Chapter 100: The King of Kings

Newcastle’s attitude of preferring to give up some offensive initiative and play steadily has caused a lot of headaches for the entire Manchester City team.

Unfortunately, Manchester City was unable to press forward with all their strength to take advantage of Newcastle’s defensive mistakes.

After all, they had already tried to take risks and attack Newcastle in the league, but they ended up learning a very painful lesson.

It is difficult for a top team like them to fall into the same pit twice in a row.

To be on the safe side, Guardiola decided to put the timing of the general attack in the second half of the game.

He wants to give Haaland and other Manchester City attacking players more time to adjust their condition.

Guardiola always seems unusually tolerant in this regard.

He always believed that only a more proactive attack could bring about a sustained favorable game situation.

Successful pressure is inseparable from the stable and outstanding performance of the frontcourt players.

So sometimes, Guardiola would rather let some offensive players who are obviously restricted by tactics and have average performance continue to stay on the field.

Such trust sometimes brings rich tactical rewards to Guardiola.

Guardiola has tasted the sweetness of Aguero and De Bruyne’s outbursts more than once.

But this behavior does not always work, such as today.

Both Foden and Haaland lost their form in Newcastle’s stranglehold.

De Bruyne, who dared to take on the responsibility of attack, became more and more excited as the game went on.

If Li Chen saw such a situation, he would definitely scold De Bruyne on the spot without mercy and ask him to calm down.

Just like he did to B Fee many times last season.

But at this moment, Guardiola’s trust is tantamount to further pushing De Bruyne to the brink of losing control.

De Bruyne’s footwork is still superb, but his offensive choices are very radical.

Regardless of whether his teammates in front of him can form a tacit passing and running coordination with him, he will always send a threatening pass as soon as he sees the opportunity.

In this case, what is the difference between him and the “rumored” Big B brother who is always criticized by fans?

Li Chen was standing on the sidelines and shaking his head as he watched De Bruyne in a rage.

As a head coach who pays great attention to tactical discipline, he will never allow his team to get out of control in the game.

Last season, it was Big Brother B who chose to be obedient, so he seemed to trust B Fee very much. He gave him the captain’s armband and used him as the core of the team’s midfield.

In fact, B Fee’s starting position was very dangerous at that time.

As long as he showed the slightest sign of disobedience on the court, Li Chen would send him directly to the bench.

Without B Fee, he can still use Juan Mata and Sancho as double attacking midfielders.

The team’s organizational problems will eventually find a solution.

But Bruno Fernandes’ career prospects at Manchester United are about to fall into a very embarrassing situation. At least during his tenure, it will be difficult for Bruno Fernandes to make a name for himself.

All I can say is that Bruno Fernandes’ clever mind saved him once. Perhaps if he played under Guardiola, his reputation would be better…

Manchester City’s anxious offensive performance put Li Chen at ease, and he watched calmly as the first half of the game ended in a draw.

The result of this half was not bad at all, and the Newcastle team also simulated such a situation in the pre-match training.

So when the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, the Newcastle players on the field were very calm.

The Manchester City players who failed to achieve the offensive goals set before the game had unhappy expressions on their faces.

Li Chen and Guardiola passed each other, and both coaches hurried back to the player tunnel.

In the half-time adjustments later in the game, the two of them made completely different tactical decisions beyond the fans’ expectations.

“I need you to be more patient and calm, the game is not over after 45 minutes or 90 minutes!

We must build up our mentality. Without a champion mentality and patience, we will definitely not be able to win the championship trophy…”

“Let’s not think too much about how the opponent will play in the second half. It’s time for us to take control of the game. We must catch them by surprise and use offense to gain more safe space to pass the ball!”

Guardiola asked his players to keep their composure at the beginning of the second half and to play more patiently.

Li Chen did the opposite, asking his players to seize the opportunity directly and push the battle line back to Manchester City’s half.

So when the second half started, the fans watching the game were surprised to find that Newcastle began to counterattack with all their strength!

If Newcastle had played like this at the start of the first half, the entire Manchester City team would have been very happy.

But at this time they had changed their tactical thinking and focused on controlling the field. They did not expect that Newcastle would choose to exert high pressure on them again.

Caught off guard, Manchester City not only failed to seize the opportunity of Newcastle’s full team pressure to counterattack, but was pushed back by Newcastle’s offensive!
Guardiola’s on-the-spot adjustments this time were not slow.

He quickly issued a tactical instruction for the team to switch to low-post possession.

Manchester City’s backcourt has no shortage of ball-passing points, and their goalkeeper is also an excellent passer.

But tactical changes and adaptations take time, and Newcastle does not want to give Manchester City time to adjust at the moment.

