Chapter 1 After the Opening

After the opening, Crystal Palace's tactics were somewhat conservative.

They originally relied on defense and counterattack to reach the final. Now, facing Manchester City, whose strength is several levels higher than their own, they naturally chose to play it safe.

Manchester City's tactics, on the other hand, were to press forward directly.

Whether in terms of individual player ability or team tactics, Manchester City was much stronger than Crystal Palace.

This match was very important for both sides.

It wasn't just a battle for the championship.

For Crystal Palace, this was their history, their only hope of getting their hands on a championship, just like Norwich's desire for the Europa League last season.

For Manchester City, it was even more of a historic moment.

No team in Premier League history had ever achieved the honor of winning the domestic treble!

This was indeed surprising. Manchester United, once the most dominant team, had won the treble, but that was the Champions League.

No team had ever won the English treble. This was Manchester City's opportunity to create Premier League history.

Of course, they were in high spirits.

The pressure from Manchester City's front three, combined with the midfield line, made it very uncomfortable for Crystal Palace's players.

They were pushed back very deep.

Cabaye could only kick the ball long to the front court to defuse the crisis.

Manchester City regained possession, and Stones slowly advanced with the ball. Manchester City's front, middle, and back lines were all moving up.

Subsequently, Manchester City launched a siege against Crystal Palace. The gap in strength between the two sides was very obvious.

Manchester City's ball control ability was too strong, and it was difficult for Crystal Palace to steal the ball.

Manchester City passed the ball to the left wing several times, using the cooperation of Zhao Gang and De Bruyne to continuously tear apart Crystal Palace's right defense.

In the opening ten minutes or so, Crystal Palace's right wing was in danger, and a large number of Crystal Palace's defenders began to support the right wing.

Zhao Gang crossed the ball twice in a row, but Agüero and Sterling failed to seize the opportunity.

Crystal Palace's defense did have something to it.

But if they continued to play like this, Crystal Palace would be dying a slow death.

But they couldn't smoothly transition to the frontcourt through passing at all. After getting the ball, they were either frantically pressed by Manchester City and immediately launched a counterattack, or they made a long pass to find Zaha, who was intercepted by Manchester City and launched another attack.

Crystal Palace was indeed not enough to watch in front of the powerful Manchester City.

In the twelfth minute of the match, David Silva dribbled the ball past the defense all the way, and Crystal Palace's players were pressed in front of the penalty area and the penalty area line.

After a short pass cooperation with Fernandinho, Zhao Gang suddenly pulled to the front of the left side of the penalty area, received Fernandinho's cross, and shot with a bang!

The goalkeeper flew up and barely managed to destroy the ball.

Manchester City fans let out bursts of exclamations and regrets. If the angle of this ball was a little wider, it would have gone in!

And the goalkeeper's performance was indeed fierce.

Sterling quickly rushed into the penalty area, grabbed the second point, and made another stab!

The goalkeeper fell to the ground and happened to kick him in the chest.

Sterling covered his head, feeling a little frustrated.

Subsequently, the goalkeeper kicked the ball into Manchester City's half with a long pass.

This was one of their few offensive opportunities. If they slowly moved forward through the defenders and midfielders, they might be intercepted again.

It was much easier to pass the ball to the frontcourt like this.

Fernandinho jumped high and headed the ball to Sterling.

Sterling fought with the opposing player, relying on his super personal ability, he squeezed past, but was pulled to the ground.

Foul!

This kind of scene was everywhere.

If you can't stop them, and your level is not good enough, you can only use fouls to stop the opponent.

Relying on iron-blooded defense to disrupt the opponent's mentality, and then seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

Atlético Madrid in La Liga played this set the best.

It was a pity that Crystal Palace's front line was a little worse and couldn't produce the effect of Atlético Madrid.

Both sides' players stood in good positions, and Sané took the free kick.

Sterling received the ball again. Sterling was playing a lot on this route against Crystal Palace.

Two defenders approached Sterling, trying to stop him.

