Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions-Chapter 601 - 408: Former Inter stars battle at Prince Park, 35-year-old Eevee, who dares to call him old?

Chapter 601: Chapter 408: Former Inter stars battle at Prince Park, 35-year-old Eevee, who dares to call him old?
The whistle marking the start of the match pierced the sky over Prince Park Stadium!
Even away from home, Manchester City was determined to take the initiative, eager to control possession, trying to dictate the pace of the match through midfield distribution and forward movements.
The offensive axis remained Ranocchia, Tang Long, and Agüero.
However, Paris Saint-Germain was no pushover.
They had their unique tactical system and a host of exceptional stars, resolutely challenging Manchester City’s possession dominance!
Cavani, this deadly striker from the Serie A arena, was originally a sharp weapon in any team’s offensive system;
but under Eevee’s halo, he played the tactical support role, showing immense tackling and defensive prowess on the wing.
Having made his name at Palermo and Napoli, he was intimately familiar with the habits of Serie A central defenders, which fueled his exploits against Ranocchia.
In the 5th minute of play, Ranocchia made an error in distribution!
As Caballero’s goal kick arrived short, Ranocchia hadn’t yet turned around when Cavani pounced like a fierce tiger.
After playing for half a season at Manchester City, Ranocchia often faced Premier League’s strong, unskilled forwards; aggressive but lacking wisdom.
Habitually, he attempted a feint and turn, hoping to outmaneuver Cavani and pass directly to the advancing Kolarov on the flank.
Unexpectedly, Cavani didn’t fall for the move, predicted Ranocchia’s real intention, stepped forward, and positioned himself!
Bang!
The bodies collided, producing a loud cracking sound, rebounding from each other.
Luckily, Ranocchia, being larger in stature, weighed more, while Cavani, despite having the position advantage, rebounded further away.
Ranocchia barely controlled the ball, hastily passed to Kolarov, but amidst chaotic steps, the ball went out of bounds.
Cavani smiled at him, "Andrei, consider yourself lucky. If you weren’t ten centimeters taller than me, you wouldn’t have gotten that ball!"
During their times in Serie A, they often crossed paths on the field, not very familiar, but recognized each other, exchanging jerseys before.
Ranocchia rubbed his aching ribs from the collision, gritting his teeth, nodding at Cavani.
Just now, Cavani discreetly elbowed Ranocchia’s ribs, escaping the referee’s eyes. Such subtle moves were commonplace for seasoned forwards trained in Serie A.
This opening jolt raised Paris Saint-Germain’s morale significantly!
Motta and Maxwell, also famed in Serie A.
Having been a Barça cast-off, Motta’s career fluctuated, but after transferring to Inter Milan in 2009, he immediately achieved triple crown glory with the team, ascending to his career summit;
Maxwell was undoubtedly a life winner.
He was good friends with Eevee, faithfully following Eevee from Inter Milan to Barça, then from Barça to Paris Saint-Germain. This fullback achieved a grand slam of club honors.
Even because he left Barça a year later, he won the Champions League in 2011, slightly luckier than Eevee.
These two Brazilian players with many years of Serie A experience possessed high tactical literacy, making a dominant display in Ligue 1, humiliating their opponents.
In the 13th minute of the first half, Manchester City, struggling with their control tactics, launched a high-press in the hope of regaining the ball in the front field.
Passing without pressing isn’t true control; regaining possession swiftly after a loss through high pressing is a crucial part of control tactics.
However, facing pressure from Toure and Tang Long, Motta remained composed, exhibiting elegant big-player poise.
He didn’t hastily pass just because of being pressured — exactly Manchester City’s high press aim to cause errors;
Motta first steadied one hand, keeping Toure at bay;
then pulled back with the heel, turning his body weight as he bypassed in the opposite direction of Tang Long’s pressing.
This pullback wasn’t rapid, but with a height close to 1.9 meters, his physical control range was vast, like a formidable truck, ordinary people struggled to approach.
Missing his mark, Tang Long was secretly impressed, even as a player having claimed triple crowns at Inter, despite the 34-year-old veteran in front being past his prime, the pullback showcased deep football skills, undeniably palpable.
"To me!"
