Chapter 1 This Match is Difficult

This match is quite difficult to play.

Guardiola is also aware of the difficulty, but the Manchester City players are full of confidence.

They have been advancing triumphantly in the Premier League, and they have also gained the upper hand in the Champions League group stage battle with Real Madrid.

Taking on Monaco should be a piece of cake!

Guardiola is very satisfied with this mentality. In the past, Manchester City always lacked a certain quality in the Champions League knockout stages. This year, the players are in a different state than before.

Now, what Manchester City needs is confidence, belief!

On February 15th, the entire Manchester City team traveled to the Principality of Monaco, to the Stade Louis II.

The Principality of Monaco, a tax haven, is full of wealthy people.

There is only one team in the entire Monaco, so although the population is not very large, the entire stadium is packed with dense crowds of fans.

The stadium doesn't hold enough people, less than twenty thousand.

It is more than enough to cope with the usual Ligue 1 matches, but for the Champions League knockout stage, this number of seats is far from enough.

Moreover, in addition to the Monaco fans, a large number of French fans also poured in.

In addition to the cheers of the fans, a lot of smoke rose into the air, telling the romance of France.

Zhao Gang looked at those cheering, and the beautiful female fans looking up at the sky with faces full of joy.

They raised their hands, waved constantly, boldly showing their graceful figures.

Different from the rumors, their armpits were very white.

Zhao Gang knew he shouldn't laugh, but he couldn't help laughing when he thought of this.

Legend has it that the armpits of the French are exposed to the sun for a long time, so they are very healthy, and the color is similar to bronze. They are the only ethnic group in Europe without body odor.

Looking at it now, it's not as exaggerated as the legend.

As time passed, the players from both sides stood in the player tunnel.

Soon, the players walked out of the tunnel and officially entered the field!

At this moment, the Dragon Country fans have waited too long.

After the Champions League group stage, the real highlight finally arrived.

The round of sixteen knockout stage.

A match in which Dragon Country players have never started.

Naturally, it is even more impossible to participate in the Champions League knockout stage as a core player.

The World Cup is the most important honor in world football, but in terms of tactical and technical level, the Champions League is indeed stronger than the World Cup.

At this time, it was 3:45 AM in Dragon Country, but countless fans were watching the live broadcast.

“In this world, there is never any accidental success; everything is the natural result of hard work.

Dragon Country player Zhao Gang has finally stood on the Champions League stage. We should feel proud and excited!

Blood is thicker than water, allowing us to feel the same excitement as him at this moment.

In a pre-match media interview, Zhao Gang expressed his gratitude to the Dragon Country fans. He has seen countless messages, blessings, and encouragements from fans online.

He knows that he has become a role model, an idol, and a phenomenal player in Dragon Country. All of this is inseparable from the support and attention of the Dragon Country fans.

The players from both sides are entering the field, let's go back to the game first!

In this match, the Ligue 1 Red and White Army, Monaco, will host the Premier League Blue Moon, Manchester City.

Monaco coach Jardim is still fielding a 4-4-2 formation.

Goalkeeper Subasic, on the defense line, on the left and right sides are Mendy and Sidibé respectively, the central defender pairing is Jemerson and Raggi.

In midfield, Lemar, Bakayoko, Fabinho, Bernardo Silva.

The forward partners are still the tiger Falcao, who is galloping in the Ligue 1 arena, and the starlet Mbappé!

This young player born in '98 is even a year younger than Zhao Gang, but he has already become a very popular superstar in the Ligue 1 arena.

In this match, we can enjoy the super showdown between Mbappé and Zhao Gang!

On the Manchester City side, Guardiola has changed his formation again.

Goalkeeper Bravo, on the defense line Kolarov, Otamendi, Stones, Zabaleta. Kompany, who has recovered from injury, is waiting on the bench. New signings Kyle Walker and Sané cannot play in the Champions League due to UEFA regulations.

Gündoğan is out for the season, so in this match, Guardiola simply fielded Fernandinho as a single defensive midfielder.

Previously, Zhao Gang had appeared in the defensive midfield position partnering with Fernandinho, but in the match, Zhao Gang often appeared in the attacking midfield, leaving Fernandinho alone in the back. After that match, Fernandinho said in an interview that every time he subconsciously passed the ball or returned to defense, he found that his partner was gone.

This time, Guardiola directly let him play as a single defensive midfielder, so he no longer has to worry about his defensive midfield partner disappearing.

In front of Fernandinho are Delph partnering with Zhao Gang, with De Bruyne and Sterling on the left and right sides.

At the very front is the Brazilian starlet Gabriel Jesus, who transferred to Manchester City in the winter window this season.

After an initial amazing performance, Jesus' performance has slightly declined. His performance in this match is also of utmost importance. If he continues to be lost, Manchester City will have a very difficult time!"

"Injuries and new signings being unable to play have a very big impact on Guardiola's lineup.

