Chapter 367 365: Li Ang Is a Barrier, Always Tripping Up the Strong Teams

"Li Ang is advancing with the ball! Fàbregas couldn't stop him! Gündoğan and Fernandinho double up!

Li Ang pushes out wide and keeps moving... he shoots!!!"

"Ah! What a strike! Li Ang hit that beautifully! Bravo saved it well too!

Bravo looks extremely focused today. Li Ang didn't manage to sneak it in, but Chelsea wins the first corner of the game..."

In the broadcast studio, Zhan Jun and Coach Zhang praised Li Ang's quick shot but lamented that it didn't find the net.

On the pitch, Li Ang simply shook his head with a smile, showing no visible frustration, and moved into the box with his teammates for the corner kick.

The Manchester City fans, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, immediately felt their hearts jump again.

Guardiola remained calm.

He and his coaching staff had spent significant time in preseason specifically working on defending set pieces —

especially because Chelsea's aerial threat had given them nightmares in previous seasons.

Now, City couldn't claim to be the best at set pieces, but they no longer looked hopeless against Chelsea's high-flying threats.

Defending set pieces, after all, could be improved with time, thought, and disciplined tactical drills.

And City showed that progress here:

They protected the most dangerous areas inside the box well.

Although they lacked Chelsea's height overall, their two center-backs held strong positions.

The other defenders tightly double-marked Chelsea's key aerial threats.

City's plan was simple:

They couldn't beat Chelsea purely in the air, so they focused on body-to-body contests on the ground —

interrupting Chelsea's jumps and disrupting timing.

Maguire was immediately double-teamed by Mangala and Gündoğan!

He managed to get his head to the ball, but the shot was weak and easily caught by Bravo.

In this corner sequence, Li Ang acted more like a tactical decoy in the center of the box.

Seeing Bravo catch the ball, Li Ang immediately tried to block the goalkeeper's distribution —

deliberately standing in his throwing lane while signaling for his teammates to retreat quickly.

Bravo, realizing Li Ang's interference, spread his hands helplessly.

The referee whistled, telling Li Ang to clear the area.

Li Ang didn't argue.

He casually exited the box and jogged back into defensive position.

Many neutral fans watching were surprised.

This Manchester City really was different from before —

they no longer relied solely on possession; they could defend with pragmatism too!

On the sidelines, Mourinho slowly walked up, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

His sharp tactical mind quickly spotted where City's true upgrades had come from.

While most observers focused on the dazzling forward line —

Sterling's explosiveness or Fàbregas's resurgent stats —

Mourinho had already identified City's two real keys.

Bravo and Gündoğan.

Bravo, newly signed from Barcelona, gave City's backline something it had sorely lacked:

A true "soul" in their build-up play.

His wider range of movement, better control under pressure, and excellent footwork transformed him into the first passing outlet in defense.

Neither Joe Hart's superior shot-stopping nor Valdés' fading skills could satisfy Guardiola's tactical needs.

For Guardiola's system, a passing goalkeeper wasn't optional —

it was vital.

With such a keeper, defenders and midfielders didn't need to constantly drop deep under pressure;

they could simply trust the goalkeeper to circulate the ball calmly, shifting it wide when needed.

To Guardiola, this wasn't risky — it was a way to increase overall control in the back.

Bravo's early distribution under pressure today was textbook.

And beyond passing, Bravo's reflexes and shot-stopping were still strong —

short goalkeepers relied heavily on athleticism, and for now, Bravo was still in peak form.

As for Gündoğan —

he was the perfect kind of deep-lying midfielder for Guardiola's vision.

Technically superb, tactically intelligent, mobile, and with strong positional awareness.

Guardiola never settled for simple ball-winners.

His standard for midfielders was even higher than Mourinho's, Ancelotti's, or Ferguson's.

Mourinho could turn a "black and tough" ball-winner into a functional weapon.

Ancelotti and Ferguson could adjust systems to maximize whoever they had available.

But Guardiola demanded midfielders with elite technical ceilings.

If he didn't get them, he'd rather wage a cold war with management — or simply quit.

It wasn't arrogance —

it was relentless tactical perfectionism.

And Gündoğan fit that mold perfectly.

He patched Fàbregas's defensive weaknesses, formed a solid shield alongside Fernandinho,

and most importantly, he could communicate fluently on tactical levels with Guardiola.

He unleashed Fàbregas offensively while reducing Fernandinho's defensive burden.

He was to City what Li Ang had once been for Mourinho's Real Madrid —

not the core of the midfield, but an indispensable "connector."

He could understand the coach's intentions instantly, unleash the full power of the team's double engines, and transition seamlessly between offense and defense.

With Bravo and Gündoğan plugged into the two key spots, City's old tactical flaws were mended.

As for Sterling's explosive emergence?

That was a delightful bonus.

But for Guardiola, if he had to choose, he could live without Sterling exploding.

He absolutely couldn't live without Gündoğan and Bravo.

Mourinho understood his old friend very well, and he understood Guardiola's tactical thinking even better.

So when he saw firsthand how Manchester City had upgraded their squad, he couldn't help but hesitate for a moment.

After all, Mourinho hated nothing more than uncertainty.

But after a quick frown and some rapid thinking, he relaxed again...

