Wembley Stadium, London, England, March 8.

The first title of the season in the top five leagues will be decided here, with Manchester City and Sunderland facing each other.

Due to the timing of the Carabao Cup final, Manchester City's match against Aston Villa in the 29th round has been postponed to 8 May.

With depth on the bench and plenty of luck, Manchester City made it all the way to the Carabao Cup and reached the final.

And their opponents today, Sunderland, although only a civilian team, have a record in the League Cup this season that should not be underestimated.

Sunderland faced the Blues Chelsea and the Red Devils in the knockout stages.

With a strong home performance, they beat Chelsea and then the Red Devils to miraculously reach the final.

If they can beat Manchester City in the final, they will break the club's record and win the Carabao Cup for the first time.

Sunderland's last big win was the FA Cup in 1972-1973, more than 40 years after that.

So the whole team is desperate to get this trophy.

Coincidentally, so is Manchester City opposite!

"Do you hear the cheers at Wembley Stadium?"

Before the game, in the dressing room, Pellegrini made a rare pre-match mobilization speech.

In Lin Quan's impression, Pellegrini is not a person who is good at words.

But today, he said a lot.

"That's the voice of more than 90,000 fans in the stadium!"

"Tell me, would you like to win the title in England's football mecca and enjoy the cheers and applause of the fans?"

The players nodded their heads, although the Carabao Cup title content was not high.

But mosquitoes are still meat no matter how small they are, and if they don't get anything on other fronts this season, the League Cup trophy will at least give them some comfort.

And, now that they've made it to the finals, how can they give up the championship they won?

"Very well, then go to the arena and prove your desire for the championship with your actions!"

Kompany took the lead and reached out, and the players reached out.

"Manchester City!"

"Rush Rush!"

……

Stepping onto the lawn of Wembley Stadium, Lin Quan took a deep breath and raised his head to look around.

Wembley Stadium is significantly larger than Manchester City's home stadium, the Etihad Stadium, which can accommodate up to 90,000 people at the same time.

And this is the new Wembley after the transformation, not the old Wembley, which can accommodate 120,000 fans.

The most impressive aspect of the new Wembley is the 133-metre-high arch with a total length of 315 metres, which is secured by dozens of steel cables on the north and south sides of Wembley Stadium.

This is different from the Camp Nou, which Lin used to go to when he was a child, although the Camp Nou is large, but only one side has a canopy.

On rainy days, more than half of the area is exposed to the rain, and the viewing experience is quite terrible.

The huge Wembley Stadium was packed today, with fans from both teams and some neutral fans filling the stadium to the brim.

At first glance, the pale blue fans representing Manchester City occupy most of the stadium.

According to a rough estimate, the number of Manchester City fans who came to the scene is probably more than 50,000.

There are only about 20,000 fans wearing Sunderland's yellow jerseys, and the remaining 20,000 or so are neutral fans.

Before the game even started, the fans of the two teams had already started a contest between them.

The Black Cats Sunderland fans sang the team song "Im On My Way" on My Way.

Compared to Manchester City's soothing team song, Black Cat's team song is significantly more passionate.

More than 20,000 of them sang the team song in unison, and the momentum created should not be underestimated!

If Manchester City's fans also sing the team song at this time, they may not be able to suppress them.

However, Manchester City fans were not fooled at all, and more than 50,000 Manchester City fans chanted the names of the players, and each person on the field let out a shout.

The Sunderland fans who were singing felt very uncomfortable, and every time they sang a few words, they had to be interrupted by the other party.

And the Manchester City players whose names were shouted by more than 50,000 fans in unison looked energetic and high morale as if they had been beaten with chicken blood and BUFF.

On the other hand, Sunderland's players, everyone entered at the same time, and the opponents next to them shouted their names and cheered, but they didn't get anything.

This made them feel a little frustrated in their hearts, and they had a sense of powerlessness that they were against the whole world.

Before the game even started, there was already a difference between the two teams in terms of morale.

At 19 o'clock in the evening, with the referee's whistle, the game officially began.

After the start of the game, Manchester City did not be polite to the opponent and directly began to launch an onslaught.

The two teams have just met in the league not long ago, and they know each other well, so there is nothing to try.

