Manchester City's "Curry" connection sends Juventus a good night's sleep.

In the group stage of the Club World Cup, the match I was most looking forward to was the one between Juventus and Manchester City. 

On one hand, both teams had already qualified for the next round. But who would win and secure the top spot in the group? It's highly likely that they would advance to the 16th round without having to face Real Madrid. Therefore, even with this rotation, there is still enough motivation to ensure a solid performance, and the game is bound to be very open. 

On the other hand, the two teams have already met in the Champions League stage before, but their player conditions have undergone significant changes. Manchester City has been making significant reinforcements in both transfer windows, while Juventus has even changed its coach and its entire formation and playing style. 

When the two are combined, they are simply the perfect embodiment of the theory of permutations and combinations for conducting experiments.So, we saw that Guardiola this time selected Ati Nurii and Reindest for the new signings. The center-forward position was replaced by Marumush from the off-season window, who replaced Harald. Beyond the lightweight and quick attack line, the left side finally formed the "Curry" combination of Duku and Nurii after much anticipation. 

Then, as expected, the three points were easily scored. The two players had been constantly competing with each other over the number of points from the very beginning. B Shi's header that was received from a pass had already forced Di Ge to make a miraculous save. When Curry made the connection and the passes actually formed a straight line - a direct pass to the ribs, with a stop and a dribble - Dukuo quickly scored the first goal. 

At this point, the game had only been going on for 9 minutes. Manchester City had fully demonstrated how, after the major lineup changes, their transition and attack had transformed from the elegance of calligraphy and painting to the might of axes, hooks, and spears. And Todor's Juventus, in their disarray, revealed a hint of the familiar "stability". 

In terms of high emotional intelligence, this Juventus team maintained the key defenders from the previous two matches while also attempting a full set of Plan B strategies for the forwards. 

From a low-emotional perspective, it would be three defenders: Kelly, Savona, and Kalulu. Or perhaps Savona stays back while the others play forward. Which major club in the top leagues could not break through this defense line? The trio of Fla, Kup, and Gonzi, with a "Why are you playing in the middle again?" McKenzie behind them, and a "Why did you come back again?" Kosic by their side. It's like having double insurance for the security guards, and the offensive fluidity could defeat 3% of the computers in the country. 

Fortunately, there was still the rocket sent by our dear Edson. The Brazilian goalkeeper made three passing mistakes in the first 10 minutes of the game. First, he allowed Juventus to launch a long-range counterattack from the right side. Then, Flahovikov made a classic random and haphazard shot in the penalty area. Then, his long-range gift failed, and he simply opened the door to welcome the opponent, making Kupmemanas recall that he was a "rear attacker" who scored goals from the sidelines" after a year. 

The score was equalized to 1-1 in just 11 minutes, and theoretically both teams were back on the same starting line. 

Why do I say it theoretically? Because it's completely different in reality. 

Manchester City fully utilized the speed and flexibility of their midfield and forward line, transforming the slow-paced passing and control style from half a year ago into a continuous and rapid passing and cutting action. Pelle (Fabinho) is now physically and speed-wise unable to keep up, so he was simply placed further back than Rodri, concentrating on helping to organize the play. Marumeishu, as a pseudo-nine who acts as a deep back-up, teamed up with Reinderts for forward runs, and various short passes were coordinated in the left half of the field. The ball was then smoothly passed to Duku for one-on-one play. 

Who's that over there? Kalulu.Since both B席 and Malumsh from Manchester City have moved back, and Todorov is not a conservative coach, the overall defensive formation of Juventus can easily be pushed higher to attack. However, for the first layer of defense, you can't rely on the uniform pressure from Fla and Kup. For the second layer, McKennie repeatedly rushes to the penalty area to help the two leaders share the running, but the lone Luccatelli left behind can't intercept many balls. At the third layer, A-Costa can keep up with Nurii, but that leaves only Kalululu alone to face Dukou. 

You can gradually observe Kalulu's mental state throughout the first half of the game from his eyes. From "My legs haven't been any worse" to "Don't come over here", and then to "How could I have to fight alone like this?" 

Ultimately, there was an absolutely colossal mistake, a blunder within a blunder. The simple interception in an unforced situation turned into what Frama saw in his dream - himself attempting to win the ball at the point. 

This is pretty much the tone and essence of the first half, and even of the entire game. 

