Chapter 262: We are the champions after winning the trophy at home!
After defeating Arsenal, Manchester City can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Playing three games in four days, it would be a lie to say I wasn't tired.
Fortunately, they finally held on!
The FA Cup final will be held on May 17, which is one month away, which means that they don’t have to be distracted by FA Cup matters for another month.
So next, Manchester City only needs to go all out to deal with the league and Champions League games! On April 19, after a six-day break, Manchester City ushered in the challenge of West Bromwich Albion at home.
This game is likely to determine who will win the Premier League title this season, so the English Football Association specially brought the Premier League championship trophy to the Etihad Stadium.
Before the game, countless Manchester City fans flocked to the Etihad Stadium. The stadium was packed, and even outside the stadium there were tens of thousands of fans who did not buy tickets.
For Manchester City fans, today is their festival.
They are very likely to win the second Premier League championship trophy in their history at home! In order to ensure the fairness of the game and create a tense atmosphere for the final stage of the league.
The English Football Association deliberately arranged the games of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea to start in the same time period.
Manchester City is currently 9 points ahead of Chelsea and 10 points ahead of Liverpool.
If Manchester City beats their opponent in this game, they will basically secure the championship, and Chelsea's championship will only be a theoretical possibility.
If Chelsea wants to win the championship, they need to meet extremely stringent conditions:
1. Win this game and the last three games, and Manchester City lose the next three games.
2. In these four games, they have to equalize the 38-goal difference with Manchester City.
The probability of either of these two conditions occurring alone is close to zero, let alone occurring together.
In the locker room speech before the game, Pellegrini emphasized to the players that this was just an ordinary game and they should not have too much psychological burden.
The opponents in this game are not very strong, as long as Manchester City plays to their best level without being arrogant or impatient.
At 18:30, three games started at the same time.
West Bromwich Albion obviously didn't want to be the background board for Manchester City's championship, so they chose to retreat to their own penalty area and set up a bus to defend tightly at the beginning.
Manchester City has seen this tactic many times in the league and already knows how to deal with it.
After the opening, Lin Quan frequently used his breakthrough ability to attack West Bromwich's goal.
In order to defend Lin Quan, the opponent had to resort to double-teaming or even fouling to deal with him.
This naturally gave Manchester City a lot of set-piece opportunities.
In the 15th minute of the first half, De Bruyne scored directly with an excellent free kick, changing the score to 1:0!
This goal made the Manchester City fans at the scene boil!
They are so close to the championship trophy! "Quick, check the score between Chelsea and Liverpool!"
Fans took out their mobile phones and started searching the Internet for the results of the other two games.
"Chelsea 0:0 Sunderland at home, Liverpool 2:0 away temporarily leading Norwich!"
"Damn, why is Norwich so rubbish? They conceded two goals in just 15 minutes."
"That's right, do these bastards want to stay in the league? If they lose this game, they will be caught up by Sunderland!"
Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea's opponents in this round are all relegation teams.
West Bromwich Albion currently has 33 points, only 4 points away from the relegation zone.
Norwich has 32 points, which is a worse situation than West Bromwich.
The worst team is Sunderland, who currently has 29 points, ranking third from the bottom and in the relegation zone! So in this round of games, all six teams want to win and no one wants to lose.
Liverpool is leading by two goals, they should win this game.
Now it depends on Chelsea. If they draw or lose to Sunderland, Manchester City will win the championship four rounds in advance as long as they win this game!
However, at this moment, bad news came from the other side: "Damn, Chelsea is leading!"
"Really? Who scored the goal?"
"Eto'o, Chelsea's quick counterattack, Eto'o used his speed to shake off the defender and scored a goal."
"Hey, Eto'o, he's already 33 years old, right? How come he's still so strong?"
"After all, he is the only player to defend the treble. If he didn't have some strength, he wouldn't have achieved such outstanding results!"
"Sunderland, hold on, score one goal, just one goal!"
Manchester City fans began to pray for Sunderland. For your relegation, please show your courage and stand shoulder to shoulder. As long as you beat Chelsea, you can get out of the relegation zone! As if hearing the shouts of Manchester City fans, Sunderland quickly equalized the score.
