Chapter 866: Manchester City is vulnerable
On the first day of May, Manchester City played against the visiting Hammers West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
When the game reached the tenth minute, Manchester City won a corner kick opportunity.
David Silva quickly took a corner kick, and there was chaos in the West Ham United penalty area. Center back Upson headed the ball out of the penalty area, but Busquets, who had been lurking outside the penalty area for Manchester City, stopped at the point where the ball landed and shot again with his right foot.
The football stuck to the grass, followed a straight line, and went into the lower right corner of the goal.
One to zero!
Everyone in the stadium was stunned, even the commentator was visibly stunned for a moment, and then cheers broke out. Manchester City fans rushed out of their seats, cheering Busquets' name wildly to celebrate his goal.
On the court, Su Dong, along with other teammates, quickly ran to Busquets on the sidelines and gave him a warm hug. "That was a great long shot!"
In Su Dong's memory, this seemed to be Busquets' first goal after joining Manchester City.
From last season to now, after Busquets came to Manchester City, he has always been a hard-working defensive midfielder, responsible for passing and organizing the ball, but many people believe that Busquets' role in Manchester City's midfield is the lowest, and he is purely relying on his status as Guardiola's direct descendant to get by.
But that's clearly not the case.
Busquets was suppressed in the delayed position and was not allowed to move forward. However, Busquets' organization and coordination in the delayed position were crucial to Manchester City's midfield possession, especially his off-ball running support.
In Manchester City, basically no one will question Busquets' role, but no one will exaggerate his strength too much.
Many people say that he is like Guardiola, but he is not at all.
If you study Busquets' game videos carefully, you will find that he can always appear at the receiving point where his teammates need him to be, and he is always a reliable receiving point when his teammates want to pass the ball.
There is no need to say how important this is for a ball-control team.
But this is not a panacea.
To do this, you need to run more in the gaps.
But the risk that comes with it is that if Manchester City is counterattacked by the opponent after being intercepted by the opponent during the period when he is running in the open space, the single defensive midfielder is absent, so Busquets needs some time to get back to his position when running in the open space.
And everyone knows that on the football field, one second, or even a few tenths of a second, may decide everything.
This goes back to what Guardiola said when he discussed with Su Dong at the beginning of the season. In the tactical map he designed, the center forward is crucial, because if the center forward cannot suppress the opponent's defense and the midfield cannot hold the ball, it will be difficult for Busquets to ensure the stability of the defense.
In Guardiola's original idea, the ideal center forward should be the type of Kluivert, but unexpectedly, God arranged for him the more outstanding and comprehensive Su Dong.
With the joining of Su Dong, Busquets' performance has gradually been recognized and he has become the organizational core of Manchester City's midfielder. At the same time, he has won more and more recognition, but his characteristics require him to be positioned at the back.
You can't even ensure that you can stay in position in the first place when you are lagging behind, and you are asked to move forward. Isn't this asking for death? Because of this, Busquets rarely gets a chance to score.
When the iron tree blooms, it is naturally extremely exciting.
…
Five minutes after Busquets scored a goal for Manchester City, Manchester City scored another goal.
David Silva made a diagonal pass in front of the penalty area, and Zabaleta volleyed into the far corner from the right, scoring the second goal for Manchester City, 2-0!
Although Demba Ba scored a goal for West Ham United before the end of the first half, David Silva assisted again in the 55th minute of the second half, and Su Dong shot with his left foot, making it 3-1!
In the 63rd minute, Busquets made an assist that penetrated the entire West Ham United defense line, and David Silva had a single shot in the penalty area, securing the victory for Manchester City.
After assisting a hat trick, he scored another goal and the Spanish midfielder put on a masterclass performance.
Manchester City eventually won 4-1 against West Ham United at home.
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In the middle of the week, Manchester City faced Benfica at home in the Europa League semi-final.
With the score at 2-2 away from home, Manchester City played more actively at home.
Just three minutes into the game, Su Dong received a cross from Di Maria and shot in front of the goal, scoring the first goal for Manchester City.
After scoring the goal, Benfica launched a counterattack, but was quickly pressed back by Manchester City.
The Portuguese Super League team is obviously very clear that they have no ability to show off against Manchester City and can only continue to defend.
After taking a one-goal lead, Manchester City played more steadily.
Over the past period of time, the team has been fighting on three fronts continuously, and the players have been extremely exhausted. Everyone is happy to have some time to rest.
In the end, Manchester City beat Benfica 1-0 at home and advanced with a total score of 3-2.
…
In another match, Porto beat Villarreal 5-1 at home, but then lost 2-3 away, with a total score of 7-4, and successfully advanced to the Europa League final.
