[Football] Bad Boy Batty

On the evening of June 6, the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium was packed with tens of thousands of fans wearing home team jerseys, turning it into a sea of ​​red and blue, like another Manchester.

There are nearly 20 minutes left before the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League final officially begins. This final will feature the opening performances of bad bunny, who is very popular in the Latin-speaking world, and American singer Drake.

The duo's rhythmic song "MIA" rang out in the stadium, and the starting lineups for both teams were announced.

Batistuta adjusted his socks and walked down holding the middle railing. Like most La Liga stadiums, there was a long staircase here.

The two sides were red, representing the home team Atletico Madrid, which gave Batistuta an inexplicable burning sensation in his stomach. To be honest, he didn't hate red, but when it was linked to today's opponent Manchester United, he didn't like this color so much.

The closer to the tunnel, the louder the sound on the court. Batty liked this song very much. When Bad Bunny sang to the climax, he swayed his body to the rhythm.

There were broadcasts from several different TV stations in the corridor, but he didn't care.

Allowing himself to immerse himself in the lyrics is his unique way of relaxing. Remember the song "Hey Ma" in last year's Champions League final? After Batistuta lip-synced it, the song became popular all over the world again.

Someone also used it to cut out amazingly ambiguous videos. Once before a game in the screening room, Guardiola played the video without telling him, and they spent the whole day laughing.

So, what will fans do with this year’s video?
Batty is looking forward to it.

"What are you thinking about?" Someone grabbed his hand that was resting on the railing. "Are you nervous about this final?"

"That's none of your business. Even if I'm nervous as hell, I can still kick you over." Batty pulled his hand back almost immediately, "Don't touch me. If you do it again, I'll tell the referee that you harassed me."

Augustus, as usual, was not angry and withdrew his hand naturally.

"Why are you always so harsh with me? I thought you would change your mind about me after we met in the final. After all, I kept my promise and am getting closer to you." He said to Barty with a wink.

"There was never any promise, that was your own idea."

"Okay, you ruthless guy." Augustus pretended to be sad, "It seems that only victory can make you look at me more. Remember, you gave me a hug when you lost the derby last time. What are you going to give me this time?"

"You will get nothing." Batty gave him a fierce look, "I will crush you and then step on your corpse to hold the trophy, you disgusting worm. If I am happy, maybe I will reward you with kissing the sole of my shoe. What do you think?"

"Perfect." Augustus still maintained his decent smile, "If you win, I will kiss the soles of your shoes, but if I win--"

He leaned down to whisper in Batty's ear.

"—I want you to put the medal on my head and give me the trophy, and then kiss me in front of the whole world."

Batty didn't respond, but the look in his eyes was enough to show that he was willing to accept the challenge.

No, how can something be considered a challenge if it is not difficult?

At best, it just adds fun to the game.

After the opening show, there was applause and cheers from the stadium. The game was about to start in a few minutes, and the live DJ began to play long music to warm up.

[The final of the 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League is about to begin! Let us welcome the players from both teams to the stage! Manchester United vs. Manchester City! Welcome! ]

"Come on boys!" Kompany, who was at the front of the team, clapped his hands. "Let's go! Come on! City! Let's go and bring the championship back!"

……

A few days ago, Manchester, Etihad Training Center

"They (Manchester United) will work hard on you. I knew it as soon as Mourinho's starting lineup came out. Do you remember the game I showed you these two days? In the Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Inter Milan in the 09-10 season, he only used three players to block Messi."

In front of the tactical board, Guardiola used red and blue magnets to represent the positions of players from both sides while speaking to Batistuta, Aguero and Neymar beside him.

About a week before the game, some media reported that there was another conflict between Mourinho and his midfield star Pogba. The two had a big fight on the training ground and finally parted unhappily.

Some fans speculated that when the final comes, Mourinho might not let Pogba start for the sake of defensive strength and the overall situation.

Guardiola is sceptical.

It turned out that this was just a smokescreen. There was no conflict between Mourinho and Pogba. In Madrid, reporters photographed them chatting on the bus, and the French midfielder's name was prominently listed in the starting lineup.

