[Football] Bad Boy Batty

It turns out that having a center forward in front of you is really great, especially for a player like Haaland who has explosive physical fitness.

After the Norwegian was substituted in, it is no exaggeration to say that Batistuta immediately found it much easier to control the ball.

According to the original strikerless formation design, the players in the front court used frequent position changes to disrupt the opponent and create opportunities. This can indeed make a considerable part of the team dizzy, but as long as they encounter a "hardliner", no matter how flexible and changeable they are, it will not work.

It is different now. There is a center forward as a fulcrum in the front, who can not only engage the defense line but also get the ball with his back. For the enemy defenders, if they don't guard against him, he will score goals. If they guard against him, a lot of manpower will be consumed, and the pressure on other players will be weakened. Batistuta, Neymar, B Silva and even De Bruyne behind him will all pose a direct threat to the goal.

What's more, Haaland has a good grasp of the situation and rhythm on the field. He is not a brainless player with a physique like many Internet maggots have ridiculed. When he retreats from the center position to the midfield and switches positions with Batistuta (or parallel), he can also disperse and reduce or even break the opponent's pressure to a large extent.

Soon Manchester City scored again, and Manchester United's defense also experienced for the first time what a crushing confrontation was like.

In the 65th minute, Manchester United's attack failed and the ball was caught by Ederson. The Manchester City goalkeeper kicked the ball to the midfield. De Bruyne cushioned the ball and immediately passed it forward to Batistuta who was not far away.

Augustus observed quickly and found that under Batistuta's gesture, Neymar was advancing from the side, while Haaland was retreating from the front court, and at the same time reminded B Silva on the right to pay attention to the space behind him.

This is to tear open the defense lines on both sides and cooperate in the middle.

Rational thinking provided support at this moment. The Manchester United captain predicted Batistuta's choice in advance and stepped forward to intercept without hesitation, and asked his teammates to provide support to limit Batistuta's passing route.

"Over there! Neymar is coming up! Keep an eye on him and don't let him turn around!"
"Where are the people at the back? At the back!"
"Cut off other options and force him to pass the ball this way! It's that simple!"

However, Augustus misjudged the difficulty of confronting Haaland.

In the past, his passing points to limit Batistuta were people like Neymar, Foden, B Silva, De Bruyne, and before that there were Aguero and Jesus. In physical confrontations with them, Augustus was always the one with the upper hand.

Of course, he also browsed Haaland's information before the game and knew that he had strong confrontation ability, but he only gave the opponent a small "power type" label. When he really faced him, he still underestimated the Norwegian's energy in confrontation.

therefore--

Augustus failed to push Haaland away at once, and he was stunned for half a second. It was during this half second that he completely lost the possibility of successfully intercepting the ball.

He was confined.

"What the hell!"

Haaland held off Augustus to create space for Batistuta. He also reached out and grabbed the opponent's jersey from behind, so that he could delay the Manchester United captain's starting speed and time when he rushed out.

"Come on!"

Batistuta had never felt that the road from the flank of the Derby team to the penalty area was so smooth. According to the original plan, Haaland would destroy Augustus's first interception, and then they would pass the ball to the edge of the penalty area, and then see which wing Neymar and B Silva would be more suitable to knock the ball to, and then quickly move forward and follow up, attacking Manchester United's goal from multiple angles.

But now, the situation is different.

Neymar took Ashraf and B Fee away, while Theo was also focusing on defending B Silva. Although Lima was able to take care of both ends, his position was not very good. Varane retreated to the front of the goal, almost on the same line as De Gea.

How could Batty miss such a good opportunity to perform?
[Oh! Is it coming?] The commentator kept a close eye on the situation on the field, [There is a gap, Batistuta chooses to bring it in by himself, let's see this time - go! Lima passes! Haaland goes up! Batistuta turns around - who to defend? Oh! Lima hesitates! Batistuta passes and goes in!]

There was chaos in front of Manchester United's goal.

