With the football moving across the pitch,

the cheers erupting from the home stands washed over the green field like a torrent.

"Manchester City ball."

"Chelsea's five forwards have surged past the center circle. Is this still the familiar bus formation?"

"A crowded midfield."

"A high-pressing battle from both sides!"

Diego Costa was trash-talking Fernandinho.

David Silva feinted right and darted left, shaking off Hazard's entanglement before quickly distributing the ball to the flank.

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

He received the ball and surged forward.

Accelerating!

As he bulldozed through Chelsea's half, forty meters from the goal, two tall figures rushed towards him.

Li Kang and Rudiger.

One blocked the inside, the other the outside.

Walker showed no desire for a forceful breakthrough, abruptly halting his pace and quickly tapping the ball back.

"How did Stones appear in that position?"

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

"The advantage of Guardiola's high-pressing defense: freeing a center-back to cover more ground."

"A beautiful ground pass!"

*Pa!*

Stones' short passing, vision, and awareness have increased significantly after a season of training.

The football hugged the turf, diagonally shifting towards the center.

David Silva and Fabregas appeared simultaneously in the path of the pass.

Both were gifted midfielders who rose with the Spanish dynasty.

The former secured a better receiving position.

But, just as he was about to stop the ball, he lightly lifted his foot to let it pass.

It went through.

The football ignored their confrontation, continuing its journey towards its destination.

"Beautiful!"

"De Bruyne!"

"Kanté's coming too!"

"Data shows that De Bruyne had the upper hand in their encounters last season, but the highlight reel of Kanté's recovery tackles went viral."

"Highlight reels mislead many fans. A half-turn and pass!"

The audience couldn't quite make out De Bruyne's movement.

The brief visual information that reached their brains transformed into: the football tapped between De Bruyne and Kanté before bouncing towards the left flank!

Width.

The advantage of width.

Guardiola employed an extreme 3-1-4-2 formation, giving Manchester City more ways to avoid the midfield scramble during the build-up, allowing them to unleash the advantage of six attacking points the moment they sped up.

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

"Sané crossing from that position?"

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

"Caballero is positioned too far back."

"A chance for Manchester City!"

Aguero, during his time at Atletico Madrid, played in a way that was very appealing. A true attacking core, an all-around center-forward, capable of breaking through, passing, dribbling, and shooting, often resolving battles single-handedly.

He delivered all kinds of spiritual performances, like dribbling past three players to score, bicycle kicks in the crowd, extreme wall passes, directing the attack, and soulful through-balls.

Games where he single-handedly turned the tide were not uncommon.

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

After coming to the Premier League, he officially transitioned into a pure goalscorer.

Etihad Stadium.

The Blues fans were extremely nervous.

The Sky Blues fans cheered.

Aguero, having created space with his run, dribbled to the edge of the penalty arc, completely unmarked!

Caballero, in front of Chelsea's goal, looked incredibly flustered.

*Beep!*

A sudden whistle interrupted everyone's expectations.

"The linesman has raised the flag!"

"Offside?"

"Ah! Replays show that Aguero was indeed in an offside position!"

"Failed offside trap!"

Aguero looked helpless as he approached the female linesman, chattering incessantly.

As he got close,

he reached out and touched the female referee's neck.

Boos immediately echoed from all four stands.

Livestream.

The screen was filled with comments.

-

[Why does this guy keep touching female referees? He's done this kind of thing before!]

-

[Sleazy!]

-

[South American oil king.]

-

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

-

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

On the sidelines,

Tuchel and Guardiola were making hand gestures.

Like a duel of magic, or like old ladies arguing.

Caballero took the free kick from the offside position.

A little pressure.

Manchester City's high press was fierce.

Fortunately, David Luiz had good footwork and a quick release.

After some "this this and then that," omitting hundreds of words of pressure and counter-pressure duels...

Chelsea's defense still managed to pass the ball to Li Kang.

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

The roar of cheers rose again at the Etihad Stadium.

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

"Manchester City has reorganized a four-man defense!"

"Chelsea is slowing down the pace of their attack."

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

*Pa!*

The ball rolled towards Diego Costa, who had dropped back to support.

Fernandinho and Stones were also drawn out by his movement.