"Pogba will not be responsible for defense. He will be the one going up in Manchester United's diamond midfield, so the defensive focus will be on Augustus and Luke Shaw."

Guardiola gestures on the tactical board.

"Bati, when you get to this position (between the centre-back and the full-back), Luke Shaw will come back to protect Walker, don't push in, or you'll lose the ball."

Batty nodded: "I'll pass the ball back to the midfield."

"It doesn't have to be a midfielder. If Kun is in this position, you give him the ball," Guardiola said, tapping the magnet representing Aguero.

Then he turned to Aguero: "Kun, when we attack from the right, there will be two defenders in front of you. If one of them comes up, you pass the ball back. If not, you pass the ball to the left."

"Maybe I can continue and there will be a gap between Maguire and Blind," Aguero said.

"If the space is clear, you can go, open up the space and shoot," Guardiola said. "But in situations like what I just said, you have to do what I say, otherwise we lose the ball."

"We can counterattack, Kevin can come up from behind, not you?" Batty asked.

"Okay, but we only have 6 seconds from losing the ball to getting it back, remember, 6 seconds!" Guardiola's perfectionism and obsessive-compulsive disorder were fully displayed in front of the players.

He finally turned to Neymar: "And Ney, when the attack comes from the right, you go inside to receive the ball so that Luki can go up. If they don't react and the defense is still on Batistuta's side, you have a chance to shoot."

Neymar nodded.

"But if our delivery speed can't keep up with the opponent's defense, you and Luki have to cooperate. Ashley Young can't stop you. They will definitely send more people to mark you. When there are more than three defensive players around you, don't let the ball stay at your feet for too long. Pass it quickly! Do you understand?"

Guardiola never directly points out who is more sticky to the ball. He always incorporates this into the tactics, not only telling the players that you can't do that, but also stating the reasons and consequences plus all the possibilities, which greatly enhances his persuasiveness.

"I see." Neymar adjusted his wristband and nodded to show that he understood.

Back to the present.

Led by referee Rizzoli, players from both teams walked onto the field. For some reason, it seemed that this Italian could be seen in every major tournament.

The familiar Manchester derby, the familiar Guardiola-Mustafa battle.

Both sides sent out their strongest lineups today.

There is only one personnel change on Manchester City's side. The central defender combination changed from Kompany and Laporte to Kompany and Stones, Lucas returned to the left, and Walker was still on the right; midfielders David Silva and De Bruyne stood forward, and Fernandinho was the single defensive midfielder; three South Americans partnered on the scoring line, Neymar on the left, Batistuta on the right, and Aguero was at the front.

Before coming to Manchester City, the outside world generally believed that Guardiola did not like center forwards. No, that should not be said. He may like center forwards, but he is not good at using center forwards.

From Ibrahimovic and Eto'o of Barcelona to Mandzukic and Lewandowski of Manchester City, none of them was reused under him, except Lewandowski. However, his wonderful 9 goals in 5 minutes were achieved by himself, and Guardiola made him a substitute in that game.

This statement gradually disappeared when he took over Manchester City.

It's not because he changed his ideas and tactics, but because Aguero's adaptability and flexibility far exceed other center forwards. In Guardiola's "chess game", the center forward has to cover a wide area, which requires them to give up part of the ball and frequently switch positions with the wingers on both sides to ensure control of the ball in the frontcourt.

Fortunately, Aguero did it.

This gives Guardiola's passing and control the ball the confidence when dealing with dense defenses and iron bucket formations. Aren't you just standing there defending without moving? Well, let us move, so that your defensive players have to face the attacks of different opponents every time, and the error rate will rise sharply.

Of course, Mourinho also thought of this, so he also made appropriate changes to his system.

Ideally, he will use a lot of running and quick and effective counterattacks to stifle the opponent, which requires the players to be obedient and execute on the right.

Augustus wants to win and he trusts him, so he firmly supports him. Pogba has many ideas and is a variable, but he is still stable. The forwards in the front court, such as Rashford, Sanchez, Lukaku, and Lingard, although their abilities are not top-notch, they are very obedient to Mourinho.

