Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 570: Sweet Revenge – Crushing Borussia Dortmund on the Road

Chelsea's players quickly showed signs of mental frustration, and it became clear in the match.

Their attacking play became impatient, and they lost the composure they had shown earlier.

Several times, after winning the ball back in their own half, Chelsea players would just boot it up the field in hopes of a quick goal.

But this method was incredibly inefficient. Most of the long balls failed to reach their teammates, often ending up at Manchester City's feet.

Every time City regained possession, they wasted no time in bringing the ball forward and launching another wave of attacks against Chelsea.

"Stay calm, don't rush it, play patiently!"

On the sidelines, Conte noticed the change in his players' mentality and rushed out to shout instructions.

But with the overwhelming noise from the stadium, his words were drowned out by the crowd, and few players seemed to hear him.

Conte felt a sense of dread creeping in.

Things had been going well—why had the match suddenly turned this way?

He cursed Tottenham under his breath, thinking that if Spurs had lost to Swansea, none of this would be happening!

Just as Conte's bad feeling intensified, the game took another turn.

In the 82nd minute, City intercepted the ball in midfield and launched a quick attack.

Lin Quan played a one-two with David Silva, dodging Chelsea's right-back, and quickly cut inside.

Chelsea's defenders reacted immediately, and David Luiz rushed toward Lin Quan.

As Lin Quan saw Luiz approach, he quickly recalled Luiz's defensive tendencies:

David Luiz: Aggressive, likes to push up, but slow to turn, and prone to fouls.

Remembering this, Lin Quan purposely left a gap, tempting Luiz to dive in for the tackle.

Delighted by the opportunity, Luiz rushed forward, not considering that it might be a trap.

Lin Quan sighed inwardly, thinking, What a straightforward guy!

Just as Luiz stretched his leg out for the tackle, Lin Quan swiftly shifted the ball, avoiding the challenge, and accelerated into the box.

Chelsea's goalkeeper barely saw how Lin Quan got past Luiz. All he knew was that the last person he wanted to see with the ball was now storming into the penalty area, with no defenders left to help.

This is it, the keeper thought, lowering his stance, locking his eyes on Lin Quan's every move, and advancing quickly to block his shot.

The distance between them shrank rapidly, leaving Lin Quan with less and less space to shoot.

But just when the goalkeeper thought his positioning had cut off all the angles, he saw Lin Quan suddenly slow down.

He's going to shoot! the keeper realized.

And he was right—Lin Quan went for a classic chip shot.

As Lin's toe made contact under the ball, it lifted off the ground in a perfect arc.

It sailed over the goalkeeper's head—a path he couldn't jump high enough to block, despite stretching out his hands in a futile attempt.

The ball curved smoothly and dipped into the back of the net.

The score was now 3-2, with Manchester City having completed their comeback against Chelsea.

After confirming the goal, Lin Quan spread his arms wide and sprinted toward the away fans, gesturing for louder applause and cheers.

City's traveling supporters, already ecstatic after the goal, roared even louder, clapping and shouting in joy as their hero acknowledged them.

Meanwhile, on the home side, Chelsea's players were dejected, their heads hung low in silence.

Conte was on the verge of losing his cool on the sidelines, furious at his team. Why can't they just follow my tactics properly?

Do they really think I'd steer them wrong?

The match had been going well for Chelsea, but now, trailing at home to Manchester City with little time left, could they still turn it around?

It seemed unlikely.

In fact, forget about turning it around—even managing to equalize at this point seemed like an impossible task.

Conte forced himself to calm down. The match wasn't over yet, and he couldn't give up now.

He called over Willian from the bench and sent him to warm up.

Willian had been a key player in Chelsea's previous win against City.

If not for his relentless runs down the wing that unsettled City's defense, Chelsea might have crumbled under the pressure of City's constant attacks.

Since Willian had proven effective against City before, Conte decided to put his trust in him once more.

However, before Conte could make his substitution, Pep Guardiola made the first move.

He swapped out some attacking players for more defensive options, clearly aiming to hold onto the lead until the final whistle.

In the closing stages of the match, the roles were reversed—now it was Chelsea besieging City, while City sat back and played on the counter.

But Chelsea's ability to break down City's defense was limited.

With so little space to exploit, their attacks were lively but lacked bite, failing to produce any real scoring chances.

City's counterattacks, on the other hand, remained highly dangerous. Chelsea's defenders were forced to commit tactical fouls multiple times to halt City's momentum.

The fans in the stadium were starting to feel a strange sense of déjà vu—hadn't they seen this same scenario play out earlier in the match?

Time was ticking away, and Chelsea's window of opportunity was rapidly closing.

Despite a few attempts on goal, none seriously threatened City's net.

As the match neared its end, Chelsea threw caution to the wind and flooded the penalty box, attempting to score with high crosses.

But City's defense was tall and solid, especially with Virgil van Dijk commanding the back line.

Chelsea's aerial bombardment proved ineffective, and they couldn't find a way through.

In stoppage time, City had one final counterattack.

Lin Quan sprinted down the field with the ball, seemingly untouched by fatigue, even at this late stage of the game.

Watching him fly down the pitch with such energy, Chelsea's fans were filled with despair. They could already see how this would end.

And, as expected, Lin Quan broke through, dribbled past the goalkeeper, and slotted the ball into the net.

The score was now 4-2.

Chelsea, the league leaders, had been thoroughly beaten on their home turf by Manchester City.

City had achieved their revenge and left Stamford Bridge with smiles on their faces.

