On the evening of November 10th, Manchester Etihad Stadium.
The twelfth round of the Premier League, Manchester City Derby, Manchester City vs. Manchester United at home.
This is a game that no one can afford to lose.
Manchester City, playing at home, currently leads the Premier League standings. This is the first time in the past few decades that Manchester City has climbed to the leading position after playing more than ten rounds in the league. This is an unusual situation for Manchester City.
significance.
But a four-point lead is not safe, especially for Manchester City.
Someone once criticized Mark Hughes, thinking that he was too rich to be on the stage at all, so he was quickly withdrawn.
why?
Any team that aspires to win the championship must have the determination and courage to be the first in the world!
On the road of life, not fighting is a gentleman's attitude, but in the professional competitive arena, not fighting is useless.
Manchester City has finally climbed to the league leader's position, and naturally they do not want to be unseated by their opponents, especially if they cannot lose to their rivals in the same city and the most direct competitor in the league, Manchester United.
In the locker room before the game, Guardiola announced in front of the players that Su Dong would not play, but he also said that regardless of whether Su Dong is present or not, Manchester City has only one goal in tonight's game, and that is victory!
Su Dong also encouraged his teammates before the game, saying that he believed in them.
Without Su Dong, Manchester City is still Manchester City. He believes that they can defeat Manchester United at home, secure their position as the league leader, and contribute their own strength to Manchester City's road to the Premier League championship.
This is the finale of this round.
Chelsea won, Arsenal won, Liverpool drew but no one cared.
It can be said that only by defeating Manchester United can Manchester City gain a firm foothold as the leader.
…
Compared to Manchester City, Manchester United will have more sense of urgency.
They are already six points behind Manchester City and two points behind Chelsea. If they lose this game again, Manchester United will be nine points behind the leaders. Although this is not an insurmountable gap, it is relatively difficult to catch up.
of.
Ferguson knew better than anyone that if Manchester United wanted to seize the initiative and boost morale before Christmas and the winter break, the best result would be to defeat Manchester City in this derby match.
As long as Manchester City loses its energy, people will definitely be unstable in the upcoming schedule. When the Christmas and winter break schedule comes, Manchester United will catch up. It is entirely possible to achieve a reversal before the Champions League arrives in February.
This is no joke, but is based on facts.
The Premier League has a devilish schedule during the Christmas and winter breaks. There are several cases of defeat after defeat every year. Even in the championship competition, it is not uncommon to lose points continuously. Manchester United has rich experience in this regard.
As long as there is enough pressure on Manchester City, who says that Manchester City will not capsize during the Christmas and winter breaks?
There are so many players in this team who are entering the Premier League for the first time, who says it’s not possible?
Therefore, Ferguson gave the team a death order before the game.
Manchester United must win this away game against Manchester City!
…
When two teams that cannot afford to lose meet in a derby, the final result is more intense than exciting.
Manchester City still deployed their own four-three-three formation.
The goalkeeper is Joe Hart, the defense is Marcelo, Pepe, Kompany and Boateng, the midfielder is Busquets, David Silva and Toni Kroos are in the center, and the frontcourt is
Di Maria, Santa Cruz and Sanchez form the trident.
At the critical moment, Guardiola trusted Boateng more than the teenager Trippier who had played three consecutive games.
Obviously, Proton, who has played in the Bundesliga for many years, is more mature than Trippier.
Ferguson also lined up his strongest lineup.
The goalkeeper is Edwin van der Sar, the defense is Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic and Rafael, the midfield is Carrick, Scholes and Fletcher are in the middle, and the frontcourt is Park Ji-sung and Berbato.
The combination of husband and Rooney.
South Korean player Park Ji-sung has performed very well in recent times. Ferguson hoped that he could form a strong impact on Manchester City's right wing. However, Guardiola chose Boateng before the game, which was somewhat beyond Ferguson's expectations.
Trippier's performance in three consecutive games was quite satisfactory, but when it came to the key games, Guardiola still wanted stability by using Boateng.
…
From the beginning of the game, Manchester United took the initiative and exerted high-intensity pressure on Manchester City.
Manchester United's intention was very clear, to suppress Manchester City from the beginning, restrict Manchester City's passing and possession style of play, speed up the pace of the game, and enter the game rhythm that Manchester United is most familiar with and likes most.
Manchester City did not intend to play the way Manchester United wanted, but wanted to patiently control the ball.
The two teams fought fiercely, and the game was frequently interrupted. The referee whistled for fouls one after another. Fortunately, the players on both sides did not move much and did not reach the level of taking out cards, but the game fell into a stalemate.
Manchester United has conceded six clean sheets in the last ten games and their defense is very solid, especially in the midfield.
