Chapter 94 A Tactical Change! Manchester City's Tiki-taka

The ball came to De Bruyne's feet, and the Belgian midfielder immediately understood, passing the ball and instantly starting a diagonal run.

After receiving the ball, Francisco passed it to Clichy, who was making a forward run, and then started running forward himself.

Clichy received the ball and passed it to De Bruyne without stopping.

Modric anticipated Clichy's pass and positioned himself in front of De Bruyne.

De Bruyne turned, held off Modric, and passed the ball to Fernandinho on the other side, then continued his forward run without looking back.

Benitez, sensing something amiss on the sidelines, immediately asked his assistant coach to bring out the tactics board and began observing and drawing the position of each player on the field.

With less than 20 minutes left in the first half, Benitez did not expect that Pellegrini would adjust his tactics at this time.

……

Inside the live stream room.

As veteran football commentators, He Wei and Zhan Jun, with their many years of experience, naturally noticed Pellegrini's tactical adjustments.

"Manchester City's attacking style seems to have changed."

"That's right. The long-pass system we used to rely on has suddenly become a quick one-touch passing system with continuous ground passing. The rhythm has become completely different."

Fernandinho didn't stop the ball; with a flick of his toe, the ball returned to De Bruyne's feet as he made a diagonal run.

Manchester City's midfield was like a tightly wound spring, with each player receiving the ball, passing it, and making runs in one smooth motion, without the slightest hesitation.

"Manchester City has increased their passing speed! Are they trying to overwhelm Real Madrid with possession and short passes?"

De Bruyne received the ball with his back to goal and deftly flicked it with his heel, finding the onrushing Francisco.

"Real Madrid's players can't touch the ball at all right now; they're running around like headless flies!"

"Benitez didn't have time to communicate the tactical changes to Pellegrini's formation, so he could only rely on the players' individual abilities to stop the attack!"

"It's not hard to see that when Jiang Yan dropped to the defensive midfield position, and Modric and Kovacic pushed forward, Real Madrid's midfield attack was stronger than their defense."

"Manchester City's long-ball tactics stemmed from their fear of Real Madrid's midfield. However, after Real Madrid changed their formation, their midfield defense weakened, and Manchester City immediately switched to short-passing combinations to directly confront Real Madrid's midfield!"

Francisco shielded the ball with his body, glanced around, and then delivered a low, low pass into the space on the flank.

On the other side, Hessou understood perfectly, pressed forward to receive the ball, and immediately passed it across the middle. The ball spun rapidly among the Manchester City players, making it difficult to keep up for a moment.

Modric and Kovacic tried desperately to track back and intercept, but Manchester City's passing speed far exceeded their pressing pace.

The ball is faster than the player, and every touch of the ball precisely avoids the defenders.

Manchester City striker Iheanacho dropped back to receive the ball, and De Bruyne made a clever run into the open space on the flank to receive it.

"De Bruyne receives the ball in the flank! A phenomenal player!"

"Under his direction, the entire Manchester City team started playing tiki-taka! Seven or eight consecutive passes, not only did they not lose possession, but they also successfully penetrated deep into Real Madrid's territory! Is this Manchester City or Barcelona?"

"Watching him play always gives me the feeling that there are two Jiang Yans on the field!"

He Wei nodded: "That's right, I feel the same way. Jiang Yan is more well-rounded than De Bruyne, but De Bruyne's playmaking is superior to Jiang Yan's!"

The ball continued to be passed around at the feet of the Manchester City players, slowly advancing forward, inward, and towards the danger zone. A large attacking net woven from short passes was slowly tightening towards Real Madrid's penalty area.

[Holy crap, Real Madrid is completely out of sorts! Are they stunned by the beating?]

Believe it or not, Real Madrid is still in a daze, just waiting to see if anyone can wake up in time.

[Are we going to concede another goal now?]

[We finally equalized, and now we're about to concede another goal?]

[You're a Premier League team, why are you playing Tiki-Taka? Do you think you're Barcelona?!]

[Look! Jiang Yan has moved!]

Facing Manchester City's TikiTaka, Jiang Yan felt immense pressure for the first time.

Modric and Kovacic were outmaneuvered by Manchester City's TikiTaka, and the ball returned to De Bruyne's feet once again.

"Jiang Yan! He's facing off against De Bruyne!"

"The first clash between two rising midfield stars!"

Jiang Yan saw every single one of De Bruyne's touches, every turn, and every subtle movement as he prepared to pass the ball again.

His "God's-eye view" and "sense of location" allowed him to appear in front of De Bruyne in time.

De Bruyne is currently in his most comfortable rhythm, receiving the ball, passing it, making runs, and receiving it again. He only needs to repeat this a few times to break through the defense.

He had even planned that if the ball were passed around a bit more, it could be directly delivered to Iheanacho in the open space on the flank, creating a one-on-one opportunity.

But when he saw Jiang Yan appear in front of him, he visibly paused for a step.

The two looked at each other.

De Bruyne's expression gradually became excited.

