Chapter 214: A Last-Minute Game Changer, Thankfully We Have Lin!
"Manchester City has made another personnel change; they've substituted Jovetić and brought on number 10, Lin Quan."
"Pellegrini made this substitution too late; regular time is almost over. Does he expect Lin Quan to score in these final few minutes?"
He Wei couldn't help but complain. Why not substitute earlier?
The match is almost finished, and there's barely any time left for this change to have an impact. It seems certain that Manchester City will be dragged into extra time by the opposition.
"Looks like Pellegrini's intention was to give the main players more rest, but it seems to have backfired a bit."
"Yes, although half of Manchester City's lineup consists of substitutes, there are still key players on the pitch who have played the full game and might have to go into extra time. Their stamina will be heavily drained."
"In two days, they have an away game against Sunderland. With this level of exertion, Manchester City's Premier League performance might be affected!"
Seeing Lin Quan come on without any warm-up, the criticism of Pellegrini grew even harsher.
"Pellegrini is being too greedy, wanting everything and potentially ending up with nothing!"
Xu Yang nodded in agreement: "Even deep-rooted big clubs need to make choices when fighting on multiple fronts, let alone a relatively new contender like Manchester City?"
"The League Cup and even the FA Cup are expendable. I think they should focus on the Premier League and the Champions League!"
"Yes, for Manchester City, aiming to be a top club, winning more league titles and advancing further in the Champions League will earn them broader recognition and truly place them among the Premier League's elite!"
On the pitch far away, Lin Quan obviously couldn't hear this discussion.
In his heart, Lin Quan actually supported Pellegrini's decision not to give up on the League Cup.
The reason was simple: winning more games meant earning more points.
In the previous match against Chelsea, he used the bicycle kick skill he exchanged from the system store for 30 points to score a stunning goal.
After spending 30 points, Lin Quan's remaining points were down to 10.
With more matches on various fronts, his stamina was being severely tested.
If he didn't want to conserve energy like Messi often did by walking around the front, he had to quickly upgrade his stamina talent to the next level.
Currently, his stamina talent was at level 3, worth 30 points, and upgrading it to the max required 70 points.
70 points were too many to accumulate before the end of the season.
So he planned to first save up 20 points to upgrade his stamina talent to level 4.
This would significantly improve his stamina cap and passive recovery rate, meeting his current match needs.
For the sake of points, they had to win this match!
"Lin, you haven't warmed up. Are you okay?"
Aguero was worried that Lin Quan might get injured due to sudden intense activity without warming up.
"It's fine, there's not much time left. We need to settle this quickly and not let the match go into extra time!"
"Got it!"
Aguero nodded firmly. If they could end the match sooner, who would want to play an extra 30 minutes?
"Watch out, number 10 is coming on. Keep a close eye on him; don't let him ruin our plans!"
Seeing Lin Quan enter the field, Wigan Athletic's players immediately became more vigilant.
Lin Quan's growing reputation in the Premier League and Champions League had made him well-known, even to Championship teams.
Although Pellegrini had put Lin Quan on the bench for this match, Wigan still considered him the number one threat in their pre-match strategy.
Having successfully marked Aguero, Wigan planned to use the same strategy to contain Lin Quan.
However, they quickly realized that this tactic wasn't quite effective.
Because of his fluid positioning on the field, it was hard to mark him man-to-man or even with zonal defense.
Unlike Aguero, Lin Quan could organize play, break through defenses, and score goals.
Once he approached their goal, defenders faced a dilemma.
Should they guard against his passing or his breakthrough and shot?
The first time, the defender cautiously chose to block his path to prevent a breakthrough or shot.
Seeing the defender not too close, Lin Quan decisively delivered a through pass.
The pass pierced Wigan's defense, but Aguero started a bit early, and was flagged offside as he received the ball.
Wigan's defenders broke out in a cold sweat!
They immediately realized how dangerous this guy was!
They couldn't give him space to pass; they had to stick close!
However, when they tried to do so, Lin Quan performed a beautiful roulette, easily bypassing the overly aggressive defender and charging into the penalty area.
