Guardiola finally couldn't sit still. At this moment, in this situation, he had to take the initiative to do something, but he had no idea what to do.
When the match reached the 20th minute, he finally made a decision and replaced the B-rated midfielder with Grealish. This decision might have been intended to catch the opponent off guard and disrupt their rhythm, as rationally speaking, such a substitution was entirely counterproductive.
But who could truly understand Guardiola's football philosophy? The fans could only speculate; no one could truly judge or evaluate.
When the match reached the 25th minute, Manchester City had an excellent opportunity. Grealish, who had just come on, threaded a brilliant pass into the center.
At this moment, there was no Haaland to receive the ball in the middle. Fortunately, Foden, not Sterling, had replaced Haaland. Foden quickly pushed up from the attacking midfield position, his high-speed run breaking the offside line, squeezing through between two defenders to get into a receiving position.
Just as everyone's attention was focused on the young genius Foden, he did something that completely surprised everyone.
With Cao Baiming closely pursuing him from behind, and other defenders interfering nearby, Foden's mind seemed to go completely blank for a moment. He stretched out his left foot but found he couldn't reach the ball properly to attempt a shot.
In such a desperate situation, Foden extended his left hand and used his elbow to successfully stop the ball. He didn't seem to intend to control the ball at all, directly using his elbow to smash it into the goal with a bang.
Goalkeeper Ramsdale couldn't react at all. At this moment, he was completely bewildered.
What was that strange move? What was Foden doing?
The fans on the sidelines looked on in confusion. Those around him also couldn't understand Foden's action, and he himself even laughed after making the decision.
Time was too tight. In that instant, his brain couldn't process. Since his foot couldn't reach, his instinct was to reach out and touch the ball. As a professional forward, this instinct was definitely aimed at scoring.
The fans and players might have viewed the incident emotionally, but the referee on the field walked over with a stern expression and blew his whistle without hesitation.
Handball!
And it was an attacking handball. The ball was rightfully awarded to Arsenal as a goal kick. Ramsdale received the ball thrown from the sideline by another assistant coach, and he kicked the ball on the field out of play.
"Scoring with your hand, seriously?"
Foden must have been completely overwhelmed! At this moment, even the usually quiet De Bruyne started cursing agitatedly.
Seizing this opportunity, Cao Baiming quietly moved forward and joined the attack in the subsequent period.
That's right, the front three, Cao Baiming, Messi, and Henry, were back!
Ödegaard dropped back to midfield, while Cao Baiming began to dictate the attacking tempo, focusing all his energy on offense.
He remembered very clearly that in the system's time bubble, he had tried many times, and each time the results were slightly different. However, as long as he allocated a little more energy to the attack, the final outcome would be better!
Although the time bubble was just a time loop and not a prediction of the future, if used properly, it could be treated as a simulation.
And these results clearly indicated one fact: in this match against Manchester City, it was better to participate in the attack as early as possible, the earlier the better, and the results would be better.
For several consecutive minutes, Cao Baiming began to pressure Manchester City's defense. They were no longer a match for Cao Baiming.
Let alone one-on-one defense, even three-on-one was futile, because Cao Baiming's dribbling skills were now masterful, making it hard for opponents to even realize how they had been outmaneuvered.
In the first half, he should score at least two goals! Cao Baiming's eyes flickered with full confidence. The reason was not only his belief in his own strength but also the fact that in the previous few matches in the time bubble, he had scored at least one goal, and often more than one.
Opportunities are created, and this time, Cao Baiming no longer passed the buck and chose to finish it himself.
He dribbled past defenders all the way into the box and finally scored with a clean, powerful shot!
The fans cheered and celebrated!
However, if one recalls carefully, a terrifying fact emerges: has Cao Baiming ever missed a shot inside the penalty area? The answer is no.
All his shots, whether penalties or shots on the run, whether opportunities he created himself or passes from teammates, once inside the penalty area, he has never missed!
It is not easy for anyone to maintain such a long period without mistakes, and scoring goals is not something one person can decide, considering there are also goalkeepers!
What is the point of the goalkeeper position?! Facing Cao Baiming, their success rate is zero? It doesn't matter who plays, isn't there anyone capable?
Cao Baiming remained calm after scoring, turning away calmly and not watching the ball go into the net. But his fans were already deeply captivated by this turn.
Now, it has been officially acknowledged that this unique celebration is Cao Baiming's signature move.
His signature turn has made countless female fans lose sleep at night, their dreams and idle thoughts filled with the image.
Everything is moving in a better direction, and Cao Baiming firmly believes this!
Time reached the 40th minute, and the first half was nearing its end.
Guardiola realized that his adjustments had been completely ineffective. He wanted to disrupt the opponent, but surprisingly, no one on the other side cared.
They were still playing as if it were a game, as if this match wasn't important.
But upon closer thought, it seemed that was indeed the case!