This year's Europa League final will be held in Dublin, Ireland, UK.
Manchester City vs. Porto! The head coach is the young coach Guardiola against the 33-year-old Villas-Boas, and Manchester City's center forward Su Dong faces the challenge of Colombian center forward Falcao. These are undoubtedly quite interesting in the game.
Guardiola has been controversial since he took over as coach of Manchester City, but after Su Dong joined the team this season, the team's performance has improved significantly. Not only did they reach the Europa League final, they also basically won the Premier League championship, and also reached the FA Cup final. The treble is in sight, which is impressive.
The 33-year-old Villas-Boas was Mourinho's assistant. This season, he led Porto to win the Portuguese Super League and Portuguese Cup. He is aiming for the Europa League and the treble, and is also following in the footsteps of his predecessor Mourinho.
What’s interesting is that the treble-winning Porto coached by Mourinho was destroyed by Su Dong, when he was still playing for Sporting Lisbon and Valencia.
Now, with the passage of time, the madman Villas-Boas II led Porto to once again hit the treble, and Su Dong once again stood in their way. However, after defeating Villarreal, Villas-Boas said in an interview, "We will not let the championship slip away this time!"
The implication is that he wants to make up for the regrets of Porto in the past and do what Mourinho could not do.
And his reliance is the powerful attacking lineup in his hands.
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This weekend, in the 36th round of the Premier League, Manchester City will challenge Everton away.
Su Dong played three games in a row and was rested in this game.
As a result, Manchester City wasted opportunities continuously in the away game against Everton.
David Silva failed to continue his excellent performance in the previous round and missed a one-on-one opportunity shortly after the start of the game.
Although Manchester City took advantage of Everton center back Distin's mistake to score the first goal in the 29th minute, Distin made up for it in the second half with a corner kick opportunity and equalized the score for Everton.
Then former Manchester United player Phil Neville assisted Osman to score another goal for Everton.
2-1, Moyes' team finally reversed Manchester City.
…
Without Su Dong, Manchester City seemed to have lost the chance to score goals.
Dzeko has been slow to integrate into the team. Every time Su Dong is absent, Manchester City's goal efficiency is greatly reduced, which makes everyone feel helpless, especially Guardiola.
In this round, Manchester City was reversed by Everton. Not only did they lose three points, but they also missed the opportunity to win the championship two rounds in advance.
In the next round, Manchester City will face Stoke City at home. If they win, they will win the championship one round in advance. Otherwise, they will have to push it back and postpone the suspense of the championship to the last round.
Guardiola said after the game that it was indeed a pity that the team failed to win.
"We have been playing two games a week since Christmas. Everyone has reached their physical limit. We have all tried our best, but sometimes mistakes are inevitable, especially when the body is very tired."
Regarding the next round, Guardiola said that the team is confident of winning the championship at home.
“Stoke City is a very strong team, but we are confident that we can win at home!”
Guardiola's confidence is not unfounded.
On the one hand, after playing against Everton, Manchester City can get a week of precious rest time, especially for core players such as Sudong. Guardiola even plans to give them two days off so that they can rest and adjust their body and mind.
At that time, the return of Su Dong and others will undoubtedly greatly enhance Manchester City's combat effectiveness.
On the other hand, Stoke City is currently ranked eighth in the Premier League. The possibility of them entering the European war zone is not very high, and there is no pressure to avoid relegation, which makes it basically unlikely for them to fight to the death with Manchester City.
If we meet a relegation team, it’s hard to say, but a team like Stoke City would be easier to play against.
…
Compared to Manchester City's reversal by Everton, Manchester United scored against Chelsea in just one minute in the home game and eventually defeated the Blues 2-1.
After the game, Ferguson heard the news that Manchester City was defeated by Everton. He was so happy that he said he would buy Moyes a drink and congratulate him on defeating Manchester City at home.
"I have said that it is irrational for Manchester City to insist on fighting on multiple fronts. They do not have a good enough squad. Now is the time when they are the most tired and weakest. Any team can beat them, including at the Etihad Stadium."
Ferguson said he believed Stoke City was a team with aspirations and that head coach Tony Pulis was an experienced head coach. "I have known him for many years and among the head coaches in the UK, apart from Bobby Robson and Harry Redknapp, the head coach I admire most is Tony."
"I believe that he will surprise the whole world at the Etihad Stadium. He will once again prove to the world that Manchester City is really fragile, or even vulnerable!"
Ferguson's admiration for Tony Pulis is indeed long-standing, and he even made no secret of it in his autobiography. Now he can't wait to praise Tony Pulis to the highest level.
As long as Stoke City can beat Manchester City, everything will be fine!
(End of this chapter)
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