"Chelsea's forward makes a mistake in stopping the ball no! It's a beautiful backheel!"

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

Diego Costa indeed didn't stop the ball cleanly under pressure.

Fortunately, he was facing away from the goal.

The ball bounced,

landing perfectly in the path of Li Kang's forward run.

Li Kang didn't slow down, touching the ball and continuing his attack.

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

According to Tuchel's plan,

he had to constantly switch between "attacking forward" and "deep-lying forward" roles during the game.

Manchester City's left flank was momentarily in turmoil.

Walker, switched to wing-back, and Kompany quickly converged to intercept Chelsea's new core!

The local space was extremely crowded!

"No forced breakthrough!"

"Li Kang tapped the ball to Hazard on the far wing!"

"Walker's reaction is quick! Adjusting defensive positioning!"

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

"He's chosen to pass it back!"

"Back to Diego Costa!"

"A very clear idea!"

"The three-man combination, stumbling along, looked like they were about to lose the ball at any moment!"

Li Kang accelerated, breaking through the space between Walker and Kompany.

Three steps into the penalty area.

Diego Costa, the "deep-lying forward" dragging at the back, sent a pass.

*Clang!*

Stones interfered again!

The pass was too strong!

The line deviated!

It looked like it was going out of bounds!

"Oh, Tuchel, isn't this like asking Lu Zhishen to embroider?" (Asking the wrong person to do something.)

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

"A diving hook, sweeping the ball across the goal!"

In the God's-eye view,

Diego Costa's deep retreat drew away Fernandinho and Stones.

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

On the right flank, Pedro only had Otamendi left to deal with!

On the sidelines,

Tuchel was excited.

He felt he had found the balance between tactical ideals and Li Kang.

That's how to play!

Use "positional ambiguity" to overwhelm "positional ambiguity"!

On the other side,

Guardiola covered his mouth in surprise.

"Right wing!"

"Pedro!"

"Ghostly run!"

"Shaking off Otamendi!"

"Empty net!"

"Oh, his legs are still too short!"

The tip of the La Masia demon blade's foot 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 grounded cross, even off balance, was still difficult to deal with. He almost didn't have time to adjust his position.

Pedro was a little embarrassed.

He quickly got up, ran to the left side of the goal line, and pulled Li Kang up.

Livestream.

-

[What's going on? They're playing beautifully, but no goals?]

-

[Told you not to believe me. Over 2.5 goals is dead. Diego Costa can't handle fancy moves. Zhang Fei embroidering. Just a lucky through-ball.]

-

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

-

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

-

[Understood. Both teams are awesome! Li Mingdeng is so handsome!]

Li Kang was pulled up by Pedro.

The system prompt sounded quietly.

[Ding! Teammate - Pedro's friendliness towards you has increased. Bond established!]

[Blue Bond: Demon Blade Drawn Lv1!]

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

[Effect 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. (Once per game)]

The shadow energy in Li Kang's brain instantly became full.

Full health again?

Originally, as time passed, the energy had completely depleted.

Kompany had obsessive-compulsive disorder.

During the dead-ball phase,

when he saw Li Kang walk past him, the grass clippings stuck to the dark blue jersey made him a little out of control.

Especially the No. 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 back.

Not far away,

Diego Costa and Fernandinho were exchanging trash talk.

"Game resumes!"

"Manchester City launches an attack from the back!"

"Stones' long pass!"

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

A surprising scene unfolded.

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

He jumped high.

But the football flew past the top of his head.

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

"Defect!"

"The biggest defect of Chelsea's Li Kang + Fabregas + Kanté midfield triangle combination."

"In 2017, modern football's height requirements for central and backcourt players were at least 1.7 meters!"

"Jesus!"

Kanté didn't give up, immediately turning to chase back!

Jesus, receiving the ball, didn't dare to be careless, quickly distributing it to the flank!

Sané again!

Guardiola's attacking routine for Manchester City's frontcourt during this period was obsessive to a certain degree.

No messing around.

Every detail had to be according to his requirements!

Sané slowed down, made slight adjustments, not daring to cross casually anymore.

Waiting for David Silva's forward run!

Play it on the ground!

In an instant, Manchester City's dense attacking points in the frontcourt created a suffocating passing and running combination in Chelsea's half!

