Chapter 385 Superstar-level operations in high-end games

Chapter 385 Superstar-level operations in high-end games

"aoaoaoooooooooo——"

The passionate Manchester City fans at the Etihad Stadium chanted hysterically, contributing their own energy to the fanatical home atmosphere.

"Beep~"

The game restarted with a whistle from referee Anthony Taylor.

Arsenal, who won the right to kick off, did not rush to attack, but advanced layer by layer through patient organization.

Manchester City is not good at defending, and they have received help from referee Anthony Taylor. There will definitely be no consequences for fouling. Using continuous passes to stretch the defense is currently the safest way Martin can think of.

His teammates were also working hard to get back a win before the end of the first half.

Therefore, Arsenal are now united and are preparing to launch an attack in strict accordance with the adjusted tactics.

Guardiola, who had just returned to the coaching bench, felt the pressure from Martin's offensive attack. He immediately stood up again and walked to the technical area where the home team coach commanded.

It seems that being closer to the stadium can make you feel more at ease.

Wenger, who had received a yellow card for protesting too much, stood in the visiting team coach's technical area with his hands in his pockets and had enough confidence in the game.

It is undeniable that the referee's reasons have given Manchester City, which has the advantage of home court, a greater advantage, but he believes that his players can overcome difficulties and reverse the defeat under the leadership of Martin!

In the 43rd minute, Martin stopped Gnabry's pass as soon as he reached the right wing of the attack.

Speed ​​up!

Fernandinho, who was almost closely guarding, and De Bruyne, who was responsible for assisting in marking, reacted too slowly to the lightning-fast Martin, and it was too late to commit a foul.

The left back Delph quickly moved inward, and Martin lifted the ball to the vacuum area in front of the right with the outside instep of his right foot.

Bellerin, who was unmarked, was like a wild horse running wild. He passed the right pass to the ribs of the left front and then looked up to see his teammates in the penalty area.

It was unrealistic for Delph to turn around and defend Bellerin, who was starting at full speed. The left center back Otamendi, who maintained a high level of attention, made a prompt decision to cover up.

So Delph continued to move in, marking Martin who was running towards the edge of the penalty area on the right side at high speed to prevent Bellerin from passing the inverted triangle.

Cavani in the middle of the penalty area led Stones forward, and Sanchez, who ran to the left rib of the penalty area, followed Cavani.

Kyle Walker was very focused and followed Sanchez according to the defensive tactics developed before the game.

At the same time, Bellerin, who had caught up with the football in several strides, had already adjusted his steps and made a pass in the middle of the right penalty area.

The football shot up from the ground with a certain inner instep arc and flew sideways towards the penalty area before Otamendi blocked it.

Stones, who was nervous at the previous point, looked at the football flying high and let out a sigh of relief.

Kyle Walker, who was back in the middle of the small penalty area, looked at the football that he couldn't reach and relaxed his vigilance, but his eyes still followed the movement of the football and turned to the left, which is where he should have been in the defense zone.

I don't know if I don't see it, I'm startled when I see it.

Arsenal left-back Ferland Mendy doesn't know where to fall in football.

Goalkeeper Ederson's heart skipped a beat as he quickly took two steps with his long, stocky legs and moved quickly to the right.

"Ferland Mendy!!!"

The Sky TV commentator's voice suddenly jumped an octave higher.

Kyle Walker reacted very quickly, twisted around, and tried his best to interfere with Ferland Mendy's shot.

Unexpectedly, Mendy did not hit the goal. He kept passing the ball in the corner of the left small penalty area and directly passed the ball into the inverted triangle.

The scene shown by the live broadcast covered the entire Manchester City penalty area. Fans watching the live broadcast of the game clearly saw the Arsenal player wearing the red and white No. 34 jersey appearing in Mendy's passing route.

"-Granit Xhaka!!"

Henry, the guest commentator, raised his voice and shouted almost crazily.

Xhaka, who ran about one meter to the left of the penalty spot, raised his left foot, wrapped the ball with the arch of his foot, and used his calf to exert force along with the entire foot.

What makes Kyle Walker frustrated is that Xhaka's shooting path is exactly what he turned around to free up...

