[Football] Bad Boy Batty

"That guy was definitely offside, obviously!" In the locker room during the halftime break, Batistuta took the bottle of water handed to him by Neymar and rinsed his mouth, saying, "I can't believe that I can encounter such a thing in the Etihad game!"

"That's right! Atkinson's enforcement is as lenient as shit. Lingard fouled me and he just let it go!" Laporte was indignant. His defense was a little bit inadequate, but if it wasn't for Lingard's move, Rashford would not have found the shooting angle so easily.

Batistuta shook his head. "That has nothing to do with it. A pick-and-roll can be called or not." He shook the water bottle and used the water inside to push his hair back. "Even without Lingard's pick-and-roll, Rashford would have been offside."

"Maybe it's the angle." Seat B said, "You weren't that close at the time."

"No, no, no, I believe my judgment is correct." Batistuta insisted. He pushed Neymar who was sitting next to him and said, "You saw it at the time, too. Was it my angle?"

Neymar was stunned. He didn't expect the question to be thrown at him. "I didn't see it." He said as neutrally as possible. In order to appease Batistuta, he added: "But the cameras on the sidelines must have captured it. There will be a replay after the game."

"Yes, it was clearly shown on the broadcast." Aguero also came to support Neymar. He pulled Batistuta to sit down, "Don't take it to heart. The important thing is that we are still leading now."

"Akun is right. Don't think about the penalty anymore. That's the referee's problem." Guardiola walked into the locker room. He came to the middle and stood in front of the whiteboard that had been prepared long ago. "Come on, look here. In the second half, we won't adjust the general direction, just make a slight change. Bernardo, when you go here--"

Batty swallowed his unfinished words and listened attentively to the coach's instructions.

Neymar next to him patted his knee gently, signaling him not to worry. He could be angry, but the game should be the most important thing at this time.

Barty responded by squeezing the tips of his fingers.

There is nothing to worry about.

……

Whenever Batty suggests that he has 'nothing to worry about', it means they should start to worry.

The referee's controversial decision did have a certain degree of impact. At the beginning of the second half, Manchester United's counterattack became sharper, and even pressed Manchester City to the half court and prevented them from crossing the center line.

"Don't provoke Batistuta, do you understand? Focus on Fernandinho and prevent Manchester City from passing the ball out to the backcourt." This is what Mourinho said to Augustus during the halftime break. "Cut off their midfield connection and you will limit half of Batistuta, leaving the rest to Theo."

It turns out that this method works.

Fernandinho was disturbed, and the task of passing the ball had to be given to Stones. Once Stones defended in advance, he would be under pressure, or he could pass the ball to David Silva, but in this way he would have to retreat away from the frontcourt, and the accuracy of the pass would naturally decrease. Neymar on the left also had to move back, so the attack also had problems.

"Bernardo, go back and help!" Batty asked, "Leave this to Walker and me!"

B Silva glanced at Guardiola on the sidelines. The Catalan was excitedly saying something to David Silva and Neymar in front of him.

He scratched his hair hesitantly: "I, uh, I'm not sure, Barty..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Batty waved his hand. "Just go if I tell you to. Fernandez can't hold on any longer. We're going to lose the ball if this continues."

"But Pep—"

"Pep means the same thing," Batistuta said casually. "Go! Be smart, don't let them get a yellow card from you, and don't get hurt, you hear me!"

However, before Manchester City could complete their deployment, Manchester United launched another wave of attack.

It was still an opportunity that Fernandinho got. As Augustus was pressing closely beside him and David Silva was also marked in front of him, it was difficult to pass the ball to Batistuta on the right and the risk of passing back was too great. The Brazilian midfielder had no choice but to kick a high ball to the middle.

Manchester United did a good job of limiting the pass this time. Fernandinho's kick was not good, Pogba intercepted it decisively, and at the same time called on the two full-backs to press forward to assist in the attack, and then launched a quick counterattack.

Damn it!
Batistuta cursed inwardly and retreated to restrict left-back Theo.

[Manchester United's counterattack was very smooth. Pogba passed the ball to Fellaini, who passed it forward - using the gaps behind Manchester City's forward pressure to quickly occupy the space. This Manchester United team played like Inter Milan, which defeated Barcelona at its peak.]

The left side was restricted, Fellaini passed the ball to Lingard, Stones kept a close eye on Rashford, and Lingard saw that the position was not ideal, so he passed the ball back to Pogba.

Mourinho couldn't sit still anymore. He walked back and forth on the sidelines with a frown on his face.