Carrick is in excellent form, and Scholes and Fletcher are also both offensive and defensive. This allows Manchester United's midfielder to still stabilize the position under Manchester City's passing and control of the ball, without being in a hurry, and even frequently organizes by stealing the ball.
Counterattack quickly and create threats.
Especially in the second half of the first half, Manchester United seemed to have the upper hand in this stalemate.
The main reason is that after Manchester City's possession of the ball reaches the frontcourt, it cannot be pushed forward.
Santa Cruz still failed to show better strength in front of Ferdinand and Vidic.
…
"If you can't push in from the frontcourt, no matter how good David is, he can't."
When he saw that no one in the frontcourt could hold the ball, David Silva began to dribble the ball forward more, but in this way it was easy to fall into Carrick and Fletcher, or even Ferdinand and Vidi.
Qi's close pressing.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! And everyone knows that close combat is not David Silva's strong point.
Moutinho is also a technical midfielder, so he is very aware of David Silva's embarrassment now.
This is also a problem that must be solved in the middle of the frontcourt in modern football tactics, especially in passing and possession tactics.
Who can hold the ball?
After Barcelona sent away Ibrahimovic, Messi appeared in the middle, while Manchester City performed in a mess last season. After welcoming Sudong this season, the offense immediately changed. This is really not an accidental phenomenon.
And Arsenal, Chamakh is Arsenal's best player so far this season. Is this accidental?
Even for Chelsea, Drogba plays an important role in Ancelotti's tactics.
It can be said that in the passing and controlling system, getting the ball in the middle of the frontcourt is crucial.
If the frontcourt cannot hold the ball and just passes it backwards and forwards in the midfield and cannot pass into the threatening area, then sooner or later the ball will be intercepted, and being counterattacked will also be a threat at any time.
Even if the pass cannot reach the threatening area, the more possession of the ball, the greater the risk of being counterattacked.
Sudong did not take Moutinho's words, but he agreed with the Portuguese midfielder's views.
Santa Cruz could not hold the ball, and the two flanks were closely guarded by Manchester United. Manchester City's offense could not pose a threat. The more passes and possessions, the greater the risk.
This is why Manchester City wants to bring in Dzeko from Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga to serve as a substitute for Su Dong.
Compared to Santa Cruz, Dzeko will be more comprehensive and will have a stronger ability to hold the ball in the frontcourt.
Even in some cases, if you really want to find a partner for Su Dong to form a twin strike tower, then Dzeko will only be more suitable than Santa Cruz, because Dzeko can activate Su Dong's scoring ability to the maximum extent.
Santa Cruz can't do that.
If it were Dzeko who was on the court now, I believe Manchester City's offense would never be as stumbling as it is now.
…
Time quickly entered the second half.
After the intermission, the two sides basically continued the situation of the first half. Manchester United continued to have a slight upper hand in the stalemate, but the ball was still at the feet of Manchester City, but the Red Devils' counterattack was more threatening.
In the 52nd minute, Manchester United launched a quick counterattack after stealing the ball. Rafael drove straight in from the right and passed the ball to the penalty area. Berbatov volleyed near the penalty spot and hit a very exciting shot.
But unfortunately, Brother Xiaosha’s stylish shot failed to break through Joe Hart’s goal.
The angle is too right.
Manchester City quickly changed colors. When David Silva was dribbling the ball in the middle, he suddenly sent a through ball to Santa Cruz in the penalty area. The Paraguayan center shot low and sent the ball directly to
Gave it to Van der Sar.
After that, the two sides went back and forth, and the competition became more intense.
The live TV footage frequently went to the home team's bench on the sidelines, and frequently fell on Su Dong.
But throughout the game, apart from going out for a run every once in a while to warm up, Su Dong sat on the bench the rest of the time, seemingly showing no signs of wanting to play.
"Judging from the warm-up situation, Su Dong still seems to have not fully recovered. I wonder if Guardiola will consider putting him on the court? It is difficult for Manchester City's offense to create a threat now. Santa Cruz is in front of Ferdinand and Vidic.
There is basically nothing we can do. At this time, Manchester City really needs the attacking power from Sudong."
Time is also passing by bit by bit.
Manchester City fans now fully understand the current situation of the team.
When Su Dong was here, people always felt that it was easy to score goals and Manchester City's offensive was overwhelming. But now, as soon as Su Dong is absent, they find that Manchester City has been thrown back to the bad predicament of last season.
The point is, why doesn't Santa Cruz understand?
The fans in the stands were waiting anxiously, but Guardiola remained unmoved in front of the home team's coach's bench, making it difficult to detect what he was thinking.
Ferguson, who was in the visiting team's coaching bench, also paid attention to Guardiola's movements from time to time, and his mind was full of doubts.
If Su Dong is included in the squad, the possibility of him playing is very high.
The only difference is when and how Su Dong will play?
