Chapter 385 Chen Xiaoliang's emotional trap, Cesco's head kick
3 to 3, another big score, leading, tying, falling behind, tying again, the fans of both sides were so nervous that they wanted to sing a song.
Manchester United replaced Kwadwo and B Fee with Rashford and Ganacho to strengthen the impact on both flanks.
Arsenal used their last substitution opportunity and brought on Nketiah for Martinelli.
Both sides were replacing offensive players, which clearly showed that neither side would accept a 1-point outcome and wanted to win the final victory.
Nketiah kicked off, the game continued, and the time came to the 82nd minute.
After Manchester United made two substitutions on the wing, Chen Xiaoliang returned to the central midfielder position. As soon as Arsenal kicked the ball out, he rushed up with Ganacho and Rashford and started high pressing.
Fred and McTominay behind also pressed forward significantly, helping to cut off Arsenal's forward passing route.
Initiating such high-intensity pressing in the final stage of the game was obviously not just the players' whim.
Just now, after Rashford came on the court, he conveyed Ten Hag's instructions to the players on the field.
This instruction was undoubtedly like a shot of adrenaline, giving Manchester United players the signal to launch a general attack towards victory.
Faced with such pressure, coupled with Chen Xiaoliang's running and blocking back and forth in the middle, Arsenal could only increase the space and safety of passing by widening the width on both sides.
In the 84th minute, Trossard received the ball on the right side of Arsenal, and Lima pressed him across the center line. Trossard did not dare to stick to the ball and passed the ball to Saliba in the middle. Saliba was immediately followed by Cesco behind him and passed the ball to Rice immediately.
Chen Xiaoliang was staring at Rice. Now that the ball was coming, how could he miss such a good opportunity.
Casemiro, who was sitting on the sidelines, carefully watched Chen Xiaoliang's every move in defense.
In the past, on the court, he had to keep moving all the time and keep abreast of the movements of other people around him, but he couldn't just stare at one teammate like this.
Rashford was still remembering what Kva had just said to him about Chen Xiaoliang's "brutal" defense. At this time, Chen Xiaoliang on the field had already begun to demonstrate what "brutal" meant.
[Good at close defense]
Chen Xiaoliang hasn't triggered this skill for a while, because his reputation has long been spread, and all opponents will focus on studying him before the game. Almost every head coach will emphasize Chen Xiaoliang's defensive and stealing abilities in front of the players, and ask the players not to hold the ball for a long time in front of him, or try to break through head-on.
Before this game, Arteta naturally did the same thing.
In the defense of set pieces, since the team's counterattack requires Chen Xiaoliang to move forward as soon as possible, whether in the later period of Roma or when he came to Manchester United, he was responsible for blocking the front of the penalty area and providing backup defense when necessary, rather than having a special one-on-one close defense target like a defender.
So after a while, gradually no player would get close to him during offense.
But Rice was not ordinary at this moment. He was furious and unhappy. All he wanted was to seek revenge on Chen Xiaoliang for having the ball and the ball hit into the goal.
While running forward with the ball, Rice opened his arms to hold Chen Xiaoliang tightly to prevent his legs from stretching in.
Chen Xiaoliang, who was on the left side of Rice's body, stretched out his right hand and held it in front of Rice. He kept exerting force to the right, causing Rice to stagger.
Odegaard, who was in an open position in front, asked for the ball for a long time, but Rice, who was in a rage, just refused to pass it. In just a moment, Fred had blocked him.
Martinelli retreated, with McTominay and Varane following one after the other.
Kaoru Mitoma kept circling around Wan-Bissaka throughout the entire game. No matter whether he was moving to the side or retreating, Wan-Bissaka was always following him.
Trossard was also followed by Lima. Moreover, physical confrontation was not the Belgian striker's forte, and it was easy for him to make mistakes when getting the ball in close confrontation.
Arteta on the sidelines ignored the rules and couldn't help shouting, "Pass the ball quickly!" He was immediately warned by the fourth official.
As a top defensive midfielder, Casemiro was not interested in seeing Rice being squeezed to the edge of losing his balance.
