Soccer: If they're using these kinds of cheats, what's the point of training?

Chapter 114 Arrogance: Trash Talk? I'm a professional! After trash talking, scoring a goal, how satisfying!

An hour before the match, the stadium was already packed with people.

Manchester United fans wore red jerseys, and Liverpool fans wore white away jerseys. Yes, Liverpool's away jerseys are white, but that's not the point.

The key features are the golden Liver Bird on their chests and the red devil on Manchester United's chests.

Two colors, two teams, two cities, two beliefs.

Sky Sports commentator Martin Taylor was already seated in the commentary box, next to his longtime partner Rob Hawthorne.

"Robb, what are your expectations for today's match?"

"Expectations?" Rob smiled. "The Reds-Reds will never need expectations, because it will never disappoint you."

He Wei and Xu Yang from CCTV-5 were also seated in their respective commentary booths. He Wei was wearing a dark blue suit and tie, looking like he was going to a wedding.

"Dear viewers, welcome to the highlight match of the fifth round of the Premier League, Manchester United hosting Liverpool." He Wei's voice echoed through the streets and alleys of China via television. "This is one of the greatest matches in the history of English football, and one of the most watched matches in the world."

"That's right," Xu Yang continued, "Zhang Kuang will start again in today's match. He has already..."

Having scored nine goals, including a hat-trick in his Champions League debut, he's in red-hot form. Can he continue this performance against Liverpool today? We'll have to wait and see.

In the commentary booth of Hong Kong Cable Sports Channel, Ding Weijie and Liu Shunwen were also warming up for the match.

"Dear viewers, welcome to the live Premier League broadcast brought to you by Hong Kong Cable Sports Channel," Ding Weijie said in Cantonese. "Today's match is Manchester United vs. Liverpool, the Merseyside derby! This game, needless to say, is sure to be exciting."

"Weijie, what do you think of Zhang Kuang's performance today?" Liu Shunwen asked.

"Arrogant? This guy's crazy," Ding Weijie laughed. "Nine goals in four Premier League games, a hat-trick in his Champions League debut, isn't that crazy?"

"Madness!"

"So I estimate that at least two will be scored today."

"Two? That's so conservative?"

"I'm not conservative, I'm rationally analyzing. Liverpool are not Rangers, but their defense is much tougher."

"So, how many do you want to add?"

Ding Weijie thought for a moment: "Three."

"Hahaha, you, like me, are more emotional than rational."

'

In the players' tunnel, Zhang Kuang stood in the team, feeling the roar of the crowd coming from the stadium.

That sound wasn't ordinary noise, but a textured sound, like waves crashing against the shore.

Manchester United fans are singing "Glory Glory Man United," while Liverpool fans are singing "You'll Never Walk."

Alone.

The two voices intertwined, like a gladiatorial contest without a referee.

Zhang Kuang took a deep breath.

"Nervous?" Rooney asked quietly, standing next to him.

"I'm not nervous," Zhang Kuang said. "I'm excited."

"That's right." Rooney patted him on the shoulder. "In the Manchester derby, whoever gets nervous loses."

He turned and glanced at the Liverpool team.

Gerrard stood at the very front, expressionless, like a statue.

His eyes were calm, but what lay beneath that calm reminded Zhang Kuang of Ferguson—a calmness that seemed to say, "I've seen it all before."

Torres stood behind Gerrard, his long golden hair tied in a small braid, his expression somewhat like a cat that had just woken up.

Carragher, bald and with a face full of fat, was standing at the very back. He was talking to Skrtel when he suddenly burst into laughter, revealing a set of crooked teeth.

"Watch out, Carragher might be after you today. He's a ruthless stomp," Rooney said.

Which one is Carragher?

"Who else? It's that bald guy. Liverpool's vice-captain, one of England's best center-backs. He plays dirty, you have to be careful."

Zhang Kuang glanced at Carragher, who happened to be looking over at the same time.

Eyes facing each other.

Carragher grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

Zhang Kuang laughed too.

"He's not dirty," Zhang Kuang said. "He's smart. Dirty and smart are two different things."

