Array football

Chapter 372 Welcome back, my captain!
In another arena, Aston Villa went all the way, defeated Tottenham in the League Cup semi-finals, and also won tickets to the final.

The League Cup final between the two teams will be played on February 2.

After being eliminated by Manchester City in the League Cup, Manchester United faced the consequences of losing all four teams for two consecutive seasons.In the league, they have been opened up by Manchester City by 15 points, and this is still the case when Manchester City has one game less.

In the FA Cup and League Cup, Manchester United were out.

In the UEFA Champions League, Manchester United drew AC Milan. If they don't play well and don't pay attention, they will capsize.

Of course, Manchester City's schedule in the Champions League is also very unfavorable. Their opponent in the first round of the Champions League knockout round is Real Madrid.

Real Madrid with Ronaldo and Benzema.

The two rounds will be held on February 2 and March 17 respectively. During this period, the FA Cup and the League Cup are played alternately, and the schedule is very tight and dense.

So before this game, Duncan must gain enough advantage in the league.

In this way, Manchester City has enough confidence to deal with the upcoming game against Real Madrid.

On January 1, after consecutive hard battles with Manchester United, Manchester City encountered Portsmouth. Portsmouth ranked first from the bottom this season, and the gap with Hull City, which was second to last, was 30 points.

So Portsmouth's desire to survive is very strong.

The most frightening thing is this kind of drowning people, they will burst out a strong vitality when they grab a branch.

After half a month of hard work, Manchester City entered the game slowly. Portsmouth seized the opportunity and took the lead at the City Stadium.

They then retreated to their own half and defended with all their might.

Do everything you can to defend the pole.

David Silva, the core of Manchester City's frontcourt offense, is even more closely defended. No matter where he goes, there will always be someone beside David Silva.

But still can't prevent it.

There is no way, Portsmouth can only adopt "tree-cutting tactics", using rough fouls to violate Xiwa's body.

If you can't defeat your opponent tactically, you must regain your confidence physically.

But David Silva is very tough. Facing opponents, he has no stage fright and is always facing positively.

Of course, things eventually turned to a worse result.

In the 75th minute, due to the opponent's rough defensive action, David Silva was injured and left the field early.

Of course, Portsmouth also received three yellow cards and a red card for David Silva, and a Portsmouth midfielder was sent off.

And Manchester City are still behind.

how to spell?
In another game that ended earlier, Chelsea beat Burnley 2:1, taking another step closer to Manchester City.

The 1:0 score was maintained until the 80th minute. Portsmouth seized all the time to lie on the grass. The home fans were almost desperate.

Heroes always come at the last moment.

In the 82nd minute, Toure pierced Portsmouth's goal with a long shot like a flying fairy.

At the last moment, Duncan replaced Milito and Fellaini to strengthen the offense.

Manchester City is desperate.

Portsmouth are obviously familiar with Manchester City's routines. They concentrated and defended Fellaini.

Because Fellaini was always a man with a plan B.

However, the person who stood up in the end was very unexpected. He was a person who was ignored by everyone in this game.

——Shevchenko.

In this game, Shevchenko, as the captain, led the rotation and substitute players to start.

Although the state is very poor, Sheva is still very hard-working and galloping throughout the game.

Being in poor condition doesn't mean not working hard.

So when everyone turned their attention to the new force, Shevchenko's chance finally came.

In the 88th minute, Sanchez used his strong personal skills to dribble the ball on the wing. Under the close pressure of the opponent, Sanchez still relied on his excellent dribbling to bring the ball to the front of Portsmouth's penalty area.

Shevchenko and Milito advanced in two directions respectively in order to drive away the defensive players.

Sanchez's shot was very powerful, but the angle was too straight, and was saved by the Portsmouth goalkeeper, but was shocked by the strength of the football, and the opponent's save was missed.

The opponent's defender ran up quickly, trying to make a clearance.

At this time, Shevchenko suddenly appeared in front of the football, kicked the ball into the goal before the opponent's defender kicked.

But the opponent's foot could no longer be held back, and kicked on Shevchenko's foot.

Shevchenko was in pain, but did not fall down. He glanced at the assistant referee and did not raise the flag, so he simply took off his jersey, grimaced, and ran along the baseline.

It's not easy!
After waiting for more than two months, even Shevchenko was almost desperate.

But he finally adjusted his state and found himself.

Shevchenko, who undressed and celebrated, naturally got a yellow card.

Risking a broken foot to score the ball, Shevchenko could only limp on the field in the next game.

Manchester City's three substitutions have all been replaced.

In the end, Manchester City reversed Portsmouth at home with difficulty and won the game.

The players walked around the field to express their gratitude to the fans, while Shevchenko left the field early because of a foot injury.

When Shevchenko walked to the sidelines, Duncan was already smiling and greeted him with open arms.

The two gave each other a firm hug.

"Welcome back, my captain!"

Silva's injury is not serious, just rest for a week.

But Shevchenko's injury is more serious and he will be out for at least a month.

After all, he is a 33-year-old veteran. It is impossible for his body to be as healthy and have a strong ability to resist blows as he was in his 20s.

It's just that Duncan is a little sorry that Shevchenko's condition has just improved, and he has suffered such a long-term injury.I don't know if Shevchenko, who will return to the Premier League a month later, can continue such a good trend.

Don't know, no way to know.

But the game still has to go on.

Duncan appeased the team. After all, the team lost its captain and playmaker.

At this time, it depends on the self-adjustment ability of the team and the self-confidence of the players.

In the 25th round, Manchester City faced Hull City, which is second to last in the standings.

With the jewels of Portsmouth at the front, Hull City are eager to replicate their last game's tactics.

but……

"Didn't I say it? The same tactic, don't use it on me a second time!" Seeing the performance of Hull City, Duncan said to himself on the sidelines.

Because of the lack of David Silva, Manchester City's tactics in this game have less roundabouts and twists, and become straightforward.

Sanchez, who replaced Silva, became the most dazzling star.

He contributed three shots and one pass to help the team beat Hull City 4:0.

In the standings, Manchester City, which has one game less, is already 9 points ahead of Chelsea.

(End of this chapter)