Chapter 304
The plane flew across the blue sky, heading towards the dream, towards the distant southern hemisphere.
For Manchester City, this will be a brand new beginning, a journey towards glory.
And Guardiola will lead this team, step by step, towards the goal of the championship, and forge ahead!
Li Lei leaned on his seat, looking at the endless sea of clouds outside the porthole, his heart full of excitement and longing.
The summer sun in Australia was bright and sunny. Li Lei, De Bruyne and Sterling finished a day's training and strolled on the streets of Melbourne.
The three of them talked and laughed, as if they had become close friends.
"Kevin, when was the last time you came to Australia?" Li Lei asked, squinting at the blue sky.
De Bruyne thought for a moment and replied, "About a year ago, when I just left Wolfsburg from the Premier League."
"But compared to now, it feels completely different."
Sterling asked curiously, "Why? Did Australia leave you with any special impression?"
"What impressed me most was the sunshine and the beach here," De Bruyne said with a smile.
"And those cute koalas and kangaroos, it's like coming to another world."
Li Lei nodded and agreed, "I feel the same way."
"The natural environment here is really beautiful, the air is fresh, the sky is blue, and I feel relaxed."
"But we can't relax too much," Sterling reminded.
"The new season is about to start, we have to hurry up and improve our tacit understanding."
Li Lei and De Bruyne looked at each other and saw the same worry in each other's eyes.
"Rahim is right," Li Lei said, "the cooperation between the three of us on the field will determine the power of Manchester City's attack."
"We need to work well together in this warm-up match and prepare for the new season."
De Bruyne nodded in agreement: "Our goal is to help Manchester City win the championship."
"With you two around, I believe we can do it."
"Of course!" Sterling said confidently.
"Kevin's pass, Li Lei's speed, plus my breakthrough, we are simply the strongest attacking combination!"
The three smiled at each other, and the trust and tacit understanding between each other were beyond words.
"By the way, do you have any plans tonight?" Li Lei suddenly asked, "Why don't we go to the beach for a walk and watch the sunset? I heard that the sunset here is breathtakingly beautiful."
"Good idea!" De Bruyne and Sterling said in unison.
So, the three of them came to the beach and strolled on the golden sand.
The sunset slowly descended, dyeing the sky and the sea into an orange-red color. The breeze blew, bringing bursts of fresh ocean air.
Li Lei took a deep breath, feeling the tranquility and beauty of this moment.
The sunset slowly sank into the sea level, and the silhouettes of three young people stretched very long on the golden beach.
On July 18, Manchester City's warm-up match journey this season officially began. On that day, they had a game with the local Melbourne City team.
Guardiola took out his familiar 4231 formation.
Goalkeeper: Joe Hart
Defenders: Alexander Kolarov, John Stones, Gal Clichy, Vincent Kompany (captain)
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Fernandinho, Fabian Delph, Li Lei
Forward: Sergio Aguero
After the game started, facing Melbourne City, Manchester City players had a dominant position on the field.
Although the opponent was also desperately defending and attacking, the gap in strength was too big to pose a threat to Manchester City's goal.
In the 26th minute of the game, De Bruyne made a long pass to Li Lei, who was just in the defensive gap of Melbourne City at this time.
After receiving De Bruyne's long pass, Li Lei found himself in an excellent position.
There was an open space in front of him, and the opponent's defenders had been left behind.
Li Lei quickly controlled the ball and moved forward a few steps. Only the Melbourne City goalkeeper who was fighting alone was left in front of him.
The goalkeeper strode forward and tried to narrow the shooting angle, but Li Lei was prepared.
He suddenly changed direction and moved to the left like lightning, instantly getting rid of the goalkeeper's block.
Then, Li Lei raised his right foot and sent the ball into the lower right corner of the goal with a precise and powerful low shot!
"Goal! Li Lei opened the door to victory for Manchester City!" The commentator shouted excitedly.
Manchester City players cheered and came forward to hug Li Lei to celebrate.
De Bruyne was the first to rush up and gave Li Lei a big hug.Hug.
"So beautiful, Li Lei!" De Bruyne exclaimed, "Your speed and shooting are simply perfect!"
Li Lei smiled and responded: "This is all thanks to you, Kevin."
"Without your accurate long pass, I would have no chance to shoot."
Just as Manchester City celebrated the goal, Guardiola stood on the sidelines with a gratified smile on his face. He was satisfied with the tacit cooperation between Li Lei and De Bruyne.
This is just the beginning. Under his tactical system and the efforts of De Bruyne, Li Lei and others, Manchester City will create more wonderful moments.
The game continued, and Manchester City firmly controlled the situation.
Their passes were like flowing water, but there was still a lack of tacit understanding in cooperation.
However, even so, the players of Melbourne City seemed a little overwhelmed under the pressure of the Blue Moon.
Before the end of the first half, Guardiola replaced Li Lei with Sterling.
In the end, Li Lei's goal in the first half ended the game with a score of 1:0.
During the halftime break, Guardiola gave high praise to the players' performance.
He specifically praised De Bruyne and Li Lei, praising their close cooperation as a weapon for Manchester City's attack.
In the second half, Guardiola made some adjustments to the lineup, allowing players such as Dzeko and Zabaleta to play.
Unfortunately, the score was not changed in the end, and Manchester City's score of 1:0 remained until the end of the game.
After the game, Li Lei was interviewed by reporters.
When asked about his performance, he modestly said: "This is the result of the efforts of the whole team."
"Everyone played to their strengths, and we cooperated very well."
"This victory belongs to the entire Manchester City."
De Bruyne also praised Li Lei: "Li Lei showed all his strength."
"Speed, technology, shooting, everything is good."
"I believe that with his help, Manchester City will be invincible in the new season!"
In this way, Manchester City's first warm-up match in Australia kicked off with a victory.
The blue moon began to shine brightly in the sky above the southern hemisphere.
