[Football] Bad Boy Batty

At the end of February 2018, Manchester City faced the first decisive battle of the season on all four fronts, as the players faced Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.

Although the League Cup is not as valuable as other competitions, winning a championship trophy at this critical juncture will be a great encouragement to the players and the entire team.

Previously, Manchester City had won the League Cup four times, while Arsenal had won it twice. However, Guardiola's team did not take it lightly. Arsenal is a great team with the potential to win the championship. In the final analysis, this is a trophy and a fierce competition. It is not easy to win.

Manchester City lost to Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals last season, so this League Cup final can also be regarded as a battle of revenge.

A day in advance, Guardiola led the team to London and checked into the hotel. They had to feel the atmosphere in advance and adapt to the current environment of Wembley Stadium.

After dinner, all the players were gathered in a room in the hotel and sat down. In front of them was a projector with the tactical arrangements they would use displayed on it. The coaching staff stood behind them. Guardiola stood in front of the screen to make the final arrangements. The mottled projection on his face made it difficult for the players to see his true expression.

"We all know that Arsenal will attack. They are an old rival. I have talked about their style of play many times in the league. Attacking means their defense has to move forward, and that is exactly the gap we have to seize." Guardiola approached the projection screen and told the players what to do with his hands and feet. "When the opponent's players on the wing press forward, we have to limit him. On the left are Lucas and Nico, and on the right are Vincent and Walker. Move, I hope you can speed up and don't give Arsenal the opportunity to get into the rhythm."

The starting lineup of the game appeared on the screen. This time Manchester City returned to the 433 formation. It can be seen that Guardiola played his most stable card.

Bravo is the starting goalkeeper; Walker is on the right and Lucas is on the left in the defense line. Kompany and Otamendi are central defenders. Stones, who returned from injury, was temporarily on the bench yesterday morning. The midfield is still the familiar taste and familiar combination. Fernandinho lags behind as the defensive midfielder, with the dual cores of De Bruyne and David Silva in front of him; Aguero is at the front, Sane is on the left, and Batistuta is on the right.

Formation is the basis, and different playing styles are the key after entering the court.

Guardiola did not have a clear plan for the luxurious attacking line in the front court. He hoped that they could disrupt Arsenal's defense through more position changes. Aguero did not need too much ball possession. His off-ball running was more important to Manchester City. Sane was better with the ball, while Batistuta was a versatile player in the front court. He was equally strong with the ball as without it.

"There is one more important thing. VAR technology will be used in this final. Pay attention, everyone, don't foul. We need 11 players to play on the field." Guardiola said again. He moved closer to the players in the front row, his eyes serious as if they could capture people's hearts. "There must be pressure, everyone, feel the pressure! You are the best, but being the best does not mean you can win the game. Go all out, go all out every minute and every second!"

Of course, they will give it their all, of course.

Batistuta, who was sitting in the middle, withdrew his gaze from the head coach and felt the strong beating in his chest. He lowered his head, opened his mobile phone and looked at the League Cup trophy sponsored by Carabao. He slowly stretched out his hand, palm up, and clenched his fist in the next second.

No one can take the trophy away from them again.

No matter how targeted Arsenal's defense is, they are fearless. This season, he wants to win all the trophies.

……

However, on the day of the game, the situation on the field was completely different from what Batty had imagined.

Arsenal's players looked a bit listless, their chasing and defending were so sluggish that Batistuta could almost freely pass through the right side.

Two minutes into the game, Manchester City got two corner kick opportunities.

De Bruyne took a corner kick, but the position was not very good. Kompany and Aguero's headers were both confiscated by the Arsenal goalkeeper.

But to be honest, Arsenal's current state is really like sleepwalking. The first line of midfield defense only put pressure on Manchester City after passing the center circle, and did not rush to grab the ball. It seems that they have completely lost their fighting spirit.

Maybe this has something to do with their league results?
If Arsenal missed out on the Champions League last season by just one point, then now, the Gunners have long lost their advantage in the fight for Champions League qualification. In the Premier League standings, Arsenal is currently ranked sixth, 1 points behind Liverpool, which is fourth. Even if they go all out in the last few rounds of the league, the chances of overtaking are slim.

In the 5th minute, Mkhitaryan got the ball in the midfield, but he hesitated for a long time and was intercepted by Fernandinho from behind. There was an open space in the Arsenal backcourt and the space between several defenders was big enough to hold the Pacific Ocean. Batistuta quickly rushed forward with the ball, broke through the defense line in the penalty area and made a horizontal pass. Aguero followed up but was unfortunately disturbed by the dense defense and could not touch the ball.

