Chapter 349 The Last Hope

Although some people have written articles criticizing that John Motson is a clown who often laughs and makes noises like a horse.

He also said that he couldn't commentate on a football game at all and could only recite a bunch of boring statistics.

But none of these could stop this good nobleman from becoming the darling of English fans and the trump card of BBC TV.

At this moment, the old man is sitting in the media area of ​​the stands at Manchester City's City Stadium.

The game is about to start.

It can be clearly seen that the captains of the two teams have finished guessing the sides and are preparing to go back to their own half.

There are a total of three Europa League matches tonight.

The matches starting at 6:00 p.m. are Manchester United vs. Athletic Bilbao and Manchester City vs. Sporting Lisbon.

Southampton's away game against Valencia will start two hours later than these two games.

It is well known that BBC has a grudge against Manchester United, so they chose this Manchester City game and arranged for it to be broadcast live on Channel 1, which has the most viewers and ratings.

Southampton's match against Valencia will be broadcast on the sports channel later this month.

People within the BBC are not optimistic about this game.

Southampton was tied 1-1 by Valencia at home, which not only gave the Bats an away goal, but also caused the team's top central defender Xavi Martinez to be sent off due to a red card.

The Spanish star has been the most eye-catching and general-like player in Southampton's defense this season. He has even overshadowed Varane, who has been in the team for two years and is considered the team's top hope.

Javi Martinez's red card suspension will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to Southampton's defense.

Moreover, playing away from home and falling behind by an away goal was a real blow to Southampton.

Therefore, BBC TV and almost all the media focused their attention on the two Manchester giants.

The team with the highest hopes is undoubtedly Mancini's Manchester City.

With a star-studded team and outstanding strength, Manchester City is closely tied with Manchester United in the Premier League standings this season and both have hopes of winning the title.

This makes people look forward to it. They hope that Manchester City can stand out and turn the tide when the Premier League is plagued by controversy!

John Motson thought of this and took a deep breath.

He reached out and touched his gray hair. He wouldn't have the time and energy to pay attention to it during the game commentary.

After he calmed down, he raised his hand and nodded to his colleagues in the distance.

The latter was gesturing towards him, counting the seconds.

"Dear viewers, welcome to watch the BBC's live broadcast of the second round of the Europa League round of 16 from the 2011 to 2012 season. I'm John Motson, and I'm broadcasting live from the City Stadium in Manchester!"

Following John Motson's opening remarks, the entire city stadium was filled with deafening cheers.

With the referee's crisp whistle, this much-anticipated battle finally kicked off.

"Now we see that the visiting team, Sporting Lisbon from Portugal, is the first to kick off!"

"The one who got the ball was Sporting Lisbon's midfielder, Bruno Fernandes."

"Passed to the Spanish player Capel on the wing. This player was once very popular in Seville!"

"After the opening, Sporting Lisbon did not seem to play conservatively even though they were playing away from home."

"Hey, Manchester City made a tackle in the backcourt, Kompany calmly intercepted the ball and passed it to David Silva."

"David Silva passed the ball to Yaya Toure, who then passed it to Balotelli who was on the wing."

"Balotelli is very daring in his moves, trying to force a breakthrough!"

The entire city stadium was once again filled with deafening cheers.

Manchester City fans want this kind of cheering to cheer for their team!

But this time, Balotelli failed to create a threat.

"Manchester City gets a corner kick opportunity, David Silva takes the penalty!"

"The ball was kicked into the penalty area and the defender of Sporting Lisbon headed it out. It's another corner kick!"

"It's David Silva again who takes the penalty, it falls into the penalty area, Kompany heads the ball!"

"Oops, it's a little high!"

“Although Manchester City’s first attack failed to break the opponent’s goal, the home team’s fans were still very excited!”

"It can be seen that Manchester City has adjusted its status well."

"As the game progressed, Manchester City successfully controlled the ball and had a high possession rate. Sporting Lisbon did not have many opportunities to get the ball. Once they successfully defended, they would directly kick the ball to the center forward Van Wolfswinkel in front."

"According to our statistics, in the first 15 minutes, Manchester City had an overwhelming advantage, with a ball possession rate of 70 percent. This is a very shocking number!"

"Except for some initiative at the beginning of the game, Sporting Lisbon was basically on the defensive!"

"Now let's see if Manchester City can effectively break through Sporting Lisbon's goal!"

As the commentary continued, Manchester City gradually exposed its problems after the fast-paced suppression at the beginning.

Sporting Lisbon was obviously well prepared for this game. Playing away from home, they arranged five players in the midfield.

This is a very obvious tactical attitude, that is defensive counterattack!

Although Manchester City's attack was very powerful, it created few opportunities and it was just a lot of noise but little results.

Facing Sporting Lisbon's tenacious defense, Manchester City could not find any effective offensive opportunities.

After failing to break through for a long time, Manchester City became a little flustered.

Having commented on professional leagues for decades, John Motson quickly figured out this sign.

"Manchester City started to play anxiously and should have been more patient. Yaya Toure and Pizarro started to move forward frequently, which is not a good sign!"

"Mancini should calm the players down quickly. We are only one goal behind and there are still many opportunities. There is no need to rush. We should play it step by step. Manchester City has great hope, but if you rush and get ambushed by the opponent, it will not be worth it!"

