"Too bad, Ihenacho's pass was a bit too long, oh my goodness!!"

Louis, closer to the ball, was practically churning his legs, but Zhao Gang still managed to poke it away a split second before he could reach it.

Swift as the wind, quick as lightning.

Blue light thoroughly ignited the entire Etihad Stadium.

Louis was somewhat frustrated. According to his understanding, according to his comprehension of soccer, even professional players couldn't possibly start from that position and snatch the ball before him.

Louis pushed off with his foot and quickly turned around. Zhao Gang was already speeding towards where the ball would land.

He glanced at Zhao Gang's route and instantly made a decision, chasing back along the center, hoping to block Zhao Gang's cut-in route and prevent him from shooting smoothly.

"When Zhao Gang played against Real Madrid, he broke the stadium's speed limit in front of Bale. Will he break his own record this time? He's really taking off!"

Accompanied by the fans' crazed and fervent shouts, Zhao Gang got the ball. After a brief deceleration, he once again charged towards the goal.

The defenders behind him, seeing Zhao Gang slow down and thinking they had a chance to catch up, found the distance widening again in the blink of an eye.

"No defenders left, Louis is in the middle. Will Zhao Gang have a chance to cut into the middle with this extreme sprint..."

It was a bit difficult. Zhao Gang poked the ball, making a wide arc. When dribbling, his speed decreased a bit again. Louis was already rushing into the penalty area, preparing to block Zhao Gang's route.

Louis had been observing Zhao Gang's breakthrough route. When Zhao Gang entered the penalty area from the left, Louis was fully prepared for Zhao Gang's speed. He moved quickly to prevent Zhao Gang from cutting inside to create a shooting opportunity.

Courtois simultaneously came out, coordinating with Louis, preparing to completely block Zhao Gang's breakthrough and shooting route.

When Louis leaned towards Zhao Gang, and Courtois prepared to attack, Zhao Gang, who had just entered the left side of the penalty area, didn't hesitate at all.

He swung his right leg and hit the ball with a finesse shot.

Whoosh!

Courtois instantly closed his legs, opened his arms, and tried his best to defend multiple shooting routes.

The soccer ball drew an arc, flew over Courtois's head, and went straight into the far corner.

Courtois could only turn his head and sigh in vain.

On the other side, Cahill rushed towards the goal, leaping high, and then falling into the net. The ball's trajectory was too high; he couldn't reach it at all.

Goal!

Fast counterattack.

Louis underestimated Zhao Gang's speed, resulting in Zhao Gang stealing the ball in a dangerous area.

"Oh my God, he really passed the ball first, then started running from the backfield, sprinting directly to the front. None of Chelsea's defenders could keep up with him. Chelsea's defense was too careless. Most of them went on the attack, which gave Zhao a very large opening.

Allowing Zhao to fully utilize his speed advantage and shooting power. In the penalty area, facing Louis and Courtois, he didn't choose to continue approaching the goal, but directly took a finesse shot.

How much confidence and ability does this curler require, and the timing was very subtle. A little slower and he would have been successfully double-teamed by Courtois and Louis, making it difficult to have a shooting opportunity. A little faster and Courtois would have been on the goal line, and might have been able to save the ball.

At least in terms of offense, I don't think there is a more perfect template than Zhao."

After scoring, Zhao Gang lowered his head, his legs walking somewhat unnaturally towards the sideline, only waving to the fans who were cheering and shouting wildly.

This full sprint had put a considerable burden on his leg muscles. He usually wouldn't cramp, but he would feel very tired.

Guardiola, who was celebrating, frowned. Was he injured?

If something went wrong, it would be a huge blow to Manchester City's lineup.

Zhao Gang at the sideline lowered his head, propped himself up with his knees, and exhaled heavily. On the other side, Agüero turned into a small whirlwind and rushed over in a flash.

He patted Zhao Gang's back, inquiring about Zhao Gang's condition with concern.

Zhao Gang shook his head, just a little tired, nothing serious.

Young people also need to be more restrained in their lives. Manchester City's schedule is very tight now, and he needs to rest well in the future.

After training, he can't play ball anymore when he gets home.

Seeing that Zhao Gang was okay, Agüero hugged Zhao Gang and celebrated.

Guardiola kept clapping, relieved that there were no unexpected situations.

It was probably the fast sprint that fatigued the muscles, also because the constant retreat in defense earlier had taken a toll on his stamina.

No big problem.

Chelsea players looked at each other and shook their heads.

David Louis blamed himself. Before the game, Conte had repeatedly instructed that this game was a last-ditch effort. While launching a large-scale attack, they must pay attention to Manchester City's counterattacks.

Especially Zhao Gang's speed, they must be vigilant at all times.

As a result, it was because of his slight relaxation that Zhao Gang accelerated and snatched the ball.

If he had been more careful and had gone all out to compete for the ball at the first moment, perhaps such a serious consequence would not have occurred.

Even if he hadn't rushed to intercept, but had chosen to retreat in defense, he wouldn't have allowed Zhao Gang to shake off his defense so easily.

It was just a moment's decision that allowed Zhao Gang to complete the goal.

After the restart, Chelsea still didn't give up. There were still more than sixty minutes left. Scoring three goals would allow them to play extra time.

It wasn't without a chance. Moreover, Manchester City's combat effectiveness and starting lineup were too different now, and the defense was not solid.

Chelsea was still constantly putting pressure on both flanks. The two wing-backs moved forward, combined with Hazard and Pedro, the impact was very strong.

If it were Otamendi and Stones as the two center-backs, they would still be able to form a good assist defense on the flanks.

Adarabioyo's assist defense ability was a bit worse, and Kompany didn't dare to easily relax his marking of Costa.

Manchester City's midfielders could only retreat to a very deep position to assist in defending both flanks.

This made Manchester City's defense lack a sense of layering and was compressed very tightly.

When Adarabioyo appeared on the flank to assist in defense, Zhao Gang would directly retreat from the midfield position to the penalty area, partnering with Kompany as two center-backs, forming a five-defender formation.

Zhao Gang's current ability to clear headers and physical confrontation ability allowed him to entangle with Costa without falling behind at all.

In this way, Kompany was liberated, and Kompany could have more opportunities to assist in covering the loopholes on both flanks.

Guardiola on the sidelines, his eyes were shining.

He could play like this?

This was not his tactical arrangement. This was a change made by Zhao Gang and Kompany on the field after understanding the situation.

Guardiola's brain was running non-stop. Zhao Gang belonged to the defensive midfielder position and retreated to the center-back position.

What if it was the other way around?

If a center-back appeared in the defensive midfielder position, able to pass and play the ball out, then the control ability and offensive ability of the midfield would be further enhanced.

In offense, forming a three-defender formation, in defense, the center-back would return to the penalty area to form a four-defender formation. There would be no mistakes in the defense, and the offense would be greatly enhanced.

Guardiola felt that if there was such a center-back, both the control ability and the offensive ability would be greatly increased, while the defense would not be weakened.

Of course, the requirements for this center-back would definitely be very high.

Guardiola would put his theory into practice once he had this idea.

After winning the league title in advance, he would start experimenting with this potentially viable tactical idea.

Guardiola squinted at Zhao Gang, who was entangled with Costa in the penalty area, and nodded non-stop. Allowing Zhao Gang to appear in different positions would not only allow Zhao Gang to have a deeper understanding of soccer, but also inspire him with new tactical ideas.

They complemented each other and helped each other succeed.

Perfect!