[Football] Bad Boy Batty

"Why did you replace Mr. Ding? I don't understand. Manchester United just broke through the midfield, why don't you want him anymore?"

In the stands, the curly-haired boy held a telescope to observe the situation on the field. Although he was not the kind of fan who particularly understood tactics, he could at least see that Manchester City had gained the advantage from the middle in the last half. Even if Manchester United scored two goals at the beginning of the second half, it would not destroy Guardiola's confidence.

"I don't know, maybe they want to restrict Manchester United's flanks?" My friend hesitated and said, "C Ronaldo's two headers were both from the right corner. Cancelo often moves into the middle to advance. It's really too much for Neymar to deal with Mbappe and Ashraf alone."

"But just restricting them is useless." Curly anxiously watched Grealish dribbling the ball on the left side of Manchester City. Neymar moved to the middle and switched positions with Batistuta. Manchester United had difficulty attacking the wing, but Manchester City's offensive system was also hindered. "Score a goal, Manchester City is still behind!"

My friend smacked his lips, thinking that this situation was indeed a bit strange.

"Let's take another look," he said.

……

Regardless of Guardiola's real purpose, Manchester City's situation has indeed improved since Grealish came on the field.

Not only did it limit Manchester United's flank attack, but it also attracted their firepower to a certain extent.

Although this sounds unreasonable, when the ball reached Grealish's feet, the Manchester United defenders did pay a lot of attention to him.

Even the confrontational actions became much bigger.

The referee blew the foul whistle several times, and Batistuta ran to put pressure on the referee more times than in the first half. He felt that it would not be long before Manchester United received a yellow card.

71 minutes.

[beep——]
As Batistuta expected, Ashraf kicked Grealish down during the confrontation. Given that this was the third time he did so, the referee decisively showed him a yellow card.

"Are you okay?" Batty asked.

Grealish was sitting on the ground, his right leg sock was extremely dirty, there was an area under his knee that was slightly blue, but there should be no damage to the blood vessels.

Speaking of which, Batty didn't quite understand why he liked to wear short socks, and not the usual short socks, but shorter ones that could only reach the calves.

And his shin guards, they were ridiculously small.

Batistuta once pulled Stones aside and asked him why, and the answer he got was that he didn't like wearing shin guards, but because the regulations required them, he chose the children's version to avoid punishment.

Of course, Batty didn't quite believe him.

Everyone has a sense of nostalgia, and there is no shortage of superstitious people in football, so it is completely fine for everyone to have a few objects or things that can bring them good luck.

"I am fine."

Grealish shook his hair, stood up and smiled foolishly at Batistuta.

He is doing better than expected.

Once players like Batistuta, Neymar, and De Bruyne get injured, such as falling down during a confrontation, the team doctor will basically rush over to check and treat them as soon as possible.

But with Grealish, the team doctors were frustrated.

They moved much slower than the England striker, who stood up, stretched his body and did a few jumps to prove he was fine.

"good."

Batistuta did not hesitate to praise Grealish. He patted Grealish on the neck and ran to the front.

This England striker gives people the feeling that -

For example, in online games, there is a shield soldier who is responsible for attracting enemy hatred and has a high health value. There is a favorite saying of Hearthstone players that describes him very appropriately: You must attack the follower with taunt first.

As for where his "taunting" attribute comes from, it is probably related to the similarities between his and Neymar's dribbling methods.

For defensive players, what they feel when facing forwards like them is: I want to pass you, I want to humiliate you, I can pass you quickly but I won’t, I will just flash in front of you and let you watch me humiliate you.

Most defenders would not tolerate this situation.

Mourinho was very cautious. In order to prevent Manchester City from getting a red card, he made a decisive substitution during the dead ball, replacing Ashraf with Wan-Bissaka.

Manchester City got a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt.

Messi and Neymar discussed how to open the game.

The ball is from a long distance and can be hoisted into the penalty area or used on the ground as a tactic. It is very operational. Augustus is directing Manchester United players to position themselves for defense, and several high points are restricted. If Manchester City chooses to hoist the ball into the penalty area, a strong attack at the front point is unlikely, and there is no height advantage at the back point, so it is easy to be intercepted and counterattacked.

