Chapter 29: From 1–3 to 3–3 — Balotelli Time
On the pitch,
Sergio Agüero controlled the ball and drove rapidly toward the box.
Balotelli, fueled by primeval power, also charged into the area.
Xia Qi chased hard from behind; Manchester City's tactical quality began to show.
Edin Džeko made a straight run from Balotelli's side, cutting in front of Xia Qi and taking Xia Qi with him.
It was a cross-running movement akin to a pick-and-roll in basketball.
Kieran Gibbs stepped to block Agüero, but the moment Agüero shot the ball, he slid it to Balotelli.
Per Mertesacker dared not go in with a sliding tackle in the box; he could only move his feet and lower his center to block Balotelli.
By rights Balotelli should have tried to dribble past or create a shooting angle.
Instead, Balotelli met the ball and thudded a reckless inside-foot drive as if Mertesacker were just air.
Remarkably, the ball evaded Mertesacker and sped toward goal.
Vito Mannone's view was obstructed; by the time the ball emerged from Mertesacker's side and he dived, it was too late.
2–3!
Only 16 minutes into the second half, Arsenal conceded two quick goals.
Balotelli completed his brace.
City smelled the chance to equalize or even take the lead.
Overjoyed City fans in the stands started playing games.
They flattened their palms over their brows, mimed looking into the distance and around, and chanted, "Xia Qi, where are you?"
They mocked Xia Qi for having been dragged away by Džeko earlier and supposedly being useless in defense.
They wanted to provoke Xia Qi, but they read the emotion wrong — Xia Qi was still Xia Qi.
After the goal, Balotelli didn't run to Xia Qi; instead he strode to the stands, dramatically ripped off his shirt, and revealed his sculpted torso.
Some fangirls whistled immediately... heating the already raucous Etihad to an even higher pitch.
Only Roberto Mancini stamped his foot in fury.
One yellow card — that might change the game's flow.
The match went on.
Arsenal began to play cautiously.
…
…
"Keep applying pressure. Both wingers push forward quickly. David, create more exit channels. The final pass — give it to Mario."
"Touré, Clichy, mark Xia Qi. After you win the ball, get it to Mario first."
"Džeko, you and Agüero make cross runs; if there's no opening, pass to Mario."
Roberto Mancini, brimming with spirit, stood on the touchline shouting instructions.
His tactical core was simple: get the ball to "Kobe" — his nickname for Mario.
At the 61st minute, City trailed 2–3.
From 0–3 down to 2–3, City had taken 16 minutes — such a rapid comeback ignited every City player's competitive fire.
They began to run themselves ragged searching for every Arsenal weakness.
Arsenal had entered a harsh winter; Xia Qi had simultaneously activated both the [Pseudo No.9 Mei] and [Jinbian Luo] attributes.
He dropped into the front-midfield and formed a "double-core" with Mikel Arteta, but it still couldn't reverse their disadvantage.
The pitch is a battlefield; there's always an intangible momentum.
Now Manchester City's momentum was overwhelming; they controlled the "big force."
On the pitch,
after a few passes the ball reached Xia Qi, and Balotelli sprang up from nowhere to collide with him.
Xia Qi trapped the ball and protected it at his feet.
"Boom!"
A dull thud of bodies colliding.
Xia Qi winced inside; he knew how solid Balotelli's body was and that his own body would suffer — there would be bruises, maybe tiny bone cracks.
What a sin! He'd been bewitched into arousing Balotelli's fighting spirit!
Balotelli was surprised to have hurt himself in the clash; besides shock he felt a little moved.
"Xia, show your best form — that's my respect to the strongest."
Then I should also respect him.
"Crush him, crush him…" Balotelli began to hypnotize himself and matched Xia Qi blow for blow, even though he didn't have a defensive assignment on Xia Qi.
The two stormed forward, Balotelli repeatedly shoulder-charging Xia Qi.
Xia Qi bore everything without a flinch; his steps were unaffected, calmly shielding the ball between his feet as if riding a unicycle forward.
Their crude, unskilled physical duel gradually made the Etihad quieter and quieter.
The quieter it got, the louder the dull thuds of flesh colliding sounded; the louder the thuds, the quieter the stadium became.
"Boom!"
"Boom! Boom!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!…"
At first fans found it amusing — a free extra show of rugby-style contact was entertaining.
But after watching, it became painful to behold; parents covered their children's eyes.
The two charged into the box together.
Joleon Lescott rushed in front of Xia Qi ready to combine with Balotelli to win the ball.
When Lescott was about to reach him, Xia Qi quickly pushed the ball sideways into midfield.
Lukas Podolski cut in diagonally, shrugged off Vincent Kompany's harassment, and reached the ball first to pass it back behind Lescott.
It was a stroke of genius!
To most of the City players' surprise,
Xia Qi looped around Lescott's outside and chased the ball.
Most, that is, except Balotelli.
Balotelli's football IQ was indeed higher than most; he anticipated this and raced ahead of everyone to reach the ball.
But he didn't immediately hoof it clear — classic Balotelli thinking.
At that moment Xia Qi charged in and crashed ferociously into him.
Balotelli, still dazed, was knocked flying,
but Xia Qi's body also staggered back. With Joe Hart closing in, Xia Qi — controlled by the AI — swept a foot at the ball in his stumble.
The ball skidded low across the grass at pace.
Joe Hart, like a gale, dove and clutched the ball right on the goal line.
Damn!
A double-attribute nuclear move!
But it was thwarted by a god!
Tonight Joe Hart was the second god after Balotelli.
Wenger shook his head helplessly; Xia Qi had done his best and now needed help.
Arsenal made substitutions: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott came on for Aaron Ramsey and Abou Diaby respectively.
Wenger wanted two young players to rush City's backline and relieve Xia Qi's burden.
The match resumed.
Joe Hart threw the ball to Gaël Clichy, who floored the accelerator and sprinted forward.
Past the halfway line he passed to David Silva.
David Silva and Javi García played a one-two and the ball fell to the edge of the box where Edin Džeko flicked a header.
Balotelli, shouldering Per Mertesacker in the box, spun and struck.
For some reason, the freshly subbed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain appeared in front of the goal and, as if possessed, reached out and slapped the ball.
Beep! Beep!
The referee blew his whistle, dashed to Kieran Gibbs and brandished a red card.
In an instant,
Arsenal and all their mates were stunned.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain protested that it was his handball.
The referee pointed to his eyes and told everyone he'd seen it clearly — it had been Gibbs.
Gibbs' arguments were in vain and he had to leave the field wronged.
Balotelli stepped up for the penalty and converted with ease!
3–3!
Balotelli completed his hat-trick at halftime and led Manchester City's miraculous comeback to claw back to 3–3.
"This is a stirring match; football's drama is on full display — both Arsenal and City had strong halves, Wenger and Mancini's personnel strategies, and even the referee stole the show..."
"Now both sides are back on level terms, but Arsenal are down to ten men, and the match has shifted toward the home side…"
(END CHAPTER)
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