boyutpedia Chapter 39 Sticking
Chapter 39 Sticking
"3-2!! 3-2!!" Zhan Jun shouted excitedly, his voice cracking.
"Monaco temporarily switched to a diamond midfield formation, launching a series of one-touch passes through the middle! Moutinho's long-range shot hit the post! Jiang Ming's exquisite lob pass! Traore headed the ball into the net! Goal!!"
"In the 64th minute of the second half! Jiang Ming provides his second assist!! My God! Monaco, trailing 0-3 in the first half, has now scored two goals! They're just one goal behind Tottenham!!"
"They crawled halfway out of the abyss of being three goals down!!"
The away fans' section went absolutely wild!
Monaco fans waved their team flags wildly.
They chased two more! Even if they ultimately lose, at least they fought hard! It's a dignified death, not a humiliating defeat where they slink home in disgrace!
……
Messages in domestic live chat rooms are scrolling faster than before:
"Holy crap?! They managed to get two back? I thought this was going to be a disaster, I was even ready to turn off the live stream and go to sleep!"
"Awesome! The initial odds for this match were over 3.75, and I won the whole thing! Thank you, Boss Jiang!!"
"Do you think there's still a chance? Monaco's morale is high right now, and Tottenham's players are clearly struggling to keep up physically!"
"Yes! Absolutely! I'm going all in for 7+ goals! Monaco, charge! Crush Tottenham!"
……
Pochettino on the sidelines was truly losing his composure this time.
He had to admit that he was starting to panic.
This Chinese kid is so strange.
He provided two assists in less than 20 minutes after coming on as a player.
Was my pre-match strategy too superficial?
Pochettino gritted his teeth and waved to Ben Davis, who was not far away.
"When you guys go on the court later, just defend like this..." He leaned over and whispered new tactics to Davis.
Ben Davis frowned after hearing this: "Boss, are you really going to do that?"
"Don't worry, no problem." Pochettino nodded, then added, "By the way, get Dier off the field. He's already exhausted, and if he keeps playing, he'll have problems."
……
Yaldin shook his numb hands.
He stared at the positions on the field for a long time, but couldn't figure out what those kids were doing.
He kept holding his hand up, touching his bald head, until his hand went numb.
These little brats actually dared to change his tactics without permission?
To my surprise, they actually managed to beat us out!
Moreover, he realized that the initiator of this tactic seemed to be Jiang Ming.
Ever since that kid whispered to Bernardo Silva, the team's formation has changed.
This kid is not only good at playing football, but his tactical awareness on the field is also top-notch?
He suddenly realized that all the top coaches in football today seem to have started as midfielders.
Guardiola, Ancelotti, Luis Enrique, Simeone...
Are all the midfielders this incredible?
No wonder this kid dared to change tactics on the field without permission; he's a born commander!
Yaldin observed the situation on the field and pondered for two seconds.
I think if Jiang Ming's tactic had an additional explosive charge in front, it would be even more powerful.
Thinking of this, he turned to the bench and shouted, "Kilian! Get ready to come on!"
Mbappe seemed to have springs in his backside, and he jumped up in an instant.
Seeing his teammates score two goals in quick succession, he couldn't contain himself any longer and quickly replied, "Alright, boss!"
……
"Monaco is making a change of manager!"
"They've substituted El Shaarawy, who just scored a goal, with their 17-year-old star, Kylian Mbappé!"
Pochettino, watching Mbappe come on from the sidelines, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he wasn't arrogant when making substitutions at halftime and didn't take Kyle Walker off.
If it were any other full-back, wouldn't they be completely overwhelmed by this kid?
Now it's all set, a battle of speed on the flanks, with Walker guarding Mbappe, let's see who's faster!
"Beep—"
Referee Ivan blew his whistle, and the game restarted.
After the kickoff, Monaco continued with their previous style of play.
Jiang Ming received the ball and, before the Tottenham players could pounce on him, gently tapped it away.
He thought that since the ball wasn't at his feet, no one would be marking him anymore.
Unexpectedly, Tottenham's newly substituted defensive midfielder, Bentaleb, proved to be a persistent nuisance.
Wherever Jiang Ming moved, he would stick to him, practically clinging to Jiang Ming's body.
Jiang Ming immediately thought of that famous scene from the future.
Isn't he Haaland? Isn't this guy Rüdiger?
The two of them were practically inseparable, like conjoined twins.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Jiang Ming couldn't help but complain. "I have nothing to say about you English people doing this, but I'm not gay, can you please stay away from me?"
Bentaleb was quite serious: "It's okay, I'm Algerian, I just play football in England."
