Chapter 476 The last hope of the Premier League!
Manchester City's first goal completely changed the situation of the game.
Dynamo Kyiv, who had originally planned to wait for the arrival of rain and snow and then launch an attack when snow accumulated on the field, was forced to launch an attack in advance.
There was little time left in the first half, and if they couldn't equalize as soon as possible, they would return to the locker room with a disadvantage.
The opponent will definitely make tactical adjustments during the half-time break, and the second half is likely to be more difficult to play. Even with rainy and snowy weather and the advantage of home court, they may not be able to score a goal.
In short, the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for them.
However, when the opponent has a fast winger like Son Heung-min in the lineup and has just scored a goal with a quick counterattack, it may not be a wise move for them to press forward and attack at this time! As expected, after Dynamo Kyiv pressed forward, Manchester City's attack began to lean towards Son Heung-min, focusing on using his speed to make a difference.
In the 44th minute of the first half, after successfully intercepting an attack from the opponent, Manchester City followed suit. Kroos made a long pass from the backcourt, and Son Heung-min started at high speed and ran with the ball.
This time, the opposing defensive players did not dare to underestimate him and all moved towards him.
However, as soon as they moved, Son Heung-min immediately passed the ball.
Lin Quan followed up and volleyed the ball into the goal without stopping.
Manchester City easily extended the score to 2:0 with just one counterattack!
Although this goal was not scored by Son Heung-min, his speed and assist were crucial.
The players of Dynamo Kyiv ran back to the backcourt from the frontcourt panting. Most of them didn't even have time to get into position before the ball was already in their own goal.
This blow, like being hit by a heavy hammer, left them all stunned and speechless.
Frustrated, helpless, desperate, confused! All kinds of emotions filled their hearts. It was extremely difficult for them to score a goal, while it was as easy as eating and drinking for the other side to score a goal.
This made them not know how to play the next game!
We are two goals behind, which is even worse than the previous situation.
What's even more frightening is that these are away goals. If Manchester City were allowed to return to Manchester with two away goals, they would basically not have to play the next game.
But now, what can they do?
There was only one minute left in the first half, and they still couldn't find a way to break through Manchester City's goal.
On the contrary, the opponent's counterattacks were always accurate, leaving them in a dilemma.
The players of Dynamo Kyiv spent the first half in a daze and didn't even know how they got back to the locker room.
On the other hand, Manchester City players, with two goals in hand, were much calmer and more composed.
In the locker room, Guardiola praised the players for their outstanding performance in the first half, especially singling out Son Heung-min for praise.
This made Son Heung-min very happy. He remembered that this was the first time Guardiola publicly praised him in the team.
During the period when David Silva was absent due to injury, he temporarily took the starting position, and with his outstanding performance during this period, he felt confident that he could compete for a starting position.
"The playing style for the second half will not change for the time being. We have the lead, so we don't need to be anxious. We just need to wait for the opponent to attack and then we can seize the opportunity to counterattack.
But please note that the snow outside is getting heavier and heavier now, and the field may become very slippery in the second half of the game, so everyone should be careful not to get hurt! "
Guardiola emphasized the expectations with the words "don't get hurt". Judging from the score, they have basically won the game, but if someone gets injured at the end of the game, the joy of victory will be diluted.
To this end, he planned to make substitutions in the 65th minute, replacing several key players in several positions.
The fifteen minutes passed quickly and the second half of the game began.
The coach of Dynamo Kyiv did make some adjustments to the team's tactics during the half-time break.
They began to simplify their offensive tactics as much as possible to avoid excessive passes during offense and being intercepted by opponents.
After simplification, they started to play high balls and long passes.
The wingers on both sides began to frequently lift the ball into the penalty area, allowing their center forwards to compete for the header.
When counterattacking, they also omitted the transition from the midfield and directly kicked the ball from the backcourt, kicking it to the forward, letting the forward compete for the header or pass the ball to the opponent in the back.
Although this tactic is simple and crude, it still has a certain effect.
Their several shots created a lot of chaos in Manchester City's penalty area.
Although Navas kept jumping in front of the goal in this game, trying hard to maintain his condition, the temperature on the scene was still too low and his condition was obviously affected.
