[Football] Bad Boy Batty

The big win in the derby was a happy thing, but Batistuta's seemingly provocative gesture and the exaggerated "bullying" incident after the game kept Manchester City and himself in the spotlight of public opinion.

Although he has given a reasonable and plausible explanation for the celebration, and Foden has also clarified the "bullying", it has had almost no effect. Some people still went to Batistuta's social account to criticize and accuse him.

"I'm so sorry, Batistuta, this is all my fault." Foden blamed himself and attributed everything that happened to himself. "If it weren't for me, they wouldn't have any reason to target you."

Batty doesn't care about this.

"What nonsense are you talking about? It has nothing to do with you." He slapped Foden's head lightly, then hooked his neck, "In a sense, they are right. I did bully you."

"Bati!"

"Isn't it true? It's true that I took the lead in teasing you during the epidemic, and it's also true that I stole the ball you used for your hat trick after the game."

“But this is not bullying.”

“That’s what it is in some people’s eyes.”

"If this is considered bullying, then Bernardo is living in hell," Foden said, curling his lips. "Those comments and replies, how can they say that about you?"

"I don't understand or read English comments (although there are translations)" Batty flicked his ear, "You should think more about yourself than this. I heard that the club is going to give you a pay raise."

"Yes, we are still discussing it. My agent said the situation is very optimistic."

Batistuta is really good at talking (in every sense), and he quickly diverted Foden's attention away. At the same time, after discussion, Manchester City's public relations department came up with a way to deal with the situation coldly.

but--
Whenever the heat dies down, there are always some people who jump out and make anti-intellectual remarks to provoke a fight, and the discussion will suddenly increase. After half a month, the heat is still very high.

In the information age, any topic that can survive for three days can be called lasting. To be able to stay on the hot list for so long makes people wonder if there is someone behind the scenes manipulating public opinion to cover up something more important.

"Don't worry about this. It's not your area." Lucy said to Batty on the phone. "The local government, ministers, and a bank over there have been scandals. They've brought you in to divert public attention. It also happens to be a good way to connect with your godfather, and it involves foreign investment cooperation business."

Batty wanted to laugh when he heard this. It seemed that the government agencies did things no differently from him. They were just some simple tricks to deceive people.

The so-called politics is not as profound and dark as people think.

With Lucie's intervention, things quickly passed and calm returned to Batistuta. In mid-November, after a clean 11-3 victory over Olympias to secure the top spot in Group C of the Champions League, Manchester City faced last season's Premier League champions Liverpool at the Etihad.

The atmosphere in the locker room was quite relaxed; the loud noises in the previous round had given them a lot of confidence.

Batistuta was sitting in front of the cabinet bandaging his calf. Neymar was tying his shoelaces next to him and singing softly while tying his shoes. He seemed to be in a good mood.

However, Batty, who was forced to endure his singing nearby, was not in such a good mood.

He knew what Neymar sounded like when he sang. He had experienced the power of his voice when they first met. But there was nothing he could do. This guy really loved to sing. Looking at those amber eyes full of happiness, it was really difficult for Batistuta to criticize him.

Neymar: "Me duele el cora!"

As he sang, he stood up and began to dance.

Then--

Neymar: "y de cora~ ow!"

A sudden cracked sound almost made Batty jump out of his seat as if he had been electrocuted, "Damn it! What are you doing!"

But when he looked at Neymar with wide eyes, Neymar showed his signature smile and put his hands together in apology, successfully blocking Batistuta's complaints.

Batty: ...
Batty: sos
No, we can't go on like this.

If this continues, his ears will protest.

Taking a deep breath, Batistuta stretched out his legs and kicked Neymar's butt as he twisted and turned in front of him. "There will be another qualifier next week. Will you go back?"
"Huh?" This topic successfully stopped Neymar. He lowered his head and looked over in surprise. "Why, you're not going to report?"

"I haven't decided yet, but I do have this plan." Batty shrugged and made a "yeah" gesture in his mind.

"why?"

"This month our opponents are Venezuela and Ecuador."

"Oh." Neymar understood immediately and nodded, "But we haven't decided on a head coach yet. Are you sure you can let them play?"

"Venezuela and Ecuador!" Batistuta emphasized in a surprised tone, "If I have to go back to play against them, then I don't need to go to the World Cup."

"Hey!"

"I'm not wrong." Batistuta stuck out his tongue at Neymar. "By Christmas, the schedule will be even more intense than before, and the epidemic in our country is very serious right now. I don't want to be isolated at the most critical time."

This may not sound nice, but it is true.

Neymar didn't say anything else, although he still preferred to go back to participate, but the new crown is a troublesome matter. This season is tight on time and has many tasks. Everyone is holding their breath to get back what they lost last season. If problems really arise because of Venezuela and Ecuador, it will not be worth the loss.

Looks like he's going to reconsider.

With more than ten minutes left before the game, Guardiola ended his conversation with his assistant and called several players to give instructions. Batistuta was the last one to speak. After making a series of promises to the head coach, he came to the center of the locker room to give a pre-match mobilization. "Listen to me, everyone. We are about to face Liverpool, our strongest opponent so far. Remember the trophy, the Premier League trophy, the beautiful thing with a crown on the top and tassels on both sides."
"What I want to ask is, who remembers what it felt like to hold it in their hands? I don't remember it, and you certainly don't remember it, but Liverpool on the other side remember it!"

"This is the Etihad Stadium, our home ground. Seeing those idiots (Liverpool players) take away the points and trophies from here, is that what you want, right?!"
"They are strong, but we are stronger, understand! Don't let it be taken away again! Do as Pep said. We all saw the consequences of Lingard's actions last game. Don't make any mistakes. Our goal is to win these 3 points beautifully!"

