Chapter 955 Give me a Su Dong, I can win the world!
Previously, when Chelsea coach Villas-Boas complained about the schedule, the media used Manchester City to criticize him, leaving Villas-Boas speechless.
This is not just because Manchester City has better results, but a very important point is that Manchester City's schedule is the devil among devils.
Four games were played in twelve days, especially between the 19th and 20th rounds, which were on December 31st and January 2nd respectively, which means there was only one day in between.
That’s it?
This is just the beginning.
The FA Cup weekend is on January 6th, while others are on January 7th or even 8th.
So why is Manchester City one day earlier than others?
Because they will face the first leg of the League Cup semi-final in three days.
Next is the 21st round of the league, and in the middle of the week is the second leg of the League Cup semi-final.
Isn’t it a bit confusing?
It’s okay, you just need to know that in this devil’s schedule, Manchester City will play two more games than other teams, so it’s okay.
However, Chelsea must have some opinions because they also reached the semi-finals of the League Cup and have to play two more games.
Then let’s take a look at the opponents in the competition.
In the 20th round, Manchester City faced Liverpool at home.
In the third round of the FA Cup midweek, Manchester City will face Manchester United at home.
Yes, you read that right, it's Manchester United! I don't know how those damn guys in the English Football Association drew the lot, but they actually drew the top two teams in the Premier League to the third round of the FA Cup. Isn't this equivalent to playing the final in advance?
But according to the English Football Association, this also proves that the FA Cup draw is open, fair and just, and there is absolutely no trickery.
Look, even Manchester City and Manchester United were drawn in the third round, what else is going on? At least it's not like the Champions League, where there are still seeded teams! In the two-legged League Cup semi-final, the opponent is Liverpool, while Chelsea's opponent is Cardiff of the English Championship.
The strength of these two teams is completely not on the same level and cannot be compared.
The 21st round is an away challenge to Wigan Athletic, and the opponent in the 22nd round is Tottenham Hotspur.
If Manchester City can beat Manchester United in the third round and advance, the FA Cup will be next.
In other words, every game for Manchester City throughout January was a tough battle.
Even though Wigan Athletic is deep in the relegation zone, their home ground is not easy to play at either. Liverpool and Chelsea both suffered a lot here and only got a draw, not to mention the long and tiring expedition like Manchester City.
It can be said that Chelsea has no right to complain under Manchester City's hellish schedule.
…
The year 2011 ended and we entered the year 2012.
Manchester City welcomed Liverpool the day after the New Year.
At the Etihad Stadium, both sides made very intensive rotations.
There is no other way. Playing two games in three days without rotation will not be enough for the players’ bodies to bear.
But even with the rotation, many players were not in good shape.
After the opening, both sides played rather dully in the first ten minutes and no one was able to create any chances.
The absence of key players such as Bellamy and Gerrard has a great impact on Liverpool, while Manchester City is constantly running in.
In the 15th minute, Manchester City finally launched a threatening attack.
Sudon retreated to the left and cooperated with Hazard and Moutinho, but failed to break through Liverpool's defense and was forced to pass the ball back to Busquets for reorganization.
Gareth Barry saw an opportunity and sent a long pass with his left foot, accurately behind the Liverpool defense.
Su Dong advanced at the fastest speed, stopped the ball with his foot and had a one-on-one opportunity.
After rushing into the penalty area, Su Dong left central defender Daniel Agger behind him, faced the attacking goalkeeper Reina, made a sudden pause to adjust, and then kicked the ball into Liverpool's goal.
Su Dong is very experienced in dealing with such one-on-one shots.
He knows better than anyone how to disrupt the goalkeeper's rhythm and confuse their judgment.
After taking the lead, Manchester City slowed down their attack and pace slightly.
In the 41st minute, before the end of the first half, Manchester City created another opportunity. Su Dong broke through with the ball and was fouled by Skrtel in front of the penalty area. The referee gave him a yellow card and Manchester City got a chance for a set piece in the frontcourt.
Su Dong took the lead. Facing the Liverpool wall full of tall players, he still used a wonderful arc ball, which went to the far corner, brushed the upper right corner, and went into Liverpool's goal, expanding Manchester City's score to 2-0.
After establishing the advantage, Manchester City slowed down their attack slightly.
After the second half, Guardiola replaced Su Dong on time in the 60th minute, hoping that he could get enough rest and conserve his energy to prepare for the FA Cup match against Manchester United at the weekend.
Unlike usual, this time after Su Dong left the court, he did not stay on the bench, but went straight into the player tunnel and returned to the locker room to rest and have a massage.
His personal coaching team was already waiting for him inside.
…
"Manchester City fans at the Etihad Stadium were applauding Sudon."