Wigan's players were stunned. They swarmed toward Lin Quan to stop his shot.
But Lin Quan calmly chipped the ball to the unmarked Aguero, who slotted it home to change the score.
1-0!
In the 89th minute of the second half, Manchester City finally broke the deadlock.
Wigan's players were devastated! They had held out almost the entire match, only to lose it due to one mistake.
They were so unwilling to accept it! Ultimately, thanks to Aguero's goal, Manchester City narrowly defeated their opponent at home and advanced to the next round of the League Cup.
Although they won, Manchester City's performance was far from convincing.
After the match, the City players didn't feel like celebrating, especially the key players who played the whole game. They slunk back to the locker room.
Wigan's players, though disappointed, quickly adjusted.
For them, an early exit from the League Cup might actually be a good thing.
This way, they could focus on the league and aim to accumulate enough points to return to the Premier League.
"Lin, can I exchange shirts with you?"
After the match, Wigan's midfielder Jordi Gomez approached Lin Quan, somewhat shyly.
Like Lin Quan, Jordi had also come through the La Masia academy.
The difference was, he hadn't made a name for himself.
In the 2007-2008 season, due to his average talent, Jordi didn't get a contract extension from Barcelona's youth team and had to leave.
Since then, he had been playing for various clubs in different leagues, struggling to secure a regular spot.
This made him somewhat self-conscious. Despite being almost ten years older than Lin Quan, he felt inferior in front of him.
"Of course, no problem!"
Hearing Jordi speak to him in Spanish, Lin Quan was initially surprised.
But on second thought, it wasn't so unusual. Spanish midfielders were in high demand worldwide these days.
An English Championship team having a Spanish midfielder wasn't that strange.
Taking off his shirt, Lin Quan handed it to Jordi and offered a handshake:
"Good luck. Hope to see you in the Premier League next year!"
"Thank you for the encouragement. I hope you lead your team to win next year's World Cup!"
Jordi, feeling more at ease after Lin Quan's encouragement, mustered the courage to offer his own best wishes.
Lin Quan nodded, made a fist-pumping gesture, and without saying more, quickly headed back to the locker room with Jordi's shirt.
...
There were too many weak teams in the League Cup, so the Premier League teams mostly advanced smoothly.
However, Liverpool and Manchester United were unlucky and drew each other in the third round.
But this time, Manchester United, playing at home, had the last laugh.
After ninety minutes of fierce battle, they defeated Liverpool 1-0, avenging their previous defeat at Anfield.
The League Cup doesn't have a high profile, so there wasn't much attention from the public, and even the media coverage was sparse.
But Manchester City always attracts attention, so after the game, there were still some criticisms of Manchester City.
These newspaper criticisms were nothing new, repeating the old story that Manchester City relies too much on Lin Quan.
They believed that without Lin Quan's stellar performance helping the team secure a last-minute win, Manchester City might not have won this game.
"This Manchester City always gives people a feeling similar to Barcelona!"
"People often ask if Messi is a system player and if he can survive after leaving Barcelona?"
"I think this game gave an answer!"
Although it was a tabloid, one of the newspapers' analyses was quite reasonable.
"To be fair, it's true. When Messi couldn't play for Barcelona, their performance was dreadful. The whole team seemed to lack a backbone and didn't know how to attack. Their Champions League away game against Celtic was just like this match, exactly the same as Manchester City's performance!"
Some fans who followed both Barcelona and Manchester City agreed with this view.
"So, I think the debate about whether Messi is a system player can be concluded:
Yes, Messi is a system player, but he is the system himself. Once he's gone, Barcelona's entire system collapses!"
"And Manchester City is gradually becoming like Barcelona!"
...
"Becoming like Barcelona? Is that even possible?"
Hearing these comments, Manchester City fans were not worried but rather excited.
Barcelona could be said to be the most successful club in football in recent years. In the past five years, they not only won the Champions League twice but also reached the semi-finals multiple times.