Rooney paused for a moment, then said, "You're taking his side?"

"I'm stating the facts," Zhang Kuang said arrogantly. "A dirty person will pretend to be innocent after they've cleaned you up. A smart person will make you feel like they're the victim after they've cleaned you up."

"What kind of twisted logic is that?"

"This is experience."

The referee glanced at his watch and then waved to the captains of both teams.

"Ready to go on stage."

With the arrival of both teams, the atmosphere at the stadium became even more heated, whether it was the fans or the media present.

He Wei and Xu Yang had to raise their voices two octaves to speak, otherwise they couldn't even hear themselves.

"CCTV, CCTV, viewers, welcome to our top-tier sports program. Today we bring you the highlight match of the fifth round of the Premier League: Manchester United vs. Liverpool, also known as the 'Double Merseyside', which is the most anticipated match of the year in the Premier League, bar none."

The two teams have now entered the field. Let me first introduce the starting lineups. Manchester United's starting lineup is 4-3-3, with a goalkeeper of 1.

号范德萨；后卫依次是22号奥谢、23号埃文斯、15号维迪奇、3号埃弗拉；中场三人组是18号斯科尔斯、24号弗莱彻、11号吉格斯；三前锋分别是33号张狂、10号鲁尼、9号贝尔巴托夫。」

徐阳：「利物浦的首发是4411：门将25号雷纳；后卫依次是2号格伦·詹森、23号卡拉格、37号斯科特尔、3号孔切斯基：中场是17号马克西·罗德里格斯、28号波尔森、4

Meireles (No. 10), Joe Cole (No. 10): Forwards are Gerrard (No. 8) and Torres (No. 9).

(Author's note: The previous text mentioned that Torres appeared in Chelsea's squad for the Community Shield, which was actually incorrect. Torres transferred to Chelsea in the 2011 winter transfer window and is still a Liverpool player. The previous text has been corrected!)

He Wei: "Let me introduce the players sitting on the bench for both sides. Manchester United's is—"

The whistle blew.

Liverpool kicked off first.

Torres passed the ball to Gerrard, who then passed it back to Meireles.

The game started.

Zhang Kuang stood on the left wing, opposite Liverpool's right-back Glenn Jansen and right midfielder Maxi Rodriguez.

Maxi is an Argentinian, not very tall, but very agile and technically gifted. He also has another characteristic: he's a chatterbox.

"Hey, Chinese kid," Maxi leaned in, "I heard you're really popular lately?"

Zhang Kuang ignored him.

"Dribble past five players? Ha, even my grandma could beat a Rangers defender."

Zhang Kuang still ignored him.

"What? You don't understand English?"

Zhang Kuang finally turned his head and glanced at him.

"Are you done talking? Are you going to trade me trash talk? Are you sure?"

Maxi was taken aback for a moment: "Oh, you understand English?"

"Now that I've finished talking, I want to tell you something," Zhang Kuang said. "If your grandma could really dribble past five players, she should be playing for Manchester United now, not Liverpool. By the way, when your grandma was dribbling, which ball went past which player first?"

"What do you mean?" Maxi asked.

"It doesn't mean anything, it's just the literal meaning. With so many balls in your grandma's house, which ball got past her first?"

Maxi's face changed: "Fuck, you—"

Zhang Kuang blinked wildly: "Say it! What am I? Tell me!"

Maxi's face turned bright red: "Hmph, you're sharp-tongued. I hope you're just as sharp-tongued when we collide later."

Arrogant: "I don't know who would be stronger if we bumped into each other, but if your grandma bumped into me, I'd definitely be stronger. Actually, if your mom or your sister bumped into me, I'd definitely get them pregnant."

Max: "Fuck you, you piece of trash, what else can you do besides trash talk?"

Arrogant: "I also play football, and I'm even very good in bed. If you don't believe me, have your wife or girlfriend compare, and they'll definitely say my skills are better than yours."

Maxi was getting angry: "Do you want to die?"

Arrogant: "Yeah, I really want to die. Come on, let's do it."

Maxi was so angry that his face turned blue.

