The next morning, Gao Nuo woke up feeling refreshed. All four challenges from the previous night were successful. Not only did he receive an abundance of rewards, but he also gained a deeper understanding of defensive counter-attacking.
Compared to Jankovic's compact defense, Mourinho's tactics were more aggressive. After luring the opponent's formation forward, the localized pressing was incredibly precise. After winning the ball, a single pass from Fabregas would typically leave Gao Nuo facing two or fewer defenders, making the game simple due to his individual skill.
Of course, as the levels progressed, the difficulty gradually increased. In the fifth match against the virtual South Korea team, Gao Nuo scored the winning goal in the 88th minute, narrowly securing the victory.
The four white player cards yielded some ordinary players whom Gao Nuo didn't recognize. As long as they could execute tactics well and provide some support, being better than the default 'dummies' was enough for Gao Nuo.
As for the tactics board, it returned to the realm of extremely low probability. Gao Nuo automatically ignored the system's explanation; a virtual Mourinho was enough for him to study for a long time.
Gao Nuo participated in the team's joint training, and the final injury assessment report showed no issues. The coaching staff was pleasantly surprised to find that Gao Nuo, after 9 days of rest, was in excellent form. He would play in tomorrow's match.
On March 6, 2024, Wembley Stadium hosted the England League Cup Final: Manchester United vs. Chelsea.
Under Pochettino, Chelsea's form had gradually recovered this season, regaining their Big Six prestige.
The long-standing rivalry meant the two teams were no strangers to each other, and the match started with intense action.
In the 4th minute, Rice intercepted an opponent's pass, and Manchester United launched a counter-attack.
Gao Nuo, leading the charge upfront, received a through ball from Rice and dribbled forward, swaying his legs back and forth, then suddenly pushing the ball left to accelerate past Gallagher. Seeing Fofana blocking his path, Gao Nuo passed the ball to the left.
Reece James was rapidly tracking back, firmly cutting off Rashford's inside run. Seeing Gao Nuo's pass, James made a judgment, stopped abruptly, turned, and then stretched his leg as far as he could, hoping to control the ball directly.
The pass had significant power. Although James accurately blocked it, the rebound distance clearly exceeded his expectation, and the ball bounced back to the center.
Gao Nuo continued to run forward after passing. The rebounding ball rolled exactly 5 meters in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he launched his unstoppable three-step run, and before Fofana's tackle, Gao Nuo unleashed a powerful shot, sending the ball flying into the bottom-left corner of the goal at an extremely high speed.
Chelsea's goalkeeper, Kepa, reacted quickly enough, making a desperate save that touched the ball, but he couldn't prevent it from deflecting into the net.
Just after kick-off, Manchester United took a 1-0 lead.
Zhang in the live broadcast room quickly exclaimed, "Hey! What a goal! Gao Nuo's shot had tremendous power, and his step-overs earlier were also brilliant. Ah, Reece James's interception was almost successful; that slight difference created the opportunity for Gao Nuo."
Zhan Jun couldn't be left behind and quickly added, "That's right, Reece James's rashness put Chelsea on the back foot, but we can also see that Gao Nuo, returning from injury, is in excellent form. The decisiveness of this shot and the tricky angle left Kepa helpless."
Amidst the 'applause' in the bullet comments, the two commentators turned their attention back to the live action.
In the 18th minute, the evergreen Thiago Silva launched a long pass from the backfield. Reece James on the right wing utilized his speed advantage, covering 20 meters to outpace Malacia, who was starting in place of the injured Luke Shaw.
After receiving the ball, James dribbled along the byline towards the penalty area. Facing Lisandro Martínez's cover defense, James's pass threaded through Lima's legs and rolled towards the goal.
Kai Havertz, before Varane and De Gea could clear, gently poked it with his toe, and the ball found the back of the net.
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea. After only 15 minutes of being behind, Chelsea equalized.
The fans in the stadium were incredibly excited. The intensity of the League Cup Final far exceeded their expectations, and the atmosphere in the stadium grew more fervent as the match progressed.
For the next 20 minutes, the pace of the game slowed somewhat. The draw caused both teams' players to start managing their energy expenditure.
In the 38th minute, Manchester United took a throw-in on the left side of the attacking third. Malacia seized the opportunity and combined with Rashford.
Receiving the quickly thrown ball, Rashford held off the defender behind him and passed it back to Malacia.
Clearly a rehearsed play, Malacia took a running start from outside the field and, meeting the rolling ball, launched a powerful kick into the penalty area.
Chelsea's defenders hadn't yet settled into position. Gao Nuo was at the penalty spot, preparing to leap high, when the experienced Thiago Silva immediately moved in front of him, leaning against Gao Nuo with his back.
Affected by this, Gao Nuo didn't jump high enough, and the ball sailed over his head, flying towards the far post.
Bruno Fernandes had expected Gao Nuo to intercept the ball and was moving towards the center from the far post when he saw the ball go over Gao Nuo's head. Bruno quickly stopped, jumped backward, and headed the ball towards the goal with a leaning-back posture.
Because he couldn't put much power into it, the ball's speed was slow, merely arcing towards the goal. For Kepa, this ball was not difficult. He quickly moved two steps, jumped, and extended his arm towards the ball.
He must have been disadvantaged by his height. Kepa's hand didn't reach above the crossbar, and the ball landed on top of the crossbar first, bouncing back in front of the goal.
Chelsea's defense, which had just breathed a sigh of relief, was about to react when they saw a figure in a red No. 9 jersey head the ball into the net.
The injured Gao Nuo had the system, and people only thought he missed two games, but they didn't know that during his days of rest, Gao Nuo played 16 Challenge Road matches. Although the intensity of the matches was quite ordinary, it gave Gao Nuo excellent match fitness. Just when everyone else was relaxing, Gao Nuo, relying on his experience, positioned himself where he was most likely to score.
Thus, the 'Poacher King' once again flooded the live broadcast's bullet comments.
Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea, taking the lead once more.
In the 43rd minute, Manchester United earned a corner on the left. Bruno Fernandes curled the ball towards the near post. Gao Nuo was entangled with two defenders, and Varane surged past him, heading the ball into the net. Kepa could not react and sat dejectedly in front of the goal.
The first half ended without giving Chelsea a chance to equalize. Manchester United extended their lead, taking a 3-1 score into halftime.