Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions

Chapter 600 - 407 Champions League Semi-Final First Leg: Qatar vs UAE "Oil War" Begins!

The day before the clash between Manchester City and PSG.

The match between Manchester United and Bayern kicked off first.

Manchester United was helplessly thrashed by Bayern on the road, a 0 to 3 defeat, leaving in disgrace.

Perhaps the shadow of missing the open goal in the derby still lingered, as Icardi missed multiple chances in this match, three absolute chances, none converted, leaving his teammates speechless.

Van Gaal was so furious at the post-match conference that he blew his whiskers and glared!

For the first time, he openly criticized Icardi without any reservation, urging him to find his form soon.

When reporters relayed Van Gaal’s words to Guardiola, the Spaniard simply smiled!

"I think a team’s loss is never down to one person. Whether in terms of possession or shots, we were ahead of our opponents. If I were Van Gaal, I’d look for problems in myself."

Icardi, publicly criticized, erupted on the spot!

He immediately liked a news report on social media without reservation.

[From Moyes to Van Gaal, Manchester United is still desperately searching for the next Ferguson]

With just a click of his finger, Icardi stirred up a storm on the British Isles!

Although he unliked it an hour later, sharp-eyed media had preserved screenshots.

For a time, rumors of discord within Manchester United began to intensify!

Even the conflict between De Bruyne and Icardi gradually came to light.

...

Now, let’s shift the focus from Munich, Germany to Paris, France.

This city of more than two million is the fashion capital of Europe and carries the rich cultural heritage of France.

At the same time, it’s also the football center of France.

Like Manchester City, PSG’s behind-the-scenes controller, Qatar Investment Authority, also comes from a wealthy oil nation.

Qatar Investment Authority is Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, owning the majority shares of Paris Saint-Germain Club.

Therefore, this match is also called the Oil War between the UAE and Qatar!

PSG CEO Nasser was ambitious before the match; his confident expression showed that after leading the team to three consecutive Ligue 1 titles, it’s time to challenge for the Champions League throne!

"Paris Saint-Germain doesn’t care if we draw Real Madrid, Barça, Bayern, or Manchester City. That’s not something we need to consider," he deliberately placed Manchester City last in the list, "Paris wants to win the title, so we must beat all the strong teams in Europe because since the Qatar Foundation invested in this team from day one, our target has never been Ligue 1, but the Champions League."

...

Prince Park Stadium.

The Paris fans waited by the roadside, welcoming the team’s arrival.

As the blue bus appeared around the corner, cheers erupted.

The loudest cheers were for Zlatan, who, wearing sunglasses, waved down from the bus window at the fans.

"Ibrahim!"

"Ibrahim!"

"Ibrahim!"

Ever since Zlatan came to PSG, he has become the king here.

For the past three consecutive seasons, his goal tally has exceeded 30, and this season the total has surpassed 40, setting a personal record at the age of 35, indicating a career renaissance.

Although they have a top-tier forward like Cavani, Zlatan’s presence brings all the spotlight onto himself.

Zlatan enjoys this feeling of being the center of attention.

Whether at Inter or AC Milan, he was always this kind of presence, where his teammates had to play around him.

The only unsmooth experience in his career was at Barça, but even in that season, he won the league title.

Amid the cheers, Zlatan took off his sunglasses and shouted "Ha" at the fans, igniting their enthusiasm once more!

However, this "Ha" startled Cavani, who had been resting with noise-cancelling headphones on, causing him to glance at Zlatan with a look of restrained anger.

Cavani was quite displeased in his heart, thinking, "I really don’t know what he’s so cocky about. He was never destined for the Champions League. Leaving Inter, Inter won the Champions League. Leaving Barça, Barça also won the Champions League. The match against Manchester City hasn’t even started, yet he’s acting like he’s already won? Strange guy."

...

"Hey, you must be Tang? You’re honored to meet me, Oriental. You’re younger than I imagined."

In the player tunnel at Prince Park Stadium, Zlatan looked Tang Long up and down.

Tang Long’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Both had played in Italy and could understand each other’s Italian;

But for some reason, Zlatan spoke to him in English instead, using "small" instead of "young."

In English, "small" when describing a person refers not to age but to being weak and short, an insulting term.

Moreover, when Zlatan said this word to Tang Long, he brought his index finger and thumb together, bent forward, and pinched in front of Tang Long’s face~

Zlatan is 195cm tall, the tallest among the starting players of both teams.

Yet Tang Long is 182cm tall, although much shorter than Zlatan, he can’t be called short among footballers, can he?

Behind him, the 170cm tall Agüero and Sterling hadn’t even spoken yet.

Agüero heard Zlatan’s provocation and retorted.

"Bosnian thugs, didn’t your dad teach you how to respect others?" With his status in football, he wouldn’t tolerate Zlatan.

Agüero rarely speaks, but his words struck Zlatan’s sore spot!

His eyes instantly widened, looking as if he wanted to stab Agüero with them.

Zlatan’s father is Bosnian, and his mother is Croatian. Due to the war, his parents fled to a small town in Malmo, Sweden. Zlatan grew up in the immigrant ghetto of Rosengard, so in many people’s eyes, he’s not a pure Swede and has suffered discrimination since childhood.

"You little Argentine dwarf with such a foul mouth! Are your countrymen all as small as you, no wonder you can’t beat the UK and reclaim the Malvinas Islands!"

Zlatan, with a menacing appearance, walked up to Agüero, trying to grab his neck, only to be pushed away by Kolarov.

"Zlatan! If you can’t play, don’t play. First, keep your filthy mouth in check."

Kolarov, nearly 190cm tall, almost had his forehead against Zlatan’s.

The match hadn’t started yet, and conflict was imminent.

Fortunately, both teams’ captains, Diego Silva and Kompany, stepped in to defuse the tension in time.

"You, you, and you, you three, don’t leave after the match, wait for me in the parking lot, I’ll make sure you leave crying!"

Zlatan spat a vicious threat before Diego Silva pulled him to the back of the line.

Seeing Zlatan’s frantic manner, Kolarov, who had battled in Serie A for years, smiled and said to Tang Long:

"Zlatan’s just the king of trash talk. Back when he was in Serie A, he was at Inter and I was at Lazio. He often talked trash with me too. I’ve heard he claims to be a black belt in Taekwondo? Anyway, I’ve never seen him fight."

"He has fought, I remember," Tang Long nodded and said, "During training at AC Milan, he had a row with an American player, Onyewu, and ended up with a cracked rib."

"Oh~ you know that too," Kolarov chuckled and added, "Even further back, when he was at Ajax and faced AC Milan in the Champions League, during defense against Gattuso, he was overly physical and kept talking trash. Gattuso isn’t articulate, but he won’t tolerate him either and slapped him right across the face. Guess what? The guy clutched his red face and didn’t dare say a peep, no exaggeration, that’s what Gattuso personally told me."

The starting lineup for both teams:

Home team Paris Saint-Germain: 433

Cavani / Zlatan / Di Maria

Matuidi / Motta / Rabiot

Maxwell / David Luiz / Diego Silva / Aurier

Trapp

Away team Manchester City: 4231

Agüero

Sterling / Tang Long / Navas

Toure / Delph

Kolarov / Kompany / Ranocchia / Sagna

Caballero