Defeating Manchester United 7-0, everyone in Manchester City was certainly happy, but there was no time to remember the victory too much, because the team had to go away to challenge Greece's Aris.
Although the Greek team had previously threatened to maintain its 40-year unbeaten record at home and make it impossible for Manchester City to come back, and the Greek media were also building momentum and hyping Aris' unbeaten record at home in European competitions, Manchester City still refused.
Plan to send all the main force.
The journey is really too far.
Traveling back and forth for more than 2,000 kilometers, flying for several hours, and rushing back after playing the game, the players are really exhausted.
Therefore, the strategy formulated by Guardiola and the coaching staff is to try to win the away game, but the real showdown is still at home.
It goes without saying that Manchester City traveled a long distance. Didn’t Aris also have to travel a long distance in the second round?
Su Dong, Pepe, Marcelo and David Silva did not go to the away game, but concentrated on staying in Manchester to adjust their condition and prepare for the next round of the Premier League.
On the night of the game, Su Dong organized a dinner at his manor, and they all came.
…
The strength of Greek teams is actually not weak. For example, Olympiacos, the overall strength is definitely not as good as that of the four major leagues, but if they want to be able to compete in a battle, especially at their home court, there is definitely no problem.
Manchester City players can clearly feel a kind of fatigue.
The exhaustion of traveling long distances is really fatal to the visiting team.
After the opening, Manchester City was at a disadvantage in terms of initiative. Aris took advantage of the home court advantage to launch several threatening attacks, but Manchester City's players seemed not excited enough.
After ten minutes of adjustments, first Gareth Barry missed the opportunity to score with a header, and then Dzeko failed to seize a shooting opportunity from the front of the small penalty area, which disappointed everyone in Manchester City.
"The home team fans are using laser pointers in the stands." Toni Kroos, a sharp-eyed person, saw the clues.
Sure enough, Manchester City players protested on the field, and Dzeko and others pointed to the stands.
TV commentators also started mentioning laser pointers, and it was clear that Toni Kroos was right.
Of course, the laser pointer is only part of the factor. The sluggish state of Manchester City players is the key.
"We still need to break the deadlock as soon as possible." Su Dong said.
If you don't score a goal, it's useless no matter how much you control the ball.
Moreover, Manchester City is playing away from home. If the game drags on, it will be detrimental to Manchester City.
If nothing else, given the state and physical condition of the Manchester City players, I am afraid they will perform even worse in the second half.
The Manchester City players in Greece seemed to know this clearly, so they began to actively try to organize the offense.
The midfield three composed of Moutinho, Thiago and Gareth Barry is still very high-level, firmly controlling the ball and constantly organizing and planning offensive opportunities.
At this point, it will be difficult for the Greek team to shake Manchester City.
But just as Manchester City pressed forward step by step and frequently broke into Aris' penalty area, just when they were about to score a goal, Manchester City made very amateurish mistakes on their own side.
This was a long counterattack pass from Aris, which was directly passed to Manchester City's penalty area.
Joe Hart gave up the goal and picked the ball out of the air inside the penalty area without being threatened.
Up to this point, there are no problems and Joe Hart is performing normally.
The key lies next.
Joe Hart wanted to kick off the ball with a big kick and signaled the players in the frontcourt to press on, so he grabbed the ball with one hand and waved the other hand constantly, but I don’t know why, maybe he waved his arm too hard.
, causing the ball in the other hand to drop.
England's goalkeeper also reacted very quickly. As soon as the ball dropped, he bent down and picked it up after it bounced off the ground.
But Aris' forward protested on the spot, believing that the ball had crossed the line and was considered a handball outside the penalty area.
This sudden change shocked everyone, including Su Dong and others who were sitting in front of the TV.
What kind of dirty trick is Joe Hart doing?
How could it still be like this?
The referee decisively blew his whistle and ran towards Joe Hart, while the Greek players chased him and kept protesting.
Especially Aris' forward, he probably said that if Joe Hart didn't hand the ball, he was very close, and it was entirely possible for him to intercept the ball and score a goal.
"This is trouble!" Pepe shook his head and sighed.
As a famous reckless man on the court, Pepe is actually a man who walks on the foul line. He has a very clear grasp of the referee's psychology and the situation on the court.
Joe Hart's foul at this time was indeed quite fatal, and it was still on the road.
"This mistake is really incomprehensible. He seems to be making more and more weird mistakes now." David Silva found it difficult to understand.
When it comes to Joe Hart's strength, there is no doubt about it. How can someone who can become England's national goalkeeper be inferior in strength?
Sometimes he can show a super level, but sometimes he will make a lot of inexplicable mistakes for you.
Just like this time, who could have imagined how he got away?
Sure enough, the referee raised a red card towards Joe Hart and sent the Manchester City goalkeeper off the field.
