Chapter 230 The most top tactical contest in football, the fierce start of the decisive battle!

At the pre-match press conference for Manchester City vs Manchester United.

"Manchester City's lineup is stronger than last season, and they won 11 consecutive games at the beginning of the season. Do you think Manchester City can win today's game?"

Listening to the question without any nutrition, Guardiola held the microphone and said in a deep voice: "We are confident of winning the final victory, but it does not mean that we will underestimate Manchester United. Respecting the opponent is also respecting ourselves."

"If you watched Manchester City's last two games, you would have more confidence in Manchester City than I do."

Guardiola's confidence is palpable.

Manchester City beat Southampton 6-1, Manchester City beat Young Boys 6-0, and were unstoppable in the league and the Champions League.

Among the players in the team, B Silva continued the good form at the beginning of the season, Fernandinho came out of the aftermath of the World Cup, and the central defender pairing of Stones and Laporte performed stably. It can be said that Guardiola's Manchester City has become a complete body.

"Mr. Guardiola, De Bruyne had a back muscle strain last week. We saw him included in the squad. Will he have a chance to play in today's game?"

"It depends on the specific situation of the game." Guardiola did not answer directly, "I hope he will not have the opportunity to play."

"There is another question. According to rumors, Manchester United player Chu and your daughter Maria——"

The reporter was interrupted before he could finish his words. Guardiola frowned and retorted: "I am not obliged to answer questions that are not related to the game."

At the same time, in another meeting room.

"Mr. Mourinho, you and Guardiola have played against each other 21 times in the past. You have achieved a record of 7 wins, 6 draws and 8 losses, and are slightly behind."

Mourinho fell into deep thought after hearing this, and countless chaotic images emerged.

Mourinho said of Chelsea's Champions League defeat: "Chelsea are crying and Barcelona are laughing with the referee because they cost my Chelsea lads the chance to qualify."

Despite being one man down at Camp Nou, the Blues eliminated Barcelona 3-2 with a solid defense. Mourinho said: "This is the most wonderful defeat in my life. This is about bloodiness, not technique. Everyone in our team is a hero. It's a pity that I can't play because I have the same bloodiness."

After the Spanish derby between Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​Guardiola said: "I am proud! The whole world has seen how we play football."

He used this to mock Mourinho, who had defeated him through tenacious defensive counterattack tactics.

Before the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​Guardiola said: "Since Mr. Mourinho calls me Pep, let me call him 'Jose' - tomorrow night at 8:45, we will see the truth on the pitch. Outside the football field, he has already won."

In the past decade, the fates of the two seem to be intertwined, from friendly colleagues to lifelong enemies.

Under the flashing spotlight, Mourinho showed a wild smile: "Tomorrow my record will be 8 wins, 6 draws and 8 losses."

The two of them can't go back to the way they were before, so it's good to be rivals like this.

After returning to the Manchester United locker room, Mourinho repeated the tactical requirements and led the players into the player tunnel.

Chu Feng rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Why are there so many shiny heads?

Fernandinho, David Silva, Kyle Walker, Mendy, Ederson, plus Guardiola next to the queue.

Is baldness becoming a trend in football recently?

However, it seems that baldness can indeed improve players' performance. For example, Walker is extremely brave on both offense and defense, and Alisson also often contributes world-class saves.

Chu Feng touched his thick hair and gave up the idea of ​​shaving his head.

Kyle Walker looked at Chu Feng with complicated eyes. Since he molested Guardiola's daughter last season, he has suffered a lot and was almost demoted to Manchester City's second team.

Fortunately, Chu Feng stepped forward to stop him at that time, otherwise things would not be solved so easily.

Although Guardiola appears to be very elegant in front of the media, his temper in private is as violent as Ferguson's. He might have to spend some time in jail.

Foden was very excited. As a player from Manchester City's youth training, he really wanted to save the team at the critical moment like Chu Feng.

"I heard that you are going to be a father? Congratulations!" Chu Feng cupped his hands.

"Well, we're going to call him Ronnie. What do you think? It's a cute name, right?" Foden replied with a smile. "I'll host a party then, and I hope you and Maria can come with me."

"Okay." Chu Feng nodded.

It has to be said that Foden is a worthy winner in life. Under the training of Guardiola, he has achieved his rapid rise and become an indispensable member of Manchester City.

In the future, he will help the team win every championship that Manchester City participates in.

It’s just that Chu Feng’s rebirth seemed to have disrupted time and space, and he became the person who won the club’s Grand Slam.

He and Foden are of the same age, both are just 19 years old this year, so he won't suppress Foden's entire career, right? Chu Feng suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

As the melodious tune floated up, players from both teams slowly walked out of the player tunnel.

The Etihad Stadium suddenly erupted into deafening cheers.

