Chapter 790: Balancing Dribbling and Final Touch
On April 11th, at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, a highly anticipated match was about to begin.
Amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of fans, the two teams walked out slowly from the player tunnel, with the passionate anthem of Juventus echoing in their ears, always reminding Wang Feng of his youthful days.
The imposing momentum of the Zebra Legion at home obviously couldn't affect the Chinese superstar at all. Instead, it aroused his strong desire to conquer. He wanted to, just like before, make this stadium fall for him!
"Wang's expression looks very relaxed, with no signs of any negative emotions," the commentator said as the live camera focused on Wang Feng. "That's understandable. Having experienced countless big matches, it's hard for him to be intimidated by any devilish home ground."
"Of course, I can't think of anything that could move him."
"Now let's introduce the starting lineups of both sides. The home team, Juventus, is lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation today, with the evergreen Buffon in goal."
"Rugani, Bonucci, Chiellini, and Sandro form the defensive line."
"Hernanes and Pjanic pair up as the double pivots, while the forward line consists of Cuadrado, Dybala, and Mandzukic."
"Higuain takes on the responsibility of the lone striker upfront."
"Manchester City also adopts a 4-2-3-1 formation, indicating that there will be intense competition in midfield. This will test the understanding and application of tactics by both head coaches."
"Alright, we can see that Juventus has won the kickoff for the first half. Both teams' players have already taken their positions, waiting for the final instructions from the main referee."
Whistle! The crisp whistle sounded right on time, and Higuain passed the ball to Dybala, who then passed it back to the defense.
The four attacking players of the visiting team quickly rushed forward to press, not hesitating at all. Right from the start, they intended to take the initiative and seize control of the game.
Guardiola's approach was far from conservative. For Manchester City, winning was undoubtedly important, but if that proved difficult, gaining the advantage of an away goal would also be a good choice.
The proactive attitude of the Sky Blues caught Allegri by surprise, but he wasn't overly concerned. After all, the current lineup had been honed to perfection and wouldn't easily reveal any weaknesses.
The game quickly fell into a stalemate. The midfielders of both teams passed the ball the most, and possession changed hands frequently, but there were few chances to attack dangerously.
In the first 15 minutes, each team created a scoring opportunity. On Manchester City's side, De Bruyne sent a curved pass that bypassed the defenders and reached the penalty area.
Wang Feng received the ball and passed it across the goal, but Aguero's shot was brilliantly saved by Buffon.
Juventus, on the other hand, formed a combination play between Dybala and Higuain, with the former taking a shot from the edge of the penalty area, narrowly missing the post.
It was evident to everyone that the Argentine youngster was unusually excited, displaying an active attitude and extraordinary performance that almost single-handedly led the team's attacks.
"Juventus continues to attack. Cuadrado passes to Dybala, here he goes again, beautiful! A feint to get past Delph, a quick stop to evade Kompany, and he's into the penalty area!"
"Shoot! Bravo collects the ball. He managed to shake off two defenders in succession, but his final shot lacked power."
"Indeed, few players can continuously dribble past opponents and deliver high-quality shots, balancing both aspects, which is the mark of a world-class superstar."
"Despite the short distance of just over ten meters, during the rhythm changes and acceleration-deceleration process, the muscles of the whole body are fully tensed. It's easy to lose strength at the moment of successfully dribbling past, leading to a weak shot."
After a series of intense attacks and defenses, the situation on the field inevitably began to calm down. In the 31st minute, Otamendi intercepted the ball in the backfield and passed it to David Silva.
Silva then passed it to Wang Feng, who took charge of organizing the attack. The Chinese superstar received the ball with his back to the goal, and immediately, Khedira moved in to defend. He knew best the power of this former teammate and couldn't let him break through easily.
Khedira was undoubtedly an experienced defensive midfielder, but facing the world's strongest attacker alone, he felt somewhat overwhelmed.
Wang Feng gently flicked the ball to the right with his right foot, trying to bypass Khedira. Naturally, Khedira wouldn't let him do as he wished and extended his right foot to block the path while attempting to intercept.
But at this moment, the Chinese superstar quickly turned around, using the toe of his left foot to flick the ball, causing it to change direction and roll to the left, passing through the gap between Khedira's legs.
He also quickly accelerated to bypass Khedira. Khedira was taken aback and chose not to go for the ball immediately but instead tried to block the player.
But Wang Feng's acceleration was too fast. By the time the German turned around and reached out to pull him back, he only managed to touch the opponent's clothes and couldn't stop him from moving forward.
"A beautiful nutmeg and pass! Khedira looks like a rusty axis in front of Wang, why does he seem to be turning so slowly!"
Along with the commentator's exclamation, the audience in the stands of the Allianz Stadium also let out waves of astonishment because the Juventus defense seemed a bit empty at this moment, and the defensive players hadn't fully repositioned yet.
No one could have predicted that the Chinese superstar would pass Khedira's block so quickly, and it could even be said that the German had almost no effect.
Wang Feng received the ball and turned around smoothly, completing the entire process without any pause.
Dribbling the ball all the way into the heart of the Zebra Legion's defense, he finally faced a defensive player, Bonucci, who attempted to stop him. Wang Feng used a quick leg flick to deceive him, causing him to fall and lose his position.
Finally facing Buffon who came out to challenge, the Chinese superstar sidestepped the ball to avoid him and then quickly pushed it into the empty goal.
Even at this point, Wang Feng was confident that his shot would go in, so he didn't deliberately control his body to stop but instead smoothly slid forward, seamlessly transitioning from shooting to sliding to celebrate.
His teammates rushed over from behind to surround him. "So cool!" De Bruyne couldn't help but admire. As a teammate who witnessed the amazing performance of the Chinese superstar up close, the feeling was simply wonderful.
The Juventus players looked at each other, seeing the frustration and helplessness in each other's eyes. They truly had no way to deal with such a fairy-like goal.
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