champion light

Chapter 1146 The Strategy of the City Derby

Although Ibrahimovic scored two goals, he was not satisfied. He was still looking for a chance to complete a hat-trick until the end of the game.

It's a pity that his shot in the No.809 minute hit the crossbar, and God cruelly rejected his wish to complete the hat-trick.

In the end, at the end of the game, Ibrahimovic only scored two goals and scored twice.

He might as well have completed the glory of the hat-trick...

So when Ibrahimovic was off the court, he didn't look very high-definition, with a sullen look, making people think that he was the one who lost the game...

Birmingham, on the other hand, was completely bewildered by Rong Guang and Ibrahimovic.

They originally played against Manchester City at home with the mentality of relegation. In the first half of the season, they were able to retreat unscathed when they challenged Manchester City away.

This time at his own home court, it is not impossible to win once.

In the end, he lost so badly...

This was something they hadn't expected before the game.

And strictly speaking, they did not lose to Manchester City, but to two people-Rong Guang and Ibrahimovic.

In the first half they lost 0:3 to Rongguang, and in the second half they were defeated by Ibrahimovic 0:2.

At the press conference after the game, Birmingham coach McAlish shook his head facing the reporters and sighed: "What else can I say? Manchester City has too many stars who can decide the outcome of the game on their own. They have more money than us, so they can buy those excellent stars, but we can't. Next, Birmingham will fight for relegation..."

What he said was very sad, and it resonated with many people-Manchester City is rich, so they are strong.We couldn't beat them not because we were bad, but because we had no money.

But then Benitez refuted this statement: "It is wrong to think that Manchester City can win only because we have money. This is a contempt for Manchester City players. Of course, if our opponents have always held this mentality, I welcome it. Because a team that thinks this way will never be able to beat Manchester City."

Money has long been an indispensable factor in modern football.If a team does not have money, it is absolutely impossible to play.

This is an inevitable trend, but it is a pity that many professionals are still hostile to money, thinking that football should remain pure...

It's a pity that the world is constantly changing, and those who can't keep up with the changes will always be eliminated.

Manchester City's results may be a good proof of this point, and it will effectively promote more capital to enter the football field, so that professional football will continue to thrive.

※※※

After the game, the topic of Manchester City having money and Birmingham not having money, so the rich beat the poor did not attract much attention.

Things like Rong Guang completing a hat-trick after only playing half of the game are more eye-catching.

The English media exclaimed that Rong Guang is simply not human.

After just returning from the Asian Cup, he was able to complete a hat-trick, as if the "FIFA virus" had no effect on him at all.

"All the laws of the human world are useless to him..." "Manchester Evening News" said with emotion.

"With Rong Guang's return this season, the competition for the league championship will be completely intensified. Now we can know that if Rong did not participate in the Asian Cup, Manchester United would not have had a chance to compete for the league title. They must thank the AFC...but now at the most dangerous time for Manchester City, Rong is back. For us, the show has begun!"

While Manchester City beat Birmingham 5-0 away, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 3-1 at home, still biting Manchester City with a two-point disadvantage.

The next day, news came back from the Football Association of England that Manchester City's appeal about Ibrahimovic's three-game suspension was rejected, and Ibrahimovic would still be suspended for three games.

As a result, Ibrahimovic will miss the next three games at home against West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United away and Fulham at home.

Among them, the game against Manchester United is the top priority.

If Manchester United beat Manchester City at home, they will overtake Manchester City by one point and sit at the top of the league table for the first time this season.

And if Manchester City wins Manchester United, the point difference between the two sides will be widened to five points, and it will also damage Manchester United's morale and confidence.

Although five points may not completely lose Manchester United's hope of winning the championship, it is always good to be able to hit an opponent once during the league. As long as they can continue to hit, even if there is no way to directly knock down the opponent in the end, they can form a technical knockout and win with points.

※※※

No.20 six rounds, the first game of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's suspension, Manchester City played against West Bromwich Albion at home.

Rong Guang started again, but this time he was not replaced at halftime.

Benitez let Rongguang play the whole court, which shows that Rongguang's physical fitness is no longer a problem.