He thought, if I miss such a good opportunity, I don’t know when I will have the next one.

Pogba protected the ball in the midfield. He looked up and suddenly there was a through ball to the middle. Augustus, who had just successfully restricted Fernandinho, ran to the vicinity of Manchester City's defense line without knowing when. He didn't even need to gamble, he turned around and took the ball into the penalty area.

[Single blade! ]

Ederson chose to attack. He rushed into the small penalty area in front of the goal and tried to block the ball with a sliding tackle.

But Augustus seemed to have anticipated his reaction. He dribbled past Ederson and faced the empty goal with his left foot. He easily shot the ball into the net. Even Laporte's desperate efforts to chase back to the front of the goal were of no avail.

2-2, Manchester United equalized the score.

"Damn it! Why is no one watching him!" Batty gritted his teeth and punched the air, "Fei Niao, John, you——"

But just then, Atkinson struck again.

The protagonist suddenly changed from the celebrating Manchester United members to the referee.

[beep——]
The referee blew the whistle, raised one arm, and then pointed to the center circle, indicating that Augustus's goal was invalid and Manchester United needed to kick off from the center circle.

Batty's complaint was stifled.

hiss--
Is this an offside goal?

When Batty saw the referee's gesture, he had a lot of questions in his mind. From his position, there was nothing wrong with Augustus' goal. Although he hated this guy, he couldn't deny that he scored this goal calmly and beautifully.

Now it was Manchester United's turn to be anxious, and several players who were close to the referee came forward to confirm repeatedly with the referee.

But Atkinson had a firm expression and a resolute attitude, and seemed extremely confident in his judgment. He asked them to return to their positions and continue the game, otherwise they would be given a yellow card.

"What happened? The goal is invalid?" B Silva scratched his hair in confusion.

"Why do you care? Anyway, it's good for us." Batistuta spoke quickly and pushed the Portuguese player's head. "Go back quickly. This is the opportunity God has given us."

Yes, that's right.

A goal can be inspiring, especially an equalizer, but if the goal is disallowed, it is the exact opposite.

He is worthy of being called the condemned one. No one from any team will have a good time under Atkinson.

"Did a dog eat your eyes? There's nothing wrong with that goal!" Augustus was very emotional. He scolded the referee in a mixture of French and English. If Pogba hadn't stopped him, he would have jumped on Atkinson's face. "Home whistle! Home whistle! What good did they give you during the halftime break? It's obviously a home whistle!"

This was a serious accusation and the referee certainly would not sit idly by. He showed Augustus a yellow card.

After all the trouble, Augustus returned to the court in anger, and his teammates around him also looked unhappy.

So Manchester United's newly recovered form was extinguished.

While the opponent was doubting their lives, Manchester City seized the time to organize an attack. No matter what happened, whether there was anything wrong with Augustus' ball, the current situation is that Manchester United failed to equalize the score and Manchester City still leads 2-1 at home.

If we don't work harder now, when will we?

Only a fool would not seize the opportunity. …

The two sides started fighting for the ball in the midfield. Batistuta intended to stay on the wing, and Theo almost closely guarded him, following him wherever he went, less than 5 meters apart, for fear that he would speed up.

"I thought you were an offensive type," Batty joked.

"Who told you that?" Seeing that the situation was stable, Theo smiled and asked back.

"Your brother." Batistuta had a bad idea. When he got the ball in Manchester City's backcourt, he pretended to press forward. Theo was shaken and followed his movements, and then he almost couldn't brake.

"Oh - you are such a simple-minded little boy." Batty narrowed his eyes and patted Theo's arm. "You are easier to pass than your brother."

It remains to be seen which of the Hernandez brothers is better at defense, but Theo is clearly better at keeping his composure.

He glanced at Batty and said, "I'll let you know whether I'm doing well or not later."

Batistuta didn't answer. He gave Theo a very personal and flamboyant smile.

Hooked.

Two minutes later, Lingard was not concentrating and Fernandinho made up for it by stealing the ball. Batistuta on the right seized the opportunity to press forward, Theo followed closely and Walker also came up.

"Kyle! Over there!"

Walker reached out for the ball, but Theo had no one to receive it. He could defend Batistuta but not Walker. B席 passed the ball to Walker, and Batistuta immediately used his eyes and gestures to complete a beautiful fake pass and two-on-one. Even if Theo's defense was in place, it was of no avail.

"Where are the people? Are they all watching?"

Theo was extremely anxious, but Walker had already sent the ball to the front of the goal. Aguero successfully caught the ball and shot the ball into the goal guarded by De Gea.

