Chapter 384 What? Someone is defending? Then smash the ball into the goal together with the person!
Some fans at the Emirates Stadium booed, expressing their dissatisfaction without reservation when they saw the team fall into a passive position in the second half due to its wrong offensive and defensive strategies in a good situation.
Although they led for most of last season and fell short in the end, the runner-up finish gave fans hope for the team's complete revival. Moreover, Manchester City's strength and stability are obvious to all. Being 5 points behind them and 9 points ahead of third-placed Manchester United, this is definitely the most confident season for Arteta in his more than three years as coach.
But after 11 rounds of this season, they are 9 points behind Manchester United, the top of the table, and are only ranked 6th, which makes fans feel that the Arsenal team that focuses on fighting for the top four is back.
Logically speaking, Arteta has been in charge for so many years, spent so much money, and fattened up so many people, isn't it just to win the championship this season that he failed to win last season?
“Woo…”
“Oh…”
The boos seemed to be particularly contagious, causing fans in the nearby stands to join in the booing, and even Manchester United fans joined in the booing.
Arteta naturally felt the pressure, and he replaced Xhaka, who had fought for more than 60 minutes, with Saliba, who is 193 cm tall.
Saliba plays as a defensive midfielder in the middle, Rice focuses on Chen Xiaoliang, and Odegaard is responsible for organizing the offense. If the midfield fails to organize and gives up the ball and space, the three strikers in the frontcourt will continue to not get the ball and will be useless.
The two sides launched an offensive again.
In the 70th minute, Odegaard and Martinelli completed a forward and backward wall pass. Odegaard got rid of McTominay's defense and received the ball again, then passed it to Saka on the right.
Facing Luke Shaw, Saka tried to dribble past him from the outside, but Luke Shaw kept him inside, so he couldn't get in even though he was faster than him.
Saka could only force a cross, while Luke Shaw seized the opportunity to stretch out his left leg and tackle the ball!
"Bang!"
After a dull thud, the ball bounced out of the baseline under the combined force of both feet, but the two England internationals fell to the ground, covering their legs with their hands at the same time, with expressions of pain on their faces.
The surrounding players immediately gathered over, as if they had received a signal from the two people who had fallen to the ground, and immediately called for the team doctor to come in.
Liu Yue: "The player who covers the injured part and does not move is probably really injured. Otherwise, players will often make some exaggerated movements to try to get a penalty in their favor."
Lou Yichen: "Slow motion is coming..."
Both of them: “Oh my!”
Lou Yichen: "It was not their power legs, but their supporting legs that were pressed together. In order to support the power legs, Saka's left knee and Luke Shaw's right ankle were twisted and deformed to varying degrees."
"This is bad news for both teams!"
On the sidelines, Ten Hag asked Maguire to warm up quickly. He planned to let Lima play as left back and Maguire as left center back.
On the Arsenal side, Arteta urgently asked Trossard to warm up and replace Saka as right winger.
The team doctor was busy for more than 3 minutes before two stretchers came in and carried the two people out. The game continued after the substitute players came on.
Arsenal corner kick, Trossard took a tactical corner kick and Odegaard received the ball outside the right corner of the penalty area.
The Manchester United player in the penalty area immediately rushed forward and went out of the offside line. At the same time, Fred and Kva also rushed towards Odegaard who had the ball.
Odegaard made a straight pass, and Martinelli, who was cruising to the right side of the penalty area, made a diagonal run and received the ball in an offside position!
"WOW!" Arsenal fans in the stands immediately exclaimed in anticipation!
Maguire chased back and blocked it!
Martinelli made a cross pass in front of the goal, and Thomas had already made it to the right post!
In a flash, Maguire stretched out his left leg to block the ball, and it bounced up!
Thomas, who was about to score, missed the goal! De Gea and Manchester United fans were relieved at that moment!
