Chapter 176: The Premier League Officially Begins!
"Arsenal tries to catch them offside, but it's a good ball, the linesman doesn't raise the flag!"
The commentators on the scene quickly described Manchester City's attack.
"Agüero enters the area, Szczesny chooses to come out.
Agüero shoots to the far corner, the ball hits the post and goes into the net, 3-3, the score between the two teams is equal again!"
The Manchester City fans at the scene were thrilled to see the combination of Lin Huang and Agüero.
They stood up excitedly, their eyes fixed on Agüero, who was heading directly towards the opponent's goal with the ball.
It wasn't until Agüero seized the opportunity and scored in the opponent's goal that they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, the applause and cheers echoed throughout the Etihad Stadium.
For the fans who bought tickets, this match was completely worth it.
Although it was just a friendly match, both teams' tactics were very aggressive due to the friendly nature of the game.
Both teams attacked heavily in the first half, creating an exciting atmosphere on the field.
Although the pace of the attack slowed down in the second half, the intense midfield battles and Lin Huang's high-quality long passes still thrilled the fans.
Perhaps they should be thankful it was a friendly match, as both teams were relaxed and could play a high-quality game without worrying about league points.
However, once they entered the league, with concerns about points, both teams' tactics would become more conservative, and the football played might become more pragmatic, losing some of its friendly appeal.
Although it was just a friendly match, the result of the match wasn't really important.
But both Arsenal and Manchester City didn't want to lose.
Therefore, during the remaining time, both teams did their best to defeat their opponent.
But it seemed that both teams were a bit lacking in luck.
In the 67th minute of the second half, Manchester City's forward Agüero missed a scoring opportunity.
On the other hand, for Arsenal, Giroud's header hit the crossbar, also missing the chance to change the score.
Finally, the match ended with neither team able to change the score again. After ninety minutes, the friendly match ended in a 3-3 draw.
After the match, Wenger approached Pellegrini, hugged him, and said:
"I really envy your team of talented players!"
Pellegrini responded with a smile:
"The group of talented geniuses at Arsenal is also enviable, and your position at Arsenal is something that I, as a coach, cannot match."
Wenger smiled and didn't respond. Unlike Pellegrini, he was more like an old-time football manager.
At Arsenal, he not only acted as the coach on the field but could also intervene in the team's operations.
But Pellegrini was different; like other coaches in the five major leagues, his main responsibility was training and playing matches, while the team's operations were the responsibility of the team's sporting director.
Therefore, his powers were far from as great as Wenger's.
The position of football manager was a product of the old Premier League era.
With Ferguson's retirement, there are fewer and fewer coaches with this position.
Now, the only real football manager is probably just Wenger.
For a coach, they naturally desire to have as much power as possible.
Therefore, the position of football manager is a position they long for greatly.
But for clubs, they don't want a coach to have too much power.
Especially in the current situation, with the increasing frequency of coach changes in teams, giving too much power to the coach is not good for the club.
Therefore, they will establish the position of sporting director to participate in team management and take some power away from the coach.
This trend has become increasingly evident and is something that cannot be reversed.
Hearing Pellegrini's words, Wenger didn't know how to respond.
Even he felt that he was a remnant of the old era. Once he retires, the position of football manager may disappear completely and become a historical term.
On the field, Cazorla approached Lin Huang and apologized:
"Sorry, Lin, I fouled you several times while defending, don't take it personally."
Lin Huang smiled and said:
"It's okay, everyone plays for their team. If you show mercy, you wouldn't be doing justice to your salary."
Cazorla nodded repeatedly, admiring Lin Huang's mentality and character.
No wonder coaches like Del Bosque and Wenger are so interested in Lin Huang. His character is something not everyone has.
"However, at least we are teammates on the national team. Hurting me so badly, it hurts as your teammate!"
"Haha, it's fine. Next time you come to London, I'll treat you to hot pot. I know an authentic Chongqing hot pot restaurant, it'll warm your heart!"
"That sounds good. Next time you come to Manchester, I'll treat you to dinner!"
"Okay, deal!"
After the warm-up match, Pellegrini gave the team a day off.
This would be almost their last break before the new Premier League season officially began. Starting on August 17th, the Premier League would officially begin.
The opening match was at Anfield, where Liverpool hosted Stoke City, who finished 13th last season.
Just by the names of the two teams, the average person might think Liverpool had a great advantage.
But the reality might not be so.
In recent seasons, Liverpool's performance hasn't been good.
Although they are one of the traditional giants of the Premier League, since Benítez left Liverpool, they have been out of the Champions League for four consecutive seasons.
The team that once dominated the Premier League and the Champions League during the season has performed terribly in recent seasons.
Playing at home, Liverpool was very calm in the first half.
They seemed to want to attack but couldn't find a direction for their offense.
Last season, Suarez, who helped them conquer many defenses, was suspended for ten matches due to a biting incident at the end of last season.
This means he couldn't play the first six matches of this season.
Without Suarez's presence, Liverpool's attack at the front has been a total disaster.
This greatly worried the Reds fans at Anfield.