"This is one of the players with the most appearances and the most playing time for Manchester City this season. As a center forward, especially a center forward, this attendance rate is really amazing."
"More importantly, every time Su Dong plays, he can score goals for Manchester City."
"It can be said that he is the key figure for Manchester City to advance on all four fronts this season."
"Manchester City fans are very aware of this, so they give Su Dong high praise, and we can also see that Su Dong is indeed very tired."
"But as the captain of Manchester City and the team's top star, he can't rest yet!"
The applause in the stands of Etihad continued for a long time when Su Dong entered the locker room.
…………
…………
The twentieth round of the league was very cruel.
Manchester City eventually defeated Liverpool 3-0. Sudon scored twice. In the second half, Moutinho created a penalty kick, which Milner calmly scored to seal the victory for Manchester City.
This is one of the few warmth in the cold winter.
The coldest one is Boas.
The young Portuguese coach now feels as sad as if even God is against him.
He had been under pressure from the media and fans, his results were not ideal, and the management was not satisfied with him, so after a large rotation, he finally remembered Lampard next to the water dispenser.
As a result, in the 20th round, when Lampard finally started again, he not only performed well throughout the game, but also used his own goal in the final stage of the game to help Chelsea beat Wolves 2-1 away.
What could be more embarrassing for Boas than this?
He hadn't tasted the joy of victory for five games, but when Lampard came on in this game, Chelsea won immediately, and it was Lampard who scored the winning goal.
What does this mean? Villas-Boas couldn't imagine it anymore. His image in the Chelsea dressing room, among the fans, and even in the media outside, not only did not improve because of this victory, but it fell further, and it was an endless fall.
…
Compared with Chelsea, Arsenal's performance in this round can also be described as depressing.
Wenger has not brought in a strong central defender and now he has finally paid the price.
Djokovic received his second yellow card in the 78th minute and was sent off with a red card, leaving Arsenal with one man less in the last ten minutes.
As a result, Fulham took advantage of these ten minutes to score two goals in a row and reversed Arsenal 2-1.
The loss of three points and Chelsea's win resulted in the Gunners being knocked out of the top four of the league and the Blues taking their place.
Next up are Liverpool and Newcastle.
Newcastle Magpies really exploded in this round.
Facing Manchester United at home, Newcastle played very well and defeated Manchester United 3-0.
Ferguson's team was leading by two goals in the previous round, but was reversed by the opponent 3-2. This time they lost even more thoroughly, losing 0-3 to Newcastle away from home.
What? Losing by three goals is embarrassing?
Isn't that what you said? In the last round, you said that I was embarrassed to lose three goals after leading by two goals. Then I didn't even score two goals in this game and lost three goals. You still said that I was embarrassed? Tell me, what do you want from Manchester United? Can you give me a straightforward answer? Ferguson seemed very calm after the game. He said that this loss was indeed disappointing. Newcastle's second goal completely killed Manchester United. From then on, the game completely lost suspense.
As Manchester City defeated Liverpool 3-0, the gap between the two teams at the top of the standings has widened to fifteen points. Ferguson said regretfully that this season's Premier League championship basically belongs to Manchester City.
"Although I am reluctant to say this, we have to accept that Manchester City's advantage in the Premier League is gradually turning into their bargaining chip for winning the championship. They are the strongest contender for the championship, and it is difficult for other teams, including Manchester United, to affect them."
But Ferguson was not convinced by Guardiola's team.
"If I could have a Su Dong, I could achieve more consecutive victories, and even conquer the whole world, but the problem is, I don't have one!" Ferguson was obviously resentful about this.
He wanted to bring Sneijder from Inter Milan, but Manchester United's management had no such plans.
Someone has calculated that in the past five years, Manchester United spent a total of 160 million pounds on buying players in the transfer market, but earned 150 million pounds from selling players. In other words, Manchester United's net investment in the past five years was only 10 million pounds.
Of course, the transfer income includes the huge income brought by Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Real Madrid, but this itself is also part of the club's overall strength. Manchester United did not use this money to recruit players.
Today, Manchester United makes a profit of over 100 million pounds every season, but its losses have also reached a staggering 80 million pounds. The reason behind this is the bloodsucking from the Glazer family.
Ferguson said that if he had a Su Dong, he could win more games in a row. This was definitely not just an angry remark, but he sincerely felt that Manchester United's current investment could not support the status of a top club.
Now that Ferguson is still here, he can rely on his own abilities to barely maintain the situation, but he is at this age after all, how long can he maintain it?
When he could no longer hold on and retired, what would Manchester United become? Ferguson didn't dare to think about it, but he was really annoyed.
In all these years of coaching Manchester United, when has he ever been so embarrassed?
Especially since they will face Manchester City in the FA Cup next, what can he use to play against Manchester City?
(End of this chapter)
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