Konchesky, Liverpool's left-back who was assigned to help defend against Zhang Kuang today, couldn't help but chuckle when he heard this.

"Maxi, you got talked down by a little kid?"

"Shut up!" Maxi glared at Konchesky.

In the third minute, Zhang Kuang got the ball for the first time.

Scholes passed the ball to him in midfield, and he arrogantly received the ball with his back to goal, but Konchesky closed in.

This Pole was 1.91 meters tall and weighed nearly 90 kilograms; he was a typical "tough guy." When he pressed against Zhang Kuang, his shoulder slammed into him hard.

Zhang Kuang didn't move.

Konchesky paused for a moment, then bumped into him again.

Zhang Kuang still didn't move.

A hint of apprehension flashed in Konchesky's eyes.

"This kid is even tougher than Drogba?" he muttered to himself.

Zhang Kuang passed the ball back to Scholes, then turned and ran into the penalty area. Konchesky chased after him, and Maxi followed from the side, the two of them closing in like two doors.

Zhang Kuang did not slow down and crashed directly into it.

"Bang!"

Konchesky felt like he'd been hit by a truck, his body involuntarily swaying to the side. Maxi fared even worse, being thrown back and nearly falling after taking two steps.

Zhang Kuang squeezed between the two people, like a wedge splitting two planks.

"Beautiful!" Martin Tyler exclaimed. "Zhang Kuang used his body to push aside Konchesky and Maxi! What kind of power is that?"

"I don't even want to comment on his incredible physicality anymore," Rob Hawthorne said, "because every time I say, 'That's the limit,' he pushes it to the limit in the next fight."

He charged wildly into the penalty area, and Scholes' pass landed right at his feet. Without stopping the ball, he immediately took a shot.

The ball flew like a cannonball towards the top left corner of the goal.

Reina made a diving save, his fingertips touching the ball.

The ball changed direction, grazed the crossbar, and flew out of bounds.

Corner kick.

A collective gasp rippled through Old Trafford.

"Reina!" Martin Tyler shouted. "The Spanish goalkeeper made a world-class save! The wild shot was spectacular enough, but Reina's reaction was even more spectacular!"

"Without Reina," Rob Hawthorne said, "Liverpool might be 0-1 down right now."

In the CCTV-5 studio, He Wei uttered a poetic remark: "Reina's save was like a nimble cat accurately catching a moth in the dark."

The shot was already fast, accurate, and powerful enough, but Reina was even faster, more accurate, and more powerful. This is the Premier League, this is the Merseyside derby, where every detail can determine the outcome of the match.

Xu Yang said, "Professor He, your analogy of a cat catching a moth reminds me of a movie."

"What movie?"

"Cat and Mouse Game"

"—Coach Xu, your joke caught me completely off guard."

In the sixth minute, Zhang Kuang launched a fierce counterattack.

This time, he received the ball on the left wing, facing a double-team from Konchesky and Maxi.

Instead of forcing his way through, he passed the ball to Evra who was making a run forward, and then ran towards the center himself.

Evra passed the ball back, Zhang Kuang received it and made a sudden stop, Konchesky rushed past him.

Zhang Kuang seized the opportunity to cut inside, slicing from the side lane towards the middle lane like a knife.

"A Robben-style cut inside!" Martin Tyler exclaimed. "Everyone knows what Robben is going to do, but nobody can stop him! Does this arrogant 'Robben-style cut inside' have the same effect as Robben's?"

Yes, everyone knows that Zhang Kuang is going to cut inside.

Konchesky knew, Maxi knew, Carragher knew, and Reiner knew.

Knowing something is one thing, but being able to prevent it is another.

Konchesky was the first to slide tackle, but Zhang Kuang jumped with the ball between his legs and cleared Konchesky's tackle.

Zhang Kuang: "You call this a foul at the Merseyside derby? Don't embarrass Liverpool."

The referee made no call, which angered Maxi.

He cut inside to the edge of the penalty area, then raised his right foot, preparing to shoot.

Carragher stretched out his foot to block.

The arrogant foot landed, but instead of shooting, he used a feint to tip the ball to his left foot.

