Paris Saint-Germain Starting Lineup:
Goalkeeper: Renoir.
Defenders: Gavin, Zappa, Michelin, Nanase Nijiro.
Midfielders: Karasu Tabito, Charles, Tsurugi Zantetsu.
Forwards: Shidou Ryusei, Itoshi Rin.
Looking at it with hindsight, the Paris team was undoubtedly one of the strongest of the five.
They appeared as the final opponents for the protagonist, Isagi Yoichi.
Before their match against Bayern, PSG had an impressive record of 3 wins in 3 matches, and their match against Bayern went on for a whole year in the manga.
In terms of overall level, PSG was without a doubt the highest.
In contrast, Manchester City in the manga didn't win a single match.
The reason, naturally, was Nagi Seishiro's lack of fighting spirit, feeling satisfied just by defeating Isagi at one particular moment.
He received an offer of 88 million in his debut, but in the end, he was eliminated.
Without Tendou, this match probably wouldn't have much suspense either.
There was a 70% chance that Man City would lose.
The fans in the live stream chat stared at Manchester City's starting lineup.
The best player from the last match, the Asian prodigy Tendou who had challenged Noa and nearly scored, was sitting on the bench?
This was huge news!
The absolute MVP of the last match didn't even get a starting position?
Voices of dissatisfaction quickly spread through the bullet comments.
They were here to see Tendou.
They wanted to see his Giant Bear Counter and his White Whale.
And Tendou?
He was sitting right next to Prince, the two "bosses" with their arms crossed in tacit understanding.
Their calm and composed demeanor in the face of a collapsing mountain would make anyone who didn't know better think Man City had two master strikers.
Prince was clearly aware of what the audience wanted to see. After all, Tendou also had a personal sponsor nomination.
Keeping him on the bench the whole time was unrealistic.
Giving the team time to score one goal would be about right.
Itoshi Rin and the other familiar faces looked at Tendou on the bench and frowned.
He wasn't worried about Tendou being suppressed.
It was just that...
"Even for you, Tendou, underestimating me will cost you!"
In the days he had spent at PSG, he had benefited greatly.
In today's match, he was ready to challenge Tendou once again.
"I'll be watching closely from the bench. Good luck to you," Tendou replied.
"..."
Itoshi Rin said nothing more and immediately turned back to the midfield.
...
The match began.
PSG had the kickoff.
Right from the start, they showed a strong desire to attack.
Speaking of PSG, this team, like Bayern, had two tactical systems.
The first, with Itoshi Rin as the core.
The second, with Shidou Ryusei as the core.
This was similar to Bayern's approach of attacking with either Isagi or Kaiser as the core.
But the difference from Bayern was that PSG's lineup included the player Charles.
He was the genius midfielder that Loki was specifically using to take down Noa.
On the surface, the core of PSG seemed to be Shidou and Rin.
But in reality, Charles was the true glue of the team.
The reason Loki had agreed to be a master striker this time was solely to cultivate Charles.
It would be very difficult for Manchester City to defeat them.
The facts were just as Tendou had thought.
First, Itoshi Rin broke through the center, causing a foul from Yangu.
Then, PSG broke through on Chigiri Hyoma's flank.
The ball carrier was Tsurugi Zantetsu, who, along with Chigiri, was known as one of Blue Lock's two great speedy wingers.
Having not been seen for a long time, he had also made progress.
"High-Speed Counter!"
Just from the name, you could tell this skill wasn't designed for humans, but for a race car.
Tsurugi hadn't chosen to increase his top speed, but rather to further improve his area of expertise: explosive acceleration.
With a single burst of speed, he shot out like an F1 car. For a moment, you could even hear the roar of an engine.
Chigiri was stunned. By the time he came to his senses, the opponent was already half a body length past him. He turned to chase, but the other had already delivered a cross.
Breaking through on the wing combined with a cross.
This was the tactic PSG had used most in their last match. Because both Shidou and Rin were center forwards who scored goals for fun.
Shidou spread his demon wings, controlled the ball, and then took a shot.
The Man City goalkeeper made a valiant dive to keep the goal safe.
There was no time to breathe a sigh of relief.
Just 2 minutes later.
It was PSG's chance again.
This time, Michelin made an interception in the backfield and immediately passed to Charles.
Upon receiving the ball, the latter's eyes instantly swept across the entire field.
Reo keenly noticed that Itoshi Rin had appeared in a very dangerous position at some point, and he immediately rushed over...
However.
Charles chose to lob the ball to Shidou, who was being marked by two players.
This was the characteristic of PSG's genius midfielder.
He just loved to do things that "you think I won't do."
Whatever others were thinking, he would do the opposite.
This unpredictability put the Man City defense on high alert.
Fortunately, Shidou's shot under the pressure of two players went wide of the post.
In just a few short minutes, Manchester City had faced several dangerous situations.
Their pre-match preparations were almost useless. No matter how they defended, it seemed they couldn't stop them.
"Tendou, do you see it?"
On the bench, Prince turned his head and asked Tendou.
"Yeah, that Charles from PSG is very special."
"That's right. Although PSG seems to have two tactical systems, with Shidou as the core and with Rin as the core."
"But no matter who is the main focus, they can't do without Charles."
Prince pointed at Charles on the field.
"He is the midfield engine that provides oxygen to Rin's system and, at the same time, nutrients to Shidou's system."
"Without Charles, Rin's system is like a weapon without a start button. Shidou's system is like a high-end computer without a power switch."
This was high praise.
It meant that Charles alone could fully command two different tactical systems and become the absolute soul of both.
If they could shut him down, the threat of PSG's offense would be reduced by more than half.
But that was precisely the most difficult thing to do.
The little "devil of contrasts" living in Charles's heart made his actions extremely difficult to predict.
Even Man City's youth academy general, Agi, couldn't effectively contain him.
And.
Even if they specifically targeted Charles, PSG still had Karasu Tabito in the defensive midfield position.
PSG's midfield and attack were brimming with talent.
In the 19th minute, Manchester City's counter-attack finally came.
But Nagi's chest trap and subsequent turning shot were read by Itoshi Rin, who cleanly tackled the ball away.
Then it was PSG's turn again, and they launched an efficient counter-attack.
Charles sent out a stunning through pass.
His passes were not the mechanical "you run, I'll pass" type, but rather predictive passes that arrived at the destination before you even had the idea to run there.
...
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