Facing Crystal Palace's defense, Sterling's confidence suddenly came!

He pretended to break through, but suddenly cut inside!

He shook off one person, leaving only one who could keep up with him./

When he attracted another defense, he passed the ball horizontally to Zhao Gang, who swayed from the left to the center.

Two defensive midfielders quickly launched a double-team on Zhao Gang.

However, Zhao Gang didn't stop the ball, and kicked it straight away!!

The ball passed through the defense of the two center-backs and went straight to the upper right corner of the goal!

The goalkeeper didn't react in time, and even stood there without moving, just stretched out his hand in vain.

Goal!

In the fifteenth minute of the match, Manchester City led 1-0!

Zhao Gang rushed out of the stadium, and the exciting cheers of Manchester City fans sounded.

Nearly 40,000 fans, a little less than at the Etihad, but the momentum was just as great.

The other half of the Crystal Palace fans looked solemn, it was over.

Although they felt that there was not much hope from the beginning, they still held a little bit of fantasy.

Maybe they could pull off an upset?

Drag it into extra time, penalties!

Maybe even steal one.

Looking at it this way, it was unlikely.

They couldn't attack on the field, and they couldn't defend either.

How could they play?

Guardiola smiled. It was rare for him to be so relaxed when the first goal was scored.

This game should be a little easier than he expected.

Zhao Gang's performance in the forward position was equally outstanding.

"Well, Zhao Gang's long shot broke the goal! Crystal Palace's tactics may have to change. This is a final. They tried to drag the game into a penalty shootout through defense.

Now that they have scored a goal, Manchester City has taken the lead and broken the deadlock. If Crystal Palace continues to shrink back and defend, it will not make much sense!

And once they attack, it will bring more opportunities to Manchester City."

"It can be said that this kick is just a beginning, not an end!"

"The treble is coming!!!"

"Absolutely no problem! In a few days, it will be the Champions League final, a quadruple crown!!! Then get a European Super Cup, and then a Club World Cup. The great achievement of the season's sextuple crown is beckoning!!!"

"Bayern can eliminate Real Madrid, their level is very strong, there is still a chance in the final, it depends on whether they can seize the opportunity!"

After losing a goal, Crystal Palace really changed their tactics and switched to a 4-4-2 formation.

There were two support points in the frontcourt, and the number of people in the backcourt increased.

They were not preparing to attack, but strengthened their defense!

Crystal Palace's coach believed that now was not the time for a decisive battle, they should try their best to ensure that they didn't lose the ball and delay the collapse as much as possible. If they could wait until the second half to go all out.

Crystal Palace's coach frowned all the time. Zhao Gang ran to the front and no longer delivered ammunition, becoming a finisher.

As a result, his finishing ability was extremely strong. Two shots, one extremely threatening, and one directly broke the goal!

He could also cross from the wing and create opportunities.

He was a perfect offensive player.

Crystal Palace's arrangement of four people could indeed block him, but what about others?

This was Manchester City, not the Dragon Country national team.

So many people in Manchester City could stand up!

The 4-4-2 tactic soon turned into a 6-4-0 tactic. Crystal Palace had no chance to counterattack at all and could only passively be beaten.

Their defense line, because of the large number of people, made Manchester City's passing and receiving a little difficult.

It was only difficult in the dangerous area. Outside the penalty area, Manchester City's passing and receiving was simply a training match, no one came to interfere.

Zhao Gang stood on the wing, received a pass from De Bruyne, looked at the two people in front of him, sank his shoulders, and slipped to the bottom line.

Some media called Zhao Gang's behavior of slipping the bottom line in the match against Juventus a bottom line assassin.

Swift and precise, elegant and deadly.

Dribbling along the bottom line was a unique skill on the court.

Crystal Palace was obviously prepared and rushed over with two people directly. Someone in the penalty area also came over to fill the position, preparing to force Zhao Gang out of the field.

When Zhao Gang was about to fall into a desperate situation, De Bruyne pulled behind him to respond.

