89,044 fans gathered at Wembley Stadium in northwest London.
The fans of Manchester City and Leeds United separated themselves and occupied the surrounding stands. It can be said that they are clearly divided and evenly matched.
This focus match, which has attracted worldwide attention, was officiated by the famous Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg.
From the moment the game whistle sounded, all those who were worried that there would be something fishy between the two sides were relieved.
Because Leeds United launched an almost crazy press against Manchester City from the beginning.
Both teams sent out their main players to play.
Gao Shen put up his iconic lineup of four, three, and three.
Goalkeeper: Neuer.
Defence: Felipe, David Luiz, Kompany and Lichtsteiner.
This is Manchester City's stable defense in the Champions League. It withstood the test of last season's Champions League and is also the team's main defense this season when there are no injuries.
Midfield: Javi Martinez deep, David Silva and Yaya Toure in the centre.
Rakitic caught a cold after returning from St. Petersburg. There is no problem at all in arranging Yaya Toure to replace Rakitic in this game, and Manchester City's overall strength will not decline at all.
Yaya Toure has proven himself as one of the world's top midfielders at Manchester City.
Forward: A combination of Hazard, Robin van Persie and Robben.
Gareth Bale and Suarez both played in St. Petersburg. Gao Shen did not arrange for them to start this time. This is understandable. The combination of Hazard, Van Persie and Robben has a strong offensive power.
Simply looking at overall strength, this trident is also one of the strongest combinations in Europe.
It is not difficult to see from this that Manchester City's bench is strong.
Leeds United also played with a four-three-three lineup.
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
Defense: Kurzawa, Koulibaly, Woodgate and Klein.
Midfield: Schneiderlin is deep, Pogba and Paulinho are in the centre.
Forwards: Adam Lallana, Benteke and Bolasie.
This is Leeds United's strongest lineup at present, and it is also Sarri's biggest strength.
Among them, Woodgate has just returned from injury.
As long as this glass man plays this season, Leeds United can remain unbeaten, and his performance is remarkable.
But unfortunately, he was often injured.
…
As soon as the game started, Leeds United took the initiative to apply pressure and successfully stole the ball from Manchester City in the middle line.
After Schneiderlin stole the ball, he quickly launched a counterattack and passed it to the left.
Kurzawa jumped in at high speed from the left and handed the ball to Adam Lallana. He was about to go straight to the bottom line along the sideline. After attracting Lichtsteiner's attention, Adam Lallana suddenly
The ball is passed crosswise.
Pogba stopped the ball and tried to get rid of Yaya Toure, and shot directly.
But the French midfielder's shot was blocked by Yaya Toure.
After David Silva stopped the ball, he quickly passed the ball forward to Hazard.
The Belgian dribbled the ball forward quickly, not very quickly, but very steadily. Schneiderlin chased him all the way, but couldn't find a chance to make a move.
After Hazard rushed into the 30-meter area of Leeds United, he was already leaning in the middle and passed diagonally to the space on the right rib.
Robben followed up to stop the ball, and at this moment he faced Koulibaly who had retreated to the penalty area line.
The Leeds United centre-back chose to attack and pounced directly on Robben.
But Robben is a brave man. In a one-on-one situation, he first made an emergency stop, then suddenly shook off Koulibaly. He cut in from the right rib with the ball, reached the top right side of the arc in the penalty area, and hit with his left foot.
A long, curved shot.
This shot was very sudden, but Leeds United goalkeeper Courtois was very focused. After moving quickly, he flew to save and lifted the ball over the crossbar with one hand.
When Courtois landed, the entire Wembley Stadium burst into thunderous applause.
"Leeds United goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois performed very bravely."
"This Belgian goalkeeper is from Manchester City, but he has never played a minute for Manchester City before. He was only loaned to the Belgian League. After being introduced by Leeds United, he performed very well in the Championship. He is the best performer in the Championship this season.
goalkeeper."
"There is news that Courtois has received the attention of Premier League teams including Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and other Premier League teams. His performance has always been very stable."
"In the save just now, we can see that Robben's arc was very beautiful, but Courtois's save was also very exciting."
"The game went on a fast track from the beginning, and neither team held back at all."
…
As a former teammate, Neuer is well aware of Courtois's strength.
When Leeds United goalkeeper saved Robben's shot in front of his own position and won applause from the crowd, Manchester City goalkeeper Neuer could not sit still.
In less than two minutes, Leeds United launched an attack on the left. Adam Lallana passed the ball to the center of the penalty area with his left foot. Benteke beat David Luiz and headed the ball into the far corner, and it was in the upper right corner.
Neuer flew sideways and fished the ball out, which also won applause from the audience.
The tit-for-tat battle organized by the two teams from the very beginning made the entire Wembley Stadium of nearly 90,000 fans excited to watch.
This is just the beginning.
As the game gradually unfolded, everyone was surprised to find that the two teams did not hold back at all, but continued the fast-paced attack after the opening, with a kick almost every one minute.
