Chapter 93 — Arsenal Both Familiar and Strange; Xia Qi, Falsely Accused, Develops a Killer Instinct
On the pitch, both teams took their positions according to the formation.
Jupp Heynckes stared at the field, tilted his head and said something to his assistant, then suddenly the smile on his face froze.
He turned to look at Arsène Wenger and found no surprise on Wenger's face; that made him even more irritated.
On the pitch, Xia Qi's position had changed again — Xia Qi appeared at right-back.
In other words, tonight's 3-4-3 was actually a more extreme 3-2-5 variant: Xia Qi and Kevin De Bruyne would participate more in attack than in defense.
Wenger was not as conservative as outsiders imagined.
From Bayern's perspective, Heynckes felt Wenger was not treating Bayern as a team to be shelved with pure defense.
On the contrary, precisely because Wenger regarded Bayern as strong, he believed pure defense wouldn't hold them, so he decided to "defend by attacking"…
A thousand readers have a thousand Hamlets.
Franck Ribéry, aligned with Heynckes' side, was excited — he was playing left wing-back directly opposite Xia Qi.
He thought Wenger's adjustment of the 3-4-3 was meant to contain him, and a sense of pride and complacency welled up.
He wanted to show his best form and blow apart the "ice-cream prince."
Beep!
Toni Kroos tapped the ball to Bastian Schweinsteiger, and at the same time Franck Ribéry charged across the halfway line straight at Xia Qi.
Schweinsteiger seemed to have a telepathic understanding with Ribéry; before Ribéry even reached for the ball, a long pass was played — the ball flew toward Ribéry.
Ribéry ran along the touchline and cushioned the ball beautifully at his feet. That first touch was highly technical; Bayern fans and substitutes went wild with cheers.
On the pitch, Ribéry had just settled the ball when Xia Qi stood squarely in front of him.
Ribéry licked his lips and grinned mischievously: "The Professor specially assigned you — are you marking me?"
In AI mode Xia Qi could not speak; he stared coldly and simply stood there.
"Your seriousness earns my respect, but seriousness is useless," Ribéry said, then feigned an inside cut but suddenly pulled the ball back and pushed forward along the touchline.
As Ribéry tried to drive outside, Xia Qi closed him down quickly and wasn't fooled by the feint.
Ribéry's feint didn't buy him a single second; his attempt to burst down the wing slammed straight into Xia Qi.
That collision robbed Ribéry, who relies on acceleration when running with the ball, of any advantage.
Seeing Xia Qi live up to his reputation, Ribéry grew even more excited.
But before he could make his next move, Xia Qi slid in for a tackle.
The ball looked likely to be lost — Ribéry, a world-class left back on the flank, narrowly used his toe to poke the ball forward first.
That action came with a cost: Xia Qi's challenge grazed Ribéry's ankle.
Ribéry prepared to roll toward the advertising hoardings where a blonde, blue-eyed reporter sat; he'd even lined up his cheesy pick-up line in advance:
"Your beautiful face makes me fall for you."
If he could eliminate Arsenal in London and pick up a girl, he'd have to come to London every season...
But villains perish by speaking too much!
Ribéry had no idea what he was up against.
AI calculation is the strongest — it had already predicted Ribéry's reaction, so...
Xia Qi's sliding foot was actually a feint. As Ribéry nudged the ball forward, Xia Qi's foot moved backward in tandem. (The ball rolled forward while Xia Qi's foot swung back.)
A backward flick!
A kick-back motion like a mule, donkey or horse rearing.
At that instant it was the perfect interception.
Xia Qi stopped the ball under control!
"Beautiful!"
"Nice defending!"
The Emirates erupted in thunderous applause!
Amid the cheers, Xia Qi quickly turned.
Ribéry — who had been fantasizing about trumping Xia Qi and then wooing the reporter — found himself embarrassed. His center of gravity leaned toward the touchline, just waiting for Xia Qi's follow-up kick so he could roll theatrically toward the blonde...
But that follow-up kick never came.
With his weight already shifted outward, he saw Xia Qi running away; of course he wanted to chase and contest the ball, but his body...
He fell without contact.
The intention to cheat was exposed for all to see...
Awkward...!!!
Xia Qi chased down the ball, adjusted his direction, and launched a long pass.
At that moment Arsenal's forwards sprinted toward Bayern's goal; Arsenal fans realized this wasn't just a brilliant tackle but a counterattack, and they cheered even louder to encourage their players.
Sure enough,
"Boom!"
A thunderous crack!
The ball was launched from deep from Xia Qi's foot like a guided missile toward the final third.
Under the arc of the ball, a red figure tore forward.
"Mario Balotelli!"
"Not offside!"
"If he gets the ball it's a one-on-one!"
Xia Qi's long pass flew precisely into Balotelli's path.