However, just when everyone thought that Maguire had made a contribution as soon as he came on the field, the ball that he blocked somehow bounced in front of the penalty spot and fell right at the feet of Mitoma Kaoru!
Chen Xiaoliang, who was just behind the penalty spot, immediately rushed forward and prepared to stretch his legs to intercept. Rice, who was between him and Mitoma Kaoru, did not see clearly who was rushing up from behind, and subconsciously raised his hands. Unexpectedly, his right lower arm hit Chen Xiaoliang in the face.
Without any pressure, Kaoru Mitoma shot directly and pushed the ball to the left side of the goal near the small penalty area. Although De Gea made a save, it was of no avail.
Lou Yichen: “3 to 2!”
"Wow! The two players who just came on the field from both teams were immediately involved in the process of scoring this goal!"
"The Three-Goal King scored a goal to take the lead again, but there is no doubt that Maguire is the real protagonist of this goal!"
Liu Yue: "This ball can only be described as a mistake in and out. If Maguire hadn't touched it, Thomas would have most likely scored. At that time, he rushed to the near post behind Maguire, and Varane on the other side didn't have time to catch up. Even if he did, he couldn't defend from behind."
"But I didn't expect that this block would prevent Thomas from scoring, but it inadvertently gave Mitoma Kaoru a deflected assist."
"The three-goal champion accepted the gift and scored his third goal of the season."
Lou Yichen: "Eh? Let's see! Xiaoliang and Rice are arguing with the referee Michael Oliver!"
"The atmosphere on both sides is very tense!"
The blow that Rice had just hit Chen Xiaoliang on the face was not light, and it hit right on the bridge of his nose. Although the bridge of his nose was not injured, blood flowed out of his nose and flowed down his chin onto his jersey.
While bleeding, he argued loudly with the referee and Rice at the same time.
Rice: "What's wrong with a touch? A touch doesn't count as a goal?"
Chen Xiaoliang pointed at his own face and said, "Look carefully, this is called a touch? I'll try touching you later."
Rice: "Come on, who the hell do you think you are?"
Chen Xiaoliang: "Okay, you wait for me."
Michael Oliver was used to this kind of scene, so he let the two quarrel and just put his hand between them, while waiting for teammates from both sides to pull the two apart, and then talked to them to calm the situation.
During this process, an experienced referee like him would not hold the whistle in his mouth.
The referee will choose to blow the whistle when there is no one around him, especially in incidents like this where conflicts occur. If he bites the whistle and someone hits the whistle, the referee may be unlucky and his front teeth may be broken by the whistle.
On one side was the Ballon d'Or winner who was bought for 150 million euros, and on the other side was a registered midfielder who was bought for 90 million pounds, a total of 110 million pounds. Teammates from both sides rushed up to protect them immediately, only Mitoma Kaoru simply celebrated and slowly walked towards the crowd, seemingly unwilling to get involved in such a situation.
Chen Xiaoliang said to Michael Oliver: "Mr. Referee, please remember that if this is not considered a foul, then I will use the same action to hit him in the face later, and please use the same standard to judge."
Each word he spoke sounded calm, not a hysterical roar, but when put together to form a sentence, it was murderous.
Michael Oliver had of course heard this kind of sentence many times. When he saw Manchester United's team doctor entering the field, he quickly asked the doctor to pull Chen Xiaoliang aside to stop the bleeding.
According to the rules, players who are bleeding or whose jerseys have obvious blood stains cannot continue to participate in the game and must leave the field temporarily.
The team doctor asked Chen Xiaoliang to close his eyes and sprayed coolant on his nose. The prop manager immediately brought a new jersey.
In front of fans all over the world, Chen Xiaoliang took off his clothes and put on his jersey in front of the camera.
Countless female fans took screenshots, and male fans didn't stop either:
[I really can't tell, Xiaoliang's muscle lines are so obvious]
[His face looks exactly like a college student, but I didn't expect his body to be so ferocious...]
