match. The goalkeeper's positioning is a serious problem. The formation is pushed high, why is he dragging so far back?]

On the sidelines.

Tuchel and Guardiola were making hand gestures.

It was like a battle of magic, or like old women arguing.

Caballero took the goal kick from the offside spot.

A little pressure.

Manchester City's high press was very fierce.

Fortunately, David Luiz's footwork was good and his ball release rate was fast.

After a series of "this, this, and then that," omitting hundreds of words of pressure and counter-pressure games...

Chelsea's defense still passed the ball to Li Kang's feet.

The God's perspective also went through a series of "this, this, and then that," omitting hundreds of words of deconstructing the high-line defensive formation.

Cheers erupted once again at the Etihad Stadium.

"Pay attention, Kyle Walker's retreating range is huge!"

"Manchester City have reorganized their four-man defense!"

"Chelsea have slowed down their attacking rhythm."

Li Kang cut the ball backwards with the inside of his foot, a "magic twirl of love," shaking off David Silva's press.

*Thwack!*

The football rolled towards Diego Costa, who was retreating to coordinate.

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

"Chelsea's striker makes a mistake stopping the ball...no! It's a beautiful backheel!"

"Killing two birds with one stone, not only did he open up the defense, but he also completed a one-two with Li Kang!"

Diego Costa did indeed fail to stop the ball properly under pressure.

Fortunately, he was facing away from the goal.

The ball bounced, landing right at the feet of Li Kang, who was running forward.

Li Kang didn't slow down, dribbling the ball as he continued to surge forward.

Diego Costa didn't charge forward, but continued to retreat.

According to Tuchel's deployment, he had to switch between the "advancing striker" and the "withdrawing striker" roles during the match.

Manchester City's left side was in chaos for a moment.

Walker, switching to a full-back role, and Kompany quickly converged to intercept the Blues' new core!

The local space was extremely crowded!

"No forceful breakthrough!"

"Li Kang tapped the ball to Hazard on the far outside with his right foot!"

"Walker's reacting quickly! Adjusting his defensive positioning!"

"Hazard can't get past either... there are too many people in this area, it's too crowded!"

"He chose to pass it back!"

"Back to Diego Costa!"

"Very clear thinking!"

"Three people in a series of passes, stumbling, looking like the ball could be lost at any moment!"

Li Kang accelerated and broke through Walker and Kompany's inside space.

Three steps into the penalty area.

The "withdrawing striker" Diego Costa passed the ball with one touch.

*Thump!*

Again, interfered with by Stones!

The pass was too strong!

The line deviated!

Looking like it was about to go out of bounds!

"Oh, Tuchel's asking Lu Zhishen to do embroidery?"

"Fortunately, Li Kang's legs are long enough!"

"A diving backheel sweeps the ball in front of the goal!"

From God's perspective, Diego Costa's deep retreat pulled away Fernandinho and Stones.

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

On the right wing, Pedro only had Otamendi as an opponent!

On the sidelines.

Tuchel looked excited.

He believed he had found a balance between tactical ideals and Li Kang.

That's how they should play!

Use "positional ambiguity" to crush "positional ambiguity"!

On the other side.

Guardiola covered his mouth with both hands in surprise.

"Right wing!"

"Pedro!"

"Ghostly run!"

"Shakes off Otamendi!"

"Empty net!"

"Oh, his legs are still too short!"

The La Masia demon blade's toes couldn't reach the football.

Night fell.

A series of exclamations and regrets enveloped the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City's goalkeeper, Ederson, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: Li's ground pass, even when he was off balance, was still difficult to deal with, and he almost didn't have time to adjust his position.

Pedro was a little embarrassed.

He quickly got up, trotted to the left baseline of the goal, and pulled Li Kang up.

Livestream.

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[What's going on? Both sides are playing fancy, but no goals?]

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[I told you not to believe me. The over is dead. Diego Costa can't do fancy stuff. Zhang Fei is doing embroidery. It was just a lucky through ball.]

