Chapter 374 Spear and Shield, Lin Quan VS Kanter

Although Manchester City still failed to win the game in the end, Guardiola still praised Kante highly at the post-match press conference.

"Kante's performance was simply shocking. Although I had high expectations for him, I have to say that his performance exceeded my expectations!"

Reporters rarely see Guardiola praise a player like this, and they were also amazed by Kante's performance in this game, so they all came up to ask questions:

"Coach Guardiola, as far as I know, Kante is from an amateur club. He has been playing in low-level leagues before and only played for the Ligue 1 team for half a season. How did you and Manchester City discover him?"

This question has aroused the curiosity of countless people. Kanter's resume is not outstanding, and the team he plays for is only a newly promoted team that has upgraded from a low-level league, and it is also a newly promoted team that ranks at the bottom of the league.

How did Guardiola discover that Caen had such an outstanding player like Kante?

"Haha, I'm as curious about this question as you are!"

The reporters looked at each other, wondering what Guardiola meant by this.

It was you who poached this person, but you don’t know how you fell in love with him?

Is this a joke?

"It wasn't me who discovered Kanter, but Lin!"

Guardiola could have taken the credit for his discernment, but he chose to confess to reporters.

"And players such as Kimmich and Rudiger were also introduced to the team on Lin Quan's recommendation!"

After Kimmich was introduced to Manchester City, he was loaned to Leicester City because there was no position within the team.

Although he has just turned 20 years old, he is an out-and-out young player.

But after being loaned to Fox City, his performance quickly won the love of Fox City fans.

There are even rumors from Leicester City that they want to buy out Kimmich at a high price from Manchester City.

All this is regarded by the outside world as evidence of Guardiola's vision of people.

Unexpectedly, it was not Guardiola who advocated the introduction of Kimmich, but Lin Quan.

Could it be said that Lin Quan is better than Guardiola in judging people?

"Maybe it's because he has been dealing with the defenses of major giants all year round, so he knows the abilities of defenders quite well!"

Guardiola didn't know how Lin Quan saw the talent and potential of these people, and after thinking for a long time, he could only give such an explanation.

Strangely, reporters actually accepted Guardiola's explanation.

Perhaps they also feel that for top stars like Lin Quan who often review the opponent's defense, there must be some standard for judging whether a defender is a good defender, right?

…

Since Manchester City and Manchester United tied, and Chelsea defeated Queens Park Rangers 1:0 in the away game, the point difference between the two teams was once again opened to 3 points.

This made everyone in the Blues breathe a sigh of relief. When the two teams were only 1 point apart, they felt like there was a big stone pressing on their hearts, and they couldn't breathe.

They were afraid that if they accidentally made a mistake, they would fall behind Manchester City in the standings. Now, with a 3-point lead, they have at least one game with room for error.

At this time, the Premier League has completed 32 rounds, and there are only 6 rounds left before the end of the Premier League.

The 3-point gap is a big advantage for the leader.

However, after Chelsea's players took a look at their schedule for the last six rounds, they suddenly stopped laughing.

Manchester City has played all the games against BIG4, but Chelsea still has three giants to deal with.

In the 33rd round, they will face the challenge of Manchester United at home, and in the 34th round, they will challenge Arsenal away from home.

In the 36th round, Chelsea will wait for Liverpool at home.

Three of the four games are strong duels, which is a devilish schedule for Chelsea.

Once they lose or draw in these three games, the lead they currently maintain will be gone.

Therefore, the suspense of the Premier League championship this season still exists, and it is still very big. I am afraid that the title of the championship will not be announced until the last round.

…

While the Chelsea people are still counting the league points and what they can do to win the league championship, the Manchester City soldiers have set off directly from London Heathrow Airport to Turin to prepare for the Champions League quarter-finals. The first leg of the final.

For Manchester City, the situation in this away game is not optimistic.

This Champions League knockout match is too close to the just-concluded league, only 3 days away.

And they had just consumed a lot in the Manchester City derby, and coupled with the fatigue of traveling, the physical condition of the players was very worrying.

Although Juventus is no longer a top team, they are the dominant team in Serie A after all, and have won the Serie A championship for three consecutive years.

