Chapter 778: Unable to Dampen the Excitement

Chapter 778: Unable to Dampen the Excitement

As the referee blew the opening whistle, the showdown between Manchester City and Arsenal officially began.

With the advantage of playing at home, the Blue Moon launched a fierce attack against their opponents, quickly gaining the upper hand, hoping to take the lead as soon as possible.

The Gunners, on the other hand, significantly retracted their formation, relying only on two or three counterattacks to threaten the Manchester City goal.

"Manchester City completely dominates Arsenal in every aspect, and the gap between the two teams is quite evident," remarked the commentator Johnson from British Independent Television.

"Arsenal's defense is resorting to interceptions and long passes once again, it's their only option. They can't seem to pass through the midfield normally," he added.

"Sanchez with a direct pass, Giroud controls the ball and attempts a shot!"

"Not much of a threat, Bravo deflects the ball away. Any chance left? Kompany quickly moves forward to clear the danger."

"Oh! How did this happen? The ball is in! It's in! Otamendi has done a blunder!"

"He originally intended to follow up to protect the ball, but he didn't notice that his teammate had already turned and kicked the ball, which happened to deflect off him and into their own goal."

"It's an unbelievable own goal. It's hard to imagine that Manchester City had the upper hand, but due to such a dramatic turn of events, they now find themselves trailing."

Giroud, who contributed the shot, stood stunned on the spot, as if hit by a pie falling from the sky. It wasn't until his teammates rushed over to surround him that the Frenchman came back to his senses, revealing an excited smile.

"Damn it!" Otamendi and Kompany looked at each other, unsure of who to blame for a moment. One wanted to quickly clear the danger, while the other wanted to actively protect the ball and defend. Neither could be blamed.

But this was just too coincidental. A slight deviation and it wouldn't have been an own goal.

On the sidelines, Wenger remained serious, but the slightly spread arms also revealed the Professor's inner unrest at this moment.

He had anticipated a difficult game, with Arsenal only able to attempt defending and counterattacking, but achieving such results so early was indeed a pleasant surprise.

"Now we're back on the same starting line with them. Come on, guys, show the momentum from the beginning. The Blue Moon will eventually dominate European football!" Kompany exclaimed excitedly.

This was originally a sentence Wang Feng said during an interview, and coincidentally, almost all of his teammates found it particularly domineering, so they often mentioned it to boost morale.

At the end of the first half, the score remained unchanged. Although Arsenal conceded a goal, they also scored an unexpected goal, which was acceptable for Wenger.

Inside the home team's locker room, nobody mentioned Otamendi's own goal again. They never dwelled on past events, only focusing on the future.

Guardiola explained the tactics for the upcoming match in an orderly manner, instructing each player on how to position themselves. He didn't intend to make any changes to the starting lineup; maintaining their unique rhythm was paramount.

"Arsenal's overall discipline is very strong. Pulling and dragging their defensive line with back-and-forth passes doesn't have much effect. So, Wang, I hope you can advance more like you did in the first half, use your individual abilities to threaten, attract defensive attention, and create space for your teammates," Guardiola said.

The Chinese superstar nodded understandingly, indicating that he would increase his activity.

As the second half began, Wang Feng increased his time on the ball, attracting defenders to find openings, but of course, it didn't always work.

He had to pass back three times, lost possession once, and created a threat once, but Aguero's shot from close range went just wide of the post.

The deadlock always passes quickly. In the 75th minute, the Chinese superstar received a through ball from Silva in the middle, made a sudden stop and feint to shake off Walcott as he rushed towards the penalty area.

Although Arsenal knew that Wang Feng's possession of the ball was to attract defenders, they also had to take it seriously because any carelessness would allow the opponents to find space for a shot, which was a legitimate strategy.

Taking advantage of the two defenders closing in, Wang Feng made a decisive through pass, perfectly threading between them and reaching the back post.

Fernandinho, who was making a run forward, received the ball near the byline and immediately sent a back pass with a backheel. Aguero, positioned 8 meters in front of the goal, took a close-range shot.

The ball flew into the net without giving Arsenal goalkeeper Cech a chance to make any save. The speed was just too fast!

"Sergio Aguero!"

"Manchester City takes the lead at home! Wang Feng's attacking plan, Fernandinho assists Aguero!"

"The Chinese superstar once again utilizes his threat in the frontcourt. The process of splitting and then crossing was also very clever. After going through two rounds of defensive guidance, Aguero was almost completely unmarked in the middle!"

Finally, the battle ended with Manchester City winning 2-1 against Arsenal. The Gunners ultimately failed to dampen the Blue Moon's excellent mood.