Team Spirit

Chapter 284 It's not that the sun has set when it gets dark, it's that Lu Kai said goodnight.

With the sound of the whistle, the 2006-2007 EFL Cup final officially kicked off.

There were many decorations for Dartford on site, as this is a regular annual event at the stadium; even the most clueless person should have learned how to do it by now.

In the second minute, young Walcott demonstrated what it means to be fearless like a newborn calf.

He dribbled the ball directly down the right flank and made a breakthrough.

The fried meatballs were pulled out from between Duff and Lu Kai.

But Philly came flying in with a tackle, kicking the ball out of bounds and bringing Walcott down.

Lu Kai immediately roared and then puffed out his chest to celebrate with Phil.

This scene completely baffled Phil.

When did Captain Lu start expressing his emotions so openly?

Ashley Young, on the other side, covered her mouth and chuckled.

Walcott is still two weeks away from turning eighteen. Lu Kai and Ashley Young both went through this age.

Players at this stage are incredibly strong when things are going well, but incredibly weak when things are going badly.

If you get yelled at a few times, manage to defend against a few blows, or get elbowed a few times, you'll most likely crumble.

Occasionally, there are defiant players who may overreact, resulting in irrational attacks, failure to pass the ball, or even malicious fouls that earn them cards.

In the seventh minute, Walcott received the ball but hesitated in front of Phil, and then passed it back, which was intercepted by Lu Kai.

Lu Kai passed the ball forward, and Duff dribbled down the wing and delivered a cross.

Giroud controlled the ball with his chest and volleyed it into the air.

As expected, the football flew into the stands.

This kind of difficult shot was truly a challenge for him.

In the 14th minute, Arsenal launched a counter-attack.

Baptista dropped back to receive the pass, held off Motta, and then passed the ball to him.

Hleb dribbled the ball two steps on the left and then passed it to Traore, who was coming up on the wing.

The latter swept across the left side of the penalty area.

Neither Kompany nor Vidic could clear the ball; it was quite close to the goal.

But Neuer came out and caught the ball before Aliadiere could reach it.

"Neither side has given up the initiative, and they are now attacking fiercely."

"I have to say, Arsenal's young players are very strong. They were able to go toe-to-toe with Green Gunners and were not inferior in the game."

"No wonder Wenger fielded this lineup for this match."

"People only know that the Premier League has a Green Generation II, but they don't know that London actually has a Wenger Generation II!"

Guardiola nodded frequently on the sidelines.

The right approach is to go head-to-head.

Arsenal's defense was already shaky, and the more aggressively they attacked, the bigger the openings became.

This is the difference between the two sides.

In the 19th minute, Lu Kai intercepted Danielson's through ball in midfield and then passed it back to Motta.

Zidane's eyes lit up: "Arsenal has been caught by Lu!"

"Their eagerness to attack led to problems in ball distribution."

“Generally speaking, this kind of ball should be passed by the team’s midfield maestro Fabregas, or at the very least by Hleb. It’s never Danielson’s turn.”

"But if the team is pursuing fast breaks and unexpected attacks, then the role players will feel a sense of urgency to pass the ball. When they see an opportunity, they will instinctively want to initiate the attack."

"But there is a world of difference in the quality of the ball distribution between role players and key players."

Motta passed the ball to Modric on the right-hand side.

Modric immediately turned and made a long pass, instantly accelerating the pace of the attack.

Mertens on the right wing moved ahead, surged forward at high speed, and overtook Hoyt.

Seeing this, Almunia rushed out immediately.

He made a diving interception of Mertens outside the penalty area.

If Mertens had taken a shot, it would have been blocked by Almunia.

But he was short and walked quickly, so he had time to adjust.

He flicked his right foot outwards, heading down the edge of the penalty area.

Almunia moved his body sideways to block the ball.

But now this is outside the penalty area, so he can neither use his hands nor touch Mertens.

As a result, he just missed out on Mertens in a spectacular fashion.

Mertens broke into the right side of the penalty area and fired a shot-cross with his right foot.

The football passed Djourou and Toure.

But it's uncertain whether it will actually roll into the far end.

At the crucial moment, Duff didn't hold back and kicked the ball into the empty net.

"GOAL!"

"One to zero!"

"Datford launch a sharp counter-attack!"

"Green Gun Bottle Opener Duff breaks through the defense."

"He has scored in every match against Arsenal this season. He, Lu Kai, and Ribery truly deserve to be called the Green Gun trident! They are also the most potent attacking trident in the Premier League this season."

“Lu Kai, Duff, and Ribery are all in the top five of the top scorers list, with Lu Kai leading the pack.”

"But what you're saying about Duff's actions just now, wouldn't you say it counts as stealing a goal from his teammate? Mertens's shot should have gone in."

Some people are curious about the atmosphere within the Green Gun team.

But the next moment, Mertens joined Duff in celebrating, not minding at all that the goal had turned into an assist.

Modric: MMP!

