Chapter 1 Zhao Gang Breaks the Goal Drought

"Zhao Gang! Finally breaking the goal drought in two games, facing Chelsea, scoring three minutes into the opening! Sterling's breakthrough and containment allowed a fleeting gap to appear between Chelsea's three center-backs and midfield, Zhao Gang squeezing past Fabregas with a ground shot to break the deadlock!"

Such a quick goal was unbelievable for many commentators.

Manchester City's form in recent matches hasn't been great, while Chelsea are in good form and playing at home.

Conte's lineup is very mature in terms of defensive positioning, covering, and assisting.

Yet, the defense was penetrated by just two people.

With Sterling's slight pull, Zhao Gang shot directly outside the penalty area; any slower and it would have been blocked.

His reading of the defense and his grasp of opportunities do exceed ordinary people's imaginations.

"Manchester City's start is indeed very good, much better than most people imagined.

As we said before, if Manchester City's front players can't score more goals, Manchester City will definitely be in a dangerous situation in this game.

Now Manchester City's front line has begun to do its job, can Manchester City's defense withstand Chelsea's attack?"

After Chelsea kicked off in the center circle, they didn't rush. They've played in reverse situations before, and this scene is nothing.

In the world of football, winning and losing are commonplace.

They took the initiative to stabilize the rhythm.

The Manchester City players weren't in a hurry either. The League Cup appearance made the main players somewhat tired.

Slowing down the pace wasn't a bad thing for them.

Moreover, they were in the lead now.

Both sides passed ten minutes relatively smoothly, although there were dangerous attacks, they weren't very threatening.

After Manchester City gained possession, Zhao Gang didn't quickly send a through ball to play behind the defense. Chelsea's counterattack was still very strong, and a mistake could lead to big problems.

As for loopholes like the one at the beginning of the game, they can't be easily seized, and the probability isn't high.

Even with the pace slowing down, Chelsea's attacking system was still very smooth.

Manchester City underestimated Conte's tactical system and Chelsea's wing play.

These two full-backs aren't world-class, but in Chelsea, in Conte's tactical system, they're world-class!

Fabregas suddenly cut off the connection between Zhao Gang and Gundogan. Zhao Gang's pass was a little short, and Gundogan's personal defensive ability wasn't very strong.

Although Fabregas isn't a defensive expert, he's definitely a master at taking the ball and attacking.

Gundogan and Fabregas grappled, pulled, and tugged, but Fabregas still managed to pass the ball out.

The referee didn't stop the game.

Moses dribbled the ball and ran wildly.

Moses' level has never been top-notch. It's only at Chelsea that he seems to have been blessed by the heavens, excelling at both breakthroughs and shots.

Moses' speed of improvement this season has exceeded everyone's expectations.

His breakthrough is extremely lethal, especially when cooperating with Hazard and Costa, with more options to choose from.

Manchester City's defense didn't dare to be careless, quickly surrounding him, cutting off his attack and breakthrough routes.

Even in a crowded situation, unable to continue breaking through successfully, he still passed the ball out from the crowd.

Hazard, who had cut inside, received the ball and, with a change of direction, shook off Fernandinho.

In a few steps, he reached the edge of the penalty area.

Manchester City's penalty area was instantly filled with tension and anxiety.

Otamendi held off Costa, cutting off the connection between the two, while Stones and Kolarov simultaneously blocked Hazard's advance and his shooting line.

However, the King of London, the third person after Messi and Ronaldo, was not to be trifled with.

His breakthrough is sharp, his shot is accurate, and his passing is also excellent.

How can a player who can play as an attacking midfielder have ordinary passing vision and skill?

King Hazard dribbled the ball with his head down, but already knew the positioning of his teammates.

He passed the ball into the gap in the penalty area.

Manchester City's defense quickly rushed towards the ball, preparing to directly shovel it out of bounds.

However, Pedro, who had a tacit understanding with Hazard, had already started in advance. Facing the ball, he took a small-angle shot, then opened his arms, without stopping, and rushed to the sideline, sliding out of bounds in one go!

A true sword-bearing guard!

Goal!

Chelsea easily pulled back a goal.

Manchester City's defense had a big problem.

After several breakthroughs, attacks, and transfers, the defense was a bit staggering.

Their speed couldn't keep up with Pedro's positioning and Hazard's passing.

Stamford Bridge fans had already clenched their fists and stared wide-eyed when Hazard got the ball and broke through.

When Pedro kicked the ball into the goal, they instantly erupted!

Abramovich also stood up, smiling and applauding non-stop.

He has always given the impression of being gentle and refined, rarely with crazy and intense actions.

It's hard to imagine that a person with his personality would be a fanatical football fan.

In the fifteenth minute of the match, both sides returned to the same starting line.

Zhao Gang stood in the distance, gently exhaling, Manchester City's defense still had problems.

Facing highly impactful front lines, such as Real Madrid, Chelsea, and even Tottenham, they would be stretched thin.

It would be difficult to defend against Chelsea's attacking system in this game. To win, they could only score more goals than Chelsea.

Guardiola scratched his head. In the last League Cup match, he had let the full-backs rotate, but it still didn't work against Chelsea.

If they don't transform and upgrade as soon as possible, there will be big problems sooner or later.

Once Manchester City's attack misfires, how can this defense cope with the top-tier teams in the Champions League?

"Sure enough, Manchester City's defense can't withstand Chelsea's impact. Their rotation and positioning, including the support of the two defensive midfielders, are very useful when facing some weak teams, but they're not very useful when facing this kind of fast, impactful, and extremely capable front line. This is just the cooperation of Moses, Hazard, and Pedro. Imagine Alonso, Fabregas, and Costa all participating in it. How should Manchester City's defense face it?"