Balotelli wanted to slap himself — he'd just applauded Xia Qi's backward flick. If he'd reacted like Podolski did last time (launching at Xia Qi's leg flick), he'd be in a much more composed position now.
Xia Qi's interception and counterattack happened in the blink of an eye, and Bayern's defenders' heads were still ringing.
What the hell?
How did the previously suppressed and passive Arsenal suddenly produce such a pinpoint through-ball and a one-on-one?
By the time they sprang into action, Arsenal's front three had already beaten the offside trap.
Only Manuel Neuer could now turn the tide.
Neuer rushed off his line and leapt high to meet the ball; Balotelli grew anxious and drove off his standing foot, using the reaction to propel himself.
The two collided in midair and neither got a touch on the ball; the ball floated over their heads and dropped to the left side of the penalty area.
Lukas Podolski, delighted, had been playing wide left and retreating a long way defensively, so on the counter his position was somewhat distant — luckily he had just caught up.
He sprinted into the box, Arsenal fans jumping from their seats, some already embracing in excitement.
Bayern's chasing defenders were all sprinting back at full speed...
Heynckes stormed to the fourth official, protesting that Balotelli had fouled by charging.
The ball dropped on the left side of the penalty area — Podolski's most comfortable zone.
Podolski angled his body and confidently struck the ball with his right foot.
Seventy thousand-plus fans held their breath, ready to erupt as the ball flew toward the net…
"Boom!"
The close-up audio carried the impact through the whole stadium; the ball screamed toward the stands…
The cheering crowd choked on their own saliva...
All the fans were stunned...
All the players were stunned...
Manuel Neuer almost wanted to grab Podolski and gnaw into him out of frustration.
What do they say?
"Countrymen stab countrymen in the back?"
Not us Germans!
One heart never changes; that red is Bayern red.
Podolski dropped to his knees and thumped the turf hard; in hindsight he could have controlled the ball first then shot, because Neuer had been off his line and there would have been time.
On the pitch, Xia Qi was very calm; he directed his teammates to defend.
But the little ball boy near the touchline proved smarter than expected — he pretended not to hear Neuer's call. After Arsenal's players had composed themselves and retreated, the kid tossed the ball back to Neuer.
Neuer grinned and gave the ball boy a thumbs-up; the boy's smile instantly healed the disappointed hearts of Arsenal fans.
Children's happiness is that simple.
Bayern didn't change their tactics because of Xia Qi's warning.
After a few passes, the ball returned to Franck Ribéry.
When Ribéry received the ball Xia Qi immediately closed him down.
This time Ribéry didn't speak much and didn't overdo it: he passed to Toni Kroos.
After passing he didn't thread into the space behind Xia Qi for a one-two with Kroos; instead he dragged Xia Qi into the center and left the wing space for David Alaba to make an overlapping run.
Bayern under Heynckes are strong because their attack is multi-layered. Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry are only the obvious weapons; behind them there are other tricks.
Seeing Ribéry move to the inside, Kroos sent the ball over. Ribéry received it and, ignoring the onrushing Alaba, took a touch and unleashed a long-range shot.
The ball drifted wide of the goal.
"Within five minutes both teams have had a shot; compared to that, Arsenal's attack looks slightly more threatening."
"Ribéry's shot felt more like an emotional release — he could have combined with teammates instead."
On the pitch Arsenal were attacking; Theo Walcott made a blind-side run, and Xia Qi's long pass flew over Javi Martínez's head, dropping behind him.
"Great combination."
Walcott received it and faced Bayern's left-back David Alaba.
Instead of cutting inside, Walcott hugged the touchline and dropped deep along the box line, then suddenly stopped; with Alaba flicking his timing he couldn't block the angle in time, and Walcott put in a cross.
The ball flew from Alaba's side into the box; Mario Balotelli arrived in the center and met it with a precise driven shot.
The ball screamed toward the goal.
Manuel Neuer leapt like an eagle unfolding its wings and tipped the ball over the crossbar at the last instant.
"Balotelli! Shot!"
"Oh! Neuer!"
"A world-class save!"
"Balotelli's strike was top quality, but Neuer was even better."
"Tonight Arsenal are both familiar and strange. Their attacks often originate from deep but are not less threatening than short combinations up front."
"If Bayern don't limit Xia Qi, their defensive lines will be in big trouble."
Although Arsenal's two shots were unsuccessful, they ignited Arsenal fans' passions; the crowd hysterically shouted to the players on the pitch: "Play like this!" "Break their defense!"
Arsenal took a corner; Dante headed clear, Schweinsteiger flicked a header to Toni Kroos.
Kroos turned and played a through ball as precise as a scalpel into the space behind Xia Qi.
Ribéry sped past Xia Qi and drove into the box.