What he saw was Chen Xiaoliang's right hand pressing down on Rice's left hand, and Rice had to put his left hand in front of Chen Xiaoliang's chest to prevent him from stealing the ball from behind. As a result, when the two arms crossed, Chen Xiaoliang's huge downward pressure made it impossible for Rice to speed up.
It can't be thrown away, and it can't be carried.
The second is footwork. Chen Xiaoliang's right foot does not blindly try to go forward. Once it does so, Rice can deliberately let his left foot touch Chen Xiaoliang's right leg, and then fall forward to deceive the foul.
He always used his right foot to support Rice's left foot, and when his left leg stepped on the ground, his right thigh and knee exerted force on Rice's left leg.
From a bystander's perspective, it looked like simple physical contact, with no fouls such as kicking or tripping. However, Casemiro knew that Chen Xiaoliang had put Rice's dribbling into a deadlock through his entanglement and force.
But he failed to pass the ball just now, and now he has no way to pass the ball forward. He wants to pass it back, but he doesn't even have the chance to turn around.
Rice, who became the captain of the Hammers and was favored by more than half of the BIG7 teams in the transfer market, had never suffered such humiliation. In a fit of rage, he punched back with his left hand and hit Chen Xiaoliang directly on the neck.
“Beep!”
The referee Michael Oliver, who was watching the fight between the two men, blew the whistle immediately and gave Rice a yellow card.
This was the first yellow card he gave out today, and he took it out when the game was almost over, which inexplicably made it seem particularly precious.
Rice was not convinced, so he gestured with his hands and complained like a machine gun to Michael Oliver, complaining that Chen Xiaoliang committed a foul and that Michael Oliver was protecting Chen Xiaoliang. He almost called Michael Oliver blind.
Chen Xiaoliang was standing by, with his hands on his hips, watching Rice chattering leisurely until Odegaard ran over and pushed Rice away. Rice then walked away reluctantly, still cursing.
Manchester United took a free kick in the frontcourt. Chen Xiaoliang asked Fred to pass the ball to him. After receiving the ball, he did nothing else but ran directly towards Rice with the ball.
Just like a player with unique personality who has to steal the ball or block a shot from his opponent on the baseball field, Rice's mind is now full of "returning the favor in their own way" and he wants to get his own ground back on his home court.
Seeing that Chen Xiaoliang's advancement speed was not fast, he went up and stole the ball with his right foot. After that, he made a movement similar to Tieshankao with his upper body, thinking that after stealing the ball, he would bump into Chen Xiaoliang to give him a hard time.
Who would have thought that Chen Xiaoliang shook his right foot and passed the ball under Rice's outstretched right leg, hitting him in the crotch. He then dodged and caught the ball with his left foot.
Rice turned around and stretched out his foot to steal the ball again, trying to steal it when Chen Xiaoliang had just finished dribbling and was not yet stable.
But when his right foot stretched out again, Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball with his left foot, hit Rice through the crotch again, and then stopped the ball with his right foot.
Rice was furious. He stretched out his left hand to grab Chen Xiaoliang's clothes, then kicked down to break it for the third time.
The referee Michael Oliver has put his whistle in his mouth, but the ball is still at Chen Xiaoliang's feet, so he has to wait a little longer.
Rice rushed forward very fiercely this time. Chen Xiaoliang knocked his hand away with his hand, then pushed forward with his right foot and pierced Rice's crotch for the third time.
But this time it was no longer a left-right flick of the ball, but a forward pass through the crotch.
Rice's arm was hit downwards and his body rushed forward again, his center of gravity suddenly shifted forward. Before he could retract his outstretched leg, he saw Chen Xiaoliang had flashed past him and he was so anxious that he wanted to turn around immediately.
Chen Xiaoliang, who was about to make a breakthrough, swung his right hand back and gave a light push, causing Rice to fall sideways on the grass.
The fans in the stadium exclaimed!
The only difference is that Arsenal fans were shouting in disappointment, while Manchester United fans were exclaiming in joy!
Rice stood up and chased him, but Chen Xiaoliang had already run four or five lengths ahead of him.
