The Premier League has only finished the first round, and Liverpool will challenge Manchester City in the second round.
In the middle of this week, comments from Manchester United legend Scholes on Fleet Street became the focus.
Scholes said in an interview: "I think the test for Liverpool will be this season!
In Premier League history, only Manchester United has won three consecutive championships, but no teams have won four consecutive championships, because three years of success is a small cycle for a team. At the same time, due to the success of the previous two years, it will be more difficult to continue to succeed in the third year!
Liverpool is likely to have some unpredictable problems this season, which will lead to their ultimate failure to defend their title successfully!
Another factor is that other Premier League teams will be more clear in their targeted deployment of Liverpool!
Think about it, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, they have watched Liverpool win the championship trophy for two consecutive years. Will they continue to accept their fate and compete for a Champions League place?
Liverpool let Suarez and Sterling go, it was a mistake. This was the beginning of their arrogant start. The real top players were priceless. Real Madrid bought Jameel Rodriguez for 80 million, but his role or efficiency was compared to Ronaldo, which was just a little more expensive than him? Which one was cheaper?
And why is Real Madrid willing to spend so much money?
The reason is that there are almost no top stars who actually flow into the market!
Just like no matter how rich Manchester City is, they can't buy Messi, because it almost wants to subvert Barcelona's club image, and that is priceless."
Some people criticized Scholes for evading reporters when he was a player, but after retirement he turned into a big mouth.
In fact, in Situ Yunbing's view, this is actually a manifestation of Scholes' dedication.
When you are a player, for the club, for the team, and for yourself, it is necessary to be very low-key, that is, the player role model.
After retiring, he became a commentator and paid him to do this job. What do you want?
What he wants is how much he can say. Good or bad is a different matter. If he is still as taciturn as in the player era, who would have invited him?
Do you treat him as a mascot?
However, with these remarks, Situ Yunbing made a positive response before the weekend league arrived.
"I don't know where Scholes' basis comes from. He uses Manchester United as a case to make predictions. I don't know if he predicted Manchester United's ranking last season. It was Manchester United's worst ranking in the history of the Premier League. What does this mean?
Football can never be judged based on previous experience. Even if you say it right, it is just luck.
In fact, there will definitely be many problems that we have not expected, because no team will be smooth sailing and nothing will happen.
But this is exactly the purpose of each of our staff. When encountering problems and solving problems, they will never change their goals. Champions are never given to us by anyone. We need to overcome one difficulty after another and overcome one challenge after another, so that we can be qualified to become champions.
If Liverpool ultimately fails to defend the title successfully, it is definitely not a theory that three consecutive championships are the limit of the Premier League that restricts us!
Except for Manchester United, there is no second Premier League team that can win three consecutive championships, which is great. My goal is to lead Liverpool to become the second team that has won three consecutive championships, and even become the first team that can win four consecutive championships in the Premier League and five consecutive championships!”
The reporters in the audience nodded one after another. Situ Yunbing's remarks were already very polite to Scholes.
Regarding the upcoming game, Situ Yunbing said: "Manchester City is our champion in the championship. It will definitely be difficult to be a guest game, but we are ready. I always have strict requirements on the team since the beginning of the season. I hope that the team will be the first to break out of the starting line when the starting gun sounds and start to establish a leading advantage.
I can't be sure what kind of posture Manchester City will take at home. Maybe Pellegrini will make his team play relatively conservatively because we certainly don't want to lose at home."
Finally, the question about Sterling.
Situ Yunbing smiled and said, "I wish him good luck when he left, that's all. He is now a Manchester City player. Maybe he will cause trouble for Liverpool. After all, he is a player worth 55 million pounds. If he is worthless, Manchester City will not want him, right?"
Situ Yunbing did not provoke Manchester City before the game, nor did he launch a psychological warfare, while Pellegrini has always been a perfunctory attitude towards the media. He does not want to get too entangled with Fleet Street, as it will only cause trouble for the team.
This time is no exception.
On the afternoon of August 24, Liverpool came to the Etihad Stadium and staged a strong Premier League dialogue with Manchester City!
Manchester City always gives people the impression that it is a mercenary team. They have no flags or club symbols. The big reason is that the high-paying contracts that Manchester City made when introducing players are also easy to make people think that these players are working for high salaries to join Manchester City.
For example, Yaya Toure from Barcelona to Manchester City, and Aguero from Atletico Madrid to Manchester City, they were thought to have obviously better places at the time, but Manchester City used money to buy people's hearts.
A mercenary team does not seem to have much problem with players if they have no results, because when they first came here, they first wanted to earn high salaries rather than to achieve glory.
But this changed after Manchester City won the league title.