Their high pressure and siege and pressing came one after another, and until Li Chen called a stop, the Newcastle players on the field had no intention of slowing down the pace of pressure.

It looked like they would not give up until they scored a goal, and many Manchester City fans even thought that Newcastle’s main players had changed their personalities.

To some extent, this is good news for Manchester City. At least they finally have the opportunity to have a great battle with Newcastle.

But before the entire Manchester City team adapted to Newcastle’s new game rhythm, Li Chen, who saw Manchester City recovering, waved his hand and signaled his disciples on the field to call it a day!
The Manchester City players were stunned when they witnessed Newcastle’s rapid and effective team formation shrinkage.

How can you play a game like this!

So you can attack when you want to, and defend when you want to!

You don’t take us seriously at all!
Guardiola couldn’t help it a bit, he walked to the sidelines and signaled his players to press forward with all their strength!
He could see that Li Chen never gave up trying to mess with their mentality every time he played against them.

Tolerable or unbearable!
If you don’t come over, I will take the initiative to go over. It’s a risk. If you have the guts, Newcastle will be a coward for the whole game today!
Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the fans on the scene, the Manchester City team once again launched a fierce attack on Newcastle.

But the offensive problems they faced in the first half were still not effectively solved.

The momentum was there and the offensive scene was not bad.

But how can we improve the finishing efficiency while Newcastle adopts a intensive defensive strategy?
Guardiola started making substitutions early in the 55th minute of the second half, trying to open up the offensive situation through substitutions.

Grealish, who started the game today, became the second tactical victim of Guardiola.

He was replaced by Mahrez. Guardiola wanted to increase the team’s ability to break through on the wing and rely on the players’ personal abilities to further open up the width of the attack.

However, the defensive adjustments made by Li Chen later made Guardiola’s wish come to nothing.

Li Chen pulled over Gvardiol, who had warmed up on the sidelines early, and after giving him a few detailed instructions, he sent the latter onto the field to replace Trippier.

So when Mahrez came on the court, he was not facing Trippier, whose physical strength had dropped sharply, but Gvardiol who was eyeing him covetously!
The young Croatian defender has now adapted very well to his versatile role as a full-back.

In order to reduce his tactical pressure, Li Chen did not ask him to actively join the attack like Trippier. He only needed to occupy his defensive position and keep a 1-on-1 watch on Mahrez, who is now 32 years old.

This was not a difficult task for him, who was tall and strong but not lacking in agility.

Soon, Mahrez was targeted by Gvardiol on the offensive end.

If he encounters such young opponents in previous games, Mahrez can use his richer game experience and tacit passing and cutting cooperation with his teammates to penetrate and intersperse.

Football is ultimately a team sport. If it is difficult to beat the opponent head-on, then try a smarter way to play around, which can also achieve good tactical results.

But now Guardiola sent him on the field to use his personal ability to break through Newcastle’s defense.

Therefore, he absolutely cannot play around, otherwise he will not be able to complete the tactical task given by the coaching staff.

Mahrez, who was unable to fight in a roundabout way, was fighting for his life.

While he still had plenty of energy, he took the ball on the left and had a one-on-one contest with Gvardiol.

He can also take advantage of many changes in rhythm.

But when Gvardiol took the initiative to confront him directly, his change of direction skills were useless.

Mahrez, who fell to the ground one after another, failed to receive the referee’s whistle.

In order to ensure the continuity of today’s focus final, the referee’s whistle was still a little loose.

Originally this was fair to both sides, but at this moment the Manchester City players on the field seemed very excited and aggrieved, as if the referee was favoring Newcastle by not calling a foul on Gvardiol.

But the referee, who had received signals from the top management of the English Football Association before the game, was very tough.

The anxious Manchester City supporters couldn’t help but curse Gvardiol in their hearts when they saw Mahrez’s failed breakthrough.

He has the standard body of a center forward, but can also play on the wing. He has the physique of a center back and the agility and speed of a wing back. He’s really a freak!

Li Chen watched Gvardior perform well after he came on the court and nodded continuously. At the same time, he also asked Van der Ven on the bench to follow Sean Longstaff to the sidelines to warm up.

But such an action is just a sleight of hand.

Li Chen does not intend to continue replacing more defensive players before the overtime officially begins, thereby losing the initiative of the game.

Newcastle played a little passively today, but they also launched all the necessary counterattacks.

This is in line with Li Chen’s usual tactical habits.

Never give up the threat of counterattack until the truly last moment.

However, as the game time continued to pass, Guardiola reacted and was no longer in a hurry to launch a full-scale attack on Newcastle.

Guardiola is now very clear that Li Chen likes to compete with his opponents in patience. Once the opponent loses his patience, it is very likely that Newcastle will score a counterattack goal in the 10 minutes before the end of the game.

