[Football] Bad Boy Batty

On the evening of February 2th, London time, the entire Manchester City team went to London, where they will compete with Chelsea in the final of the 24-18 English League Cup at Wembley Stadium.

Currently, Manchester City ranks first in the Premier League with 69 points, while Chelsea ranks sixth in the Premier League with only 50 points. In comparison, the pressure on Blues head coach Sarri seems very great.

After a good start, Chelsea failed to maintain their form and gradually fell behind in the championship race. Half a month ago, they even lost to Manchester United 0-5, which made Sarri's position as coach shaky.

If they can win the game and get the championship today, the fans and senior management will wait and see whether the Italian will continue to serve as the head coach, but if they lose again, regardless of whether the score is big or not, then his departure becomes an indisputable fact.

Again, the results speak for themselves.

In order to maintain stability, neither side made any changes to the starting lineup.

Manchester City still has a 433 formation, with Ederson as goalkeeper; the back line from left to right is Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Lucas, and although Kompany has recovered from injury, his current physical strength is not enough to support the whole game. To be on the safe side, Guardiola did not let him start; in midfield, David Silva partnered with De Bruyne, and Fernandinho served as the defensive midfielder; the forward line is still the familiar Neymar and Batistuta, with Aguero at the front.

Chelsea also lined up in a 433 formation, with Kepa as goalkeeper; Rudiger and David Luiz as central defenders, Azpilicueta and Emerson on the two flanks respectively; Jorginho rotated in the midfield, partnering with Barkley, and Kante in the center; Willian replaced Higuain on the front line, which was a little unexpected, but also reasonable, Pedro was on the left, and Hazard was at the front as a false 9.

Following the referee team, players from both teams walked onto the court.

As the singing of God Save the Queen ended, led by David Silva, Manchester City players shook hands with the Blues players and the game was about to begin.

This is the first time the two teams have met in the League Cup final. The last time the two teams met in the final was in the Members' Cup final 33 years ago, when Manchester City lost 4-5, breaking the record for the biggest score at Wembley Stadium.

The choreography was soon over and Chelsea took the lead.

Batistuta spread his hands, raised his head slightly and said a brief prayer, then clapped his hands and cheered his teammates loudly: "The opponent is strong, but we are stronger! Don't be afraid, show the courage of Manchester City! The trophy will definitely be ours!"

Before getting to his position, Neymar hugged Batistuta first.

“May God bless and protect us,” he said.

Batty hugged him back.

"God bless you, too."

……

Wishes are good, but God didn't seem to favor Manchester City today. They had several chances to score in the first half, but they lacked luck every time.

Both sides were cautious after the opening. Sarri did not let his players press Manchester City high according to his usual tactics, which gave Manchester City enough passing space and the opportunity to control the rhythm of the field.

By constantly passing the ball and changing the direction of attack, the opponent's defense line can be changed and make mistakes. This is the most basic purpose of passing and controlling football.

In the 11th minute, De Bruyne made a precise pass to Batistuta, tearing open the Blues' midfield defense. David Luiz did not dare to rush forward, and Batistuta turned around and sent the ball in front of the goal.

[Okay, this is a good pass! Batistuta passes it to Aguero! Rudiger's defense was also quite good, not giving the Argentine striker any chance to shoot.]

Walker assisted, Aguero protected the ball and passed it to Walker before Rudiger. Walker observed and saw Neymar raising his hand for the ball at the far end, so he made a long pass to him.

[Neymar's control of the ball is really beautiful. You have to admit that the Brazilian's skills are so pleasing to the eye. Pedro comes back to defend, Neymar changes direction and passes him again! From this position, you can shoot! ]

As soon as the commentator finished speaking, Neymar took a shot.

'clang! ’

The ball hit the left post and bounced back into the field. Aguero wanted to make up the shot, but unfortunately he was out of position. Luis hurriedly cleared the ball and kicked it out of the baseline. Corner kick, Neymar took the corner kick, Rudiger grabbed the first point with his height advantage, and the ball returned to the arc near the center circle.

Manchester City's attack has come to an end. It was very threatening, but they failed to score a goal.

In the 20th minute, Blue Moon got another great opportunity.

Chelsea's frontcourt was intercepted, Kante pressed too high and failed to return to defend in time, De Bruyne quickly dribbled forward, Jorginho fought back, but before he committed a tactical foul, the Belgian midfielder gave the ball to Batistuta, who dribbled the ball from the right and cut straight into the Chelsea penalty area.