In the 55th minute of the second half, a shot from the opponent caused him to lose the ball, almost resulting in tragedy. Fortunately, Kompany cleared the ball on the goal line at the last moment, narrowly ensuring the safety of Manchester City's goal.
Although the ball did not go in, the opponent's morale was greatly boosted.
As the snow accumulated, the surface of the stadium began to become slippery, and when the football rolled on the ground, the resistance it encountered also increased due to the presence of snow.
This caused Manchester City players to make many mistakes in the passing process, and the opponent's attack took advantage of Manchester City's mistakes.
Guardiola looked at the time. It was not yet 65 minutes, but he felt that he could not delay any longer.
So he made decisive substitutions, replacing Kroos and De Bruyne with Fernandinho and Sane, and withdrawing Lin Quan to the attacking midfielder position.
After Sane came on the pitch, Jesus' position retreated, turning him from a lone striker into a front-line engineer.
Guardiola had long discovered that this kid had balanced abilities in all aspects.
He can be seen on both offense and defense, and he plays very smartly. In the frontcourt, he also likes to harass the opponent's defenders and interfere with the opponent's passing to buy time for his teammates.
If his tasks in this area are increased, he will become a defensive forward.
Now, what Manchester City has to do is very simple. They need to rely on defense, build their own fences, use the speed of the two wingers and Lin Quan's broad vision and outstanding footwork to pass a good ball and completely kill the game!
It doesn’t matter if such an opportunity doesn’t come, because Manchester City’s defensive capabilities are already overflowing.
Even though the field had an impact on their performance, Manchester City's defensive capabilities were still stronger than their opponents' offensive power after being weakened, and it was extremely difficult for the opponents to score!
“How despicable!”
"Is Manchester City going to set up a defensive formation?"
"How dare you be the defending champion?"
After seeing Manchester City's substitution choice, all the fans of Dynamo Kyiv broke down and started cursing.
Manchester City is so strong, but you actually played a defensive counterattack against a weak team like us. Isn't this too shameless? Guardiola, haven't you always criticized Mourinho's team for playing ugly and utilitarian football? What are you doing now? What is the difference between you and Mourinho? If Guardiola heard this, he would probably make a sophistry:
Isn't it the bad weather? If it wasn't snowing, Manchester City would certainly be ready to fight you. Do you think Manchester City is afraid of you? But with such heavy snow, if they continue to play the passing game as before, wouldn't they be crazy? Didn't you see that even Kroos and De Bruyne made mistakes in passing? This is enough to prove that ground attack can't be played. Since it can't be played, he must be more pragmatic.
The head coach of Dynamo Kyiv did not scold Manchester City for being shameless like the fans did. At this time, he no longer had the time to think about these things.
Manchester City made the first substitution, disrupting his tactical arrangement. With the addition of a defensive midfielder, their attack became more difficult.
Moreover, the opponent's forward seemed to have changed his playing style. He stopped receiving the ball and participating in the offense. Instead, he kept harassing the home team's player who had the ball like a piece of taffy.
He had never expected this kind of play. Who would have thought that Manchester City would have such a talent in their lineup? What made him most uneasy was that while Manchester City's lineup strengthened its defense, it did not weaken its offensive capabilities.
It seems that after replacing two core midfielders, they should be missing an organizational core, and their offensive threat should be greatly reduced.
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However, Lin Quan performed several duties at the same time and completed the task brilliantly.
After retreating to the attacking midfielder position, he did an excellent job in organization, dispatching, transferring, attacking and even passing threatening balls.
With him around, Dynamo Kyiv's defensive players dared not be careless at all, because if they were not careful, he could easily find the flaws and send a fatal pass.
In the second half, Manchester City launched several quick attacks from the flanks. Although they failed to score a goal in the end due to one reason or another, it was enough to threaten Dynamo Kyiv's goal and prevented them from pressing forward as aggressively as they did in the final moments of the first half.
However, what was to come had to come. Seeing Sane and Son Heung-min wasting the opportunities they created one after another, Lin Quan took action personally.