[Otherwise, this is the guy who has carried Lukaku and Haaland]
[This is a benefit for female fans...]
[My girlfriend used to have no interest in football, but she just told me that I should call her Xiaoliang when I go to the stadium from now on. Damn, why do I feel like I’m being cheated on?]
…
If the person who was the most angry on the field at this time was Chen Xiaoliang, then the person who was the most depressed was Maguire.
It was not easy to get on the field, and it was against BIG7. I wanted to show my performance and make a comeback in the defense line that was short of players, but I didn’t expect that the first time I touched the ball on defense, I gave an own goal assist... …
People are so miserable that even drinking cold water will get stuck in their teeth.
The game continued and Cesco kicked off from the center circle.
After wiping the blood off his face and putting on a new jersey, Chen Xiaoliang received the ball and passed it to B Fee, still heading to the right.
The team fell behind again, and his top priority was to help the team equalize or even reverse the situation.
"The situation is not good. The team doctor said Luke Shaw may have torn ankle ligaments. If that is the case, he will have to rest for two months and will not be able to play until the end of December."
Seeing the team falling behind, Ten Hag, who stood back on the sidelines, couldn't help but frown even deeper after hearing assistant coach Van der Gag's private words to him.
Timber, Lindelof, Casemiro, and now Luke Shaw, the entire backcourt is full of injuries, as if we have returned to the end of last season when Lima and Varane were injured at the same time.
Ten Hag asked Van der Gag: "Is there any new news on the transfer?"
In fact, he had just learned about the progress yesterday afternoon, but looking at the defense line in front of him that could hardly even find a substitute, he asked again in a hurry.
Van der Gag: "The feedback from Real Madrid was unexpectedly favorable. They also seem to want to get rid of the burden."
Ten Hahe's eyes lit up: "What about the conditions they set before?"
VANDERGAG: "It seems like they have it figured out."
Ten Hag nodded thoughtfully: "If it is really as they say, it will be a deal that will shock the world."
When it comes to the words "shock the world", Ten Hah can't help but shift his gaze to Chen Xiaoliang.
From the moment the ball kicked off, he was always closely followed by Rice, and was blocked from behind by Takehiro Tomiyasu. The Japanese player deliberately kept a distance of several meters from him to prevent his teammates from passing the ball behind him, which would have prevented him from being passed in an instant.
Saliba, who came on as a substitute, did not surround Chen Xiaoliang like Xhaka did before, but instead deployed defense in front of the penalty area. Once the ball was passed into the penalty area, he would retreat in time to help the central defender to control the air and prevent Cesco from scoring again.
Arteta's operation was equivalent to replacing three people and returning to the mode when Amadou Onana was on the field in the first half.
In the 79th minute, B Fee passed the ball back to Fred when he was in midfield, McTominay was wandering behind, and Fred dribbled forward and was immediately pressed by Odegaard.
At this time, Kva moved inward to the middle to ask for the ball, and Fred passed it.
Saliba immediately came up to block and prevent Kvart from taking a long shot from outside the penalty area.
Kva continued to cut inside and moved to the right, while B Fee moved to the left rib.
Suddenly, Chen Xiaoliang started from the right side and sprinted towards the center.
Kenhiro Tomiyasu followed for two steps and then stopped immediately. One reason was that he couldn't keep up, and the other was that Kwa seemed to be intending to move towards the right flank.
Rice chased closely, trying to block Chen Xiaoliang inside and use his body to push him away.
But the same thing goes, when there is no ball, no one can keep up with Chen Xiaoliang running at full speed.
When approaching the middle, Kva used the heel of his right foot to knock the ball behind him. Chen Xiaoliang passed by the right side of his body in an instant and immediately received his return pass.
Saliba, who followed Kwa to move to the left, stepped on the ground with his left foot, trying to adjust his center of gravity to block Chen Xiaoliang to the right, but with a height of 193 cm and a weight of 85 kg, even if he is not as clumsy as the USS Maguire, his body is at least at the level of a cruiser, and he cannot turn around immediately.