The only thing more exciting than the city derby is the national derby.

The excitement and unique atmosphere of two teams competing for the championship in the same city is special. It has an extra flavor for local and online fans, and it is a completely different kind of excitement.

Even if both teams are in the middle of the league, the derby will suddenly become very important.

Not to mention that today is the decisive battle! Since Valencia and Ashley Young did not play, Chu Feng, as the third captain of Manchester United, came to the referee with David Silva.

The two men shook hands and exchanged flags.

David Silva casually said: "Positive."

"Then I can only be the opposite." Chu Feng shrugged.

Anthony Taylor took a coin out of his pocket. Strictly speaking, it was called a "side picker". It had no face value or decoration, and was only divided into two sides, the front and the back.

As the coin spun into the air, it landed on the back of Taylor's hand.

David Silva guessed the direction and decisively chose the right to kick off. After all, the game was held at night and there would be no problem with direct sunlight.

Players from both teams took their positions and made final preparations.

"Good evening, audience friends!"

"The broadcast now is the 12th round of the 2018-19 Premier League."

"Manchester City vs Manchester United!"

"Manchester City derby, Guardiola and Mourinho face off, the decisive battle!"

"Here are the starting lineups for both teams. Manchester City lined up in a 4-3-3 formation and the player list is as follows."

"Due to injury, De Bruyne is only included in the 18-man squad and it is still unknown whether he can play in this game."

"It's just that with the outstanding performance of B Silva, Manchester City's overall strength has not declined."

"Manchester City have won 10 and tied 1 of their last 11 games in all competitions this season, scoring 35 goals and conceding only 7 goals. It can be said that they have a near-perfect performance on both offense and defense."

"Let's take a look at Manchester United's starting lineup."

"Mourinho arranged the same formation. Is he trying to target that team? But the problem lies in the individual strength of Manchester City players——"

Before Zhan Jun finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that Manchester United had spent more than 200 million euros on signings this season, and the overall strength has undergone a drastic change. Basically, each position can be ranked in the top ten among the active players.

"Well, I think the start of this game will be rather boring. The main theme will naturally be Manchester City taking control of the ball, while Manchester United will enter a relatively boring defensive period, looking for opportunities to find loopholes in the opponent's offense and defense transition to launch a counterattack."

"Also, judging from the points of the two teams, even if Manchester United can win the final victory, they will not be able to overtake Manchester City and regain the top spot because Manchester United's goal difference is less than Manchester City's."

"In the final analysis, it was Xiao Chu's suspension that caused Manchester United to lose the game against Tottenham, which led to Manchester United losing the advantage at the beginning of the season."

"But if Manchester United wants to defend the Premier League title, they must take three points from the Etihad, otherwise the gap with Manchester City will only get bigger and bigger. I hope Xiaochu can play well today."

“.”

The 2,862 Manchester United fans in the away stands sang the adapted song in unison.

"This is my house, this is my neighbour Manchester City, I have the Premier League title, he will get one soon, I have the FA Cup title, he will get one too."

"I have the Champions League, he can't get it!"

“Hey, this is a big success!”

However, the singing did not go far before it was drowned out by the voices of Manchester City fans.

"We beat Manchester United during Ferguson's time, cinemas will show Manchester United's defeat!"

"Park the bus, park the bus, Manchester United only knows how to park the bus!"

In the away stands.

Tom waved his hands angrily and shouted: "F**k Manchester City for only giving us 2,900 tickets. We'll have a lot to lose when we get back to Old Trafford!"

"Old Tom, don't you think it would be more satisfying to beat Manchester City at home?"

"The strongest players are already in the team, we can't lose the game!"

"Manchester United! Manchester United! Manchester United!"

Beep!!! A sharp and loud whistle suddenly sounded, and everyone's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. Everyone stared at the court intently.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Manchester City kicks off! Chu Feng rushed towards Fernandinho without caring about his physical strength.

Manchester United did not choose to park the bus in the backcourt, but instead launched high-pressure defense from the start and took the lead with a strong attitude!

This is very different from Zhan Jun's prediction.

In fact, when De Bruyne was not in Manchester City's starting lineup, Mourinho's Plan B was officially implemented.

After all, De Bruyne has world-class passing and vision. As long as he is given a little space, he can make a fatal key pass.

Therefore, if De Bruyne starts, Manchester United will hide in the backcourt and park the bus to minimize the gaps between the defense lines.

But what about Seat B?

He is better than De Bruyne in ball possession, but lacks sufficient threatening passing ability, so Manchester United can boldly press forward.

As for whether Mourinho will press high?

Perhaps compared to Klopp and Simeone, Mourinho's tactics are not sophisticated enough, but they are enough to target B Silva.