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[I think this is a feint attack by Tuchel targeting the strong side. He likes to do this at Dortmund.]

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[Let me analyze the situation and tactical game for everyone: this... this and then that, do you all understand?]

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[Got it, both teams are amazing! Li Mingdeng is so handsome!]

Li Kang was pulled up by Pedro.

A system prompt quietly sounded.

[Ding! Teammate Pedro's friendliness towards you has increased, a bond has been established!]

[Blue Bond: Demon Blade Unleashed Lv1!]

[Bond Effect: Your breakthrough and arc control have been slightly improved, and Pedro feels several months younger.]

[The effect is only active when both players are on the field at the same time.]

[The initial establishment of the bond will restore some of your abilities to their best state. (Only once per game)]

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

Full health again?

Originally, with the passage of time, there wasn't a drop of energy left.

Kompany has OCD.

During the dead ball phase, when he saw Li Kang walking past him, the grass clippings stuck to his dark blue jersey made him a little uncontrollable.

Especially the number 10 logo on the back.

*Pat, pat, pat.*

Old Kompany finally couldn't help but reach out and gently pat off the grass clippings on Li Kang's body.

Not far away, Diego Costa was trash-talking with Fernandinho.

"The game resumes!"

"Manchester City launches an attack from the back!"

"Stones' long pass!"

"This ball is a bit presumptuous...Chelsea's midfield barrier..."

An amazing scene happened.

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

He leaped high.

But the football flew past the top of his head.

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

"Defect!"

"The biggest flaw in Chelsea's Li Kang + Fabregas + Kante midfield triangle combination."

"In 2017, modern football's height requirement for central and backfield players is...at least 1.7 meters!"

"Jesus!"

Kante was not discouraged and immediately turned to chase back!

Jesus, who had received the ball, did not dare to be careless and quickly passed it to the wing!

Sane again!

Guardiola's attacking routines in Manchester City's frontcourt during this period were extremely stubborn.

He couldn't mess around.

Every detail had to be according to his requirements!

Sane slowed down, made some adjustments, and dared not cross casually again.

Waiting for David Silva to advance!

Keep it on the ground!

In an instant, the dense attacking points of the Sky Blues stirred up a suffocating passing and running coordination in Chelsea's half!

Half-space.

Width utilization.

Position rotation.

Vertical zipper.

Wing-rib conduction.

This, this, and then that, with excellent individual skills and smooth overall operation.

Whether it was Liverpool's high pressing or Tuchel's layered strangulation, it was difficult to easily intercept the Sky Blues' football!

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

Kyle Walker overlapped on the side.

After sending a diagonal pass, De Bruyne quickly retreated two steps.

Rudiger turned and pounced towards Manchester City's full-back.

Kyle Walker touched the ball with one foot!

The football rolled back to De Bruyne again.

"Too redundant. Chelsea has completed their defensive positioning during this time!"

"Wow! A rainbow!"

*Thwack!*

De Bruyne wiggled his big butt and slightly swung his right leg.

The football rose from the ground.

Rotating violently.

Falling towards the area of the left goalpost.

Outlining an extremely beautiful arc in the Chelsea penalty area!

The perfect trajectory.

Like a gorgeous rainbow!

Chelsea's goalkeeper, Caballero, was a little panicked.

Any goalkeeper in the world would panic standing here.

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[De Bruyne is awesome!]

Sane, like a lion with an afro, appeared at the landing point!

Header!

*Thwack!*

The bullet left the chamber!

It was as if De Bruyne had blocked Chelsea's goal with a gun against its temple, and then Sane pulled the trigger!

Caballero was powerless.

Coldness swept through his body.

Despair...

In despair, a figure stood in front of him!

Azpilicueta!

*Thwack!*

*Clang!*

The football was headed out of bounds, and Azpilicueta's forehead slammed heavily into the goalpost!

"Goal-line clearance!"

"Azpilicueta stepped forward. He used his actions to prove to the world that no matter what tactical system Chelsea uses, the iron blood and tenacity in their bones will not fade away..."

