Green Journey

Chapter 400 The start seems a bit unfavorable!

November 11, London time 1:19, Manchester Etihad Stadium.

After a winter rain at noon, the temperature in Manchester plummeted to 3-5 degrees Celsius.

But the cold with magical attacks is still difficult to stop the footsteps of the people of Manchester City and their fiery hearts for the team.

In the stands of the Etihad Stadium, crowds of people surged, banners were unfurled, and the voices of people were loud, covering the entire stadium in waves of heat.

Whether it's Guardiola, Manchester City fans, or Chu Zheng and other Manchester City players, life has not been easy recently.

英超第9轮，曼城被客场作战的南安普顿1-1逼平后，在英联杯第四轮和曼城的比赛中也以1-0输掉了比赛。

Guardiola's worst coaching career record has been refreshed to six games without a win.

Especially being eliminated by rivals Manchester United in the same city, this made some Manchester City fans very dissatisfied, and some fans even openly questioned Guardiola's coaching ability.

The media also attacked Guardiola and Manchester City like a joke.

Today it is said that there is a problem with Guardiola's tactics brought to Manchester City, tomorrow it is said that Manchester City's existing player configuration does not match Guardiola's tactics, and the day after tomorrow it is said that a certain player has dragged down the Manchester City team.

However, in the comparison between Arsenal and Liverpool, which have been unbeaten in 9 and 8 games and rank 2nd and 3rd in the Premier League standings, it is an indisputable fact that Manchester City's trend of driving high and low.

However, two days ago, in the 10th round of the Premier League last weekend, Manchester City swept West Brom 4-0 at the Hawthorn Stadium in an away game, which can be regarded as stopping the decline in time.

But the game against West Brom was not recognized by the media.

Many major European newspapers believe that there is a huge difference in strength between the two teams, and Manchester City is just abusing food, which does not explain any problems.

Even a small group of Manchester City fans agree with the views of these media, and they also feel that this game is not very convincing.

But most fans are on Guardiola's side, and they think that Guardiola has done enough so far.

So in addition to supporting the team, most Manchester City fans today also want to see whether Manchester City's recent recovery is real or just an illusion.

At present, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have 23 points, ranking first in the Premier League with a slight goal difference advantage.

但排在第4第5的切尔西和热刺和曼城也仅仅只有1分和3分的差距，曼城只要稍有差错，立马就会被身后BIG6成员给拉下来。

At 19:30 London time, players from Manchester City and Barcelona were already lining up in the player channel.

As soon as Chu Zheng came over, he saw the smiling Messi walking towards him.

This time the two met with a lot of enthusiasm and cordiality, and the two hugged immediately under the strange eyes of the Barcelona and Manchester City fans.

Chu Zheng smiled and said, "Did Thiago like it after receiving my signed jersey?"

Hearing Chu Zheng mention this, Messi suddenly had a weird face, and said with a helpless smile: "The little guy hung your jersey in his room, and he didn't let his mother clean it for him, making the room dirty. It smells like sweat, and I dare not approach it."

"Haha!" Chu Zheng was instantly amused.

The two didn't chat for long, and soon returned to the queue.

Not long after, under the leadership of the referee, the players from both sides slowly walked out of the player tunnel, and suddenly there were loud cheers from the Etihad stands.

Driven by the on-site DJ, every Manchester City fan in the stands was using the loudest volume to put pressure on the away Barcelona players.

But compared with the Nou Camp, which can accommodate 10 people, the Etihad is still much inferior.

After a pre-match communication ceremony, the passionate Champions League theme song resounded throughout the Etihad Stadium.

The singing fell, and the starting lineups of Manchester City and Barcelona also appeared on the live screen.

Manchester City: (4141)

Goalkeeper: Caballero

Defenders: Zabaleta, Otamendi, Stones, Kolarov

Defender: Fernandinho

Midfielders: Sterling, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Chu Zheng
Forward: Aguero
"Aguero started on the front line. In the game against West Brom on the weekend, Akun Aguero recovered his shooting boots. With the assists of Chu Zheng, Gundogan and De Bruyne, he scored twice and was in a sluggish state. The recovery has been remarkable."

"In the midfield, Chu Zheng appeared on the left today, but it's still unclear where he will appear. Guardiola's deployment of troops has never been that simple."

"Yes!" Zhang Lu nodded, and glanced at the information collected by the pre-match program team on the table, "Manchester City's lineup is 4141, and Fernandinho is a single midfielder."