Moreover, the reason why Manchester United rarely played high-pressure defense in the past is actually due to Manchester United’s slightly weak forward line.

To put it simply, as long as Martial and Rashford are on the field, Manchester United will never be able to successfully press high.

Because both of them are very emotional and need someone to push them forward.

But at that time, due to his age, Ibrahimovic did not have the extra energy to press and could not put enough pressure on Rashford.

Now that Martial has been sold to Paris Saint-Germain, the core of the striker has changed from Ibrahimovic to Chu Feng, and the right winger has also been replaced by the diligent Mahrez.

The high-pressure tactics were immediately activated! Manchester United players did not think of saving their energy at all, and tried their best to block Manchester City's passing route, forcing Manchester City to move the ball to the wing.

Guardiola's eyelids couldn't stop twitching. Why did this tactic look so familiar?

Suddenly an idea struck him.

Isn't this a re-enactment of Inter Milan vs. Barcelona? Guardiola couldn't help but smile and looked back at the field. After several passes, the ball came to Kyle Walker's feet.

Facing Rashford's pressure, Bald Walker suddenly accelerated and dribbled the ball along the sideline!

This is the fastest full-back in the Premier League!

After being dribbled past, Rashford quickly chased back. Regardless of his technique, his attitude was excellent.

Without giving Pogba a chance to make up for the defense and steal the ball, Walker passed the ball to B Silva in the middle, who was knocked over by Matic who was heading forward, but the ball had already been returned to Manchester City's half.

From God's perspective.

Manchester City's way of breaking through high-pressure defense is very unique. They first draw Manchester United's entire defense to the wing, and then create secondary attack opportunities through back passes.

"Stones?"

"Why did he pass Fernandinho? Guardiola is making trouble again in a crucial game!"

It is well known that Guardiola hates double defensive midfielders because it compresses the space on the pitch and breaks the basic principles of his philosophy.

But a single defensive midfielder can easily lead to many problems.

Therefore, the central defensive midfielder came into being, temporarily moving forward to form 1.5 defensive midfielders, creating a situation of having more players against fewer players in the midfield.

Chu Feng quickly stepped forward to press Stones.

However, Manchester City's goal was to guide Manchester United to switch defense. At the moment Chu Feng changed his pressing target, Stones passed the ball to Fernandio.

Bang! Manchester City's No. 25 made a long pass and the ball fell accurately to the left.

Manchester United's high-pressure defense was broken, and at Mourinho's urging, they quickly retreated to the backcourt to defend.

The battle for space has officially begun! Manchester City is a team that runs into space, while Manchester United is a team that settles and occupies space! But when it comes to understanding football space, no one can surpass Guardiola, not even Mourinho.

David Silva turned sideways and stopped the ball with his chest, then easily dribbled past Herrera!

Manchester City fans immediately gave warm applause.

The performance of the space magician has not yet ended. His dribbling in a small area is comparable to Messi and has surpassed the scope of strength and speed.

That's the use of space.

The continuous feints not only shook Matic's center of gravity, but also made Bailly unable to help but move forward to prepare for defense.

"Wow, what a great through ball! It tears apart Manchester United's defense!"

"As expected, you are the king of rib space utilization!"

"Aguero!!!"

All the Manchester City fans in the stadium were shouting the same name, the man who once created the 9230 miracle and defeated Manchester United players during the Ferguson era!

Due to Bailly's reckless interception, Maguire had to fight alone.

But facing Aguero, who has the fastest starting and ball-contact speed, Maguire is as clumsy as an aircraft carrier turning around.

Aguero shook off Maguire in two steps, faced De Gea who had left the goal, and shot into the far corner to break through the Manchester United goal! The Etihad Stadium was instantly boiling!

Manchester City fans waved their arms and cheered wildly.

Manchester United fans widened their eyes, unable to believe that Manchester City scored in just 6 minutes. This scoring speed was simply outrageous.

Even though the gap in strength was too big last season, the stalemate lasted for at least dozens of minutes.

"From breaking Mourinho's high-pressure defense to targeting Manchester United's defense, this is Guardiola's tactical victory!"

"I think Mourinho must be regretting this now."

"Moreover, the shortcomings of Manchester United's two central defenders were also exposed. Bailly's habit of rushing up would leave space behind him, and Maguire's large and clumsy body made it difficult for him to deal with small and agile players."

"Just now Aguero dribbled into the penalty area and Maguire just managed to turn around. It was too difficult for him."

"Although Maguire and Bailly have worked well together before, that is based on the premise that Manchester United's frontcourt attack is strong enough."

"Now facing Manchester City, which is an integrated attack and defense team, Bailly's occasional impetuosity has been greatly magnified."

Zhan Jun shook his head.

Zhang Lu next to him continued: "Let's see how Mourinho adjusts it?"

(End of this chapter)