Football: The strongest post-2000s Chapter 045

Character name suggestions:

* Sanqiao ()

* Li Qing ()

* Tong Shenbing ()

* Enmeizha ()

* Diyazi ()

* Fudeng ()

* T Wei’erxun (T)

* A Muliji (A·)

* Gelun Maikaoli (·)

* Li Kasili (·)

* Bulusite ()

* Meixi ()

* Keluopu ()

Within a short three minutes, contributing one goal and one assist, Sanqiao appeared extremely excited. The surrounding Manchester City fans tacitly chanted “Sanqiao, Sanqiao, Sanqiao,” wave after wave. They seemed to see a repeat of the one-sided slaughter in the third round of the Youth Super League.

The cheers echoed throughout the City Football Academy Stadium. As the one being cheered for, Sanqiao clearly enjoyed it.

Before returning to his own half, he deliberately looked at Li Qing, who had helped Liverpool U 18 score the first goal, and shrugged his shoulders.

Li Qing felt a bit speechless at Sanqiao’s provocative gesture. Isn’t it just one goal and one assist?

The match has only just begun, less than thirty minutes in. I have plenty of time to equalize and take the lead.

However… the annoying thing is that under these circumstances, no passive mission was triggered, otherwise, I would be even more motivated.

The on-site photographer responsible for adjusting the screen captured this meaningful scene, and then gave Li Qing a close-up shot of his face. Keluopu looked at Li Qing on the broadcast screen and had expectations: “There’s still plenty of time in the match. If you can give me enough surprises, perhaps… I will consider temporarily promoting you to the first team.”

Tong Shenbing, standing with the few Liverpool fans watching the match, gazed at the frowning Li Qing and silently cheered him on.

The match restarted, and Liverpool U 18, with the kickoff advantage, did not create too many threatening attacks. Not long after, possession changed hands, and Manchester City U 18, playing at home, once again took control of the match.

Li Qing was keen to help the team equalize, but his teammates were stunned by Manchester City U 18’s two consecutive goals. Soon after the kickoff, they made a mistake after only a few passes.

Of course, he didn’t blame his teammates.

The shadow left by the crushing defeat in this stadium four months ago was too great. They had finally taken the lead only to be quickly overtaken. How could they react?

Actively assisting in defense might not reduce overall pressure; on the contrary, it could bring huge hidden dangers.

According to his understanding, only by lurking near Manchester City U 18’s defensive players would he bring the maximum pressure relief to his defensive teammates.

Manchester City U 18’s two full-backs took turns pushing forward to participate in the attack, and the center-backs didn’t dare to push forward much either. This meant that three defensive players were guarding Li Qing. Nine players defending seven players, it was relatively easy to defend.

As time went on, the defense gradually stabilized as Li Qing had imagined. Manchester City U 18’s offense returned to being all bark and no bite.

Liverpool U 18 was not just defending without attacking. In their limited attacking opportunities, they still completed two shots under Li Qing’s lead, but both missed the goal.

Manchester City U 18’s defensive players were very smart, knowing to foul immediately in the transition from attack to defense, so Li Qing could only bring the ball back, and thus, the best attacking opportunities disappeared.

After a period of fast-paced attacking, Manchester City U 18 slowed down the tempo, giving Liverpool U 18 a much-needed breathing spell, and their attacking opportunities gradually increased.

Li Qing knew this was intentional by Manchester City U 18, designed to counter-attack.

Sanqiao and Enmeizha were incredibly fast, while Diyazi and Fudeng had strong ball control and passing abilities. As long as there was a suitable opportunity, they were very likely to extend the lead.

Thinking of this, Li Qing suddenly slapped his forehead: “Why am I thinking so much? Just score the goal!”

His attention was completely focused on scoring, and a clearer goal-scoring idea emerged in his mind.

After a few passes, the ball came to Li Qing’s feet. Manchester City U 18’s defensive players instantly focused on him, not daring to be negligent.

Although the first conceded goal had a great deal of randomness, the subsequent attacking opportunities created by Liverpool U 18 were all initiated by Li Qing, which made them have to take him seriously.

Li Qing faced two defensive players, continuously performing fancy footwork, his feet constantly moving above the ball. Neither of the two defensive players dared to step forward, fearing that the space behind them would be exploited.

Just then, Li Qing suddenly used the outside of his left foot to flick the ball outwards and directly launched a long pass.

No one expected Li Qing, who had previously chosen individual breakthroughs, to suddenly make a long pass, so they were unprepared.

The ball flew quickly towards the penalty area, and the landing spot was very precise, just bypassing the head of the leaping Manchester City U 18 center-back T Wei’erxun. The goalkeeper A Muliji also found it difficult to come out. Unfortunately, Gelun Maikaoli reacted a fraction of a second too late. By the time he realized the pass was for him, it was already a bit late. The ball grazed his forehead with too little force, causing the header’s angle to be too wide, missing the goalpost.

Gelun Maikaoli, who missed a golden opportunity, buried his face in his hands, feeling very frustrated.

Li Qing shook his head. His understanding with Gelun Maikaoli was too poor.

It seems… until Bulusite comes on, he will still have to rely on himself.

Manchester City U 18 head coach Li Kasili raised an eyebrow. He remembered that Li Qing’s highlight reel had such precise diagonal long passes to teammates on the far side or in the penalty area. This… was not accidental!

If the upcoming match continues with more defenders than attackers, it will inevitably lead to a severe shortage of defensive players in the penalty area. If Li Qing makes another high-quality pass like that, it will be troublesome…

So, he took advantage of the dead ball opportunity to make a gesture, indicating that his players no longer needed to focus on defending Li Qing.

Li Qing was far enough from the goal. Breaking into the penalty area required getting past several defenders. After all, not every left-footed player has Meixi’s technique.

Judging from the quality of the pass just now, passing was more threatening.

The live commentator showed a slow-motion replay of Liverpool U 18’s closest attempt at a goal. Keluopu, watching the live broadcast in his office, couldn’t help but praise: “The quality of that pass was really high. If the forward could have anticipated it even half a second earlier, that goal would probably have gone in. What a pity.”