Juventus tried to play high defense, but they simply couldn't take possession of the ball from Manchester City's fast-paced passing. When they were pushed back to the lower position, they could manage to defend for many rounds, but the players like Savona and Kelly in the backfield couldn't make that kind of ball distribution. A real high-pressure counterattack from Manchester City could lead to a second attack. 

Straight through passes for counterattacks? Only those who have completely ignored Serie A would expect any such things as Kosicic's speed or Vlahovic's ability to control the ball with his back to the opponent.If Juventus's rotation is yet another demonstration of why some players gradually become substitutes, then Manchester City's rotation is more like a showcase of various weapons in their arsenal. 

In the second half, they effortlessly introduced two new changes. 

Firstly, they deliberately shifted the offensive focus from the left flank to the right flank. Nunez became more active and frequently received the ball, constantly providing more resources to Saviniho, allowing him to get into form and practice coordination. 

Secondly, Harland replaced Malmush. Without the wide-ranging movement and offside positioning of the pseudo-nine player, a big center forward was added. At the same time, the backfield adopted a long-passing strategy, allowing him to act as a pivot to support the offense directly. 

Soon, Nunes cut inside and got past the defenders. Harald scored from the rebound. You think this goal was more like a mistake in handling the ball? That's not important. Just say whether it went in or not. 

If you look back at the Juventus defense in that goal-scoring incident, you will see that the problem in the first half was extremely serious. 

For instance, it was because the formation was forced to shift that the defenders who were supposed to make the backtracking from the flanks were not Kelly (the central defender) nor McKenzie (the left midfielder), but Kupmemanas (who actually made the same kind of backtracking). Another example is that this rotation system was progressively intensified, and in the end, it always came down to the last person in the defense having to face off against the opponent. In the first half, it was Kalulu vs. Doku, and in the second half, it was the defensive center-back vs. Haraldsen. 

The good news is that Savona managed to keep out several goals from Harland even after conceding that one. The bad news is that he paid the price of injury, and the blame was then shifted to Gatti.Apart from the passive substitution, Tudor also made three proactive adjustments, two of which had good results. One was the appearance of Kevrion-Turam, which ensured that at least one player could forcefully hold onto the ball during the transition offense and then turn around. The other was Ilidis, the only offensive initiator in the current lineup who could hold onto the ball and make changes in his moves. 

As for those who didn't perform well, it was Cambiaso who came on as the right wing defender. The reason I can think of for him replacing A-Costa rather than Kosic is probably something like, "Since Manchester City has already bought the left back and is just lacking a genuine right back, the Cambiaso you visited half a year ago can also play on the right side, right?" 

Although, it was precisely his failed attempt to commit an offside that led to his raising his hand, resulting in the fourth goal of this game. Compared to the sense of purpose and desire to score shown by Foden and Salvio in their goals, it can be said that this performance by the seller was clearly not successful. 

The remaining matches are really not worth discussing. 

Di Gregorio was on his toes for the entire game and conceded five goals. In the end, the last one was supposed to be a close-range save, but it was met by Savino's long-range goal. Well, to put it simply, five different players scored goals including a teammate. Wang Duoyu had to sincerely say, "Brother, you've worked so hard!" 

Towards the end of the game, Juventus finally scored a goal to equalize the score. 

It was Erdiž who took the ball on the left flank, made a deep run, and then saw a diagonal direct pass. Flahovij successfully made the break, and in that moment when receiving the pass, that step with his body, and that shot with his outside foot, there was a hint of the style of the Rossoneri striker. 

Thus, the race for the top spot in Group G of the Club World Cup came to an end with a 2-5 score. Manchester City's "Courtois connection" was flawlessly executed, and they successfully advanced to the first half of the knockout stage. Juventus bid farewell to Orlando, moved to Miami for the 16th round, and triumphed over Real Madrid.However, every Juventus fan who has watched this season (including those from previous years) had sufficient expectations in their minds. This game involved a significant lineup change. Winning the Club World Cup is worth striving for, even if it means taking one more step. Let's consider it as a way to eliminate wrong options for the next season. 

There are quite a few wrong answers? That's not important. You need to think about it from a different perspective. 

The angle I recommend is: Fla and Kup managed to score despite playing like that, and this was against a completely transformed Manchester City! What if things start to improve from now on? 

Let's encourage each other.