City were in a 433 formation today, with three strikers attacking and three midfielders launching a second run if they were unsuccessful.

The two full-backs will assist when attacking, increasing the number of attackers and receiving points in the front court to maximize control of the ball.

Manchester City's tactics are not complicated, and it is clear that they want to bully people by relying on the strength of the squad.

Sunderland are just a civilian team, but across the street are Manchester City with a ton of stars.

If these stars are really allowed to play their full strength, then Sunderland will definitely be more than lucky.

Ten minutes into the game, the situation on the pitch was almost one-sided.

City had four shots from around Sunderland's goal in the space of 10 minutes, two of which were a threat.

Had it not been for the bravery of their goalkeeper, Sunderland would have fallen behind.

You can't be so passive, you will lose if you defend for a long time, maybe the next attack, Manchester City can rewrite the score.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce frowned and pondered how to resolve the unfavourable situation on the pitch.

It is definitely not possible to be beaten passively, and an effective counterattack must be launched to contain the opponent's attack.

The final is different from the semi-final, and the final is a winner-or-loser.

This kind of game is very fortuitous, and even the weak team has the possibility of an upset.

Therefore, unlike the Premier League championship, in the FA Cup and League Cup, which are very fortuitous, many of the winners are small and medium-sized teams.

Sunderland's players are desperate for the title and they haven't won it for too long.

This desire will greatly boost their fighting spirit, and of course, it may also increase their pressure and make them unable to let go.

Manchester City, on the other hand, still have to fight for the league title, and the Champions League promotion situation is also very good, they may not put all their energy into fighting for this rather frivolous trophy.

So as long as you grit your teeth and persist and withstand this wave of the opponent's attack, the next game may be a little better.

Thinking of this, Steve shouted at the players on the field to boost their morale and make them grit their teeth and hold on for a little longer.

Steve was right, City's tactic was to open the game.

Once they succeed, they will control the situation on the field to attract the opponent to take the initiative to attack, and then use the speed of the two wings to play the opponent's counterattack, and win the game with minimal consumption.

As long as the strong team can put down its body and play defensive counterattacks, it will be difficult for the weak team to defeat them.

City have three games to play in the next few days: the FA Cup quarter-finals on 10 March, the second round of the Champions League knockout rounds on 13 March, and the 30th round of the Premier League on 15 March.

Including this game, they have to play four games in a week.

With such a dense game, even if Manchester City's players are iron men, they can't bear it.

So they have to make a trade-off, if their side can carry the opponent's three-board axe, then Sunderland may not have a chance to win the cup

After hearing the head coach's shout, the players of Black Cat also cheered up.

Their defence has become tougher and more decisive, and their range of action has increased.

It's a World Cup year and Sunderland don't have many internationals in their squad, but Manchester City are all internationals.

This makes the Black Cats players feel that there is an opportunity to take advantage of it, and if they use brutal fouls to intimidate the opponent and make the opponent have a scruple when attacking, then their offensive power is bound to be greatly reduced.

They soon began to make action, with City's players, especially those up front, being frequently violated.

The heaviest foul came in the 12th minute, when David Silva cut inside with the ball and Sunderland defender Bardesley rushed up and knocked him to the ground.

Manchester City's players were angry and rushed up to reason with Bardesley.

Under the protection of his teammates, Bardesley disdained and sneered:

"It's a fucking brave man's game, cowards and cowards aren't fit to stay here, if you're afraid of getting hurt, go home and nurse the baby! Hahaha! ”

After taunting the Manchester City players, Bardesley was looking forward to it:

Come on, quarrel with me, it's better to hit me!

If you are out of mind, and you may even be sent off for hitting someone, then the victory of this game is ours!

Lin Quan saw through his plan, he stopped his angry teammates, and discussed it in a low voice with a few teammates, and frequently looked at Badsley as he discussed.

Bardesley was a little furious by the Manchester City players, and he said cruelly to Lin Quan:

"Boy, be careful of your legs, don't get kicked off and you won't be able to go to the World Cup!"

"Thank you for your concern, and I also advise you to hurry up and buy a wheelchair, otherwise you may have to be carried out later!"

Lin Quan looked at him with the eyes of a dead man, and said flatly.

"Referee, this kid threatens me!"

