Football: Starting from the Ronaldinho template

Chapter 355 Battle of Rome

Before the match against Everton, Arsenal had another Champions League game against Roma.

"The Iron-Blooded Red Wolves, although the Wolf King Totti retired at the end of last season, Roma, under Di Francesco's leadership, has shown a vigorous and upward trend."

“There is a player in the Roma team with a similar experience to Qin Ming, who also had a wonderful time in Wolfsburg, Dzeko.”

"In 2007, Wolfsburg brought Dzeko to Germany for a transfer fee of 400 million euros, helping him realize his childhood dream of playing in the top league. In his first season at Wolfsburg, Dzeko showed considerable ability, but his performance was inconsistent."

"Dzeko elevated Wolfsburg to the top level in the Bundesliga, playing a decisive role in Wolfsburg's title win."

"Dzeko's first season at Roma seems to have lost its magic, but in his second season he won the Serie A Golden Boot with 29 league goals, helping Roma to finish as runners-up in Serie A."

"The current Rome has guts and resilience, like a pack of fearless wolf cubs, determined to take a bite out of the Gunners."

This is how the Italian sports newspaper "La Gazzetta dello Sport" predicted the third round of the Champions League Group A matches before the game.

The Kearney training ground at this moment.

The professor was explaining Roma's tactics to the players, the classic 4-3-3 system, but the defensive intensity was exceptionally high due to midfielders such as Strootman, Gonalons, Nainggolan, and De Rossi.

Dzeko, who was ahead of him, also regained his scoring rhythm.

There's also Roma's goalkeeper Alisson, a 191cm tall Brazilian with amazing one-on-one skills.

"But he sometimes hesitates when handling the ball."

Wenger held up his index finger, "So our forwards need to put enough pressure on him to see if we can force him into a mistake, or even cause Roma to concede a goal."

Morata silently kept it in mind.

He managed to push Giroud to the bench and still win two Champions League titles and one Champions League runner-up title with Real Madrid, Juventus, and Arsenal.

It wasn't just about sucking up to powerful figures.

He is a very capable player himself.

Qin Ming then focused his attention on Nainggolan and Strootman. The two Roma wingers have similar technical characteristics, both being versatile players who can run and hold their own.

To break through Rome's chain-like layered defense, we still need to start with two players.

"You can make more frequent runs between the flanks and the middle."

Qin Ming said to Cazorla.

Sanchez will be rested for the next match, and Cazorla will start as the left winger. Qin Ming did not switch positions with Cazorla; he is currently playing quite well as the attacking midfielder.

Moreover, Cazorla is equally adept with both feet and can play in any position in the attacking third except center forward.

"Yes, I'll act according to your location. Osman, you be careful too."

Cazorla nodded.

Dembele also expressed his understanding and said he would definitely not hold anyone back.

The competition started on time on October 19th.

The night sky above the Emirates Stadium was a bit chilly, but the lively cheers below dampened the London chill.

The two teams stood in two rows in the passageway.

Qin Ming felt a pang of emotion upon seeing the Roma players. Two and a half years ago, he was still playing against Totti, and now Totti has already retired.

De Rossi got his wish and dropped the "vice" from "vice captain".

Not knowing when the Italian goalkeeper would outlast Buffon, Qin Ming withdrew his gaze and, at the referee's signal, led his team out of the tunnel.

Wow! ! !
A deafening cheer erupted as they were greeted.

"Both teams opted for their most likely winning formations, but Roma didn't choose Gonalons today, instead starting veteran De Rossi. Perhaps they wanted to use De Rossi's experience to counter Qin Ming?"

"This may be a good idea, or it may be a bad idea."

"Because it's very difficult for anyone in the world to target Qin Ming, let alone De Rossi, who is already 34 years old?"

"I'm more inclined to believe that Arsenal will change their strategy and target De Rossi instead."

"Alright, the match has started, let's shift our focus."

He Wei, speaking from the broadcast studio, explained.

On the pitch, Roma became even more aggressive after the departure of the Wolf King, launching a high-pressing attack from the outskirts, attempting to emulate Liverpool's early dominance.

Arsenal responded decisively.

If there is significant pressure to control the ball in the backfield, then simply concede possession and play defensively.

The pairing of Kante and Fabinho in the double pivot midfield gave them plenty of confidence.

Roma got into the game quickly, clearly having prepared well beforehand. They seized an opportunity to find Dzeko, and the old guy really knows how to play.

He held off Van Dijk, feigned a turn and shot, and in doing so, tricked Mertesacker as well.