Sanchez seemed to know something in advance. His body moved inward at the moment Xhaka shot, leaving more space.

The moving Ederson stopped when Mendy passed the ball. By the time he realized that Xhaka had kicked the ball to the near corner, it was too late to move again.

"Goooooooooooooal——"

The fast-flying football grazed the inner edge of the left goal post and flew into the goal, hitting the snow-white net. Sky TV commentator Andy Gray instinctively stretched his voice.

The referee on duty, Anthony Taylor, turned to look at the assistant referee. Seeing that he found no foul or offside, he pointed to the center circle and blew the whistle to indicate that the goal was valid.

The scoreboard score also changed from 2:0 to 2:1.

Xhaka was extremely excited after scoring the goal. He opened his arms and knelt down in the corner area on the left side of the attack to vent the joy of the goal.

Then when he stood up and faced the rushing teammates, he consciously roared in the direction of the referee Anthony Taylor, venting his strong dissatisfaction.

Arsenal fans who traveled with the team were passionate and celebrated the goal hysterically.

Wenger, who was in the technical area directed by the visiting team coach, raised his hands high and applauded the players who scored to narrow the gap. Then he turned around and hugged the two assistants who came forward to celebrate the goal.

※※※※※

The Arsenal players who narrowed the gap took a short time to celebrate. They also wanted to equalize the score before the end of the first half.

It's a pity that Manchester City, playing at home, did not cooperate.

Manchester City, which has the advantage of home court and kick-off advantage, knows how to play when Arsenal is gaining momentum.

Control the football as much as possible, using good footwork and understanding to pass it back and forth.

Not to widen the point difference again, the main goal was to maintain the score until the end of the first half.

As De Bruyne's powerful shot from outside the penalty area went over the crossbar, the two minutes of stoppage time were just over, and the referee Anthony Taylor decisively blew the whistle to end the first half.

The on-site director immediately gave Martin a close-up shot.

Although he did not directly score a goal or assist in the entire first half, his role was very important.

The key is that the lack of direct impact has a lot to do with referee Anthony Taylor's missed whistle.

Moreover, Arsenal's goal to narrow the point difference came from Martin's change of pace and control of the situation.

PP sports commentator Zhan Jun said impassionedly: "The fouls Martin received throughout the first half are obvious to all. As the physical fitness of Manchester City players declined in the second half, I believe that even fouls will not affect people. By that time, Manchester City will have a special headache. …”

Li Yuankui, who served as the commentator, said solemnly: "However, Anthony Taylor's whistle was blown too far throughout the first half. Martin turned a blind eye to the fouls as long as they were not particularly obvious. This is why Martin was The fundamental reason why the performance in the entire first half seemed a bit sluggish, how can I put it... I hope that the second half can give us a wonderful peak competition."

Etihad Stadium.

Players from both sides returned to their respective locker rooms through the player tunnel, and the fanatical game atmosphere was reduced to a minimum. The substitutes came to the court to warm up and prepare for the second half.

In the home team's locker room, head coach Guardiola frowned, obviously feeling uneasy about the future.

He would be very happy if he went into the dressing room with a two-goal lead.

But now the score is 2:1.

The key is whether such a lead is caused by the referee's biased whistle.

He couldn't imagine Anthony Taylor blowing the balance whistle in the second half.

However, playing at home, Guardiola knew not to be timid, so he made patches based on the shortcomings discovered in the first half to prepare for the second half.

This campaign is at the Etihad, and Arsenal must be won. Otherwise, once the FA Cup and Champions League knockout rounds begin in the second half of the season, the pressure will increase exponentially.

Next year is another World Cup year, and many players who are prone to injuries will definitely have reservations in order not to miss the four-year football feast.

Manchester City players' ability to self-adjust their mentality is excellent and does not require Guardiola to spend extra time instigating.

There have been enough losses to Arsenal over the past two seasons.

It’s hard to wait until this season’s wings are full, so we must give it a good try!

Especially De Bruyne, who is determined to win just to give Martin a little 'color'.

Judging from Martin's development history, De Bruyne is still Martin's teacher.

He taught him how to organize and connect the overall offense...

