Chapter 999 Battle of the Focus
Chapter 999 Battle of the Focus
After returning from Lyon, Manchester City will usher in what may be their most critical game in the league.
away to Chelsea.
It's a matchup between League One and League Two.
Because of the last round of the league, Manchester City shook hands with Liverpool at home and the score was 0:0.At the same time, Chelsea beat Wolves 2-0 in the away game, so the point gap between the two teams narrowed to one point.
In such cases, this direct dialogue is very important.
If Chelsea can beat Manchester City at home, they will overtake Manchester City by two points and take the top spot in the league standings.
And if Manchester City beat Chelsea away, they will reopen the point gap with Chelsea.
So this is a game about six points.
With ten rounds remaining in the league, a four-point lead over Chelsea will undoubtedly give Manchester City the upper hand in the competition for the league title.
This game is so important, both sides of the game attach great importance to it.
Although next week is Chelsea's Champions League knockout match, Ancelotti has no idea of maintaining his strength in this league.Judging from the starting list and squad announced by Chelsea before the game, Chelsea played their best and sent all the strongest players they could send.
You must know that in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League next week, Chelsea will challenge Inter Milan away.
It was also a tough game.
Inter Milan led by Mourinho faced their old club again, and there are many stories to tell.
Manchester City is relatively relaxed. They have already played the Champions League and won the game relatively easily. After the glorious goal, Lyon did not cause much trouble for Manchester City.
In this game, Benitez was making substitutions from the 10th and [-]th minute, using up all three substitutions, allowing the main players to get more rest time.He has been preparing for this league since then.
The good news for Manchester City is that their central midfielder, Sneijder, returned from injury before this game.
You must know that in the Champions League knockout match against Lyon just three days ago, Sneijder didn't even make the squad.
And coming back before the game against Chelsea made many Manchester City fans heave a sigh of relief.
Manchester City has glory on the front line and Sneijder in the midfield. The tacit cooperation between the two is also an important reason for Manchester City's outstanding performance this season.
Sneijder controls Manchester City's offensive rhythm and direction, while Rong Guang is an excellent finisher and can also provide nanny assists to his teammates.
The two of them are the key to the smooth operation of Manchester City's offense.
Sneijder's comeback gave Manchester City more confidence to challenge Chelsea away.
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"There are two blue teams performing very well this season. One is Manchester City. They have continued their excellent form in the second half of last season. They have only lost one game so far and rank first. The other is Chelsea, which just changed coaches in the summer. Under Ancelotti's leadership, Chelsea has become Manchester City's biggest enemy in the league. Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal have not performed well this season. Just when everyone thought Manchester City would be the best, Chelsea stood up and made this season's league championship still worth watching..."
Before the start of the game, the commentator John Mortensen, who was already in place, was chatting with Alan Hansen about this high-profile duel between the two heroes.
"Yes, many people hope that Chelsea can play the role of blocking Manchester City, because now only Chelsea have the chance. It's not that we don't want Manchester City to win the championship. If Manchester City must win the championship, then we hope that the process will be more tortuous... Why is the Premier League the best league in the world? It's because of our fierce competition!"
Alan Hansen said.
Manchester City fans in front of the TV were yelling at the two men.
They don't want the tortuous process of winning the championship, and it is best to lock the league championship a few rounds in advance.As Manchester City fans, they have waited too long for this league title.
The last time Manchester City won the top league championship in England dates back to 42, 1968 years ago, and that was the only two top league championships in their history.Taking that league championship as a milestone, Manchester City subsequently created the most glorious period in the club's history,
They won the FA Cup in the second year of winning the league.Another year later, Manchester City won the European Cup Winners' Cup and the League Cup in one season.
This is also the most glorious past of Manchester City since its establishment.
But now, under the leadership of Rong Guang, Sneijder, David Silva, Berbatov, Benitez and others, Manchester City fans have reason to look forward to greater glory.
So now they hear that someone wants their championship-winning manager to be more twisted, and they want to curse.
Isn't our championship experience not tortuous enough?
Wasn't the 42-year wait not twisty enough?
Wasn't ten league changes between 1983 and 2002 twisty enough?
