Chapter 195: Passive Manchester City

"Sterling failed to pass the ball! Kai grasped the timing of this pressing kick very well. After getting rid of Sterling in the first half, Kai still dared to make pressing moves. This not only requires a strong psychology quality, but also requires absolute confidence in one’s own skills!”

In the first half, Sterling used a wonderful shake to get rid of Lucky's defense and help Manchester City score a goal.

This assist also gave Sterling great confidence.

But at the beginning of the second half, Lucky made Sterling nervous again with a clean destruction.

Sterling's heart also became heavy.

Lucky gave him the feeling as if he was staring at him. Unlike the defense that stayed close to him in the first half, after entering the second half, as soon as Sterling got the ball, Lucky would instantly get close to press him.

To be honest, Lucky is too oppressive at close range.

Not to mention Sterling, how many people in football can remain calm when facing Lucky's pressing?駮

However, Sterling didn't mean to be depressed, it was just a destruction, and Lucky did not steal the ball from his feet and counterattack.

Sterling still feels that he has a chance to complete a breakthrough.

For this reason, when the ball was passed to Sterling's feet again, the guy immediately wanted to pull the ball and turn around.

But halfway through turning, he felt like he couldn't turn.

There seemed to be a wall blocking the back of his body, suffocating Sterling when he tried to turn around.

Seeing that the way to turn was blocked, Sterling swung the ball to the left, trying to distance himself.

But how could Lucky give him such an opportunity? The moment Sterling reached for the ball, he pushed hard with his supporting leg and instantly squeezed between Sterling and the ball, breaking the connection between the two. At the same time, he steadily Keep the ball.駮

Sterling was squeezed behind Lucky. He moved left and right, trying to go around and grab the ball.

But Lucky's left and right feet feinted above the ball, using his back to block Sterling's pressing angle again and again.

After his teammates stepped forward, Lucai easily distributed the ball.

Sterling stopped with some annoyance. If the last pressing gave him a certain degree of frustration, conceding the ball this time made him extremely nervous.

"Twice in a row! Kai's defensive performance was outstanding. Sterling still wants to replicate his performance in the first half, passing Kai and helping his teammates create scoring opportunities."

"But after Kai experienced it once, how could he give this kind of opportunity again? Sterling failed to keep the ball under two consecutive defensive presses!"

"One thing we must admit is that when facing Kai alone, we must not take any chances. If the position where the ball was intercepted was slightly earlier, Arsenal might have directly launched a counterattack!"

Facing Staley's loss of the ball, Manchester City players will also be a little dissatisfied.

Although Sterling was the hero of the first-half goal, that doesn't mean he can do whatever he wants.

"Hey! Pass the ball!"

"Stop dribbling!"

"You can't break through! Pass the ball more!"

"Someone is here to help you!"

"Don't always think about dribbling the ball!"

Facing the scolding from his teammates, Sterling's expression was not very good.

In the past, teammates would complain that Sterling played too uniquely, but at that time Sterling had strong wing breakthrough and dribbling abilities.

Complaints are complaints, but Sterling kicked out the effect.

For this reason, Sterling doesn't care much.

But when facing Lucky, he had already conceded two goals.

In this case, the pressure is great.

And his teammates were also complaining at the same time, and it was impossible for him to remain indifferent.駮

After Arsenal got the ball, they did not rush to counterattack. Their overall position was too far back, and even if they counterattacked, they were not threatening enough.

For this reason, Arsenal also began to shift to the left and right sides, hoping to attack through changes in rhythm.

Although Arsenal's defensive counterattack was very slow, they also used this kind of rhythm change and the side-breaking tactics driven by passing and control well.

Arsenal is not the type who can win all over the world with one move. They only know how to defend and counterattack.

If so, they wouldn't be able to get this far.

It can be said that Arsenal are proficient in defensive counterattacks, which is also their most powerful weapon, but it does not mean that they do not know other tactics.

Arsenal's interspersed movement is very decisive, and the speed of passing the ball is slightly slower than that of Manchester City, but it is better than stability.駮

Arsenal will not try many uncertain attacks.

Only when there is enough space or Lucky initiates the attack, Arsenal will choose to execute it resolutely.

However, judging from the current situation, Arsenal is not in a hurry to press forward. Instead, they continue to make moves in the midfield and backcourt to lure Manchester City players to come up and press.

"It's not like seduction, it's more like Arsenal wasting time!"

Andy Gray said seriously: "Manchester City played too passively in defense, which also allowed Arsenal to continue to advance in the midfield and handle the ball calmly."

"Of course, this is also Manchester City's tactical arrangement to stabilize the defense, but the problem is that they are lagging behind."

"The initiative is currently in the hands of Arsenal. If the Gunners insist on delaying time, then Manchester City will continue like this and be calculated by Arsenal. If they press forward, Arsenal can use the overall elongated gap and position during the press to penetrate."

At this point, Andy Gray couldn't help but sigh: "Arsenal is too experienced. They know when to play and what rhythm to play. Just like now, they rely on their advantages to put Manchester City in an absolutely passive situation."

"So, there are only two ways left for Manchester City now!"

"First: continue to defend passively, wait for time to pass, and watch Arsenal win the trophy."

"Second: Take the risk of pressing forward, which will be accompanied by the possibility of losing the ball, but at least it is better than the first option!"

Manchester City also reacted quickly. After seeing Arsenal's playing style, they understood what these Gunners wanted to do.

"Press forward! Press!"

David Silva shouted immediately.駮

They don't want to die slowly like this, even if it's risky, they have to try to press.

Manchester City's midfield began to enter Arsenal's half to press.

The overall line and position were stretched, and the previously well-hidden gaps were gradually revealed.

Although Manchester City players used active running to cover up, Arsenal would not give up facing such gaps.

Lucky sent the ball to Xhaka's feet. Xhaka, with his back to the goal, directly kicked the ball to the side, and then turned and ran.

A very simple side-by-side tactic.

But Arsenal invested a lot in the counterattack.

Not only Xhaka, but also Lucky quickly approached.

Mane held the ball and quickly went to the bottom. While dribbling, he observed the position of Manchester City's full-back.

When he found that the opponent did not come forward to press, Mane completed the cross very comfortably.

The ball flew to the middle, and Giroud and Lucky had already killed in at this time.

At the moment when the two wanted to compete for the header, the Manchester City goalkeeper suddenly rushed out, hit the ball with both fists, and headed the ball out of the penalty area.

The ball fell outside the penalty area. Xhaka looked at the landing point of the ball, ran over quickly, and chose to shoot directly without making any adjustments.

Bang!

駮

The quality of this shot was not good, it was just a sky rocket.

The ball flew to the stands, and Manchester City players and fans also breathed a long sigh of relief.

Arsenal fans kept applauding.

They would applaud for any shot, even a sky rocket.

They knew very well that this period of time would give the players confidence and give Manchester City a sense of pressure.

In the stadium, Lekai and others also gave Xhaka a thumbs up.

The latter also scratched his head, indicating that he failed to hold the ball.

Although they failed to expand the score, Arsenal still played a good counterattack.

The pressure is still on Manchester City.

For Manchester City, they must find ways to score another goal, so that they can equalize the game.

After equalizing, Manchester City will embrace the advantage again and not play passively like it is now.

But this is really not an easy thing.

Whether it is Arsenal's defense or counterattack, it is a great test for Manchester City.