[Look at this time, Batistuta dribbled the ball, Rudiger and Luiz were there, but they didn't dare to make a tackle easily in the penalty area, and Aguero also came up - tried to shoot! Ah, it was a little far! Batistuta's shot was not in his usual state. ]

The ball flew straight into the stands, Chelsea's goal kick.

Damn it!

Rudiger and Luiz's close defense did work. Batistuta knew he didn't kick the ball well the moment he shot. Then he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Seeing that the ball didn't go in, he grabbed a handful of grass to vent his anger in annoyance.

Although not every goal can be scored or the difference is close, and it is normal for players to have some ups and downs in their form, it is still very frustrating to see your own outrageous shots go high.

It must be the sod’s fault!
Batty thought dejectedly, if the grass wasn't so slippery, how could he have made such an outrageous shot.

"Haha, did you forget to bring your shooting boots?" Aguero teased and stretched out his hand to him, "Come, I'll pull you up."

"Stop making fun of me." Batistuta blew the hair on his forehead and stood up with the help of Aguero. "Wait, I'm going to score a goal and show you who is the one without shooting boots."

……

Unfortunately, until the end of the first half, no goals had been scored and both sides drew 0-0 at halftime.

Judging from the field, Manchester City had an absolute advantage. Including the 47 minutes of extra time, more than half of the time was spent besieging Chelsea's goal. Starting from Batistuta's high shot, he, Neymar, and Aguero took turns to be "just a little bit short". On the other hand, the Blues only had two pitiful shots in the entire first half, and neither of them was on target.

In the locker room, Batty took the clean jersey handed to him by Niu Qiu and put it on, then took out his anger on the dirty one. He hadn't encountered such a game for a while after being unable to win.

"Don't be anxious. Anxiety will disrupt the rhythm. Relax and take a deep breath." Guardiola hooked Batistuta's shoulders and rubbed his hair. "You did a good job. Emerson can't stop you. The only way they can limit you is to let Kante come back, but then their midfield will be out of control. Remember what I told you, if he goes to steal, first find Kyle, then find Kevin. You must move forward within three passes, understand?"

Batistuta nodded. "But what if I take the ball myself?" he asked. "Kante's pressing is not very strong. If the opponents around me are not close, I can pass him and take the ball in to shoot myself."

"That depends on you. If you feel good when you dribble the ball, I totally agree with you doing it yourself," Guardiola replied.

The most valuable thing about Batistuta is not only his talent, but also his amazing flashes of inspiration. Who can refuse to see one of those wonderful shots again?

"But remember, if you lose the ball, the opponent is likely to counterattack," Guardiola added. "We only have six seconds to get the ball back, got it? Six seconds."

Batty licked his gums with the tip of his tongue, then smiled brightly and flamboyantly at the head coach.

"clear."

……

At the beginning of the second half, Manchester City did not become anxious because of the delay in scoring, and this persistence finally allowed them to knock on Chelsea's door.

In the 56th minute, Manchester City won a corner kick and took this opportunity to replace Laporte with Kompany as a substitute.

Less than a minute after the old captain came on the pitch, Manchester City took the lead.

De Bruyne took a corner kick from the right side, but Chelsea still headed the ball to the front post. Emerson headed the ball out and it landed right at Kompany’s feet. The Belgian defender shot without thinking. [Chance! Kompany shot directly from the outside!]

The ball was not very powerful and not very fast. If Rudiger had not appeared on its way, it would have definitely gone straight into the goal.

[The ball hit Rudiger's calf and didn't bounce far! Manchester City controlled it again. ]

The ball bounced off Rudiger's calf and went straight to Aguero, but Aguero was in an offside position and he was not qualified to touch the ball. He subconsciously jumped up and let the ball pass.

Azpilicueta stepped forward to block, David Luiz and Emerson were also there, and there was chaos in the penalty area.

In the melee, someone stretched out a foot and poked the ball into the goal.

[The ball went in! The goal was scored by - let's take a look at the replay, oh, it was Batistuta! Batistuta pointed to the spot next to him and fooled Luis very naturally and wonderfully, haha! This is a goal that was scored by picking up a leak! ]

"What did I say! Did you see that, Kun?" Batistuta jumped on Aguero and gave him a loud kiss on the forehead. "Who doesn't have shooting boots now?"