Zhao Gang could heel the ball over, but he estimated that the opponent had already expected this kind of passing route.

So Zhao Gang directly pushed the ball with the outside of his foot, and the ball passed through the defender's feet and directly entered the penalty area!

Then there was a crazy collision!

Zhao Gang squeezed past the two people's attack!

Like a driving truck.

The two wing defenders were obviously not as good as the center-backs, and their strength was much worse. They were directly pushed aside by Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang forcibly broke out of the encirclement!

The center-back in the penalty area quickly filled the position, and Zhao Gang attracted four defenders at once.

Agüero in the middle was waiting with green eyes, looking at Zhao Gang like he was looking at his own father.

Bang!

Zhao Gang made a small backward pass, and the center-back failed to block it.

Agüero, who was standing there, raised his foot.

Bang!

The ball was directly hit into the goal!

Crystal Palace's coach raised his arms, looking depressed.

Zhao Gang made a crazy breakthrough on the strong side, attracting defenders.

There was no defense in the middle and weak side.

As long as the pass was hidden and fast, there were empty positions over there!

That's why I said that Manchester City was not the Dragon Country team.

Everyone had excellent offensive ability.

It was useless to defend against Zhao Gang!

Two to zero!

In the twenty-third minute of the match, Manchester City was already two goals ahead.

The overwhelming cheers of Manchester City fans came out.

The Crystal Palace die-hard fans who came to Wembley Stadium were also a little helpless.

They couldn't imagine Crystal Palace being able to equalize the score.

The gap between the two sides was too big, especially Manchester City attached great importance to this match and this championship.

They would not show any flaws or slack off.

They must win the treble!

"Champion!!"

"Champion!!!"

At this time, the passionate shouts of Manchester City fans calling for the championship had already sounded in Wembley Stadium.

They wouldn't dislike having too many championships!

They had just won the Premier League championship last week and had a grand championship parade and celebration.

Today, their enthusiasm hadn't passed, and they were about to win another championship!

Too happy!

Crystal Palace players kicked off in the center circle and launched an attack.

They passed the ball twice near the center circle and were pressed.

Obviously, Manchester City players were excited, and they didn't give them any chance.

Crystal Palace players quickly passed the ball back, and then Manchester City players quickly approached and kicked it long!

Stones and Otamendi's only few performance opportunities were to compete for headers, and just that little chance to show their faces was taken away by Kyle Walker, who rushed over and headed the ball back to the midfield.

Bravo stood on the goal line, his eyes a little dull.

If there was a stool, it would be nice to sit down and rest for a while.

When playing in the league, they had back-and-forth with Crystal Palace, and finally only won by two goals.

When playing in the final, everyone was like they had taken medicine, and Crystal Palace's ball couldn't even reach the penalty area.

Crystal Palace started using foul tactics again, decisively pulling people when the ball hadn't reached the dangerous area.

This slowed down Manchester City's offensive rhythm.

The rhythm of the whole match was fragmented.

Manchester City had three more threatening shots and four shots outside the goal frame.

But the score didn't change.

Crystal Palace dragged the game to the fortieth minute. During this period, there was also a counterattack. Wickham received a pass from Zaha and shot, Bravo jumped up hard, but still didn't touch it.

It was too high, if the goal crossbar was four or five meters higher, the ball would have gone in.

The match went on to the forty-first minute, and Crystal Palace got another offensive opportunity.

Many offensive players attacked, but the ball was directly poked away by Stones. Sterling, who actively returned to defense, got the ball and found Zhao Gang in front with a long pass.

Zhao Gang, who started from near the center line, directly broke away from the two people's attack!

Rushing all the way!

A one-on-one from the center line!

When the goalkeeper saw Zhao Gang rushing over with a fierce momentum, he even shivered.

He fulfilled his responsibilities well.

Quickly attacking, preparing to stop Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang was too fast, he picked the football up, and ran along the diagonal line. The goalkeeper pounced, but didn't even touch Zhao Gang!

