Cao Baiming's eyes flickered.
Manchester City had truly been spoiled rotten these days; their arrogance was sickening. It was time to put them in their place!
"System! Spend the remaining points on dribbling!"
"Ding! Your remaining 70 points have been used to improve your dribbling attribute. Successfully increased by 0.02 points!"
Ugh, looks like I already cleared some last night...
Alright! Fully powered up, I'm winning this match!
The fans were growing impatient. As the players took the field, the referee blew his whistle.
"This is a match of the century, Arsenal versus Manchester City!"
"Arsenal, on an eleven-game unbeaten streak, against Manchester City, ten games unbeaten. A clash of titans is about to ignite!"
The players were equally fired up, this match was their ultimate proving ground.
Arsenal kicked off!
As the ball was played, Cao Baiming immediately moved forward, anticipating the passing lane, ready for an unexpected surge in the first minute of the game.
And his opponents were no pushovers. Facing Arsenal was the Blue Moon from Manchester.
To their surprise, Pep Guardiola had them completely figured out. From the outset, he perfectly predicted Cao Baiming's forward movement.
Seeing this, Cao Baiming instantly changed tactics, deviating from the coach's pre-match instructions and adapting on the fly.
He stood his ground, scanning his surroundings, his gaze flickering.
The ball was passed back and forth between the players on the pitch, and soon Cancelo skillfully intercepted it.
Cao Baiming cursed under his breath, then his eyes quickly focused, tracking the ball's movement and observing the positioning and runs of the surrounding players. He quickly realized something was amiss.
Silva on the wing had already begun a subtle forward break, his run seemingly aiming to join the frontline.
Unbeknownst to many, he had created a large gap. There was no teammate to intercept on the left flank; everyone's attention was drawn to the midfield tussle and the ensuing minor chaos. No one noticed Silva's run.
A seemingly forced back-pass to Stones in Manchester City's defense, however, ripped the game wide open.
Although Cao Baiming had seen the danger, he was too far away to offer any assistance, left to watch his teammates' disarray with mounting anxiety.
Upon receiving the ball, Stones took a brief touch before sending it forward.
The spectators' eyes followed the ball, their mouths agape. This single pass had torn through Arsenal's entire defense.
Though not a long ball, it had bypassed two full lines of players with its precision, reaching Silva's feet.
Under the bright stadium lights, Silva paused briefly before continuing forward. Cao Baiming, meanwhile, waited in the center, not to mark Silva directly, but to prevent a cross.
Holding stepped up to apply pressure on Silva, planting his foot to block the byline and keeping a close eye on the ball, wary of a direct cross.
Cao Baiming, now inside the penalty area, saw Foden approaching and, looking further, noticed De Bruyne subtly moving behind Silva for support.
With a quick combination, they reached the byline!
As expected!
Cao Baiming had anticipated this situation, positioning himself perfectly between De Bruyne and Foden!
The ball flew high, and Cao Baiming leaped to head it clear before Foden could reach it.
In the physical contest, Foden was at a disadvantage in both height and weight, especially against Cao Baiming. Foden was sent reeling, looking like a lost child searching for its mother.
Cheers erupted from the sidelines. The home advantage was palpable; the fans' enthusiasm alone could significantly boost morale!
By the tenth minute, Cao Baiming had his first opportunity to carry the ball forward!
A brilliant interception by a teammate led to a swift counter-attack. As soon as Cao Baiming received the ball, the opposition charged back with full speed!
Guardiola's pre-match instructions echoed in their ears:
"Don't let Cao Baiming cross the halfway line. Force him to pass, and then cut off his passing lanes!"
Seeing this, Cao Baiming knew Guardiola, that cunning old fox, had thoroughly studied him. They were now targeting him relentlessly!
Despite spending fifteen points on dribbling before the match, it wasn't top-tier, but it should be enough to shake them off!
As three players converged on him, Cao Baiming tapped the ball back to a teammate on the wing. The pack of wolves immediately moved to block the passing lanes, surrounding Cao Baiming completely!
"What the hell is this situation!"
Cao Baiming's expression turned grim.
"No way, has that old man figured me out?"
Cao Baiming knew his dribbling wasn't strong and he'd usually pass under pressure. But it seemed their combination play had been completely neutralized.
Vieira, who received the pass, saw that Cao Baiming was completely engulfed by three burly defenders, with no passing lanes and zero space. He made a decision and passed the ball forward to Ødegaard.
Ødegaard immediately took a long shot, though it went wildly wide.
"Cao Baiming would have scored that!"
"Yeah, Cao Baiming has that distance mastered!"
The fans in the stands engaged in heated discussion.
However, Cao Baiming could no longer carry the ball past the halfway line; the opponents had found their method of containment.
Although he managed to create some space with sheer physical force, Vieira didn't pass back, as it was too risky.
Mikel Arteta, on the sidelines, put his hand to his forehead, looking troubled.
Guardiola had even prepared a contingency for this exact scenario before the match.
"While intercepting, one player should stealthily push forward on the wing, behind Cao Baiming. This way, once we win the ball, we can launch a rapid counter-attack. With Cao Baiming absent from our backline, they won't be able to defend us."
The players nodded in admiration upon hearing this.
Throughout the evening's briefing, Arsenal was barely mentioned; the focus was solely on Cao Baiming. His name was mentioned almost as frequently as Messi's.
It felt less like preparing for a match and more like preparing to hunt down a monster.
Though they had initially dismissed it, the players were indeed implementing it in the game. Mahrez had subtly positioned himself on the right wing, behind Cao Baiming.
Fortunately, Ødegaard's pass wasn't intercepted this time, otherwise, disaster might have struck!
The moment Cao Baiming looked back and saw Mahrez, he understood the situation instantly. Arteta on the sidelines also grasped their sneaky tactics.