Chapter 814: Lore

On the afternoon of December 10th, at Stamford Bridge in London.

In the 15th round of the Premier League, Manchester City were away to Chelsea.

In the 78th minute, Lampard stood at the penalty spot inside Manchester City's box. Facing Neuer, the German goalkeeper who looked like a towering wall, he made a quick run-up and calmly slotted the ball home, equalizing the score for Chelsea.

Stamford Bridge erupted in celebration.

One to one!

Manchester City, who had led for over an hour, were finally dragged back to level terms.

In front of the visiting team's technical area, Gao Shen shook his head helplessly.

It was Jerome Boateng again.

This kid really...

Right from kickoff, Manchester City launched an aggressive attack. In the seventh minute, David Silva played a precise through ball. Suárez forced his way between the two center-backs, rounded the onrushing Cech, and scored the opening goal for Manchester City.

No matter how you looked at it, it was the perfect start.

After that, Chelsea tightened their defense and frustrated Manchester City's attempts time and again.

When the Blues are determined to defend, it's difficult for any team to break them down.

The game stayed deadlocked until the second half.

Even after a string of substitutions, neither side managed to carve out clear chances.

Manchester City dominated possession, with a possession rate of 65.3%. They had 16 shots—double Chelsea's—but only four were on target.

Gao Shen felt that his players were still in good form and played fluid football, but their efficiency was limited due to Chelsea's intense defensive pressure.

After all, under high pressure, players' technical execution tends to falter, and accuracy becomes difficult to maintain.

Otherwise, with this squad's technical ability, they could score football goals like volleyball points.

Gao Shen's tactical focus in this match was to attack Ashley Cole.

Chelsea's left-back was still in decent form, but he was approaching 31, and his physical condition was inevitably declining. In such a high-intensity match, his stamina was visibly lacking.

However, Manchester City's right winger, had already burned through most of his energy.

It was December, and the team was again fighting on multiple fronts. Even though Manchester City had a thorough rotation system, players like Robben lacked strong physical endurance. Keeping him on the pitch was risky.

Thinking of this, Gao Shen turned and gestured to Carlo, who immediately understood, stood up, and walked over to the bench.

Manchester City had already used two substitutions. This would be the third.

Chelsea, on the other hand, had already used all three of theirs.

Sturridge quickly stood up and jogged along the touchline to warm up. Not long after, he ran back and stood next to Gao Shen.

"Daniel, you'll go on for Robben."

Sturridge nodded firmly.

At 22, the young attacker had improved rapidly under Gao Shen and had even put in standout performances. He had become one of the key rotation players.

He admired Gao Shen greatly. After all, it was Gao Shen who had promoted him from the youth team.

"Ashley Cole was already having trouble dealing with Robben. He must have burned a lot of energy. After you go on, try to push one more run and go for a breakthrough on that side."

"Understood," Sturridge nodded.

"Also, tell the others not to force things against Ivanović and Terry. Let Rakitic put more pressure on Romeu and make more late runs into the box. If you break through on the wing, we'll time our late runs accordingly."

Gao Shen had noticed that Terry and Ivanović had been very solid throughout the match. Lampard and Drogba had also shown plenty of energy.

None of this surprised him.

Just as he had predicted before the match, a new manager can be like a new blade. With Villas-Boas gone, Chelsea's veterans—Lampard, Terry, and Drogba, all of whom had clashed with him—were playing exceptionally well.

They needed to prove themselves to secure their places, playing time, and even their future at the club.

Aside from the early strike, Suárez had been largely ineffective against Terry and Ivanović.

That was understandable. These two were no pushovers.

So the smarter tactic was to draw them out and hit from behind.

Gao Shen had already brought on Rakitic for David Silva, and now the Croatian midfielder had plenty of energy—especially with Sturridge coming on.

"If you can, try cutting inside first, then look for a chance to go outside," Gao Shen suddenly added.

Robben, a left-footed right winger, always looked to cut inside. Sturridge was also a left-footed right winger.

That made it easy for Ashley Cole, who had been focused on stopping Robben, to develop a habit in his positioning.

After all, defending inside and outside runs required different angles and reactions.

"Got it," Sturridge replied seriously.

Sturridge soon came on for Robben.

His progress at Manchester City was clear to all. He had already broken into the England national team.

And now, with detailed tactical instructions, his entrance made Chelsea fans nervous.