He began to discuss overtime tactics and strategies with his assistants in advance.

Seeing that Lao Gua was no longer fooled, Li Chen put aside the tactical ideas in his mind and sat in the coaching seat watching the game time approach the end of the regular 90 minutes.

When the referee blew the whistle, players from both teams quickly walked to the sidelines as if relieved.

At this moment, Li Chen was holding a tactical board and taking the time to explain his upcoming tactical tasks to Wilson, who had just changed his clothes.

After a while, after the two teams’ water break, Newcastle made substitutions in advance for overtime.

Wilson replaced Havertz and formed a double striker with Ronaldo.

Newcastle also decisively changed its formation to 442.

At the start of extra time, Newcastle tried to use a two-wing flying tactic, frequently delivering shells into Manchester City’s penalty area.

However, Manchester City now shrinks its formation and returns to the regular 343, and there is no shortage of air defense experts in the penalty area.

The situation of the game was reversed again, with Newcastle attacking and Manchester City defending.

However, the main players of both teams had studied their opponents too thoroughly, and were too familiar with them so they played a bit conservatively, making it difficult to break their tactics.

After the two teams were still tied in the first half of extra time, the players on both sides knew that they had to rely on a penalty shootout to decide the outcome today.

Neither Li Chen nor Guardiola chose to take risks in the second half of overtime, but waited quietly for the final moment to come.

Soon, the 30-minute overtime came to an end.

The penalty shootout between Newcastle and Manchester City officially started after a brief mobilization between the two teams!
What was beyond the fans’ expectations was that it was Ronaldo’s first time standing on the penalty spot for Newcastle today.

The Portuguese superstar was not affected by Ederson’s swaying left and right, and he calmly scored the first goal for Newcastle!

Then, De Bruyne, the first player to step up from Manchester City, scored the penalty.

The second player to appear for Newcastle was Ramos, and he and Haaland, the second player to appear for Manchester City, both scored the penalty steadily.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became suffocating.

Many tourists who usually do not watch football stood up involuntarily, covering their chests and looking at Maddison, the third player to stand up for Newcastle.

Li Chen looked at the field quietly, still looking extremely calm.

But as Madison scored a goal with a powerful shot, his slightly trembling hands hidden behind his back betrayed his equally nervous mood at the moment.

The pressure once again came to Manchester City, and Gundogan walked out with a relatively calm expression.

At first glance, he is undoubtedly a very reassuring penalty candidate for Manchester City fans, just like his accurate and stable passing.

But it was just him who, after a simple run-up, pushed the football out of the far corner of the goal!
Sommer even rushed in the wrong direction this time, but fate is such a trick.

After standing up, Sommer excitedly kissed the far corner of the goal post, muttering something, as if to thank it for its help.

The fourth penalty taker, Wilson, soon emerged from the boiling Newcastle camp.

Wilson, who was replaced by Li Chen in the overtime period, lived up to his nickname of “lucky general”. He deceived Ederson with the rhythm of his steps and kicked the ball into the middle!
Unfortunately, Bernardo Silva, who played fourth for Manchester City, also withstood the pressure and scored the penalty, helping Manchester City win the last round of waiting opportunities.

Under the watchful eyes and expectations, Joelinton took a deep breath and walked to the penalty spot.

He seemed a little nervous, which made many Newcastle fans watching on TV feel uneasy.

But now that the candidate has been decided, Newcastle’s supporters can only pray that Joelinton does not perform poorly at this time, and it would be best if he could score the ball directly and end this thrilling penalty shootout!

Ederson raised his hands high and looked at Joelinton with determined eyes.

He wanted to use this to put more psychological pressure on Joelinton.

But after Joelinton placed the ball, he didn’t look at him again, and as the referee’s whistle sounded, Joelinton also started a long-distance sprint with big strides.

The moment Joelinton finally touched the ball, Ederson’s pupils shrank and he decisively dived towards the lower right corner of the goal!
In his judgment, the direction Joelinton was aiming at was the lower right corner of the goal, and there would be no change!
But soon, Joelinton’s tense body relaxed instantly, and he changed his volley shooting method to a light lob almost at the last moment!
A spoon penalty kick that shocked countless people!
Newcastle’s third captain chose to use the most dramatic penalty kick to win the game at the last moment!

Just like Pirlo eliminated the England team with a spoon penalty in the 2012 European Cup.

Joelinton helped the team create history in English football at this moment!

After fighting Manchester City for 120 minutes, Newcastle players rushed madly towards Joelinton who was kneeling on the ground with his eyes closed to thank God!
At this moment, Li Chen also hugged Carrick with a roar!
They are the kings of Britain!

(End of this chapter)