Now, we don't want any twists and turns!All we want is a champion!
However, John Mortensen and Alan Hansen were somewhat wronged by being scolded, because the views they expressed were only the views that are generally popular in the media now.
That is to hope that the league champion will not be decided so early, otherwise it will be too boring.
As neutrals, they naturally hope to see a good show where the champion is decided in the last minute of stoppage time in the last round of the league.
But as Manchester City fans, this is a huge torture to their hearts.
If there is a choice, I am afraid that no one will choose such an experience.But they can't choose, so they can only say the last sentence with lingering fear after this kind of thing happened: "This is football..."
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The first climax of the game came when the players from both sides played, and the Chelsea players who played at home got cheers like a tsunami.
Chelsea fans didn't boo City players, but it was all the same.Such cheers will also put pressure on Manchester City's players.
Players from both sides came out, lined up, and shook hands with each other.
When Ballack held Rong Guang's hand, he said to Rong Guang: "I won't give you the league championship."
Rong Guang smiled: "But we are number one now, and you are the runner-up."
Barack rolled his eyes.
Rong Guang is right to say that, they are now in second place, so there is no question of giving in.Only when you get what you have in your hands can you have the right to choose whether to give it up or not.
"See you in the game!" Ballack patted Rong Guang.
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After Rong Guang won the right to pick a side, the players from both sides quickly took their positions and the game was about to begin.
The televised camera gave a round of close-up shots of several key players from both sides.
Naturally, Rong Guang and Sneijder are on Manchester City's side.
Especially Sneijder, who has just returned from injury, his state is a question.
Some media even thought that Benitez was a little too hasty. Three days ago, Sneijder couldn't even make the squad, so he started this game.
So how is Sneijder's injury recovery? Is he really capable of playing well in such an important game?
Know that this game can be different from other games.Chelsea will definitely not give too much space and time to Manchester City players. They will also move more at home. The referee's scale of their actions must be different from that of away games.
As the core midfielder of Manchester City, Sneijder will inevitably receive the key care of Chelsea players in the game.
Whether Sneijder, who has just returned from injury, will have a shadow on the fierce physical confrontation will also affect his performance in this game.
There are also media that the return of Sneijder also shows that Benitez attaches great importance to this game and worries about Chelsea.
Facing a team that aspires to win the championship, it is still at their home court. Even a team like Manchester City feels tremendous pressure and threats!
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Amid deafening cheers and singing from the Chelsea fans, Drogba knocked the football out.The game officially begins!
After the start of the game, as everyone thought, Chelsea, who played at home, played very actively. They took advantage of the home game and took the lead in launching a fierce offensive against Manchester City's goal.
There was no temptation, no maneuvering, and Chelsea entered the game very quickly.
It can be seen that Ancelotti has really made very good preparations for this game.
In the face of Chelsea's fierce offensive, Liverpool chose a very safe and wise tactic in the away game. At the same time, this is also the style of play they are good at, that is, defensive counterattack.
Manchester City's formation looks like 4231. Matuidi and Gareth Barry are the "2" in the midfield, and Rong Guang, Sneijder and David Silva are "3".
And when he appeared in these places, everyone in the corresponding position had to give way to him.
At the same time, he has no defensive task yet, so he can let go in the game and play his terrifying attack power to the extreme.
This lineup includes Sneijder and David Silva in defense, and even Berbatov has to retreat to defend. When they retreat, the people at the top become glory.
However, with Rong Guang's super personal ability, he can cause trouble to the opponent's rear without support.
As long as Manchester City doesn't concede the ball behind, with Rongguang's ability, he will score sooner or later.
Manchester City's tactics are basically like this, relying on a tight team defense to ensure that no goals are conceded, and then relying on the cooperation of a few people in the frontcourt or one person's personal ability to score goals.
When any team plays against Manchester City, everyone knows that the key to victory is to score first and not let Manchester City lead.
The few games Manchester City drew and lost this season basically conceded the ball first.
So it makes sense for Chelsea to attack at the beginning of this game.
How long will it take for the forward line composed of Drogba and Anelka to break through Manchester City's defense line?
(End of this chapter)