Therefore, this is destined to be a difficult game.

For both parties.

……

Kompany and Augustus both picked sides next to the referee. Kompany guessed the direction correctly and Manchester City kicked off first.

"Are you ready?" Batistuta stepped on the ball with his right foot and raised his eyebrows to Aguero beside him.

"Of course!" The Argentine striker smiled back at him, "I can't wait to win the second Champions League trophy!"

[beep——]
The referee blew the whistle and Batty gave the ball away.

The game officially begins.

[……CCTV, good morning, dear audience friends, you are now watching the live broadcast of the final of the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League. In the 27th edition after the name change, we ushered in the first Manchester derby. Now the game has just begun. The team wearing red jerseys attacking from right to left is Manchester United, and the team wearing blue jerseys attacking from left to right is Manchester City - let's take a look at this first. ]

Less than 2 minutes later, the referee blew the whistle to stop the game.

Batistuta took the ball from the right and collided with Theo while running, and both of them fell to the ground at the same time.

It's a derby as expected. The atmosphere has become tense at the beginning.

After inquiring about the situation from both sides, Rizzoli did not show a yellow card for the sake of caution. The ball just hit Theo's thigh and went out of bounds. It was Manchester City's out-of-bounds ball.

"Fighting right away is not your style." Theo reached out and pulled Batty up, "Want to grab the start?"

"Don't try to spy on me." Batty rolled his eyes at him. He was not grateful for the other party pulling him up. After all, it was the finals and there was no room for error. "I'm about to tee off. Stay away."

Theo stopped talking and returned to the court to take his position.

"Go forward, Batistuta! Go forward!" De Bruyne in the midfield pointed forward to the position where he was about to enter.

Batty kicked the ball out of bounds.

After receiving the ball, De Bruyne turned around and wanted to pass it to Aguero who was coming over to the side, but Theo and Luke Shaw were there, and Lingard in the frontcourt also retreated to help block the position, so the ball was ultimately not passed.

Lingard got the ball and looked not far away. Augustus was coming back and stretched out his hand to signal him to pass the ball. Batistuta predicted his movement, stretched out his foot to block the route of his pass and successfully intercepted the ball.

Surrounded by Manchester United's defensive players, Batistuta knew that he would not have the ball for long, so he did not carry the ball for long and passed it back to Walker who quickly transferred the ball to the weak defense on the other side.

David Silva and Neymar cooperated to break through on the left, but unfortunately they took too much possession in the end and Maguire's position was also quite good, so he didn't have the chance to pass the ball and the ball went out of bounds.

Neymar took a corner kick, the front point was controlled by Manchester City, but the second point was taken by Manchester United.

The ball returned to the midfield, Fernandinho controlled the ball, the previous wave of attack had just ended, and Manchester City's next attack began.

In the first 10 minutes of the game, Manchester City almost dominated Manchester United.

The tempo couldn't remain that fast. After 15 minutes, the Blue Moon Army gradually slowed down. On the Red Devils' side, after withstanding the opponent's initial fierce attack, they began to have the strength to fight back and began to control the tempo.

In the 18th minute, De Bruyne fouled Pogba in the midfield and the referee awarded Manchester United a free kick.

It was unlikely that he would shoot directly from this distance, so Batistuta guessed that he would take a penalty kick. In front of the goal, he was entangled with Rashford.

Pogba took a free kick, Batistuta guessed wrong and the French midfielder chose to go to the front point, but this gave him the opportunity to head the ball.

There was a little movement in his hands, Rashford failed to jump up, and Batistuta headed the ball back to midfield.

"Foul!" Rashford yelled at the referee, his hands outstretched. "He grabbed me, sir!"

Rizzoli has been refereeing on the field for many years and is used to this kind of thing. He ignored the Manchester United striker and gestured to tell him to get back to the game quickly.

The little trick worked, and Batty turned around and smiled at him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it." Rashford curled his lips and said nothing.

……

In the 20th minute, Manchester City attacked from the backcourt. Lucas dribbled forward on the left, seeking cooperation with Neymar. Aguero was ready to respond in the middle, but Maguire and Wan-Bissaka were staring at him not far behind him.

