Moyes was still in a daze as he stepped into the Etihad Stadium.
Ever since he saw Manchester City's starting lineup, a question had been bothering him—why had Gao Shen set up his team this way?
As he walked into the stadium, he spotted Gao Shen waiting at the entrance of the players' tunnel. He wore a calm smile, leaving Moyes with no doubt that he wasn't as troubled by his lineup as he had assumed.
On the contrary, Gao Shen looked confident.
What was going on?
Had Moyes misjudged the situation?
This was their first meeting on the touchline, but there was no camaraderie between them. After exchanging a few polite words, they each returned to their respective dugouts to prepare for the match.
As Moyes took a few steps away, he instinctively turned back to glance at Gao Shen's retreating figure, his mind filled with questions.
Especially when he reached his seat and observed Manchester City's formation, something felt off.
How could he describe this odd setup?
Normally, before kickoff, both teams would take their positions, giving a rough idea of each other's formations.
But Manchester City's arrangement tonight was unusual.
With Everton taking the kickoff, five Manchester City players stood in a semicircle near the center of their own half, while one positioned himself alone on the left side of the halfway line.
However, the right flank was completely vacant—the entire right half of the pitch seemed empty, making City's formation look asymmetrical.
The lineup itself was also strange.
Goalkeeper: Neuer.
Defense: Gareth Bale, David Luiz, Kompany, and Zabaleta.
This was the same defensive line that started in the first match of the season, with Gao Shen making just one change at full-back, signaling a desire for stability.
Midfield: David Silva, Henderson, and Rakitic.
Forwards: Hazard, Suarez, and Sturridge.
That was Moyes' initial assumption.
Based on City's performances in pre-season friendlies, Gao Shen had consistently deployed Hazard as a left winger.
But as soon as the game kicked off, it became clear that something was different.
Sturridge was stationed at the far-left touchline, Hazard near the left side of the center circle, and Suarez on the right side of the center circle.
Meanwhile, David Silva, Henderson, and Rakitic formed an arc near the center circle.
What kind of formation was this?
Everything seemed out of place.
Moyes frowned.
"What on earth is he trying to do?" Even Stephen Round, his assistant, was puzzled.
On the Everton bench, the entire coaching staff was confused. Clearly, no one had anticipated this tactical setup from Gao Shen.
But soon, as the match unfolded, things started to make sense.
…
The referee blew the whistle to start the game, and immediately, Sturridge—stationed on the left flank—sprinted forward at full speed, pressing deep into Everton's half and forcing their midfield and defense to shift the play out wide.
At that moment, Hazard and Suarez positioned themselves like attacking midfielders behind Sturridge.
Manchester City delivered the first dangerous ball into the box.
After dribbling inside from the left, Sturridge executed a one-two with Suarez, then laid the ball off to Hazard, who attempted to play it into the penalty area for Suarez. However, Everton center-back Yobo stepped in to block it, preventing the pass from reaching its target.
The first shot of the game, however, came from Everton—Tim Cahill unleashed a long-range effort, but it sailed harmlessly over the bar.
The match was being played at a breakneck pace, with neither side holding back.
City's superior passing and ball control were evident, but they were playing with more urgency than usual.
Moyes gradually began to see what was happening, this was not Gao Shen's usual 4-3-3 formation. Instead, Manchester City had switched to a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield.
"What the hell is he up to?" Moyes muttered to himself.
City was still a newly built squad, and finding a settled lineup was already a challenge. In their first match, they had convincingly beaten Blackburn using a 4-3-3. But now, in their home opener, Gao Shen had not only rotated his squad but also changed formations entirely.
Did he not realize how risky this was?
A 4-4-2 diamond midfield—this was the system Ancelotti used at Chelsea!
But Gao Shen's interpretation was completely different.
Typically, a diamond midfield has several defining characteristics. The attack is orchestrated by the number ten—the attacking midfielder—while two central midfielders help establish numerical superiority in advanced areas.
This system is built for central penetration, which explained why Gao Shen left both Robinho and Robben on the bench tonight.
At Chelsea, Ancelotti deployed the diamond to solve their ball progression issues while maximizing Drogba's strengths as a dominant target man.
But Gao Shen's approach was something else entirely.
First and foremost, he wasn't worried about progressing the ball.
With players like David Silva and Rakitic in midfield, along with Suarez, who was also comfortable carrying the ball forward, City had no problems advancing possession. Even Hazard, despite his young age, demonstrated exceptional dribbling technique multiple times already.
In this setup, City had no concerns about transitioning the ball upfield.
The real innovation lay in the front three—Sturridge, Suarez, and Hazard. Their positioning was highly fluid.