Arsenal's formation retreated as Rashford, Cesco and Ganacho sprinted into the penalty area from three directions.
In front of Chen Xiaoliang was Saliba who was constantly retreating. Facing his two long legs, Chen Xiaoliang cut directly to the right and entered the right rib area.
Here, he can pass the ball straight into the penalty area, cut in to the left and shoot, or cross the ball to the right. He has the most options and is the most difficult for opponents to defend against.
Takehiro Tomiyasu followed Rashford all the way back to the penalty area, and behind Saliba was left center back Gabriel.
If Saliba is passed, he will be the last line of defense to stop Chen Xiaoliang.
Rashford quickly entered the penalty area from the right side of the penalty area, and then moved horizontally to the left side of the penalty area. Takehiro Tomiyasu was left behind by him, and Gabriel had to move up to defend. Once Chen Xiaoliang passed the ball, Rashford could directly shoot.
Seeing that Chen Xiaoliang had slowed down, Saliba put his hands behind his back, bent down and stared at Chen Xiaoliang's movements intently.
At this moment, Rashford, who was running from right to left in the penalty area, suddenly stopped and stood with his hands in front of him. As soon as he stood still, Ben White who was running over bumped into him!
But Ben White was actually defending Cesco who was running from the left side of the penalty area to the right!
Rice came from behind and stretched out his hand to pull Chen Xiaoliang. Chen Xiaoliang suddenly started and cut a step to the left. Saliba also immediately moved to the right. Chen Xiaoliang's left foot suddenly pushed the ball forward, and the ball rolled from Saliba's left hand side to the right side of the penalty area!
At this time, both Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel were looking at Rashford who was standing in the middle of the penalty area. Although Ben White wanted to follow Cesco, he was blocked by Rashford and could no longer catch up.
The one who suffered the most was Ramsdale. Seeing Chen Xiaoliang cutting in towards the middle, he immediately moved to his right side, blocking Chen Xiaoliang's shot from the far corner.
Facing such a weirdo who can fire powerful shots with both feet at any time, the goalkeeper can only greatly reduce the risk of losing the ball when his teammates help block half of the shooting space and position themselves in advance to block the other half.
But Chen Xiaoliang's straight pass to the right side of the penalty area not only made his running in vain, but also became a suicidal act that gave Cesco half of the goal!
After receiving the ball, Cesco paused slightly and shot directly to the right side of the goal. Gabriel reacted and immediately rushed towards Cesco and slid hard, but he was still a beat too late.
The ball was not going fast, but it rolled steadily into the goal along the right post.
Lou Yichen: "3 to 4! In the 85th minute! This could very well be a buzzer beater!"
"Cesco completed his first hat trick in the Premier League, with a header and a kick. This time his movement was very smart, letting people know that in addition to being an excellent frontcourt fulcrum, he is also an all-around center forward who can use his brain and has superb shooting skills!"
Liu Yue: "He and Xiaoliang really have a tacit understanding. As soon as he got to the position, the ball was passed to him. When he got to the position, he shot. The final offensive process was very concise."
"But we can't forget Rashford's contribution. His lateral movement not only attracted the attention of two defensive players, but also blocked Ben White who was defending Cesco like an off-ball screen."
Lou Yichen: "Have you noticed that Cesco has become much stronger since coming to the Premier League? I think the coaching staff has given him special training to increase muscle and weight in order to enhance his ability to fight."
Liu Yue: "It is very likely that it is the case. For example, Haaland, because of his physical fitness, can have an overwhelming advantage over the defenders in the Premier League."
"Cesco, once known as the little Haaland, is still a long way from Haaland in all aspects, but at the age of 20, he is obviously on the right track. What remains is to continue to improve and avoid injuries."
Lou Yichen: "Here Manchester United and Arsenal played out a big score of 3-4, and over there Manchester City's game just ended, also with a big score, but it was a one-sided massacre. They beat newly promoted Middlesbrough 7-0 at home, and Haaland completed a hat-trick, and his league goals this season have reached 20!"
"12 league games, 20 goals. At this pace, we should be heading for 60 goals in a season."