3-1!

In the 83rd minute, Manchester City seized the opportunity to extend their lead to two goals.

The home team fans in the stands went crazy. From almost being equalized to leading 3-1, they experienced a roller coaster of emotions in the past hour. Now they stopped scolding the referee. As for the Manchester United goal that was blown off, everyone knew it tacitly, and the head of the fans' union took the lead in singing an impromptu sarcastic song.

The game ends quickly.

In the end, this decisive battle between old Premier League rivals and the city derby ended with Manchester City winning (again).

After the game, Neymar gave an interview to the media and Batistuta accompanied him.

Even with Batistuta as a role model and Guardiola's urging, Neymar doesn't seem to have much language talent. His English is still terrible. Once a fan excitedly said to him, "I love you so much!" He looked at Batistuta blankly with a pen and asked, "Where does she want me to sign my name?"

[Congratulations on your goal today. What do you think of this game? ]

Neymar smiled at the camera and tugged at Batistuta's sleeve from below.

"He asked you what you thought about the game," Batty said. "Don't tell me you didn't understand a word he said."

Batistuta's voice was quite loud and the reporter also heard it. Neymar was a little embarrassed, but of course he refused to admit that he didn't understand.

"I'm just confirming." He smoothed his hair and looked at the reporter.

Neymar: "I think we played well. We were 2-1 up in the first half. In the second half they took the initiative but we didn't give them any chances. Overall - it was a great game."

After playing football in Europe for so many years, from Barcelona to Paris, and from Paris to Manchester City, Neymar knows exactly how to deal with interviews.

Batty translated his words to reporters again.

【Let’s talk about the referee. He seems to be the protagonist today. 】

This time Neymar focused his attention and extracted the key word "referee" from the reporter's words.

Neymar: "There's nothing much to say. The referees know the situation on the field better than us. They know to enforce the law fairly. I'm very happy to win."

Batistuta rolled his eyes while translating, but he kept in mind his identity and did not say anything even if he had many complaints. However, he forgot one thing, that is, the camera interviewing Neymar also recorded him, and they filmed the eye roll clearly.

【Tell me about that goal, do you think it was offside? 】

The key word this time is "offside", but there is still a problem.

Neymar: "Which goal are you talking about? There were more than one that was suspected of being offside today."

Batty couldn't help laughing.

But just as he was translating this sentence to the reporter, the voice of Augustus cursing the referee during an interview reached Batistuta's ears across the aisle.

He was probably asked about offside. Even though he came from a big family and had good response skills for interviews, he couldn't help but directly reprimand the referee.

Augustus: "He (the referee) wanted to be in the limelight too much. It was a complete misjudgment. I doubt why the FA would allow someone of this level to referee the Premier League!"
Augustus: "We had equalised but he disallowed our goal. If it had been 2-2, things would have been different today, I swear!"
Augustus: "We (Manchester United) are ranked second in the Premier League by strength, and Manchester City, we all know that they rely on extra strength, as for what it is——"

Batistuta sneered, let go of Neymar and jumped over.

"Only incompetent people blame the referee. I think we deserve this result." As soon as he finished speaking, Augustus' eyes and camera were all focused on him.

【Oh, Batty has a different opinion. 】

Batistuta smiled and waved at the camera, then pretended to be very intimate and hooked the French midfielder's neck: "I don't have a different opinion. The main thing is that people should not be too double-standard. When the penalty is in their favor, they say nothing, but when the penalty is against them, they jump out and loudly criticize - you have to allow others to be lucky, don't you think so, Augustus?"

Augustus was surprised and turned his head to meet those smiling blue eyes. This was the first time that Batty took the initiative to approach him.

"You're still a long way from winning against me."

Out of camera view, Batistuta mouthed words to Augustus in Portuguese, knowing the guy could understand.

"Bye~" The Manchester City young king waved goodbye and called Neymar, who was staring at the reporters, to the locker room, "See you at Old Trafford (next derby)."

Augustus stared blankly at Batty's cheerful back, then raised the corners of his mouth. The reporter who was interviewing him looked at Batty and then at him, and accidentally lowered his eyes -

reporter:!!
Bloody hell!
Batty is here to provoke us, why are you raising the flag?

Augustus noticed the look in the reporter's eyes and shrugged: "This is why I fell in love with football. Batistuta is a bad boy, but he is also charming enough, isn't he?"

reporter:……
Reporter: This guy is really a masochist, right?

[There is a question in this post that needs to be answered, dears, please take a look]

(End of this chapter)