Chapter 994 Manchester City must win!
On April 15th, in the FA Cup semi-final, Manchester City faced Tottenham Hotspur.
Goalkeeper Cudicini, the defense is Hector, Ledley, Gallas and Kyle Walker, the midfield is Livermore and Parker, the front court is Gareth Bale, Van der Vaart and Aaron Lennon, and the single striker is Adebayor.
This is Tottenham Hotspur's starting lineup.
When Manchester City received this starting lineup before the game, everyone's first reaction was confusion.
People are saying that Redknapp is going to give up the FA Cup, but it doesn't look like that now.
Could it be that the news released before the game was all smokescreen? A staff member walked into the locker room and distributed black ribbons to Manchester City players, requiring each player to tie it on their left arm.
This was requested by the English Football Association because April 15th is the 23rd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.
The tragedy that happened 23 years ago can be said to be the turning point for English football to quickly decline from its historical peak. It also made the English league unable to catch up with European football for a long time afterwards. It was not until Manchester United's treble that the Premier League gradually caught up with the mainstream.
In recent years, a massive influx of capital has brought advanced technical and tactical play, as well as outstanding stars, to the Premier League, which is why the Premier League is now such a prosperous scene.
Therefore, the English Football Association holds a memorial event for the Hillsborough disaster every year. During the matches on this day, players will wear black veils and observe a moment of silence for the victims. This year happens to be the FA Cup semi-final.
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Su Dong distributed the black ribbons to his teammates, and everyone asked the teammate next to them to help tie it.
It can't be too tight, or it will affect the competition, but it can't be too loose, otherwise it will fall off and distract you.
Head coach Guardiola's pre-match mobilization was more based on the game. He believed that Manchester City's strength was above Tottenham Hotspur, and as long as the players played steadily, there would be no problem in winning the game.
"We should not be distracted by the outside world, nor do we need to distract ourselves by guessing the opponent's mind. It doesn't make much sense for us, because we just need to play well and we will definitely be able to defeat the opponent."
Guardiola once again emphasized that Manchester City still adopts the "self-centered" game strategy in the game and insists on passing and controlling the ball. No matter what tactics the opponent adopts, Manchester City will not change its tactics.
This requires everyone to be patient.
Before going on the court, Su Donggang asked Pepe to tie a black ribbon for him. Now he has the captain's armband on one side and a black ribbon on the other.
Everyone waited in silence, and only looked up when he was ready and walked in front of them.
"We don't know what tactics Tottenham will adopt, but I agree with what Pep said just now, don't think about the opponent, because no matter what tactics they adopt, we must beat them and we will definitely beat them!"
Su Dong said this with great pride and confidence.
"It's April 15th, and there are still 34 days until the Champions League final."
Su Dong's sudden words made everyone in the locker room look up suddenly. Many people looked at him in confusion, while some people began to think about the meaning of Su Dong's words.
The Champions League final will be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on May 19th.
It is exactly thirty-four days from now.
Su Dong must have calculated it.
"I know that in the past few months, each of us has worked very hard, regardless of whether we played in the game or not, regardless of how many games we played, regardless of whether we were the starters, the rotation players or the substitutes, and even the young players in our youth team, everyone has worked very hard."
"We can get to where we are today and this point, thanks to everyone's hard work over the past few months."
In the locker room, the players on the roster were all deeply touched by what they heard.
Manchester City's bench is very strong, but the problem is that Manchester City's schedule is also very tight.
Fighting on four fronts, almost double-front battles every week, sometimes even around the clock, coupled with various factors such as injuries, ups and downs in form, has caused every Manchester City player to bear heavy pressure and burden.
Even the substitutes and young players are trembling with fear and walking on thin ice in such an atmosphere in the team.
Why? Because anytime, anywhere, if a player is injured or in poor form, they must be able to step up at any time.
If you take the lead and don't perform well, you will be the sinner of the whole team.
Who among those who can enter Manchester City is not a top professional player? Who does not have a sense of responsibility? Who does not want to help the team win? In this atmosphere, everyone, whether in training or in a game, goes all out and strives to do their best.
Even players like Joe Hart, who is certain to leave the team this summer, are working hard in daily training.
This kind of atmosphere is also what Su Dong, the coaching staff and the management have worked hard to create, because only in this way can the team work together, form a joint force and exert the strongest combat effectiveness.
If top teams really have what is called foundation, then this should be a part of the foundation, or even the most important part.
"In the next 34 days, I hope everyone in the team can go all out."
"Every one of us is very tired and it is difficult, but we must grit our teeth and overcome all difficulties. We must maintain the current momentum of the team. We must defeat all opponents and enter the Allianz Arena in 34 days."