Half-space.

Width utilization.

Positional rotations.

Vertical zippers.

Wing-to-rib transitions.

This this and then that: exquisite individual skills, smooth overall operation.

Whether it was Liverpool's high press or Tuchel's layered strangulation, it was difficult to easily intercept Manchester City's football!

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

Kyle Walker overlapped.

De Bruyne made a diagonal pass, then quickly retreated two steps.

Rudiger turned to face the Manchester City wing-back.

Kyle Walker made a first-time touch!

The football rolled back to De Bruyne.

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

"Wow! Rainbow!"

*Pa!*

De Bruyne shook his big butt, slightly swinging his right leg.

The football left the ground.

Rotating violently.

Falling towards the left post.

Drawing an incredibly beautiful arc in the Chelsea penalty area!

Perfect trajectory.

Like a dazzling rainbow!

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

Any goalkeeper in the world would panic standing there.

-

[Dīng Dīng is awesome!]

Sané, like a lion with an explosive hairstyle, appeared at the landing point!

Header!

*Pa!*

The bullet left the chamber!

It was as if De Bruyne had pressed a gun to Chelsea's goal, blocking its temple, and Sané pulled the trigger!

Caballero was powerless.

A chill swept through his body.

Despair!

In the midst of despair, a figure stood in front of him!

Azpilicueta!

*Pa!*

*Clang!*

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

"Goal-line clearance!"

"Azpilicueta stood up, using his actions to prove to the world that Chelsea's iron-blooded spirit and tenacity will not fade away, no matter what tactical system they use!"

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

"Huh? No blood!"

"He got up as if nothing happened!"

"What's his head made of?"

"."

"Anyway, Chelsea has reached the most critical moment, a tottering defense!"

The away fans were worried.

Distressed.

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

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

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

Azpilicueta rubbed his forehead, getting up again with lingering fear: it wasn't worrying about his own injury, but worrying that Sané would have headed the ball to the center he would have lost his defensive position for nothing!

Fortunately, Sané was selfish and didn't like to pass, just like Pedro.

On the sidelines,

Tuchel clapped vigorously.

He was satisfied with the players' performance.

Dino frowned: "Boss, if we don't play a low-block defense next, it'll be dangerous."

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

"Boss, the warm water frog theory is wrong!"

"."

On the other side,

Guardiola continued to wave his hands and make hand gestures.

No one knew what he was thinking.

Time passed minute by minute.

After the initial exchange of attacks,

both sides gradually slowed down the pace of the game.

David Silva and De Bruyne didn't play frontal attacks, but played fancy moves in the wing-rib areas.

Sané and Kyle Walker on the wings didn't make traditional "overlaps."

Instead, they rotated to the center multiple times.

Jesus' position became more and more backward.

Li Kang was full of energy. He wanted to help defend the back line many times, but found that it wasn't necessary. If he suddenly dropped back to help in the transition defense, it would only squeeze his teammates' defensive space and disrupt the unified defensive thinking.

Transition defense.

Not set-piece defense.

Chelsea's last line of defense was very solid. Azpilicueta and Cahill had developed a very good understanding over the years.

David Luiz, although it was his second stint, and Rudiger, although a new signing,

had strong plug-and-play abilities.

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

The cheers gradually died down.

Chelsea fans were desperate.

Chelsea players were not desperate, but doubtful:

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

Was it reliable?

35th minute.

Kanté finally won against De Bruyne!

"Another highlight-reel moment!"

"The stout Dīng Dīng fell!"

"No problem!"

"The little giant's chasing tackle was clean!"

Tuchel remained calm, quickly making hand gestures!

He had been waiting for a long time!

Finally got the chance to adjust!

Why attack during this time period?

Because this this and then that an excellent coach must seize the strengths and weaknesses of different time periods!

Fabregas received the ball from Kanté.

Diego Costa started to move.

The 'Fabregas-Costa connection'?

No.

Li Kang moved from the left half of the field, 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 of the field, Fernandinho, David Silva, and Kyle Walker couldn't stop the opponent's ground push.

Li Kang and two alumni from film academy made consecutive one-touch passes.

The distance shortened!

Reasonable running maintained a reasonable triangle.

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

Fernandinho didn't give up, preparing to disrupt Chelsea's attack with a foul!