"Mine, mine!" The Argentine striker raised his hand to signal his teammates, "Nice pass, Batistuta! Do it a few more times!"

In the first 15 minutes of the game, Manchester City almost bombarded Arsenal's goal.

"Don't be impatient! Keep calm! You're not there yet, Leroy (Sane)! Go forward! Go forward, we need three players to attack and shoot!" Guardiola waved his hands on the sidelines, "Pay attention to the inward attack, Batistuta! You can shoot by yourself, don't wait until the opportunity is lost!"

After giving the head coach a few thumbs up, Batistuta ran back to his seat. He was now in a very relaxed state of mind and even had the devilish idea of ​​doing some tricks to prevent the audience from falling asleep.

City will win, he thought, there is no doubt about it.

Now the most pressing question is -

What to play?

……

18 minutes into the game, Arsenal got a good chance, or rather, their only good chance of the game.

Wilshere launched an attack from the backcourt, Fernandinho tried to steal the ball, but failed to clear it, and the ball was still in Arsenal's hands. Mkhitaryan took the ball to the left side of the penalty area and made a cross. Aubameyang shot from close range, but Bravo missed the save. However, Aubameyang did not react in time. When he wanted to shoot again, Bravo had already held the ball in his arms.

"Just a little faster, just a little faster!" Aubameyang waved his fist in frustration.

It's too late to say anything now, the ball is in Manchester City's hands.

"Everyone, go ahead! Quickly, get into position!" Bravo gestured to his teammates while holding the ball, then quickly kicked the ball to the front court.

Batistuta on the wing bypassed the defense and went straight to the middle. Arsenal defender Chambers locked Batistuta firmly to prevent him from jumping for the header. At that moment, Batistuta made a smart decision.
He did not use all his strength to fight against Chambers. Instead, he took advantage of the opponent's pulling back to lean back slightly, restricting his opponent's movements while adjusting his movements. In the next few seconds, the ball brushed his chest and fell down, and he raised his leg.

Under the gaze of 90,000 people in the stadium, Manchester City's Brazilian Rose used her thigh to stop the ball steadily, then hooked the ball with her toes. Just when everyone thought he was going to shoot, he bounced the ball twice, then knocked it with his heel and dribbled past Chambers who was defending him closely!
"Is he crazy?" a fan in the stands asked in shock.

No one answered.

Because they all know the answer.

This is Batty.

"He wants to humiliate us!" Mustafi was furious. He shouted at his teammates to return to defense, "Steal the ball! Don't let this little bastard succeed!" But he obviously underestimated how much of a bastard Batistuta was.

How can just a crotch pass be enough?
Batistuta had a wicked smile on his face. With all five Arsenal defenders in place, he performed many tricks with his feet, one fake move after another. "You predicted my moves? Don't worry, I predicted your predictions!"

He dribbled the ball back and forth in front of Arsenal's goal. If the weather hadn't been good today and the grass on the field hadn't been dry, you would have definitely seen the defensive players being knocked to the ground in a miserable state.

About 20 seconds later, Batistuta seemed to have finally had enough fun. He took the ball to the middle and shot a powerful shot facing the goalkeeper!
In stark contrast to the previous stop and get away shot that was full of talent and amazing, this was a shot without any rotation, with extremely fast speed and domineering momentum, quite like the style of Ronaldo during his time at Barcelona!

[The ball went in! In the 18th minute, Batistuta teased the entire Arsenal defense with a set of playful moves, and this violent goal! I can't believe that after Ronaldo, we can see such a wonderful goal on the court again! I'm sure this is the most difficult goal! Who would have believed that just two months ago, Batistuta went to FIFA to accept the Puskas Award. It seems that next year's best goal will also be his! His Brazilian predecessors must be proud of him! ]

"It's a complete humiliation for Batistuta. You're lucky it's not ten years ago. If it was in the 2000s, they would have broken your legs." Aguero was the first to rush over and hugged Batistuta. He ruffled Batistuta's hair and kissed his ear. "But I still have to say, it was a great goal!!"

"I know!" Batistuta answered excitedly, "It's 2018 now! If they want to beat me, let them try, and I will return the favor with a more beautiful goal!"

"Of course you can!" Lucas was not to be outdone. He snatched Batistuta from Aguero, lifted him high up and fixed him on himself, then ran towards the Manchester City fan area. "See! This is our little king. He can do everything!"

