Football: The strongest post-2000s Chapter 132

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De Bruyne’s direct free-kick helped Manchester City equalize, instantly igniting the fervent atmosphere at the Etihad Stadium, with cheers rising in waves.

The broadcast showed Liverpool coach Klopp shaking his head and sighing softly. His team had been too passive in the few minutes before conceding, unable to even touch the ball. Even if they had a chance to counterattack, it would be immediately countered and disrupted by Manchester City players.

Li Qing’s footwork was indeed excellent, but his two feet were no match for the three-player double-teaming. Even if he could barely maintain control of the ball, the best counterattacking opportunity was lost.

Sometimes, Manchester City players fouled very decisively. As soon as they found the timing was wrong, they would foul. Referee Michael Oliver was also quite lenient with the home team, tactical fouls in the midfield and backfield would at most result in a verbal warning.

Continuous pressure finally led to the conceded goal.

Li Qing, however, showed little emotional fluctuation, acting as if nothing had happened, as if the conceded goal had nothing to do with him.

In fact, Li Qing had long seen through it: as a goal-scoring striker, he only cared about scoring goals. No matter how many goals the defense conceded, he would just score one more goal than the number of goals conceded by the defense.

Wouldn’t that… also be a win?

Moreover, Manchester City indeed played very well. Although this was Guardiola’s first season coaching Manchester City, the players executed his Tiki-Taka tactics very well. The match was completely like “monkey in the middle” in a training session; the players trying to steal the ball couldn’t even touch it.

The match had only been going on for a little over thirty minutes, with more than fifty minutes remaining until the end of the full match. There was no need to panic at all!

“Beep~”

Accompanied by a whistle from the referee Michael Oliver, the match was declared to restart.

Liverpool, with the kick-off advantage, tried to quickly open up the game. The ball naturally came to Li Qing’s feet after a few passes.

Clichy, Yaya Touré, and Sané all appeared about two meters in front of Li Qing. They surrounded him without pressing, blocking Li Qing’s breakthrough space.

Seeing this situation, Li Qing had no choice but to pass the ball horizontally to Emre Can, who was receiving on the right flank of the attack. The latter then passed it to Coutinho.

Liverpool’s right-wing attack fell into a slump. Coutinho, who controlled the direction of the attack, consciously assisted Mané and Milner on the left wing.

The effect was quite obvious, but the direct threat was not as good as the right wing.

Li Qing’s attacks could always hit Manchester City’s defense at its most vulnerable points, but the left wing, where Mané, Milner, and Coutinho were, could not.

Klopp was a little confused as to why the left-wing attacks, which were more frequent, were not as threatening as the significantly less frequent right-wing attacks.

The left-wing attack ultimately ended with a cross from Milner. Firmino in the middle of the box failed to win the header against Stones, and Manchester City transitioned from defense to attack.

Liverpool was also good at high pressing, immediately closing down on the Manchester City player in possession to delay Manchester City’s counterattack speed.

By the time the Manchester City player in possession had a comfortable chance to control the ball, Liverpool players had also streamed back to their own half, setting up their defensive formation to await Manchester City’s attack.

The prolonged fast-paced attack led to a clear decline in the physical condition of both sets of players. To ensure they could play the entire match, the attacking tempo continuously decreased.

Until the end of the first half, the scoreboard showed: the score remained unchanged at 1- 1.

Sitting in front of their televisions, Manchester City’s coach Conte, Tottenham’s coach Pochettino, Arsenal’s coach Wenger, and Manchester United’s coach Mourinho all nodded slightly in satisfaction. For them, a draw at Manchester City’s home ground against Liverpool was a good result.

However, only half of the match had passed, and the score they hoped to see might not become the true final outcome.

Guardiola and Klopp, who appeared consecutively on the broadcast, had relatively normal expressions, just with a little more solemnity.

For the other four teams in the top six, a draw was one of the best results, but for Manchester City and Liverpool, a draw was the last resort.

The fifteen-minute halftime break was neither too long nor too short. When both sets of players entered the field, fans watching on television could see a significant improvement in the mental state of both teams.

If described in two words, it would be… confidence.

When the broadcast showed Li Qing, he was on the field high-fiving his teammates.

That confident smile influenced every teammate, and even Liverpool fans watching the match in front of their televisions were invigorated, full of confidence for the remainder of the match.

Manchester City kicked off the first half, so naturally, the away team Liverpool kicked off the second half. Manchester City had clearly conducted an in-depth study of the match a week ago where Manchester United lost at home to Liverpool. They started the second half with full defensive effort, giving Li Qing no opportunities at all.

Li Qing’s footwork was indeed excellent; he dribbled past one, two, three players, but it was difficult to get past a fourth.

It wasn’t that his technique was lacking, but rather that Manchester City players would choose to foul.

Liverpool’s offensive in the early stages of the second half was fierce. The excellent dribbler Li Qing repeatedly caused Manchester City players to foul. Michael Oliver, whose whistle was relatively soft in the first half, suddenly became strict in the second half, and Clichy and Yaya Touré successively received yellow cards.

Manchester City coach Guardiola walked to the sidelines, pacing back and forth, thinking about how to reverse the unfavorable situation in the second half.

Yaya Touré and Clichy successively receiving yellow cards would definitely affect their subsequent defensive actions. Li Qing’s strong breakthrough ability and speed reminded him of Messi during his time coaching Barcelona; conventional defense simply couldn’t stop him.

Fouling could very likely lead to a second yellow card, resulting in a non-combat loss.

How could they defeat the surging Liverpool with one less player?

So, Guardiola prepared to make adjustments to the lineup.

Kolarov, Sagna, and Fernando all ran to the warm-up area to warm up. Li Qing, whose agile eyes were constantly looking for opportunities by running, slightly turned his gaze.

Manchester City’s adjustments would definitely be aimed at the left flank. Since both Clichy and Yaya Touré had received yellow cards, it meant that the period before the adjustments were completed was a rare opportunity!

Li Qing, receiving the ball, faced two defenders. He didn’t try to break through; instead, he directly sent a long pass with his left foot.

Because Guardiola had emphasized it before the match and during halftime, even though Li Qing’s long pass was very accurate, it did not create any actual threat.

This situation occurred three times consecutively within five minutes. When Li Qing lifted his foot to prepare for the fourth long pass, Manchester City players already had a habitual way of thinking.

Li Qing’s mouth curved slightly upwards. Manchester City’s defensive players instinctively leaned towards the right side of the defense. Just then, the inside of his left instep sharply hooked the ball forward to the right.

Sané reacted too slowly and was directly bypassed by Li Qing.

Yaya Touré came over to cover. Li Qing first feigned an acceleration, then suddenly stopped on the spot, using the outside of his left foot to push the ball to the left, going inside!

Clichy quickly tucked in, collaborating with De Bruyne to defend Li Qing. Yaya Touré was attracted by Clyne’s overlapping run and didn’t follow up.

“aooaoaoaooo——”

Li Qing suddenly accelerated, and the Manchester City players instantly lost their composure.

Guardiola, standing in front of the home team’s technical area, raised an eyebrow, feeling a faint sense of unease in his heart. _

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