"I think this is a bit risky. The first round of the contest between the two sides has proved that Fernandinho can't handle him."

"So today I personally think that Manchester City should have two midfielders. It is impossible for Guardiola to make one mistake twice."

"It depends on whether Chu Zheng or Jing Duoan will retreat."

"On the back line, Guardiola vowed yesterday that the team must consider the situation without a right back. Today, Zabaleta, who is doubtful due to injury, was sent. Guardiola sent his old friend Enrique before the game. A big smoke bomb!"

"Haha, it's really bad!" Zhang Lu said happily.

After the words fell, Barcelona's starting lineup appeared.

Barcelona: (433)

Forwards: Neymar, Suarez, Messi
Midfielders: Andre Gomes, Busquets, Rakitic

Defenders: Digne, Mascherano, Umtiti, Roberto
Goalkeeper: Ter Stegen
"For Barcelona, ​​there are three positions that have changed compared to the first round."

"On the front line, no one can replace the MSN team."

"In the midfield, Enrique chose to come off the bench in the first round because of the torn lateral collateral ligament of his right knee caused by Iniesta in the league. Andre Gomez, who has performed well recently .”

"On the defensive line, Enrique played Roberto at the right back position today, and Mascherano played with Umtiti at left center back..."

At 19:45, the famous Austrian whistle Kasai blew the whistle to start the game.

On the field, Manchester City, wearing a blue home jersey, attacked from left to right.

Messi kicked the ball out, and Manchester City's formation quickly pressed forward as a whole.

Seeing that Manchester City was pressing up, Barcelona had to pass the ball all the way back to the penalty area, but Manchester City still insisted on making a high-position press.

But after the first round of the contest at the Nou Camp, Enrique was clearly prepared for Manchester City's high-position press.

Facing the menacing Manchester City, the Barcelona players broke through the high position and pressed in place very quickly and timely, so that Manchester City's opening pounce grabbed a loneliness.

For the next 10 minutes of game time, the scene fell into an anxious confrontation.

Barcelona and Manchester City are like a duel between masters. No one wants to make mistakes, and no one wants to make easy moves. They are strictly guarded against their opponents.

In terms of player positioning, Barcelona has nothing to say. The player positioning is basically the same as the starting lineup.

As for Manchester City, Zhang Lu guessed half right.

After the start of the game, it was De Bruyne who was active on the left side, and Chu Zheng was active in the midfielder position in the middle.

But in terms of retreating to help Fernandinho, there is no fixed personnel.

Chu Zheng, De Bruyne, and Gundogan are randomized, and whoever is closer will go back.

On the sidelines, Guardiola couldn't sit still, because they couldn't grab the ball on the field, and they rarely hit the front of Barcelona's penalty area within 10 minutes.

Barcelona's overall formation is very high today, which can be said to completely expose the defensive depth behind them under their noses.

As long as Aguero, Sterling, or Chu Zheng can move forward in time, and the pass-run cooperation is more tacit, it will be relatively easy to penetrate Barcelona's defense, and it can even be fatal with a direct blow.

But the problem is that within these 10 minutes, I couldn't get the ball, and I couldn't get the ball out, or I couldn't get it out smoothly in the first time.

In the 11th minute of the game, Kolarov dribbled the ball along the left.

But it stopped when it came to the left side of the middle circle. Barcelona's rib area was quite dense with defensive personnel, and the precise positioning of the players made him unable to find the passing line.

After hesitating for a second or two, seeing Busquets attacking, Kolarov quickly knocked the ball to the right and knocked Gundogan, who retreated and Fernandinho was in parallel.

Gundogan took the ball and advanced along the ribs, but he was pinched back and forth by Messi and Rakitic before running far.

Chu Zheng quickly backed away to the right after seeing it.

As soon as he was in place, Gundogan knocked the ball across.

Chu Zheng stopped the ball and turned around almost simultaneously.

However, at the moment of his acceleration, Messi and Andre Gomez on the arc of the middle circle attacked from left to right.

The tall and burly Gomez bumped directly into Chu Zheng from the right.

This guy is very smart, he didn't make any extra movements, he was going to stick to Chu Zheng tightly, waiting for their legs to collide, and then trip Chu Zheng.

As a result, the moment he pasted it, a huge force rebounded, and Gomez's center of gravity fell back, and he almost fell into a squat.

But kill one and another.

Messi on Chu Zheng's left used the word wrapping formula.