If Manchester City could really replicate Barcelona's success and become a top team like them, the Blue Moon fans would be overjoyed.
So, they didn't care about the outside criticism at all! We have such a strong superstar in Lin, why shouldn't we rely on him? There's nothing wrong with relying on him!
Thus, they disregarded the criticism and before the eleventh round match, organized a 5,000-strong expedition to Sunderland to cheer for the team.
Sunderland felt like they were facing a formidable enemy with Manchester City coming to town.
They parked the bus at home, with only one forward up front, and pulled everyone else back into their own half, not seeking to win but just hoping to get a point from Manchester City.
Breaking a dense defense is a global problem, and against Sunderland's bus, Manchester City nearly broke their teeth but couldn't shake their defense.
In the second half, the effects of consecutive matches began to show, and many Manchester City players started to show signs of fatigue.
Although Pellegrini made timely substitutions, they still didn't have much effect.
By the 80th minute, the score was still 0-0.
Sunderland even substituted their lone forward in the second half for a defender to strengthen their defense.
Clearly, they intended to hold this score until the end.
Although the home team was being battered at their own ground, the Black Cats fans at the Stadium of Light were not discouraged at all.
Instead, they felt very proud, singing their team songs, and every successful defense was met with loud applause.
If they were facing any other ordinary team, playing so defensively at home might have drawn boos from the crowd.
However, their opponent was Manchester City, the team with the strongest attacking power in the Premier League this season and the only team still unbeaten.
Against such a team, being a bit defensive was understandable.
"Too despicable!"
"Absolutely shameless, playing like this at home!"
"Shameless, so shameless!"
The Manchester City fans who had traveled with the team were furious seeing Sunderland's tactics.
They suddenly felt very worried, not just about this game but about Manchester City's upcoming matches.
If Sunderland's strategy worked and they managed to get a point from Manchester City, other teams, especially those in the lower half of the table, would surely follow suit and park the bus against them.
If every team parked the bus when playing Manchester City, their upcoming games would be very tough.
Just when it seemed both teams would draw a blank, Lin Quan stepped up.
In the last minute of regular time, Manchester City won a free kick in the front.
Lin Quan decided to take the kick himself. He had two options: a knuckleball or a falling leaf kick.
The knuckleball had a higher chance of scoring but was more difficult to execute and had a higher risk of failure.
The falling leaf kick was easier to control but wasn't as high quality and was relatively easier to defend against.
So, after weighing the options, Lin Quan chose the riskier but more rewarding knuckleball.
After placing the ball, Lin Quan stepped back a few steps.
Seeing Lin Quan take more than ten steps back, Sunderland's goalkeeper felt a strong sense of danger.
He sensed the threat! However, sensing the danger didn't mean he could stop the shot.
When the referee blew the whistle, Lin Quan quickly accelerated towards the ball.
Step one, step two, step three, he adjusted his steps during the run-up and gathered all his strength.
Bang! With a loud sound, the ball was struck with such force it deformed, making a whistling sound as it soared into the sky.
The Sunderland players in the wall jumped desperately to block the shot.
But the ball was much higher than their jump, and they couldn't touch it at all.
Was it overhit? Seeing the ball fly so high, the Sunderland players couldn't help but think so.
Normally, with such a high trajectory, the ball would surely fly into the stands.
However, just when they thought the shot was too high, the ball suddenly dropped straight down, landing in the net before the goalkeeper could react!
The stadium fell silent, the Sunderland fans were stunned, and their singing got stuck in their throats.
With Lin Quan's goal in the last minute of regular time, Manchester City secured a last-minute victory on the road!
Including the League Cup match where he assisted Aguero in the final moments, this was the second consecutive game Lin Quan helped his team secure a last-minute win.
On the bench, Pellegrini was so excited after Lin Quan's free kick goal that he hugged the assistant coaches around him.
The Manchester City players on the field went crazy, rushing towards Lin Quan, knocking him down, and celebrating wildly.
At that moment, they and the Manchester City fans had the same thought: Thank goodness we have Lin!
(End of this chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.