Chapter 851: Arrogance
Manchester City was certainly happy to beat Manchester United 7-0, but there was no time to reminisce about the victory because the team had to go away to challenge Aris in Greece.
Although the Greek team had previously threatened to maintain its 40-year unbeaten record at home and to make Manchester City have no chance of recovery, and the Greek media were also hyping up Aris' unbeaten record at home in European competitions, Manchester City still did not plan to send all its main players.
The journey is really too far.
Traveling more than 2,000 kilometers back and forth takes several hours by plane, and then rushing back after the game, which is really exhausting for the players.
Therefore, the strategy formulated by Guardiola and the coaching staff is to try to win away from home, but the real showdown will still be at home.
Manchester City need not be mentioned for the long journey, and Aris will 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 stayed in Manchester to adjust their status and prepare for the next round of the Premier League.
On the night of the competition, Su Dong organized a dinner at his own manor, and they all came.
…
The strength of Greek teams is actually not weak. For example, Olympiacos' overall strength is definitely not as good as the four major leagues, but when it comes to the ability to fight, especially in their own home court, there is definitely no problem.
Manchester City players can clearly feel a sense of fatigue.
The consumption of long journey 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 advantage to launch several threatening attacks, while Manchester City players did not seem excited enough.
After more than ten minutes of adjustments, Gareth Barry first missed the chance to score with a header, and then Dzeko also missed a shooting opportunity in front of the small penalty area, which made everyone in Manchester City quite disappointed.
"The home team fans are using laser pointers in the stands." The sharp-eyed Toni Kroos saw the clue.
Sure enough, Manchester City players protested on the field, and Dzeko and others pointed to the stands.
The TV commentators also started mentioning laser pointers, and it was clear that Toni Kroos was right.
Of course, the laser pen is only part of the factor, the poor form of Manchester City players is the key.
"We still need to break the deadlock as soon as possible." Su Dong said.
It's useless to have more ball possession if you don't score a goal.
Moreover, Manchester City is playing away, and if the game drags on, it will be disadvantageous to Manchester City.
Apart from anything else, given the state and physical condition of Manchester City players, they will probably perform even worse in the second half.
The Manchester City players far away in Greece seemed to know this clearly, so they began to actively try to organize the attack.
The midfield trio of Moutinho, Thiago and Gareth Barry was still of very high standard. They firmly controlled the ball and constantly organized and planned offensive opportunities.
At this point, it is difficult for the Greek team to shake Manchester City.
But just as Manchester City was pressing forward, frequently attacking Aris's penalty area and were about to score a goal, a very amateur mistake occurred on Manchester City's side.
This was a long counterattack pass by Aris, which went directly into Manchester City's penalty area.
Joe Hart left the goal and, without feeling any threat, snatched the ball from the air just inside the penalty area.
Up to this point, there is no problem and Joe Hart's performance is normal.
The key lies in what comes next.
Joe Hart wanted to kick the ball with a long kick and signaled the players in the front field to press forward, so he held the ball with one hand and kept waving his other hand, but for some reason, maybe he swung his arm too hard, causing the ball in his other hand to fall.
The England goalkeeper's reaction was also very quick. As soon as the ball fell and bounced off the ground, he bent down and picked it up.
But Aris's forward protested on the spot, believing that the ball had crossed the line and was a handball outside the penalty area.
This sudden change surprised everyone, including Su Dong and others who were sitting in front of the TV.
What kind of a move is Joe Hart making?
How could this be possible? The referee blew the whistle decisively and ran towards Joe Hart, while the Greek players chased him and protested non-stop.
Especially the forward of Aris, I guess he was saying that if Joe Hart didn't handball, he was very close and it was entirely possible for him to steal the ball and score a goal.
"This is trouble!" Pepe shook his head and sighed.
As a well-known reckless man on the court, Pepe is actually a man who walks on the foul line. He has a 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 happened away from home.
"This mistake is really incomprehensible. He seems to be making more and more strange mistakes like this." 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 goalkeeper be weak?
Sometimes he can perform at a very high level, but sometimes he will make a lot of inexplicable mistakes.
Just like this time, who could have thought how he slipped the ball out of his hand? Sure enough, the referee raised a red card towards Joe Hart and sent the Manchester City goalkeeper off the field.
The TV clearly showed the crazy cheers of Greek fans in the stands and inside the stadium.