"Referee! Look at him! He's right on top of me!" Jiang Ming shouted at the referee.
Bentaleb reluctantly moved two steps to the side.
Pochettino, watching this scene from the sidelines, subtly curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
That's right, that's the tactic he devised.
Close surveillance.
Regardless of whether this Chinese kid gets the ball or not, and regardless of where he is, we must stick close to him!
The method may seem a bit clumsy, but it's a perfect and highly efficient way to deal with players who are technically skilled but physically weak and lack stamina!
Just like in the 2006 World Cup, when Germany played Argentina, Frings defended against Riquelme!
Pochettino remembers that game all too well; Frings followed Riquelme the entire match, going wherever Riquelme went.
When the referee wasn't looking, they would pull his jersey, push his waist, and secretly bump him with their elbows.
The purpose was to wear down Riquelme's stamina and disrupt his rhythm.
As soon as Riquelme got the ball, he immediately pounced on him, finding someone to double-team him and prevent him from comfortably controlling the ball and organizing the offense.
In the end, Riquelme couldn't hold on any longer and was substituted. Argentina's attack collapsed instantly, and they unfortunately lost in extra time.
Pochettino looked at Jiang Ming on the field and sneered inwardly: Let me see what kind of trouble you can stir up.
On the other side, Yaldin also frowned.
His worst fears came true.
When I played in Ligue 1 before, opponents would specifically mark Jiang Ming, but that was only because they had possession of the ball.
Now Tottenham are also sticking to each other even off the ball, and with Jiang Ming's stamina, he probably won't be able to keep it up for long...
……
The two of them stayed close together like that, and 15 minutes passed just like that.
With only 10 minutes left in regulation time, Monaco is still trailing by one goal.
Even worse, the match in the next game had already ended, with Anderlecht winning 2-1 against Qarabag.
This means that even if Monaco draws this match, they will be eliminated.
Jiang Ming just passed a crooked ball, but luckily Mbappe ran in time to receive it, otherwise the team would have been caught on a Tottenham counter-attack.
Mbappe attempted a quick dribble, but didn't gain much of a speed advantage and failed to get past Walker.
Jiang Ming was holding his knees and panting heavily.
Bentaleb has pulled on the jersey and bumped into the waist countless times when the referee wasn't looking.
He almost felt like he wasn't on a football field, but in the UFC octagon.
His stamina, which was originally enough to play half a game, was completely depleted by Bentaleb's little tricks.
Then Bentaleb leaned over and whispered trash talk: "Kid, so young, how come you're so short-lived?"
Ok?
Not lasting enough?
Can you tolerate this?
This is an insult to a man!
Jiang Ming didn't reply; he was already making plans in his mind.
Jiang Ming on the field was exhausted, and Yardin on the sidelines felt uneasy.
He was torn about whether or not to replace the person.
In the 83rd minute, Moutinho was surrounded by multiple Tottenham players and couldn't get the ball out. He had no choice but to pass the ball back to Jiang Ming.
He knew that his little brother was nearing his limit, but there was no one else available to receive the ball.
Bentaleb's eyes lit up immediately; his chance had arrived!
This Chinese kid is out of energy, quickly win the ball back and launch a counter-attack!
He lunged forward, and seeing that Jiang Ming's movements had become distorted, he was about to successfully steal the ball.
Jiang Ming suddenly acted as if nothing had happened, took two steps forward, and caught the ball steadily.
Before Bentaleb could pounce and press him into position, he twisted his ankle slightly and delivered another incredibly precise through ball to Mbappe on the left wing!
Bentaleb was stunned, his mind screaming, "Wasn't he out of energy? Was he just faking it all along?"
"Did this kid actually go to Barcelona to study acting?!"
Jiang Ming is very angry right now!
It should be said that after using the Senzu Bean, his entire body was filled with a surge of heat.
It instantly washed away all the fatigue in my muscles.
His body has recovered to its best condition!
This is Brother Dou!
Mbappe received the through ball steadily, accelerated suddenly, and almost missed Kyle Walker by a hair's breadth!
He could also see that Walker's physical strength was also running out.
Last weekend's league match last week lasted 90 minutes, and this match lasted another 80 minutes straight. No one could withstand that kind of pressure.
Mbappe secretly thought to himself: If Walker were in his prime, I wonder who would be faster between us?
After passing Walker, the road ahead was wide open!
Mbappe faced Lloris one-on-one, who is his senior in the French national team—although he hasn't joined the national team yet.
He paused for a moment, shifting Lloris's weight, and then calmly slotted the ball home!
The ball grazed the grass and slipped right under Lloris's arm!