"Iron-blooded spirit! It doesn't matter, even if he can't continue fighting! Chelsea's bench has several excellent defenders..."

"Huh? No blood!"

"Got up as if nothing had happened!"

"What is his head made of?"

"..."

"In any case, Chelsea has reached the most critical moment, a crumbling defense!"

The away fans were worried.

They felt uncomfortable.

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

The stability of their high-speed passing and running was too high, with almost no mistakes.

Which team in Europe could withstand their advance in a "frontal high press"?

Azpilicueta rubbed his forehead and got up again, with lingering fear: it wasn't that he was worried about his injury, but he was worried that if Sane had cushioned the ball into the middle just now... he would have lost his defensive position in vain!

Fortunately, Sane was selfish enough and didn't like to pass the ball, just like Pedro.

On the sidelines.

Tuchel applauded vigorously.

He was satisfied with the players' performance.

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

Chelsea's new coach replied seriously: "No, against this Manchester City, if we choose a low block defense, then... we will be like frogs being boiled in warm water!"

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

"..."

On the other side.

Guardiola continued to gesticulate wildly.

No one knew what he was thinking.

Time passed minute by minute.

After the initial exchange of fire, both sides gradually slowed down the pace of the game.

David Silva and De Bruyne didn't play frontal assaults, but played fancy moves on the side ribs.

Sane and Kyle Walker on the wings didn't "overlap" in the traditional sense.

Instead, they rotated to the middle many times.

Jesus' position was getting further and further back.

Li Kang's energy was full. He wanted to assist the defense line many times, but found that it was unnecessary... If he suddenly dropped back to assist in the counter-attack defense, it would only squeeze his teammates' defensive space and disrupt the unified defensive thinking.

Counter-attack defense.

Not positional defense.

Chelsea's last line of defense was very solid. Azpilicueta and Cahill had been very tacitly coordinated for many years.

David Luiz, although in his second stint, and Rudiger, although a new signing, had very strong plug-and-play capabilities.

Who wasn't a T0...呸呸呸, a T1 center-back!

The cheers gradually subsided.

The Blues fans were in despair.

The Blues players were not in despair, but were suspicious:

Because before the game, Tuchel had made different deployment changes for different periods of the game.

Were they reliable?

35 minutes into the game.

Kante finally beat De Bruyne once!

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

"The stocky De Bruyne is down!"

"No problem!"

"The Little Giant's chase-down tackle was very clean!"

Tuchel's expression was calm as he quickly gestured!

He had been waiting for a long time!

Finally, he had an opportunity to adjust!

Why impact during this period of time?

Because "this, this, and then that"... An excellent coach must grasp the strengths and weaknesses of different periods of the game!

Fabregas received Kante's pass.

Diego Costa began to move.

'Fabregas-Costa connection'?

No.

Li Kang moved forward from the left half, and Pedro retreated closer to the center.

The La Masia Youth Training Magic Triangle!

In an instant, Tuchel's Chelsea silenced the Etihad Stadium!

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

On the left half, Fernandinho, David Silva, and Kyle Walker couldn't stop the opponent's ground push.

Li Kang and two alumni from the film academy continuously passed the ball with one touch.

The distance was shortened!

Reasonable movement maintained a reasonable triangle.

Manchester City's midfield barrier was torn apart in an instant.

Fernandinho did not give up. He was prepared to use a foul to disrupt Chelsea's attack!

Reaching out to grab Li Kang.

No malice.

But he was dragged by that terrifying power.

His knee accidentally hit Li Kang's crotch.

*Thump*?

How could it be a *thwack*?

The touch felt like a hard iron plate?

Was this kid wearing iron underwear?

Guardiola was also gesturing, reminding his disciples to block Li Kang's passing connection while contracting the defense line.

'Tuchel's offensive system will definitely not give Li freedom.'

'After Li enters the thirty-meter area, the optimal solution can only be to pass the ball!'

Li Kang shook off the strong Fernandinho.

The shadow in his brain spread to the extreme.

Continuing to charge forward.

