Mantis Stalks Cicada

Wolfsburg had no time to switch into a parked-bus formation.

Everything had happened too fast.

On the Europa League stage, the situation could change in an instant.

Moving from a high defensive line to a low block was not as simple as retreating. During the transition, they also needed to cut off the opponent's passing connections and maintain their shape and spacing as much as possible, or they would be torn apart with ease.

When the fierce fat Wolves fell back to defend, they had to be careful not to leave their asses exposed.

But—

The instant Malanda saw Li Luo's gesture—

There was not the slightest hesitation, nor any doubt.

He decisively abandoned Inter Milan's wide midfielder, who had been dragging him around on a wild goose chase.

He firmly retreated!

"What kind of football is that?"

"Why is Malanda retreating blindly? Doesn't he care about the vertical spacing?"

"Hehehe, one man won't make a difference."

"Hm? Inter Milan has shifted Wolfsburg's high defensive line from its strong side to its weak side!"

"Handanovic, a long ball toward a spot, not a man."

"Icardi has a chance to go one-on-one!"

Hecking frowned tightly.

The assistant coach was shaking with fear.

Mazzarri was brimming with confidence. Against a Wolfsburg side with no European pedigree whatsoever, all he needed to do was make a slight adjustment to their buildup system and he could take them down.

The ball's flight path set off cheers throughout the Meazza Stadium.

It dropped to the halfway line.

One bounce.

On camera, two tall figures were locked tightly together.

Inter Milan's target man—Icardi—versus Wolfsburg center-back—Knoche.

"Knoche is too skinny."

"Icardi hasn't fully built up his physique yet, but he can still overpower his opponent."

"Dangerous."

The consequences were severe.

Icardi brought the ball under control. With Inter Milan's other attackers making forward runs, Wolfsburg's defensive line was about to be blown apart.

The cheers at the Meazza Stadium reached their peak.

The team might have declined, but fans who had witnessed its glory knew exactly what this meant.

In the livestream chat.

-[I remember now. Mazzarri used this exact approach against Manchester City and Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League two years ago. His methods for shifting the opponent's high line from strong side to weak side have evolved, but the ultimate tactical objective remains the same.]

-[The methods keep pace with the times; the objective has never changed.]

-[Put Mazzarri's style in the simplest terms: at the macro level of "having possession," he uses changes in the backline's buildup outlets and the midfield's wide players bunching up and tucking in to draw defenders and create space. In the end, it gives the center-forward at the tip of the formation the most comfortable one-on-one opportunity. Of the five in a 3-5-2, aside from the two or three midfielders used to lure opponents and create space, the rest charge forward directly to support Icardi, eventually creating a numerical advantage in attack.]

-[No wonder Coach Zhang said: dressing up a self-initiated attack to look like a transition attack.]

-[What are you guys babbling about? How can you type so fast?]

Suddenly.

A little black egg came charging back.

Malanda.

The all-round midfielder who strictly carried out Li Luo's instructions.

He stretched out his long, dark leg.

As he poked the ball away, his powerful glutes and thigh muscles violently shoved Icardi aside.

"The advantage of the ass."

"One thing always has its natural counter."

"The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it."

"Malanda played cleverly. After making the interception, he passed the ball to Li Luo."

The Inter Milan players were a little stunned.

They had been on the verge of blowing Wolfsburg's defense apart, yet Icardi had actually lost the ball?

No.

That little black kid had never shown such high football intelligence in Wolfsburg's past footage.

Could it have been Li Luo's instruction?

Damn it.

Inter Milan had no time to get back into position and defend!

Through the geometric model within Spatial Awareness, Li Luo saw Inter Milan's shattered formation.

Receiving the ball.

Turning.

A through pass.

Two touches with his right foot.

He launched Wolfsburg's rapid transition attack.

The football became a blunt blade, stabbing through Inter Milan's defense.

"Wow!"

"That was incredibly decisive—he spotted the opening perfectly!"

"Top-class vision."

"Bendtner!"

"One-on-one!"

