Thiago Silva had often swung between defensive midfield and center-back this season, honing his skills to accommodate both positions, and in this ga, he was tasked with playing these two crucial roles.
So the way Man City played actually hadn’t changed.
It was the sa old redy but a different soup.
But for teams that didn’t allow frequent forward assistance from their wingers and defenders, this change was massive.
...
With the sound of a whistle, the match officially began.
Fans from both sides started to cheer.
But soon, the throats of one side were throttled.
The second minute.
Ljungberg challenged Grosso on the flank.
Making full use of his agility, he slipped past the towering Grosso and delivered a brilliant pass.
Henry made a run near the penalty area.
Hierro and Thiago Silva double-tead Henry.
However, the King of Highbury’s core strength was ford, and he withstood the collision of the two center-backs, maintaining possession of the ball.
Then, facing Lehmann, who was on the attack, Henry dribbled past Lehmann and poked the ball into an empty net.
Thiago Silva’s subsequent sliding tackle failed to touch the football.
One to zero!
Arsenal took the lead over Man City in just two minutes.
"GOAL! Well done!"
"Henry! That’s Henry for you!"
"Henry celebrates with a slide on his knees, full of dominance!"
"This is the only true rival to Manchester United, Arsenal! Not so Man City!"
"Deng Kai talked big before the ga, but now he’s getting hit with backlash!"
"True strength isn’t swayed by your personal will."
"Wenger also clenched his fist in celebration before putting his hands back in his pockets, looking towards Maxa. Maxa remains expressionless, who knows if he’s being confidently indifferent or using the cold deanor to cover his panic!"
As for that, the comntator had misunderstood.
Maxa’s indifference was genuine.
The outco of the match had never been related to him.
The only connection might be that if they lost, Deng Kai would be unhappy, then Maxa would have to think of more things to do.
He had heard that ice cream was popular lately, why not learn how to make ice cream?
Of course, it couldn’t be BMW ice cream; that stuff was too strong.
"This is the FA Cup!"
"The FA Cup will always belong to Arsenal!"
"Our Arsenal is unbeatable!"
The Arsenal fans shouted their thoughts far and wide.
The wealthy companions next to Mansour felt a bit awkward at this point.
After all, they were supposed to be on the side of Man City now.
But it seed like... Man City was not up to it either.
"Mansour, it seems your Mr. Kai isn’t too reliable," one of the princes who knew a bit about football and who didn’t get along with Mansour spoke up, "In recent years, those who claim to be the number one midfielder often end up with nothing to show for it."
"ndieta, Veron... they’re all duds."
"It’s easy to fake excellence in that position, and if you think about it, how could soone possibly compare to Ronaldo at only eighteen?"
Mansour was speechless.
Even the most brilliant people have to deal with annoying fools in life.
"Ronaldo was famous at the World Cup when he was seventeen," Mansour replied, "And unlike those duds you ntioned, Kai’s stats are solid."
"He’s not only considered the leading midfielder in Europe because of his so-called on-field performance. Stats, leadership, charisma, comrcial value, potential... even if there were an offer to swap him for Ronaldo, I wouldn’t agree."
The other guy just snickered.
Mansour must have been still half asleep.
Thinking of trading this Chinese guy for Ronaldo?
Dream on!
Bang!
A loud noise suddenly erupted from the football field.
Just now, Manchester City had taken the kickoff.
Arsenal, seizing the advantage, launched a high press in the attacking third.
Manchester City managed to string together five passes before they couldn’t keep it going.
Grosso finally shouldered off Ljungberg and then delivered a lob pass to Deng Kai.
Facing Vieira’s challenge from behind, Deng Kai acted as if he had seen it coming; he feigned a ducking motion without actually touching the ball.
Instead, he turned around.
The football and Deng Kai bypassed Vieira from different directions.
Vieira was caught off-guard, unsure of whom to deal with.
By the ti Vieira caught on and gave chase, Deng Kai had already caught up with the ball, executing a... shot!
"This is... a midfield lob shot!"
"Deng Kai suddenly kicks! I even thought it was a clearance!"
"Deng Kai kicks from just before the halfway line, this... not good! Lehmann’s positioning is too far forward!"
"Lehmann is running back to the goal, rember?"
"It’s too late now!"
"Lehmann jumps, but he doesn’t touch the football!"
"The ball bounces into the net after landing! It’s a goal!"
"GOAL! Deng Kai! Deng Kai scores with a superb lob shot!"
"If heaven feels passion, heaven too grows old; eting Lehmann, he takes his shot!"
"The biggest problem with England’s national goalkeeper Lehmann is his butter fingers; his long-shot save success rate isn’t top-notch!"
"And a lob shot... is also a kind of long shot."
Rumble!
The Cardiff Millennium Stadium vibrated with the roar.
Watching the whisky swirling in their glasses, the Middle Eastern magnates looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Mansour raised his glass to everyone, "Based on my experience this year, I must admit, I’ve beco irrational."
"Because I actually believe that no one in world football is more reliable than Kai!"
"To Deng Kai, this drink is for you!"
Many magnates joined in raising their glasses, "To Deng Kai!"
One to one!
Manchester City had only trailed for two minutes before they caught up.
They really want this FA Cup.
In the ninth minute, the pseudo midfield comprising Deng Kai, Tu Lei, and Thiago Silva indeed suffered due to lack of numbers and ability, allowing Vieira to execute a high-quality long shot.
Luckily, Hierro was in top form today, using his body to block the shot.
Henry received the ball on the left side of the penalty area; he turned and dribbled horizontally, looking for an opportunity to shoot at the far corner.
Bang!
Lehmann made an extre save, almost flicking the football out of the goal’s range with his fingertips.
Theoretically, that was a sure goal.
Wenger was fuming.
In the thirteenth minute, the stranger in a foreign land, Van Bronckhorst, did not disappoint the sentint of Wang Wei, who had deliberately written a poem for him, making a back-heel pass after reaching the end line.
Pires, following up fast, reached the ball and managed a curling shot into the far corner.
Two to one!
Arsenal scores again.
"Oh! Pires found space, Manchester City’s defense is still problematic."
"Maicon doesn’t really count as a right-back; his position today is more of a right winger."
"Thiago Silva’s positioning is concentrated in the central defensive midfielder spot. Manchester City has a defensive gap on the right flank, and they need to figure out a way to fill it."
Manchester City had also recognized the problem.
Tu Lei and Deng Kai would usually cover that area, but there were so coordination issues when switching with Thiago Silva.
This was a real weakness.
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