……

After the opening, the two teams did not make any attempts and went straight into offensive mode.

Perhaps influenced by Guardiola's experiment with Manchester City's lineup at the beginning of the season, Klopp today put out a four-forward lineup that no one expected. The forward trident and new signing Jota all appeared on the field to attack Manchester City's defense.

In order to limit Manchester City's offensive wingbacks, Liverpool specially arranged two strong attacks on the flanks, especially on the right side. The combination of Arnold and Salah brought considerable pressure to Manchester City, and at one point forced Neymar back to the center line to cooperate in defense.

Manchester City was caught off guard. Although the two flanks, led by Neymar and Batistuta, fought back and forth with Liverpool, they were restricted there to a certain extent, and the support for the middle was insufficient and untimely.

De Bruyne did not have enough passing points and operating space, so naturally he could not create many threatening passes. He failed to meet expectations in targeting Liverpool's defense. Although he had the advantage in ball possession, it was actually difficult for him to break into the opponent's penalty area and cause direct threat.

However, with Dias in charge of the defense, Liverpool did not gain much advantage from Manchester City. The Portuguese central defender showed the demeanor of a general, and did not lose the upper hand in the confrontation with Jota, who has been in the limelight recently, and Mane, who was very active at the beginning of the game.

Just as the battle between the two sides was intensifying, Liverpool turned its temporary tactical suppression into a goal advantage.

In the 20th minute, Liverpool made a long pass from the left backcourt to attack. Mane brought the ball to the edge of the penalty area, deceived Walker with a fake move and turned around to easily get rid of him. The humiliated Walker got hot-headed and knocked Mane down from behind, causing a foul and was awarded a penalty kick.

"Damn, is he crazy?" Batty complained, waving his hands.

He rarely did this after he became captain, but today, the foul was so stupid that Batistuta couldn't help it.

At the moment Mane broke through, Laporte in front was already ready, Diaz also stood firmly in his position, and Ederson in front of the goal was also very alert. In this situation, Walker didn't need to trip him at all.

Salah scored the penalty kick and Liverpool led 21-1 away from home 0 minutes into the first half.

Batistuta looked back at the defensive situation around him, moved his position slightly closer to the middle, and then clapped his hands to boost the morale of his teammates.

"Come on, run! We did well just now, find the rhythm again!" He raised his hand to remind Rodri not to be disturbed. Liverpool concentrated its strength on the front line and defense, and the midfield naturally became their weak point. Batistuta keenly realized that it might become the key for them to control the game.

"Ney, go inside, middle!" Batistuta gestured to Neymar from a distance, and then he turned to De Bruyne, "I'm going inside, Kevin, inside near the ribs!"

In fact, De Bruyne had already thought of that without Batistuta's hint. He asked Jesus to make short passes. Under their intentional control, Liverpool gradually lost control of the midfield. The disconnection between the front and back fields caused them to frequently lose the ball.

So, Manchester City, who regained control of the midfield, quickly equalized the score. It was a typical team cooperation goal. Of course, Jesus also played his personal ability to the fullest, leaning on Arnold to create space and shoot into the goal, equalizing the score for Manchester City!

Manchester City then gradually brought the game into their own rhythm.

Near the end of the first half, Liverpool defender Gomez made a similar mistake to Walker in defense. He was confused and blocked Batistuta's shot with his hand. The referee awarded a penalty after watching the VAR replay. Batistuta scored in one fell swoop, increasing his season goals to 13 and helping the team to overtake the score.

2-1, both sides entered the halftime break.

……

The second half continued with the two teams' previous fast-paced offensive. Klopp realized the team's loopholes in the midfield and replaced Firmino with Shaqiri in an attempt to reverse the situation, but the effect was not very good.

Guardiola also made substitutions in the midfield. He replaced Jesus, the goal scorer, with Foden to increase the midfield chips and give the front line more space, but Foden and Neymar had some overlap in their running positions and the effect was also average.

Overall, both sides had several good scoring opportunities, but unfortunately they failed to seize them.

It is worth mentioning that after the game entered the injury time, a thrilling moment occurred in front of Manchester City's goal. Batistuta almost helped Liverpool equalize with an own goal.

That was Liverpool's last corner kick opportunity. Batistuta retreated to half the field to assist in defense, but the first point was grabbed by Dias, who quickly cleared the ball. Henderson from the outside was about to lift the ball into the penalty area again, but Batistuta kept staring at Matip's movements in front of him and didn't even see Henderson's movements.

Just like that, the ball hit the back of his head and then bounced right to Salah's feet.

No one can explain luck.

When Batty was hit on the head by the ball and lowered his head, he felt as if Captain America was flying a plane into a glacier, and his whole body turned cold from the inside out.

The scene of the World Cup final flashed before his eyes. If it weren't for his own goal, perhaps Brazil would have already embroidered the sixth star on its chest.

"God bless, God bless!" Batty didn't dare to look up, but just prayed quickly in a low voice.

Fortunately, Salah did not react in time to this gift package from the sky, and Lucas next to him kicked the ball out of bounds first, which prevented Liverpool from having the opportunity to snatch 2 points.

"Ah! Luki!" Batty let out a short scream and then rushed towards Lucas. "Thank you, thank you, God, I can't believe it!"

Lucas opened his arms to catch Barty who jumped on him and kept kissing him, and the pride and happiness on his face were almost overflowing. "Look Barty, what would you do without me?" He raised his hand and flicked Barty's forehead, "Tell me, do you love me?"

Batty held Lucas' face with both hands, looked at him seriously for a few seconds, and then gave him a big kiss on the lips without any hesitation.

"For God's sake, I fucking love you!"

(End of this chapter)