When it came to negotiating business or the exchange of interests, Yaldim found himself in front of Vasilyev, the club's number two, who was, and still is, an unusually shrewd businessman, a schoolboy.

The Russians, who seem to be casually drinking water, are pressing every word step by step.

Crucially, he is able to grasp every hole in the opponent's discourse and quickly amplify it.

Yaldim wanted Vasilyev to reconsider his plans to sell key players in the winter window, and the Russian immediately questioned whether doing so was in line with the club's operating principles.

Yaldim pledged to pursue competitive value while ensuring that the club would reap greater benefits in the future, and the Russian immediately made a condition – to give Li Liang's playing time to Mbappe.

Although there is a 7-year age difference, Li Liang and Mbappe both face the same problem - lack of consistent playing time to accumulate practical experience.

Yaldim sighed in his heart. He knew that Vasilyev was well aware of the tactical dilemma he faced in the use of the two men.

The most suitable position for Li Liang is in the middle, behind the striker, so that he can give full play to his greatest power, so Yaldim has always believed that in a single-arrow lineup like 4231, Li Liang is the best candidate behind the "1".

As for Mbappe, after many attempts, he is still not up to the task of a single arrow for the time being.

In the two-striker lineup, Mbappe can play like a fish in water, so when he is on the field, the team is more suitable to play 442.

The 442 formation, which emphasizes the attack on the wings, is actually the magic weapon of Yaldim, and since he arrived at Monaco, the introduction of personnel and the construction of tactics have always been around the 442 style of play.

After reaching the last eight of the Champions League in his first year in charge in 2014/15 and being knocked out of the Champions League play-offs by Valencia last season, Yeldim realised that if they wanted to go further in Europe, they had to change their style of play, at least finding a 'plan B' when 442 couldn't get out.

Now he has become more and more convinced that Li Liang is his "Plan B".

Vasilyev coughed softly, and Yaldim woke up from his musings.

If you insist on continuing to reuse Li Liang, then you will definitely go against the promise you made to the club just now.

Unless Li Liang continues to play against the sky and lead Monaco to the Champions League, the club's return on investment in him will not exceed that of 18-year-old Mbappe.

If Vasilyev insists on selling even two or three key players in the upcoming winter window, the season will end early for him.

And if you can't fulfill the promise you made to the Russians just now, not only will your position be lost, but this youth army that has gathered your own hard work will definitely fall apart.

He's seen the lucrative offers, from the giants looking to buy the stars of tomorrow and the two teams who haven't played in the Champions League this season looking for immediate power, and they don't care that their targets have already played in the Champions League.

This is like "gambling on stones" or "gambling on wood", according to the inflation rate of today's football where gold dollars are rampant, these "hot goods" of Monaco will play better in the season after the winter window, then their value will skyrocket.

Vasilyev's thinking is the opposite, he is worried that Monaco will not be able to sustain the second half of the season with the current squad thickness, so he plans to cash out at a high level in advance.

The problem is simple, the Russians have already lightly put all the options in front of Yaldim.

Either agree to the club's plan and focus on the league with the rest of the squad in the second half of the season.

Either keep the full squad and deliver on the promise made to the club at the end of the season – the only premise is to shift the focus of development from Li Liang to the more promising Mbappe.

With what Yaldim knows about the Russians, there can be no more compromises.

He got up and walked up to Vasilyev, who was also standing, and held out his right hand, and the Russian shook hands with satisfaction.

……

In the evening, Li Liang watched Borussia Mönchengladbach's match against Manchester City on TV in his apartment, while watching Barcelona challenge Celtic away on the computer.

The game ended almost at the same time, and Li Liang smiled when he saw Borussia Mönchenchen's stubborn 1:1 draw with Manchester City at home.

Because Barcelona beat the opponent 2-0 in the other game, so Barcelona has already locked up the top of the group, and Manchester City is firmly in second.

Could it be that you can really meet Manchester City?

Li Liang immediately shook his head, to be precise, it is about a seven-in-seven probability, but it does not mean that seven draws in a row will definitely win Manchester City.

Of course, it is also possible that the guests who will be sampled at that time will be hit, so that Li Liang can realize his desire to return to the Etihad Stadium.