The club is more eager to prove themselves in the European arena. What Manchester City is pursuing the most is the trophy. They have brought the club from the mid-level Premier League level to the No. 1 group in just 5 years. For the behind-the-scenes consortium, honor can expand their influence in Europe and is also the most fundamental reason why they spend a lot of money.
Last season, Pellegrini led the team to the League Cup and Premier League runner-up.
This result has improved compared to Manchester City's performance in the previous season, with a championship, and the league ranking has improved.
It is enough to report to senior management. Whether we can go further this season depends on Manchester City's performance.
But Pellegrini himself knows that Manchester City has reached the critical point. It is not difficult to go from the third in the league to the second in the league, but it is beyond imagination to go from the second in the league to the championship!
Liverpool's strength is rare in life!
In the lively cheering atmosphere of Etihad, Situ Yunbing and Pellegrini shook hands before the game on the sidelines. Situ Yunbing said nothing, but Pellegrini smiled at him and said, "I don't know if my team can become a roadblock on Liverpool's defense in the new season!"
Situ Yunbing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.
He once said something to Pellegrini last season, implying that Manchester City is not qualified to block Liverpool's advance and is not even a single obstacle.
It seems that Pellegrini is still very ambitious.
Situ Yunbing smiled and disagreed.
Manchester City's strength is based on the team's overall hard strength, and the team's soft strength bonus is almost small. This is why, from the impression, many fans will think that Manchester City will definitely not be able to beat super teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Just because there is no advantage in the comparison lineup, Manchester City's soft power is still significantly different from that of the super team.
Liverpool is also a super team now. It cannot be said that Manchester City does not have the power to fight back, but if it really plays in two rounds of knockout rounds, the probability of Manchester City eliminating Liverpool may be very low!
Situ Yunbing didn't think anything. His team is sitting on the throne now, of course, will encounter many challengers. If other strong teams in the Premier League accept their fate and are willing to bow down, the Premier League will be very boring.
The starters of the two teams entered the court, and the Manchester City players looked more serious, and they may have very strong fighting spirit and fighting spirit for this confrontation!
"Good afternoon for everyone, everyone, welcome to watch the focus battle in the second round of the new Premier League. Last season's league runner-up Manchester City will play against last season's league champion Reds Liverpool!
Both teams have created a sensation in the transfer market this summer, and performed well after the start of the new season. In the opening game, Liverpool swept Southampton by five goals, and Manchester City beat Newcastle United two goals away!
Although the confrontation at Etihad Stadium today came early, I believe both teams have entered the form, and they are also very clear that the confrontation between the opponents in the championship is a six-point battle!
No mistakes are allowed!
Let's take a look at the starting lineup of the two teams.
Manchester City started at home with 4231.
Goalkeeper: Joe Hart.
Defenders: Sabaleta, Kompani, Demikelis, Krish.
Midfielders: Sterling, Fernando, Silva, Yaya Toure, Nasri.
Forward: Aguero.
Liverpool starts 433.
Goalkeeper: Ter Stegen.
Defenders: Azpilicueta, Van Dijk, Benatia, Robertson.
Midfielder: Eriksen, Kante, Casemiro.
Forwards: Gareth Bale, Lewandowski, Coutinho.
The current confrontation between the two teams should be a dialogue between the strongest teams in the Premier League. Let’s see what kind of sparks the two teams will create at the Etihad Stadium today!”
With the referee's whistle, Manchester City took the lead with the enthusiastic cheering of the fans of the court!
Situ Yunbing carefully observed Manchester City's playing style and team status today.
Manchester City's best performance last season were four players, Aguero, Yaya Toure, Dzeko and Silva.
In Situ Yunbing's opinion, three of the players are normal, but Yaya Toure is too outstanding, which brings defensive risks to the team.
So Manchester City failed to hit a new high in points in the end. Once Yaya Toure ignores the defense and devotes himself to the offense, this will make Manchester City's midfielder lack protection for the back line.
If Manchester City wants to truly go from a strong team to a top team, they must have strong people to do dirty work and tiring work. Liverpool has Kante and Casemiro, and Chelsea now has Matic.
In order to satisfy Yaya Toure's offensive desire, Manchester City specially introduced Fernando.
But this is a treatment of symptoms but not the root cause.
Therefore, the coach has actually been constrained by big-name stars in terms of technical and tactical settings, so it is no wonder that Guardiola abandoned Yaya Toure when he entered the Etihad Stadium two years later.
But if Yaya Toure can sacrifice himself to achieve the team now, then Manchester City will still be Liverpool's strongest championship rival!
Pellegrini wanted to be Situ Yunbing's opponent, and Situ Yunbing was curious whether he had sorted out his team's internal structure.
Chapter completed!