In reality, he swerved to the other side, creating space to shoot directly. Although he couldn't exert full power, he caught the opponent off guard.

Fortunately, Cech remained focused and managed to palm the ball out of bounds.

The gunmen gasped in unison.

"For Wolfsburg fans, there are two seasons that are the most unforgettable."

"The first one is the 2008-09 season, with Grafite, the champion of the small cannon, Misimovic, the assist leader, and Dzeko, who was a newcomer and very talented."

"The second is Qin Ming, who broke the Europa League goal record in the 2014-15 season, and De Bruyne, the European assist king."

"By the way, during Dzeko's seasons at Manchester City, there was not only his crazy four-goal haul at White Hart Lane, but also that priceless header in the most important title race."

He Wei quite likes this player.

However, after that threatening attack, Rome never created any more opportunities.

Instead, Arsenal seized a counter-attack opportunity.

If it weren't for De Rossi's decisive foul, which resulted in a yellow card, Arsenal could have changed the score.

The match has reached the 26th minute.

Arsenal's possession began to increase significantly, and their formation continued to push forward, compressing Roma's defensive range.

Qin Ming charged toward De Rossi with the ball.

Now that De Rossi already has a yellow card, he should make use of it.

"Support! Support!"

The Roma captain could only call for backup.

After that breakthrough, he realized the reality: he was too old to keep up with Qin Ming's speed and rhythm.

Nainggolan blocked the positions for outside drives and passes.

"This way!"

Cazorla suddenly cut diagonally in front of Qin Ming.

Snapped!
Qin Ming pushed the football away forcefully, while he himself ran to the left.

The Arsenal fans in the stadium were immediately energized.

"Dembele is running very fast on the far side, and Morata is also dropping back to support!"

"Cazorla has many options!"

"Oh!"

He Wei watched in surprise as Cazorla flicked the ball with his heel.

The ball bypassed the right flank of Roma's defensive focus and came to the left flank where Qin Ming had been stretched.

Perez rushed as fast as he could but couldn't catch up.

He slipped into the penalty area and, before Argentine center-back Fazio could arrive, Qin Ming twisted his body and aimed at the far post.

Alisson instinctively shifted his weight to the side. Bang! But the ball, twisted by Qin Ming's ankle, unexpectedly slammed towards the near post.

"Aim at the far, then strike at the near!"

"Pretty!"

Arsenal have scored!

In the 26th minute of the match, Arsenal led Roma 1-0, with Qin Ming scoring the goal.

The Emirates Stadium erupted with a sound that pierced the eardrums of the Roma players. Alisson looked incredulously at the far corner, then turned to look at the near corner, as if the traces of the ball still remained there.

That ankle twisted at almost a 90-degree angle is terrifying!
No wonder the media treats Qin Ming like an alien.

Roma's head coach, Di Francesco, was a former Roma player who won the Serie A title with the team in the 2000-01 season.

He's also a handsome man.

With broad shoulders, a narrow waist, a black trench coat, and those black glasses, he exudes a sense of resilience.

But now his face shows more helplessness.

He chose to take the initiative in this match because Arsenal has too many attacking options and he didn't want to be too passive.

Judging from the results, it was a wrong choice.

Instead, we should adopt a more defensive approach and counter-attack, using our numerical advantage to freeze Qin Ming and leave him with no room to maneuver.

Then seek scoring opportunities through counter-attacks.

Of course, Di Francesco also knew that there might be other problems when the team was defending in the low post.

next door.

Wenger watched the game restart, sat back on the bench, and even crossed his legs.

Pat Rice stood by the court, watching longingly.

If Arsenal can secure enough points in the early stages of the Champions League, they can relax in November and December and focus more on the league.

They had a perfect start to the season in the league, winning seven straight games and defeating Liverpool and Chelsea.

If they can maintain this level of quality, they can strengthen their bench depth in the winter transfer window. After all, it's a World Cup year, and they might be able to replicate their unbeaten run to the title.

Arsenal, who were in the lead, controlled the pace of the game.

In the 38th minute of the match, Roma substituted Gonalons for De Rossi, the veteran was showing signs of aging.

Qin Ming broke through his defenses several times in a row, and his knees started to ache slightly.

De Rossi didn't try to force himself on; he gestured to the coach and then quietly left the field during a dead ball situation.

In the 41st minute of the first half.

Arsenal have scored again. Cazorla cut inside and attempted a long-range shot, which deflected off Fazio's shin and into the net, just missing Alisson who was making the save.