The crazy cheers of the Greek fans in the stadium and in the stands were clearly heard on the TV.
From the slow-motion replay, Joe Hart's ball did fall outside the penalty area. The foul was a definite foul, which is the difference between a red card and a yellow card. The referee obviously accepted the protest of the Aris players and believed that if there was no handball, it would be a foul.
They are very likely to score a goal.
In front of the TV, Su Dong and others were silent.
None of them were willing to talk about Joe Hart's mistakes at this time. After all, they were teammates fighting side by side, but such mistakes really hurt morale and made the team lose one person.
Sometimes, England's players are really interesting.
Micah Richards is the same, Joe Hart is the same.
…
With Joe Hart being sent off, Aris' direct free kick from the edge of the penalty area failed to break through Manchester City's goal.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Given came on as substitute, and then Manchester City stabilized their position and began to play more steadily.
Aris has limited strength and has never been able to score Manchester City's goal. Manchester City, on the other hand, has one less player than its opponents and has not been able to create much of a threat. In addition, traveling long distances to play away games consumes a huge amount of players.
In the end, the two sides shook hands and settled for a draw, zero to zero.
Manchester City's shots are not even as many as Aris.
"Well, this time the Greeks got into trouble again!" Marcelo said angrily.
Undefeated at home in European competition for 40 years, how awesome is this?
Looking around the world, which giant can do it?
Is it possible to refute this?
Can not be done!
Because Manchester City can't break Aris' home court.
Manchester City can beat Arsenal 9-1 at the Emirates Stadium, and beat Manchester United 7-0 at Old Trafford, but there is nothing they can do to defeat Aris in Greece. What can be said?
There is really nothing much to say other than saying, Aris is a bull, and Greece is a bull.
"Nothing to say, just go back to the home court and teach them a lesson!" Su Dong said calmly.
Everyone also felt helpless.
Without Joe Hart's red card, Manchester City could have defeated their opponents away from home, but now...
"If you look at it this way, this pen has been installed for forty years, and they should be allowed to continue to install it." Pepe laughed.
Everyone is also happy.
Back at home, can Manchester City still kill Aris?
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Joe Hart's red card caused fierce controversy after the game, but Guardiola took the initiative to defend Joe Hart, believing that no one should focus on his mistakes.
"Actually, apart from the red card, he performed well most of the time."
As the captain of the team, Su Dong was also duty-bound at this time. He immediately contacted a familiar reporter from The Times and expressed his support for Joe Hart, saying that the Manchester City locker room still trusts Joe Hart.
"Every player will make mistakes, Joe Hart is still a teammate worthy of our trust!"
Other Manchester City players have also come forward to express their support for Joe Hart.
Now is a critical moment for Manchester City to win the championship. No matter what, the team cannot have civil strife at this time.
More importantly, Manchester City currently only has two goalkeepers. Given is old. If Joe Hart has another problem, who will Manchester City rely on to guard the goal next?
Therefore, at this time, no matter what, Manchester City can only support Joe Hart.
…
After the team returned to Manchester from Greece, they soon faced their opponent in the 28th round of the Premier League at home, Fulham led by Mark Hughes.
Due to the Europa League, Manchester City still rotated the lineup, but Joe Hart, who received a red card in the Europa League in midweek, was still there, and the team also used a kick from 25 meters by Su Dong in the 25th minute.
A super long shot from outside penetrated Fulham's goal and opened the scoring for Manchester City.
Just three minutes later, Toni Kroos passed a long-distance diagonal pass from the right to the left side of the penalty area. Di Maria made a forward pass from the baseline. Marcelo followed up and volleyed with his left foot, giving Manchester City another victory, 2-0.
After a change of sides in the second half, only two minutes into the game, Fulham launched a threatening attack, with a lob shot that lifted the ball over the head of Joe Hart, who was attacking, and broke Manchester City's goal.
One to two!
After that, the two teams exchanged offense and defense, but in the end Manchester City defeated Fulham 2-1 at home.
…
After playing Fulham, Manchester City began to prepare for the second leg of the third knockout round of the Europa League.
After the 0-0 away draw with Aris in the first leg, the Greek media really hyped Aris' 40-year unbeaten home game in European competitions. Some media even threatened to capture Manchester City's Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
Of course, no one would take such arrogant remarks seriously.
However, Manchester City is really a bit angry.
Especially after Joe Hart's red card, Aris really forced Manchester City into a bit of a dilemma.
To use what Su Dong said in the locker room, if Aris cannot be taught a lesson at home, won't other teams treat Manchester City as a weakling?
Doesn’t the so-called strong team mean revenge?
"So, if we cannot win against Aris at home with a big score, then we will have nowhere to put our face!"
Su Dong's encouragement also received positive responses from his teammates.
