Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions

Chapter 572 - 391 Good News: Arsenal’s corner kick tactics are indeed invincible Bad News: That seems to be all they know!

Tang Long changed his position, retreating into the penalty area.

He crossed his arms behind his back, not caring in the slightest about the positioning of Arsenal’s players in the field, only keeping an eye on Cazorla, who was preparing to take the kick.

What puzzled Giroud was the point of standing at the penalty spot?

Which player taking a corner kick would send the ball to the penalty spot? Wasn’t this voluntarily moving away from the center area of the goal?

While he was still perplexed, Cazorla raised one arm to make a V gesture and took the corner!

Cazorla’s V gesture was highly deceptive.

It was something Wenger specifically instructed him to use during pre-match practice.

Often, a player taking a corner kick will use specific gestures to signal whether the ball will be sent to the front, middle, or back.

However, the spot designed by Wenger for Cazorla to aim for was dynamically changing!

This gesture would only be used three times.

The first time it represented kicking to the back, the second to the front, and the third to the back again.

The movement remained the same, but the spot changed accordingly, confusing Manchester City’s defenders through this dynamic variation.

For this third corner, Cazorla sent the ball to the back, just like he did with his first corner!

Welbeck was stationed at the back, and he immediately retreated, intending to shake off Sterling, then directing the header back toward the middle.

Koscielny and Giroud were already prepared in the middle; they pushed and jostled, causing chaos in Manchester City’s penalty area.

"Don’t run!"

Sterling started very quickly, in no way inferior to Welbeck. Although Welbeck retreated three steps, precisely judging the spot, Sterling’s quicker reaction made him jump even before Welbeck!

"Ah!!!"

Welbeck hadn’t anticipated Sterling’s reaction to be so fast. Despite having a height advantage, once they both jumped, the forehead height was no lower than Sterling’s; but it was only level, Welbeck’s head collided heavily with Sterling’s, and the ball bounced off the middle of their heads!

"It’s mine!"

Tang Long, who was guarding near the penalty spot, was the first to predict the rebound path of the ball before anyone else, stepping in to clear the ball out to the sideline with a powerful kick.

Only at this point did Giroud, who had retreated from the penalty box, arrive late thinking he was prepared to respond to Welbeck’s second ball.

Seeing his disciples successfully defend this corner kick, Pellegrini could finally breathe a sigh of relief, having been quite tense before Cazorla took the kick.

The tactic was evidently effective!

While a shorter player might not win the initial header when marking a taller player, the shorter player’s quicker reactions, footwork, and agility allowed them to immediately follow the opponent, preventing them from escaping.

Especially against a team like Arsenal, whose corner tactics rely on player movements, shorter players have more advantage in such scenarios.

Tang Long was positioned at the penalty spot, ready to act anytime as a roaming player because his predictive ability was a tier above others, thus allowing him to be the first to clear the ball when it unexpectedly deflected or rebounded.

This successful defense against the corner kick left Wenger bewildered.

He didn’t consider Sterling would be able to defend against Welbeck’s header and disrupt him. Even Otamendi, a proper center-back, had been shaken off by Welbeck earlier.

Let’s try the fourth time!

Merely 5 minutes later, Arsenal earned another corner kick.

This time, Cazorla didn’t use the V gesture, but instead used a single-arm horizontal gesture.

The ball didn’t fly to the front, nor the back, but towards the middle.

Aiming for Giroud!

Standing at 193 cm, Giroud was marked closely by city’s left-back Klichy, who was only 176 cm.

Facing the ball, Giroud was strategic; he first stepped left, then retreated, and finally stepped forward, shaking off Klichy with several foot movements but realized Klichy was still clung to him like glue.

Yet Giroud wasn’t worried; his height advantage could entirely outmatch Klichy. However, just as Giroud was about to jump, another zonal defender, Ranocchia, had already responded, with Tang Long at his back.

Klichy pressed against Giroud from below, and both Ranocchia and Tang Long converged from the front and back!

Encased by the three, Giroud felt pressed on three sides. He managed to jump but only faintly touched the air as the ball was cleared by Ranocchia, causing Giroud’s backward motion to hit against Tang Long’s shoulder.

The big-framed Giroud instantly fell to the ground, clutching the back of his head in pain.

"Good, good, too good!"

Another successful corner kick defense left Pellegrini euphoric.

Beside him, Assistant Coach Rein, who previously questioned Tang Long’s tactics, was utterly amazed.

This blend of man-marking and zonal defense had firmly restrained Giroud.

"Rein, today I’ve truly opened my eyes; I never thought of using short players for man-marking and tall ones for zonal defense—and today it seems effective! Rein, you should definitely take the chance to learn from Tang, listen to his tactical thinking; it’ll surely be beneficial for your development!"

Good news: Arsenal’s corner tactics are indeed formidable.

Bad news: They seem only capable of this!

Since Arsenal’s corner tactics were countered by Manchester City, they couldn’t manage a single shot in the following 20 minutes, and the situation grew passive.

Arsenal players were restless inside, quite puzzled!

This set of tactics was something Professor Wenger mulled over for a long time before coming up with.

Clearly, this tactic was very effective in the first half, scoring two goals against Manchester City, but why was it thoroughly countered in the second half?

Moreover, using short players to mark tall ones was unheard of in global soccer strategies.

Could Pellegrini have orchestrated a brilliant defense scheme during halftime, crafting a new defense system in just 15 minutes?

That would be too strong!

After the 70-minute mark, Arsenal players faced a rapid decline in stamina.

This was Manchester City’s turn to seize.

In the 72nd minute, Tang Long’s signature through pass combined with Bony’s direct diagonal run, delivering a fatal blow; the ball thumped into Cech’s net again!

Bony roared!

Tang Long opened his arms toward him!

Facing a leveled score and lacking new counter-attack strategies, Arsenal resorted to pulling back all the players.

Wenger substituted in a defender in the 80th minute to strengthen the defense while Pellegrini adjusted as well, bringing Agüero for Bony, signaling a shift towards more refined passing control in City’s front line.

"We are now in the final 10 minutes of the match!"

"The famous player Ronaldo, also Tang Long’s agent, once said the decisive period for a match’s outcome lies in its last 10 minutes!"

"The score is 2:2, and both sides are on equal footing!"

"Arsenal had four set-pieces in the second half but couldn’t create a single goal!"

"On the other hand, City’s offense is growing fiercer; they attack late, but effectively!"

"The balance has already tilted!"

"Go Tang Long, all the fans across the country are cheering for you!"

"Victory and trophies are waving toward you!"