In the 28th minute, Arsenal launched a fierce attack.

Walcott created an opportunity on the right flank using his speed, and then swept the ball across the top of the arc.

However, there was no one at the top of the arc.

This means that Walcott did not observe his teammates' positions carefully enough when passing the ball.

But he also successfully thwarted Vidic and Kompany's predictions, which was a testament to his wit.

Hleb, on the far left, receives the ball and takes a long-range shot from outside the left corner.

Kompany stretched out his leg and blocked the ball back.

Hleb receives the ball again.

Traore cut in from the side and helped him pull Ashley Young away.

Facing Modric, Hleb feinted and then successfully delivered a cross.

Aliadire leaped inside the six-yard box and headed the ball...

Neuer caught the ball and then dove to the ground to secure possession.

They also created a chance for Aliadière to collide with the goalkeeper.

The referee immediately came over and warned Aliadière.

"That's Neuer's strength. He has a wide range of control, and when both sides are attacking, he can seamlessly connect with the defense, leaving no gaps for the opposing strikers to exploit."

"Of course, such an attack is also risky. If you miss, misjudge, or get blinded by the light, you'll be giving away a big gift."

"Like Almunia on the other side just now."

The difference in quality becomes immediately apparent when compared and contrasted.

In the 35th minute, Arsenal's attack had changed from being quite organized to the defenders simply making long passes to the forwards.

Because crossing the midfield gradually becomes more difficult.

But you know what, Kolo Toure's kick was probably inspired by his brother Yaya Toure; it was both accurate and fast.

Baptista had a half-chance opportunity, but his first touch was a bit rough, and Vidic caught up.

But he stubbornly resisted Vidic's interference and scored with a powerful shot near the penalty spot.

The scene was ablaze with red.

Unfortunately, the linesman also raised his flag.

"What a pity! Baptista scored a brilliant goal, but he was offside."

"No wonder he suddenly got a one-on-one opportunity; the offside was quite obvious."

Arsenal's hopes were dashed.

In the 41st minute, Arsenal were awarded a corner kick.

The ball was driven to the near post, and Baptista headed it across.

Walcott's sliding shot in front of the goal went wide, and he visibly became anxious.

Neuer took the goal kick, and Green started passing the ball around in the backfield to control the time and slow down the pace. Walcott and others immediately pressed high up the pitch.

The story moved from Dartford all the way to Ashley Young, but by the time it reached him, there was nothing left to tell.

But he had actually made preparations long ago.

boom!
Ashley Young launched an attack with a long pass.

Arsenal's front and back lines are completely disconnected.

Mertens made a high-speed forward run in the attacking third.

Eboue and Djourou were both blocking him; if it were any other striker, they probably wouldn't have been able to stop him.

But Mertens is just too short.

With a slight tilt of his head, he slipped under both of their armpits.

The description is a bit exaggerated, but that's the feeling of déjà vu.

However, Almunia once again rushed out of the penalty area.

Green Gunners had a very advanced concept of goalkeeping, and top players quickly realized the benefits of the "goalkeeper" role, so Arsenal and Barcelona were among the first to carry out goalkeeping technology reforms.

Their goalkeepers all share this characteristic.

But there are many goalkeepers who can come out of their goal, but there is only one true goalkeeper – Neuer!

Almunia prepares to kick the ball away.

He subconsciously assumed that Mertens would let him have it.

Because when the goalkeeper makes a long kicking motion, most of the attackers have to slow down, turn their backs, and jump.

But Mertens is playing the timing game.

He quickly extended his foot and headed the ball away.

Almunia's kick only grazed the side of the ball.

With forces applied from both sides, the football bounced very high and then fell towards the goal.

Mertens went with the flow, chasing after the football.

Almunia turned and gave chase.

The other defenders were slower than him.

Mertens waited for the ball to fall on the left side of the penalty area. Controlling the ball was difficult, and he wasn't confident he could score directly, so he focused on controlling it.

A football that moves straight up and down is difficult to stop because it requires a wide range of head movements, creating a clear "short film" in the field of vision.

In other words, the view you see when you look up is completely different from the view you see when you look down.

At this point, your sense of environment, location, and so on will change drastically, and the problem to solve is the accuracy of the landing point.

If the ball comes from a distance, even if it's high, and your overall field of vision remains uninterrupted, then it will be much easier to stop. This mainly addresses the issue of deflecting the ball's force.

Mertens controlled the ball perfectly, keeping it glued to his feet.

But Almunia has returned to his position.

At the same time, Toure also rushed back.

Mertens turned away from the goal, avoiding Toure, and left his shooting path to Toure to block, as he was about to pass back.

boom!
Lu Kai met Mertens' back pass at the penalty spot and fired a low shot into the far corner, a very tricky angle.

Almunia misjudged the direction.

Although Zhu Lu was in front of the door, his legs weren't long enough.

The football hit the side netting from the inside.

"GOAL! Two to zero!"

"Another assist from Mertens! This kid is outstanding today, scoring two assists in the first half."

