Chương 177: Cristiano Ronaldo: Lin Learned from Me!
After the match, Lin visited David Silva in the hospital.
After a thorough examination, the doctor concluded that David Silva had a severe ankle sprain and needed about three months to recover.
The Premier League season had just started, and Silva would miss at least 15 matches. This was terrible news for him.
Pellegrini was still experimenting with the team's tactics, and being absent at this time might push Silva out of the main lineup.
Once Manchester City's main lineup was set, even if Silva recovered, he might not regain his place.
Silva was well aware of this, so he felt quite down.
However, seeing Lin visit him made him happy:
"Thanks for avenging me, but next time, don't be so impulsive. If you get hurt too, it won't be worth it!"
Silva had watched the match replay on the hospital TV and was both touched and worried when he saw Lin get fouled while standing up for him.
Fortunately, Lin wasn't injured. Otherwise, Silva would have felt immensely guilty.
"No need to thank me. We're not just teammates, we're friends. Helping a friend in need is only natural, right?"
Hearing this, Silva felt even more touched.
However, he didn't show too much emotion and simply nodded heavily:
"Alright, since we're friends, I won't be pretentious. I can't help with the upcoming matches, so the team relies on you. Keep up the good work, and don't let the team's points drop while I'm gone."
"Haha, are you underestimating us? We'll be waiting for you at the top of the table!"
"That would be best!"
"Rest well. We'll be waiting for you to lift the trophy together. This season's Premier League title is ours!"
"Deal!"
The two high-fived, sealing their vow to win the title.
...
Since Manchester City's match was the last of the round, the second round of the Premier League started soon after they finished their match against Newcastle.
On August 24, Fulham hosted Arsenal, who had surprisingly lost their first match.
After the frustrating home defeat, Wenger gave the team a strict order to win against Fulham.
If they lost again, their goal of finishing in the top four this season would be in jeopardy.
Arsenal, full of pent-up frustration, started the match strongly. In the 6th minute, Giroud scored the first goal.
Then Podolski scored twice, making it 3-0.
In the second half, Darren Bent scored a consolation goal.
Arsenal won 3-1 away, stopping their losing streak.
After Arsenal, Liverpool narrowly won 1-0 away against Aston Villa, achieving two consecutive wins.
Tottenham also achieved two consecutive wins with a 1-0 victory over Swansea.
This round of the Premier League saw few goals.
Besides Liverpool and Tottenham's 1-0 matches, there were two goalless draws: Everton 0-0 West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle 0-0 West Ham United.
Premier League teams, especially mid-to-lower-tier ones, frequently fouled, averaging four yellow cards per match.
In the Liverpool vs. Aston Villa match, both teams received eight yellow cards, with Liverpool getting three and Aston Villa five.
This was the second consecutive match where Aston Villa received five yellow cards.
Against Arsenal, they also got five yellow cards.
If they hadn't faced the resilient Liverpool, their fouling tactics might have worked.
Having experienced the fouling tactics themselves, Liverpool fans couldn't mock Arsenal's loss anymore.
Arsenal, known for their technical play, really had no way to deal with such aggressive fouling.
The numerous yellow cards in this round sparked heated discussions among fans.
This was the Premier League, known for its lenient refereeing, yet there were so many yellow cards.
If it were other leagues, the number of yellow cards would be even higher!
Fans of other leagues mocked the Premier League, saying its players were not playing football but a high-level wrestling game!
Otherwise, why would there be so many people falling all over?
Premier League fans couldn't accept the criticism and defended themselves:
Fouling is not barbaric football. Can you play football without fouling?
Their explanations about "modern football origins" and "real man's game" amused the online community.
The internet was filled with a lively atmosphere...
...
After the first day's matches, the next day, Manchester City visited Cardiff City in Wales.
Cardiff City had just been promoted from the Championship and was one of the three newly promoted teams this season.
They lost 2-0 to West Ham United in their first match. Hosting Manchester City, they hoped to get points.
Over 30,000 fans packed Cardiff City Stadium.
For Cardiff City fans, this was their team's first top-flight home match in fifty years, so they didn't want to miss it.
Not only were the fans excited, but Cardiff City's owner, Vincent Tan, also attended the match in person.
Unlike other Premier League owners who sat in luxury boxes, Tan wore the team's jersey and sat among the regular fans.
This earned him the fans' approval, and throughout the match, they sang loudly to cheer on the team.
Maybe inspired by the fans' enthusiasm or motivated by the owner's presence, Cardiff City played exceptionally well!
They defended stoutly, making it hard for Manchester City to break through.
Cardiff's players not only packed the defense but also ran tirelessly, using active pressing and running to neutralize threats.
In the 55th minute of the second half, Manchester City finally scored from a set-piece.
However, Cardiff quickly responded, equalizing within five minutes.
Pellegrini was unhappy with the team's performance and made three substitutions in the 58th minute.
He brought on Nasri for the underperforming Navas.
He replaced the ineffective Agüero with Negredo.
He also brought on Milner for Fernandinho.
Almost the entire attacking lineup, except for Lin, was changed.
This match highlighted how much the team missed the active presence of the Spanish playmaker on the wing.
