After two days of rest and the team regrouping, the fifth round of the FA Cup will begin soon.
Manchester City faces Brighton at home.
This time, Gao Shen did not use all the main players, but played against Brighton with a rotation and substitute lineup.
At the Etihad Stadium, they took a 3-0 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Kompany, Yaya Toure and Henderson.
Then Giroud, Sturridge, Jerome Boateng and Robinho also scored.
In the end, Manchester City beat Brighton 7-0 at home.
This also caused the entire British media to praise Gao Shen's adjustment, because he gave the team two days of vacation before.
Now it seems that after two days of rest, Manchester City regrouped and quickly showed amazing fighting power, and the team's condition has also been obviously restored and improved.
Gao Shen also mentioned this to the players during the recovery training the next morning.
The 7-0 victory is certainly something to be happy about, but the team's next challenge is still very big and there is no room for caution.
The FA Cup is a single knockout round. The league has not locked in the final championship yet, and the key is the Champions League.
Manchester City's first away game in the Champions League is to St. Petersburg, Russia, against Zenit St. Petersburg. However, the temperature in St. Petersburg at this moment is more than ten degrees below zero, which will be a big challenge for Manchester City.
According to Gao Shen's wishes, he decided to seek stability in the away game, try to maintain a draw, and then return to the home court to try again.
This is a bit risky, but there is no way around it.
St. Petersburg is in the Nordic region, and the temperature is so low. Manchester City has traveled a long distance to travel. If they try their best, the risk will be too high. Not only will the players be easily injured, but the benefits will not be worthwhile.
Instead of doing this, it is better to save some effort.
…
Three days later, Manchester City went on an expedition to St. Petersburg, Russia with a broken formation.
Facing Zenit, which was depleted of its main players, Gao Shen rarely used a 4-4-2 lineup with two midfielders and two forwards.
Let Giroud and Suarez partner, the midfielder is a combination of Xavi Martinez and Rakitic, Gareth Bale is on the left, Robben is hidden on the right, and De Bruyne starts
.
This is also the first time that a Belgian teenager has played the leading role in a Champions League knockout round.
Facts have proved that Gao Shen's choice still makes sense.
On the night of the game, the temperature in St. Petersburg dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius. Manchester City's players were very uncomfortable. Javi Martinez had a fever on the morning of the game, so Gao Shen had to replace Fernandinho.
During the game, the field was extremely slippery, which made it very difficult for Manchester City to pass and control the ball. Coupled with the cold weather, the Manchester City players could not let go.
But in the 20th minute of the first half, Giroud's header gave Zabaleta a chance in the penalty area, opening the scoring for Manchester City and scoring a goal.
But just seven minutes later, Zenit midfielder Roman Shirokov used a long shot to penetrate Manchester City's goal and equalize the score.
The first half was a one-on-one draw, but after the start of the second half, Zenit continued to exert force.
Manchester City was once forced into the embarrassing situation of having to retreat to the thirty-meter area.
Suarez even asked to come off the field in the 63rd minute because he sprained his foot.
After the game, the Uruguayan forward shook his head and said that the conditions in this away game were too bad.
After Sturridge came on the field, he made several counterattacks, but failed to pose a threat.
Overall, Manchester City is at a disadvantage and is somewhat embarrassed by Zenit.
But one to one, the two sides shook hands and made peace.
…
At the post-match press conference, Gao Shen admitted that his team encountered difficulties on the road and did not perform well.
"The temperature has obviously warmed up these days in Manchester, and it has even reached more than ten degrees during the day."
Gao Shen bluntly said that he and his players are seriously uncomfortable here, because the temperature in St. Petersburg during the day is minus 8 degrees Celsius, and at night it is minus 15 degrees Celsius, which is really very life-threatening.
Gao Shen is satisfied with the team's performance in the away game and is very confident at the same time.
"We will return to our home court and give our best performance!"
Until then, it will be Zenit St. Petersburg who is in trouble.
From the ice and snow of more than ten degrees below zero to Manchester's temperature of about ten degrees, it was enough for them.
But Zenit's head coach didn't think so and even accused Gao Shen of making excuses.
"Yes, he often does this and always finds reasonable reasons for his team."
The head coach of Zenit St. Petersburg is Gao Shen's old friend, Spalletti.
The bald Italian striker said his team performed better at home and nearly scored against Manchester City again on several occasions.
"I think in the past two or three seasons, no team has been able to put Manchester City into such a dilemma, right?"
Spalletti is very proud of his team's performance.
Regarding the away game in the south, he also admitted that there would indeed be some difficulties, but they were not insurmountable.