Bardesley was frightened by Lin Quan's fierce eyes, and did not dare to continue to look at Lin Quan, but chose to complain to the referee.

The referee ignored Badersley's complaint and gave him a yellow card for a foul he had just made.

The game resumes with a free kick from Manchester City.

Lin Quan glanced at the position of the penalty spot and the distance between the goal and the goal, and planned to use the newly learned S-shaped free kick to take this free kick!

Seeing Lin Quan standing at the penalty spot, all the Manchester City fans at the scene cheered up.

"Lin has scored at least four or five free-kicks this season, can this one be scored?"

"It's a little hard, it's not a good position to shoot the free throws!"

"It's a little too far from the goal, and it's still on the left side of the pitch, so you can only take a right-footed penalty from this position!"

"It's about 35 metres from the goal, is it within range of Lin's free-kick?"

"I don't think I've seen him take a free kick so far away!"

Manchester City fans are looking forward to it, but they are not very optimistic about this goal.

If it is the position that Lin Quan is most familiar with, with the power of his elevator ball, the possibility of directly breaking the goal is very high.

But in this position, there are too few options for free kicks, and the hope of scoring a goal is relatively slim!

Standing at the penalty spot, Lin Quan estimated the distance.

Then he stepped back step by step, and after seven or eight steps back, he stopped.

Here it comes!

This action must be an elevator ball!

Sunderland's goalkeeper thought the same thing, having studied Lin Quan's lift ball before the game.

The elevator ball is characterized by the fact that it looks like it is hitting high, allowing you to let your guard down, but when it is close to the goal, it suddenly falls and catches you off guard.

As long as you don't make such mistakes, don't be trapped by experience, keep your eyes open and be vigilant, and pay attention to the sudden drop at the end, you are still very sure to save the opponent's shot!

However, just when he was full of ambition and was ready to pounce on Lin Quan's elevator ball.

But to his surprise, Lin Quan was not an elevator ball, but an ordinary curve ball.

Was it a mistake?

Sunderland's goalkeeper was very surprised, and in his impression, Lin Quan seemed to rarely make mistakes.

It's not that there are absolutely none, but the number of mistakes is very small.

Because of this, Lin Quan is called a ruthless robot by many people.

Forget it, no matter how much, this kind of curveball with a very good trajectory is the best to save.

As long as you predict its flight trajectory in advance, and then make a standard save action, you can easily stop it.

And so and so and so on!

However, when he made a save, he was stunned to find that the football, which was supposed to fly to his right, suddenly turned a corner and flew to the left.

This is!

S Free Kick!

The Sunderland goalkeeper's eyes widened, but there was nothing he could do about the goal when he was already in the air.

I could only watch the football fly in front of me and drill into the goal with a bang!

"Oh my God, what do I see? Juninho's famous stunt - S-shaped free kick! ”

On the commentary seat, Andy Gray was stunned and said in a trembling tone.

Martin Taylor on the side was not as surprised as his companion:

"Hehe, I have to share with the audience that in the warm-up match between Spain and Italy two days ago, Lin Quan broke through the door of Italy with a wonderful S-shaped free kick in the face of the goal guarded by the world's No. 1 goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, so I am not surprised that he can take such a high-quality free kick today!"

Andy Gray glanced at his partner in surprise, this guy even watched the friendly match between Spain and Italy?

How much he likes Lin Quan!

"A few months ago, Lin seemed to have only two means in his arsenal, the elevator ball and the leaf ball, and from now on, he has another killer weapon.

I think that when other teams encounter Manchester City, they should consider strictly limiting the number of fouls they have committed and can't give Lin Quan such a comfortable chance to score.

Although his free-kick direct scoring rate is not as high as that of the top free-kick masters, let's not forget that he is improving so fast that no one knows how high he has reached in free-kick free-kicks! ”

Martin Taylor is more and more appreciative of this player, and it seems that every few months when I look at him, he brings people different surprises!

"Lin Huang is awesome!"

"This goal can be scored, it's amazing!"

"Haha, the goalkeeper's appearance is so funny, he thought he was in the right direction, but he didn't expect to be played by Emperor Lin!"

"Manchester City are ahead, is this game coming?"

"Eighty percent of them are, Sunderland must attack next, and once they attack, then they will have too many flaws!"