Samuel Umtiti stepped up to intercept but Ribéry turned him; Thomas Vermaelen covered quickly, but Ribéry beat him to the ball and fired.
Emiliano Martínez went down and held the ball with his knee.
Ribéry's shot failed to produce a goal, but he walked past Xia Qi nodding and swaying with pride as if he'd shown him up.
Unfortunately for him, he'd misread the situation.
In AI mode Xia Qi had no emotion.
Ribéry's attempt to rile Xia Qi ultimately failed.
"The match is intense; both sides play fast. A slight mistake will put the defense under strain."
Martínez rolled the ball out; Vermaelen received it and was pressed high by Mario Mandžukić. Xia Qi dropped back quickly.
Vermaelen passed to Santi Cazorla, who, before Robben could press, played back to the retreating Xia Qi.
Xia Qi took the ball and made a gesture asking the whole team to push up, aiming to drag Bayern's forward line out of their half.
Xia Qi drove forward, quick one-two touches, then fed Kevin De Bruyne.
De Bruyne and Lukas Podolski played a wall pass that pierced Bayern's defensive midfield, forcing Javi Martínez out of the box to cover, then the ball was slid wide to Xia Qi on the right.
At the exact moment De Bruyne passed, Mario Balotelli made a clever run into the gap between Dante and Jérôme Boateng.
Bayern's two center-backs had pulled their positions apart slightly to cover the space left by Martínez stepping out of the box.
Balotelli nipped into the gap.
AI, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity.
Xia Qi met the incoming ball and played it forward with the precise weight.
He provided the exact timing.
Boateng and Dante scrambled forward in terror.
Balotelli didn't give them a chance; he immediately accelerated.
The offside trap was beaten again!
Neuer once more chose to rush from his line!
The ball descended from the air,
goalkeeper Neuer leapt,
in a flash,
Balotelli followed his instincts, met the falling ball and flicked it up with the instep.
It was an imaginative attempt.
Neuer flew in to grab it, but Balotelli's flick had lifted it enough to make Neuer hesitate.
What a Neuer.
At the decisive instant,
mid-air, Neuer stretched his body, upper torso rising like a cobra, and reached to scoop the ball with one hand.
His right hand shot forward quickly.
By the smallest margin, his fingertips grazed the ball.
A flicked shot usually lacks power, and Neuer's fingertip touch didn't have much force, but it disturbed the ball nonetheless.
Boateng, tracking back hard, rushed in and saw the ball bounce toward him; he couldn't brake in time and mishit it in confusion.
The ball flew back toward goal.
Fortunately Neuer is a fortress; he made a double save and punched the ball out.
This time he used more force and the ball was kicked out of the penalty area.
At the right side of the edge of the box, the beefy Schweinsteiger and Xia Qi jumped together.
"Boom!"
The muffled thud of bodies landed in every fan's ear.
"Holy hell! Schweinsteiger is impressive — he can match the Titan Xia Qi," Bayern fans muttered in surprise; Schweinsteiger is the muscle in Bayern's midfield, but Arsenal fans saw this as normal.
They were used to Xia Qi steamrolling anything that resisted him on the pitch.
Although neither dominated, this was Bayern's half and Schweinsteiger had the numerical support.
Javi Martínez, seeing the contest, charged to seize the ball that had been knocked on.
But he overreached; when he got the ball he didn't play it first-time, instead he tried to look up and assess the situation.
Arsenal were in full attack — Xia Qi certainly wouldn't allow Martínez to organize a counter.
AI chose to tackle!
It gave Martínez no chance to play.
Javi Martínez was clipped by Xia Qi's tackle.
AI does not intend to injure.
Yet Martínez writhed on the ground clutching his ankle in pain.
"Beep! Beep!"
The referee blew his whistle and showed a yellow card.
The stadium erupted!
Xia Qi showed no expression, as wooden as ever, offering no argument. Instead, his teammates were more agitated and surrounded the referee demanding an explanation.
The live stream immediately showed slow-motion replay.
On the feed, Xia Qi's tackle was clean — he played the ball and withdrew his foot.
Xia Qi's boot didn't even make direct contact with Javi Martínez.
"Phew..."
Once the truth was clear, the Emirates became a stable of braying asses.
[That was a misjudgment.]
[Javi Martínez's acting was too convincing; the ref was fooled.]
[Fool? The ref was blind to begin with.]
The match continued... Bayern did not realize they had stirred up big trouble.
Xia Qi, wronged, developed a killing intent!
Actually,
that's not quite right.
AI has no feelings and no desire for revenge, but AI will weigh the situation. Defensive midfield is the position most likely to pick up cards; with a yellow already on him, AI judged Xia Qi unsuitable there.
It shifted Xia Qi forward between the number 10 and number 5 roles — a brand-new position, somewhat like a second striker, producing a whole new chemical reaction...
(END CHAPTER)
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