Chelsea's goal made Manchester City fans' hearts instantly rise. Manchester City's recent matches haven't been as reassuring as they were at the start of the season.

Especially after playing against Burnley and Leicester City, they watched with trepidation, feeling that even if they were leading, they could be equalized or even overtaken at any time.

Now, what they were worried about finally happened.

Chelsea's attacking system is definitely not inferior to Manchester City's, and even their two full-backs participate more in the attack and are more aggressive.

After Manchester City kicked off in the center circle, Zhao Gang got the ball. He raised his hand, needing to stabilize the rhythm.

Having just conceded a goal, his teammates, especially the defense, were in poor condition. If Chelsea were to steal the ball at this time and launch a counterattack, there would be big problems.

Conversely, Chelsea, having just scored a goal, were in high spirits and morale was high.

They would most likely play more aggressively and take the initiative to press.

As Zhao Gang expected, Alonso and Moses were the most active, starting to press.

When the other Chelsea teammates saw this, they would naturally cooperate with them.

In an instant, Chelsea changed their previous rhythm and began a high press.

If they could steal the ball, it would be a great threat to Manchester City.

Zhao Gang calmly organized, still able to pick out the ball in the face of包夹 (bāo jiā - encirclement), finding teammates in open positions.

However, now Chelsea's players were going all out, running wildly in the midfield like crazy, constantly interfering and抢夺 (qiǎng duó - snatching).

Zhao Gang had no chance to directly find Aguero in front, and could only constantly pick off the ball and cooperate, finding the best opportunity to pass the ball.

Just as Zhao Gang was constantly looking for opportunities, Kolarov, who was receiving the ball, suddenly made a huge mistake.

His pass to Fernandinho was a little too strong.

Alonso, with quick eyes and hands, rushed over and, before the recovering Fernandinho, poked the ball to Pedro.

Pedro received the ball, observed the positions of his teammates, and started sprinting with the ball.

Chelsea had a very good counterattack opportunity.

Manchester City's players accelerated and began to retreat. Fernandinho had a very large range of activity and began to chase Pedro.

Chelsea's fans let out deafening shouts. Only four minutes after the last goal, Chelsea had another excellent attacking opportunity!

If this ball went in, Manchester City's morale would be greatly impacted.

It should be known that Manchester City had never been overtaken after leading in the league.

They were the only ones who overtook others. When had there ever been a good show of others reversing them?

Pedro snatched the ball and quickly advanced to the edge of the penalty area. Stones quickly filled in, and Otamendi didn't dare to assist casually. He had to keep an eye on Costa at all times.

Costa's lethality was too great.

Pedro observed Costa, who was entangled with Otamendi, and felt that Fernandinho was about to pounce on him. He didn't choose to cross the ball into the penalty area, but used the outside of his foot to push it to Fabregas, who was catching up.

Fabregas, after the defenders rushed towards him, found Hazard in advance with a single pass.

Hazard, the absolute core of Chelsea for the past two years, the King of London.

After receiving the ball, Hazard made a feint, seemingly about to break into the penalty area, but suddenly cut inside. With two changes of重心 (zhòng xīn - center of gravity), Zabaleta was completely dizzy and embarrassed.

Opening up an angle, Hazard, still dribbling, suddenly swung his foot.

Blast!

This was Hazard's extremely good attacking method, a sudden attack during the dribbling process.

He had many choices. He could pass into the penalty area, find Costa who was constantly running, he could find Pedro, or he could find Moses, who was cutting up the sideline.

This was Chelsea's attacking system, and at this moment, there would be various opportunities.

Of course, he could also choose to finish the attack himself.

Even though Guardiola, with Arteta and the video analyst, kept reminding Manchester City's defense before the match to pay attention to Hazard's sudden shot.

However, the situation on the field was ever-changing, and making a choice was only a matter of that moment.

The defender's block was a little slow, and the ball had already rushed towards the near post like a sword out of its sheath!

Bravo reacted in time and quickly made a save.

This ball wasn't the half-high ball that goalkeepers like most, but a ground ball close to the turf.

It was fast and had a tricky angle.

Bravo judged the right direction and rushed over at the first time.

The ball still brushed past his fingertips and the post, and went into the net from the middle!

Chelsea scored again!

Whoa!!!

Wow!!!

Hazard ran quickly to the sidelines, his mouth in an "o" shape, making an excited roar.

Chelsea's teammates all ran over and jumped on Hazard, a group of people surrounded together, celebrating passionately.

Stamford Bridge, the fans stood up and shouted, loudly shouting Hazard's name.

"Victory!"

"Chelsea!!!"

The dark blue color rose and fell, this was Stamford Bridge, this was the Blues, Chelsea.

Guardiola's face was a little ugly, it was collapsing too fast.

Chelsea's counterattack wasn't like other Premier League teams. They not only had a mature tactical system, but also had very strong stars like Hazard and Pedro.

There was also Diego Costa in the penalty area, who had not yet shown his power.

If this continued, there would be big problems.

Abramovich on the stands stood up again, clenched his fist, and nodded non-stop.

Even without buying Zhao Gang, Chelsea's attack was still very unsolvable.

If they replaced Fabregas, who wasn't in particularly good form, with Zhao Gang, wouldn't Chelsea take off?

Now that Chelsea had no internal strife and weren't catching traitors, this configuration wasn't worse than Manchester City's. What the oil tycoon can give, I can give too. You should consider it, right?

Abramovich slowly sat down, his eyes never leaving Zhao Gang.

Let me defeat you, conquer you, possess you.