Coach Renato Gaucho is a liar. Before the game, he threatened to let Manchester City see Gremio's sharp defensive counterattack. However, from the beginning of the game, the defense showed up, but the counterattack was completely missing.
Gremio's bus is more determined than the Abu Dhabi Peninsula team.
As soon as Mexican referee Cesar Ramos blew the whistle, the entire Gremio team retreated within the 40-meter line like a tide. In principle, Barrios, who should be at the front, also returned to defend in front of the penalty area.
And three days ago, Peninsula players obviously respected Manchester City very much, while Gremio showed no respect. They wanted to show off their abilities today, and they immediately made defensive moves when needed, without any politeness.
In the 2nd minute, Zhuoyang got the ball in the frontcourt and suddenly forced his way out of the double-team of Jairson and Jeromell. Jeromell took a late step but did not close his legs, and the spikes were directly hung up.
On Zhuo Yang's calf, it was a somersault on the spot.
Sitting on the ground, Zhuo Yang grinned and rolled up his socks. There were three obvious blood marks on his calf, as if he had been scratched by a dog.
South American players and South American football have always made more small moves than those in Europe. I guess referee Ramos is also used to it, so he only awarded a free kick without any sign.
We are all veterans, and now we have figured out the referee's standards of law enforcement. Manchester City are not weaklings, it is not easy to be worse than anyone else?
There are two types of people on the court who are most likely to be kicked: those who are famous and those who love dribbling. Zhuo Yang has both.
The person who is least likely to be kicked on the court is the villain who can also kick back hard. Zhuo Yang happens to be the same.
A minute later, during the fight for the top, Zhuoyangjia's elbow hit hard, knocking Jeromel three meters away. After falling to the ground, he bounced again before hitting the porcelain. The Gremio captain barely recovered. He lifted his jersey and looked at his back.
There were the same three blood marks and a large bruise on his waist.
I am not Cristiano Ronaldo who only complains, nor Messi who is a blessing in disguise, nor Neymar who is 30,000 miles away in one fell swoop. I have to keep my eyes open.
The defensive actions were still very fierce and the confrontation was fierce, but no one dared to do anything random to Zhuo Yang anymore.
This illustrates a truth: Only by becoming evil enough can you make the world a kinder place.
Gremio's defensive will was very resolute, Manchester City's offense was also very patient, and the game went on peacefully amid constant interruptions.
Although South American clubs are now becoming more popular among the people, with their profound heritage and dedicated focus on defense, they are indeed not comparable to Asian teams.
Although Manchester City was able to attack in the half, they had far fewer shooting opportunities than three days ago, and very few of them were threatening.
Gremio still has two defensive midfielders, but it lacks Arthur's offensive organization and scheduling. Both Jairson and Michel are strong defensive types, which cannot provide much inspiration for the offensive counterattack and can only rely on
Luan and Feinu fought alone on the wing and were easily strangled by Manchester City.
In the 17th minute, Zhuoyang was about 30 meters away from the right side. After taking the ball, he turned around and suddenly shot a shot, hitting a ground ball and an outside arc.
Goalkeeper Grohe subconsciously judged that the football would miss the goalpost at first, but by the time he realized that it had curved back halfway, it was already too late.
Grohe's heart went cold as he stayed there, but the football hit the goalpost and bounced out of the baseline, which warmed his heart again.
Zhuo Yang muttered helplessly.
Although they were a bit unlucky, Manchester City finally had their first threatening shot.
But Gremio's defense is still tenacious.
In the 20th minute, Ding Ding couldn't stand the three people in front of him doing nothing, so he personally deducted Edilson and then broke through to the baseline to pass.
The arc was slightly lower and was cleared by Jeromell's header at the front post.
The football was swung to the other corner of the penalty area. Zhuoyang took two steps back and directly volleyed sideways and swung his leg.
At such a close distance, center back Kahneman appeared out of nowhere and flew to block the hole of the gun. The "bang" of the football hitting the ball and his muffled "chang" came out at the same time, which sounded like the ball deflated.
.
Frankly speaking, Zhuoyang admires Kanneman very much. This body is almost as if it is not his.
In the 24th minute, Feiniao intercepted Lu An in the frontcourt. After a cross pass, Zhuo Yang swung up and took another long shot.
This time Grae was finally called upon, but he missed the ball.
Sterling can always appear in such a second position, but he is happy.
As long as happiness does not slip, there are always more difficulties than solutions. With such a big goal, he just pursued a tricky angle and missed the post.
It is basically difficult to break into the penalty area and shoot. Even long-range shots outside the penalty area are not easy.
In the 28th minute, Zhuo Yang shot again, this time from a defensive double-team, so it is understandable that he missed the shot.
As a rising star in Europe who is ahead of the rest of Brazil, Jesus was defended for half an hour without a chance to shoot. He was really embarrassed in front of his compatriots, so he was particularly active.
It seemed that Zhuo Yang would shoot that corner. As soon as he raised his leg, Jesus sprinted towards the back post, hoping for a follow-up shot. As a result, Zhuo Yang missed the shot, and Jesus ran too hard and braked without anti-lock braking.
.
He put his buttocks on the ground and then straddled the goalpost.
Everyone's lower body tensed up. Zhuo Yang thought of Zhang Tiedan three years ago.
"...Shunliu, how are you?" After helping him up, everyone greeted him with great concern. Of course, there were also curious people like Sterling and Silva.
After Jesus stood up straight with a normal expression, he showed a mysterious smile.
"Brother Zhuo, you don't understand. Sometimes being soft has its benefits."
Everyone was relieved. From then on, in addition to "Shunliu", Jesus had another nickname of "softie".
In the 38th minute, Gremio finally got their first shot, and the Manchester City players couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief for them.
Hot Softie fouled while retreating in defense and kicked Barrios down. Gremio got a free kick about 40 meters away. This was almost Barrios' only offensive contribution in the first half.
The right back Edilson was very hard on his feet. Unexpectedly, he fired directly from such a long distance. The rate of fire was extremely fast, but apart from startling Edilson who was basically doing nothing, it had no real effect.
This was also Gremio's only shot in the first half. Although the defense was very good, the "sharp counterattack that surprised Manchester City" was completely ignored.
At the end of the first half, Manchester City had a ball possession rate of 69%, a shot ratio of 10:1, and a score of 0:0.
Guardiola asked Zhuoyang: "Looking at this posture, is the opponent trying to hold back and take a penalty kick today?"
Zhuo Yang stared and thought for a long time. "Are they stupid?"
"That's not true." Lao Gua said, "I probably just look down on you."
"Why?"
"You know why I don't like the forest?"
Zhuo Yang replied without thinking: "Because you are bald and will be disgusted with all lush things."
Gua: "...Yes. To the Gremio players, you are the forest, and it is a forest that is far away and rarely seen. So they do not believe in evil and want to challenge you."
Chapter completed!