In terms of speed, he was not afraid of Chu Zheng at all. After catching up, he blocked Chu Zheng directly.

Although Messi's defense was not good, the frequency of this guy's feet made Chu Zheng extremely afraid.

In order to avoid the ball being touched by Messi, Chu Zheng quickly smashed the ball and turned around in a circle.

Turning around to face the left, he grabbed Busquets and quickly scored with his left foot to De Bruyne, who started from the wing.

From the wing, seeing the ball coming, Barcelona's defense stood flat. When it came to the arc of the middle circle, Aguero and Sterling were both in ambush on Barcelona's defense. De Bruyne twitched his left foot and immediately The ball flew high into the middle.

At the same time, Aguero in the middle speeded up, but when he took the ball in the left rib area at the top of the arc and was about to shoot, the whistle sounded suddenly.

Seeing that the flag was raised high, Aguero shook his hand angrily.

In the LeTV live broadcast room, Zhang Lu saw the situation clearly during this period, and he smiled and said, "It's a little bit early!"

"Barcelona's thinking today is very clear and clear. While he is pressing up, he is not afraid that Manchester City will hit them behind."

"why?"

"Because Barcelona has strangled Manchester City's outlets so far."

"That is to say, you Manchester City have just grabbed the ball, and Aguero, De Bruyne, and Chu Zheng are all running up front. At this time, as long as the ball goes out, it will be fine.

But today, when Manchester City steals the ball, at least two Barcelona players control it every time. He simply won't let you send the ball out immediately. This is Enrique's coping strategy today. "

Hearing Zhang Lu's analysis, Zhan Jun agreed with it, and said with a smile: "But the problem is that Barcelona must block all the ball points.

Otherwise, once Manchester City seizes the opportunity, with the speed of Chu Zheng, Sterling and Aguero, Ter Stegen will be in danger. "

"That's right!" Zhang Lu nodded with a smile on her face, "Just now at Chu Zheng's point, the three of Barcelona couldn't control it. It's a pity that Aguero and De Bruyne didn't form the best tacit understanding, otherwise it would be a direct progress. ball."

"There is one more problem!" Zhang Lu changed the subject, "That is, Manchester City can't grab the ball now."

"Barcelona obviously strengthened the pass today. This is Barcelona's starting skill. Even if you get the ball and let you grab it, you can't grab it."

"Whoever grabs the truth, he will walk around you, and then you will be honest."

"Haha!" Hearing what Zhang Lu said was interesting, Zhan Jun couldn't help but laugh.

At the scene, Guardiola couldn't sit still anymore, he stood in the coaching area and yelled.

"Chu!!!"

"Chu!!!!"

"..."

Hearing his boss's shout, Chu Zheng turned his head and looked over, and saw Guardiola pointing his index finger at the sky for a while, and slashing at the air in front of him with a single palm for a while. gesture.

Immediately, Chu Zheng understood Guardiola's intention, which was to ask him to play more directly. If the ground cannot pass, he can walk in the air.

The tactical change passed by Guardiola was exactly what Chu Zheng wanted.

From the beginning of the game to the present, Chu Zheng is also one of the players who have grabbed the most honesty among all the players on the Manchester City field. He has also been slipped by Barcelona several times, and then he became more honest.

Soon, the scene Chuzheng Guardiola wanted to see appeared.

In the 15th minute of the game, because Fernandinho grabbed all the way up, Chu Zheng retreated to the midfielder position.

Seeing the ball pass back to Caballero's feet in the top area of ​​the arc, Chu Zheng quickly retreated.

After getting the ball, Chu Zheng turned around and took a look at the straight line of defense near Barcelona's midfield, and then launched an attack with a long pass without saying a word.

The moment Chu Zheng passed the ball, Aguero, Umtiti and Mascherano started chasing the ball at the same time.

The landing point was at the front of the top of Barcelona's arc, but it was a pity that although Aguero threw away Mascherano and Umtiti with his speed, Ter Stegen attacked in time and decisively, and stopped the ball firmly. underfoot.

On the sidelines, Guardiola applauded the field, indicating that the attack was beautiful.

In Guardiola's eyes, although this attack was not successful, the meaning was right and completely correct.

"That's the right way to fight!" Zhang Lu nodded repeatedly after seeing Manchester City's attack in the live broadcast room, "Barcelona's defenders will be afraid of playing a few times like this, so he won't press so high. gone."

"In this way, Barcelona's overall formation must be recovered, which can relieve the pressure on Manchester City's defense."