Rongguang contributed one goal and two assists in this game, and the final score of this game was 3:0.

Rong Guang participated in all Manchester City's goals alone.

Before the city derby, Manchester City did not give Manchester United a chance to overtake.

Now the two sides will go to Old Trafford for a decisive battle.

In the same round of the league, Manchester United defeated Wolves 2:1 away.

The two teams are still separated by two points.

※※※

Next is the game against Manchester United, and after the game against Manchester United, the Champions League quarter-finals will also restart.

Manchester City will play an away game against Serie A giants AC Milan in the eighth-finals.

Similarly, Manchester United will also challenge Marseille away in the quarter-finals.

However, the situation of the two teams is different. The match between Manchester City and AC Milan is on February [-]th, just after the city derby.

And Manchester United's quarter-finals will be on February 23, so they can completely ignore the Champions League game and devote all their strength to the same city derby with Manchester City.

Manchester City must consider the away game against AC Milan.

but……

"I don't think we need to think about the match against AC Milan." In the tactics class, Rong Guang said unexpectedly.

"Why do you say that, Rong?"

"Because the current AC Milan is no longer the previous AC Milan, it's not worth our effort to invest in them." Rong Guang explained. "So when we are playing against Manchester United, we don't have to think about the game against AC Milan at all."

Rongguang has played against AC Milan twice in the Champions League. The first time was at Werder Bremen. He was eliminated by AC Milan led by Kaka and Shevchenko.

The second time was in the UEFA Champions League final in the 2006-2007 season.

Kaka is still in AC Milan.

And Rongguang has already gone to Bayern Munich.

That game was regarded as the pinnacle duel between the two, because it was their respective best season.

As a result, Rongguang defeated Kaka, and Bayern Munich also defeated AC Milan and won the Champions League that season.That is also Rongguang's only Champions League title so far.

"Although the current strength of AC Milan is indeed not as good as before, it cannot be said that it is..." Benitez said.

Rong Guang shook his head: "Without Kaka, there is no threat."

A group of people felt so devastated when they heard Rong Guang say this—do you judge whether a team is strong or not by whether there is Kaka in that team?

Benitez also felt that the criterion for judging Rongguang was too subjective and not convincing.

So he did not approve of Rong Guang's proposal.

Seeing that Benitez didn't say anything, Rong Guang stopped talking.

Anyway, he has expressed his opinion, whether others accept it or not is their business, and has nothing to do with him.

He really thinks that today's AC Milan is not worth Manchester City's effort on them.

Although he has not paid attention to the recent performance of AC Milan, he intuitively believes that AC Milan has fallen.

Or AC Milan fell when Kaka decided to leave. A team that cannot keep my lifelong opponent naturally has no future.

※※※

In the end, Benitez decided to go all out in the league game against Manchester United, and the away game against AC Milan may change some players.After all, the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals are two rounds. If you accidentally lose the game away, you can still come back at home.

But if they lose to Manchester United in the same city derby, it will not only cause Manchester City to lose the number one position in the league, but also deal a heavy blow to Manchester City's morale.This situation, Benitez is trying to avoid.

But this does not mean that Benitez intends to give up the Champions League.After all, Manchester City can return to the home court to deal with AC Milan.At that time, they will mainly defeat AC Milan at home, and they will also be able to advance to the quarterfinals.

In response to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's suspension, Benitez started Berbatov against Manchester United.

Other positions remain unchanged.

Rong Guang is a free man who attacks in the frontcourt. Benitez does not give him a fixed position and lets him play.

This is also a normal tactical arrangement.

In fact, there are not many tasks related to Rongguang, and they are not complicated. Anyway, just play as you like after playing.Benitez, Manchester City and Rongguang have worked together for so long, and they are all familiar with each other.

Let Benitez spend all his time on defense.

How to defend Manchester United's offensive players is what Benitez has to do.

Therefore, in training, Manchester City invested more energy in defense.

However, when Benitez was in Valencia and Liverpool, his tactical style was mainly defensive and counterattack, so he has experience in training defense, which is not bad.

The most important thing is that after the team has glory, it can really save him a lot of worry.

(End of this chapter)