How to do it?

Batty glanced at the baselines on both sides of the goal.

"Let's cooperate." he said.

"Do you want to come Batistuta?" Neymar asked.

"No, let him come." Batistuta stood behind Messi, then quietly pushed Neymar's back, "Leo, go ahead, Ney, go to the front."

Messi turned to look at him.

"Don't push into the penalty area, their firepower is all there." Batistuta said quickly, "Just kick it towards Wan-Bissaka's legs, either the sideline or the baseline."

Oh.

Messi and Neymar immediately understood what he meant. The three of them exchanged glances and without wasting a second, went back to their respective positions.

Manchester United took points from them through corner kicks, so they had to respond in the same way.

……

【Manchester City's free kick, Messi takes it, he chooses tactically, passes the ball to Batistuta, Batistuta knocks it back to B席, B席 passes it horizontally to Neymar, oh! Manchester United's defense is scattered, be careful! 】

Neymar dribbled the ball down the wing, Wan-Bissaka positioned himself behind him, trying to make him lose the ball by fighting for it. According to Batistuta's plan, now was a good time.

But he suddenly didn't want to do that.

There is time for preparation for both corner kicks and throw-ins, which will give Manchester United a chance to reorganize their position, and Batistuta's plan is to attack when Manchester United's defense is lax.

So Neymar made a decision in a very short time.

He swung the ball in front of him with a swing of his ankle, then tapped it with his heel, sending it back between Wan-Bissaka's legs before turning quickly and starting.

This method is very risky. In his past experiences of trying it, the success rate is about 35%, and most defenders will subconsciously raise their feet to trip him.

However, this time he succeeded.

Wan-Bissaka had just come on the pitch and hadn't gotten into the rhythm of the game yet, so Neymar easily dribbled past him. When he turned around to try to block the ball, the ball had already been passed straight into the penalty area from the ribs.

[Here it comes! Beautiful pass! Neymar passes it to Balotelli - No! ]

The moment Neymar passed the ball, Batistuta made a high-speed run to the back post, attracting the attention of Varane and the forward with his determined attitude.

Just as they pounced on him, Batistuta slipped the ball lightly and a figure flashed out at the back post.

"Oh no!" Augustus made a misjudgment and could only watch the ball go into the goal right in front of him.

This is the second time.

Second time in this game.

As the youngest son of the Rothschild family, he received elite education since childhood and was considered a child of destiny. Even though he started playing football very late, he still quickly made it to the top league. Everyone called him talented.

But now, at the moment of those few goals, he truly felt what it meant to be suppressed by talent.

That's scary.

[Messi! He found a loophole in Manchester United's defense! Perfect cooperation! Two generations of talented football players put on a good show for us! Of course, Neymar deserves credit for this goal. It's hard to imagine that they have only been working together for half a season! ]

【3-3! Manchester City equalized the score! 】

What is really scary for Augustus is not Messi.

There was only one person he cared about.

Messi's arrival activated something in Batistuta, turning the originally brilliant fireworks into a more violent flame, or magma.

"I told you! I said! What we lost, we have to get back in the same way!" Batty pulled Neymar and Messi and waved towards the VIP box of Etihad Stadium, "Wait and see! Kun! We will definitely give you a wonderful farewell game!"

Passing through the crowd, Augustus saw Batti being lifted up again.

The smile on his face at this moment was completely different from the one before the game started, the contrast was extremely stark.

What to do, I love you even more.

……

With 15 minutes left in regular time, both teams returned to the same starting line.

Seeing Manchester City gaining momentum again, Mourinho became his original self. He asked the team to return to intensive defense, leaving only Mbappe and Ronaldo in the frontcourt, and the rest of the players retreated to their own half to restrict the opponent.

The game was at a stalemate.

"This...is not going to be a draw."

Batistuta gasped and smoothed his hair. He looked up at the display screen and saw that the referee had given 4 minutes of extra time, leaving only 6 or 7 minutes left.

He noticed that Mbappe on the opposite side was also counting the time.

Obviously, a draw is something neither side wants.

Batty took a deep breath: "Jack, Jack - go up!"

