Chapter 253 He can’t fly an aircraft carrier

February 20th, still Manchester, but at the Etihad Stadium.

In a focus match in the top 16 of the Champions League, the upstart Manchester City of the Premier League encountered the upstart Hamburg of the Champions League.

This game attracted 55,000 fans into the Etihad, and the venue was packed with people.

"Manchester City are in good form, so I still think they will beat Hamburg easily at home."

In the media box of Sky Sports, Gary Neville said, but his face didn't look very good.

Carragher, who was sitting next to him, joked: "You think Manchester City are in good condition because of their performance in the Manchester Derby? I asked, is there such a possibility that it is because Manchester United is so bad this season?"

"Shut up!" Neville rolled his eyes, "At least these two teams in Manchester have entered the last 16 of the Champions League. What about Liverpool? Can you get me a ticket for their Champions League this season?"

Neville and Carragher played for rivals Manchester United and Liverpool respectively during their playing days, and they could be considered tit-for-tat on the pitch.

After retiring, they became a couple who fell in love with each other, and their bickering on the TV station was a repertoire that fans loved to see.

Therefore, Carragher did not feel dissatisfied. He smiled and said: "You can be arrogant, but you can't be arrogant for too long. By next season, I will be the one who says this."

Carragher certainly has the confidence to say this.

In this season's Premier League, Liverpool is still competing for the title, and it seems that they also have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League.

Manchester United, on the other hand, has a huge points gap from the top of the list. Let alone the championship and the top four, even the qualification for the Europa League is not within grasp.

"Let's watch today's game first." Neville changed the topic intentionally or unintentionally, "Judging from the Manchester City Derby, Pellegrini's transformation of this Manchester City team is still very successful. Their frontcourt

The offensive combination is very flexible, and I doubt whether Hamburg can adapt to this style of play."

Carragher said: "But we have also watched the Hamburg game, and the same is true for Pan Yi's team, and I feel that the changes in the frontcourt are even worse. So I don't agree with your statement."

Neville defended: "I still have the same point of view as before. The reason why Hamburg can play such a smooth cooperation is because it did not encounter the tough defense of the Premier League team. You also saw the Manchester City derby a few days ago, that kind of offense and defense

Is the conversion speed comparable to that of Braunschweig?"

"...You should at least compare it to Leverkusen or Dortmund?" Carragher was speechless.

"That's the same. They are all teams that focus on offense but not defense." Neville waved his hand, "This Manchester City, when it switches from offense to defense, will use extremely aggressive counterattacks to prevent the opponent from counterattacking.

It will be difficult for Hamburg to put together an effective attack."

Carragher put forward a different view: "But this also means that when Manchester City is in possession of the ball, the double midfielders need to move in front of the top of the opponent's penalty area, and there is no guarantee that the structural level of each attack can provide sufficient protection.

In this case, a large gap will be easily exposed between the forward line and the back line, which may be exploited by Hamburg's extremely fast forwards."

"I doubt that players who are accustomed to the rhythm of the Bundesliga can find such an opening." Neville snorted, "It's useless to say more, let's see how Manchester City gives Hamburg the intensity of the Premier League!"

…

In the visiting team's locker room, Pan Yi was giving final reminders to the players.

Judging from the Manchester City starting lineup previously obtained, Pellegrini should still use the 4411 formation when he easily won the Manchester City Derby, but made an adjustment in the defense.

He replaced Clichy with Kolarov, the more aggressive left back.

This also shows Pellegrini's attitude towards this game, which is to storm Hamburg at home to take advantage of the promotion.

"Manchester City will definitely attack in the opening game. We must be mentally prepared and cannot mess up no matter what."

"Their attackers in the frontcourt will frequently cross and change positions, but we use zone defense. Everyone is only responsible for marking the players entering the area and cannot follow them to run around and cause the formation to become scattered."

"Also, they will have more direct passes, and of course there will be crosses from the side. This requires us to keep the formation tight and not leave too much space."

Pan Yi also named Van Dijk, Rudiger and Casemiro: "In addition to keeping an eye on their center Dzeko, you must also focus on Aguero. Especially in the middle of the penalty area. If

He retreated very deep, follow carefully to avoid being sent away from the mountain!"

After all, this is the Etihad, the home ground of Manchester City, and they are in good shape and their morale is very high.

It would actually be a bit unwise to have a fierce hedging with Blue Moon at the beginning.

Although Hamburg has an advantage in physical fitness due to the rotation, this is not reflected in the opening stage.

Therefore, Pan Yi will seek a safe start, avoid Manchester City's sharp attack, and then find a way to counterattack.

"No matter how aggressive they are in the opening game, we should not panic. And no matter what happens, any accident, or even if they score first, we should not be anxious or chaotic."

