I changed football.

"Today's opponent, Saint-Étienne, is fourth in the league. They're eyeing us closely, eager to dethrone us. This isn't just an ordinary league match; it's a six-pointer. If they win, they'll be third; if we lose, we'll drop to fourth. Most importantly, Nice's fifth-place match is already over, and they won. They're just waiting for us to lose!"

"This is a must-win game; we can't afford to drop any more points."

Yaldin slammed his fist on the locker room table and shouted loudly.

Li Yuan and Mbappe were still sitting in the corner. The comeback victory against Tottenham a few days ago did not seem to have changed their status in the team.

Neither of them made the starting lineup.

"Relax, we're only 17 years old. There are very few starters at this age."

Li Yuan's original intention was to comfort Mbappe.

Mbappe then turned around and said, "No way, Wilshere, Fabregas, Messi, they all became starters at 17. If you ask me, it's just that the coach lacks courage. We are stronger than them, but he's afraid of what people will say."

"Maybe the head coach will give us more opportunities when the team is doing well. Now that the team is not doing well, if we start and the team loses, the coach might be afraid that we will be criticized by the outside world."

"Why do you always speak up for the head coach?" Mbappe suddenly asked.

Li Yuan glanced at Mbappe and thought to himself, "Is this what you call speaking up for him? This is clearly looking at things from an outsider's perspective."

Li Yuan didn't answer Mbappe's question, but instead asked him a different one: "What kind of head coach do you think is a good head coach?"

"Trust the players, and know how to use them."

"You mean Ancelotti?"

"Yes, in my opinion, Ancelotti is the best coach in the world."

Li Yuan almost burst out laughing when he heard Mbappe's words. In his previous life, it was you, Mbappe, who drove Ancelotti, who used countless players, to the brink of collapse. And now you're saying this?

Seeing Li Yuan struggling to suppress his laughter, Mbappe wondered, "So, which head coach do you think is better? Do you like Mourinho?"

"Actually, I can accept Mourinho, Ancelotti, or Guardiola."

"You're really open-minded—by the way, how's things going with that woman I introduced you to the other day?" Mbappe suddenly changed the subject.

"I'd say we're in contact."

"It's been two weeks, and they're still in contact?"

"How could it be two weeks? It's been over a week, isn't that normal?"

"Wait! Li, you're not still a virgin, are you?"

Li Yuan was speechless: "Of course not."

"That's good."

"Why do you seem like one of those American teenagers in Hollywood movies, even though you're French?"

"Paris is heavily influenced by American culture, they just don't say it."

"Alright, let's go eat. We can't talk about this any further."

As they were talking, the two had already headed to the cafeteria to eat their Chinese meal.

Today's match is at 7 PM.

Because it was a home game, as per Jardim's request, the entire team had to travel together by bus from the training base to the home stadium.

Some teams allow players to drive themselves to the home stadium when playing at home.

Therefore, you can see many home teams having their players drive their own cars away from the stadium after the game.

While eating, Li Yuan was still thinking about how much playing time he would have tonight.

Suddenly, the joy of eating vanished.

Being a substitute is really unpleasant.

In his previous life, he had never played in a professional league. When he was in the youth team, he was almost always a starter and rarely sat on the bench.

Now, after sitting on the bench for less than three games in the first team, I'm already starting to feel uncomfortable.

Li Yuan was criticizing himself in his heart, but in the blink of an eye he began to sympathize with those professional players who were always on the bench.

What an extraordinary career this has been!

He was still thinking about it when Li Yuan and Mbappe were sitting on the bench.

But his attention was quickly drawn to the game itself.

Logically speaking, Monaco, playing at home, should have had a psychological advantage against Saint-Étienne, who were trailing behind them.

According to pre-match media reports, Monaco has been in good form recently, and this match was essentially a draw or a win for them; a draw would be an acceptable result for them.

However, after the match started, Monaco played extremely conservatively, and it looked like they were the ones who were behind.

"Look at how they're playing! And why is the coach putting Fabinho at full-back again? He's a perfectly good defensive midfielder, yet he's playing full-back. It's quite interesting. Guardiola likes to convert full-backs to defensive midfielders, but our coach likes to make defensive midfielders play full-backs."

"Hey, Killian, you're wrong. Fabinho started out as a full-back, didn't he? It was the coach who made him switch to defensive midfield. Now that there's a shortage of full-backs, we're letting him go back to fill in."

Why do you always disagree with me?

"I agree with what you said; the current situation is really unsightly."

Indeed, as Li Yuan said, the situation is really bad right now.

Monaco were completely dominated by Saint-Étienne at home.

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was Saint-Étienne's home ground. It's so embarrassing for us to play like this at home."

Listening to Mbappe's complaints, Li Yuan didn't know what to say.

The first half ended quickly.

Fortunately, Saint-Étienne, who launched a relentless attack in the first half, failed to score.

"Honestly, their forward line also has a lot of problems. Playing with two center forwards, it's ridiculous that neither of them has much shooting ability."

Li Yuan and Mbappe walked into the locker room while talking.

Meanwhile, Yaldin and Irola had already begun their preparations for the second half.

"I think we should bring on Killian and Lee in the second half."

"Every time the offense goes wrong, they just bring on those two. Isn't there any other solution?"

When Ilora heard Yaldin say that, she was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a while, he said, "Their effect is the best. They can break through as soon as they come on the field, use their speed to create local advantages, and both of them have the ability to score goals. This is better than the current two wingers."

"Irola, do you know why I didn't let them start?" Yardin suddenly asked.

Without hesitation, Irola replied, "They are both young, one just turned 17 and the other almost 17, and neither of them has the physical strength."

"It has nothing to do with that. You know their physical condition. Lee is very good, and Killian is a bit worse, but he can still play for more than 70 minutes. Physical condition is not a problem here."

"Why is that?"

"The reason is simple: I'm prepared to stay at Monaco for a long time. The reason I initially didn't want to start either of them was because I wanted to protect them. Playing too early can affect their entire career, meaning it will cause them to decline prematurely. Many past stars have proven this, such as Wilshere and Rooney. But now I realize that it's a mistake to suppress such talented players. Their level of talent needs to be showcased; they can truly help the team."

"so?"

"So, Irola, let them warm up. I'll bring them on in the second half."