Chapter 1 The Beginning

The exit of the tunnel was quite a distance from the green field.

The Stade Louis II is not just a football stadium, it also has a spacious running track, and hosts various international athletics competitions every year.

The players' eyes were drawn to the setting sun sinking below the west stand.

The uniquely scenic Monaco home stadium was filled with spectators.

The Champions League theme song floated over the Côte d'Azur.

A giant starburst logo flag was spread across the center circle, undulating in the breeze.

"Both teams' main colors are red and white!"

"The scarves and slogans waving frantically in the stands make it hard to tell where the home and away fans are!"

"Li Kang is wearing Arsenal's dark blue away kit for the Champions League today... it looks more like black!"

"The director's camera focuses on his shoes... Puma!"

"Arsenal's kit sponsor no longer has to worry about the 200 million man always wearing other brands of shoes..."

The coin toss ended quickly.

Li Kang took his position.

The system prompt sounded quietly.

[Ding, mission triggered: Butterfly 4-4-2!]

[Mission description: A very difficult match. This Monaco team has overwhelming attacking power... The eternal 4-4-2, the dark horse formation! Defeat them!]

[Mission reward: George Weah's blessing.]

What is a blessing?

In the system panel, Baggio's "Golden Left Foot" module trembled slightly...

....

"Now, let's introduce the starting lineups for both sides."

"Monaco is fielding a 4-4-2 formation."

"Goalkeeper: Subašić."

"Defenders: Mendy, Jemerson, Glik, Sidibé."

"Midfielders: Lemar, Fabinho, Bakayoko, Bernardo Silva!"

"Forwards: Falcao, Mbappé!"

Livestream room.

The number of viewers gradually increased.

-[Fun fact: Monaco recently beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 in the league! Breaking the French champion's monopoly!]

-[It's not just their attack that's strong, their defense is too. This rigid 4-4-2 is the most suitable formation for this group of young players!]

-[A true youth storm with an average team age of only 22!]

-[How many players can Monaco keep next summer? I heard that Liverpool, PSG, and Man City have already pre-ordered almost all of the midfielders and forwards in this lineup!]

-[Mendy might also go to Man City, Guardiola likes him a lot.]

-[Being pre-ordered before achieving anything? You guys are making this Monaco team sound so amazing. Isn't Barcelona going to be eliminated from the group stage then? Impossible!]

...

"Arsenal is also fielding a 4-4-2 formation!"

"Goalkeeper: Čech!"

"Defenders: Bellerín, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal!"

"Double defensive midfielders: Li Kang, Cazorla!"

"Attacking midfielders: Sánchez, Chamberlain!"

"Forwards: Morata, Giroud!"

-[The Professor is also playing 4-4-2?]

-[Whoa, meme-king Chamberlain is starting!]

-[Chamberlain? Zhang Zhi Zhong!]

-[This match is Zhang Juzheng.]

-[Always thinking about going to Liverpool, Zhang Zhijun!]

-[Injured for so long last season, Zhang Manyu!]

-[Stop with the nickname memes, it's boring. Arsenal is focusing more on defense in this match, letting Little Li return to his original position: a deep-lying midfielder; Zhang Zhilin might be dumb, but he's more well-rounded in defense than Walcott.]

-[Why isn't the Professor using Xhaka?]

-[Xhaka is too clumsy right now, he needs a few more years of training. He'll have a hard time against midfielders like Lemar and B Silva.]

...

With the referee's whistle.

The match officially began.

Falcao passed the ball back to Bernardo Silva from the kickoff.

The latter has gained quite a few fans in Asia with his excellent skills, and has even earned an affectionate nickname: B Xi.

His nickname: a smaller version of Messi in terms of attacking radius.

That's right.

During this historical period, his step frequency, ball control, and vision reached a European standard.

His only weaknesses were a short attacking radius, not maxing out his long passing skill, and not maxing out his long-distance solo runs.

But it was more than enough in Monaco's butterfly 4-4-2 formation.

Who is B Silva's idol? Messi!

"Receiving the ball sideways."

"Bernardo Silva, who is only 1.7 meters tall, is actually able to use his arm to fend off Giroud up close!"

"Spinning in place, touching the ball twice... no, four times... his step frequency is too fast!"

"We seem to see Messi in the withdrawn midfield position!"

"Beautiful!"

"Even Morata can't tackle the ball away from him!"

"Lingbo Micro Step (evasive movement)!"

...

Stade Louis II.

Applause thundered.

The short B Silva managed to evade and maneuver under the entanglement of two Arsenal tough guys... and found the most suitable passing lane.

With a snap.

The ball stuck to the grass, passed through Giroud's legs, and rolled towards Bakayoko diagonally in front.

Li Kang did not easily lose his position to tackle.

He was still analyzing B Silva's intentions from a God's-eye view: boldly using his own advantages, attracting Arsenal's front-line pressure on his own, helping his teammates reduce pressure, and also finding the closest teammate with the most suitable run in the chaos.

This Monaco team is a bit crazy.

...

Bakayoko is not a traditional defensive midfielder.

Beneath his rough exterior lies a delicate heart.

He kept observing before receiving the ball, and found the most suitable advancing route.

He gently led the ball with his right foot.

And headed straight for Arsenal's half.

At the same time.

Monaco's two full-backs, Sidibé and Mendy, were also keeping pace with Bakayoko on the left and right flanks.

The butterfly 4-4-2 formation.

Began to flutter its wings.

Sánchez quickly moved horizontally, trying to intercept.

Could he stop it?

He could stop it!

Bang!

The short, stocky body collided heavily with the burly black shadow.

The possession of the ball did not change as expected.

Bakayoko, who had greater weight, staggered and brought the ball out.

"Ouch!"

"The French beast waist, who is 1.9 meters tall and weighs 190 pounds, has too obvious physical advantages!"

"Monaco's formation is advancing faster and faster!"

"Is he going to take a few more steps?"

"He passed it to Sidibé on the right!"

"He's rushing up!"

....

Sidibé's talent is not as good as B Silva and Mbappé.

But his task in the game is very easy: to do chores for the two of them on the right flank.

Dribbling the ball into Arsenal's half to the forty-meter zone.

The little black egg slowed down slightly, realized that he had attracted a lot of Gunners players, and decisively kicked!

Cazorla ran frantically, trying to cut off the connection between the opponent and Mbappé.

With a snap.

The ball was not passed to Mbappé on the outside.

But was handed over to B Silva, who had switched to the center.

"The pass is a bit too strong."

"It's difficult for his teammates to stop... beautiful!"

"What an amazing touch, Bernardo Silva steadily stopped the ball."

"Li Kang!"

"A head-on confrontation between two number 10 players."

...

B Silva was still unloading the ball sideways.

He had observed Li Kang's tendency to tackle in advance.

Ready to use a reasonable arm-raising action in the upper body to create distance.

Using the most basic and concise way, his feet moved the ball.

His brain was running fast: as long as he could get past Li Kang... and increase the passing lead to Lemar, he could break through Arsenal's defense in one fell swoop...

It's not dragging out the pace of the attack.

Monaco, in the "first attack state", does not pursue speed in its central thinking.

The next moment.

He realized he was wrong.

He couldn't push or prop his arm open.

With a snap.

B Silva's unparalleled step frequency came to an abrupt halt, and the unstoppable body inertia still made him spin in place.

The ball had already stuck to the left foot of Arsenal's number 10.