Haaland's block disrupted all the deployments of Augustus and Mourinho. Influenced by the atmosphere, Batistuta dribbled directly into the penalty area. De Gea chose to attack, and Batistuta turned his ankle to quickly change his center of gravity and change direction.

He learned this move from Messi. Although his physical conditions are different, with Messi's personal guidance, more practice, and the incorporation of Batistuta's own fake moves, it eventually became a new set of dribbling moves.

[De Gea came out. It was too rash to attack at this time. He fooled the goalkeeper. What was Varane doing? Batistuta easily knocked Varane down. It was time to attack! Beautiful! The ball went in!]

【The King of Manchester City broke into the dragon's den alone and dribbled continuously, almost hitting an empty goal! He scored the 4th goal of this game, but it would not have been easy for him to pass the ball without Haaland, Majin Buu! As expected, he lived up to his reputation. As soon as he came on the court, he made the biggest contributor to Manchester United's reconstruction suffer a setback, 5-2! Manchester City's lead returned to 3 goals! 】

"Jesus! Erling, Erling! You did a great job! God, I can't describe how happy I am! See! We are leading by 3 goals again. Who says we can't open champagne in the middle of the game?"

After scoring the goal, Batistuta turned and ran towards Haaland, then jumped onto the tree the moment the opponent opened his hands. At this moment, there was no fear of the Norwegian giant's exaggerated body movements in his eyes, but only the excitement of scoring the goal and the joy of seeing Augustus make a fool of himself.

Haaland didn't even have the inclination to retreat, he caught Batistuta steadily and rushed towards the stands with him.

"This is easier than I thought." He said this in a very natural tone with a particularly sarcastic tone, "This is the derby you have been thinking about for months. Sorry, I didn't feel its intensity."

Batistuta was stunned for a moment, then hugged Haaland's neck and kissed him hard on the forehead.

"You're right! Erling! This is too easy, harder than I imagined!" The little king raised his upper body and waved his fist, "Come on! Keep going! Let's double our lead!"

……

Maguire's appearance did bring vitality to Manchester United's front line, but he is not a genuine center forward after all, and is a little bit inferior to Haaland on the opposite side.

The score remained 5-2 until the 75th minute.

[Pay attention, the two teams on the field have not scored a goal for 10 minutes, but judging from their performance, don't miss out on more goals that may come because of a 'stable' mentality. ]

The commentator was indeed knowledgeable and what he predicted came right. Soon another goal was scored, again for Manchester City.

In the 71st minute, De Bruyne made a precise pass to the frontcourt, Batistuta missed the ball, and Haaland completely ignored Varane's block and shot into the net, 6-2!

Less than 3 minutes later, Manchester United kicked off from the center circle but lost the ball due to impatience. Akanji kicked the ball to the front court, and Haaland took the ball with his back to Batistuta. Batistuta was knocked down by Varane in front of the goal, and the referee decisively pointed to the penalty spot. (Bati guessed that this guy was just provoked by Erling's contempt and couldn't help but take action)

Manchester United made matters worse.

Haaland reached out to help Batistuta stand up, and then without any hesitation, he stuffed the ball into his arms. Batistuta did not hesitate and returned the ball.

"It's yours. Come on." The king raised his chin, indicating that no one could be refused.

Haaland didn't refuse anymore.

[The ball goes in! Majin Buu scores a penalty kick, and the score is now 7-2! Does Manchester United still have a chance? ]

……

In the 79th minute, Guardiola used up all his substitutions at once. Foden replaced De Bruyne and Grealish replaced B Silva, giving more connection responsibility to Batistuta by stacking the frontcourt.

Manchester City is now leading by 5 goals with just over 10 minutes left. It is impossible for Manchester United to catch up. He hopes to make his captain feel the full pressure in this final time.

Even if it might cost them one or two goals.

However, the development of the situation was somewhat beyond Guardiola's expectations. Grealish and Foden had just come on the field, and Manchester United had not yet realized that Manchester City's midfield had become weak. Stones passed the ball to Batistuta, and Haaland resisted Lima and received Batistuta's lob pass to shoot. De Gea tried his best to save the ball, but he failed to control the ball within range. Grealish just came on the field and succeeded in scoring.