De Bruyne said nothing. As a midfielder who appears calm on the outside but is rebellious at heart, he is actually happy to see goals like Batistuta's, which are very enjoyable and entertaining.

"Okay, let's continue!" Batty opened his arms after returning to the ground, and blew a kiss to the nearest camera, "It's only 1-0, we still have a lot of goals to score!"

……

It seemed that Arsenal had lost their temper after Batistuta's goal and played even more chaotically. Even Professor Wenger's directing and adjustments on the sidelines were of no avail.

In the 30th minute, Manchester City attacked again. Sane made a cross from the left, Kompany headed the ball and it hit the crossbar. Aguero made a follow-up shot and scored! 2-0! Manchester City expanded their lead!
Neither side scored any more goals after that. At the end of the first half, Manchester City temporarily led Arsenal 2-0.

In the second half, Arsenal's condition did not improve at all. Instead, they showed a kind of casualness after their mentality collapsed.

In the 58th minute, Manchester City got a corner kick. De Bruyne kicked the ball to the back point. Fernandinho outside the penalty area lifted the ball into the penalty area. Kompany, who always had a goal-scoring heart, finally got another chance. He broke through Arsenal's dense defense from the middle, lost his balance and fell to the ground to score. Manchester City extended the score to 3-0!

This was the old captain's first goal of the season, and the players were happier than during the holidays.

"Even Vincent scored. The rest of you, don't you want to think of a solution?" Batty teased everyone in the celebrating crowd, "Come on! Score a few more goals. We can do it!"

So the others, encouraged by this, also started to work hard to score goals.

Then--

Batty scored again.

In the 65th minute, Manchester City pressed forward on all fronts. Lucas and Sane switched positions on the left and cut inside. They tried a long shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. The ball bounced back into the field and landed right at Batistuta's feet.

There is no reason not to eat the cake that is so obviously right in front of you. You are not Sterling, so you won't accept charity.

(Sterling: ...Hey!)
Batistuta shot without thinking, but he didn't kick the ball well, the force was a little weak, and the low ball turned into a ground ball. And it was this ground ball that just went through the gap between the two defenders and rolled into the lower right corner of the goal at a very slow speed.

4-0, the game was no longer suspenseful.

Manchester City fans in the stands danced the Poznan dance to celebrate their big lead, while mocking Arsenal's defense for being like that of U10 kids.

Many Arsenal fans were dissatisfied with the team's attitude of playing badly and left the stadium early. At the gate of the stadium, some Manchester City fans changed the "Bus Song" that satirized Mourinho into Arsenal's celebration. Fortunately, the stadium security stopped it in time and prevented a large-scale fight from breaking out.

Then, in order to preserve the physical strength of the main players, Guardiola replaced Batistuta and Aguero with B Silva and Foden. All the Manchester City fans stood up and applauded for today's heroes.

When Batistuta and Aguero were sitting on the bench, they saw the staff in the passage starting to prepare the championship podium and gifts. Batistuta licked his dry lips and finally decided to leave the job of moisturizing them to the champagne that would be waiting.

"Akun, I have an idea." Batistuta carelessly lifted his legs, which had taken off his socks, onto the front seat and lazily tugged at Aguero's sleeves. "After we receive the award, how about we give Pep a shower? We didn't have time to do this when we won the league title last year."

Aguero patted Batistuta's head, and because of the sweat on his head, the hair on the side of Batistuta exploded, making him look like half a pineapple.

"The game isn't over yet and you're already thinking about this. Pep will definitely scold you if he finds out." He pretended to be serious, but then he broke his composure in less than two seconds and laughed secretly with Batistuta. "We have to be quick, before we go up to receive the award. If we want to make the champagne foam, we have to shake it, which takes time. And we can't let Pep find us, otherwise he will definitely run away!"

"That's no problem." Batty quietly made an OK gesture, "Someone help to attract attention."

……

As the referee blew the final whistle, the game ended and Manchester City defeated Arsenal 4-0 to win the 2017-18 League Cup!

All the little blue people rushed into the field to celebrate wildly. The fans went crazy. The sky was full of balls, and waves of sequins and streamers fell from the sky.

But just as the sponsor's representative came into the stadium to congratulate everyone and took out medals to put around the necks of every Manchester City player, Batistuta and Aguero rushed through the camera with champagne towards the head coach who was being interviewed by reporters.

"Yoho~~~~"

"Try this! I swear the top of your head will love it!"

So Guardiola in the camera became a drowned chicken.

melon:……

Or Gua: You two should be the substitutes next time!
(End of this chapter)