Chapter 254 Bald Head from North London

Hamburg didn't take their first shot of the game until the 25th minute.

This was a counterattack after stealing the ball in the midfield. De Bruyne dribbled the ball forward, Yaya Toure pulled him down without hesitation, and Hamburg got a free kick.

Salah hit a curved shot with his left foot, but it was firmly caught by Joe Hart who was well positioned.

Salah was not in particularly good condition today. He tried to break through with the ball several times but Kolarov saw through his intention and was stopped.

Including this free kick, it was kicked too straight and the power was not sufficient.

Even so, this shot is a rare opportunity for Hamburg to threaten Manchester City's goal.

In addition, Manchester City's dominant offensive trend continued throughout the first half.

After Hamburg retreated, they maintained a very tight formation and did not leave many opportunities for Manchester City.

Especially Hamburg's defenders, they guarded Manchester City's two forwards Dzeko and Aguero very closely, denying them a chance to take a comfortable shot.

Manchester City was not discouraged and continued to send shells to Dzeko as always.

Dzeko is nearly 28 years old this year and is at the peak of his career.

Just as Nagelsmann commented on his "enhanced version of Mitrovic", Dzeko's speed and explosive power are not his characteristics, and his absolute speed is even a bit slow.

His body is very good, but he is not as strong and powerful as Mitrovic.

And he doesn't play like a traditional center.

His characteristic is that he has a good assist ability to create opportunities for his teammates. He can help the team connect more and have more ball-making attributes.

Dzeko is also a player who does not need to formulate tactics around him. Tactically, he can quickly understand the coach's intentions and execute them without reservation.

Of course, in the current Manchester City, he can also play the role of a terminator. After all, he has excellent shooting skills and good headers.

It is precisely because of his versatility and selfless spirit that Manchester City teammates also trust him.

Even though Hamburg's defenders are very tight on him now, people like David Silva, Aguero and others are still willing to pass the ball to him and then let him think about what to do next.

After all, although Manchester City's first goal was scored by Kolarov's free kick, it was Dzeko who created this free kick opportunity!

…

In the 35th minute, Manchester City got a corner kick on the right.

David Silva stood in the corner flag area, while all Manchester City's high points, including Dzeko, Kompany, Demichelis and others, all pressed into Hamburg's penalty area.

The Manchester City fans at the Etihad Stadium suddenly let out a long sound of "Ohhhhhhhh-".

This is "storing up energy" for this corner kick.

This is also a very common way for fans to cheer.

When the kicker takes a corner kick, the fans will make a final sound of "Ha!" to build momentum for the team's offense.

After all, the team is now leading, and Manchester City fans are still relatively happy.

At this time, Rudiger was in the penalty area, and his task was to keep an eye on Dzeko.

Manchester City's previous goal was due to Rudiger's tackle foul on Dzeko.

At that time, he saw that Dzeko was about to shoot, and he made a shovel move in desperation. Now that he thinks about it, it was a bit reckless.

He will be more careful this time!

After all the Manchester City fans shouted "Ha!", David Silva took the corner kick.

This time the corner kick did not go to Dzeko, but to the forward position of captain Kompany.

It was Casemiro who was defending Kompany. He had already blocked his position and headed the ball out.

But the other person stood in front and shook his head, and the header did not fly very far.

On the line of the penalty area, Manchester City's midfielder Yaya Toure was already waiting there.

He has a great long-range shot!

He can even score more than 20 goals in a season!

So letting him shoot easily is a very dangerous thing.

Rudiger wanted to rush forward to block the shot, but he thought of Dzeko behind him.

If he goes up and Yaya Toure chooses to pass the ball instead of shooting, Dzeko will probably have space to create a threat.

This is a dilemma.

In this flash of lightning, Rudiger still moved.

He moved his body slightly to the right, just blocking Yaya Toure's shooting path, but not too far away from Dzeko.

This is a choice that only an experienced defender would make, as it can take into account the defense of both players and induce Yaya Toure to make a passing choice.

Sure enough, Yaya Toure raised his head and glanced behind the door, only to see a strong black man appearing in front of him.

He also found that shooting at this time was not a good option, and Dzeko also started.

At that moment, Yaya Toure immediately flicked his ankle, turned his shot into a pass, and sent a through ball.

And at this moment, Rudiger started almost reflexively, chasing Yaya Toure's pass with the fastest speed and explosive power.

Of course, the reason why he could react so quickly was because he had predicted Yaya Toure's move!

So, just when Dzeko had just received the pass and was about to hit the goal, Rudiger suddenly came out from behind and made a tackle directly from the side.

Dzeko's shot hit Rudiger's shoveled leg, bounced high, and the ball flew into the small penalty area.

In this place where "there are many experts", a group of people jumped up and wanted to compete for the header again, but how can the head be as high as the hands?

A pair of gloved hands firmly picked up the ball and defused the attack.

Hamburg goalkeeper Keylor Navas has the ball!

All the Manchester City fans in the audience also expressed their regrets.

If Rudiger had been slower, the ball would have been there!

Rudiger's center back partner Van Dijk walked towards him, stretched out his hand to pull him, and praised:

"Your defense is really good! You have my style, haha!"

A layman watches the excitement, an expert watches the door.

Van Dijk, who is also a top central defender, can naturally see the excellence of Rudiger's defense this time and the hidden tricks in it.

Of course, while praising Rudiger, he also didn't forget to give a shit...

Rudiger grabbed Van Dijk's hand, climbed up from the ground, and then shouted to everyone: "Everyone, keep going! The boss is watching us!"

On the sidelines, Pan Yi was applauding them:

"Good defense this time! Just kick like this! Very good!"

The Hamburg players also nodded to express their acceptance!

…

But this kind of shot looks different when viewed from the audience.

What they saw was Manchester City furiously attacking Hamburg's goal, and just now it was just another embarrassing clearance by Hamburg.

"Look, what did I say before the game? Hamburg is no match for Manchester City!" Gary Neville was bragging to Carragher in the media box.

"It's not even half time yet..."

"It's been like this before halftime. You can imagine what the score will be at full time!" Neville interrupted Carragher and continued, "As I said, Hamburg are completely unable to adapt to the Premier League team.

The rhythm, look at it, the whole audience is suppressed!"

"The game is not over yet..."

"The game is not over yet, Hamburg will be beaten even worse!" Neville brought the microphone closer to his mouth, "Manchester City will resolve the battle in one game, and then go to the People's Park Stadium to play a game in the next round

Just a relaxing friendly match."

"Why do I remember that you are a famous Manchester United player..."

"I am indeed a former Manchester United player, and I don't like Manchester City either. But I just don't like you guys bragging about Hamburg and Pan Yi!" Neville snorted, "So now that I see them being beaten, I just

To be happy is to be happy!”

Carragher said helplessly: "Sometimes people just state the facts, but how come they turn into boasting? Are the results Pan Yi has achieved with Hamburg in the past two seasons false? As someone said, anything you say about Messi

Objective evaluation will make you look like a plum blossom..."

"You're here again!" Neville glared, "Cristiano Ronaldo is the best! When he was at Manchester United..."

As a result, these two live treasures of Sky Sports have entered into a long-term battle with Melo.

…

At the end of the first half, the score was still 1:0, with Manchester City leading.

While walking in the tunnel, Pan Yi asked Pintus: "How long do you think Manchester City can attack at this pace?"
To be continued...