Zhao Gang, who passed the goalkeeper, chased the ball and kicked the ball into the goal.

Three to zero!

The match in the first half had no suspense at all.

In fact, in the eyes of many people, this match had lost its suspense before it even started.

Manchester City fans opened their mouths wide. They had already started cheering when Zhao Gang started running from the center line.

After the goal went in, they all jumped up, flags fluttered, and fans celebrated with high fives.

Guardiola waved his fist, signaled, and sat back on the coach's bench.

Crystal Palace's coach shook his head, phenomenal.

Super super nova.

He would soon become a super super superstar.

"Crystal Palace has no chance. Zhao Gang scored twice, and Agüero also scored a goal. This final... can't be said to be unexciting, at least there are a lot of goals.

Manchester City showed everyone a variety of offensive tactics.

I'm afraid only Crystal Palace fans are a little depressed.

But there should be no Crystal Palace fans in Dragon Country, we can almost congratulate Manchester City on winning the FA Cup in advance!"

Crystal Palace's players were a little frustrated.

At the end of the first half, they returned to the locker room, and the locker room was silent.

They originally had some hope, but after playing on the court, all hope was gone.

They could only wait to be slaughtered.

Who doesn't want to win?

Who doesn't want to win a championship?

But they couldn't win!

How depressed the Crystal Palace players and fans were, how excited and happy the Manchester City players and fans were.

In Wembley Stadium, Manchester City's team song echoed around.

Crystal Palace fans held their flags, sat weakly in their chairs, and stared blankly at the stadium sky.

If only they had a Zhao Gang too.

Hope blooms!

Unfortunately, it was gone.

And in the second half, Manchester City obviously slowed down the offensive rhythm.

After all, in another week, it would be the European Champions Cup final that the entire football world was watching.

Players not only had to distribute their energy, but also had to ensure that they were not injured.

If they attacked too fiercely, Crystal Palace players would become exasperated and directly make bigger moves, and it would be troublesome if they were injured.

And Crystal Palace finally recovered. They didn't even dare to attack at first. At the end of the first half, it was because they attacked too fiercely that they had a through ball, and Zhao Gang started running a one-on-one from the center line!

Now, if they attacked too fiercely, a small counterattack would be the end!

Slowly, Crystal Palace players tried to launch a few attacks.

Bravo finally had a chance to warm up.

Crystal Palace had two good quality shots.

"Manchester City is starting to release water???"

"Itachi is fighting Sasuke? Starting to release the sea???"

"Maybe preparing for the Champions League, worried about getting injured."

"Not good, right? I'm still waiting for Zhao Gang to score two more goals!!"

"That's right, we are all watching Zhao Gang, why isn't Zhao Gang attacking himself? Looking down on us??"

"You little keyboard warrior, get out of here! Don't stir up trouble here!!"

"The happiest thing is that Zhao Gang wins so many championships, scoring goals is secondary!"

Guardiola had no intention of making substitutions, but he finally replaced Kompany, the captain should still come on the field to feel the atmosphere of the championship.

In the sixty-fourth minute of the match, Kompany came on, replacing Stones.

Kompany was particularly active as soon as he came on.

He rushed forward with the ball.

Crystal Palace's attack had no effect, but Manchester City had opportunities.

In the seventy-eighth minute of the match, Kompany, who had been very active, received a pass from David Silva and shot from outside the penalty area!

Manchester City four to zero!

Completely killing the match.

Crystal Palace had no fighting spirit at all.

Manchester City's frontcourt players began to stroll around.

The backcourt players finally had a few opportunities to perform.

After blocking Crystal Palace's three attacks, the match was almost over.

In the first half, because there were too many fouls, there were six minutes of added time. In the second half, there were only two minutes of symbolic added time.

Beep!!!

The whistle for the end of the match sounded.

Manchester City won their third championship trophy of the season!

The players rushed into the field and celebrated together.

Crystal Palace's players were a little disappointed, but this result was also reasonable.

It was too difficult for them to win a championship from Manchester City's mouth.

