On April 2, when Chelsea faced off against Fenerbahce for the Champions League, Manchester City also ushered in the semi-finals of the FA Cup - their opponent was Barnsley from the British Championship.
It was already an FA Cup semi-final level game, but Dick still used a wide range of rotations in this game.
"We will have a stricter schedule next season, so you have to adapt to this approach. Although you are substitutes, you are still an important member of Manchester City. At critical moments, you need to play a key role... you can be a substitute
I am willing to use players like this who have made enough achievements... It is no exaggeration to say that next season, the club will invest more in the transfer market. What we need are better players.
The league and Champions League will advance together, and players who do not meet the requirements will be put into the transfer market. You have performed very well in the past six months that I have been coaching. I don’t hope that I will lack your strength by then. Work hard to perform.
Well, I hope I can continue to work with you next season to strive for more and higher honors!"
Before this game, Dick said this to the substitute players. He did not wave his fists and be impassioned, but calmly described a fact, a somewhat cruel fact. Manchester City does not need to develop slowly now, but
If we want to hit the championship as quickly as possible, we must introduce the best players to start the sprint. In this way, players who do not meet the requirements will be eliminated, even if they have good potential, but Manchester City will not slowly
to train them.
What Manchester City wants are players who can make an impact quickly, not future stars.
This fact was laid out nakedly by Dick, which means that the player positions in Manchester City's first team are actually not stable now. As long as Manchester City can buy better players, they will replace players who are not performing very well. If they want
If you stay and show better abilities in your playing opportunities, you will have the opportunity to work with Dick to fight for the honor of the Champions League next season.
Even if they are substitutes, they must show that they are useful to the team in the few opportunities they have to play in order to keep their current jobs - you must know that this is a golden job. Manchester City's current player salaries are generally higher than those of players with similar abilities.
Twenty to fifty percentage points higher, which is why Manchester City can attract so many players - in addition to Dick's signature being here, this is also a huge factor.
Having money and having the opportunity to compete for the championship is naturally attractive. If it is not particularly obvious this season, then if Manchester City wins the league championship this season, Manchester City's attractiveness will become even more obvious in the following summer.
big!
The substitutes, who began to feel the pressure, performed very hard on the court.
Barnsley's strength is not very bad. Although they can only rank in the middle of the English Championship, their performance in the Champions League this season has been superb. Among the four giants, Liverpool and Chelsea have successively failed.
At their feet, they were focused when playing in the FA Cup and used tenacious defense and limited counterattack opportunities to win - against Liverpool they scored two goals with only four shots in the game and defeated Liverpool, and against Chelsea
At that time, even when the whole game was passive, he still relied on excellent defense and the only chance to kill Chelsea. He was a veritable giant killer!
This game is at their home court, and they still use this method to deal with Manchester City. The last time Barnsley entered the FA Cup final was in 1912. More than ninety years have passed. For this team,
For a team with an equally long history, they are also eager for some more glorious moments.
However, their iron-barrel formation was not very lucky in this game. Barnsley, who had only conceded one goal in a total of 180 minutes against Liverpool and Chelsea, unexpectedly conceded nine minutes into the game.
The ball came - Barnes, who assisted, made a pass. Barnsley defender Kezluk headed the ball not far away. Vidal outside the penalty area did not stop the ball, but directly volleyed towards the falling ball.
, the ball flew out of an arc and directly into the blind corner of the goal. Barnsley's goalkeeper failed to save, and Manchester City led 1-0 in the away game!
For Barnsley, this is a situation that they have not encountered in the FA Cup this season. When they faced Liverpool before, they scored first and were equalized by Liverpool. Then they continued to attack under the crazy attack of Liverpool.
Supported, they completed a miraculous victory in the 94th minute. They did not concede the ball first against Chelsea, but scored first and maintained the lead until the end - thus conceding the goal shortly after the opening.
The experience is very lacking for them!
And Dick is very well prepared for this game. The siege at the beginning is a must. Since he is now in the lead, he should control the ball more in the midfield to lure the opponent out - there is a team in the lower leagues of England.
His characteristics are that he can run well and has excellent confrontation ability, but his foot skills are a bit rough. After taking the lead, he can use passes to tear apart the opponent's defense. This will be a good choice.
Facing Manchester City's soft knife, Barnsley had no other choice. Their players began to run wildly on the field, trying to disrupt Manchester City's rhythm of possession, and then counterattacked to equalize the score. This was their only choice.
things to do.
