[Football] Bad Boy Batty

After all, they are still young and inexperienced. Monaco was forced to slow down soon after getting into the rhythm. At the 70th minute, the score was still 1-0.

Although 1-0 is not safe, it is enough for them. As long as Monaco does not score an away goal, they will still have a chance in the second round at their home stadium.

Guardiola on the sidelines began to think about making substitutions, but before he made a decision, the score on the field changed.

This was originally an attack by Monaco. Mbappe returned to his most familiar right side and made a crazy sprint. This time he was not intercepted. He passed the ball in front of the goal before it went out of bounds. Bakayoko jumped high and tried to head the ball, but unfortunately he did not get the position right and the ball was touched and changed direction. De Bruyne earned the second point on the outside.

The Belgian midfielder quickly passed the ball long, and cooperated with Batistuta near the center line, effortlessly breaking through Monaco's defense that had reached the midfield in advance.

The attack came to Manchester City's side.

【Monaco should pay attention! Manchester City's counterattack, Aguero in the frontcourt, Sterling is also following up at the back post, a 3 to 1 situation! 】

But Batistuta, who was running with the ball, did not play according to common sense.

In the current situation, no matter he chooses the wing or the middle, the road ahead is smooth. Monaco's defenders are trying hard to chase back, but it is definitely too late. When he brings the ball to the frontcourt, shooting himself or passing it to Aguero or Sterling are both excellent options.

But he didn't, because the effect of the pain-relieving spray had worn off and his right ankle was now tightening.

It didn't hurt, but it just felt weird running.

Tsk, that’s weird.

It must be because I have been too comfortable in the UK during this period of time, and my physical condition has become weak.

Batistuta was a little annoyed, he looked up to observe the position of his teammates, trying to find a good point to pass the ball. But suddenly, he saw that Monaco's goalkeeper did not prepare near the goal line but ran to the edge of the penalty area with his hands open.

Hey!
Isn't this just - giving a chance?

Batistuta curled the corners of his mouth. Although he had not tried shooting near the center circle, he inexplicably wanted to do so.

Think of Beckham, he can do it.

This was a split-second decision, made without much thought about the outcome or possible consequences. Perhaps it could be described in Ancelotti's words: it was a "flash of inspiration" on the field.

Batistuta stopped and shot without much adjustment.

His action shocked everyone.

"No! Batistuta, what are you doing!" Guardiola held his head in pain, as if he saw them miss an empty goal even though the ball was still in the air. "The distance was too far, and the goalkeeper wasn't in a very forward position, it was basically impossible to score... It went in! God! I really, really can't believe it! Batistuta! You're so - I don't know what to say!"

The head coach's attitude did a 180-degree turn in just a few seconds.

Just now, Monaco's goalkeeper saw the ball flying into the air and hurried back to the front of the goal. He planned to reach out and hold the ball. Although it was within the goal range, the ball was not moving fast, and he thought he could get the ball.

As a result, an accident happened and he fell!

It was exactly the same as what happened to Aguero at the beginning of the game. The Monaco goalkeeper lost his balance while running backwards, and at the moment he jumped to get the ball, he fell backwards, and at the same time, the football in the goal fell to the grass.

In!

The fans in the stadium were stunned.

The ball actually went in!

[Wow—this ball! It went in! Barty didn’t seem to want to run anymore.] Coach Zhang said with a smile, [Looking at his expression, it was like—that’s it, just take a random shot from this position, if it goes in, it goes in, if it doesn’t, it’s just like that.]

[Amazing goal! Batistuta made a direct shot from near the center circle, but Monaco's goalkeeper made a mistake and slipped in the penalty area, almost giving the opponent a goal! ]

In the 73rd minute of the second half, Manchester City extended the lead to 2-0, and the goal was scored by Batistuta.

"Did you see that? What kind of luck is that!" Pique pointed at the TV screen with a shaking hand. "I've been playing football for 25 years and have never seen anyone so lucky. You all saw it. He just didn't want to run, so he chose to shoot, right? He just kicked it and it went in!"

