Capítulo 219: Chapter 219 De Bruyne's Resistance, Singled Out Manchester City's Defense!
In the Manchester City dressing room, the atmosphere was tense. The players sat in silence, casting wary glances at Guardiola, who was visibly displeased. No one dared to speak.
Guardiola scanned the room, fighting the urge to lash out. But after a moment's reflection, he realized the Manchester City players had performed reasonably well. They had kept Chelsea under pressure for most of the first half, and no one had made any glaring errors.
The two goals they conceded, however, were a result of underestimating Su Luo's ability. Despite being contained for 44 minutes, Su Luo needed only a sliver of opportunity to create a threat. Chelsea had scored two goals with just three shots on target in the first half. The second goal, in particular, was baffling—Lukaku scored while standing still, thanks to Su Luo's almost supernatural pass.
Guardiola took a deep breath. "I don't blame you. There were issues with my tactics too. In the second half, we need to take more risks, push forward, and don't be afraid to lose the ball. This is the Etihad, our home stadium. We can't let the fans down!"
But Guardiola's rallying cry didn't have the desired effect. The Manchester City players seemed drained of energy, their spirits dampened by Su Luo's brilliance. Only two players, Grealish and De Bruyne, still had fire in their eyes—they weren't ready to concede defeat just yet.
As the second half kicked off, Grealish came alive, relentlessly dribbling down the left flank. He wasn't focused on breaking through the defense; holding onto the ball was enough to disrupt Chelsea's rhythm. Grealish began to cover more ground, often dribbling across the pitch from left to right.
"Grealish... dribbles past Willian, continues laterally, shakes off Matic... and Kante finally pulls him down. Free kick for City!"
Manchester City's attack shifted to the left, with Grealish persistently drawing fouls and frustrating Chelsea's defense. Even the usually composed Conte began to show concern on the sidelines.
Despite being two goals down, Manchester City wasn't backing down. Chelsea couldn't afford to relax, not with City still in the fight.
De Bruyne's free kick was dangerous, curling past several defenders to find Aguero lurking at the far post.
"Aguero at the back post! One shot! What a save by Courtois! He denies City a clear goal!"
"City with the corner! Aguero takes the shot!"
City's relentless pressure had Chelsea fans on the edge of their seats. Su Luo might be able to thread the needle with precision passes, but De Bruyne was just as capable. Su Luo's earlier pass, a masterpiece of precision, had been matched by De Bruyne's creativity.
As De Bruyne set up another corner, Stones made a powerful header that was miraculously saved by Courtois, the tall goalkeeper's reflexes and wingspan proving crucial once again.
Rumors had been swirling that Real Madrid was eyeing Courtois, and it was moments like these that showed why.
City's back-to-back threats reinvigorated their morale. They pressed forward with renewed intensity, launching wave after wave of attacks. Chelsea's defense began to show cracks.
"Long shot from De Bruyne! It hits the crossbar! That was close!"
"Grealish breaks free on the left! Kolarov overlaps, crosses in!"
"Stones goes for the header! He's playing like a striker!"
"David Silva with a beautiful through ball behind Rudiger!"
"Aguero! Tight angle, but he takes the shot... blocked!"
City continued to dominate possession, their high-press tactics keeping Chelsea pinned back. Every time Chelsea tried to transition from defense to attack, Su Luo found himself immediately swarmed by Fernandinho, Silva, or Grealish, who cut off any passes intended for him. Chelsea had no choice but to clear the ball long, hoping their front men could do something with it.
Manchester City's midfield duo, De Bruyne and Silva, were dictating the tempo, stretching Chelsea's defense thin. No matter how tenacious Kante was, he could only cover so much ground. Matic, still recovering from an injury, struggled to keep up with City's dynamic playmakers. De Bruyne, sensing weakness, continued to exploit the spaces between Chelsea's lines.
Aguero's movement was causing chaos in the Chelsea backline, constantly finding gaps to exploit.
Chelsea was now in a precarious position.
"They need to counterattack, or City will only grow more confident," commented Director Zhang. "It's up to Su Luo to find a way through this."
Conte remained calm despite the mounting pressure. He had faith in Su Luo's ability to turn the game around, even under the most challenging circumstances.
"Boss, should we make a change?" Conte's assistant suggested.