Two minutes later, Mourinho issued his first tactical instruction of the match to his Chelsea players!

The moment Li Ang saw Mourinho's adjustment, he instantly understood.

Once again, he and Mourinho were perfectly in sync!

"Keep compact! Strengthen our central defense!"

Li Ang shouted to his teammates, signaling them to adopt a more aggressive defensive stance to stop City's central penetrations.

Of course, simply adjusting the defense didn't require such a big display from Mourinho and Li Ang.

Chelsea's real counterattack weapon was the rapid pushing up of their wings once they regained possession!

On the surface, relying on wing counterattacks against a revamped City didn't seem reliable.

City had learned their lessons from previous defeats —

surely they would guard against Chelsea's famous counters, right?

Mourinho had thought the same when he first saw City's improvements.

But then he remembered Guardiola's nature.

Pep might occasionally indulge in some defensive pragmatism for variety —

but he would never fundamentally abandon his philosophy of controlling the game.

If the opponent dared to surrender midfield control,

Guardiola would never resist the temptation to dominate possession and dictate the rhythm.

An elite coach who had once achieved great success might tweak styles temporarily —

but their temperament, their tactical ideals, were almost impossible to change.

Thus, Mourinho deliberately ceded midfield control to bait Guardiola's attack.

It was a risky choice —

but it was worth it for Mourinho and Chelsea.

After Chelsea pulled back and fortified midfield, Li Ang tensely waited for City's reaction.

When he saw Guardiola order his entire team to press forward without hesitation, Li Ang finally smiled in relief.

This was the spirit of Guardiola's teams —

they wouldn't sit back and defend at home.

They had to control, had to attack!

No matter how much Guardiola's surface-level pragmatism had evolved,

deep down, he was still the same — devoted to his tactical ideals.

In that moment, Li Ang sincerely respected both Guardiola and his City players.

But Manchester City had their own path to walk —

and Chelsea had theirs!

Once City's players crossed midfield, Li Ang led Chelsea's front line to fiercely press them.

His defensive pressure was aggressive and uncompromising.

Fàbregas and Silva fought bravely to protect possession, but physically, they couldn't match Li Ang.

Thus, City's attack slowly devolved into a back-and-forth tug-of-war just outside Chelsea's defensive third.

Chelsea once again became what City fans hated most —

that stinking rock in the road.

Ugly, stubborn, unyielding defense!

Crowded in the middle, refusing to let City organize anything cleanly.

Even Hazard and Salah were seen dropping back into Chelsea's final third to defend.

Watching this, countless neutral fans shook their heads, sighing at Mourinho's "waste" of attacking talent.

The match became a brutal clash of extremes:

Chelsea's iron defense against City's stubborn attack.

Both teams were capable of beautiful football —

yet whenever they faced each other, they turned it into trench warfare!

Regardless of the goals, the intensity and spectacle were always guaranteed.

Li Ang led the disruptive defense —

but he remained clear-headed.

He wasn't blindly focused only on breaking City's rhythm.

After nearly 15 minutes of grueling midfield battles, by the 24th minute, Li Ang seized an opportunity.

He slid in and tackled the ball off Sterling!

Hazard was first to the loose ball and tried to sprint down the flank.

But Gündoğan cut him off —

forcing Hazard to abandon his solo run.

At the crucial moment, Li Ang's shout made Hazard wisely pass the ball back.

Still catching his breath after his slide, Li Ang barely stood up,

but immediately poked the ball through Fàbregas's pressing —

straight to Kroos, who had already begun advancing!

Kroos didn't rush.

Knowing he couldn't outrun City's recovering defenders,

he calmly took a second to survey the field.

Then,

he unleashed a sharp, pinpoint long pass!

Not toward Salah on the right —

but to Trippier, who had overlapped cleverly after Hazard drew defenders.

Trippier didn't stop the ball.

Instead, he boldly touched it forward, cutting inside toward City's central defense!

Kolarov had been waiting to intercept Trippier near the touchline,

but this unexpected move left him completely wrong-footed!

Trippier charged into the center, forcing Fernandinho to step up.

Just as Fernandinho closed down,

Trippier slipped the ball to Salah on the left!

Navas, who had joined City's attack earlier, hadn't tracked back in time.

Kompany didn't dare abandon his position to cover the wing.

Thus, Salah was free to advance down the flank!

Shooting might have been tricky for him —

but passing was easy.

Seizing the moment, Salah whipped in a sweeping, curling low cross toward City's box!

The ball zipped past the near post defenders.

Bravo shouted desperately, ordering Mangala to cover the far post.

He himself guarded the near side tightly.

Li Ang sprinted into the box —

but facing Bravo's intense gaze, he calmly back-passed the ball to the center!

Etihad Stadium seemed to freeze.

And there, arriving late but unmarked, was Kroos.

Still composed,

he side-footed the ball precisely along the turf —

skimming just inside the post and into the net!

Bravo stood dumbfounded —

he couldn't believe Li Ang had unselfishly passed at such a golden chance!

Meanwhile,

Li Ang was already laughing and hugging Kroos,

waving for the others to join them at the corner flag to celebrate!

The Sky Sports commentators erupted again with praise for Li Ang!

Countless Premier League fans watching had to admit:

This guy wasn't just a barrier —

he specialized in tripping up the strongest teams!

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