"After scoring 36 goals last season and breaking the Premier League single-season scoring record, Haaland still has 97 years ago in front of him in the 1927-28 season, when Everton's ancient god Dixie Dean created the English top league single-season scoring record of 60 goals."
Liu Yue: "In the modern football system, if this record can be broken, then to borrow the words of netizens, it is really an outrageous mother opening the door for outrageous things, it is outrageous to the extreme."
Lou Yichen: "That's right! The number 10 on this list is 39 goals. It should be a sure thing for Haaland to be in the top ten in history this season."
After losing the ball, Rice kept shaking his head. Arteta on the sidelines saw that his emotions were on the verge of getting out of control, so he quickly called him over to comfort him.
But at the same time, he also instructed the team to fight desperately and get back one point.
Rice listened to Arteta's speech on the sidelines with his head shaking, but it basically went in one ear and out the other, just like a student who was not paying attention in class, pretending to nod at the teacher but thinking about the fact that he was daydreaming.
The only thing he was thinking about was Chen Xiaoliang.
In the 86th minute, Arsenal kicked off and began to pile up players forward, pressing forward and passing the ball quickly, regardless of whether Manchester United pressed high or not. Even if Manchester United pressed, they would immediately kick the ball forward. In short, they seized every opportunity to launch an attack.
In the 91st minute, Kaoru Mitoma retreated and made a long diagonal pass. Trossard received the ball on the right side and turned to attack the penalty area.
At this time, not only the offensive players, but also Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the midfield and backcourt pressed into Manchester United's penalty area.
Seeing that he couldn't shake Lima off, Trossard dribbled the ball forward for a while and then made a cross with his right foot.
There is no time left, every time you pass it on, it counts as one.
The ball fell in front of the goal, Maguire jumped up with all his might, and used his unparalleled big head to head the ball out of the penalty area. Fred rushed forward to catch the ball, but Odegaard was one step ahead, and with a cushion of his right foot, he passed the ball into the penalty area again.
Odegaard did not look for the right goal post, which is the area where Maguire was mainly defending, but chose the back point. Saliba really overpowered Varane and headed the ball towards the goal.
Fortunately, De Gea was in position in advance and blocked the ball out of the baseline with his right hand.
Arsenal corner kick!
All the fans present stood up, many of them clenched their fists and shouted loudly, trying to increase the momentum of the home team and equalize the score again.
The corner kick from the left side was still aimed at Saliba, who is 192cm tall, but the person guarding him was no longer his French compatriot Varane , but Chen Xiaoliang!
Although he was 9 centimeters shorter, his super fast speed and invincible aerial control allowed Chen Xiaoliang to get the ball out of the penalty area one step ahead.
But the reaction of Manchester United's two defensive midfielders was too slow, just like Fred failed to get the second point just now. As soon as McTominay rushed forward, the ball was caught by Mitoma Kaoru who had started in advance.
The three-times king of goals shot directly with his right foot. The ball was not tricky, but De Gea did not dare to force the ball, and instead hit the ball out with both fists!
The ball flew high and then fell to the top of the penalty area. This time Chen Xiaoliang rushed up and was determined to get the ball at all costs. He could not give Arsenal the chance to launch a third attack!
He jumped one step ahead, his body flying high, and his forehead was about to hit the falling ball!
“Fuck!”
Chen Xiaoliang felt as if a car had hit his right rear back. He immediately lost his balance in the air and fell heavily to the ground.
“Beep!”
“Beep, beep, beep!”
Chen Xiaoliang, who fell to the ground, only felt a pain. Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard the players from both sides arguing and the referee blowing the whistle continuously.
Then the whole audience exclaimed “Ah!”
He slowly squatted up and looked up. The referee Michael Oliver was putting away the red card in his hand, while Rice was pointing at Michael Oliver and cursing. He was separated from his teammates and pushed off the field.
"Finally went down."
Chen Xiaoliang twisted his neck and told his teammates who came up to show their concern that he was fine. Then he raised his hands and clapped in the direction of Rice, and then pointed to his face.
"Remember me, I'll come find you next time."