The situation turned out to be as the fans expected, and after the score was down, the Sunderland players, who were not willing to lose, began to attack.

However, the tactics they formulated before the game were defensive counterattacks, and there were relatively few arrangements for positional battles.

This made their attack look unthreatening, and it was difficult to even penetrate City's 30-metre danger zone.

On the contrary, Manchester City, after the opponent attacked, took advantage of the weakness of Sunderland's defensive emptiness at the back, and their quick counter-attack was impressive.

In the 29th minute of the first half, Manchester City's attack once again hit the front.

Kevin De Bruyne played the ball to David Silva on a quick counter-attack, and the opposition full-back was the first to step forward to intercept it.

In the fierce scramble, David Silva made a mistake and passed a knife mountain ball.

After the mistake, he immediately made an apologetic gesture and was ready to retreat.

Sunderland defender Bardsley saw an opportunity to get the ball and immediately rushed over.

Lin Quan was going to give up this opportunity, but after seeing Badsley rushing up, he immediately changed his plan.

Bardes also saw Lin Quan rushing over with his afterglow, and he quickly made a small calculation in his heart:

If it is a direct foul on Lin Quan, the referee will definitely blow the whistle and even take out his cards.

If you can't get the opponent off the field, giving the opponent a free kick chance can be a huge threat to your own goal.

But if he takes the opponent off the field when competing for this kind of half-ball, then not only will he not eat cards, but he can also abolish the opponent's number one star!

Thinking of this, Bardesley picked up his legs heavily and kicked the ball hard with all his might.

Lin Quan was not afraid, and almost at the same time.

There was a loud bang, and the two completed a foot match.

"Ahh

In an instant, Pasteur felt a huge force along the football to his ankle, and a piercing pain drilled from his ankle into his heart, and the huge pain made him can't help but let out a scream.

Sunderland's defenders fell to the turf almost immediately, rolling on the ground with their feet in their hands.

The two of them had a lot of strength on their feet, and under the huge reaction force, Lin Quan also stood unsteadily and fell on the lawn.

The referee rushed over as soon as possible, gesturing to the benches on both sides, signaling the team doctor and stretcher to come up and deal with the wounded.

He first glanced at the Sunderland defender who was screaming like a pig, and then looked at Lin Quan, Pasteur's ankle had been deformed, and the injury was obviously not light.

Lin Quan and his feet, under the reaction force, I'm afraid they were also injured, right?

If his injury is worse than Baddersley's, then the second half of the season may be directly reimbursed, and he will not even be able to go to the World Cup.

It's a pity that with such a good talent and such a strong strength, if you can't show yourself on the World Cup stage, it will be a pity for the majority of fans.

Countless thoughts flashed in the referee's heart for a moment, and then before he could walk to Lin Quan's side to check the situation, Lin Quan got up from the ground and patted the grass clippings sticking to his buttocks, like a nobody.

The Manchester City team doctor, who was halfway through, was stunned in place, and the referee was also stunned.

"Lin, if you're injured, it's best not to move!"

The referee was worried that he was holding on, so he kindly reminded him.

"Thank you for your concern, I'm fine!"

Lin Quan moved his feet and felt good.

If it weren't for the talent of injury immunity, he would definitely not dare to risk injury to the other party.

Badsley thought that he could rely on this opportunity to abolish Lin Quan, but he didn't know that Lin was hanging all over his body!

For the sake of safety, the referee still asked Manchester City's team doctor to check Lin Quan.

Manchester City's team doctor checked and determined that Lin Quan was not injured, so he left the field with a medical kit and stretcher.

On the other side, Badsley was not so lucky, he was on a stretcher and was carried off the field with a wail.

The score is behind, plus your own players are injured in physical confrontations.

The continuous blows made Sunderland's morale plummet, and on the other hand, Manchester City, under the leadership of Lin Quan, they were like a rainbow and launched wave after wave of fierce attacks.

In the 55th minute, Lin Quan assisted De Bruyne to score another goal.

Manchester City sealed the win with a score of 2-0.

In the end, thanks to goals from Lin Quan and Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City defeated Sunderland in the Carabao Cup final and successfully lifted their first trophy of the season!

(End of chapter)