"They don't have a winter break in the Premier League, and they also have a League Cup. During this period, they played more than four or five more games than us. Just a few days ago, their main players played a fierce Manchester City derby.

There must be some physical issues."

"And their players are generally older than us. They can't run without us! As long as we hold on to our position, the next opportunity will be ours! The winner between us and Manchester City will appear in the second half!"

"This is Hamburg's first Champions League knockout match in so many years, and it is also the first Champions League knockout match in the careers of many of you here. In fact, it is also the first since I became the head coach!"

"The first time is always difficult. Sometimes you may not be able to find the direction of your efforts or the entrance to move forward."

"But I also ask you to believe that as long as you relax and play to your own level, I will definitely lead you to a good result from the Etihad!"

"Then just like I promised you before, we will reach the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, and even the final! The Stadium of Light is waiting for us!"

After hearing this, the players were excited and agreed in unison!

…

With the cheers of more than 50,000 fans at the Etihad Stadium, the referee officially blew the whistle to start the game.

Sure enough, as Pan Yi expected, Manchester City attacked aggressively from the beginning.

In addition to the front four who are still actively running and attacking, Manchester City's two full-backs are also pressing forward.

Especially Kolarov on the left, his cooperation with David Silva frequently launched attacks towards Hamburg's wing.

The Serbian left back is 1.87 meters tall, but Kolarov's flexibility is not bad. Instead, he is famous for his wide range of running and high agility.

When playing in the frontcourt, he often used his signature powerful shot after breaking through the left rib to threaten Hamburg's goal.

When Kolarov assists forward, Fernandinho or Yaya Toure behind him will fill the gap in time, leaving him without worries.

This style of play is actually very modern football, and it is somewhat similar to Pan Yi's Hamburg.

The main idea is to create a numerical advantage in a local area through players' active movement and interspersed coverage.

And Manchester City's players also performed very well.

So after the opening, amidst the cheers and cheers of the home fans, Manchester City really made Hamburg a little embarrassed.

Hamburg's backcourt combination has certain difficulties. Whether it is delivering cannonballs to the front or to the side, it is always not so smooth.

Therefore, the Hamburg players followed Pan Yi's instructions before the game and did not rush to launch an attack. Instead, they pulled back the defense line a little and retracted the encounter line to better deal with Manchester City's stormy attack.

In this way, Manchester City pressed even higher.

Even Fernandinho and Yaya Toure began to press forward and suppress Hamburg's defense more actively.

They also created some shooting opportunities.

In the 5th minute, Kolarov made a pass from the left, and Dzeko in the middle shook his head, but it went over the crossbar.

In the 8th minute, Jesus Navas broke through from the right and passed a cross. Aguero grabbed the opportunity and shot with his right foot, but the ball hit the side net.

In the 12th minute, Manchester City launched another offensive on the left wing.

After a one-two with David Silva, Kolarov moved forward at high speed to get the ball, wanted to rush to the baseline and then cross.

Carvajal's defense was in place and prevented the opponent's attempt.

And Kolarov didn't always have to pass the ball. He glanced at the center, then dunked the ball away from the angle and sent the ball over.

At this time, Dzeko, who was in the middle, had retreated to the top of the penalty area. This action also allowed him to avoid Van Dijk's defense and gave Kolarov a passing route.

The ball also reached Dzeko's feet smoothly.

He stopped the ball, adjusted it a little, then bent his bow and nocked an arrow, ready to shoot!

At this time, Rudiger, who came to defend, saw that the situation was not good, and directly made a flying tackle, preparing to block Dzeko's shooting angle.

But Dzeko did not shoot, but feinted a shot, preparing to switch the ball to the other foot to shoot.

However, Rudiger couldn't hold back his foot and shoved directly into Dzeko's supporting foot, knocking him to the ground.

"Beep!——"

The referee's whistle sounded immediately, then signaled a free kick and gave Rudiger a yellow card.

"Line up the human wall! Line up the human wall!" Pan Yi on the sidelines frowned, stood up and shouted.

This Dzeko is really difficult to deal with. Even though he had warned Van Dijk and Rudiger a lot, he still took advantage of him.

The free kick was also in a good position, which gave Pan Yi a bad feeling.

At this time, David Silva and Kolarov were already standing in front of the ball.

The two discussed for a few words, and then both backed away.

David Silva took a run-up, but ran straight past without touching the ball.

Kolarov took another approach, this time he raised his foot and shot!

The ball drew a beautiful arc, bypassed Hamburg's wall, and penetrated into Hamburg's goal from the near corner.

Faced with such a high-quality free kick, Hamburg goalkeeper Keylor Navas had no choice but to make any move.
To be continued...