Neymar did not retreat. The double-team of Augustus and Pogba forced Lucas to pass the ball quickly. He could only choose to pass it horizontally to David Silva. Just as Silva was about to speed up, Sanchez stepped forward to grab the ball. After staggering a few steps, David Silva fell to the ground.

The ball came to De Bruyne's feet and the game was suspended again.

Manchester City got a free kick in the frontcourt, which was to the left and a little far away. Batistuta did not go over. He came to the front of the goal. Neymar, De Bruyne and David Silva discussed who would take the penalty.

In the crowd, Batty felt someone grabbing his clothes.

"release!"

"No, you just did the same thing to my teammate."

Augustus put his hand on Batistuta's waist. Batistuta knew that he was trying to stop him from jumping for the header, but the touch on his waist still made him extremely angry.

"——puta."

Batty cursed quietly into the turf.

De Bruyne took a free kick, and due to the interference of Augustus, Batistuta failed to jump successfully. He watched the ball pass over his head and then let Pogba clear it.

Damn guy.

Batty gritted his teeth and 'accidentally' stepped on Augustus' instep when he landed. Of course, he used a lot of force in a place where no one noticed.

Augustus screamed and fell to the ground.

"Oh my god, stop acting, you bastard," Buddy sneered beside him. "I couldn't control the direction, and I didn't use much strength at all."

"what happened?"

Rizzoli came up to the two men, bent down and asked about Augustus's situation, then looked at Batti, who shrugged.

"It was a normal fight," he said. "I didn't do anything."

Rizzoli asked the linesman for his opinion, but there were so many people in the penalty area just now that he didn't pay attention. At this time, Augustus stood up and stamped his feet to show that he was fine: "Can you continue sir, no problem."

The Italian referee was very decisive. He returned to the center of the field, Deng Qiuyuan returned to his position, and he blew the whistle to continue the game.

Batty succeeded again.

In terms of little tricks.

Across the players from both teams, Batistuta looked at Augustus. Their eyes met in the air. Batistuta raised the corners of his mouth and gave him a contemptuous smile.

"I will win."

……

In the 28th minute, De Bruyne and Pogba collided again, and the tension gradually increased. Fortunately, Rizzoli separated the players in time.

The attacking side had the advantage and Manchester City got another free kick in the frontcourt.

This time it was closer, on the right side, Batty came near the penalty spot.

"Give it to me, I'll do it," he said to De Bruyne.

"Okay." De Bruyne didn't hesitate, "Want to shake it?"

"No need." Batty wiped the sweat from his forehead, "They all know I'm going to punish them."

De Bruyne nodded and stepped back.

Batty repositioned the ball, took a deep breath, and ran up.

[Direct shot! It was obviously falling, Batistuta made a lift, but it was a little high, just a little short, and De Gea was powerless. ]

The ball went slightly over the crossbar.

Fuck it.

Batty cursed under his breath.

Should have pressed a little more.

"Great, you played well!" De Bruyne gave him a thumbs up, "One more goal will definitely go in!"

……

De Gea kicked the ball to midfield.

Unfortunately, the kick was not good and the ball went directly to Fernandinho. He cooperated with David Silva in front of him to pass the ball to the front court. Aguero's position was not good enough and he failed to receive the ball, so the ball returned to Manchester United.

……

The attack then turned to Manchester United. Pogba stole the ball from David Silva and passed it directly to Rashford. Manchester United's first shot of the game was made, but Ederson flew to save the ball.

Guardiola frowned on the sidelines. Manchester United's midfield attack was transformed very quickly and smoother than he had imagined.

It took no more than 15 seconds from Pogba's interception to Rashford's shot. In comparison, Manchester City's defensive deployment seemed a little slow and the players were not in neat positions. If it weren't for Ederson's save, this would have been a very threatening attack.

Really bad.

Once Manchester United seizes the opportunity to counterattack, Manchester City will be the first to lose the ball because they will not have time to make up for the defense.

The game reached the 30th minute.

The score is still 0-0.

The first physical conflict occurred between the two sides.