On the flank, fellow Brazilian Maxwell swiftly sprinted, calling loudly!
While Motta engaged with Delph and Tang Long in midfield, Maxwell seemed to have foreseen the outcome.
Not standing idly, he refrained from merely supporting Motta, instead accelerating his sprint along the flank.
After Motta opened the gap, a precise left-footed through pass!
The ball traveled rapidly, soon aligning with Maxwell’s stride, rolling towards his sprint path ahead.
On the side competing with Maxwell was French fullback Sagna.
The veteran Premier League player Sagna remained calm, not rushing in for a reckless tackle, but instead holding his position.
He noticed that Eevee was still in the midfield and there weren’t too many Barça players in our backfield.
Maxwell controlled the ball, and hesitated to take it past by himself, likely passing it back to Cavani, who was moving up the flank to support.
However, Sagna only guessed half of it right!
After pulling Sagna to the sideline, Maxwell indeed didn’t get past him, nor did he simply pass back to the approaching Cavani. Instead, he smoothly pushed the ball towards the center.
In the open space, a figure dashed out at an angle!
It’s Diego Silva!
The forward insertion of this center-back caught the Manchester City players off guard, instantly disrupting the existing defensive setup.
Usually, a center-back would be marked by a forward, but Diego Silva had already charged to a position parallel to Maxwell, while Agüero was still near the midfield!
"Stay steady, seize the opportunity!"
Eevee drove forward with a tank-like body, charging ahead with immense power as Diego Silva controlled the ball;
The latter slowed down, waiting for Eevee to arrive before passing the ball to him.
The key to this attack lied in Diego Silva’s ghostly move from the center, adding a point of support for Eevee, who lacked the running ability.
At this moment, most of Manchester City’s defenders had successfully gotten into position.
Tang Long, Delph, and Toure had all returned to the half-court to participate in the defense.
Eevee looked up, seeing that all the passing routes around him had been cut off by Manchester City players.
Potential receivers were all marked by Manchester City players.
"Well, you’re forcing me to fight alone!"
Eevee grinned slyly, since they wouldn’t let him pass, he decided to go all out, all or nothing, all the way!
His first target was center-back Ranocchia!
The 195cm tall Swedish striker managed a flamboyant move, deceiving Ranocchia and leaving him kicking at air!
Left-back Kolarov, seeing his center-back being bypassed, immediately moved forward to cover the position.
According to Kolarov’s prediction, considering Eevee’s current physical condition, getting past one person was already his limit; the next step would likely be a pass, so Kolarov deliberately moved a step towards the center to guard against him passing to Cavani at the top of the box.
Eevee also saw through Kolarov’s intentions, so he did the opposite, continuing his charge!
With his right foot, he flicked the ball to the left, creating just half a gap before he stopped advancing, unleashing a fierce shot with his left foot!
This shot was executed purely with the power of the lower leg, hitting the ball accurately, with a sudden strike and a sharp angle.
Caballero clearly saw the ball heading for the top left corner, but his extreme save missed it by a hair!
"Eevee bypasses two on the left wing, scoring with a fierce shot to the far corner!"
"Unbelievable, is this really a 35-year-old player?"
"The older, the wilder, just like him!"
"This attack started from Motta, then Maxwell, Silva, and finally Eevee, all of whom have played in Serie A."
"Tang Long, Ranocchia, and Kolarov, who were bypassed, have also played in Serie A!"
"Five of them have played for Inter Milan."
"How interesting, this is a battle between former Inter players!"
Not satisfied with just scoring, Eevee also had to provoke his opponents.
He rushed to Ranocchia, who he bypassed first.
"Hey, big silly guy, you’re still so easy for me to get past!"
Previously, Ranocchia also suffered at the hands of Eevee during his time at Paris and Genoa.
Then he dashed to Kolarov, pointing at his nose with a laugh:
"Serbian, so many years have passed, and you haven’t improved much since your time at Lazio!"
Finally, he whistled at Tang Long watching from afar~
But just after a couple of whistles, a piercing pain shot from his knee, making Eevee furrow his brows slightly...
(The author feels a bit better today, but the mind is rather slow. It took two hours to finish this Chapter. Another Chapter will be released before midnight.)