The strength of the old woman cannot be underestimated. Even if it is not up to the level of a top team like Huang Saren, it is only slightly weaker than them.

Coupled with the fact that this is the opponent's home court, Juventus is bound to use the advantage of their home court to launch a fierce attack on Manchester City.

If Manchester City fails to stop it and is defeated by the opponent by a big score, it may be difficult to reverse the score even if they return to their home court in the second round.

Therefore, based on the physical reserves of the players and the objective situation, Guardiola formulated a relatively conservative tactic.

He plans to put Kroos on the bench and arrange for Kante, who performed well in the last Manchester City derby, to start.

Don't use it if you doubt it, don't doubt it if you employ it.

Since Kanter has proven his strength in the game, Guardiola has no doubts about him and directly confirmed him as the starter.

Compared with young players such as Kimmich and Rudiger, the 24-year-old Kanter has no problems with physical fitness and has sufficient game experience.

The only thing worth worrying about is probably that he lacks experience in top competitions, especially competitions at the Champions League level.

For this reason, during the team's training matches, Guardiola personally pulled Kanter to teach him his experience of playing as a defensive midfielder, soothed the player's mentality, encouraged him to build up confidence, and avoid making mistakes during the game. Nervous emotions arise, which in turn lead to abnormal performance in the game.

Kanter was confused. He actually didn't feel the pressure of the competition.

Some are just strong excitement and gratitude to Guardiola!

This coach is so kind to people. I thought he was the world's top coach and would have a big airs and would be difficult to say hello to. I didn't expect him to be so approachable.

A soldier dies for his confidant, and in order to repay Guardiola for his promotion, Kanter performed at 120% even in the team's training matches.

Manchester City's main players were robbed by this guy and had some doubts about their lives.

Especially Aguero, his dribbling ability is very outstanding in the Manchester City team, but he can't take care of himself when he encounters Kante and is still being intercepted.

"I said, buddy, don't keep staring at me and grab Lin's ball. If you have the ability, go grab Lin's ball!"

Aguero was so anxious that he directly betrayed Lin Quan and encouraged Kanter to rob Lin Quan.

Seeing that there was something good to watch, other teammates started cheering and encouraged Kanter to challenge Lin Quan in a duel.

Van Dijk, who arrived half a year before Kanter, was hesitant and seemed to want to say something. However, seeing that his teammates were in such high interest, he could not disappoint everyone and ultimately did not stand up to stop Kanter.

Kanter was very easy to fool. When he saw that Lin Quan was five years younger than him, he felt a little careless.

In addition, after completing consecutive steals just now, my self-confidence was soaring, so I readily accepted Aguero's instigation and really went to challenge Lin Quan.

Lin Quan knows Kanter's strength. There is a saying: There are no obstacles that cannot be overcome, only Kanter that cannot be overcome!

And there have been rumors that only Kanter can defend Messi alone.

This aroused Lin Quan's interest, and he planned to try it himself to see if the rumors were true.

Lin Quan reached out for the ball, De Bruyne passed the ball to him, and Kanter quickly followed up.

Lin Quan moved laterally with the ball, but Kanter was very fast and completely blocked Lin Quan without giving him any space.

"Okay, this guy's lateral movement speed is so fast!"

"Lin's breakthrough space is blocked. Can this kid really guard against Lin Quan?"

The teammates who were watching were amazed and couldn't help but think highly of Kanter's strength.

It seems that his performance in the last Manchester City derby was not a sudden flash of inspiration, but that he really has the ability.

It's not slow. How about trying this trick again?

Seeing that the opponent was catching up, Lin Quan suddenly made a fake move with heavy shoulders, which deceived Kanter to move his center of gravity forward and then quickly turned around, completing the escape from Kanter.

What a quick move! What a real fake move!

Kanter was passed over before he could see the opponent's movements clearly, and he was very surprised.

But he did not give up because of this. A few minutes later, when Lin Quan was attacking with the ball, Kanter appeared in front of Lin Quan again.

Lin Quan deliberately kicked the ball a little farther, and took advantage of the moment Kanter took advantage of it to successfully pass him with a one-footed fried ball.

And this time the pass was even more thorough. Kanter was two positions behind Lin Quan after being passed, and the pass was quite thorough.