In the 75th minute of the second half, he took advantage of a free kick opportunity and scored directly from the free kick, changing the score to 3:0!
This goal can be said to have completely killed the suspense of the game, so after Lin Quan scored, Manchester City players rushed up one after another, and even the players on the bench wrapped in down jackets rushed to the court frantically to join in the celebration.
Seeing their excitement, someone who didn't know would think that Manchester City had won the Champions League! The Kiev fans in the stands at the stadium felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on their heads, and their hearts were chilled.
Those fans who were cheering with their bare chests and beating drums before, had quietly put on their clothes at some point.
I don’t know if it was because they were too cold, but even though they were wrapped in thick down jackets, they still felt surrounded by the bone-chilling cold and didn’t feel any warmth at all.
After seeing Lin Quan score a goal, Guardiola immediately used his last substitution.
He replaced Lin Quan with Iheanacho.
Jesus retreated to the attacking midfielder position, and Iheanacho stood out in the front.
Seeing the opponent moving the positions of the front players at will like playing with a puzzle platter, the coach of Dynamo Kyiv couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.
It’s not unfair to lose to Manchester City, as the opponent is much stronger than them.
Apart from anything else, just the fact that these Manchester City players are generally able to adapt to multiple positions is something they completely lack.
No wonder Guardiola's team can always come up with something new in terms of formation. With so many versatile players under his command, it's no wonder they can come up with something new!
Although Jesus is also very comprehensive, he is only 19 years old and still lacks experience.
In the 87th minute of the second half, the opponent took advantage of his slow pass and launched a counterattack and scored a goal, helping the home team save some face.
However, this goal came too late. There was not much time left in the game and the Dynamo Kyiv players did not have much fighting spirit.
In the end, the game ended with the score fixed at 1:3.
Manchester City won a complete victory away from home, and with 3 away goals and a 2-goal advantage, they have already put one foot into the quarterfinals of the Champions League!
Since Manchester City was the last of the eight games in the first round of the Champions League knockout stage, when their game ended, the first round of games was also over, and the scores of several key battles were also released.
Thanks to goals from Neymar and Cavani, Paris Saint-Germain beat Chelsea 2:1 at home. The goal for Chelsea was scored by Mikel.
Real Madrid beat Roma 2-0 away from home, with Ronaldo scoring a goal.
Arsenal lost to Barcelona 0:2 at home as expected. Messi scored both goals and was one of the only two players to score twice in this round. The other one was Lin Quan.
Juventus drew 2:2 with Bayern at home. In this game, the Old Lady fought back after conceding two goals and finally managed to equalize the score, showing the world their strong resilience and temporarily shutting up those who had doubted their strength because of their previous group stage results.
However, Ribery was injured in this game and was not sent on until the 84th minute. Without the combination of Ribery and Rodriguez, Bayern was obviously not in its strongest condition.
When Bayern returns to their home court for the next game, the outside world will still be more optimistic about Bayern.
Of the three Premier League teams that advanced to the knockout stage, only Manchester City won after the first round of matches.
Both Arsenal and Chelsea lost, and both losses were ugly.
Especially Arsenal. Although Barcelona lost Neymar and its strength has been greatly weakened, it is still not a team that Arsenal can defeat.
In front of Barcelona, Arsenal seemed to have encountered their destined nemesis, playing without any order, with the number of passes and ball possession rate less than half of their opponents.
Sanchez, who was determined to prove himself, was tightly guarded by his former teammates in this game and had no chance at all.
The Gunners fans who watched the entire game were all filled with despair. They played like this at home, and it seemed like they had no chance at all when they played away.
The Gunners' Champions League journey this season may have come to an end.
Fans of Chelsea next door are also gloomy. After Paris Saint-Germain introduced Neymar, their overall strength has improved a lot.
They were completely suppressed by their opponents away from home, with 22% less ball possession and more than half the number of shots.
If Paris Saint-Germain's forwards had not been poor at seizing opportunities, the score of this game would definitely not have been 2:1. The gap in hard power made it difficult for Chelsea to be optimistic.
Therefore, Manchester City once again became the last hope of the Premier League! (End of this chapter)