In the 18th minute, Sunderland took a corner kick to the outside. Alonso volleyed from 25 yards and the goalkeeper missed the save. Wickham pushed the ball into the goal before Terry at the edge of the small penalty area.
The Black Cats tenaciously equalized the score away from home! "Well done, Sunderland!"
"Well done, Wickham!!"
"Keep it up like this and don't let Chelsea score any more goals!"
The sudden cheers that broke out in the Etihad Stadium left the players of both teams a little confused. The score was still 1:0, nothing changed?
What were the fans celebrating? Shaking their heads, the Manchester City players ignored it and put their attention back on the game.
The most difficult part of breaking through a dense defense is the first goal. Once you take the lead, the opponent can no longer defend and has to attack proactively! After falling behind, West Bromwich Albion had to attack in order to avoid relegation.
In the 22nd minute, after defending against West Bromwich Albion's attack, Manchester City immediately launched a counterattack towards the opponent's penalty area.
During the counterattack, De Bruyne looked up at Lin Quan's position and the opponent's defender's position, and then sent a fatal through pass.
The ball penetrated the opponent's defense line. Lin Quan received the ball and easily broke into the penalty area. Facing the attacking goalkeeper, he calmly scored the ball.
2:0!
Manchester City secured the victory!
The Blue Moon fans at the scene saw their team score another goal and they all cheered and celebrated happily.
Now, after taking a two-goal lead, their own game is secure and they can focus on the results of the other two games without distraction.
Unfortunately, until the end of the first half, the results of the other two games did not change.
In the second half, West Bromwich Albion wanted to start the attack, but was directly pinned to the ground and beaten by Manchester City.
The game quickly turned into a half-time attack and defense drill for the two teams! In the 50th minute, Lin Quan assisted Aguero to score another goal, changing the score to 3:0. This time, West Bromwich Albion was completely hopeless.
The Manchester City fans at home were singing and dancing, celebrating their victory.
As long as the Black Cats Sunderland can hold on for another 40 minutes and the other game ends in a draw, Manchester City will win the championship four rounds in advance! So, although everyone was sitting in their own stadium, their thoughts drifted to Chelsea's Stamford Bridge.
At Stamford Bridge, the score on the field is still 1:1, which is very unfavorable for Chelsea.
Mourinho stood on the sidelines with a livid face.
Since the half-time break, when he learned that Manchester City was leading West Bromwich Albion 2:0 in another game, Mourinho couldn't sit still.
Manchester City's lead means that Chelsea must win this game to retain the last theoretical hope.
But if they lose, they can only watch their competitors win the championship!
In the coaching booth, several assistant coaches were whispering to each other.
"How was the game at Manchester City?"
"No need to look anymore, Aguero scored another goal, the score is now 3:0!"
"Alas, West Bromwich Albion is a relegation team after all. Isn't it said that relegation teams are very strong at the end of the season? How come they were slaughtered so easily by Manchester City?"
"We couldn't do anything. The gap in strength between the two teams was too big. West Bromwich Albion wanted to defend but failed. After falling behind, they were completely passive. In fact, the game was over when De Bruyne scored the first goal!"
Speaking of De Bruyne, several assistant coaches couldn't help but sigh.
When this player was at Chelsea, he was treated like a worn-out shoe by Mourinho and couldn't even make the bench.
But when he arrived at Manchester City, he was entrusted with important tasks by Pellegrini and became the offensive engine of Manchester City's frontcourt.
He used his surgical-like passes to help Manchester City open up the situation many times and made great contributions to Manchester City's victory.
The key point is that everyone has seen De Bruyne's performance at Chelsea, and it really does not meet the team's requirements.
But why did he become so eye-catching after arriving at Manchester City? In the box at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's owner Abramovich also came to watch the game.
When he learned that Manchester City was leading their opponents 3:0, his face turned very ugly.
Although he had long known that it was basically impossible for Chelsea to win the championship, he still held a little hope in his heart. After all, Mourinho had led Chelsea to great success at Stamford Bridge.
