On February 16, seeing the car carrying the dirty old man gradually disappear from sight, Li Liang stood in place very reluctantly.

On 17 February, the team travelled to face second-bottom Bastia in the league, which was also Monaco's final game before the match against Manchester City on 21 February.

During the warm-up, Gaudino's parting words kept echoing in Li Liang's ears: "Li, I know it's difficult, but you have to get through this."

The game against Manchester City will be a challenge like you've never experienced before.

Remember, my child, that this is a crucial game, but it's still a game at heart.

Be yourself! ”

At the start of the game, Li Liang returned to the bench. There has been a large number of rotational changes in Jardim, after all, the team is about to fly to Manchester to prepare for the first game of the Champions League knockout round.

Bastia also understood this and started the game with a very strong press in the midst of the huge shouts of the fans.

Before Monaco could relent, Bastia launched an attack and won a free-kick on the left side of the pitch.

Despite Subasic shouting at his team-mates to pay attention to the defence, the Bastia striker found the right spot and headed the ball into the Monaco goal.

Just five minutes into the game, the home team took a 1-0 lead and gave Monaco a hard blow.

Li Liang was extremely shocked, although Caldeira prepared the tactical response in case he fell behind at the beginning of the tactical class, but the whole team was full of great optimism, and most people did not seriously think that the relegation favorite Bastia would cause problems for Monaco.

The Monaco players who participated in the two rounds of elimination of Arsenal two years ago to break into the top 8 of the Champions League are now only left with Subaxiac, Fabinho, Moutinho and Silva, as well as Falcao, who has participated in many major games, and the vast majority of the remaining players are the "first brothers" of the Champions League knockout round like Li Liang.

Although these people have reminded their junior buddies that usually the first game before the Champions League knockout round is not easy to play, no one expected to score a goal by Bastia in the opening game.

Watching the minutes tick by, Monaco simply couldn't get anything at all under the stubborn defense of the home team, and Yaldim's face became more and more ugly.

Only then did Li Liang realize that it was not only he who was restless, but the whole team seemed to be completely out of shape.

At half-time, Jardim was a rare fuss in the dressing room, and Falcao, who did not play, also tried desperately to boost the morale of his team-mates.

In the second half, Bastia first made personnel adjustments and began to play a resolute counterattack.

Monaco's offensive momentum picked up again, but they were still unable to equalise and looked like the momentum was over.

In the 65th minute, Yaldim, who couldn't bear it, finally replaced the two absolute main forces - Falcao and Li Liang.

The Portuguese knew that his pre-match preparation and elaborate set-up had almost completely failed. He originally wanted to let the main players who entered the rotation recharge and prepare for the game against Manchester City, but out of inexplicable concern, he put several main players on the bench list.

Monaco's offensive was more fierce, Li Liang's performance was extremely eye-catching, but Yaldim was getting more and more anxious.

All sorts of thoughts about playing Manchester City in three days have been haunting Li Liang.

It's completely different from the first time I came to Latubi, the first time I participated in the team's joint training, the first time I played in a warm-up match, and the first time I played in an official match.

After reaching a very high level, the attitude and way of looking at the game, or the opponent, has already made a world of difference.

In the process of encountering stronger and stronger opponents again and again, as the experience continues to motivate, Li Liang has foreseen what he and the team will meet at the Etihad Stadium.

Everyone saw that Bastia's midfielders and defenders couldn't stop Li Liang at all, he could always firmly control the ball at his feet, and he could break through two or three opponents in a row, but he couldn't convert all this into scoring goals.

Caldera has been anxiously shouting Li Liang: "Li, pass, pass, pass!" ”

Not only Caldeira, but everyone on the bench and the other players on the field all found out that this No. 17 did not seem to be the real Li Liang.

He couldn't see the response and pull of his teammates, ignored the gaps and the changes in the opponent's defensive formation, and was extremely persistent in solving the problem by himself.

Falcao finally couldn't bear it anymore, and ran to Li Liang in between Bastia's substitutions and roared: "What the hell are you doing?"

If you don't want to kick it, get out of the way! ”

Falcao's scolding woke up Li Liang, who was confused, and he looked at the Colombian in dismay.

Falcao continued to curse: "If we play like this, we won't get anything this season!" ”

Seeing this scene, Yaldim dispelled the idea of replacing Li Liang, who had not been on the field for a long time, and replaced Boschia with Silva.

With less than 10 minutes left in the game, Li Liang's form finally picked up. Under his planning, Monaco gradually played a fluent attack and began to seize the last minute to storm the home team's goal.

Their efforts finally paid off, as Silva received an assist from Falcao in the last minute of stoppage time and curled a left-footed curling ball from near the penalty spot! 1:1！

With a whistle blowing, Monaco struggled to secure a draw and take home a precious point from the road.

However, the draw also narrowed Monaco's lead in the league table from six to four.

After returning to Latubi, Yaldim interviewed Li Liang. The two had a long talk, and tranquility finally returned to Li's conscience.

He returned to his normal pace of preparation and began to continue to prepare in earnest.

He once asked Gaudino for advice on Manchester City's tactical play, and the old man laughed at the time: "Lee, I'm a fitness coach, I can deduce from the game that Manchester City's weekly or even monthly fitness training schedule, but I can't give you more advice on tactics." ”

Li Liang asked, "Is there still Mr. Ancelotti there to help me?" ”

The dirty old man replied with a smile: "Of course you can, but none of them particularly understand Guardiola's tactics." ”

Li Liang asked, "Then who knows best?" ”

Gaudino replied casually: "José Mourinho, everyone says he is Guardiola's lifelong enemy!"

He probably knows Pep Guardiola in the world. ”

Thinking of this, Li Liang finally picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

Without any greetings, a familiar voice came directly from the earpiece: "Lee, are you going to ask me how I can beat Manchester City?" ”

Li Liang was taken aback: "Jose...... That's true...... I'd like to hear your advice! ”

Mourinho laughed: "Frankly, Lee, I don't think you can beat Manchester City either.

Pep Guardiola's midfield control and attacking power are far above Monaco's, and their defence has had a lot of problems lately, but it can also be a big headache for you.

Lee, now is not the time. Manchester City have always had the ultimate goal of winning the Champions League, and although it is far away, it is much closer than Monaco......