David Silva's absence was beginning to show.
After the substitutions, Manchester City launched wave after wave of attacks.
The new players were eager to prove themselves and impress the coach to secure a spot in the starting lineup.
However, the lack of familiarity among the new players resulted in poor coordination, reducing the effectiveness of Manchester City's attack.
Instead of breaking the deadlock, Cardiff City scored first.
In the 79th minute, Cardiff's winger Fraser Campbell scored, making it 2-1.
The Cardiff City fans went wild, waving flags and chanting Campbell's name.
Owner Vincent Tan even brought out a big drum and enthusiastically beat it, celebrating the goal.
Seeing the owner drum, Campbell and his teammates performed a slide celebration, responding to the fans' applause.
Cardiff City's morale soared, while Manchester City's morale plummeted.
Standing with his hands on his hips at the center circle, Lin looked very serious as he watched the celebrating opponents.
Silva's absence affected Lin the most.
His coordination with the new teammates was poor.
Agüero's low form left Lin fighting alone upfront, with no support from teammates.
At this moment, he missed De Bruyne.
If De Bruyne were here, this match wouldn't be so tough!
But Lin wasn't someone who gave up easily. As Manchester City's attacking core, he had to step up.
After the restart, Lin increased his dribbling and breakthroughs.
If Cardiff didn't double-team him, he would dribble past defenders, cut inside for a long shot, or drive into the box to threaten the goal.
In just a few minutes, Lin almost single-handedly put Cardiff City's goal under intense pressure.
"Keep an eye on him, don't let him into the box!"
"If you can't stop him, foul him hard. Show him we're not to be messed with!"
Cardiff's players couldn't handle Lin one-on-one.
Double-teaming risked leaving other players open, so they resorted to fouling, a traditional Premier League tactic.
They thought repeated fouls would intimidate Lin, making him hesitant to dribble and break through.
Without his breakthroughs, Manchester City's attack couldn't penetrate their defense.
They just needed to hold on for a few more minutes to secure victory!
But Lin's resilience surprised Cardiff's players.
Despite being repeatedly fouled and brought down, he wasn't deterred and continued to win free kicks for Manchester City.
As the free-kicks got closer to Cardiff's box, the players realized something was wrong.
Lin was deliberately drawing fouls in strategic areas to set up free kicks.
After wasting two free-kick opportunities, Lin stood over the ball for the third time.
Yaya Touré was eager to take the free-kick but didn't want to ask directly.
Seeing Lin waste two chances, Touré was frustrated and decided to step in if Lin missed again.
The fans shared Touré's sentiments. Despite the excellent free-kick position, they weren't too worried.
Lin's first two attempts were poor: one went over the bar, the other hit the wall.
His previous misses made Cardiff fans skeptical of his free-kick ability.
They acknowledged his dribbling skills but doubted his free-kick prowess.
Watching Lin take several steps back, Cardiff fans were dismissive.
Missing is missing; copying Ronaldo's style won't help!
In a London apartment, a player who looked like Tintin from *The Adventures of Tintin* jumped up:
"Knuckleball!"
In a Madrid mansion, Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, seeing Lin's free-kick stance, rubbed his chin thoughtfully:
Is this kid copying me?
The posture, the movement, the more he watched, the more it looked like it.
But Lin lacked the determined look, the hardest part to emulate.
Thinking this, Ronaldo felt a bit proud!
Ignoring the crowd's boos, Lin took a deep breath and started his run-up.
He knew the knuckleball technique well, having taught De Bruyne how to do it.
He hadn't used it
himself to avoid injury from the powerful shot.
But with his newly acquired injury immunity talent, he had no such concerns.
So, he could now use the knuckleball technique!
Lin ran faster, and at the end of his run-up, he struck the ball hard!
With a loud thud, the ball deformed under pressure, whistling through the air like lightning over the wall and towards the net.
"Too high!"
Seeing the ball's trajectory, Yaya Touré snorted, feeling annoyed.
Another wasted chance. This guy wasted three opportunities!
"Ha, that ball's no threat!"
Cardiff fans felt the same as Touré. Seeing the ball's flight path, they felt safe.
However, as they thought they were safe, the ball suddenly dipped, grazing the bar's underside and dropping into the net.
The goalkeeper didn't even move, staring in disbelief as the ball hit the net!
The 30,000 Cardiff fans fell silent, the stadium eerily quiet.
"That ball... went in?"
Vincent Tan, who had been drumming, dropped the drumsticks in shock, staring at the ball in the net in disbelief.
"Ha, it really was a knuckleball. Nicely done!"
In the London apartment, the player resembling a cartoon character punched the air, as if he had scored.
But remembering his current situation at the club, his mood quickly dampened.
In the Madrid mansion, seeing Lin not only imitate but also score such a brilliant free-kick, Ronaldo widened his eyes in surprise.
Lin's knuckleball quality exceeded Ronaldo's expectations. Even Ronaldo couldn't guarantee such a high-quality free-kick every time.
It seemed he had underestimated Lin's knuckleball skills!
Feeling the pressure, Ronaldo could no longer sit still, grabbing a ball to practice more!
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