But it seems that Mancini has no intention of making any adjustments.

He wants to devour his opponent in one bite!

But when the game reached the 33rd minute, Sporting Lisbon intercepted the ball in the backcourt and kicked it to Capel on the wing.

The Spaniard quickly counterattacked with the ball along the wing.

Manchester City's defense was too strong, so they had to retreat in a hurry.

"Sporting Lisbon's counterattack was very fast and the middle was already catching up."

"Van Wolfswinkel takes the ball, passes it to Izmailov, straight pass!"

"Danger, Fernandez got the ball in the penalty area, kicked it, and it went in!!!!!"

"In the 33rd minute, in the 33rd minute, Sporting Lisbon made a quick counterattack. Fernandes broke into the penalty area and scored with a low shot. It was one to zero!"

"Manchester City, Manchester City paid the most painful price for their carelessness and recklessness!"

"The total score is now 2-0, and we conceded another away goal. Manchester City must now score three goals to advance!"

At this moment, the entire city stadium fell into deathly silence.

Three balls?

Want to score three goals?

How is this possible?

Just now everyone was confident that Manchester City could beat Sporting Lisbon at home.

But who could have thought that a goal from the opponent would completely pull Manchester City back from heaven to hell!

Oh my god, why?

What is going on?

…………

…………

Not only the Manchester City fans at the City Stadium, but all the fans waiting in front of the TV felt depressed and lost.

The live broadcast room at the BBC headquarters was also in chaos.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Mancini? Even this could lead to a goal?"

"Damn, Manchester City is such a loser!"

"They couldn't even stand the pressure at the critical moment. What do they do for a living?"

Roger Moses was the first to realize that something was wrong.

"No, if the game goes this way, Manchester City is doomed!"

Barbara Slater, the director of the sports program group, also nodded continuously. "It's really no use. After a long time of attacking, they failed to score and were ambushed and scored a goal. It's really hurtful to the morale. Now Manchester City needs to score three goals to advance. The chance is too slim!"

"Most importantly, the players' mood has changed!"

Roger Moses' words are undoubtedly very insightful.

"So what should we do now?" Barbara Slater also felt depressed.

How come he failed at the critical moment?

You have to know that now fans all over England and even Premier League fans all over the world are eagerly waiting for you to step forward and become the savior of the Premier League to save this crumbling building.

But you are so bad, playing at home with such a big advantage, but you actually failed!

"I hope Mancini can turn the situation around!" Roger Moses had no good solution either.

He can't play on behalf of the team, what else can he do?

But just after these words were spoken, less than five minutes later, Manchester City, in their impatience, committed a foul while defending, giving Sporting Lisbon a chance for a set piece in the frontcourt. Fernandes took the penalty and center forward Van Wolfswinkel scored with a header.

Two to zero!

Suddenly, the entire BBC headquarters live broadcast room was filled with grief.

"It's over, it's over, it's really over this time!"

"It's only been 40 minutes and we've conceded two goals. The total score is 3-0. Manchester City is completely finished!"

According to the current score, Manchester City must score at least four goals!

"Damn it, such good cards, such a good opportunity, but Manchester City actually lost it!"

Roger Moses slapped his head hard and walked back and forth in the live broadcast room.

"Oh, Manchester United, what's the score now?"

After Roger Moses shouted, someone immediately retrieved information about the match in Bilbao, Spain.

“One to zero!”

"Who scored the goal?" Roger Moses asked excitedly.

He seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

But soon, his fire of hope was completely extinguished.

"Llorente, in the 22nd minute, scored the first goal for Athletic Bilbao!"

Everyone in the live broadcast room was dumbfounded.

Manchester City can no longer be counted on.

Who could have thought that Manchester United would be so cowardly!

Ferguson's team has always been the weather vane of English football, but this time, when he was needed, he actually wilted!

In the first round, we lost 2-3, allowing Athletic Bilbao three away goals.

Now the total score has expanded to 2-4. If Manchester United wants to turn the situation around, they have to score three goals.

Three balls!

What are the chances of scoring three goals against the Basque Lions at Athletic Bilbao’s home stadium?

The first half of the game ended very quickly.

Everyone was gloomy.

I believe that at this moment, countless English fans are wailing.

If they want to advance, Manchester City must score four goals and Manchester United must score three goals in the second half.

Judging from the performance of these two teams in the first half, is it possible?

Everyone knows that the answer is impossible!

Roger Moses quickly came to his senses and immediately realized a problem.

"Quick, do we have anyone in Valencia?"

Barbara Slater also reacted quickly.

Yes, with Manchester City and Manchester United being eliminated one after another, Southampton has become the last remaining hope in the English League's European war.

Although the hope is slim, the suspense still exists.

If we broadcast the match between Southampton and Valencia live at this time, the ratings will definitely be high.

But the problem is that the BBC focused on Manchester City and Manchester United before the game and didn't arrange anyone to play against Southampton!

There were only two hours between the two games.

In other words, as soon as the game between Manchester City and Manchester United ends, the game between Southampton is about to start.

"Think of a way, is there anyone in Valencia?" Roger Moses was going crazy.

Barbara Slater was also racking her brains, and suddenly a person flashed through her mind.

"Yes, she must be with Southampton!"