The Meazza Stadium's green pitch was like a lone island floating in midair, watched by tens of thousands of eyes in the night.

Bendtner's brain could not process so much information at once.

He only saw Inter Milan preparing to launch a fierce attack, only for the ball to reach Li Luo's feet before rolling toward him.

And it had been passed to his stronger-foot side?

The Arsenal Emperor quickly adjusted his body.

He put every ounce of strength into his legs and sprinted forward.

Bringing the ball under control.

One more push.

Then, finally, he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Slap!

The close-range microphones captured two touches.

Bendtner's shot.

Handanovic's save.

The ball floated weakly over the end line.

"Saint Handanovic comes through again!"

"This Inter Milan goalkeeper has an extremely high success rate in one-on-ones, and he once set the Serie A record for penalties saved in a single season."

Bendtner dropped to both knees, clutching his head in frustration.

The Inter Milan goalkeeper got back up and wanted to complain to his teammates... only to realize it had not been his teammates' mistake. The opposition had simply been too cunning.

Warm applause rang out through the Meazza Stadium from the Inter Milan fans.

Most of it was for Saint Handanovic.

Some of it was for the Chinese teenager.

[Shock Value +1!]

[Shock Value +1!]

[...]

Li Luo was slightly surprised. These old Serie A fans...

He had merely "ignored" Mazzarri's three-center-back buildup system on a tactical level, and his shock value had increased by several thousand?

Surely they weren't imagining something?

The match was currently stopped for a dead ball.

Malanda ran over excitedly. "Li, you nearly turned me into Makelele!"

In the distance.

De Bruyne's cheeks were flushed as he gave the Chinese youngster a thumbs-up. The admiration in his eyes flashed and vanished.

The other Wolfsburg players felt the same way.

It was as if they had been playing a single-player game, and Li Luo had changed the difficulty from "Hard" to "Easy."

On the sidelines.

The assistant coaches chattered away, analyzing the situation.

Hecking clapped expressionlessly. "Mm, Li thinks exactly as I do!"

"A low block can minimize the benefits of Inter Milan's buildup system!"

"There's no need for us to waste too much energy pressing high."

On the other side.

Mazzarri rubbed his thick hair and muttered:

"That Chinese kid really does seem to have eyes all over him. He saw through everything."

"It'll be difficult for us to lure them out and create space now."

"Let me think..."

In the CCTV-5 broadcast booth.

Taking advantage of the stoppage, Director Zhang tried his best to explain it to the viewers in the simplest possible terms.

"Watch here. The moment Malanda saw Li Luo's gesture, he immediately dropped back."

"The other Wolfsburg players also stopped pressing aggressively."

"After possession changed hands, Inter Milan couldn't pull their shape back in, nor could they immediately switch back into their attacking formation. Li Luo seized the opportunity and launched the counterattack."

"It sounds simple, but it actually reflects Li Luo's intelligence in many different aspects..."

In the comments.

—[Li Luo is just lazy. He skipped the steps of solving the problem.]

—[If it were Saint Cruyff or Kaiser Beckenbauer in their younger days... they definitely would've stubbornly tested Mazzarri's altered buildup system a few times, found its weakness, then produced the perfect answer and crushed Mazzarri tactically.]

—[Hater, just tell me whether Li Luo countered Mazzarri or not.]

—[He did...]

—[My Luo truly deserves to be the Manchester United Crown Prince, the future of Chinese football.]

In the VIP box.

The young ladies of the Apennine families were also gazing at the Chinese youngster on the pitch with admiration.

They could not understand what the staff were explaining.

They only felt that Li Luo's style of play was elegant and composed. When he gestured to direct his teammates, he looked like a general commanding the battlefield from afar.

So handsome!

Unfortunately.

Times had changed.

Italy's economy was in decline.

Li Luo's future commercial value was impossible to estimate.

According to related reports from the tabloid rags... he was not lustful either. He could not possibly be toyed with as casually as football stars of the old era by some family heiress, glamorous married woman, or dazzling actress.