Chelsea, meanwhile, were left frustrated. Their lead at the top of the table had been cut by 3 points, and with Tottenham hot on their heels, they couldn't afford any more slip-ups.

After this round, the league table saw some changes.

Despite their loss, Chelsea remained top with 72 points.

Tottenham were 4 points behind in second place.

After back-to-back wins over Arsenal and Chelsea, Manchester City now had 64 points and were third.

Liverpool followed in fourth place with 60 points.

Arsenal, having won against West Ham United, had slightly closed the gap with Liverpool and sat in fifth with 59 points.

As for Manchester United? They had fallen too far behind and would likely miss out on a Champions League spot through the league this season.

On April 8th, the 32nd round of the Premier League kicked off.

Tottenham, full of confidence, demolished their opponents 4-0 at home, piling even more pressure on Chelsea.

Liverpool, competing with Arsenal for the fourth spot, narrowly won 2-1 away against Stoke City. It wasn't easy, but they secured the 3 points they desperately needed.

City, whose title hopes were fading but were still safe in the top four, comfortably beat relegation-threatened Hull City 3-1 at home.

Even though Hull City was ranked low, these relegation teams become tough opponents late in the season.

Unfortunately for Hull, they ran into City.

City's possession-based style left Hull's players chasing shadows—they barely touched the ball, and scoring even one consolation goal was an achievement for them.

Of course, that goal came late in the game when City had already taken their foot off the gas and subbed out many of their starting players.

With the top teams winning, Chelsea felt immense pressure.

Fortunately for them, after their loss to City, their players had learned their lesson.

They stuck to Conte's game plan and secured a 3-1 away win, stabilizing their position.

The league was now entering its final stretch, with every remaining match critical.

Chelsea's lead had been cut from 7 points to 4, but as long as they didn't slip up in the next six games, they still held the upper hand in the title race.

Following Chelsea, Manchester United also secured a 3-0 win, keeping their slim title hopes alive.

Now, all eyes were on Arsenal, who were feeling the pressure.

However, Arsenal crumbled under that pressure, losing 3-0 away to Crystal Palace.

This result left Arsenal fans in despair.

They were now 4 points behind Liverpool, a gap that was looking increasingly difficult to close.

It seemed that Arsenal's hopes of finishing in the top four were all but gone.

After this round of the Premier League, Manchester City shifted their focus to preparing for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

With their Premier League title hopes slim, City's main focus was now the Champions League.

Compared to last season, the challenges in this year's Champions League were much greater.

Paris Saint-Germain had risen rapidly, Juventus continued to improve, and Real Madrid, with their strengthened squad, looked even stronger than City.

These teams posed serious threats to City's ambitions.

But Guardiola remained unwavering in his goal: to win the Champions League.

He wasn't about to back down just because the competition was tough.

On April 13th, at the Westfalenstadion.

In front of more than 80,000 Borussia Dortmund fans, the home side repeatedly launched attacks on City's defense.

If you were watching the flow of the game, you'd think Dortmund had a firm grip on the match.

But if you looked up at the scoreboard, you'd be stunned.

The game hadn't even reached halftime, and the score was already 3-0—City leading, of course.

In such a short time, Dortmund had fallen three goals behind.

How did this happen?

Dortmund's manager, Thomas Tuchel, was just as confused as everyone else. He had no idea what had gone wrong.

Let's rewind to the 16th minute.

City's Lin Quan was fouled in the box by his former Werder Bremen teammate, Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

The foul earned Sokratis a yellow card and handed City a penalty.

Lin Quan calmly converted the spot-kick, graciously accepting the gift from his old friend.

Just two minutes later, City's Mbappé, who had been included in the starting lineup, scored after an assist from Lin Quan, doubling City's lead.

The quickfire double left Dortmund dazed, and they made another defensive error shortly afterward.

Their defender Sven Bender, in an attempt to clear the ball, accidentally turned it into his own net, making it 3-0.

The Westfalenstadion, known for its wild, fanatical support, was uncharacteristically quiet.

The City onslaught, capped by that own goal, had stunned the usually passionate home crowd.

Even the die-hard fans in the famous Südtribüne were too shell-shocked to cheer.

What was happening?

How had the game turned into this?

Dortmund, though not a top-tier European club, weren't weak either.

Before the match, no one—not even City fans—had expected such a one-sided scoreline.

City might not have been overwhelmingly superior, but Dortmund had certainly fallen far short of expectations.

During halftime, Tuchel must have given his players a fiery pep talk because Dortmund came out stronger in the second half.

In the 57th minute, Shinji Kagawa played a brilliant through ball to Ousmane Dembélé, who finished clinically to make it 3-1.

Dembélé was one of Dortmund's brightest young talents, a rising star the club was heavily investing in.

His performances this season had justified his price tag, giving Dortmund fans hope that he could help lead the team to future success alongside stalwarts like Marco Reus.

Though a comeback in this game seemed unlikely, Dortmund's fans smiled as Dembélé scored—they felt that at least one goal made the match worthwhile.

Buoyed by the goal, Dortmund pushed forward, hoping to score more.

But they underestimated their opponent.

Under City's disciplined defense, Dortmund struggled to create clear-cut chances.

And in the 79th minute, City hit them with a counterattack.

Once again, it was Mbappé who found the net, completing his brace and living up to the high expectations placed on him.

As City fans watched Mbappé shine, they exchanged knowing looks with the Dortmund supporters nearby:

"Sure, you've got Dembélé, but we've got Mbappé. Both our clubs have bright futures!"

(End of Chapter)

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