[Hahaha! No one can stop luck. Grealish ran from the sidelines to the front of the goal. After replay, it was determined that he ran a total of 24 steps and scored a goal. 1-8, now the score on the field has tied the record held by Bayern and Barcelona for nearly 2 years! ]

Obviously, the commentator's voice was not as excited as it was at the beginning. The broadcast camera was on the sidelines, and Guardiola was the same. As if his years of coaching career had smoothed his edges, the Catalan simply clapped his hands in celebration and turned his attention back to the field.

Goals are goals, but what he just thought of is the next key point.

Soon, Guardiola's guess came true. Augustus realized that Manchester City's midfield became vulnerable after De Bruyne left the field. His mind turned quickly and he immediately asked his teammates to press forward to put pressure on Haaland.

He only needed to buy a dozen seconds to control the ball in the midfield, and then focus Antoine and Kylian on Batistuta. If they could successfully steal the ball and get it out, they would still have a chance. "Harry, Harry! Go back and restrict them!"

In the 83rd minute, Manchester City controlled the ball in the backcourt. Batistuta did not pay attention to Stones' position. He ran to the right and reached out for the ball. It was obvious that he was eager to attack and had no intention of stopping.

Very good, I want you to continue.

Augustus raised the corner of his mouth inconspicuously, things were going exactly as he planned.

When there is a lack of passing points in the midfield and the player who can help clear the ball is far away (Stones), Batistuta's difficulty in protecting the ball will increase exponentially.

"You're not a midfielder, you can't do that, dear." Augustus said with a smile, his eyes downcast.

He didn't care if Buddy could hear him or not.

"Damn it!" Batty cursed at the grass, and then quickly asked the back line to stand and defend, "Position! Stay in position, pay attention!"

But it was too late, the French midfielder successfully intercepted the ball and quickly kicked a high ball to the front court.

It was also Manchester City's fault that their defense was lax after a big lead. Griezmann sprinted, stopped the ball and passed it back. B Fee's movement confused Ake, and Mbappe received the ball and ran towards the penalty area.

"Quick, quick!"

Kyle Walker chased back with all his might. He was not slower than Mbappe in speed, but Mbappe's change of direction could not be compensated by speed. Before Walker could reach out to pull him, the French striker decisively kicked the ball.

'Boom! '

【Mbappe! Manchester United midfielder robbed Batistuta and successfully launched a quick counterattack! 8-3! The total number of goals exceeded 10! It’s hard to believe that this was in the last few minutes of a game, and the goals of both teams continued! 】

Yes, it's still going on.

Then in the next 3 minutes, Manchester United did the same thing to cut off Batistuta's connection with the front and back fields. Batistuta intended to change but it was impossible for him to lose weight again after relaxing at the end of the game.

Mbappe, Augustus and Griezmann, three Frenchmen, cooperated well. Mbappe scored two goals in a row, and Griezmann turned around and shot from the bottom line to narrow the gap.

In the 88th minute of the game, the score was 8-6.

[It was so exciting! This is definitely the most ups and downs and twists and turns in the top five leagues in the past 10 years - not only a derby, but also the most exciting football game! ]

[Bati and Mbappe! They scored hat tricks one after another. The two of them alone contributed 7 goals to the fans today! Mbappe just broke Batistuta's record for the fastest hat trick in the Premier League. I believe that after this battle, everyone has no objection to them taking over from Melo! ]

The big lead was reduced to just 2 goals, and several goals conceded in the later stages were directly related to him. Batistuta's adrenaline surged and the anger in his heart rushed to his head.

"Bernardo, Bernardo, damn it! Ney! Come back here! Johnny, John - stop staring at me and come the fuck over here!"

Batistuta immediately alerted his teammates and even called out the wrong name in a hurry, but that was not the point. The point was that he needed support around him.

