We made you the King of Prisoners, and now you've become the King of Football?

Chapter 20 Taking a walk is still the best way.

Michelle stood on the sidelines, her mind filled with questions.

Why was our team so easily defeated?

There was no explosive breakthrough like Cristiano Ronaldo's, nor a solo run like Messi's.

Monaco's attack relies on passing the ball one after another, pushing it forward layer by layer.

As the rumors spread, they eventually broke through his defenses.

They were clearly the ones who pressed harder and launched a more aggressive attack when they were on the field.

But the team's pressure felt like punching cotton; there was no way to exert any force.

His players rush to intercept, but the opponent passes the ball around, making it impossible for them to even touch it.

This feeling is absolutely awful.

What alarmed Michel the most was that Monaco's dangerous attacks just now seemed to all be related to that young Chinese player.

The kid strolled leisurely ahead, showing no intention of following back to defend.

But every time he passes the ball, he manages to get it to the most crucial spot.

Before he could figure it out, the players on the field had already returned to their positions, and Tilpan blew the whistle.

The game had already reached the 38th minute.

Marseille orchestrated an attack in the attacking third. Nkoudou dribbled forward along the left flank, looked up and saw his teammate raising his hand to ask for the ball, then launched a long pass towards the center.

Batshuayi was about to stop the ball when he failed to notice the danger behind him.

Fabinho caught them off guard, intercepted the ball precisely, and turned to charge towards Marseille's half.

Monaco's counterattack has begun again.

Fabinho dribbled the ball forward and passed it to Jiang Ming to organize the attack.

Jiang Ming glanced back at the situation on the field and sent a long ball to the right wing.

"Get back on defense! Ray! Get back on defense now!" Michelle was so anxious on the sidelines that she almost jumped up, shouting incessantly.

Marseille's center-back Rekik was trying to chase back immediately, but he slipped and fell halfway through.

Monaco's Almamy Touré, who made a run from the far post, readily accepted this gift.

He accelerated to catch up with the ball, and then burst into the penalty area.

Facing goalkeeper Mandanda directly, Toure calmly feinted and cut past the goalkeeper.

He easily slotted the ball into the empty net!

"1-2!!" Liu Teng exclaimed excitedly, "Monaco has actually come back from behind after Marseille scored first!"

"It's another counter-attack! Another long pass from Jiang Ming! Toure happily accepts the gift, scoring his second goal!"

"Jiang Ming followed up with his second assist of the match with this long pass; this is truly a young talent from our Chinese team!"

Jardim, standing on the sidelines, nodded in satisfaction. This was the effect he wanted, and it was what the team had developed during yesterday's closed training session.

After winning the ball in the backfield, the counter-attack should first find the attacking playmaker, who will then make long passes to orchestrate the offense.

And the key player is Jiang Ming, who plays in the attacking midfield position.

In most teams, the fact that a classic attacking midfielder doesn't track back to defend is indeed a weakness.

But they are Monaco, the Monaco that fans are currently calling the "youth storm"!

Since Jiang Ming can't run anymore, let's just stop him from running and let the rest of us run for him!

Looking at it now, the results are simply too good to be true!

"Beep~ Beep—"

Tilpan blew the whistle to end the first half in the third minute of stoppage time.

The Monaco players, in a relaxed mood, were the first to return to the locker room.

……

The atmosphere in the home team's locker room at the Stade Vélodrome was as somber as a funeral.

"This can't go on!" Michel swept the papers and pens off the table. "The fans paid for their tickets, they didn't come here to watch us lose!"

"But boss, we were the team that scored first in the first half!" a player said from the corner.

These words instantly resonated with everyone.

"That's right! Your tactics were excellent; we scored not long after the start!"

"But for some reason, things went wrong afterwards. Our high-level pressure was completely useless."

"Their counter-attacks are incredibly accurate; they threaten our goal every single time..."

"Hiss—whoosh." Michelle gasped for breath and pulled over the tactical board.

"I've figured it out. The opposing team is playing a short passing and penetrating style, one-touch passing, and not trying to win possession against us," Michel analyzed.

"That's why your high press didn't work; they just passed the ball out as soon as they were under pressure."

The Marseille players lowered their heads and thought about it; it seemed to be true.

"And in the Monaco match, this Chinese player had the most possession of the ball."

As Michelle spoke, she drew a red circle around Jiang Ming's position on the tactics board with her pen.

"Think about it carefully, wasn't he involved in every single one of Monaco's attacks?"

The people in Marseille nodded in agreement.

"Therefore, in the second half, we must target him with specific defensive measures!"

"Understood, boss!"

……

At the start of the second half, Marseille used the same tactics they had in the locker room.

Michel had already noticed in the first half that no matter how much the team pressed forward, that Chinese kid wouldn't track back to defend.

Therefore, this time, as Marseille pushed forward, they deliberately left two center-backs behind, one on the left and one on the right, to closely mark Jiang Ming.

"Dude, nice muscles!" Jiang Ming stood in the center and tried to strike up a conversation with the other person.

"..."

Rekik, who slipped and conceded a goal in the first half, remained silent, staring intently at him without reacting at all.

Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that she was the aloof type.

"Alright then." He waved his hand. "You two wait here. I'm going back now."

With that, Jiang Ming turned and ran towards his own backyard.

"?"

Rekik and Nkulu exchanged a glance, completely stunned.

Why did he go back? Wasn't this kid supposed to be stuck in the attacking midfield position and never move?

Should we continue to follow them closely?

Jardim, watching the two bewildered center-backs on the sidelines, couldn't help but smile.

He had anticipated that Jiang Ming's performance in the first half would attract targeted marking from Marseille.

So he temporarily changed the tactics, and in the second half, he instructed Jiang Ming to simply drop back and make some simple passes when he encountered this situation.

Since the cards have already been played, there's no need to hide them.

Once Jiang Ming's stamina is almost depleted, he can then switch in B. Sid to charge in. Wouldn't that be perfect?

With key players getting adequate rest, the team's tactics are also secured.

Yardin wants to see what Michel can do against him!

"Huh? Jiang Ming has retreated? If that's the case, then Monaco's formation has become 4-3-3?" Liu Teng explained.

"In the first half, Jiang Ming assisted Toure to score twice, so he will definitely face Marseille's tight marking in the second half. Now that he has dropped back, it should be because the team has a new targeted arrangement."

……

In the 51st minute, Marseille finally launched their attack.

Alessandrini crossed the ball from the right wing.

After Jiang Ming retreated, Rekik also pressed forward. He suddenly jumped in the penalty area, wanting to head the ball towards the goal.

As a result, the ball hit his head, but instead of flying towards the goal, it hit the far post.

Inside Monaco's penalty area, everyone was watching where the ball would land.

Marseille striker Batshuayi reacted first and immediately moved forward, but a figure cleared the ball before he could.

Batshuayi looked closely and realized it was the Chinese kid who had retreated into the penalty area.

Jiang Ming himself didn't realize that he had unknowingly moved here by following the system's positioning guide.

As soon as he got into position, the ball flew towards him, and he had no choice but to clear it.

Jiang Ming was currently holding his knees, panting heavily.

"Kid, good defense!" Fabinho came up and gave him a high five.

"Th-thank you..." Jiang Ming said haltingly.

This defense must be exhausting!

You have to compete with others for a spot and for a good location.

The physical exertion required is on a completely different level compared to the previous walk.

Jiang Ming couldn't help but think to himself: Taking a walk is still the best...