A frizzy-haired player closely followed: the extremely fast Sane.

Stones also stopped assisting Kompany, adjusted his direction, and attempted to intercept Li Kang head-on.

Today was different from the past!

The current Manchester City defense line was confident in intercepting the Iberian Hero, the Spanish Dynasty Sword Holder, the King of North Rhine, the Nightmare of France, the Arsenal Commander, the Stamford Bridge Boss...

Come on!

An amazing scene happened.

The moment the three approached, the Eye of Truth burst forth.

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

"A fake pass and a real pull!"

"A V-shaped dribble!"

"Tricked out the most comfortable breakthrough path!"

"He rushed past!"

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

"But they have lost their positional advantage. The center of gravity of the body during the chase is difficult to grasp..."

"Fallen!"

Guardiola held his head in his hands, looking confused.

At this moment, it was the Manchester City defense line that was crumbling!

Hazard, Pedro, and Fabregas did not slack off!

The three widened the attack.

Diego Costa stopped and waited for the change in the attack path... preparing for a melee with Kompany between men.

Goalkeeper Ederson stepped out!

At this moment, he seemed to be possessed by a "sweeper keeper" from the 1920s!

Guardiola's "goalkeeper + defender" three-dimensional defense in Manchester City had already taken shape in 2017!

It was useless!

*Thwack!*

A crisp sound of touching the ball!

The football left Li Kang's left instep.

After his teammates stretched the Manchester City defense line to a certain extent, his shot would make all the "this, this, and then that" tactical games vanish into thin air.

The football quickly rose, and then quickly fell.

Outlining a beautiful arc in the Manchester City penalty area!

The force was just right.

The line did not deviate by half a point.

The ball speed was neither fast nor slow.

Ederson quickly turned around and ran back. At this moment, he finally experienced Neuer's feelings.

Manchester City fans were in a daze: why was our goalkeeper standing so far forward?

The football fell into the range of the goal line.

Ederson reached out and grabbed it.

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

0:1!!!

"Beautiful!"

"Goal!"

"Elegant arc!"

"Gentle chip shot!"

"Breaking the deadlock!"

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

"A memorable moment!"

"He has conquered the Etihad Stadium again!"

"A crack has appeared in the soon-to-rise Blue Moon Dynasty!"

"Ederson's positioning was very irrational. He should have known Li Kang's passing and chip shot skills honed by Neuer!"

Livestream.

A barrage of comments flew across the screen.

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[Too handsome.]

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[Li Mingdeng, who doesn't have to drop back, can easily connect with his teammates' passes and advances!]

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[Pedro retreating and moving to the center, followed by Chelsea's midfield ground passes, caught Manchester City a little off guard.]

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[Chelsea now has an ultimate Xavi. Why else would you send Pedro on the field? Why not put Willian on the field for a traditional routine?]

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[They didn't keep passing it down. Li Mingdeng was still allowed to handle the weak areas himself.]

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[Spanish training match?]

Li Kang basked in the spotlight.

The shadow in his brain contracted.

The red line from God's perspective had not moved in this game: Tuchel had already given the optimal solution for breaking the overall deadlock.

Chelsea fans who traveled with the team shouted slogans.

"keeptheBlueflagflyinghigh!!!"

His teammates on the bench couldn't help but leave their seats and rush to the sidelines to celebrate with clenched fists!

Diego Costa was the first to rush to the scene and raise Li Kang's hand.

Hazard glanced at the game time on the big screen in the air and couldn't help but sigh: it was too easy to win with Li as a teammate.

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

On the sidelines.

Tuchel had a smile on his face.

Dino looked excited and said:

"Manchester City will indeed construct the midfield's '3-3' and '2-3' defensive groups in this game."

"Part of their defensive force is used to limit Hazard in a non-ball state."

"The main idea is to disrupt our mid-to-long-range passing connections."

"Li, Pedro, Fabregas's three-man short passes disrupted..."

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

He turned to the coaching bench and pulled out a tactical board: "Next, we will respond to Guardiola's changes with changes."