"I knew it... I knew it! Jiang Yan! The only one who can stop me... is you!"

"Kevin, I never knew you could play so crazy."

"Crazy? I'm super excited right now!"

I will stop you.

"If you can, give it a try!"

De Bruyne slightly lowered his body, feigning a pass to the right. This was his signature feint, the same move he had used before to get past Modric and two other Real Madrid players.

Jiang Yan remained unmoved; he immediately saw through De Bruyne's feint.

De Bruyne feigned a move to the right, but actually dribbled the ball to the left.

Snapped!

Jiang Yan caught up with De Bruyne in one step, activated his [One-on-One Defense] skill pack, and put his arm around De Bruyne's shoulder.

!

De Bruyne gritted his teeth and used a change in rhythm to forcefully shake off Jiang Yan's arm.

The next second, De Bruyne felt a weight on his shoulder as a powerful force suddenly pressed down.

The moment his arm was freed, Jiang Yan immediately changed tactics and began to use his body to resist.

De Bruyne gritted his teeth, suddenly exerted force in his waist and abdomen, changed direction with his feet, and struggled to break free from Jiang Yan's side. With a slight shift in his center of gravity, he was about to charge towards the side of the penalty area again!

As long as he creates space, he can complete the pass perfectly. Inside the penalty area, Aguero is already itching for a pass.

But Jiang Yan was faster than him.

His speed of 82 points allows him to get ahead of the Belgian midfielder and block him.

One of De Bruyne's weaknesses is speed!

If Jiang Yan's speed is 82 points, then De Bruyne's speed is only about 72 points.

"Brilliant! This battle between the two was truly spectacular, both De Bruyne's attempts to break through and Jiang Yan's early lead were incredibly exciting!"

"I can now say with certainty that Jiang Yan and De Bruyne will be the leading midfielders of the next era!"

De Bruyne forced a sideways step, creating some space.

Jiang Yan took another step and blocked it.

As they gazed into each other's eyes, it was as if their consciousnesses were being transported to another world.

"Next, I'll force the pass."

"I will block that ball."

"Jiang, I'm really happy. I've never been able to find anyone who can see 'that world' like me, and that feeling was so lonely."

"A God's-eye view? For football players, that's a skill they'd desperately want."

De Bruyne shook his head:

"As you grow stronger, it's like walking through a desert; the feeling is incredibly lonely."

The strong are always lonely.

"That feeling was awful, so when I saw your match video and discovered you also have this ability, I was really excited. I finally found someone like me."

When did you acquire this ability?

"Around 2015, after Miranda passed away, I always felt a voice in my head guiding me: Miranda was my only true friend."

"It's time to get back to the game."

"If I'm lucky enough, this ball will go through the space you're defending."

Jiang Yan smiled:

"If I'm lucky enough, the ball will be intercepted before it's passed, and we can then launch a counter-attack and score."

Who will Lady Luck ultimately side with?

……

"De Bruyne! De Bruyne passed the ball! He delivered a beautiful outside-of-the-foot curler!"

Even though Jiang Yan tried his best to intercept, the ball still went around him.

Lady Luck has chosen De Bruyne this time.

"That curved shot perfectly bypassed Jiang Yan's defensive space!"

Who is his target?

"It's Aguero! Manchester City's top scorer, Aguero has the ball!"

"They're about to break down the door!!"

boom!

Aguero took a shot, and the ball flew straight into the top corner of the goal.

Navas was already on high alert, and the moment Aguero shot, he perfectly extended his body, actually managing to save the shot from the ten-point angle!

However, just as he lowered his guard and prepared to celebrate this brilliant save...

I glanced up.

De Bruyne appeared out of nowhere, seemingly out of nowhere, at the point where the ball was about to land.

While Jiang Yan's attention was drawn to Aguero's shot, De Bruyne was still in a forward position, preventing Aguero from making a mistake.

Lady Luck has chosen De Bruyne.

"De Bruyne!"

"Without stopping the ball, unleash a volley!"

Goal!!!!

"A rollercoaster of emotions! Absolutely a rollercoaster of emotions!!"

"1-2!!! Manchester City took the lead in the 42nd minute of the first half!"

Manchester City players rushed toward De Bruyne like madmen.

The Belgians' gazes pierced through the crowd and settled on Jiang Yan.

"I won."

Lady Luck has chosen you, but this isn't the end of the story.

Navas slammed his fist on the goalpost in frustration: "Damn it! It's all my fault!"

Jiang Yan walked over to Benitez and said, "This goal was my responsibility. Cheer up, it's not over yet."

Benitez slammed his tactical board onto the bench, his face turning ashen.

Pellegrini's sudden tactical change and De Bruyne's explosive performance were all unexpected.

Surprisingly, Manchester City has such a talented midfielder hidden in their squad.

Benitez kept his eyes fixed on De Bruyne on the field.

"So, the heart of Manchester City is him."

Neither side made any progress in the following period.

Real Madrid and Manchester City went into the locker room with a score of 1-2.