i want to be king

Chapter 821 Dare to be the first in the world!
On the evening of November [-]th, Manchester's Etihad Stadium.

Premier League No.12 round, Manchester City Derby, Manchester City vs. Manchester United at home.

This is a game no one can afford to lose.

Manchester City, which is playing at home, currently leads the Premier League standings. This is the first time in the past few decades that Manchester City has climbed to the leading position after playing more than a dozen rounds in the league. This is of extraordinary significance to Manchester City.

But a four-point lead is not safe, especially for City.

Someone once accused Mark Hughes, thinking that he would be safe when he was a little rich, and he would not be able to get on the stage at all, so he was quickly dismissed.

why?

Any team that aspires to be a champion must have the determination and courage to be the first in the world!

On the road of life, not fighting is a kind of gentlemanly attitude, but in the professional arena, not fighting is useless.

Manchester City has managed to climb to the league leader's position. Naturally, they don't want to be pulled down by their opponents, especially if they can't lose to their rivals in the same city and the most direct competitor in the league, Manchester United.

In front of the players in the dressing room before the game, Guardiola announced that Sudong would not start, but he also said that whether there is Sudong or not, Manchester City has only one goal in this game tonight, and that is victory!
Su Dong also encouraged his teammates before the game, saying that he believed in them.

Leaving Su Dong, Manchester City is still Manchester City. He believes that they can beat Manchester United at home, secure the throne of the league leader, and contribute their own strength to Manchester City's pursuit of the Premier League title.

This is the finale of this round.

Chelsea won, Arsenal won, Liverpool drew but no one cared.

It can be said that Manchester City can only gain a firm foothold in the leading position if they win Manchester United.

……

Compared with Manchester City, Manchester United will have more sense of urgency.

They are already six points behind Manchester City and two points behind Chelsea. If they lose this game, Manchester United will be nine points behind the leaders. Although this is not an insurmountable gap, it is relatively difficult to catch up.

Ferguson knows better than anyone that if Manchester United wants to take the initiative and boost their morale before Christmas and the winter break, the best result is to frustrate Manchester City in this derby.

As long as Manchester City loses its spirit, people will definitely be unstable in the next schedule. When it comes to Christmas and the winter break, Manchester United will catch up. This is entirely possible to achieve a reversal before the arrival of the Champions League in February.

This is not a joke, but has a factual basis.

In the Premier League's Christmas and winter break devil's schedule, there are several cases of defeat and defeat every year. Even in the championship competition, consecutive examples of losing points are not uncommon. Manchester United has rich experience in this regard.

As long as there is enough pressure on Manchester City, who said Manchester City will not capsize during Christmas and the winter break?

In this team, there are so many players who landed in the Premier League for the first time, who said it is impossible?

Therefore, Ferguson gave the team a death order before the game.

In this away game against Manchester City, Manchester United must win!

……

When two teams that cannot afford to lose meet in a derby, the final result is more than intense but not exciting enough.

Manchester City still formed their own four-three-three formation.

The goalkeeper is Joe Hart, the defense is Marcelo, Pepe, Kompany and Boateng, the midfielder is Busquets, David Silva and Toni Kroos are in the center, and the frontcourt is Di Maria, Santa Cruz and Sanchez.

At the critical moment, Guardiola trusted Boateng more than the teenager Trippier who had started three consecutive games.

Obviously, Proton, who has played in the Bundesliga for many years, is more mature than Trippier.

Ferguson also ranked his strongest main lineup.

The goalkeeper is Van der Sar, the defense is Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic and Rafael, the midfielder is Carrick, Scholes and Fletcher are in the middle, and the frontcourt is a combination of Park Ji-sung, Berbatov and Rooney.

South Korean player Park Ji-sung has performed very well in the recent period. Ferguson hopes that he can form a strong impact on Manchester City's right flank, but Guardiola chose Boateng to start before the game, which was somewhat beyond Ferguson's expectations.

Trippier started three consecutive games and performed quite well, but when it came to the key games, Guardiola used Boateng, which was more or less seeking stability.

……

At the beginning of the game, Manchester United took the initiative to attack and exerted a high-intensity press on Manchester City.

Manchester United's intentions are very clear. From the very beginning, they have suppressed Manchester City, restricted Manchester City's passing and possession style of play, accelerated the pace of the game, and entered the rhythm of the game that Manchester United is most familiar with and likes.

City didn't intend to play the way United wanted, but to be patient and keep the ball under control.

The two teams fought fiercely, the game was interrupted frequently, and the referee whistled for fouls one after another. Fortunately, the players on both sides did not move much, and neither of them reached the level of drawing cards, but the game fell into a stalemate.