"Poor Fazio! He's been working so hard ever since he joined Roma last season!"

"But they scored an own goal today!"

"Roma's defense wasn't as tenacious as it was in Serie A when facing Arsenal's attack!"

"This may be related to Arsenal's diverse attacking methods!"

Paul Dutton said.

The first half ended there, but Roma changed their tactics in the second half.

Even though they were down by two goals, they still had to play defensively.

Di Francesco knew that he was unlikely to win or draw today, so he might as well get used to Arsenal and prepare for the second leg.

Moreover, losing less is considered winning.

It's worth noting that Sevilla and APOEL have conceded quite a few goals to Arsenal.

If the points are tied at the end, the team with the better goal difference will be considered, and they might be able to advance.

Beep-beep-beep!
To be honest, Roma, who were focused on defense, gradually found their form and withstood several of Arsenal's attacks. They were also quite lucky, with the goalposts and crossbar blocking two shots.

Arsenal ultimately defeated Roma 2-0, concluding the third round of the Champions League group stage.

Amid cheers from the crowd, Qin Ming approached De Rossi and asked, "Can we exchange jerseys?"

He still has a lot of respect for De Rossi.

He played second in Rome for so many years, but never thought of leaving the team.

He definitely wouldn't be able to do it.

Sanchez was a little disappointed, as he also wanted to exchange jerseys with De Rossi, since he was also a perennial runner-up.

At Barcelona and Arsenal, I could understand De Rossi's thoughts to some extent. His decision not to leave might have been influenced by the team, but it was mostly out of respect for his mentor.

When Qin Ming first arrived, Sanchez initially thought that he would be difficult to get along with.

After all, young people are generally hot-blooded.

Surprisingly, Qin Ming is very easygoing. Except when you make a mistake on the court, he will really scold you. It is said that De Bruyne is the same. No wonder the two can get along well.

"Congratulations."

De Rossi is also someone who can afford to lose.

He recalled a gathering a while ago where Nesta said that during the Milan vs. Barcelona match, the moment Messi dribbled past him, he felt he was getting old and should retire.

Now he has the same idea.

Mundo Deportivo: Barcelona 3-1 Olympiacos, Messi hat-trick. With the World Cup approaching, Messi has regained his form and is launching his bid for his sixth Ballon d'Or. A bright future awaits him! Arsenal, playing at home, lost 2-0 to Roma, completely out of form!
Kicker: Real Madrid seems to have run into problems with team cohesion again this season. They were almost held to a draw by Tottenham at the Bernabéu. How can they compete for the Champions League title in this form?
The hottest football news in mid-October focused on a few clubs that were capable of chasing the Champions League.

Rooney, who was once a sensation in England, quickly fell silent after that negative news broke.

Until the eighth round of the Premier League.

Merseyside Killer!
Arsenal fans held up a cartoon of a masked man outside Goodison Park.

Although he was masked, he was wearing Arsenal number 10 and had black hair and black eyes, so everyone knew who he was.

"The Pride of Merseyside!"

Everton fans cheered loudly from the other side of the cordon.

"Your pride, our three points!"

Arsenal fans responded immediately.

When Sky Sports reporters randomly selected fans for interviews, one Arsenal player proudly pointed into the distance and said, "Liverpool is the real target of the Merseyside killers. As for Everton? They're more like easy prey!"

“阿森纳本赛季英超前7轮已打进27个进球，上一个前8轮打进如此多进球的是123年前，1894-95赛季的埃弗顿，30球。”

"If this average number of goals per game continues, Arsenal is very likely to break the record that no team has ever scored two or more goals in 27 of their first 30 games since the 1894-95 season in the history of the English top flight."

"Of course, if Everton can stop Arsenal today and defend the 123-year history they've upheld..."

Paul Dutton's tone was full of anticipation: "That should be impossible."

This season, after two consecutive seasons of high investment and low returns, Everton sold the outstanding Lukaku and, in exchange for covering half of Rooney's salary, re-signed Everton's former prodigy.

The results were, to put it mildly, terrible.

Aside from winning against Stoke City in the first round of the Premier League, they lost to Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United, all of whom are strong teams.

They still managed to win against weaker teams like Sunderland and Bournemouth.

However, this also shows that Everton can't beat strong teams, and in the games they lost, they were scored on by more than two goals.

How to resist Arsenal?
Fortunately, Roma managed to curb Arsenal's momentum somewhat.

Everton fans can only pray to God that their ancient glory won't be snatched away by Arsenal today.

(End of this chapter)