"Sir! They committed a foul!" Several Chelsea players complained to the referee, "Offside! Offside in the attack, Aguero blocked our view! This ball can't count!"

Aguero heard what they said and quickly put Batistuta down.

"I didn't touch the ball!" he said to the referee. "I may be offside, but I definitely didn't participate in the attack. There is nothing wrong with this ball!"

The referee waved away the players in front of him and pointed to his headphones, indicating that he was seeking VAR's opinion.

Batty was confused.

"Kun he dodged it, obviously, there is nothing to discuss." He asked confused.

"He didn't touch the ball, but he was in that position and was suspected of passively participating in the attack and blocking the defense." De Bruyne went over to explain, "Just like the last game against Manchester United, it was very similar to their goal."

"He's right." Neymar also came over. For some reason, his English has improved rapidly recently. "There is no clear definition for this kind of ball now. The final result depends on the referee."

Batty took a breath and looked over with a slight frown.

[beep——]
The referee ended the call with the VAR assistant referee, made a screen gesture, and then pointed to the center circle.

The goal is valid!

"Ha! I knew it would count!" Barty excitedly grabbed the two people beside him for a group hug, "Come on! Keep up the good work! Friends! The trophy is right in front of us!"

Neymar and De Bruyne, who were forced to hug each other, looked at each other and stood apart as quickly as possible without appearing overly indifferent.

Professions are professions, and of course they will get along peacefully.

But celebrating a goal is another matter.

In the 57th minute of the second half, Manchester City led 1-0!
……

This game was destined to be turbulent. With only 7 minutes left in the game for Manchester City to defend their title, Otamendi scored an own goal, meaning that Ederson's bonus for the clean sheet of the game was lost.

Soon the regular time ended, the score was 1-1, and both sides entered overtime.

Before the start of overtime, both sides had a few minutes of break. Batistuta came to the sidelines with a pout. De Bruyne handed him a bottle of water. He rinsed his mouth and gave the water to Neymar.

He has a lot to complain about Otamendi's own goal, but now he doesn't want to say a word. The Argentine defender this season is simply a time bomb. In Manchester City's match against Burnley, Otamendi hesitated in front of his own penalty area and was intercepted by the opponent, resulting in a one-on-one opportunity. Fortunately, the striker finally kicked the ball away, so he didn't have to bear the blame.

No one can deny that Otamendi is a fierce player in Manchester City's defense, but sometimes he is too fierce and not smart enough in defense, always causing trouble for the team with some inexplicable mistakes.

"I hate overtime," Batty whispered.

"Me too," Neymar said. "But sometimes fate is like this and we can't avoid it."

"Stop chatting, it's time to go back." De Bruyne stretched his back, pulled Batistuta over and kissed him on the side of his face, "There are still 30 minutes, we will score a goal."

After the kiss and words, he returned to the field without looking back.

Batistuta was a little surprised. Kevin rarely expressed his feelings so blatantly on the court. Neymar was not very happy about this. He leaned over and kissed Batistuta twice on the other side of his face.

"As if no one can say nice things." Under Batistuta's gaze, Neymar threw the water bottle on the sidelines, "Come on, I believe we can do it."

After saying that, he turned around and walked onto the field.

Batty was stunned for two seconds, smiled, and followed the referee back to his seat.

childish.

……

The extra time was almost a replica of the first half. Chelsea didn't get any good chances, while Manchester City was unlucky. Batistuta's follow-up shot hit the post and De Bruyne's long shot was just a little short of the goal.

After 120 minutes of fierce battle, the game finally came to the final step.

Penalty shootout.

"Don't be nervous, Batistuta, relax." Aguero comforted him, "Think about our training, you always score the highest."

Batty's lips were pursed into a straight line. He looked up and smiled slightly stiffly.

"Don't worry about me, A-kun." He said softly, "I'm fine, I'll be the second one to kick later, I'm sure--"

At this moment, a noise broke out from Chelsea, interrupting the second half of Batistuta's sentence.

He and Aguero looked over there together.

"What happened?"

"Oh my God, you won't believe this--" B Silva, who replaced David Silva, rushed over and said to them, "It's their goalkeeper. It seems that the guy doesn't agree to be replaced."

ha?
Batty looked at each other and were stunned at the same time.

And this thing?

(End of this chapter)