There are not many players on the field who can retreat/move to the midfield in advance. Ake is one of them. He played in the midfield at the request of Guardiola, but Batistuta could not control too much. According to the principle of proximity, he asked Neymar and Stones to quickly add to the midfield, so that the overall formation changed to 433 again.

Thank goodness Guardiola didn't yell on the sidelines, otherwise Batistuta's head would have exploded.

"Control it! Everyone! Control it!" He stressed loudly, with a slight taste of blood in his throat. "Don't lose the ball! You can't lose the ball even if you kick it out of the sideline. Do you understand?"

Batistuta's adrenaline was rushing, and time was running out. He had to take back their advantage in these last few minutes or even tens of seconds!

[90 minutes are up, 3 minutes of injury time, the score is 8-6, will there be any changes? ]

of course.

In the 91st minute and 33 seconds, Batistuta stepped forward and exchanged positions with Grealish. Haaland wandered near the midfield. Neymar retreated to the defensive midfielder position to receive the ball and passed it to Haaland. Haaland dribbled forward. Under the interference of Augustus, he staggered a few steps and passed the ball with difficulty.

To be honest, the pass was not very good.

But it was precisely because of that that Bruno Fernandes misjudged the ball and ran too far forward, failing to stop Batistuta from braking suddenly and turning around to get the ball. Seeing the defensive players surrounding him, Batistuta made up his mind and without making any adjustments, he kicked the ball out in the blink of an eye.

【This is——Wooo! The ball went in! What a flying fairy! Batistuta's ball seemed to be a pass or a shot, and none of the Manchester United players in the frontcourt reacted! De Gea probably thought it would go out of bounds, and didn't even make a big save, but who would have thought that the ball would have an arc! It went straight out but turned a big corner in the middle, which was jaw-dropping! ! 】

[9-6! Incredible score! There are only 2 minutes left, Blue Moon Army, can they score again? Can they make the score double? ]

……

Theoretically, it's possible. Practically, it's possible. But from the perspective of luck -

Of course, Battie hopes that the score will be as big as possible. If possible, he would even like to invite Curry from the NBA to shoot a few three-pointers to completely eliminate the hope of Manchester United catching up.

93 minutes.

Manchester City prepared to take a corner kick, which was their last chance. Grealish took the kick, Batistuta pushed Neymar to find space, and Haaland and Augustus were entangled in the middle.

[Let's see if there is another chance - a corner kick is taken, and Haaland grabs it at the front point! Majin Buu is really a beast, no one can stop him, but unfortunately his header is not powerful enough this time, and Varane rushes out to clear the ball, yo! Stones gets the ball outside! Let's see this time! Can Manchester City raise the score to double digits for the first time in history! ]

Stones takes the ball.

At this moment, he holds the fate of Manchester City in his hands.

However, faced with this option that was like a crossroads, he did not make the right judgment. With Neymar on the left, Batistuta on the right, Haaland in front of him and the defenders around him almost falling to the ground, he chose to shoot.

The mainly white ball drew an arc in the air, and everyone's eyes followed it closely.

then.

Because he was exhausted after playing the whole game, Stones failed to control the strength of his feet and the ball flew into the stands.

[beep——]
The referee then blew the whistle to end the game.

The final score was 9-6. It was a wonderful goal battle. The total number of goals scored by both sides not only broke the Manchester derby record, but also broke the long-standing record of the most total goals in the Premier League. The last game was in the 07-08 season when Portsmouth played against Reading, and both sides scored a total of 12 goals.

But unfortunately, Manchester City almost increased their goal tally from 9 to 10.

If they can pull it off, it will be a great milestone.

then--

"Johnnnnnnnnnnnnny!!!"

The angry voice of the little king echoed over the Etihad Stadium and could not be calmed for a long time. According to an insider who used the pseudonym K.W., Stones, who missed the key ball, was pinned to the ground by Batistuta in the locker room and beaten for a long time in a way that was close to naked choke.

(End of this chapter)