Moments ago, Sturridge had surged forward from the left to press Everton's backline, while Suarez and Hazard dropped deeper.
Then, as Suarez pushed forward, Hazard took over the number ten role.
But crucially, the three attackers kept interchanging positions.
More importantly, as soon as Everton gained possession, regardless of which three City players were closest, the nearest one would immediately apply pressure, sometimes even tracking back to chase the ball, while the other two would naturally take up the role of a front two.
The purpose of this was to counteract the pressing vulnerability of the 4-4-2 diamond formation in the final third.
However, there was another issue with this setup, having only a single defensive midfielder meant the flanks lacked sufficient protection.
This was precisely why Chelsea had conceded in both of their opening matches.
But Gao Shen had clearly anticipated that Everton lacked natural wide attackers. The most dangerous player was Pienaar, which was why he positioned Rakitic deeper, evidently aiming to contain him.
In other words, given Everton's current squad, they had no effective response to Manchester City's system.
That said, the advantages of this setup were obvious, especially in attack. Gao Shen boldly instructed both full-backs to push forward aggressively, particularly Gareth Bale, who was essentially playing as a wide midfielder, if not an outright winger.
From the very beginning, Bale was highly active, making frequent surges up the left flank.
On the touchline, Moyes was growing increasingly anxious.
Everton's players were struggling to adapt to City's tactical shift.
They hadn't expected Manchester City to abandon their 4-3-3 and switch to a 4-4-2 diamond.
The real concern was that City appeared to be adjusting seamlessly.
…
"Tactics are static. Formations are static. But players? Players are dynamic."
Gao Shen chuckled as he observed from the sidelines.
He was pleased with how the game was unfolding, as City gradually asserted their dominance over Everton.
"As long as the players understand their roles—what they need to do, why they need to do it, and how to execute it—then regardless of their position on the pitch, they can perform their duties without being constrained by a fixed formation."
Gao Shen had suspected that Moyes might set up defensively, but he was never the type to relinquish the initiative or gamble on low-probability scenarios. That's why he had prepared both set-piece strategies and a target-man approach with Giroud—contingencies for a prolonged siege.
But what he truly wanted was to dismantle Everton in open play.
Despite this being only the second round of the Premier League, squad rotation was still necessary.
Ancelotti's Chelsea rotated. Ferguson's Manchester United rotated. Even Wenger's Arsenal had made significant adjustments. Naturally, a powerhouse like Manchester City was no exception.
So, he opted for the 4-4-2 diamond.
After all, the 4-4-2 was still widely used in the Premier League.
Gao Shen was particularly eager to see how the front two of Sturridge and Suarez, with Hazard in the playmaker role and Bale marauding down the left, would perform.
This system heavily relied on attacking full-backs.
As for Hazard, he had originally played as an attacking midfielder at Lille before transitioning to a left-wing role after joining Chelsea in his previous life. This was merely a return to his natural position.
Just as Gao Shen was mulling over these thoughts, Manchester City won possession in their own half and quickly switched play to the left.
Before Bale even crossed the halfway line, he spotted an opportunity and struck a low diagonal pass with his left foot, threading the ball into the left inside channel of the attacking third, right to Hazard's feet.
The Belgian controlled it instantly. Without waiting for Fellaini to close him down, he quickly lofted a delicate pass toward the center of the final third.
Suarez and Sturridge both chased after it, but Phil Neville, playing as a makeshift center-back—reacted quickly, retreating to cut off the danger.
However, Sturridge was relentless, putting his full weight into pressing Neville.
Under pressure, Neville failed to clear the ball in time. He attempted to use his body to shield Sturridge, but the City forward wouldn't give up, tangling with him physically.
Panicked, Neville tried to hack the ball away but lost his balance and fell to the ground, failing to make proper contact.
The referee let play continue.
Sturridge hesitated for a split second, unable to react in time to the loose ball.
Instead, Suarez pounced.
The Uruguayan instinctively sprinted forward, arriving first and unleashing a vicious volley from the left edge of the penalty arc.
The strike was pure, the ball rocketing toward the right side of Everton's goal like a bullet.
Howard, positioned toward the left, reacted instantly and dived across, but he couldn't get close.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Eight minutes in—and it's Suarez again!"
"A stunning volley from the edge of the box! Manchester City take the lead! One-nil!"
The Etihad erupted.
Tens of thousands of City fans leaped from their seats, cheering wildly.
Suarez dashed toward the touchline, celebrating his third goal of the Premier League season.
In the technical area, Gao Shen calmly raised his right fist in acknowledgment, sending a distant salute to his star striker.
He knew one thing for certain, Manchester City's attacking storm had only just begun!
(To be continued.)
***
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