Soccer: Maxed-out ball control, the skill is too overpowered.

"Keep it up, bro."

"You too, keep it up!"

Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid

The first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals is about to begin!

During the pre-match handshake, Lu Xiao and De Bruyne shook hands, and the two greeted each other in a seemingly friendly manner.

In reality, Lu Xiao knew very well that Ding Ding was putting in a lot of effort.

hiss--

Why are you putting so much effort into the game? Why are you shaking hands so hard?

After finishing the pre-match ceremony, Lu Xiao shook his aching right hand, wincing in pain.

It's clear that De Bruyne is serious.

Okay, then I'll get serious too!

Before stepping onto the field, Lu Xiao glanced at the system as usual.

[System upgrade in progress... Please wait!]

No, what are we waiting for?

You'd better give me a really good job, otherwise I'm going to give you a bad review after waiting this long!

Lu Xiao couldn't help but mutter a curse to himself.

He is now relying on improved muscle memory to barely manage to compete for the La Liga title.

However, in the high-level matches of the Champions League, facing the strongest teams like Atletico Madrid and Barcelona,

Lu Xiao wasn't entirely confident.

The higher the level of the game, the greater the requirements for details.

Facing Real Madrid in the league, Lu Xiao might be able to dribble past three opponents and try to find his own opportunities to break through.

But if they really meet Real Madrid in the Champions League final, or Barcelona at their peak in the Champions League semi-finals,

I'm afraid there won't be such a good opportunity.

Even the slightest mistake can easily allow the opponent to intercept the ball and launch a counter-attack.

With their strength, a counterattack would likely be a sure thing.

The fault tolerance rate approaches zero infinitely!

Therefore, Lu Xiao hoped that the system could complete the update as soon as possible so that he could familiarize himself with the new template and master the skills of the new character.

New characters need to accumulate at least [Fusion Value] to unlock skills.

Following the convention of allocating 25%, 50%, and 75% of skills,

Lu Xiao needs to accumulate a lot of time to unlock all his skills.

If you get the role too late

It'll probably have to wait until the European Championship.

"Forget it, let's see if we can get past Manchester City with our current level."

The competition is already underway, and Lu Xiao can no longer simply rely on the system's intervention.

Manchester City are about to kick off.

We must now go all out to defeat Manchester City!

beep—

The referee blew his whistle, Aguero flicked the ball, and the match officially began!

"Manchester City started off playing rather conservatively. This was the first time the two teams had clashed in the Champions League, and neither team knew each other well, so they were more cautious at the start."

"Manchester City launch a probing attack, getting up in the attacking third! Okay, Yaya Toure... get rid of him and keep dribbling."

Zhan Jun couldn't help but secretly cheer.

Having provided commentary on the Premier League for many years, he is intimately familiar with English football and is well aware of Yaya Toure's abilities!

The tall, strong, and fat black man was like a bulldozer, pushing his way to the front.

Having played for Barcelona and trained at La Masia, Yaya Touré possesses superb footwork skills.

The double defensive midfield pairing of Koke and Gabi failed to work!

Yaya Touré broke through the obstacles all by himself!

"Stop him!!"

Yaya Toure made a shot motion in front of the penalty area, and defender Jiménez was shocked and jumped to intercept.

"A feint!!"

But Yaya Toure faked a shot and then passed the ball with the outside of his foot to David Silva on the right!

David Silva didn't stop the ball, but gently chipped it into the penalty area with his left foot.

"Aguero—"

"That was close!!"

In the first minute of the match, Aguero's shot inside the penalty area hit the side netting.

Atletico Madrid fans gasped in shock!

Didn't we agree to a probing attack?

Why do you suddenly resort to deadly violence without any regard for martial ethics?!

Even Lu Xiao's heart skipped a beat.

It hit the side netting, I almost thought it went in!

Fortunately, Manchester City's current manager is Pellegrini, not Guardiola.

Otherwise, Guardiola's team will take the lead.

He can keep the team in possession of the ball until it's completely out of control.

Aguero's shot served as a wake-up call for Atletico Madrid, prompting longtime Atletico fans to reminisce about the days when Aguero was Atletico's star striker.