In the 18th minute of the game, Barcelona got a free kick on the right rib about 45 meters away from the fans.

Messi took the ball and landed on the right side of the penalty area, looking for Suarez.

But Chu Zheng and Suarez activated almost at the same time, constantly blocking the inside line firmly, and then stuck Suarez behind him with his body position.

Caballero rushed out to the left, seeing Chu Zheng stuck Suarez, he gave the ball out of the baseline.

croquet.

Soon, Caballero took the goal kick. Instead of kicking directly, he gave the ball to the right to Otamendi.

After taking the ball, Otamendi pushed forward in a straight line and came to the upper left corner of the penalty area. Seeing Neymar rushing up, he directly passed Sterling in the right rib area of ​​​​the center circle.

But Sterling didn't stop the ball, stretched out his foot and stopped the ball to Busquets in front of him.

Facing the incoming ball, Busquets poked his foot in the air, and the ball flew forward to Rakitic.

Fernandinho saw Rakitic with his back ready to take the ball, and he quickly went up to the top.

However, before he ran, he saw Rakitic turn to the left, also kept the ball, raised his right foot for an alley-oop, and continued to push the ball forward to Suarez behind Fernandinho.

Suarez turned quickly and chased the ball to the left.

In the face of Otamendi's attack, he once again kept the ball and padded the ball to the upper left corner of the penalty area.

This kind of continuous one-foot pass completely missed the ball, so that Manchester City couldn't touch the ball at all, let alone grab the ball back.

Fortunately, Otamendi's turn was not too slow. He quickly retreated along the left rib at the top of the arc, and got stuck inside to block Neymar.

Entering the penalty area from the upper corner of the left penalty area, Neymar saw the left side of the penalty spot, and there was a pass gap in the area to the left of the top of the arc. Without Manchester City players, he suddenly made a cross pass, looking for May West.

But at the moment of passing the ball, a blue shadow suddenly flashed on Messi's left back.

Chu Zheng rushed back in time and stretched out his foot to intercept the ball.

The ball hit the inside of Chu Zheng's right foot and bounced back to the left.

Immediately afterwards, Chu Zheng quickly turned to the left, blocking Messi behind him, and after completing the turn, he raised his right foot and vigorously pulled out the ball that fell in front of him.

Immediately, the ball went straight to the right side of Manchester City's half-court circle, and accurately found Aguero who stayed in front.

"Beautiful!!!!!!!" Zhan Jun exclaimed in the LeTV live broadcast room.

"Artistic continuous stop and pass!" Zhang Lu also looked amazed, "I definitely thought it through, deliberately stopped to the left rear side, then turned around to follow up, and directly asked Aguero to launch an attack."

"This kind of offensive method that integrates interception and launch is only capable of Chu Zheng."

At the scene, Enrique was also horrified when he saw Chu Zheng's coquettish operation, as if someone had slapped him hard in his heart.

On the spot, Aguero unloaded the ball perfectly with his chest.

At this time, Mascherano was already stuck behind him, and Digne in front of him was also rushing back quickly.

Facing this kind of front and back attack, Aguero turned around very simply and took the sidewalk.

After getting Mascherano and Digne behind him, Aguero found that the two guys did not retreat but advanced, and dared to join forces to grab, so he suddenly turned to the left, followed the trend with his right foot, and directed the ball to the left. The left cut was two or three meters away.

Immediately afterwards, Aguero completed his turn and accelerated.

Faced with Aguero's magical touch, Mascherano and Digne were caught off guard. They could only watch Aguero overtake on the outside line after completing the turn, and dribble towards their own penalty area.

Fortunately, Umtiti's speed is not slow, and he retreated to the right rib area of ​​​​the penalty area in time to block Aguero on the outside.

At this time, on the other half, De Bruyne also moved forward along the left rib, and Sterling, who was originally on the right rib, was also rushing to the middle.

Outside the upper corner on the right side of the penalty area, after bringing the ball to this position, Aguero did not choose to pass the ball, but cut directly to the bottom.

After successfully getting down to the bottom line, Aguero crossed the ball in the middle, but was kicked into the stands by Mascherano.

"fool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Immediately, there was a rapid exclamation at the Etihad Stadium, followed by a burst of violent cheers!
Although the goal was not scored, the team's performance satisfied the Manchester City fans at the scene. They firmly believed that the goal would come sooner or later if they continued to play like this.

(End of this chapter)