Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

However, because the ball bounced quite high, Lampard didn't dare to use his full strength in order to aim accurately, so the power of this world-class shot wasn't maximized, and the angle wasn't tricky enough.

Ultimately, it was saved by the phenomenal performance of Leman.

This time, Chiellini didn't make a futile clearance; instead, he made a precise pass to Duncan, who had dropped back to receive the pass.

Deng Kai dribbled past Zola, who was trying to tackle him, in his own penalty area before sending a long pass.

Kai's counterattack!

Fowler sprinted forward and successfully received the ball.

Ribery was walking alongside Fowler.

Terry quickly returned to defense, taking on two opponents at once.

Just as Fowler was about to break into the penalty area, Terry made a forward feint.

Fowler passed the ball across to Ribery.

Terry suddenly ran towards Ribery.

He made the right bet!

boom!

Terry made a sliding tackle, trying to disrupt the ball before Ribery could react.

However, Ribery's ball control ability exceeded Terry's expectations.

Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Ribery deftly flicked the ball with his near foot as he touched it.

The football took to the air.

Terry didn't manage to tackle the ball immediately.

Instead, it brought down Ribery.

drop!

The referee blows the whistle.

He ran over, pointing to the penalty spot, and showed Terry a yellow card.

When Ribery chipped the ball over the goalkeeper, he had already entered the penalty area.

Yellow dot meal!

"Oh! Terry's really unlucky in this game!"

"He is clearly the best player in the team in terms of positional awareness in defense... He is very fast, he caught up with Fowler and Ribery, and showed his defensive intelligence."

"He almost pulled off a textbook one-on-two defense."

"But sometimes, the difference between a hero and a villain is just that one small step!"

"However, it's reassuring that Chelsea fans understand football; they didn't boo Terry, and they could see Terry's efforts and role in the game."

"Without Terry, it wouldn't have been a penalty; it would have been Ribery tapping it into an empty net."

"Huh...why hasn't Zola gotten up yet?"

"Deng Kai gestured from the sidelines to let the team doctor and stretcher onto the field!"

"Is Zola injured?"

The camera focused on Zola.

He clutched his left thigh, appearing to be in some pain.

When the team doctor arrived, he did a simple examination and immediately shook his head at Ranieri on the coaching bench.

Ranieri had no choice but to bring on Stanik, the team's versatile player, as a substitute.

Subsequently, Deng Kai scored the penalty kick.

Two to zero!

Manchester City have finally scored their first goal of the season against Chelsea.

At the same time, they are one step closer to the FA Cup final.

After Stannick came on, Chelsea's attacking momentum diminished significantly.

He lacked Zola's delicate footwork and was unable to connect the midfield and attack.

Chelsea's attacking tactics have degenerated into a simple and brutal English long ball and cross attack.

This greatly reduces the difficulty of Manchester City's defense.

In the 54th minute, Gudjohnsen crossed the ball, but Hasselbaink was unable to reach it under pressure from Hierro and Chiellini.

But just when everyone thought the game was over, Chelsea had a turning point in the 66th minute.

Lampard used his physicality to dribble past a defender in midfield.

Essien tried to cover for his mistake, but Lampard drew a second yellow card for him.

Essien was sent off after receiving two yellow cards, leaving Manchester City with ten men!

"That's Lampard's strength; he has intelligence, technique, physique, long-range shooting ability, and explosiveness in midfield!"

"This not only introduces unpredictability into this match for Manchester City, but even if they win, it will put them in trouble in the final."

"Essien is Manchester City's defensive anchor, and his presence on the defensive end is almost irreplaceable."

"Manchester City's defense was already terrible, and if they lose Essien, they will probably become a complete sieve."

Manchester City responded quickly during this dead ball phase.

Adriano replaced Fowler.

Thiago Silva replaced Baggio.

Thiago Silva moved to the defensive midfield position.

This means Manchester City will be one player short in their forward line.

This is why Adriano was substituted for Fowler.

The Adriano-Ribery combination, with the former possessing height and strength, can serve as a target man.

The latter has speed and treading.

Put them together and you get one high-performance and one fast – the standard configuration.

As an opportunistic striker, Fowler struggles to create threats when the team is at a disadvantage.

His highlights this season are basically built on the premise of Manchester City's highlights.

Fowler has scored seventeen goals in the league so far, placing him in the top group of scorers.

However, when you analyze the score difference between his goals and the team's overall performance, you'll find that his goal conversion rate is very low.

Most of the time, Manchester City would have won the game even without Fowler's goals.

Among all the Premier League strikers this season, Duncan, Owen, and Cristiano Ronaldo rank in the top three in terms of goal conversion rate for players who have scored ten or more goals.

Last season, the top two on this list were Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry.

They are undoubtedly the key players.

In the 72nd minute, Deng Kai lost the ball and tackled Gudjohnsen, receiving a yellow card.

In the 79th minute, Hasselbaink first created a corner kick with a shot.

Then Terry headed in a corner kick from Lampard, completing his redemption.

One to two!

Chelsea have sounded the charge for a comeback.

In the 81st minute, Gudjohnsen blasted Maicon one-on-one on the wing.

Maicon made a defensive mistake, allowing Gudjohnsen to get past him and pull on the latter's jersey, causing Gudjohnsen to fall to the ground.

Clearly, there was an element of performance involved.

But Maicon's foul was also undeniable.

Ultimately, Maicon received a yellow card.

Gudjohnsen has completed a hat trick of drawing yellow cards!

The Icelandic sniper became the player who gave Manchester City the most headaches in this match for Chelsea.

In the 82nd minute, Lampard took a tactical free kick, attempting to loft the ball into the penalty area.

But substitute Thiago Silva showed great promise, making a run and jumping to head the ball towards the far post.

After receiving the ball, Grosso and Deng Kai completed a one-two pass and advanced the ball.

Manchester City launched another counter-attack.

Grosso dribbled into the attacking third and then played a through ball to Adriano.

Terry's flying tackle prematurely destroyed the ball.

Five meters outside the penalty area, Deng Kai arrived in time and unleashed a long-range shot that found the back of the net.

Chelsea goalkeeper Cudicini from Italy delivered a superb performance, denying Duncan's long-range shot.

But the next moment, Ribery burst into the penalty area and scored with a follow-up shot into the empty net.

Three to one!

Manchester City scored a goal while playing with ten men, extending their lead once again.

This was undoubtedly a blow to Chelsea's core.

After the goal, the entire Manchester City team celebrated wildly, which lasted for at least two minutes.

Only after being complained about did they reluctantly return to their own half of the field.

For the remainder of the game, Manchester City played terribly, completely retreating into a defensive posture.

In the 88th minute, Sun Jihai replaced Maicon.

Maicon was substituted not because he received a yellow card.

It's because he's the furthest from where the players are entering and leaving the field.

At that time, major leagues had not yet stipulated the principle of players leaving the field at the nearest available location when they were substituted. When substituted, players had to go to the fourth official on the midfield side and exchange a high-five with the player who came on.

So when Maicon jogged over, wouldn't that take up another minute?

Maxić may not be good at football, but he's always been good at these fancy tricks and scams.

A few minutes later, the football was kicked into the sky one after another.

The referee blew his whistle three times to end the match.

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