Batistuta retreated and got the ball, but he also knew that he was being watched closely and would lose the ball if he handled it improperly, so he quickly passed the ball out. De Bruyne received the ball and observed that Kyle Walker on the right had already gone up and was coming back, so that was not a good point to pass the ball.

Augustus was behind Neymar on the left, and they were both keeping a close eye on him. De Bruyne passed the ball to David Silva, who passed it back and pulled the defense line back.

At this time, Batistuta retreated to the midfield, ready to provide support, while Augustus moved from Neymar's side to Batistuta's side.

Augustus did it on purpose.

From a tactical and personal perspective, in Mourinho's arrangement, Batistuta cannot be allowed to break through at speed, so there must be three people watching him at all times. Now Theo has gone up, Wan-Bissaka dare not move forward in the middle, and Pogba is also forward, so he has to make up for it.

And from a personal perspective.

He still remembers clearly that he stepped on his foot just now.

By the time Batti looked back while running and found a sea of ​​red in front of him, it was too late. Augustus deliberately raised his elbow, which caused his nose to hit the hardest bone in the opponent's body.

"Oh, damn it!"

Batty fell to the ground, his nose ached and his chin was numb. He wiped the corner of his mouth and his hand was covered in red.

puta!

Batty moved his lips. It must be because his teeth bit into his mouth during the collision, which caused a cut inside. That's why there was blood. As he thought about it, a warm liquid flowed down from his nose.

hiss--

It seems that not only the mouth but also the nose is broken.

"Oh my God, you're bleeding!" Augustus pretended to be surprised, then he stretched out his hand, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Come on, give me your hand, I'll pull you up."

Batty ignored his hand.

He was afraid that he would not be able to resist grabbing the bastard by the collar and punching him, but that was not possible. This was the final and he could not afford to get himself a red card no matter what.

Kompany was the first to notice the situation. He kicked the ball out of the sideline and signaled to the referee that a player had fallen to the ground. Only then did the other players on the field notice that side.

De Bruyne ran to Batistuta first, and when he saw blood on Batistuta's hands, he exploded instantly.

"What the hell did you do to him?" He pushed Augustus away. "Team doctor! Come up! He's bleeding!"

Batistuta was not surprised at all. De Bruyne has a worse temper than he looks. If they had not played together (football) for so long, who would have thought that this seemingly calm Belgian midfielder would be the kind of person who would make a flying tackle on his opponent to avenge his teammates.

But again, this is the final and it's the first half, they can't get a yellow card now.

"Kevin! Come here Kevin--" Batty called him before things got worse, "Come and help me, I have to raise my head to stop the bleeding before the team doctor comes."

The referee also came over, and De Bruyne finally did not lose his composure. He returned to Batistuta with a murderous look, squatted down, held the back of Batistuta's head with one hand, and then used his jersey to press down his nose.

"It's okay, it just looks scary." Batty said sullenly, "It doesn't hurt."

De Bruyne looked at him and said, "Shut up."

Soon the team doctor took over Batistuta's nose and mouth, De Bruyne went to the sidelines to wash his hands, and Rizzoli spoke to Augustus and came to Batistuta to continue to understand the situation.

Unfortunately, although Batistuta was given a red card, according to the rules, Augustus did not commit a foul.

"I can continue, sir." Batty raised his head and let the team doctor wipe his lips with cotton. "It only takes one more minute."

The referee nodded and then returned to the field to explain the situation to the other players.

Augustus circled around and came back.

"I'm sorry, dear." He smiled at Batty. "I love you, but this game is very important to me. You can understand, right?"

Batty looked up at him.

There was still some blood at the corners of her mouth and on her lip beads that had not been wiped off, which looked particularly gorgeous against her honey-colored skin.

understand?

Oh, Batty certainly understood.

It’s all about winning.

Augustus left triumphantly, Batistuta withdrew his gaze, and the team doctor treated his wound and returned to the coaching seat. Not far away, Aguero and De Bruyne gestured to him and asked him how he was.

Batty pursed his lips and gave a thumbs up to show that he was fine.

In the 33rd minute of the first half, the game continued.

(End of this chapter)