From the slow-motion replay, Joe Hart's ball did fall outside the penalty area. It was definitely a foul, which is the difference between a red card and a yellow card. The referee obviously accepted the protest of Aris players, believing that if there was no handball, they would have a good chance of scoring a goal.
In front of the TV, Su Dong and others were silent.
They were reluctant to talk about Joe Hart's mistake at this time. After all, they were teammates fighting side by side. However, such a mistake was really a blow to morale and made the team lose one man.
England's players are really interesting sometimes.
This is true for Micah Richards and Joe Hart.
…
With Joe Hart being sent off, Aris's direct free kick from the edge of the penalty area failed to break Manchester City's goal.
Given came on as a substitute, and then Manchester City stabilized and started to play more steadily.
Aris's strength was limited and he was never able to break Manchester City's goal. Manchester City had one less player than their opponents and failed to create much threat. In addition, the players were exhausted after a long journey away from home.
In the end, the two sides shook hands and made peace with the score 0-0.
Manchester City's number of shots was even less than Aris's.
"Well, now those Greeks are showing off again!" Marcelo said angrily.
Unbeaten at home in European competitions for forty years, how awesome is that?
Looking around the world, which giants can do this? Is it possible to refute it? No! Because Manchester City can't break through Aris's home ground.
Manchester City was able to beat Arsenal 9-1 at the Emirates Stadium and beat Manchester United 7-0 at Old Trafford, but they just couldn't do anything to Aris in Greece. What can I say? Apart from saying that Aris is awesome and Greece is awesome, there is really nothing much to say.
"There's nothing to say, let's go back to our home court and teach them a lesson!" Su Dong said calmly.
Everyone felt helpless.
If it weren't for Joe Hart's red card, Manchester City could have defeated their opponents away from home, but now...
"You have to look at it this way. They've been putting this pen in there for forty years, so they should continue to do so." Pepe laughed.
Everyone was happy.
Back at home, can Manchester City still not kill Aris?
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Joe Hart's red card caused heated controversy after the game, but Guardiola took the initiative to defend Joe Hart, believing that no one should focus on his mistakes.
"In fact, apart from the red card, he played very well for most of the game."
As the captain of the team, Su Dong had an obligation at this time. He immediately contacted a familiar reporter from the Times, expressed his support for Joe Hart, and stated that the Manchester City locker room still trusted Joe Hart.
"Every player will make mistakes, and Joe Hart is still a teammate we can trust!"
Other Manchester City players also came out to express their support for Joe Hart.
Now is a crucial moment for Manchester City to challenge for the championship. No matter what, the team cannot have internal turmoil at this time.
More importantly, Manchester City currently has only two goalkeepers. Given is old, and if Joe Hart has problems again, who will Manchester City rely on to keep the goal? 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, Fulham led by Mark Hughes, at home.
Due to the Europa League, Manchester City rotated its lineup, but Joe Hart, who was sent off in the Europa League in midweek, still started. In the 25th minute, Su Dong scored a super long shot from 25 meters away and penetrated Fulham's goal, opening the scoring for Manchester City.
Just three minutes later, Toni Kroos made a long diagonal pass from the right to the left side of the penalty area. Di Maria passed the ball from the bottom line, and Marcelo followed up with a left-foot shot, scoring another goal for Manchester City, 2-0.
After the second half, Fulham launched a threatening attack just two minutes into the game. A lob shot by Fulham sent the ball over Joe Hart's head and broke through Manchester City's goal.
One to two!
After that, the two teams attacked and defended each other, but in the end Manchester City defeated Fulham 2-1 at home.
…
After playing against Fulham, Manchester City began to prepare for the second leg of the third knockout round of the Europa League.
After a 0-0 draw with Aris in the first leg away from home, the Greek media hyped up Aris' 40-year unbeaten streak at home in European competitions, with some media even threatening to capture Manchester City's Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
Of course, no one would take such arrogant remarks seriously.
However, everyone in Manchester City is really angry.
Especially after Joe Hart's red card, Aris really put Manchester City in a bit of a mess.
As Su Dong said in the locker room, if Aris cannot be taught a severe lesson at home, won't other teams treat Manchester City as a soft persimmon?
Aren't the so-called strong teams supposed to take revenge? "So, if we can't beat Aris by a large margin at home, then we'll have no place to put our face!"
Su Dong's encouragement also received positive responses from his teammates.
(End of this chapter)
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