Chapter 1 Both Teams Enter

The players from both sides entered the field amidst a deafening roar.

As Zhao Gang walked out of the tunnel, the atmosphere at the Etihad reached its peak.

This was the attitude of Manchester City fans towards him now, after twenty-three rounds of league matches and six Champions League group stage games.

He had already become the new darling of the Etihad.

From distrust and skepticism at the start of the season to wholehearted love, support, and adoration now.

Zhao Gang hadn't needed much time.

His skills were unmatched in the entire Premier League, and his character was always impeccable.

The shouts of more than sixty thousand fans filled the entire Etihad with endless passion. Gabriel Jesus looked up at these crazy fans, then shifted his gaze to Zhao Gang. This young man, enjoying the cheers of the entire stadium, was even five months younger than him.

He longed for the day when he could receive the same treatment as Zhao Gang at the Etihad Stadium.

When he first arrived, Gabriel Jesus had thought that this young Dragon Country player must have an arrogant and unruly personality. After all, how could someone with such ability and talent at such a young age be a goody-two-shoes?

After a few training matches, Gabriel Jesus had to admit that he possessed a maturity far beyond his peers, both in terms of skill and character.

Not only did the fans regard him as an idol and role model, but his teammates were also very close to him.

In training matches, in all his decisions on the field – his passes, shots, dribbles, breakthroughs – all his choices were considered the most correct.

His teammates treated him like a deity on the field, and even Guardiola didn't offer any criticism.

As a typical South American player, Gabriel Jesus possessed exquisite technique and a flamboyant personality. He had dominated the Brazilian league, and at this age, Guardiola had taken a fancy to him, signing him to the Premier League for forty million euros. He should have been riding high, but then this unusual teammate appeared, making it hard for him to even try to be wild.

In his heart, he had already made this player, even younger than himself, his goal to surpass.

One day, he would make the Etihad go crazy for him too!

Zhao Gang waved to the fans, another one of his dreams realized.

This match was the last time Manchester City and Tottenham would face each other this season.

Tottenham had already given up on the FA Cup and were knocked out of the League Cup by their rivals, stopping in the semi-finals. Since they also didn't have any Champions League commitments, the two teams would only meet in the league this season.

"Hmm… Guardiola…" Zhan Lu already knew the starting lineup, but the formation wouldn't be known until just before the match.

Seeing Manchester City's 4-2-3-1 formation, Zhan-laoshi sighed. As expected, Guardiola was up to his old tricks again.

Although Zhan Lu and Zhang Jun had mentioned before that Guardiola might arrange this formation, they were only joking.

They never thought Guardiola would actually do it.

"Manchester City is still in a 4-2-3-1 formation. In the defense, Kyle Walker has secured his main position, with Zabaleta on the bench.

The two holding midfielders are Fernandinho and Zhao Gang.

This is a very, very strange lineup. Since joining Manchester City, Zhao Gang has played as a center forward, as a winger on both sides, and has also appeared in the attacking midfielder or central midfielder positions. He even briefly appeared as a right-back in the Champions League match against Real Madrid, defending Cristiano Ronaldo.

His superb finishing ability, passing skills, and the fact that he has no weak foot allow him to adapt to most positions in the attacking half.

Today, Guardiola has placed him in the holding midfielder position!

This is a bit unbelievable. When Gündoğan was injured, we discussed this issue. If Silva recovered, would Zhao Gang replace Gündoğan? Now we see it, Zhao Gang is really in the holding midfielder position!

Because of Sané's arrival, the midfield vacancy can be temporarily filled, so Zhao Gang's position has been pushed back again.

Although Zhao Gang's abilities are very outstanding, he may find it difficult to adapt to this position."

"No, no, no, it's like this. Manchester City seems to have a double holding midfielder formation, but from the beginning, it wasn't a traditional double holding midfielder formation. Gündoğan's defensive ability isn't really that good either. At most, he has the ability to provide defensive cover. His greatest role is to carry the ball forward as a passing outlet.

The only true holding midfielder is actually Fernandinho. I estimate that once the game starts, the formation may change. A 4-1-4-1 is also possible.

Guardiola can't waste Zhao Gang's attacking talent by having him stay in the holding midfielder position to intercept and cover. He won't do that either. No matter how much Guardiola likes to play tricks, he can't do something like that." Zhang Jun-laoshi's analysis of tactics was much stronger.