The entire Wembley Stadium became an ocean of Manchester City fans celebrating.

The camera captured the Queen of England, and the old lady also applauded and congratulated Manchester City.

Zhao Gang raised his hands above his head to express his gratitude to the fans.

This match was much simpler than the Champions League match against Barcelona.

The players were also hardly over-fatigued and could face the last match of the season in a very relaxed state!

The award platform was quickly set up on site.

Crystal Palace players also won the runner-up, and they first walked onto the award platform.

The Crystal Palace fans at the scene burst into warm applause.

This team was already very difficult.

And Manchester City fans also sent their applause up, as a respect for their opponents.

Then it was the champion Manchester City!!

Captain Kompany's mouth was about to split open again.

Ten minutes on the court, and he could hold the trophy again!

If Guardiola hadn't let him play, and he was sitting on the bench, and it was time to receive the award, it would be really awkward.

In the cheers of all the fans and players, Kompany raised the trophy high.

The camera instantly froze this moment.

It was the third time.

Not only Guardiola, but also Manchester City's management were watching all this.

The results were much better than they expected.

These honors came faster than planned!

Guardiola had talked to Manchester City's management about Manchester City's future plans.

It would take at least three years for Manchester City to have absolute dominance in the Premier League, and it would take at least six or seven years for Manchester City to have a chance to win the Champions League.

It was only the second year, and Manchester City had already won all the domestic championships.

They had also entered the Champions League final.

This was simply a dream start.

After the award ceremony, there was a unique champagne celebration party.

This time Guardiola was directly kidnapped by the players and carried to the middle of the field.

Normally, who would dare to treat Guardiola like this?

Guardiola's control of the locker room was definitely the best in the world.

So at the celebration party, it was hard not to misunderstand the behavior of these players.

It was very likely, very likely that Agüero took the lead and retaliated.

Guardiola was thrown up, and when he landed, he was hit by several barrels of champagne.

Then Agüero ran around the field, spraying everywhere with wine.

Zhao Gang was splashed all over, turned around and made a sliding tackle!

Agüero was directly knocked to the ground.

De Bruyne pounced on him, and the Argentine boxing champion was completely taken down by the Belgian sumo wrestler.

Splash!

…

After the match, Guardiola changed into a suit and accepted an interview.

"It's really incredible that we didn't expect to have the current results before the start of the season.

League Cup, FA Cup... In my plan, I almost gave up, especially when the team had injuries, it was difficult for us to persevere.

But we survived and achieved remarkable results.

For this, I want to thank Zhao, everyone should thank him.

At the critical moment of the team, he stood up and led the team through a difficult period.

Even as a substitute, we can beat our opponents.

He not only invigorates the midfield, but also attacks aggressively and threatens the opponent's goal.

Finally, he also participated in the defense, and the effect was very good!

He is already moving towards becoming a great player.

He has participated in almost 70% of the team's attack.

We have already achieved a lot of honors, but this is not enough for us.

I hope the team can win the last match of the season, which is also our most important match!

We are all ready."

In the evening, the news that Manchester City had won the treble rushed to the top of the trending searches.

A large number of fans began to express their views and share the wonderful moments of Manchester City's victory.

Manchester City's so-called celebrities naturally stood up and spoke.

They analyzed Manchester City's lineup and the road to victory from different angles.

The only topic that couldn't be avoided was Zhao Gang and Guardiola.

"Manchester City, come on!!"

"Blue Moon, forever!!"

"Super Zhao, kick over Bayern!!"

"We"

"Treble! Zhao Gang and Manchester City have done it! Now they are heading towards more terrifying honors!

Manchester United once won the quadruple crown in a natural year, and now Manchester City has a chance to hit the miracle of the sextuple crown!

Next week, if they can defeat Bayern Munich and win the Champions League, then they have a great chance of winning all the championships!

The Champions League is their biggest challenge and the biggest honor for European clubs!

Let's look forward to the Champions League final between Manchester City and Bayern together!"