Under such circumstances, Manchester City began to gradually pass back and distribute to the two wingers at the same time, using their breakthrough ability to launch attacks. The two fast wingers, Bell and Ashley Young, began to continuously receive passes on the wing.
The ball broke through and impacted, delaying Barnsley's attack...
Barnsley players, whose overall strength is weak, are working hard to run on the field. This is their dream. They have nothing to pursue in the English Championship this season. Their performance in the FA Cup is their most dazzling moment this season.
, they naturally hope that this moment can last for a while longer. Such a request seems a bit humble, but it is still a request worthy of respect.
It's just that in the world of football, no matter what kind of respectable request you have, you need to rely on your own efforts to achieve it, rather than relying on others' charity. No one will give charity to each other, because in such a world, let others
One more bite may mean one less bite...
The goal of Dick and his players is to become the first team in English history to win the League Cup, FA Cup and League Championship at the same time in a single season, so no matter how respectable Barnsley's request is, they will work hard.
to defeat your opponents and create a brilliant season!
After the back and forth struggle, Manchester City did not score a goal in the rest of the first half, which also gave Barnsley enough confidence. In the second half, they strengthened their running and attack. Their chance lies in their physical fitness and condition.
, they can run until they can't run anymore in this game, because if they lose this game, then their next games this season will have no value!
But Manchester City is different. They still have to compete for the league championship and the FA Cup championship. Under such circumstances, Manchester City cannot try their best to compete with them. This is their biggest opportunity!
However, what they did not expect was that Manchester City's substitute players did not mind giving their best in this game, because of Dick's previous words, if they did not perform well in this game,
Not to mention this season, even next season, they have little chance to stay in Manchester City...
On the one hand, it is for honor, and on the other hand, in addition to honor, it is also for survival.
What's more, Manchester City's substitute players can also give everything in this game. After all, they will not have a chance to play in the next league, unless Manchester City wins the championship in advance, and in the FA Cup final, Dick is not likely to
They may be used as substitutes, but more of the main players will be used to increase the possibility of victory. Barnsley's advantage is not as great as they imagined.
After the start of the second half, Manchester City's players also stepped up their running. The midfielder composed of Hamann, Vidal and Ireland is not too bad, and their running ability is also very strong. Although the old and the young are small, they are not too bad.
They are all players with good strength. After they strengthened their running, it will not be so easy for Barnsley's offense to play faster.
On defense, Manchester City has strengthened its defense in the penalty area. Cahill and Joel Luka are both very physical and fast. Sun Jihai and Hart's confrontation is a little worse, but they are both experienced and would rather let the opponent pass the ball.
The opponent will not be allowed to break into the penalty area easily. It is not easy to score goals just by relying on crosses and long-range shots from outside the penalty area.
After withstanding Barnsley's crazy attack for twenty minutes, Manchester City began its own counterattack!
Bell's two consecutive quick attacks from the wing forced Barnsley's defense to start strengthening the defense on this side, but it was still somewhat unstoppable. Bell's speed was too fast, and his breakthrough did not have much technical content.
When there is an open sprint area in the frontcourt, he will move the ball forward and then start to accelerate. Even if the opponent's defender wants to commit a foul, it is not easy because he is too fast. When you want to take a step, he will have already thrown you away.
Far away...
Under Bell's sprint, Barnsley's defense was a little confused. After all, Manchester City center Sturridge's confrontation ability is also good. After fighting all the way, they were also a little confused, and the defense was no longer as tight as before.
Finally, in the 71st minute, Bell's breakthrough brought Manchester City a crucial second goal!
After using his speed to forcibly break through the opponent's full-back, Bell did not continue to pass the ball, but directly dunked the ball horizontally and rushed into the penalty area!
Barnsley's defenders focused on Sturridge running in the middle, Vidal and Ireland and others who inserted in the back row. However, Ashley Young quietly ran to the back point. Bale raised his head.
The ball was passed to the back point with his foot. Ashley Young directly stepped on the falling ball at the back post and put the ball into the empty goal!
Two to zero! Manchester City wins!
This means that they will enter the FA Cup final! They are only one step away from England's domestic Triple Crown!
In another game, Portsmouth relied on Nigerian striker Kanu's goal to beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0, another English Championship team, and became an upset in the FA Cup this season.
Under such circumstances, the two Premier League teams that entered the semi-finals maintained the honor of the Premier League and used two wins to put the FA Cup back on the track for Premier League teams to compete - this can be regarded as the two teams bringing things back to order...