"No, not yet. Look at Su Luo's movement—he's working something out. I trust him," Conte replied with confidence.
The game was far from over, and everyone knew it.
On the field, Su Luo was fully engaged, his mind working at lightning speed. Thanks to Modric's passive ability, he could see every player's position on the field with crystal clarity. His focus was on predicting the movements of Manchester City's players.
Guardiola wasn't just talking big before the game—he had indeed devised a meticulous defensive plan to contain Su Luo. But humans aren't robots; mistakes are inevitable.
Su Luo, in his training, had been up against flawless, machine-like opponents. He was used to playing against those who never erred. But now, against real players, Su Luo could instinctively sense when someone was out of sync.
And right now, that someone was Gundogan.
After more than 60 minutes of intense play, the German international was visibly tiring. Su Luo noticed that Gundogan had started to slack off during a few recent plays, allowing himself brief moments of relaxation. Su Luo knew that if he could exploit the space behind Gundogan, there'd be an opportunity.
This insight was entirely Su Luo's own judgment, a testament to his world-class football intelligence.
As expected, a Manchester City attack was thwarted, and Courtois collected the ball. He quickly threw it to Matic, who looked to pass it to Su Luo. But David Silva was alert, blocking the passing lane.
Seeing this, Gundogan didn't immediately retreat. Su Luo calmly pointed to the wing, signaling William to drop back and support. As soon as Matic passed to William, Su Luo suddenly accelerated, making a sharp turn and sprinting behind Gundogan.
William immediately grasped Su Luo's intent and delivered a perfect through ball without even stopping it.
Gundogan was caught flat-footed, two steps too slow to catch up with Su Luo.
With the speed of Ronaldo, Su Luo broke away, easily reaching the ball. In an instant, the balance of the match shifted.
"Chelsea on the counterattack! Su Luo is flying down the field, and he's already at full speed!"
"Fernandinho goes for the tackle—what a move!!"
"Su Luo with a rainbow flick! He dodges the tackle beautifully!"
As Su Luo deftly tricked Fernandinho with a rainbow flick, the Manchester City defense began to unravel.
Kolarov, abandoning his position, rushed forward in a desperate attempt to stop Su Luo. But Su Luo's speed was relentless; he weaved left and right, throwing Kolarov off-balance. A quick stab with his left foot, and the ball slipped through Kolarov's legs, allowing Su Luo to break into the penalty area.
"Su Luo's on a tear!! He's absolutely unstoppable!"
Commentator Zhan Jun was ecstatic. He'd seen Su Luo dismantle defenses countless times, but every single time, Su Luo managed to ignite the crowd's passion.
This kind of high-speed breakthrough was Su Luo's trademark.
Manchester City's defense was in disarray. Otamendi, abandoning his mark on Lukaku, rushed in to stop Su Luo. Just as it seemed Su Luo was about to pass to Lukaku, Otamendi hesitated, uncertain whether to intercept or return to his original position.
In the blink of an eye, Su Luo surprised everyone by pulling the ball back with his left foot—choosing to go it alone.
"Otamendi is beaten! Su Luo is one-on-one with the keeper! It's a tight angle!!"
Even in such a high-pressure moment, where many strikers would lose their composure and instinctively go for a powerful shot to the far corner, Su Luo remained ice-cold.
Most players would have gone for a predictable half-height shot to the far post, something the goalkeeper could easily anticipate.
But Su Luo, the more intense the moment, the calmer he became. It was as if he had the instincts of Inzaghi, the skill of Ronaldo, the flair of Ronaldinho, and the precision of De Bruyne—all fused into one.
Time seemed to slow down as Su Luo's mind reached a state of clarity. He noticed the slightest gap between the keeper and the post.
Feinting as if he was going to shoot to the far corner, he instead struck the ball with the outside of his right foot.
Manchester City's goalkeeper Bravo was left stunned—he never expected Su Luo to attempt such a bold shot!
Helplessly, he watched as the ball curled through the narrow gap, slipping between him and the post.
"Four defenders beaten in a row! This is Su Luo!"
"He always finds a way to make miracles happen!"
"Chelsea extends their lead once again! That's 30 goals in just 14 Premier League games for Su Luo!"
On the sidelines, Guardiola squatted down, holding his head in disbelief. He knew the game was over.
Su Luo had just sealed the victory.
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