"Well, our strikers aren't bad either, are they?"

De Bruyne even went to Lu Xiao to show off.

"Kevin."

"What's wrong?"

"I've noticed you've become more talkative."

After exchanging a few words of banter, Lu Xiao noticed that Aguero was also staring at him from not far away.

One is the former Atlético Madrid manager, and the other is the current Atlético Madrid manager.

The two sides nodded to each other in a friendly manner.

Many Atletico Madrid fans have already started to speculate.

"If Lu and Ah Kun teamed up, they would be invincible."

"Who in the world of football could stop this striker duo?"

"Forget about the exes, we have Griezmann and Torres, the current golden triangle is very strong!"

Watching Lu Xiao and Aguero interact amicably, Griezmann looked a little jealous.

"Hey Lu, why do I feel like you and Ah Kun are exchanging glances?"

"Really? It's just mutual respect between heroes."

"hateful!"

Griezmann doesn't want to lose to Aguero.

Atletico Madrid soon had an opportunity in the attacking third, with Lu Xiao passing the ball to Griezmann on the left.

The Frenchman got into a rhythm, changed his pace to shake off Zabaleta, and unleashed a powerful curling shot from the top corner of the penalty area.

The curling shot was quite threatening, and the Al-Ittihad home fans almost screamed.

Fortunately, the Manchester City goalkeeper was focused.

"Joe Hart – tips the ball out of bounds with one hand!! Brilliant save!"

"Atletico Madrid wins their first corner kick of the match!"

"I thought both sides would play a slow, probing game, but unexpectedly, within two minutes of the start, they had already engaged in multiple offensive and defensive exchanges; the pace was very fast!"

Manager Pellegrini, watching from the sidelines, had a faint smile on his face.

That's his strategy!

If Atletico Madrid were to set up their formation and focus on attack and defense, Manchester City might not be a match for them.

But when it comes to quick counter-attacks, Manchester City is no less capable than Atletico Madrid!

Pellegrini's strategy is to bring the game into the chaotic rhythm of the Premier League and then use his extensive Premier League experience to defeat the opponent!

Clearly, Atletico Madrid has been affected, and they started the game faster and faster than Manchester City from the very beginning!

"Corner kick! Godin!!!"

"The header was also very threatening, but unfortunately it went just over the crossbar... Oh? Manchester City has launched a quick counter-attack!!"

The home advantage is reflected in many aspects.

It could be the cheers of fans watching a collision, or the boos of tens of thousands of people for the opposing team.

Or perhaps it's a quick free throw by a caddie on the sidelines.

The ball boy was quick-witted; when the Atletico Madrid defender came up to contest the header, he was temporarily unable to track back.

Quickly throw the ball to goalkeeper Joe Hart,

Joe Hart caught the ball on the edge of the six-yard box and immediately kicked it out!

Torres didn't react in time; he should have interfered with the goalkeeper sooner.

By the time he got close, Joe Hart had already launched a long ball into midfield.

"Sterling!!!"

Sterling isn't tall, but he has excellent ball control. He easily controlled the ball against a long ball, then smoothly dribbled past Atletico Madrid's right-back Juanfran through his legs!

Atletico Madrid's backline was extremely vulnerable, and Sterling made a high-speed run down the left flank!

Forced into a corner, Oblak had no choice but to leave his goal and rush out of the penalty area to intercept Sterling and disrupt his dribbling.

Sterling proved to be quite agile, feinting past Oblak, hooking the ball with his foot to evade a tackle, and then accelerating to dribble past him!

He confidently kicked the ball into the empty net!

"It's over!!"

Atletico Madrid fans watched the ball with bated breath as it wobbled towards the goal.

clang--

Sterling's hasty shot hit the post!

"Could it be...?"

Before Atletico Madrid fans could even rejoice, another figure appeared on the other side.

"De Bruyne – taps in the rebound into the empty net!!"

"I've got the thief ball!!"

"Just four minutes into the first half, the home team, Manchester City, scored first! 1-0 lead!"

Looking at the goal conceded, Lu Xiao couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Is the Premier League really that fast-paced?"