Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"Alright, Sporting Lisbon's main lineup is Baggio, Fowler, and Ribery."

"Dunkay, Essien, Touré."

"Grosso, Chiellini, Hierro, Maicon."

"Leman".

"There's not much to say about this lineup; it should be Manchester City's most starting lineup."

With a whistle.

The match has officially begun.

Chelsea launched a sustained attack in the first five minutes.

They are one of the few Premier League teams at this stage that can combine long balls, crosses from the byline, and delicate short passing combinations.

This is what Italian players like Zola brought to Chelsea.

But in the sixth minute, after Manchester City gained possession, Deng Kai voluntarily dropped back.

The remaining players then began to press forward.

Ultimately, they relied on their numerical advantage to bring the ball across the halfway line.

Then Maicon crossed from the byline, launching a threatening attack.

Robbie Fowler has been on fire this season, consistently winning position and unleashing powerful shots.

Unfortunately, Cudicini made the save.

But this attack gave Chelsea a real scare.

They've seen counter-attacking tactics all the time.

This isn't a counter-attacking game for Manchester City.

It was a true continental offensive.

It's Arsenal's fluid passing combinations and all-out attacking style of play.

Extremely powerful!

Chelsea swore that when they played Manchester City early in the season, Manchester City were a complete sieve and there was no attacking pressure whatsoever.

Last month when we played against Manchester City, Manchester City was just as weak. How come they've transformed so much in just one month?

This is a question that seasoned Manchester City fans can easily answer.

First of all, the Manchester City players knew on the day of that match that Duncan was going to Oscar that evening and would bring them autographs.

It's impossible to say that it has no impact on your performance in the game.

Secondly, look at the players Manchester City has in the league.

Ashley Young, Adriano, Ribery

Deng Kai, Thiago Silva, Sun Jihai

Grosso, Chiellini, Fonte, Lahm

Cavaliero!

Most of these players are substitutes for Manchester City.

Some players haven't played a game in years.

Fonte: It is I!

And the goalkeeper is also crucial, Caballero! Do you know who Caballero is?

That's a goalkeeper who single-handedly defended against Argentina!

If Petr Cech were in goal, the team would concede two fewer goals.

Despite being one of the worst-performing goalkeepers in the Premier League this season, Cech's performance has been remarkable.

However, most of the goals he conceded were during his attempts to come out of his goal, and many of them were also due to mistakes or own goals.

Aside from these, his save success rate is actually quite impressive.

If we only consider Petr Cech's save percentage in front of the goal line, he ranks among the top three in the Premier League!

This is also why Deng Kai dares to keep practicing Cech's attack.

Because the data shows that even if Cech doesn't improve, his core strengths will still be there.

There won't be a situation where you neither learn the skills nor can you go back to where you started.

Eleventh minute.

Lampard demonstrated his insight by playing a through ball to Hasselbaink.

Hierro applied timely pressure, causing Hasselbaink to control the ball too heavily.

Lehman's attack successfully defused the crisis, denying Hasselbaink a chance to shoot; otherwise, Manchester City would have been in serious trouble.

In the seventeenth minute, Chelsea, who had been under pressure for most of the time, showcased their sharp counter-attacking skills.

Terry connected with Zola, who made several dribbling moves, resulting in Toure receiving a yellow card.

This is a significant blow to Manchester City.

Because Toure plays a crucial role in midfield, he is responsible for the area between the two penalty areas, and naturally, he is also responsible for both offense and defense.

Getting a yellow card early on will seriously affect his performance on the defensive end.

Twenty-seventh minute.

Baggio dropped back and passed the ball to Deng Kai, who had moved to the wing.

Deng Kai made a quick cross-court maneuver on the wing, accelerated, and outmaneuvered Chelsea's right-back Mario.

Deng Kai cut inside all the way to the edge of the penalty area.

Chelsea's right center-back, Graeme, came out to defend.

Lampard also tried to double-team Duncan.

boom!

Deng Kai flashed forward again, forming a three-section forward route: vertical, diagonally to the right front, and vertical again.

He completely shook off his opponent and delivered a powerful cross pass just before the baseline.

boom!

The ball struck Terry's shin as he made a defensive run and bounced into Chelsea's own goal.

After a brief silence, Manchester City fans erupted in cheers.

"Goal! Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!"

"That's Deng Kai! He can do almost everything on the court."

"That sharp breakthrough on the wing, I'd believe you if you told me he was Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"The key is that Ronaldo can't deliver such a threatening cross!"

"Deng Kai successfully forced an own goal."

"Terry looked a bit frustrated; he was just too unlucky. If he hadn't come over, the ball might have just gone just wide, because Fowler, Baggio, and others weren't in position."

"But Terry didn't dare to gamble, and Duncan's pass was too fast, giving Terry no chance to dodge."

One to zero!

Manchester City are ahead of Chelsea.

However, the head-to-head record between Manchester City and Chelsea this season has not actually changed.

They still haven't scored a single goal.

In three encounters, Chelsea scored nine goals, eight against Manchester City and one in their own net – an incredibly high efficiency.

Thirty-first minute.

Pettit connected with Goodjohnsen.

Gudjohnsen took a long-range shot while dribbling the ball.

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Essien made a mistake in his tackle, bringing down Gudjohnsen.

This was a typical contest of offense and defense.

Gudjohnsen's long-range shot was a last-minute decision, and even if it had been taken, it wouldn't have posed a threat to the goal.

He anticipated Essien's diving tackle.

Essien was tricked by Goodjohnsen.

This Icelandic sniper has a long and distinguished lineage of coaching and possesses extensive experience in drawing fouls.

Gudjohnsen made his first appearance for the Icelandic national team when he was sixteen years old in 1996, and the player he replaced was none other than his father, who was known as the "King of Iceland"!

Coming from a family of football legends, he remained an indispensable and important member of Chelsea's attacking line even after the Mourinho and Drogba era began.

Sure enough, the referee came over and showed Essien a yellow card.

Two of Manchester City's three midfielders have received yellow cards.

The situation seems bad.

However, Manchester City's attack intensified after that.

Deng Kai frequently gestured to his teammates to press forward.

Even Toure kept pushing forward.

It is precisely because of the problems on the defensive end that we must go all out on the offense.

This is a gamble.

Betting on their own offensive capabilities.

The bet is that Manchester City will score before Chelsea can break through their own defense.

Thirty-fourth minute.

Zola cut inside past Grosso and delivered a brilliant pass.

Hasselbaink's header hit the post, just centimeters away from scoring.

boom!

Chiellini cleared the ball with a long kick.

But after the ball landed outside the penalty area, it was kicked back by Lampard with a long-range shot.

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.