……

At the same time, all TV stations that have the rights to broadcast the Premier League live the first half at the end of the halftime break.

Except for the Manchester City-oriented commentator who thought there was no big problem in the first half, most commentators were very dissatisfied with Anthony Taylor's whistle. Especially on social platforms, many fans and even Aite himself asked if he had received a "shooting order" from the Premier League.

Previously, media broke the news that many competition organizations, including the Premier League, do not want Arsenal to continue to dominate.

Even though Arsenal's style of play is very beautiful and full of fun to watch.

In the eyes of these competition bodies, different teams winning championships each season is the best publicity for the event.

Dominant performance is not conducive to the further promotion of football in the world of sports.

At the Champions League level, Arsenal's performance was perfect, and the whistle was of little use.

The top-of-the-table battle at the Etihad Stadium is almost the same, and the key depends on the performance of the players.

Reducing Martin's contribution to Arsenal's offensive end by blowing the whistle does play a certain role.

It's just that the whole process is too obvious.

"Sky Sports" came up with first-hand data during the halftime break. In the first two Premier League seasons, the average number of whistles for Martin fouls was as high as 6.3 and 6.7 times per game, and the card rate was also high, resulting in many teams playing in the first half. Martin's performance is inhibited through fouls, and in the second half, he will be affected by the card and dare not foul easily. By then, Martin will be a wild horse.

The average data in the first ten rounds of the Premier League this season has plummeted.

It's not that the number of fouls has decreased, it's that the referee chose to turn a blind eye to Martin's violation.

The first half of the game was particularly exaggerated.

Arsenal fans, Martin fans, Portuguese media and fans who returned to Portugal as Martin returned to Portugal all angrily criticized this act of turning a blind eye on social platforms.

Fortunately, Martin has a strong body and a high degree of endurance. He can maintain absolute health in the face of some harmful actions.

The fifteen-minute intermission passed quickly, and players from both sides returned to the court to prepare for the second half of the game.

Guardiola and Wenger seemed satisfied with their respective players' first-half performance and made no personnel changes.

The referee Anthony Taylor blew his whistle, announcing a change of sides and another fight.

At the beginning of the second half, Anthony Taylor did consciously find balance for the partial whistle in the first half, but... the search can be said to be dispensable.

Fouls that are too far from the goal can be called whenever possible, as if to find balance in the first half.

But when Martin or other Arsenal players took the ball to the dangerous area, they returned to the standard of the first half.

"wuwuwuwuwuuuu——"

The key offensive opportunity was destroyed, and it almost resulted in a goal loss when switching from offense to defense. The Arsenal fans who traveled with the team sent harsh boos to the referee Anthony Taylor.

It's just that there were too few of them to penetrate the huge roar unleashed by the Manchester City fans.

The grumpy Xhaka failed to control his temper and received a yellow card.

When the time came to fifty minutes, Arsenal, who had another chance to attack, in order to successfully send the football to the dangerous area, Martin and other teammates consciously reduced the time the football was at their feet.

In the 53rd minute, Arsenal took the lead in making personnel adjustments.

Ronaldo, who has better technical ability at his feet, replaced Gnabry, who has stronger offensive ability, and mainly plays a controlled football.

Use Manchester City's best offensive method to threaten Manchester City's defense.

Speed ​​up the passing speed and mainly deliver the ball with one kick.

Martin, Xhaka, and even Ronaldo are all good at transferring long passes, which makes Manchester City at home play more and more passively. The home fans in the auditorium also let out frightened exclamations from time to time.

Guardiola turned to look at the warm-up area and asked his assistant Arteta to call Gundogan and Seat B over to prepare for the appearance.

In the 62nd minute, Delph pushed Xhaka's diagonal pass out of bounds from the left side of the backcourt. The referee Anthony Taylor blew the whistle and faced the substitution technical area.

Manchester City player Gundogan and seat B stood next to the fourth official, waiting to enter.

The players who were replaced were veteran captain David Silva and Sane, whose overall performance was relatively sluggish.

Obviously, this is to ensure the activity of the midfield while maintaining the threat level of transition from defense to offense and positional warfare.