Carragher missed his kick, lost his balance, and nearly fell.

Zhang Kuang fired another shot with his left foot.

The ball arced through the air and flew towards the bottom right corner of the goal.

Reina made another diving save, but this time he didn't touch the ball.

The ball grazed the post and flew into the goal.

1: 0.

"G000000000000AL!" Martin Tyler's voice was piercingly loud. "Arrogance! Arrogance again! Manchester United took the lead in the sixth minute! This is his tenth Premier League goal of the season! Ten goals in five games! What kind of performance is this?"

"Incredible!" Rob Hawthorne said. "Zhang Kuang's goal today reminded me of Robben. The same cut inside, the same curling shot, the same unstoppable force."

But Zhang Guo is more complete than Robben because he can not only cut inside, but also dribble, pass, head, and receive the ball with his back to goal. He's a perfect attacking player!

He Wei had already stood up.

"Goal! Goal! Goal! In the sixth minute, Zhang Kuang cut inside and scored, Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool! This is his tenth Premier League goal of the season, and his first in the Merseyside derby!"

"That was a classic example of an arrogant goal," Xu Yang exclaimed excitedly. "It was unconventional, unorthodox, just pure individual skill that overwhelmed the opponent. Konchesky, Maxi, and Carragher—none of them could stop him!"

"It's not that we couldn't prevent it," He Wei said, "it's that we couldn't. There are some people, you know what they're going to do, but you just can't stop them. Zhang Kuang is that kind of person."

Zhang Kuang ran to the corner flag area, slid down to his knees, and slid several meters away.

Three deep scratches were left on the turf.

At the same time, 76,000 fans at Old Trafford stood up, raised their arms, and cheered deafeningly.

In the stands, some fans were so excited that they tore off their clothes.

It's not just male fans.

A blonde, blue-eyed female fan, wearing a red Manchester United jersey, excitedly ripped it off her head before realizing she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

Two ray of spring sunshine shimmered in the sunlight.

Zhang Kuang happened to glance in that direction and then froze.

He awkwardly covered his eyes and turned away.

But it was too late.

The camera captured the moment, and then commentators all over the world saw it.

Martin Tyler laughed heartily: "What did Zhang Kuang see? Why is he covering his eyes? He's not a playboy."

"Huh? Even playboys get shy?"

"Maybe the playboy wasn't shy," Rob Hawthorne said, "maybe the scene was just too dazzling, making his eyes a little blurry?"

He Wei coughed twice.

"We won't comment on that. Coach Xu, could you explain the technical details of that goal?"

Xu Yang suppressed a laugh: "The technical details of the goal were perfect, but I'd like to talk more about Zhang Kuang covering his eyes. It shows that although he's a playboy, he still has his bottom line."

"What's the bottom line?"

"I don't watch free content."

"—Coach Xu, that joke of yours was a bit too lame."

The game continues.

The Liverpool players' faces were filled with defiance.

Especially Maxi Rodriguez.

After being arrogantly insulted once, the Argentinian was seething with anger. He leaned closer and started trash-talking Zhang Kuang in his ear again.

"Kid, you were lucky with that goal."

Zhang Kuang ignored him.

"But luck won't always be on your side."

Zhang Kuang still ignored him.

"Did you hear me?"

Zhang Kuang finally turned his head and glanced at him.

"Maxi, I have a question for you."

"What's the problem?"

Do you have a girlfriend?

Maxi paused for a moment, then said, "Yes. What's wrong?"

"Do you know who she slept with last night?"

Maxi's face flushed red.

"What the hell did you say?"

"I didn't say anything," Zhang laughed wildly. "I just asked you a question. Look at you, getting angry so easily, it's bad for your health. Oh, by the way, ask her how Zhang's technique is in China."

"Shit, what did you say?"

Maxi was trembling with anger, and opened his mouth to curse, but didn't know what to say.

"Want to make a move? Come on, come on, I've been waiting for over ten minutes. You're good at trash talk, you're weak and you love to play around, I bet you're the same in bed."

"You, you, you————"

At this moment, Konchesky quickly pulled Maxi away, gave him a sneer, and ran off.

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