Football: I carry forward Shaolin Kungfu

A lottery betting shop in an alley in Manchester, England.

Two fans wearing Manchester City's light blue fan jackets strode in.

"Mike, Jamie, the game is about to start, why are you taking care of his business?"

The proprietress of the lottery betting point is a middle-aged young woman in her 30s, with soft blond hair reaching her waist, and her charm is still there.

She waved with a smile and naturally greeted two Manchester City fans, who seemed to be regulars at the lottery betting outlet.

Mike and Jamie smiled and nodded to the proprietress, then stared at the big screen above their heads.

Above are the rolling odds.

In two hours, the quarter-finals of the Champions League will start!

Manchester City, at home, will face Inter Milan.

Real-time odds show that Manchester City's win is 1 to 1.5, and Inter Milan's win is 1 to 2.5.

"Jamie, what do you think?"

The black brother in a blue scarf asked the white man next to him.

Caucasian Mike is older, looks like he is in his 60s, has a flushed complexion, walks unsteadily, and looks like he just came out of a bar.

He rubbed his fleshy wine-trough nose, and said with disdain:

"It goes without saying that the bookmakers are all optimistic about us winning. Have you seen that, 1 to 1.5, such a low odds, it is almost a sure win!"

Mike took out an old-fashioned wallet from his pocket, pulled out ten fifty-pound notes, and slapped them on the desk in front of the proprietress.

"Jenny, bet me 500 pounds that Manchester City will win!"

A gleam of excitement flashed in Jenny's eyes.

She took the money with a smile, and clicked on the computer skillfully.

"Hey old Mike, I rarely see you make such a big bet, what happened today, are you so confident?"

Old Mike used the rough back of his hand to wipe off the remaining yellow whiskey drops on the beard at the corner of his mouth, and said boldly:

"Little Jenny, this is the money I just took out of the bank this afternoon, just for tonight's game, we have Guardiola here, we have the most perfect pass-and-control football in Europe, and it's still in our home stadium, Ittihad, Just wait and watch the game and exchange the money for me!"

The little black brother Jamie looked at Mike with concern.

"I said, old Mike, are you willing to pay 500 pounds? Didn't you say that the pension is almost used up recently, and Easter is coming soon. Aren't you planning to go to Edinburgh to see your grandson? Is there enough money for the air ticket? Don't be too greedy, just buy a 100-pound one."

Old Mike looked at Jamie with a look of disgust, "Don't worry, how can I miss this kind of money-picking game!"

"I'm still waiting to win 250 pounds and come back to buy toys for my grandson in Edinburgh for Easter, so don't worry about it!"

Jamie went on to argue:

"Guardiola's pass control is really strong, and the team's main lineup has also experienced three and a half seasons of running-in, but Inter Milan should not be underestimated, especially their top scorer Ye Chen, he can enter Paris in one game. The man with three balls!"

Old Mike got a little upset and tapped Jamie on the head with his knuckles.

"Inter Milan has indeed been brilliant in the past, but in the last seven or eight years, in the Champions League, they are at most a recruit. Last year they didn't make it out of the group stage. This year, they entered the quarter-finals. It is already a miracle!"

"But I want to tell you, Jamie, that miracles are called miracles because they happen only once every few years. If miracles happen every day, they're not miracles!"

Old Mike took his small betting voucher from Jenny and put it in his wallet.

Then he put his arm around Mike's shoulders and walked out.

"Let's go, little Jamie, it's still early, Uncle, I'll take you to the bar below the Etihad Stadium, and have a couple of beers. At my age, that's all I can enjoy... "

3:55 a.m. China time.

In the studio of a famous sports broadcasting platform.

Zhan Jun was in the earphones, and after he had a final explanation with the director, his magnetic voice began to speak!

"Okay, dear viewers and friends, everyone is welcome to lock us in at 3:55 p.m. to watch the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals between Manchester City and Inter Milan. I am the host Zhan Jun. Tonight will be played by Xu Yang Xu The guide will join me in explaining the game."

"Hello, audience friends!" Xu Yang smiled and nodded.

The screen begins to switch to the Etihad Stadium.

"Wow, we saw that in the beautiful Etihad Stadium in the night, two blue moons rose on the left and right huge screens, symbolizing the team's title: Blue Moon!"

"In the tifo of the home fans, we can also clearly see the word bluemoon."

"The Champions League song has already sounded, Manchester City's home game against Inter Milan is about to start!"

"It is worth noting that at the same time, the French city of Lyon played a home game against Barcelona."

Xu Yang couldn't help but interjected at this moment:

"Zhan Jun, the opening song of the Champions League is really nice. It's a pity that I didn't experience this kind of treatment when I was a player."

Zhan Jun nodded, "However, our Huaxia player, Ye Chen, appeared in the starting roster. This is the first time a Chinese player appeared in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Ye Chen made history!! !"

Hearing this, Xu Yang, who had always been calm, also became excited.

"Haha, Ye Chen shoulders the hopes of the whole village. We are looking forward to his excellent performance tonight. Last time he played against Paris, he scored a hat-trick. Then against Juventus, he performed Sixi Balls again. If you score 7 goals in one game, will you score five in this game?"

Since it is not an official commentary platform like China Sports Channel, Xu Yang seemed very relaxed.

The game hasn't started yet, Ye Chen is blowing!

Zhan Jun smiled and glanced at Xu Yang, "Director Xu, keep a low profile, you must keep a low profile, let's give Ye Chen a wave of character first, don't set the flag too early."

"At any time, Guardiola's team is not easy to mess with, especially they are very strong in the Premier League this season. Since leading the team for three and a half seasons, his pass-and-control football style has become popular through Manchester City's practice. The entire Premier League!"

"Even some teams in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League have gradually begun to abandon long passes and bring in Spanish players who are skilled at their feet. They have to learn from Manchester City and play pass control!"

Xu Yang agrees.

"Manchester Gua's Manchester City is indeed a beautiful landscape in football in recent years. I remember he once said when he came to Manchester City. I came here to prove that pass-and-control football can also develop in the Premier League. Looking at it now, Having won the league titles in 2018 and 2019 in a row, he has indeed proved the universality of pass-and-control football!"

"If I'm not mistaken, Inter Milan will adopt a defensive and counterattack style of play at the beginning. Let us see how Inter Milan can break through Gua's pass control!"