A shot can make all the fans in the stadium scream in fear.
Manchester City's strength undoubtedly had the advantage, and they quickly took control of the situation and controlled the ball.
But the presence of Courtois on the goal line prevented Manchester City's several threatening shots from scoring.
The Belgian goalkeeper was in his best form right from the start, eager to show off his strength in front of his old club, and Manchester City were quickly punished for their missed opportunities.
In the 13th minute, after Leeds United stole the ball in midfield, they quickly broke into the frontcourt.
Kurzawa passed the ball across the left to Adam Lallana in the ribs, who then passed it across to Pogba.
After Pogba passed the ball to Paulinho, he started quickly and ran laterally. After receiving the Brazilian's counterattack, he passed the ball into the penalty area to find Benteke, changed his direction and went straight into the penalty area.
But Benteke's counterattack failed to reach Pogba's feet smoothly, but was blocked by Xavi Martinez.
However, Klein, who came up from the right, received the ball near the wing and passed directly to Benteke, but the ball was pushed away by Kompany.
It still fell to the right, and Klein ran to the rib area to catch the ball.
As soon as the ball was stopped, he passed the ball across the ball before David Silva could rush forward.
Pogba stood on the right side of the top area of the arc, turned his back to the right, and without stopping the ball, he directly took the ball behind him.
As if the ball had eyes, it slipped behind Javi Martinez and appeared in the path of Paulinho. The Brazilian got the ball and walked into the penalty area, right between the two Manchester City central defenders.
, behind Javi Martinez, in the space between the three.
The next thing was simple. Paulinho shot from close range and penetrated Neuer's goal, opening the scoring for Leeds United.
This goal can be said to have ignited the entire Wembley Stadium.
Leeds United took the lead and scored, which most people did not expect.
Could it be said that Manchester City really wants to let Leeds United win the championship?
Soon, when everyone was still wondering, Manchester City used David Luiz's long shot to penetrate the Leeds United goal in the 17th minute and equalize the score for Manchester City.
In the 21st minute, Yaya Toure's goal reversed the score for Manchester City.
After scoring two goals in a row, Manchester City was like a wild horse running wild, and its offensive became more and more fierce.
But what surprised everyone was that even though Leeds United did not have an advantage in strength, they did not be conservative at all and instead started an offensive battle with Manchester City.
Both teams adopted high-position pressing tactics and let go of their hands and feet to attack, which made the game extremely exciting.
For a time, there was a lot of fighting on the scene. Whether it was the fans at the scene or the audience in front of the TV, they were all enjoying watching it. Andy Gray, the commentator of Sky TV, could not stop cheering for such a final.
But the defensive players on both sides, including the goalkeepers, performed very well.
There were many shots, but it was not until the 39th minute that Yaya Toure scored again with a long shot from the top of the arc.
Three minutes later, David Silva sent a pass. After Van Persie faked a move past Koulibaly, he shot from close range and penetrated Courtois' goal again.
Four to one!
Everyone feels that the overall situation has been decided.
In the entire first half, both sides kicked a total of 28 shots, which was simply a devil.
In the second half, Leeds United launched an attack from the very beginning.
Klein dribbled the ball at high speed from the right, earning Leeds a free kick.
After Adam Lallana sent out a penalty, he was cleared by Harvey Martinez, but after Pogba pushed the ball with his chest from the outside, he fired a curved ball and hit the lower end of the crossbar.
Entered the goal guarded by Neuer.
Two to four!
The young Leeds United launched an attack almost desperately, and the suffocating high-position press made everyone in the audience look a little stupid.
First, in the 49th minute, Adam Lallana sent a wonderful pass, but Benteke's shot from the left side of the penalty area hit the post, and three minutes later, another pass from Adam Lallana
, Benteke headed the ball from close range, this time directly into the left side of Manchester City's goal.
Three to four!
It seems that Manchester City's situation is a bit dangerous.
But in the 57th minute, Van Persie dribbled the ball into the left side of the penalty area and back-heeled. Hazard followed up and shot into the far corner, breaking Leeds United's goal, 5 to 3!
This goal also allowed Manchester City to once again suppress Leeds United's momentum.
After the White Rose, they launched successive counterattacks, but after Manchester City stabilized their position, they did not give Leeds United a chance. Especially with the decline in physical fitness and the lack of ball control advantage, this desperate style of play exposed Leeds United.
question.
In the 76th minute, Hazard passed back from the left, and Van Persie made another victory, expanding the score to 6-3!
But Leeds United are always looking for opportunities to attack.
Until the 88th minute, Bolasie broke through from the right and sent a direct pass. Substitute Yin Cardi took a shot from eight meters away from the goal in the penalty area, but goalkeeper Neuer saved it again.
This was the last threatening shot from both sides.
Manchester City defeated Leeds United 6-3 and won the League Cup!
This goal battle created the largest score in the history of the English League Cup final!