On Tottenham's side, Ancelotti also used a 4-2-3-1 formation.

At the front was still Harry Kane, behind him were Eriksen, Alli, and the famous Korean star Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min is now called one of the Korean Twin Stars by some Korean fans, the other, of course, being Zhao Gang.

In the holding midfielder positions were the young England international Dier and the Kenyan interception monster, Wanyama.

In the defense, the central defender pairing of Vertonghen and Alderweireld cooperated more smoothly. So far in the league, they were the best central defender partnership in the Premier League, with higher efficiency than the central defender partnerships of Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool. They were almost certain to be the best defense in the Premier League this season.

The left-back was Danny Rose, and the right-back was the cross-machine Trippier, replacing Kyle Walker's position.

The goalkeeper, of course, was captain Hugo Lloris.

Before the game started, the players from both sides shook hands. Guardiola and Ancelotti also chatted and laughed like old friends.

Despite the friendly atmosphere now, it was very possible that they would ignore each other after the game.

Both sides attached great importance to this match.

Manchester City had achieved a terrifying unbeaten start, winning 22 of those games and only regretfully taking a draw at Stamford Bridge.

It was no exaggeration to call Manchester City invincible in the Premier League now.

Countless fans were waiting for the moment when Manchester City would fall from grace.

Tottenham's recruitment this season had been considerable, and they wanted to achieve great things.

Defeating Manchester City would undoubtedly greatly enhance their reputation.

Moreover, in the first match between the two sides, Tottenham had not been at a disadvantage on the field.

Ancelotti felt that Tottenham had even had more chances than Manchester City in that game, but they were just unlucky.

This time, they were making a comeback and were determined to stop Manchester City with all their strength.

Just think, defeating this invincible team at the Etihad, under the spotlight, what great glory would that be?

For this match, Tottenham had unhesitatingly strategically abandoned the FA Cup. In terms of fighting spirit, Tottenham even surpassed Manchester City by far!

Moreover, Agüero, Silva, and Gündoğan were injured for Manchester City, and the new signings had just arrived, so their chemistry was definitely much worse.

Although they had won consecutive victories in previous matches, those opponents were not very strong.

Ancelotti had already seen some things. Sané's individual ability was decent, but he still lacked chemistry with his teammates.

Although Gabriel Jesus had scored a few goals, that was because of Zhao Gang's passes. Even a pig could have scored two goals there.

Today, Guardiola had insisted on putting Zhao Gang in the holding midfielder position to organize the attack, which would reduce his threat.

At the same time, the entire defense would become more fragile.

In the first match between the two teams, Fernandinho was almost exhausted. This time, could Fernandinho alone withstand Tottenham's attacking group?

Pochettino had considerable confidence that he could directly defeat Manchester City in this match, taking advantage of the fact that Manchester City's players were not well-integrated!

The players from both sides stood in position. With the referee's whistle,

Manchester City won the coin toss, and Tottenham kicked off.

Kane passed the ball to Eriksen and then quickly moved forward.

Tottenham usually had Eriksen and Alli responsible for organizing the midfield.

The two had different characteristics. Eriksen's personality was also very low-key, with no scandals at all. He worked diligently on the field, so many people underestimated his ability.

His role on the field was extremely important. His dribbling and ball protection ability, key passing ability, and set-piece ability were all quite high.

In particular, his long passes to find Son Heung-min and Kane were one of Tottenham's greatest weapons this season.

As an organizing midfielder, he was excellent enough.

Alli, on the other hand, was more adept at breakthroughs and confrontations.

At this time, Alli had already become Tottenham's rising superstar.

When asked about Zhao Gang and Alli in an interview, Pochettino had boasted that Alli's achievements at this age were unparalleled. Cristiano Ronaldo hadn't achieved it, Lampard hadn't, and Rooney hadn't either.

His ability at this age, his contribution to the team, surpassed those superstars.

The only one who could be compared to him was probably Ronaldinho during his time at Paris.

Alli was full of personal charm, from the beginning. Everyone loved Alli.

He was strong, agile, and extremely skilled in individual combat. His growth this season was obvious.

Alli's performance was indeed good enough. His value had already reached more than 50 million euros. A year later, Alli would reach the peak of his life.

His value would directly exceed 100 million euros, even surpassing Zhao Gang's transfer fee to Manchester City.

Real Madrid had launched a strong pursuit of him, but the Tottenham owner rejected the transfer.

