Chapter 778: Unable to Dampen the Excitement
As the referee blew the opening whistle, the showdown between Manchester City and Arsenal officially began.
With the advantage of playing at home, the Blue Moon launched a fierce attack against their opponents, quickly gaining the upper hand, hoping to take the lead as soon as possible.
The Gunners, on the other hand, significantly retracted their formation, relying only on two or three counterattacks to threaten the Manchester City goal.
"Manchester City completely dominates Arsenal in every aspect, and the gap between the two teams is quite evident," remarked the commentator Johnson from British Independent Television.
"Arsenal's defense is resorting to interceptions and long passes once again, it's their only option. They can't seem to pass through the midfield normally," he added.
"Sanchez with a direct pass, Giroud controls the ball and attempts a shot!"
"Not much of a threat, Bravo deflects the ball away. Any chance left? Kompany quickly moves forward to clear the danger."
"Oh! How did this happen? The ball is in! It's in! Otamendi has done a blunder!"
"He originally intended to follow up to protect the ball, but he didn't notice that his teammate had already turned and kicked the ball, which happened to deflect off him and into their own goal."
"It's an unbelievable own goal. It's hard to imagine that Manchester City had the upper hand, but due to such a dramatic turn of events, they now find themselves trailing."
Giroud, who contributed the shot, stood stunned on the spot, as if hit by a pie falling from the sky. It wasn't until his teammates rushed over to surround him that the Frenchman came back to his senses, revealing an excited smile.
"Damn it!" Otamendi and Kompany looked at each other, unsure of who to blame for a moment. One wanted to quickly clear the danger, while the other wanted to actively protect the ball and defend. Neither could be blamed.
But this was just too coincidental. A slight deviation and it wouldn't have been an own goal.
On the sidelines, Wenger remained serious, but the slightly spread arms also revealed the Professor's inner unrest at this moment.
He had anticipated a difficult game, with Arsenal only able to attempt defending and counterattacking, but achieving such results so early was indeed a pleasant surprise.
Conceding an own goal in the early stages of the match dealt a significant blow to the team's morale and fighting spirit. The key now was to see if the Gunners could stabilize the situation and maintain their lead until the end.
After the kick-off, Manchester City continued to execute the tactics set by coach Guardiola before the match. However, there was a more cautious approach in passing from the back, seemingly concerned about repeating similar mistakes, which in turn slowed down their offensive play.
The away team breathed a sigh of relief, but they didn't rashly press on the attack. Instead, they continued to steadily defend, constantly filling and fixing defensive loopholes, hiding all their weaknesses.
Whenever Wang Feng received the ball in the frontcourt, he was inevitably surrounded by two or more defending players, trying to avoid fouls while driving the Chinese superstar away from the core areas.
"Arsenal's double-teaming defense is too strong, even Wang Feng is being restricted. Let's see what he plans to do with the ball this time. He's dribbling diagonally! This isn't a good choice!"
After getting past Xhaka, the Chinese superstar stumbled his way forward, reaching the edge of the penalty area. Almost the entire Arsenal defensive line was drawn towards him, with defenders surrounding him from all sides.
Just when all the fans thought the ball would be intercepted, it suddenly passed through the crowded defenders and curved through the air on the pitch.
Aguero flew in for a header near the penalty spot, but the ball went past his toe.
"Close! That was a big miss. No! Sane at the back post, quickly surging forward, shoots!"
Amidst the commentator's roar, the German forward volleyed the ball forcefully, but the goalkeeper Cech, who was positioned centrally, moved quickly to make the save.
However, it was a bit hasty, as the ball had already hit the back of the net before the Czech goalkeeper's arm could reach the trajectory of the shot.
"Goooooooooooooal! Wang Feng assists Sane to equalize!"
"A precise pass, not only bypassing the dense defensive line, but also bypassing the poorly positioned teammate, finding the best option for the shot!"
"The Chinese superstar's assist is so smooth. If you feel uncomfortable receiving the ball, then this ball definitely wasn't meant for you!"
Sane, who equalized the score, shouted in excitement and then rushed towards the stands to interact with the fans.
Soon, his teammates rushed over, with Otamendi, his eyes slightly red, embracing Wang Feng and Sane, constantly expressing their gratitude.
If they had entered the second half with the pressure of an own-goal deficit, one can imagine how much pressure he would have been under.
"Why are you feeling so out of place? We are a team, we share victory together and fight failure together!" the Chinese superstar patted Otamendi on the shoulder and said.
"Now we're back on the same starting line with them. Come on, guys, show the momentum from the beginning. The Blue Moon will eventually dominate European football!" Kompany exclaimed excitedly.
This was originally a sentence Wang Feng said during an interview, and coincidentally, almost all of his teammates found it particularly domineering, so they often mentioned it to boost morale.
At the end of the first half, the score remained unchanged. Although Arsenal conceded a goal, they also scored an unexpected goal, which was acceptable for Wenger.
Inside the home team's locker room, nobody mentioned Otamendi's own goal again. They never dwelled on past events, only focusing on the future.
Guardiola explained the tactics for the upcoming match in an orderly manner, instructing each player on how to position themselves. He didn't intend to make any changes to the starting lineup; maintaining their unique rhythm was paramount.
"Arsenal's overall discipline is very strong. Pulling and dragging their defensive line with back-and-forth passes doesn't have much effect. So, Wang, I hope you can advance more like you did in the first half, use your individual abilities to threaten, attract defensive attention, and create space for your teammates," Guardiola said.
The Chinese superstar nodded understandingly, indicating that he would increase his activity.
As the second half began, Wang Feng increased his time on the ball, attracting defenders to find openings, but of course, it didn't always work.
He had to pass back three times, lost possession once, and created a threat once, but Aguero's shot from close range went just wide of the post.
The deadlock always passes quickly. In the 75th minute, the Chinese superstar received a through ball from Silva in the middle, made a sudden stop and feint to shake off Walcott as he rushed towards the penalty area.
Although Arsenal knew that Wang Feng's possession of the ball was to attract defenders, they also had to take it seriously because any carelessness would allow the opponents to find space for a shot, which was a legitimate strategy.
Taking advantage of the two defenders closing in, Wang Feng made a decisive through pass, perfectly threading between them and reaching the back post.
Fernandinho, who was making a run forward, received the ball near the byline and immediately sent a back pass with a backheel. Aguero, positioned 8 meters in front of the goal, took a close-range shot.
The ball flew into the net without giving Arsenal goalkeeper Cech a chance to make any save. The speed was just too fast!
"Sergio Aguero!"
"Manchester City takes the lead at home! Wang Feng's attacking plan, Fernandinho assists Aguero!"
"The Chinese superstar once again utilizes his threat in the frontcourt. The process of splitting and then crossing was also very clever. After going through two rounds of defensive guidance, Aguero was almost completely unmarked in the middle!"
Finally, the battle ended with Manchester City winning 2-1 against Arsenal. The Gunners ultimately failed to dampen the Blue Moon's excellent mood.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