This time, Kanter finally knew how powerful the opponent was.

He is worthy of being able to wear the No. 10 jersey. Although he is younger than himself, the opponent's foot skills are beyond him.

Kanter felt that he had learned a lot of useful things in such a confrontation, so not only did he not feel frustrated, but he became more courageous as he fought.

A few minutes later, the main team stole the ball in the backcourt and launched a quick counterattack.

When Lin Quan quickly crossed the midfield with the ball, Kanter once again got the opportunity to challenge Lin Quan.

Kanter quickly pursued the defense. He was very fast. After rushing up from the side, he kept pace with Lin Quan.

But Lin Quan only used a heavy shoulder to change direction, and easily passed him, and used another substitute player who rushed to help defend to block Kanter, so that Kanter could not even commit a foul.

This defeat finally made Kanter feel frustrated.

He felt that he had been crushed by his opponent in terms of IQ. The opponent's choice was so reasonable and smart, but his defense seemed so clumsy.

On the sidelines, Guardiola, who watched the two men's duel with great interest, couldn't help but shook his head after seeing Kanter's defense.

Kanter still lacks some game experience.

When facing a player like Lin Quan who has a high frequency of footwork and a strong dribbling ability, don't make a move easily, just maintain your position.

Don't think about stealing the ball from the opponent's feet, blocking the position, and waiting for teammates to help defend and double-team Lin Quan.

After all, in Guardiola's view, there is probably no one who can guard peak Messi and current Lin Quan alone!

Although Kanter is frustrated, he is not completely convinced yet.

If you can't stop the opponent in a mobile battle, what about static defense?

The substitute team took advantage of the numerical advantage on the wing and successfully forced David Silva to lose the ball.

Silva saw Lin Quan coming up and passed the ball to him.

When Lin Quan received the ball, Kanter had already rushed over.

At this time, Lin Quan was on the sideline and had stopped. This was an excellent steal opportunity.

Kanter was highly focused, with his knees slightly bent and his body turned sideways, making it easier for him to intercept and pursue.

Seeing the opponent's action, Lin Quan tapped the football with his left foot, as if he was about to kick it forward, but when the football rolled forward, he suddenly stretched out his right foot and pulled the ball.

Kanter was shaken and immediately intercepted the ball, but did not touch the ball. Lin Quan deftly jumped over it without even kicking anyone down.

This defensive failure made Kanter realize that he could not guard this man one-on-one!

"I lost!"

Kanter said frustrated.

Lin Quan stopped the ball at his feet, glanced at him, and said:

"Your interception and tackling abilities are very strong, but your teammates are even stronger. If you can cooperate well with your teammates, then even I can't get past you easily."

Teammates who are stronger?

Kanter chewed this sentence carefully and seemed to have gained something.

Although Kanter failed in the duel, not only did everyone not underestimate him, but they recognized his ability more and more.

It's normal if you can't guard against Lin Quan, but it's abnormal if you can!

Although his defense failed, it can be seen from his fight with Lin Quan that this guy is really strong!

The recognition of his teammates has accelerated Kanter's integration into Manchester City.

The team's salary is high, the head coach treats him so well, and his teammates are all talented and well-spoken. He likes it here very much!

Even if other teams come to poach him, he is unwilling to leave!

…

Manchester City's early arrival aroused the vigilance of Juventus fans.

Many Juventus fans and Italian reporters rushed outside the Turin club's training base to spy on the military situation.

The Old Lady have not made a breakthrough in the Champions League for too long and they are very hungry for this championship.

But they came with bad intentions, and Manchester City's strength made them feel extremely fearful.

If they couldn't get some information in advance, they wouldn't even be able to sleep peacefully.

But they are doomed to be disappointed, because Guardiola did not arrange any special training. The daily training content is very simple and the amount is not large.

As for the defensive midfielder tactics he used in the Premier League, they did not appear at all in team training.

This makes Italians unable to see through Guardiola's true thoughts.

The more unclear it is, the more nervous Juventus becomes.

It always feels like Manchester City has prepared some trump card for them. After all, how could Guardiola, who always likes to be tidy, stick to the rules and not come up with something new?

After two hard days, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals finally started!