Chapter 19: A Mutual Pursuit with the Elite Arena
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Chapter 19: A Mutual Pursuit with the Elite Arena
“That kid’s gone missing again?!”
Lescott was beginning to develop PTSD from the elusive Li Mo.
This guy was like a fox.
If you weren’t careful, he would slip into the blind spots of your vision.
Under these circumstances, the players in Manchester City’s defense had to remain fully alert, concentrating intensely to avoid giving Li Mo any chance to exploit.
In the end, Lescott stuck to Li Mo like glue,
disregarding any zonal marking.
This tactic indeed placed great pressure on Li Mo.
His space to make runs disappeared, and his weakness in ball control became glaringly apparent.
After several passes to Li Mo were intercepted by Lescott,
Arsenal’s players also realized that Li Mo was not suited to having excessive ball possession at this moment and thus restricted their plays to the flanks.
Arsenal’s attacking rhythm gradually slowed down.
For Manchester City,
leading by one goal allowed them to comfortably retreat and focus on counterattacks.
The slower the pace, the more advantageous it was for them.
Time was being dragged out, second by second.
Wenger’s face grew somber.
He understood that Li Mo was a player with very clear strengths and weaknesses.
For him to break through, the key was how well he read the game himself.
Having flaws was not terrible.
The crucial point was how to maximize one’s strengths.
At San Siro Stadium,
Inzaghi watched the live broadcast on his phone with a serious expression.
“You should have felt the difference between professional league matches and youth team games by now,”
Inzaghi thought.
In fact,
he believed Li Mo’s debut this time was a success.
He had shown his characteristics in the first ten minutes.
The restrictions afterward were due to his lack of match experience.
Once he overcomes this, Li Mo can still become an excellent professional player.
I refuse to be satisfied with just this performance!
Li Mo kept running.
Amid Manchester City’s defense,
he was like a lone boat,
constantly squeezed and collided with.
“This is the intensity of professional matches!”
After being knocked down from behind by Kompany, Li Mo immediately got back up.
If in the first ten minutes, Li Mo had caused a slight shock to Manchester City’s defense due to their unfamiliarity with him,
then these ten minutes that followed,
the intensity of the game had brought him a much greater shock from the top-level professional league.
Such intensity, such pace, such physical confrontation—none of this could be experienced in youth league games.
Li Mo looked somewhat disheveled,
but he kept running.
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“Run! Move! Use your strengths!”
Inzaghi’s voice was etched in his mind.
Run!
But run smarter.
Li Mo constantly observed, positioned himself, moved, and dragged defenders.
“The key to finding opportunities lies in patience. The more impatient you are, the farther opportunities drift away!”
Li Mo thought he could write a book titled “Inzaghi’s Teachings.”
Just like Confucius’ disciples compiled the Analects for their master—
to teach forwards who might not have explosive physical abilities how to play smarter football.
Once again, he found an opening, making a forward run!
Unfortunately, no teammate passed to him.
“Discouragement is the most forbidden emotion on the football pitch!”
No discouragement, no discouragement, no discouragement!
Li Mo turned back, pulling Kompany’s defensive zone.
Kompany looked at Li Mo with some surprise.
Before this,
Li Mo always sought trouble with Lescott.
Kompany thought this was because Li Mo feared him.
But now,
Li Mo was approaching him voluntarily.
Why?
“Never fear your opponent at any time. Fear makes you lose the space to think.”
Li Mo recalled another “Inzaghi maxim.”
He almost couldn’t help but laugh.
He never expected that his flamboyant uncle, who was like a womanizer, had actually spoken quite a few “childish sayings.”
But they did make sense.
He drifted around Kompany,
waiting for an opportunity.
The match had already entered the eighty-ninth minute.
Li Mo had been on the field for nearly half an hour.
If you divide this half hour,
then,
in the first ten minutes after he came on, he dazzled the stadium.
In the middle ten minutes, the top-level Premier League confrontation shocked him.
In the last ten minutes, he and the elite Premier League opposition were chasing each other.
He was adapting, thinking, and making decisions.
Like now.
At the ninetieth minute,
the fourth official on the sideline raised the electronic board.
“Injury time has begun! Five minutes will be added!”
“The score remains one to zero! Arsenal might face the embarrassment of going winless and scoreless in the first four rounds of the season!”
“Arsenal’s time is running out.”
The commentators in the booth had already begun imagining the post-match media storm Arsenal would face.
Starting a season with three draws and one loss, without a single goal scored—
such a start was truly terrible.
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There would likely be many calls for Wenger’s dismissal after the match—such is the logic of the arena.
Poor results.
Even Wenger’s position at Arsenal was unstable.
“Arsenal continues to attack! Cazorla has the ball on the flank... crosses it immediately!”
On the TV screen, Cazorla sent the ball into the box with his left foot.
At this stage,
there was no time for organizing plays.
It was just a direct high cross into the box.
The ball flew toward the center of the penalty area.
Li Mo, at 1.91 meters tall, was also a strong aerial presence. He made a direct run toward the far post.
Kompany did not dare slack off, sticking closely to Li Mo as they both moved toward the far post.
“You have to anticipate not only the ball’s trajectory but also your opponent, even your teammates!”
Li Mo watched the ball fly into the box.
Lescott was contesting the header with Giroud,
and at the same time, Joe Hart rushed out.
He immediately chose to
halt!
Retreat!
“Cazorla crosses to find Giroud. Joe Hart! What a brilliant sortie!”
“The ball is cleared. Li Mo!!!”
The commentators suddenly noticed—
Li Mo, who had just pushed into the small penalty area, suddenly retreated to near the edge of the large penalty area without anyone noticing!
The ball fell perfectly into his zone.
Kompany abruptly realized Li Mo had disappeared from his sight.
He had to pay attention not only to Li Mo but also to the aerial ball.
Watching the man but not the ball was not the mark of a top defender.
Only after seeing the ball fall to the middle and Joe Hart’s sortie did Kompany relax.
Then he turned to look for Li Mo.
The moment he turned his head,
he saw Joe Hart leap high and clear the ball over Giroud’s head, landing perfectly within Li Mo’s control.
Li Mo hooked the ball back, turned, glanced at the penalty area and the goal,
and then
shot!
Joe Hart, having just cleared the ball, was startled to see Li Mo directly in front of him.
He immediately retreated behind the goal line.
During this, Li Mo’s right-footed shot threaded through the crowd.
It wasn’t struck with great speed—
he aimed for the far left post’s top corner.
Joe Hart could only make a hurried save attempt.
He didn’t even have time to adjust his footing properly.
As he fell,
the ball slipped past his fingertips and
into the net!
(End of chapter)