"In fact, we will have the last laugh at the Allianz Arena!"
"During these 34 days, we have to fight every day, not only with our opponents, but also with ourselves. We must not only defeat our opponents, but also defeat ourselves. We must prove our determination and strength to the whole world, to the fans who have always supported us, and to ourselves!"
"I believe that as long as we do this, from now on we will be the most competitive top team in European football and even in world football, and everyone in our team will be part of this team."
At this point, Su Dong clearly felt that the players' emotions in the locker room were aroused.
He took a step forward, walked among the players, and extended his right hand.
The players also rushed over and stretched out their hands to overlap with Su Dong's right hand.
"The next thirty-four days will be tough battles, and tonight is the first one!"
When he said this, Su Dong gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "Manchester City must win!!"
“Come on! Come on!! Come on!!!”
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The FA also attaches great importance to the focus match such as the FA Cup semi-final, especially the strong dialogue between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, and specially arranged for England's best referee Howard Webber to officiate the match.
At the beginning of the game, Tottenham Hotspur took the initiative to attack. Whether it was to test or really want to get a head start, they took the initiative to put pressure on Manchester City after the opening and actively joined in on both flanks.
Less than a minute into the game, Lennon got the ball on the right and passed it into the penalty area, trying to find Adebayo.
The Togolese center forward quickly came back and headed the ball near the penalty spot.
But Manchester City goalkeeper Courtois decisively left the goal and snatched the ball from mid-air before Adebayo.
Courtois is tall, has long arms, and has really good control over high balls.
After taking the ball, Courtois quickly threw the ball to Marcelo, and the Brazilian left-back began to instigate Manchester City's attack.
Tottenham Hotspur's defense retreated quickly and the two sides began to entangle near the center line.
Gradually, Redknapp's tactical intentions became apparent.
He neither intended to give up the game, but he did not overemphasize it either. The lineup was also standard, rotating two or three positions, which was also a regular strategy, but the starting players, such as Gareth Bale and Van der Vaart, also basically started.
The 4-2-3-1 formation strengthened the protection of the defense line, and also gave Tottenham Hotspur the confidence to push the defense line forward. They obviously did not want Manchester City to get too close to their goal, especially Su Dong.
Recently, several teams have adopted this tactic when facing Manchester City. I don’t know if it was influenced by the Champions League match against Real Madrid, because all four of Su Dong’s goals came from the penalty area.
Later, the media gave him a new nickname: King of the Penalty Zone.
Of course, this nickname is not well-known, because Su Dong's current achievements are higher than those of Romario, Van Nistelrooy and others in the past.
The opponents pushed their defense forward because they didn't want Manchester City's attackers, especially Su Dong, to get too close to their goal.
Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion did it, and now Tottenham Hotspur is still doing it.
But this will also bring about another problem, that is, after the defense line is pressed forward, once it is pulled apart or attacked from behind, can the central defender hold on when facing Su Dong alone?
Just like this time in the fifth minute of the game, after Manchester City's attack in the frontcourt hit a reef, they quickly passed the ball back to their own half and left it to the back line to reorganize and sort out the situation.
Toni Kroos retreated to the outside of the center circle to meet Busquets, stopped the ball and turned around in an unguarded area, took a look at the situation in front, and immediately sent a long pass over the top, accurately sending it behind the defense line.
Almost at the moment when the German midfield launched a long pass, Su Dong quickly moved forward.
Ledley King is tall, but after a series of injuries, he is not fast and was directly left behind by Su Dong. Gallas returned to defense immediately and even ran faster than Su Dong.
The reason why Su Dong was slow was that he had to judge where the ball would land, so even though he was overtaken by Gallas, Su Dong remained calm and used his body to block Gallas outside the arc top area.
At this time, Su Dong's physical advantage was reflected.
After being suppressed by Su Dong, Gallas behind him kept retreating, while Su Dong kept moving back according to the landing point of the ball, leaving Gallas with no way out.
Ledley King, who was truly capable of competing with Su Dong in physical strength, had just run in front of Su Dong at this time and had not yet had time to rush over.
But the ball has arrived.
Su Dong grabbed the best position, judged the landing point of the ball, kicked the ball with his right foot to the right behind himself and Gallas. At the same time, he turned around and went straight to the penalty area on the right side of Gallas.
The whole action was smooth and seamless, without giving Galas and Ledley King any chance to react.
By the time everyone reacted, Su Dong had already stopped the ball, turned around, and accelerated to chase the ball.
(End of this chapter)
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