Li Liang looked at the situation of the other groups and felt a little big.

After Arsenal drew 2:2 at home with Grand Paris in Group A, the two teams have 11 points, and the top two will definitely be produced between them.

Group B is quite close, with Napoli only one point ahead of Benfica behind them and Besiktas, one of the top three teams in Istanbul and eight points for the time being.

It would be a good thing to meet Napoli, and Li Liang was already eager to challenge the Sao Paulo Stadium again.

Group D ended earlier tonight with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich losing 3-2 to Russian Premier League side Rostov-on-Don, giving Atletico Madrid a six-point lead to secure the first place in the group.

It seems that Bayern will also be the most reluctant opponent to face in the first place of all the groups.

Leicester City in Group G have secured the first place in the group with 13 points, five points ahead of second-placed Porto, who will be between Porto and Copenhagen.

In Group H, Monaco's old rivals Juventus are at the top of the table with 11 points, followed by Sevilla with 10 points, and Monaco's domestic rivals Leon still have a chance to survive with 7 points.

At the moment, it can only be said that Juventus, the "old woman", is more proactive and has already secured second place in the group. Until the final round, the other team from this group has not yet been determined.

In this way, Monaco has the possibility of meeting a Danish team like Copenhagen, and also has the same chance of meeting Real Madrid or Bayern and Juventus!

Li Liang simply stopped thinking about these complex probability questions, and the mystery will be officially revealed in 20 days at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, when everything will naturally be revealed.

According to the schedule, the Champions League final of 1/8 will kick off in mid-February 2017 in nearly three months, and Li Liang can't help but imagine the scene before falling asleep.

Anyway, for himself, meeting that opponent was the first Champions League knockout experience in his life, thinking of this, Li Liang fell asleep.

Little did he know that at the moment in the office of Yaldim in Latubiki, the Portuguese and his assistants were still having a heated discussion.

Spinoli blushed: "The special training for Li has just seen results, why should it be temporarily suspended?"

Killian is already a qualified pro and he just needs time; And Li can't, he just turned 26 years old, if he can't play this season, he won't want to make any real breakthroughs in his life! ”

"If we want to go far in Europe, we have to get the most out of Kylian as soon as possible, and he's the only guy in our front line who can provide speed and explosiveness.

Lee's position Bernardo (Silva), Boschlia and Joao (Moutinho) can all play, but no one can give us what Killian has! ”

Vieira chimed in: "Can't Lee and Killian be allowed to do special training together?" It is also possible to design a tactic where the two of them coexist? ”

Caldeira continued: "These are two completely different players, how can they train in the same way?!"

No matter how much he trains in a short period of time, Killian can't hit a single arrow, and if they want to coexist, one of them must make sacrifices! ”

Yaldim spread his hands: "Besides, the club's resources are limited, and it is impossible to provide exactly the same help to all players during the season!"

I've thought about it and I have to improve Kylian so we can go ahead for the rest of the season. ”

Spinoli slapped the table heavily: "That's good, I'm willing to obey the arrangement, and from tomorrow onwards I will focus on training for Kylian."

But please also promise that the club will not interfere with my training with Lee outside of official training hours!

Also, this is my personal behaviour and has nothing to do with the remuneration paid to me by the club. ”

Vieira immediately said he was willing to make the same choice as the Italians.

Yaldim remained silent, but he was relieved, and he was finally sure that his assistants' views on Li Liang were actually exactly the same as his own.

After some discussion, it seems that Yaldim has made a compromise and agreed to a compromise plan: compress but still retain Li Liang's special training plan, and shift the focus of individual training to Mbappe.

In terms of tactics, in the absence of injuries and other accidents, with 442 as the main lineup, there is a plan to steadily increase Mbappe's playing time.

But Yaldim did not give up the "plan B" in his heart, so in the second half of the night, he kept discussing with his assistants, trying to find a plan with everyone that could make Li Liang continue to make steady progress.

……

Li Liang came to Latubi early the next morning according to his accustomed time, and before it was completely dawn, when he had just entered the base, he happened to meet the teaching assistants who had finished the discussion.

Li Liang greeted the coaches in surprise, and everyone looked at him meaningfully, but they didn't say anything.

Yaldim watched the scene from afar, motionless.