"We will arrive at the away game three days in advance." Spalletti said proudly.
Maybe, everyone will wonder, why?
The answer is actually very simple, because during this period, there were no games in the Russian Super League.
It seems to have something to do with the competition system of the Russian Super League.
In the past, the schedule of the Russian Super League was very special. It was the same as the competition system of many Nordic teams, which was played from March to November every year.
This is mainly to avoid the coldest months of the year.
Everyone knows how cold the winter in Northern Europe is.
However, starting from this year, the Russian Super League will reform its competition system, abandoning the original special competition system, fully aligning with the mainstream European leagues, and adopting a New Year's Eve competition system, that is, from July to May of the following year, with a break of about three months in between.
War period.
Then the problem arises. From the original special competition system to the New Year's Eve competition system, there will be a half-year window period, so in the first half of 2012, there will be no games in the Russian Super League.
If Zenit wants, they can even fly south to Manchester on the same flight as Manchester City after the first leg to prepare for the game. This will not cause any problem of adapting to the climate.
Regarding this, Gao Shen really cannot envy him.
All we can do is let Spalletti fuss.
…
After returning to Manchester from St. Petersburg, Manchester City did not have time to rest and recuperate. After a little preparation, they went directly south to London.
While other teams are preparing for the twenty-sixth round of the Premier League, Manchester City is going to play the League Cup final against Leeds United at Wembley Stadium in London.
The game received worldwide attention.
Leeds United is a dark horse in this season's League Cup and the leader of the English Championship this season. The head coach Sarri is Gao Shen's assistant coach, and the club president is Gao Shen's wife Su Qing. This makes the two teams
The duel between them is full of stunts.
Before Leeds United left for the south, Sarri was interviewed by media reporters at the Thorpe Arch training base and publicly stated that he would never be merciful when facing Manchester City.
"We will stick to our own tactics."
"The game against Manchester City is a game of special significance to me and Leeds United."
"We will not think about other relationships, we will only focus on this duel on the football field."
Regarding the relationship between Leeds United and Manchester City coach Gao Shen, Sarri said he didn't have much to say.
"I just want to say that this relationship will only make our two teams play harder and fight harder and harder."
Sarri explained his positioning for this game, which is learning.
"To be honest, being able to reach the League Cup final is already a big surprise. I am proud of the players of Leeds United, but at the same time, I am also very aware that we have nothing to do with Manchester City.
There is a huge disparity in strength between them.”
Sarri said that in the face of such a huge gap, no matter what tactics Leeds United used, they would be ineffective.
"But we will not despair because of this. This is not our style. As the documentary said, we devote all our energy to every game and treat it at the highest level. We will face Manchester City.
Showing our style of football without fear."
Sarri doesn't think his style is exactly the same as Gao Shen, he thinks there is still something of his own in it.
"Director Gao often said that I am more stubborn than him. I think this is a compliment to me. Everyone has something they want to stick to, and that is my characteristic."
Sarri has repeatedly stressed that Leeds United are ready.
"No matter what the final score is, we will stick to it and fight against Manchester City!" Sarri said firmly.
Club CEO Fernando Lucas also expressed support for Sarri's decision in an interview with the media.
"He is the team's head coach and we trust his professional judgment."
Technical director Borrell also revealed that he had communicated with Sarri about the League Cup final. "He is confident that he can cause trouble for Manchester City in the game, and we are also looking forward to seeing this young team do this."
.”
But one thing is beyond doubt, that is Leeds United will go all out.
What about Manchester City?
When Gao Shen was being interviewed by the media at Carrington, he read out the 18-man roster for Manchester City's trip south. Everyone noticed that all the names that should appear appeared.
Gao Shen said that those who are worried that Manchester City will hold back and let go can save their energy.
"I said that Manchester City has only one goal this season, and that is to win the quadruple crown. Any opponent who stands in front of us will only get one result, and that is losing!"
Gao Shen spoke highly of Sarri's coaching at Leeds United and thought it was a very good start. He firmly believed that Sarri could succeed, but for the League Cup final...
"I think it's a little early for him to win the championship!" Gao Shen said jokingly.
Some media jokingly asked Gao Shen whether Manchester City's match against Leeds United would cause him to feel stressed when facing his wife.
Gao Shen smiled and said, no.
"She told me that the outcome on the court needs to be decided by the strength of the two teams. She can accept whoever wins or loses."
As for the Leeds United player who is most likely to threaten Manchester City, Gao Shen did not name the player specifically.
"all!"
"This is an attacking team, we have to be cautious!"