Grealish didn't quite understand what this meant, but at least he understood the gesture. He didn't think about anything else and took the center position as requested by the captain.

"When I have the ball, you run forward. When Leo or anyone else has the ball, you run back!" Batistuta finally conveyed his idea by gesturing and shouting.

Ultimately it all comes down to who can keep from making mistakes.

Batistuta wanted to attack Maguire, who was in poor form today, and Varane next to him. It was a bit risky, but it was worth a try in the final moments.

[There is still some time left, the entire Manchester City team will press forward to see if they can break this tie. ]

85 minutes.

[Neymar, Grealish, Batistuta... Oops, failed to get through, Rodri took the ball and tried again. ]

88 minutes.

[B席 retreated to pass the ball to Messi, Messi took the ball and passed it - it was too far, Batistuta got the ball back, Manchester City still had a chance.]

91 minutes.

[Corner kick, Neymar kicks to the back post, Augustus seems to have made a small move when scrambling for the ball, knocking down Batistuta, Manchester City players are asking for a penalty kick, let's see how this ball will be judged? Ah, the referee signals the game to continue, no penalty kick. ]

93 minutes.

【This is Manchester City's last chance in the true sense. Grealish takes Varane away from the front, Neymar also comes to the ribs, Wan-Bissaka sticks to him, Bruno Fernandes... Oh, Bruno Fernandes goes back, he doesn't choose to steal the ball, Messi takes the ball and gives it to - friends, do you think this scene is very familiar! 】

45 seconds left.

[Glarish fell to the ground, but still passed the ball! B Silva, is B Silva here? Batistuta! Batistuta got the ball, stopped outside, and looked—shoot! ! ]

40 seconds left.

[Bati, right-foot volley! The ball goes in! A killer shot! Batistuta's powerful volley brushed the goal post and rushed into the net! Oh my God! Can you believe it? It's 93 minutes and 43 seconds now, and the moment Batistuta scored, it was exactly 93 minutes and 20 seconds! ]

【9320！经典的9320再次上演！2011年阿圭罗93分20秒绝杀狼队拿下首个联赛冠军，今天，2021年，阿圭罗退役的这天，小国王93分20秒绝杀老对手曼联！4-3！他粉碎了曼联赛季全胜的希望！】

【Manchester City fans! Are you excited? Shocked? Tears streaming down your face? The Blue Moon has had its ups and downs this season, and it didn't get off to a good start. People say that Messi's joining has made them lose their magic, but today, did you see that they are still the team that made the whole of Europe tremble! They beat Manchester United, and they not only beat Manchester United, I believe they also beat their own demons! 】

【This is football, this is the charm of competitive sports! 】

After confirming that the goal was valid, Batistuta did not celebrate wildly with his teammates, did not run to the corner area to respond to the fans, nor did he slide on his knees in a provocative celebration in front of his opponents.

He ran straight to the bench and took a jersey from the assistant coach and showed it to him.

A Manchester City home number 10 jersey.

[Bati held up Aguero's jersey to show it. Remember what Aguero said before the game about inheritance? I think this is it.] The commentator said, [Well, the news just came back that the English Football Association took into account Aguero's retirement due to illness in the middle of the season. The special situation allowed Manchester City to change the registered player's number once, which is a green light.]

The ball kicked off from the center circle, but there were only a few seconds left.

Messi stepped on the ball and passed it back to Rodri. The moment Rodri received the ball, the referee blew the whistle to end the game.

4-3, Manchester City won the game.

And at the moment of announcing the victory, Batistuta came to the kick-off point in the center circle with Aguero's jersey. He raised the jersey and showed it to the stands on all sides, then he stopped facing the VIP box.

Under the gaze of all the fans, he slowly lowered his arms and put on the home jersey with Aguero's No. 10 printed on it.

He put it on over his No. 9 jersey.

The scene was silent for half a second.

There was thunderous applause.

From now on he is Manchester City's new No. 10.

……

That evening, Manchester City once again became a hot topic on Twitter when the official released a photo showing Batistuta standing in the center of the Etihad Stadium, putting on the No. 10 jersey, with his arms outstretched and looking up.

Caption: KING (Crown)
(End of this chapter)