However, what Guardiola didn't expect was that his team had just completed substitutions and his team... lost the ball.

Bellerin threw a foul ball from the left side of the front court. Martin blocked his position and used his chest to pass the ball to Ronaldo, who quickly passed it back.

Xhaka in the middle received the football, made a slight adjustment, and sent a wide diagonal pass with his left foot.

Mendy, who was close to the left sideline, saw Sterling coming to defend, and he directly pointed the ball to Sanchez with his head.

Sanchez and Mendy, who received the ball in the attacking left flank, exchanged passes continuously, attracting the Manchester City defense to the right, and then passed the ball through Xhaka who was swimming over, and quickly handed the ball to Martin who ran to the middle about 30 meters away from the goal.

Manchester City's defense line has been flattened at this time, and the defensive players on both sides automatically move to the center, compressing the space needed for Arsenal's overall attack.

Facing the head-on defense of De Bruyne and Gundogan, Martin faced the football seemingly casually. Then the moment his left foot touched the ball, he suddenly exerted force on his calf and kicked the ball towards the middle and lower part, using a 'slice' method. Touch the ball.

No one expected Martin to pass the ball without warning.

The ball shot up from the ground and passed quickly between De Bruyne and Gundogan, who were unable to react, and fell to the middle area of ​​the right penalty area with a strong inward arc.

Ronaldo, who was obviously in an offside position, consciously stayed on the spot and raised his hands to show that he had no intention of participating in the attack.

"-Héctor Bellerin!!"

As soon as the live director switched the camera, Sky TV commentator Andy Gray's voice suddenly rose an octave higher.

Bellerin overtook Delph from the outside and turned to defend at a speed visible to the naked eye. Left center back Otamendi had to make up the defense again.

Fans watching the live broadcast of the game can clearly see that Bellerin was positioned further back and completely overwhelmed Delph with his speed. This also caused the assistant referee to not raise the flag for offside beyond the millimeter limit.

Guardiola's heart skipped a beat when he saw this.

This scene seemed familiar to him!

That's right!

This is how Arsenal's goal to narrow the point difference before the end of the first half came!

Bellerin adjusted his steps while running at high speed, and the arch of his right foot swept Martin's perfectly timed long diagonal pass directly to the center of the penalty area.

Otamendi, who was on defense, was just as slow as the first ball he conceded, watching eagerly as the football flew toward the goal from under his nose.

Cavani, who was running like a ghost, used his strong body to get stuck in position and swung his right foot one meter before the penalty spot.

Tight arches facing the football!

Pad cum!

Kick the knife down!

Standing in front of the goal line, Ederson subconsciously pounced to the left side of his body, but faced with such a close and tricky angle shot, there was no way he could successfully save it.

"Goooooooooooooal——"

Many commentators in the live commentary box/remote live broadcast room subconsciously lengthened their voices.

Cavani was extremely excited after scoring the goal. He opened his arms and ran excitedly to the right corner of the attack. He first vented his emotions by sliding on his knees, and then used the classic gun-striking action to celebrate the goal.

Wenger, who was in the technical area directed by the visiting team coach, excitedly raised his clenched fists high again, and excitedly celebrated the equalizing goal with his assistants Boulder and Gary Williams.

The Arsenal players in the warm-up area ran directly to the visiting team fans gathering area to vent their grievances together.

The game took more than 60 minutes to equalize the score. Only they knew how difficult the process was.

Guardiola, the coach of the home team in the technical area, sighed.

This... is the shortcoming caused by the new substitution.

Seat B, who came off the bench, had not fully entered the rhythm of the game. He should have followed Bellerin in this defense, but the result...

He frowned.

Arsenal's equalizer has become a reality and he must prepare for going beyond the scoreline again.

Immediately, the live director restored the entire process of Arsenal's goal.

Through replays, many commentators attributed most of the credit for Arsenal's equalizing goal to Martin.

It was his sudden change of rhythm and precise control of the situation that enabled Bellerin to assist Cavani.

There have been no direct goals or assists since the beginning of this game, but his strategy was perfectly reflected.

High-end bureaus don’t necessarily have to show up directly!

(End of this chapter)