Chen Xiaoliang moved away and the goal was completely in front of him. The two central defenders in the penalty area were at least 6 meters away from him. Apart from blocking a small part of the shooting line, the rest of them were of no defensive role for him at all.
He slowed down a little and could already feel Rice, who was chasing him, putting his hand on his back and trying to pull him.
He slammed on the brakes, stepped on the pedal with his right foot, then straightened his back, tensing all the muscles on his back, as if he were wearing armor and arming himself with steel and iron. At the same time, he twisted his body, raised his right hand backward to keep his balance, and lifted his left foot, assuming the posture of drawing a bow and arrow, and shooting with his left foot!
"Shit!"
Rice didn't expect that Chen Xiaoliang, who was running fast, would stop suddenly. He rear-ended him and couldn't dodge in time, and his head hit Chen Xiaoliang's raised right elbow!
At the same time, the ball shot out suddenly, and Cesco, who was standing on the left side of the penalty spot, bent down smartly, and the ball flew over his body and whizzed towards the goal!
Ramsdale was prepared when Chen Xiaoliang rushed to the middle. He flew to the right and blocked the ball out of the bottom line outside the right post.
Lou Yichen: “A very high quality shot!”
"Xiaoliang's left foot is really used as the main foot."
Liu Yue: "His left foot was already quite good, and he seems to have used it more frequently recently. Whether it's dribbling, passing, or shooting, he often uses his left foot. It seems he is very confident in his left foot."
Lou Yichen: "What's going on with this Rice? He seems to be squatting on the side for some reason."
Arsenal players were encouraging Ramsdale to fly to save the ball, but Rice was squatting outside the penalty area, covering his mouth in pain, and constantly opening his hand to check if there was any blood on his hand.
His mouth hit Chen Xiaoliang's elbow hard, and he felt his front teeth loosen, but a cut was made on the inside of his upper lip.
Although it wasn't as hideous and terrifying as Chen Xiaoliang's nosebleed just now, the pain was even worse.
Chen Xiaoliang first made a few gestures to B Fee who was preparing to take a corner kick, then turned around and looked down at Rice who was squatting next to him.
Although Rice knew that he had suffered a loss, he was still furious when he saw Chen Xiaoliang standing there looking down on him. He stood up and pressed his forehead against Chen Xiaoliang's.
The referee Michael Oliver quickly blew the whistle to warn the two players, and their teammates came over to pull them apart.
Chen Xiaoliang: "Don't worry, I'm not done with you."
Casemiro, who has removed his protective gear but still needs crutches to walk and cannot fully use his feet, laughed happily: "This guy, he tricked me again! I don't know where he learned so many dirty tricks from , and he really made Rice pay for it."
Rashford, who was sitting in front of him and did not play in this game, turned around and said to him: "When you get better, come and join his extra training group and you will know."
"When I first arrived, they told me that Cesco was only 20 years old, and he was able to stay out of trouble and not suffer any losses in the penalty areas of Serie A and the Premier League. This was something he learned after joining Roma and during extra training with Chen."
"Kwa also told me that compared to Chen's ferocious one-on-one defense, the close marking of the other defensive players was as gentle as a girl."
Casemiro couldn't sit still anymore and wished he could join their extra training group tomorrow to experience the one-on-one attack and defense with Chen Xiaoliang firsthand.
As they were speaking, Ten Hag turned around and asked Rashford and Ganacho to go off the field and warm up.
B Fee was preparing to take a corner kick from the left side. The five Manchester United players participating in the header in the middle all faced to the left and stood in a row behind the penalty spot like a train.
Chen Xiaoliang and Maguire stood in the middle of the team, and Cesco was the first.
B Fee raised his hand and started to run.