In this match, Manchester City's defense will face a very big test. Monaco's attacking midfielders, except for Falcao, are all under 23 years old, full of energy and extremely impactful.

The key is that these young players also have very rich match experience, and are not naive rookies. Manchester City may find it difficult to defend against the repeated attacks of these young people.

In fact, the older Falcao is also in his prime, just thirty years old, and was nominated for the Ballon d'Or last season.

With strong soldiers and horses, Monaco has great ambitions this season. Manchester City, who are missing three main players, may not be able to retreat easily at Monaco's home ground."

"Talking about playing Monaco so mysteriously? What is Ligue 1 among the five major leagues? Besides Paris Saint-Germain having some competitiveness, are there any other teams in Ligue 1??" Many Dragon Country fans obviously do not know Monaco's player abilities.

It can be said that these fans are not really fans, they only know some famous European teams. They have never heard of Ligue 1 teams like Monaco.

Even Mbappé, who is already quite famous, may have been heard by very few people.

Among the entire Monaco squad, the most familiar to Dragon Country fans may be Falcao, because he once played for Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

As for the other players, they previously played in the Portuguese Super League or even South America. It is normal for some fans who do not pay much attention to football and only pay attention to strong teams to have never heard of them.

"Monaco snatched a Ligue 1 title from your so-called Paris Saint-Germain! Each of these players is worth tens of millions! It's just that Ligue 1's influence is not very good. You haven't heard of them. Any one of these attacking midfielders, without exception, will be a main player for a major European team in the future!

Most of these young players have already been selected for their respective national teams! Silva, Lemar, Mbappé, just naturalize one of them and pair him with Zhao Gang, and Asia would probably be invincible!"

"Damn, is it that evil? Can't be?"

"It's very possible. The gap between Asian football and these strong European teams is too big. Two or three superstars, paired with a group of hard-working role players, could definitely flatten Asia."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Monaco is full of starlets, it's just that their fame is not very good yet, their strength is absolutely top-notch, and their value is not much worse than that of strong Premier League teams. They have been buying players for the past few years, and have started to cultivate new talents in the past two years. They have quickly achieved results. Manchester City's current lineup is really not easy to play against, and there is a high possibility of losing.

These young players have good stamina and sufficient skills. Manchester City's defense... Damn, if you often pay attention to Ligue 1, you'll know when you see Mbappé playing. He often takes off alone, and ordinary defenders can't stop him at all. Plus Falcao, this godly striker... Manchester City is in a bit of trouble!"

What the Poet He said made many fans feel a little fake. After seeing the analysis of the various fans, these novice fans finally felt that something was wrong.

They came full of confidence, just waiting for Zhao Gang to lead Manchester City to thrash Monaco and usher in a big victory.

Now, after taking a look, damn, is Monaco that strong?

Won't they lose, will they?

"Don't worry, my Brother Zhao will take care of them all alone!"

"That's right, Monaco's attack is indeed strong, but their defense is not good either. Except for Mendy who has speed and physique, the other three, especially the two central defenders, can't defend against Manchester City! They will definitely win!"

"Win my ass, damn, what is this they are playing!!!" Four minutes into the game, the situation on the field suddenly changed. That young man Mbappé, whom many fans had reminded to pay attention to, rushed into Manchester City's penalty area!

Monaco broke out at the start. Lemar suddenly stepped forward and intercepted Zhao Gang's pass back to Fernandinho. With a straight pass, Mbappé broke into the penalty area alone.

Advancing in great strides, aggression like fire!

Followed by a powerful shot.

Bravo, who performs somewhat disappointingly in the Champions League like Agüero, was exceptionally brave this time, and desperately saved a one-on-one chance!

Scaring Manchester City fans into a cold sweat.

Monaco's group of fearless young players did not feel nervous at all.

Facing Manchester City, they pressed high up the pitch, and after succeeding, they almost took the lead directly.

Guardiola had not yet sat down, and jumped up anxiously, gesticulating non-stop.

Steady, steady!

Before the Manchester City players had stabilized their minds in the penalty area, Lemar suddenly took a tactical corner kick on the left side.

This ball did make the Manchester City players stunned for a moment.

Mendy received the tactical corner kick, quickly raised his foot, and directly lofted the ball into the penalty area.

The main thing is speed.

Stones reacted extremely quickly, heading the ball out of the penalty area with one head. Mendy took down the second ball.

This left-back, who left a deep impression on Guardiola, got rid of the double-team of Jesus and Sterling very easily!

The two forwards were simply vulnerable in front of him!

Then he shot directly from a small angle!

Again, it was Stones, stretching his leg to block this powerful shot!

There was a flurry of activity in front of Manchester City's goal.

Monaco's attack did not end. Another player that Guardiola coveted, Bernardo Silva, followed up and suddenly made a cross.

Mbappé poked a shot in front!