Abramovich still had some expectations for him! However, now, all the expectations have turned into disappointment. He once again felt disgusted with Mourinho, just like when he fired Mourinho.
However, this time Abramovich was not impulsive. It is easy to fire Mourinho, but it is difficult to find a suitable replacement.
The man he wants most is unlikely to come to Chelsea any time soon.
Therefore, until there is no better choice, he can only tolerate Mourinho with a pinch of his nose.
Give him another year. If Chelsea fails to achieve anything next year, Abramovich will probably run out of patience.
…
After leading 3:0, Manchester City began to retreat.
Pellegrini replaced Lin Quan in the 67th minute and De Bruyne in the 72nd minute.
This substitution is obviously in preparation for the Champions League semi-final this weekend. Facing the powerful Real Madrid, Manchester City must seize the advantage of playing at home in the first round and defeat the opponent.
If they cannot beat the opponent at home, their journey in the Champions League this year will basically come to an end!
Real Madrid still sent a scout to watch the game on site. Seeing Manchester City's powerful offensive firepower, his expression was very serious.
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Manchester City is indeed difficult to deal with!
Shortly after Manchester City completed the substitution, news came from another game.
Norwich scored two goals in the 67th and 72nd minutes, miraculously equalizing the score! "Ah, what happened to Liverpool?"
When Manchester City fans heard the news, they were a little surprised.
Can we turn the tables even when we are leading 2:0?
"Don't underestimate the determination of a relegation team!"
Thinking of this, Manchester City fans can't help but feel a little worried.
Will my team also be overturned? Just as I had this thought, West Bromwich Albion scored a goal.
In the 76th minute, West Bromwich Albion took advantage of a corner kick to score a goal.
This made Manchester City fans think of the result of another game, and they became uneasy.
However, Manchester City did not give the opponent any chance. They began to control the tempo of the game, limit the opponent's attack, and curb West Bromwich Albion's counterattack.
The game was back under Manchester City's control, which made Manchester City fans breathe a sigh of relief.
In the 81st minute, news came from Liverpool again.
Sterling exploded and scored another goal, completing a hat-trick and helping Liverpool take the lead again.
After Suarez was suspended, Sterling's outbreak ensured that Liverpool's offensive firepower in the frontcourt was not greatly affected.
Sterling himself has also won the attention of many top clubs with his outstanding performance in these games.
Just when Manchester City fans were sighing that Liverpool was lucky to be ahead again, the latest news came from Chelsea - Chelsea fell behind! In the 82nd minute, Sunderland substitute Altidore broke into the right side of the penalty area and fell under the defense of Azpilicueta. The referee Mike Dean decisively awarded a penalty kick, but the slow-motion replay on the big screen at the scene showed that the penalty was controversial.
Tens of thousands of Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge booed the referee collectively, and the sound of black whistles rang out one after another.
Mourinho on the sidelines was so emotional that he wanted to argue with the referee. Giving the opponent a penalty at this time almost killed the game!
This was indeed the case. Borini, who was responsible for the penalty kick, scored in one fell swoop and changed the score to 2:1!
This penalty kick had a huge impact on the mentality of Chelsea players, causing them to become unbalanced in the final stages. When Torres was trying to grab the ball in the frontcourt, he almost got into a fight with the opponent and received a yellow card for this.
In the end, Chelsea, playing at home, was reversed by their opponents despite taking the lead at the start.
By losing this game, Chelsea not only lost their hopes of winning the championship, but was also overtaken by Liverpool in the standings and fell to third place.
When the news reached the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City fans suddenly burst into huge cheers!
“We won!”
“We are the champions!”
At this time, the game on the field had not ended yet. The referee looked at it for a while and found that there were only a dozen seconds left in injury time.
Seeing that West Bromwich Albion had no fighting spirit, the referee blew the whistle to end the game early.
The moment the whistle sounded, tens of thousands of fans in the stadium went crazy.
On the sidelines, members of the coaching staff, including the players sitting on the bench, all rushed to the court and excitedly hugged and celebrated with their teammates.