When the ball was kicked up by his right foot, the five people lined up in a line suddenly moved!
Cesco rushed to the near post and Gabriel who was guarding the inside immediately followed!
Varane, who was at the end of the team, ran towards the far post, and Takehiro Tomiyasu was responsible for defending him!
In the middle, Maguire and McTominay in front and behind Chen Xiaoliang moved outwards at the same time, one forward and the other backward, not only opening up the space in the penalty area, but also separating the players defending in front and behind!
McTominay was fine, the tall Maguire was immediately defended by Saliba!
Odegaard and Thomas, who wanted to double-team Chen Xiaoliang from the outside, were blocked by these two men and couldn't get in!
Chen Xiaoliang rushed straight to the middle, with only Rice guarding in the inside to defend him!
Lou Yichen: “Step forward!”
"Cesco heads the ball!"
"Watch the ball in the middle!"
"Chance! Beautiful!"
“What a domineering goal!”
"Manchester United's No. 7, the captain of the Red Devils, was like a mountain pressing down on the goal, heading the ball into the goal through two defenders!"
"Today Xiaoliang had a head-on fight! In 12 league rounds, he scored his 14th goal!"
Liu Yue: "Rice was defending Xiaoliang head-on, but his jump was too slow and not high enough. Cesco headed the ball in front of him, and Ramsdale jumped over to intercept Xiaoliang's header, but Rice was in the middle."
"The result was just as Lou said. Chen Xiaoliang pressed down Rice like a mountain, and Rice fell backwards in the air, and then pressed down on Ramsdale who rushed over. As a result, the ball went in, and Rice and Ramsdale also fell into the goal."
Lou Yichen: "Look at the slow replay. Rice didn't expect Cesco to hit the ball backwards. Although he followed Xiaoliang's movement, his jump was obviously slower. When Xiaoliang finally hit the ball, his jump height didn't even reach Xiaoliang's chin. He couldn't defend effectively at all."
"Wow! This is a rare and domineering goal on the football field. Although it has nothing to do with skills, it has a different kind of violent aesthetics!"
After landing, Chen Xiaoliang did not celebrate immediately. Instead, he looked at Rice, who fell on Ramsdale and was lying on his back, and said, "Don't worry, I will find you again." After that, he ran to the away fan area, jumped high, punched hard with his right fist, and made his celebration move, celebrating with the Manchester United fans in the stands.
The Arsenal players immediately got angry and surrounded the team. Captain Odegaard was at the front, but the referee Michael Oliver used a series of "beep beep" whistles to warn the players not to cause trouble.
Odegaard then ran towards the referee and questioned why he allowed Chen Xiaoliang's provocation. B Fee, who always loves to stand up for the weak, was afraid that the referee would be affected, so he ran over to argue with him.
Chen Xiaoliang, who had just finished celebrating, shouted at him and waved his hands, "Bruno, come here, let them beep."
When B Fee heard Chen Xiaoliang shouting like that, he spread his hands and made a face at Odegaard, turned around and smiled at Chen Xiaoliang, then ran back without saying anything.
Chen Xiaoliang didn't want to waste time talking to Odegaard, but he jogged back to the half court with his eyes on him.
When Odegaard also looked at him, he tilted his head and sneered.
The meaning is clear: stop talking nonsense and do it if you have the ability.
Odegaard also knew that Michael Oliver was a famous peacemaker among Premier League referees and he liked to control the situation of the game to a balanced state, that is, to be tight when necessary and to be loose on both sides at the same time when necessary.
He did not react to Rice's hit on Chen Xiaoliang just now, so he chose to ignore Chen Xiaoliang's counterattack later. Although these actions were not fouls, it was obvious that the player was emotional.
Odegaard stopped complaining to him, ran to the center circle to kick off, and then spat on the ground.
He also looked back at Rice who was running towards him and tilted his head towards him as well.
The meaning is very clear: Damn, let’s kill him together later.