Alli was too important to Tottenham.

Of course, in the end, Alli was like a shooting star, brilliant but fleeting.

He grew as quickly as he fell.

Alli at this time was in a stage of rapid growth. The first match against Zhao Gang was at the beginning of the season, and he didn't yet have his current superb performance and confidence.

Today, he would prove himself on the field, that his ability was definitely stronger than Zhao Gang!

Zhao Gang scored a lot of goals and had a lot of assists because he was in Manchester City, he just had a good platform.

In a head-on confrontation, everyone would know that Tottenham's Alli was stronger than Manchester City's Zhao Gang!

Alli really believed what Pochettino had said to the media.

He really thought he was the best player of this age!

He really thought he could be compared to Ronaldinho.

Zhao Gang was in the holding midfielder position on the field, but his position wasn't far back, because behind him, there was Kyle Walker, who was extremely fast and covered very quickly, and Fernandinho, who had a very large coverage area. So, at the start of the game, Zhao Gang roamed forward.

Zhang Jun's analysis was correct. Manchester City was in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but it played like a 4-1-4-1.

Zhao Gang's first task as he moved forward was to disrupt Tottenham's ball-carrying players.

Eriksen organized briefly and passed the ball to Alli.

Alli had come to this game with a goal, so when Zhao Gang approached, he directly unleashed a fancy move, continuously shifting his center of gravity and accelerating instantly, leaving Zhao Gang behind!

In an instant, Alli, who was already full of confidence, was even more elated!

He was eager to perform, eager to defeat Zhao Gang on the field, and tell all the fans in the world that he was stronger than this so-called number one young generation player who had been hyped up by everyone!

Tottenham directly increased their speed. Son Heung-min and Kane quickly moved forward, receiving and creating space.

And Alli, having passed Zhao Gang in the middle, ran all the way!

Zhao Gang began to accelerate and chased after him from behind.

"Alli is really fast! He directly got rid of Zhao Gang and is now facing Fernandinho…"

Fernandinho's cover forced Alli to slow down slightly, but he found another route. He poked the ball to the left, and then continued to accelerate, preparing to forcibly pass Fernandinho with speed.

After Alli accelerated, Fernandinho kept blocking his position, preventing him from returning to the center and forcing him to continue to break through to the left, where there were many players and Manchester City players could quickly form a double team.

Eriksen in the center quickly advanced, wanting to reach out for the ball, but found that Alli had already rushed into the Manchester City encirclement!

He was surrounded by Kyle Walker, Otamendi, and Fernandinho, forcibly cutting inside, wanting to return to the center.

Trippier, who rushed up, and Kane, who moved to the wing, watched helplessly as Alli's ball was poked away by Otamendi, and Tottenham lost this very good attacking opportunity.

Kane shook his head. What kind of choice was that?

Why, why didn't he pass the ball earlier?

That step to get past Zhao Gang was very beautiful, because his interception ability wasn't very good to begin with.

Why was he still so reckless when he encountered Fernandinho, and why didn't he pass the ball when he encountered a double team?

He just threw away this opportunity?

Did he think he was Messi, that encountering a three-man encirclement was a very good attacking opportunity?

Fernandinho received the ball and passed it directly to Zhao Gang. Eriksen and Dier quickly counter-pressed Zhao Gang.

At the same time, Alli also surrounded him.

Zhao Gang dribbled the ball, leaning on Dier and firmly controlling the ball on his left. When Alli rushed over, Zhao Gang passed the ball directly to Sané, who was moving forward.

Sané received the ball, and Manchester City began a quick counterattack. He crashed head-on into Wanyama.

Wanyama's interception ability was very outstanding. Sané failed to shake him off despite changing direction twice, and he almost lost the ball.

Guardiola stood on the sidelines, expressionless.

In his tactical system, players should not stick to the ball for too long, except for Messi and Zhao Gang, of course.

Sané had just arrived at Manchester City, and his main position wasn't stable, so wanting to show himself was understandable.

Soon, Dier ran over from behind Sané. Sané stumbled and poked the ball to De Bruyne.

But the ball was short.

Danny Rose quickly rushed up and intercepted the ball!

He dribbled the ball forward on the spot, launching a counterattack!

Both teams had made mistakes at the start, so the tempo was naturally very fast.

Tottenham's initial tactic was to steady the game, but since there was an opportunity, of course they had to increase the speed.