Manchester United have kept six clean sheets in the last ten games, and the defense is very solid, especially in the midfield.

Carrick was in a brave state, and Scholes and Fletcher were both offensive and defensive. This allowed Manchester United's midfielder to still be able to stabilize their position under Manchester City's pass and control.

Especially in the second half of the first half, Manchester United faintly gained the upper hand in this stalemate.

The main reason is that after Manchester City's possession of the ball advances to the frontcourt, it cannot be pushed in.

In front of Ferdinand and Vidic, Santa Cruz still failed to show better strength after all.

……

"If you can't push in the frontcourt, no matter how good David is."

David Silva began to dribble forward more when he saw that no one was holding the ball up front, but it was easy to get caught up in the close pressing of Carrick and Fletcher, or even Ferdinand and Vidic.

And everyone knows that hand-to-hand combat is not David Silva's strong point.

Moutinho is also a technical midfielder, so he is very aware of David Silva's embarrassment now.

This is also a problem that must be solved in the middle of the frontcourt in modern football tactics, especially in passing and possession tactics.

Who can hold the ball?

After Barcelona sent Ibrahimovic away, Messi appeared in the middle, while Manchester City performed in a mess last season. After ushering in Sudong this season, the offense was immediately reborn. This is really not an accident.

And Arsenal, Checkmark is so far this season, Arsenal's best player, is this a coincidence?
Even Chelsea, in Ancelotti's tactics, Drogba is also very important.

It can be said that in the passing and possession system, getting the ball in the middle of the frontcourt is very important.

If you can't hold the ball in the frontcourt and just blindly pass it backwards and forwards in the midfield without passing into the threat area, then the ball will be intercepted sooner or later, and being counterattacked is also a threat that you will face at any time.

Even, in the case of failing to pass into the threat area, the more the ball is held, the greater the risk of being counterattacked.

Su Dong did not take Moutinho's words, but he agreed with the Portuguese midfielder's point of view.

Santa Cruz couldn't hold the ball, and the two sides were closely marked by Manchester United. Manchester City's offense could not play a threat. The more passes and possessions, the greater the risk.

This is why Manchester City wants to introduce Dzeko from Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga to substitute Sudong.

Compared with Santa Cruz, Dzeko will be more comprehensive, and his ability to hold the ball in the frontcourt will be stronger.

Even in some cases, if you really want to find a partner for Su Dong to form the twin towers of the striker, then Dzeko will only be more suitable than Santa Cruz, because Dzeko can maximize Su Dong's scoring ability, but Santa Cruz cannot do it.

If Dzeko is on the court now, I believe Manchester City's offense will never be as stumbling as it is now.

……

Time quickly entered the second half.

After the intermission, the two sides basically continued the situation in the first half. Manchester United continued to have a slight upper hand in the stalemate, but the ball was still at the feet of Manchester City, but the counterattack of the Red Devils was more threatening.

In two minutes, Manchester United made a quick counterattack after stealing the ball. Raphael drove straight in from the right and passed the ball into the penalty area. Berbatov volleyed near the penalty spot and made a very wonderful shot.

But unfortunately, Brother Xiaosa's cool shot failed to break through Joe Hart's goal.

The angle is too square.

Manchester City quickly changed colors. When David Silva dribbled the ball forward in the middle, he suddenly sent a through ball to Santa Cruz in the penalty area. The Paraguayan center shot low and sent the ball directly to Van der Sar.

After that, the two sides came and went, and the competition became more intense.

The live TV shots were frequently given to the home team's bench on the sidelines, and frequently landed on Su Dong's body.

But looking at the whole game, apart from going out for a run every once in a while to warm up, Su Dong sat on the bench for the rest of the time, and he didn't seem to have any signs of wanting to play.

"Judging from the warm-up situation, Sudong still doesn't seem to have fully recovered. I wonder if Guardiola will consider playing him? Now Manchester City's offense is difficult to create a threat. Santa Cruz is basically powerless in front of Ferdinand and Vidic. At this time, Manchester City needs the attack power from Sudong."

Time is also passing by bit by bit.

Manchester City fans are now fully aware of the status quo of the team.

When Su Dong was there, people always felt that it was easy to score goals and Manchester City was on the offensive. But now, when Su Dong is absent, they find that Manchester City has been beaten back to the bad predicament of last season.

The point is, why didn't Santa Cruz get the hang of it?

The fans in the stands were waiting anxiously, but Guardiola in front of the coach of the home team remained unmoved, making it difficult to detect what he was thinking.

Ferguson on the visiting team's bench also pays attention to Guardiola's movements from time to time, full of doubts.

Putting Su Dong in the roster would make it very possible for him to play.

The only difference is when and how will Su Dong play?
(End of this chapter)