In the final stretch of the Premier League season, Arsenal maintained their usual excellent form, and Cao Baiming was no exception. Although his season's goal tally didn't quite reach the record of sixty-nine goals set by Messi in the 14-15 season, the media had already begun their pre-emptive hype and promotion!
With a month left in the Premier League season, Cao Baiming's total goals for the season had already surpassed the sixty mark, reaching a formidable sixty-three!
If Cao Baiming continued to perform at his current level in the remaining matches, breaking the record was almost a certainty, and an easy feat.
Within Arsenal's squad, Cao Baiming was just one of the goal-scorers. While his scoring ability was the strongest, at the end of the day, Cao Baiming was still a defender, or more accurately, a versatile midfielder at present.
The scoring capabilities of other players in the team were not to be underestimated, which was why fans loved Arsenal and more people were joining the Arsenal fan base.
Messi, Henry, Martinelli, Odegaard – who among them wasn't a world-class goal-scorer? In any other team, they would be the undisputed core!
It was a pity that Arsenal already had an absolute core, and his position was not easily shaken.
Messi's season goal count had reached twenty. Although it was far from his peak, his position had changed. He no longer played as close to the opponent's goal but chose to drop back into midfield more often.
While Messi's stamina and speed might have truly declined compared to before, his ball control and dribbling abilities remained unparalleled in the world. Even Cao Baiming's style was completely different. To date, Messi still held the record for the most dribbles in a season.
In addition to this, his assists were also numerous, which was truly a terrifying statistic. Messi's assist count in this season had already reached forty-four!
Fans were stunned by this statistic. This was Messi! With the league not yet finished, his assists had reached forty-four, which was nearly two assists per game. How terrifying was that!
Of Cao Baiming's sixty-plus goals, most of the assists came from Messi!
Henry's assist count might not have been as high as Messi's, but as the team's furthest attacker, he had scored a total of forty goals, also a world-class figure.
With these few geniuses, Arsenal alone led the Premier League's scoring charts this season, easily breaking historical records. Martinelli and Odegaard also had over ten goals each!
Generally, a team would have one attacking core, and the final scoring opportunities would go to that player. However, Arsenal was clearly not like that. With multiple threats emerging, they were unpredictable, which was the current state of Arsenal.
Just moments ago, Arsenal had defeated Southampton 4-0. Cao Baiming came on as a substitute in the second half and played for fifty minutes, scoring two goals.
Cao Baiming was very satisfied with his performance today and decided to reward himself with another delicious Chinese meal.
Meanwhile, Manchester United, having suffered two consecutive losses, was in disarray. The idea of finishing third in the league table had to be abandoned early, as the team's points had quietly slipped to eighth place!
What did eighth place mean? The team in ninth place, Bournemouth, had been a relegation-threatened team last season. This was Manchester United's current predicament.
The conflict within the team was not limited to just Cristiano Ronaldo and Rashford; in fact, the conflicts among many other players and between the team's management might have been even greater!
Upon discovering the problems, the head coach, to protect his position, had truly given his all, trying every possible method. He experimented with starting Ronaldo to feed him, having Rashford carry the team to create miracles, and even tried benching both of them simultaneously.
The results were not good. To date, the team had faced more scrutiny than both players combined, and the criticism was almost entirely directed at the team's management, which further intensified the internal conflicts.
Regarding Manchester United's current situation, Cao Baiming was actually very happy. Mike had been handling his tasks very well, which did not surprise him, as Mike had always been a shrewd and capable individual. Whatever task he was assigned, he could handle it well, regardless of whether he had prior experience in such matters.
The next day, Manchester United faced a new challenge. Their opponent was not a particularly strong team in the Premier League, but rather a team ranked below average in strength: Nottingham Forest.
Judging by the luxury of their lineups, the two teams were not even on the same level. Manchester United's paper strength far surpassed Nottingham Forest's.
However, the team's overall confidence for this match was very low, and the management had become tense. The most anxious person was not Rashford or Ronaldo, but the team's head coach, Erik ten Hag, because, no matter what, if they lost this match again, he felt his position might truly be in jeopardy!
The team might find someone else to replace him as Manchester United's head coach, and then he would be the ultimate loser!
This match attracted the attention of many fans outside. Besides the fans, related interest groups were naturally also paying close attention to this game, and among them was Cao Baiming.
Whether Cristiano Ronaldo would start was no longer Cao Baiming's concern. What he cared about was Rashford, and whether Manchester United could continue their losing streak.
On this day, the squad list was announced. To everyone's surprise, Cristiano Ronaldo was in the starting lineup, and Rashford also appeared on the starting lineup.
For the first time ever, Manchester United deployed a 4-4-2 formation, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Rashford partnering upfront as strikers.
Who would have thought! No one had anticipated this!
Would these two together be okay? Would they have conflicts on the field? Would they create any synergy upfront?
In reality, most fans were there to watch the drama. True Manchester United fans were a minority. If the match turned out to be as expected, it would indeed be quite exciting!