Smooth as Silk, a Passing Feast! Guardiola's Manchester City Perfectly Showcased the Art of Football!
Just two minutes into the game, Stoke City's right-back Bardsley, was cornered by Tang Long.
Seeing Tang Long's aggressive approach, he dared not dribble and hurriedly kicked the ball away to the frontcourt.
By a twist of fate, the ball landed right inside Manchester City's penalty area!
Arnautovic leaned against Stones, using the ball's trajectory to his advantage, and kept backing away until his final step, when he was inside the penalty area, before stopping, thinking smugly, "Watch how I toy with you in the box."
For a center forward like Arnautovic, standing inside the opponent's penalty area with the ball poses a significant threat.
This means that the bridgehead has already penetrated into the enemy's heartland, and the defenders inside the penalty area are all being cautious, fearing a foul and a penalty kick, so the center forward has more space to make moves than outside the penalty area.
However, Stones was not about to let his opponent gain a foothold so easily; he moved close to Arnautovic.
Arnautovic, still haunted by Ibrahimovic's previous thrashing of Stones, was eager for Stones to get on his body so he could easily push him away; their arms became entangled.
Unexpectedly, just as Arnautovic was about to use his shoulder to exert force, his whole body suddenly staggered, and a huge force pulled him to the ground!
Although he was pulled down, Arnautovic was overjoyed. He immediately yelled and rolled on the ground, shouting, "Foul! Foul!"
The Manchester City players were all taken aback, thinking that Stones was still too inexperienced. He had been outmaneuvered by Ibrahimovic before, and now he was being outmaneuvered by Arnautovic at the start of the game. And this was an away game, conceding a penalty right at the beginning. What were they going to do?
Tang Long, still in the opponent's half of the court, couldn't see the situation in the distance very clearly, and his heart skipped a beat.
But the referees would put their whistles in their mouths, hesitate for two seconds, and then raise both hands to indicate that the game should continue!
The Stoke City players were furious, and several of them rushed toward the referee, demanding an explanation.
"Referee, you're pulling someone up!"
"Such an obvious foul inside the penalty area, are they just going to ignore it?"
"Penalty! It's definitely a penalty!"
But the game continued, the ball was rolling, and the defensive midfielder Ranocchia reacted quickly, hooking the ball away from Arnautovic who was lying on the ground. Taking advantage of the moment when the opposing players were complaining to the referee, he strode forward!
By the time the opposing midfielders recovered, he had already dribbled the ball to the vicinity of the center circle!
Sane doesn't like to track back and stays on the wing, but his lack of defensive effort ironically makes him the most advantageous attacking point during this transition.
Ranocchia the ball with his right foot, passing it to Thiago, who was positioned alongside him.
This pass, while seemingly slowing down the counter-attack, actually accelerated it!
Thiago faced the ball coming from the left and right sides, and without stopping, he went up and delivered a powerful side kick!
The football, like a cruise missile, traversed half the field and landed precisely at the feet of right winger Sane.
Sane's strength lies in dribbling past opponents on the wing. He moves towards the center, slightly compressing the opponent's formation that is still in the backfield, and then makes a 45-degree turn to the side, rushing towards the penalty area!
Agüero drew away a center-back at the near post, Sane lofted a ball towards the far post, Tang Long accurately predicted the landing point, moved like a rabbit, suddenly circled behind Stoke City Bardsley, jumped, bent his waist, and headed the ball towards the goal!
It is said that speed is the most powerful weapon in the world, but Tang Long's header was not fast. He just lightly brushed the ball with the side of his forehead, using the force against it. The ball then spun outwards, bounced off the ground, and crashed into the inside corner of the goal!
"1-0! Tang Long opens the scoring for Manchester City!"
"The game has only been going on for 2 minutes and 10 seconds!"
"From the moment Arnautovic fell to the moment Tang Long scored, only ten seconds had passed!"
"Huh? It seems there's been a conflict on the field?"
"Arnautovic charged at the referee! Other Stoke City players surrounded him!"
A loud chorus of boos erupted from the stadium!
Arnautovic yelled at the referee, calling him blind for not calling a clear foul. If his teammate hadn't reacted quickly and pulled him back at the last moment, the Austrian would have loved to punch the referee to vent his anger.
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes was furious off the field, first gesturing at the referee, then turning around and yelling at the fourth official.
Guardiola covered his ears with both hands. "Shughes, you're so noisy!"
Meanwhile, assistant coach Chivu smiled, arms crossed, looking confident, and thought to himself with satisfaction, "Not bad, Stones is quite quick to learn."
Just now, Arnautovic was indeed brought down by Stones inside the penalty area.
Logically, this should have been a penalty kick!
However, the biggest difference between Italy and England defenders is that the former are better at using their hands and know how to "skillfully" use their hands to limit forwards, especially tall ones.
"Stones, when you pull the striker to the ground, pay attention to two things."
"First, if he falls, you should immediately fall down with him. Don't stand there like an idiot after he falls."
"Secondly, when the striker is about to fall, remember to let go immediately. Don't keep pulling him up after he's fallen. Make sure the referee can clearly see that you didn't pull him up the whole time, but only halfway!"
Over the past week, Chivu has been identifying and addressing Stones' weaknesses, teaching him some of the unique techniques of Italy defenders.
From Roma to Inter Milan, Chivu played in Serie A for a full eleven years, spending both the peak and the twilight of his career Serie A.
I can practically call myself half Italy; my understanding of football is deeply influenced by Italy football culture.