"Lu Kai also scored. Both goals were scored on the counter-attack. Arsenal's defense is as fragile as paper."

"Since Campbell left, they have not been able to find a trustworthy replacement. Gallas is currently injured, and the swap deal between Arsenal and Chelsea involving Ashley Cole and Gallas now looks like a bad deal."

Ultimately, Green Gunners led by two goals at halftime.

Arsenal attacked fiercely, but their defense was a whole Manchester United's weaker than Arsenal's!
……

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and started the game again.

Less than three minutes into the exchange, the Green Guns players tensed up and all turned to look at Lu Kai.

Especially the guys in the youth team.

Walker: "Just as Lu said, Arsenal will not make any special adjustments to their defense."

Gundogan nodded: "If it were the Premier League, or the first leg of a series, Arsenal would definitely need to defend and minimize their losses."

"But this is the final, just this one match, it doesn't matter how much we lose or lose."

"Arsenal only have a chance to win if they score a goal."

Smalling said with some envy, "If they play like this, I feel like Perisic and Henderson have a chance to get on the field."

These two young players were also included in the roster for this match and are waiting on the bench.

They thought this was a reward for them, but little did they know that even better fortune was yet to come!
In the 54th minute, Lu Kai was dribbling in midfield when he was pulled and dragged by Fabregas, who stretched Lu Kai's jersey into a pyramid shape.

The referee showed Fabregas a yellow card.

They then awarded Green Gun a free kick in midfield.

Modric walked towards the ball, ready to kick off, but Fabregas kept nagging.

He had no idea how terrifying people could be when they went to football.

Without theft, the art of deception reigns supreme.

Without cheating, the ball can steal the world and dominate.

Modric walked toward the ball and headed toward Fabregas, seemingly to argue with him.

But the next moment, Modric made a "pan Zhou Dan" move, turned back, and launched a long pass.

Even the cameras couldn't keep up with his pass.

The only one who can keep up with the ball's deception and mindset is the FIFA King of Football!

Lu Kai sensed a possibility early on and quietly moved forward.

As Modric changed direction, Lu Kai immediately launched himself forward.

The moment the sound of the ball came, Lu Kai had already accelerated, easily outmaneuvering Djourou and Toure from the middle, catching up with the ball on the left side of the penalty area, and holding off Toure behind him.

Almunia strikes again.

This time he didn't dive to widen the blocking area... what if the opponent didn't shoot?

They didn't kick the ball long enough... kicking it too slowly would have given the opponent more opportunities to touch it.

He maintained an upright walking posture, and within the penalty area, no matter how powerful Lu Kai was, Arsenal had to stop him from launching this fast break!
boom!
Lu Kai flicked the ball with his left foot as it landed.

A rainbow streaked across the sky.

Almunia leaped up to make a save with one hand, but like someone trying to pluck a star, he could never reach his goal.

Arsenal left-back Eboue chased back at high speed, heading straight for the goal, and made a desperate bicycle kick tackle... but he was a step too late!
The football first fell into the goal area.

Eboue then slid into the goal, rushing onto the side netting and nearly tearing it apart.

"Incredible! An incredible goal!"

"At their wits' end, their teamwork is as perfect as ever! This is a connection between two geniuses!"

"Modric took a quick free kick and stole an attacking opportunity right under Arsenal's nose."

"Lu Kai's miraculous lob pass, that's the most beautiful arc Datford has ever seen!"

"Three to zero! It's very difficult for Arsenal to turn this around!"

"Arsenal's young players are far from being comparable to the young talents of the second generation of the Green Generation."

"They may look similar, but the difference between a genius and a mediocre person might just be these three balls!"

"If Arsenal fail to respond soon, they will witness their city rivals achieve a historic seventh consecutive EFL Cup title!"

"This will be the biggest, biggest, biggest humiliation for Arsenal!"

"This moment may be incredibly dark for Arsenal fans. But the darkness isn't because the sun has set, but because Lu Kai said goodnight to Arsenal fans!"

The commentary was poetic and picturesque, but given Alfred and others' proficiency in Chinese and their lip-reading abilities, they believed that Lu Kai said "Go wash up and go to bed" after scoring!
On the court, Lu Kai raised his arms, waiting for his teammates to come and celebrate with him.

The big screen eventually found the whole process of the goal, and finally a few long-range cameras recorded Modric's pass.

The footage also showed Fabregas arguing heatedly with the referee.

Huang Jianxiang: "People often say that Fabregas is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League this season, and he just won the Golden Boy award this year."

"But in crucial games, he was left far behind by Modric. And Modric is just a rotation player for Green Gunners."

"Green Gun's talent pool may have exceeded our expectations."

Ashley Young was always unhappy in the backcourt.

What does it mean to suck blood?

Modric exemplifies this perfectly.

Fabregas played well for most of the season, but in the end, he only benefited Modric.

Dartford shouldn't have another person as despicable as him!
(End of this chapter)