Messi smiled at him and said, "Gerrard, you have to admit that luck is also part of your strength. You play as a center forward every day, and you also have good luck sometimes. Why don't you seize the opportunity?"

"That's different!" Pique retorted with his hands open, "This is totally different, Leo, how can you side with him!"

Neymar sat on the sofa and didn't hear a word of Pique's complaints not far away.

The broadcast camera turned to Batistuta who had just scored a goal. The young king of Manchester City was opening his arms to the stands with a bright smile to accept praise, and there seemed to be a whole galaxy in his eyes.

The sound of his heartbeat gradually filled his entire world.

He watched as Batistuta was drowned out by celebrating teammates, who lifted him up and kissed him on the forehead and cheeks.

The next second, Neymar saw Batistuta running towards him (the camera) and offered his lips to him. It was such a foul.

……

Of course, in a good mood, Batistuta didn't care how many people were troubled by his kissing the camera. He calmly gestured to the bench for a substitution.

Ten minutes after he was substituted, Manchester City made another substitution, with Gundogan replacing De Bruyne, which was a standard positional substitution.

Guardiola hopes his midfield generals can retain some energy to cope with the second leg and the closer, midweek league game. Now is the final period of the championship race and they cannot make a wrong move.

Batistuta leaned back in his chair with one leg raised and his socks pulled down to his calves. Perhaps due to the effect of adrenaline, he could no longer feel the wound.

De Bruyne squeezed past him and took the seat next to him.

Batty rolled his eyes and a smirk appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"You must be thirsty, Kevin. Here, here you go." He exchanged a glance with Sane behind him, then took out the sports drink bottle that he had prepared long ago, "I've drunk it, and I left half a bottle for you."

In fact, it contains Coke and Mentos.

I'm sure you're all familiar with the spraying reactions that these two things produce. If you unscrew the lid without knowing it, you'll get a fountain.

Hearing that it was the drink that Batistuta had drunk and specially left for him, the Belgian midfielder took it without thinking.

"Thank you." He unscrewed the lid without noticing. "I knew I would definitely assist you in scoring a goal today, Batistuta, but I didn't expect it to be like this - what happened? Oh! Hey!"

Coke gushed out.

De Bruyne was lucky that he didn't point the bottle at his face when he unscrewed the cap, but their equipment manager had to work hard because the Coke spilled all over him.

"I got you!"

Before De Bruyne could react, Batistuta and Sane were laughing together.

The camera on the opposite side accurately captured this joyful scene on the Manchester City bench and also broadcast it to televisions around the world.

For a moment, thousands of people smiled lovingly at the TV at the same time.

"Hey, Pep." Arteta nudged Guardiola's arm with his elbow, then pointed to the bench behind him and winked at him. "You don't care?"

Guardiola glanced quickly behind him.

“Not good.”

Having said that, Arteta still saw a subtle curve in the coach's mouth.

The game was soon over, and in the final moments Aguero seized the corner kick opportunity to extend the score to 3-0. With a 3-goal advantage, Manchester City will travel to Monaco for an away game in 5 days.

But in fact, there is almost no suspense.

……

After the game, Manchester City players got on the bus and went to the best restaurant in Manchester for dinner, which was treated by Sheikh Mansour.

On the way, Batistuta abandoned Loach, the guy who exuded the scent of love, and found De Bruyne. The Belgian midfielder was still angry about his Coke prank, but soon, his anger disappeared the moment Batistuta lay on his lap.

Barty lay there and winked at him, then when no one was paying attention he pulled his collar to make him bow his head and gave him a soft kiss on his jaw.

"Come on, Kevin, don't be angry." He took out his phone, ready to take a selfie with his knees resting on his head and post it on Instagram. "Come on, hold my phone for me, and be a support—hmm?"

Before he could finish his words, Batty froze.

"What's wrong?" De Bruyne asked, raising his leg.

Batty looked confused. "It's just a piece of news." He turned the phone to show the other party, "Someone is interested in me."

De Bruyne looked closely.

Di Marzio: Confirmed that Paris Saint-Germain is interested in Manchester City striker Batista and hopes to bring him to the Parc des Princes this summer.

(End of this chapter)