The clever Italy defenders always use various subtle tricks.
These clever little tricks allow them to gain the upper hand and remain undefeated when facing stronger and faster forwards, while hovering on the edge of fouls, making the referee reluctant to blow the whistle.
If Arnautovic had been brought down outside the penalty area, the referee might have awarded a free kick.
However, the referee will not make a call inside the penalty area.
Its main focus is on operating in the gray area!
So Stoke City got nothing, while Arnautovic and Mark Hughes, due to their excessive excitement, each received a yellow card from the referee, making them furious and jumping up and down, but there was nothing they could do.
Manchester City's players were both surprised and delighted, feeling like they'd gotten a goal for free.
Only Tang Long and Ranocchia ran to Stones to congratulate him.
"Well done, Stones, that's exactly how you do it with this Austrian!"
Both of them had played in Italy football, especially Ranocchia. After a little thought, he saw the subtlety in Stones's movements and couldn't help but applaud him!
Stones glanced at Chivu on the sidelines, Chivu gave him a thumbs-up from afar. Stones' confidence soared, and he thought to himself:
"Coach Chivu is right, our England defenders are indeed playing too conservatively!"
Arnautovic is a very emotional player.
This initial "misjudgment" immediately caused him to break down emotionally.
In the ensuing match, the former Stoke City top scorer fell into a spell of desperately trying to prove himself.
As soon as he got the ball, he started firing shots from the outside!
Bang! Bang! Bang! The howitzers kept firing at the stands.
Bojan's partner, was quite dissatisfied. "Why aren't you following the routine we planned in training? Give me the stance!"
But Arnautovic retorted with a single sentence, "You haven't scored as many goals as me, what do you know?"
Bojan was disheartened and simply stopped paying attention to him.
The connection between Bojan and Arnautovic was a reliable attacking strategy for Stoke City last season.
Once the connection between the two players was broken, Stoke City's attack was immediately paralyzed.
Manchester City quickly took control of the game.
In the 32nd minute of the first half, starting with goalkeeper Bravo's goal kick, Manchester City displayed the possession-based football style advocated by Guardiola.
Even with the opponent pressing close, Bravo calmly delivered a short corner, deftly passing the ball to Zabaleta beside him.
Zabaleta controlled the ball and then quickly passed it diagonally to Gündoğan in midfield.
After receiving the ball, Gündoğan made a slight adjustment and observed the situation on the field. Seeing that the Stoke City defenders were pressing him, he used a feint to get past his opponent and passed the ball back to Ranocchia.
Ranocchia and Thiago executed a simple one-two pass, with Ranocchia setting up his position and Thiago moving to successfully shake off the pressing Imbula!
He then made a long pass to Robertson, who was making a high-speed run down the left flank.
In this match, Guardiola started the 22-year-old Robertson for two reasons: firstly, to give the 31-year-old veteran Kolarov a rest, and secondly, because he valued Robertson's speed and attacking power on the wing!
After receiving the ball, he advanced rapidly along the sideline, and Stoke City's defenders quickly surrounded him, causing the team's formation to shift and their positioning to become unbalanced.
However, Robertson, making his Manchester City debut, was still a little reserved. Instead of forcing a breakthrough, he observed his teammates in the middle and decisively passed the ball across to the midfield.
The ball came to Thiago's feet, Espanyol, with his excellent individual skills, made several one-touch passes with Agüero and Tang Long on the edge of the penalty area, tearing Stoke City's defense apart and leaving it in chaos.
The ball darted quickly between the three defenders, causing the Stoke City defenders to shift their weight back and forth, unsure of who to focus on marking.
After several seemingly casual yet highly threatening passes, Thiago seized the opportunity, suddenly changed the pace, and made a through pass!
Tang Long shot out like an arrow from a bow in the crowd, catching the ball and finding himself completely empty within three meters of him!
They beat the offside trap!
No one knows where the offside line is better than Tang Long, because he doesn't need to judge it with his own eyes!
Facing the onrushing goalkeeper Given, he calmly observed the goalkeeper's position, and then with a delicate chip shot, the ball drew a beautiful arc, went over Given's head, and slowly fell into the far corner of the goal.
The entire attack was fluid and seamless. Manchester City, through excellent teamwork and numerous passes, patiently advanced from their own half to the front, ultimately scoring this brilliant goal and perfectly showcasing the charm of Guardiola's ultimate possession-based football!
"It's in! It's in again! It's Tang Long!"
"Every pass was perfectly timed, every run was full of intelligence; it was as if the entire field was under their control!"
"Tang Long's offside-beating goal brought this passing and possession extravaganza to a climax!"
"His goal was effortless and elegant, a calm chip shot that demonstrated the confidence of a striker!"
"At this moment, Manchester City's possession-based football shone brightest in Stoke City's home stadium!"
With a 2-0 lead at halftime, Mark Hughes's plan to thrash Manchester City at home and hold off Manchester United title rivals has become a joke.
He knew that the only thing he could do was avoid a crushing defeat at home, so as not to be unable to explain himself to the management and the fans.
In the 52nd minute of the second half, Arnautovic, still emotionally unstable, was substituted.
Chivu went over to comfort his former teammate, but was ruthlessly shoved away. "Get away from me! Don't touch me! The referee ruined the game!"
"Don't be angry, buddy," Chivu smiled. "You left Italy football too early. You should have stayed and played there for a few more years."
Logically speaking, this match was already decided; it had entered garbage time.
However, a dramatic scene unfolded in the 66th minute...