Di Matteo walked to the touchline, shouting reminders to his players to keep an eye on Sturridge.

Chelsea's midfield had to track back—Romeu, Ramires, and Lampard all needed to retreat to support the defense.

A draw at home against Manchester City wasn't ideal, but for the new manager Di Matteo, it was acceptable. Manchester City had been extremely strong this season.

But Manchester City's attack couldn't be underestimated.

Gao Shen had first used Gareth Bale to target Bosingwa on the right flank. When that failed to yield results in the second half, he subbed on Hazard for Bale. The Belgian winger's dribbling offered more direct offensive threat.

Manchester City's tactics then shifted—Hazard would dribble on the left to draw defenders and then switch play.

Sturridge's first involvement followed the same principle.

Hazard cut inside from the left, drew defenders, and laid the ball off to Rakitic.

The Croatian midfielder then played a diagonal ball to the right. Sturridge trapped it with the outside of his left foot on the edge of the box, shifted it left to dodge Ashley Cole, cut inside, and shot with his left foot.

It was a smooth, continuous move that left Cole with no time to react.

But the shot struck Ivanović.

Manchester City players immediately appealed to the referee, claiming Ivanović had handled the ball in the box.

Sturridge was particularly agitated, chasing the referee and pointing out the handball.

"From the slow-motion replay, we can see Ivanović did handball the ball. However, it's hard to say whether it was deliberate. The referee didn't deem it a foul. Although the ball clearly struck Ivanović's hand, he ruled that the defender's arms were in a natural position and refused to award a penalty."

Manchester City players were visibly frustrated and continued protesting.

On the touchline, Gao Shen shouted at his players to stay calm, to focus, and to stop surrounding the referee.

"Yes, right now, Manchester City players need to keep their heads."

"There's a lot of pressure in this match, but overall, City are in control. Still, they need to be careful. Complaining to the referee could lead to a booking."

Captains Kompany and Rakitic quickly intervened, pulling Sturridge and the others away and urging calm. At the same time, they continued discussing with the referee, arguing that it should have been a penalty.

It was a brief flashpoint in the game.

Both sides were tense. The match was played at high intensity, and neither team was willing to give an inch.

After play resumed, Gao Shen signaled his players to slow the pace and settle down.

They were too anxious. If they continued attacking recklessly, they could be hit on the counter.

In this regard, Rakitic and Javi Martínez were experienced.

Time ticked by.

Manchester City continued to dominate possession but found fewer and fewer threatening openings.

As the match approached injury time, more and more people began to wonder whether it would end in a draw.

That wouldn't be a terrible result for either side.

City were away, so a draw wasn't disastrous. Chelsea had just changed managers and were facing a strong City team—drawing seemed perfectly acceptable.

Both sides appeared to understand this silently.

The tempo slowed.

Manchester City circulated the ball more in wide areas, probing both flanks.

Sturridge continued to drift wide and look to cut inside.

It's common for a left-footed winger to play on the right and cut inside.

Then, in the 89th minute, Zabaleta advanced along the right flank, receiving a pass from Javi Martínez. Under pressure from Lampard, he played a straight ball into the right side of the penalty area. It looked like a routine play, but Sturridge darted onto it.

Upon receiving the pass, Sturridge began to move laterally, as if preparing to cut inside again.

Ashley Cole tracked his every move. Lampard also dropped in front of Cole to block the inside lane.

It looked like a solid defensive setup.

Sturridge kept getting closer to Ashley Cole, close enough to hear the full-back's breathing.

Then, all of a sudden, Sturridge pushed the ball down the line and accelerated explosively, shaking off Ashley Cole like a leopard springing on its prey. He dashed to the byline.

Ashley Cole turned to chase, but Sturridge had already taken a sharp touch, caught up with the ball, and drove into the right side of the box.

Just as Chelsea's left-back tried to cut off his angle, Sturridge tapped the ball lightly with his right foot, sending a low pass to the edge of the six-yard box.

Suárez's movement pulled both Terry and Ivanović toward him. They assumed he was the target, so they converged on him inside the six-yard box, trying to cut off any service.

But in doing so, they left space behind.

Rakitic surged forward from deep and met the cutback with a first-time strike.

The ball rocketed into the bottom-left corner of Chelsea's goal.

The decisive blow!

(To be continued.)

***

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