Reaching out to grab Li Kang.

No malice.

But he was dragged along by that terrifying force.

His knee accidentally hit Li Kang's crotch.

*Clang*?

How could it be *pa*?

The touch felt like a hard iron plate?

Did this kid wear iron underwear?

Guardiola was also making hand gestures.

Reminding his disciples to pay attention to blocking Li Kang's passing connection while shrinking the defensive line.

"Tuchel's attacking system will not give Li any freedom."

"After Li enters the thirty-meter zone, the optimal solution is only to distribute the ball!"

Li Kang shook off the strong Fernandinho.

The shadow at the center of his brain spread to the extreme.

Continuing to rush forward.

An explosive hairstyle closely followed: the lightning-fast Sané.

Stones also stopped helping Kompany, changing direction, trying to intercept Li Kang head-on.

Times had changed!

The current Manchester City defense was confident in intercepting the Iberian hero, the wielder of the Spanish dynasty, the King of North Rhine-Westphalia, the nightmare of France, the commander of the Arsenal, the head of Stamford Bridge

Come on!

A surprising scene unfolded.

As the three approached,

the Eye of Truth erupted.

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

"Fake pass, real pull!"

"V-shaped dribble!"

"Tricking out the most comfortable breakthrough path!"

"He broke through!"

"Stones and Sané are tenacious terrifying turning speed!"

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

"People stumbling!"

Guardiola held his head in his hands, looking dazed.

At this moment, the tottering defense was Manchester City's!

Hazard, Pedro, and Fabregas were not slacking!

The three widened the attack.

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

Goalkeeper Ederson stood up!

At this moment,

he seemed to be possessed by a "sweeper-keeper" from the 1920s!

Guardiola's "goalkeeper + defender" three-dimensional defense was taking shape in 2017!

It was useless!

*Pa!*

A crisp sound of touching the ball!

The football left Li Kang's left instep.

After his teammates stretched Manchester City's defense to a certain extent, his shot would make all the "this this and then that" tactical battles disappear.

The football rose rapidly,

then fell rapidly,

drawing a beautiful arc in the sky above Manchester City's penalty area!

The strength 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 what Neuer felt.

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

The football fell into the goal line range.

Ederson reached out to catch it.

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

0:1!!!

"Beautiful!"

"Goal!"

"Elegant arc!"

"Gentle chip!"

"Breaking the deadlock!"

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

"A moment to remember!"

"He has conquered the Etihad Stadium again!"

"A crack has appeared in the soon-to-rise Manchester City dynasty!"

"Ederson's positioning was unreasonable. He should have known about Li Kang's passing and lobbing skills honed by Neuer!"

Livestream.

The screen was filled with comments.

-

[Too handsome.]

-

[Li Mingdeng, who doesn't need to drop back, can easily connect with his teammates' passing and attack!]

-

[Pedro's backward movement to the center, followed by Chelsea's midfield ground passing, caught Manchester City a bit off guard.]

-

[Chelsea now has the ultimate Xavi, otherwise why send Pedro on? Why not let Willian play if we're doing a traditional routine?]

-

[Not passing all the time. Li Mingdeng still has to take care of the weak areas himself.]

-

[Spanish training match?]

Li Kang was bathed in the spotlight.

The shadow in his brain contracted.

The red line of the God's-eye view had never moved during this game: Tuchel had already given the optimal solution for the overall breakthrough.

Chelsea fans who traveled with the team shouted slogans.

"Keep the Blue flag flying high!!!"

The teammates on the bench also couldn't help but leave their seats, rushing to the sidelines to celebrate!

Diego Costa rushed to the scene as soon as possible, holding up Li Kang's hand.

Hazard glanced at the match time on the big screen in mid-air, and couldn't help but sigh: winning is too easy with Li as a teammate.

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

On the sidelines,

Tuchel had a smile on his face.

Dino looked excited, saying:

"Manchester City will indeed construct a midfield '3-3' and '2-3' defensive group in this game."

"Part of their defensive strength is used to limit Hazard without the ball."

"The main idea is to disrupt our passing connection over medium and long distances."

"Li, Pedro, and Fabregas' ground short passes disrupted"

Tuchel shook his head: "It's not that complicated."

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