Lin Quan and De Bruyne looked at each other and happy smiles appeared on their faces.
This is the first league championship trophy in his life. The regret of not winning the championship at Werder Bremen last season was finally made up here at Manchester City.
When the players saw Pellegrini coming up, they immediately rushed to him, lifted him up without saying a word, and threw him high into the air! As the biggest contributor to Manchester City's championship this season, Pellegrini deserves such treatment.
The Chilean had a very successful first season at the Etihad, winning the league and League Cup, reaching the FA Cup final and on the verge of winning the title, and reaching the Champions League semi-finals...
All of these achievements have reached the pinnacle of Manchester City's history. Previously unattainable results have been achieved by them this season.
"Alright, that's enough, kids, put me down now, I'm getting dizzy!"
Pellegrini was over sixty years old after all. After being thrown around like this by the players, he felt a little overwhelmed and had to beg for mercy.
"Ha ha!"
When the players heard the coach's plea for mercy, they burst into laughter and finally let him go.
Then, they set their sights on Lin Quan again! When Lin Quan saw his teammates looking at him, he already felt something was wrong.
However, before he could start to run away, his teammates rushed over and lifted him up without thinking twice.
As the core of Manchester City, Lin Quan has stepped forward many times at critical moments to help the team overcome difficulties. He is undoubtedly the second biggest contributor to the team. In some ways, he is even more important than Pellegrini.
When he came to Manchester City with the highest salary in history, many players in the team were skeptical or even dissatisfied with him.
But after one season, no one will question Lin Quan's ability anymore.
He conquered all his teammates with his outstanding performance for a whole season and made them convinced of Lin Quan.
Without his joining, Manchester City would never have been able to go so far on multiple fronts this season!
"Alright, alright, that's almost enough, we have to go to the dressing room to change clothes and get ready to go on stage to receive the award!"
Seeing that the players had almost finished playing, Pellegrini quickly spoke up to remind them.
Everyone left Lin Quan behind and ran away. Lin Quan fell to the ground with a thud.
These heartless guys are such a rip-off!
Lin Quan touched his butt and was about to get up from the ground when he saw a hand extended to him.
He looked up and saw it was De Bruyne.
"You are such a nice guy!"
Lin Quan stretched out his hand without any preparation. De Bruyne, with a wicked smile on his face, pulled hard. Just when Lin Quan was about to stand up, he suddenly let go.
Then, with a bang, Lin Quan fell down again!
Lin Quan: “???”
Well, De Bruyne has also learned a bad lesson! Back in the locker room, the players changed into the club's championship celebration jerseys.
By the time they appeared in the player tunnel, the staff on site had already set up the award ceremony stage.
Officials from the English Football Association also appeared at the Etihad Stadium with the trophy symbolizing the Premier League championship! Warm applause rang out at the scene, and Manchester City players came out one by one, walked through the blue arch and entered the stadium.
Amid the cheers of the fans, Premier League CEO Richard Scudmore presented medals to Manchester City players.
When presenting the award to Lin Quan, Scudmore patted Lin Quan on the shoulder and said to him: "Lin, congratulations, your performance is impressive, you deserve this medal!"
Lin Quan bowed his head slightly, let the other party wear the medal around his neck, and shook hands with him: "Thank you for your congratulations, Mr. Richard. I hope to see you again at this time next year!"
Schudmore laughed. Lin Quan's implication was that he wanted to defend the league title?
This is not easy. The competition in the Premier League has always been very fierce. Manchester City won the championship this season and will inevitably become the target of public criticism next season.
When Lin Quan arrived at the podium, the team members pushed him to the C position. Lin Quan declined several times, but seeing that everyone was determined, he had no choice but to stand in the middle position.
Just at this time, captain Kompany was the last to appear and walked to the podium holding the trophy.
Manchester City players opened their arms towards the trophy. Kompany turned around with the trophy in his arms, turned his back to the players, shouted three, two, one, and raised the trophy with a swish!
“We are the champions!”
(End of this chapter)