In the last four seasons, Liverpool hasn't performed well in the opening match, with two losses and two draws, they have never won.
The Reds fans couldn't accept this harsh reality, and they sang their famous anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone," encouraging their team with their clear voices.
With the fans' singing, Liverpool's players seemed to find their rhythm little by little.
In the 37th minute of the first half, Sturridge stood out.
He received a pass from Aspas 22 meters from the goal and shot from a distance to score the first goal of the Premier League season.
This was the only goal of the match.
Finally, with Sturridge's brilliant goal, the Reds broke their four-year losing streak and finally achieved a victory in the opening match.
It's worth mentioning that this Premier League season was the first to introduce Hawk-Eye technology.
In the second half, Liverpool had a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced on the goal line.
After the stadium cameras used Hawk-Eye technology to confirm it, it was determined that the ball did not completely cross the goal line, so it was not considered a goal.
After the match between Liverpool and Stoke City, the official curtain of the Premier League was raised.
In the five simultaneous competitions that followed, Arsenal, who had just played a warm-up match, suffered a surprising defeat.
They lost 1-3 at home to Aston Villa.
The result of the match was unfair to Arsenal, as they scored the first goal of the match in the sixth minute.
But they were penalized twice by the referee in the 21st and 61st minutes.
If the first penalty decision was not controversial, then the penalty in the sixty-first minute was.
In the sixty-first minute, Aston Villa's forward, Abanglaho, entered the area with the ball and was brought down by Koscielny.
The replay showed that Koscielny touched the ball first before bringing down the player, which should have been a clean tackle.
But the main referee considered it a foul, showing Koscielny a yellow card and awarding Aston Villa their second penalty in this match.
Benteke from Aston Villa seized the opportunity and converted the penalty, helping the team lead 2-1 against Arsenal.
At this point, Arsenal still had a chance, with 30 minutes of play remaining.
With their attacking strength, if they adjusted their mentality, they had the opportunity to equalize and even turn the score around.
However, Arsenal's players are generally quite young, and young players' mentalities are easily influenced.
Especially Koscielny, who was misunderstood, couldn't accept the result of being at a disadvantage and showed an evident imbalance in his mentality.
Wenger's lack of decisive adjustment on the field revealed his flaw; knowing that his central defender was not in the best emotional state, he did not make timely changes.
So, just five minutes later, Koscielny committed another foul and the main referee showed him the second yellow card.
Two yellows turned into a red, and Arsenal was not only a goal down but also a man down.
In the 85th minute of the match, Aston Villa took advantage of Arsenal's anxious mentality to attack, and scored another goal on a counterattack.
Now, Arsenal was completely powerless.
This was Arsenal's first defeat in the Premier League's opening match in nearly 13 seasons.
The team that used to be so fierce at the start of each season seemed to have lost their magic this season.
Besides Arsenal's stumble, the matches of other giants were not as exciting.
Tottenham won 1-0 against the newly promoted Crystal Palace.
Chelsea, playing at home, beat Hull City 2-0.
Another focal point, Manchester United, in their first match after Moyes took over, defeated Swansea 4-1 as visitors.
This was Moyes' first match after taking command of Manchester United, and his performance could be considered a good start.
However, there are doubts about whether Moyes can maintain the dominance that Manchester United had in the Ferguson era.
There is little confidence that Moyes can replicate Manchester United's past success; although they won against Swansea, their opponent is not a giant.
To prove Manchester United's strength, he would need to show his ability in more challenging matchups.
Right in the second round, Manchester United would face Chelsea.
Moyes' ability as a coach would be tested in this match.
The last match of the first round was played between Manchester City and Newcastle.
Due to the match schedule, this game was delayed three days after the opening match.
When the match started at the Etihad Stadium, all the other Premier League matches had already ended.
All of Manchester City's rivals were present at the stadium, having enough time to observe and evaluate the team's competitive state.
This season, Manchester City continued to spend large sums of money in the transfer market, maintaining the tradition of recent seasons of frenetically buying players.
Additionally, they signed phenomenal players like Lin Huang, which made the football world very interested in Manchester City's strength.
The crowd was excited at the Etihad Stadium.
All the Premier League teams, including Manchester City's rivals like Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, sent scouts to observe this match.
Manchester United, who would face Manchester City in a local derby in the fifth round of the league, even sent their coach, Moyes.
For Moyes, a draw or even a loss to Chelsea would be acceptable.
Because Chelsea is a powerful team, it's not embarrassing to lose to them.
But Manchester City is different; they have been suppressed by Manchester United for decades.
Although they have now risen from nowhere and are on their way to becoming a wealthy club and even a Premier League giant, they still lack a step to becoming a giant.
Therefore, Moyes' Manchester United must suppress them; they cannot lose to Manchester City, no matter who the opponent is.
If they lose to Manchester City, Manchester United fans will definitely criticize him.
Public opinion about him will also be extremely negative, and his days at Manchester United will be very difficult.
In this game, Manchester City's head coach, Pellegrini, also took it very seriously.
He fielded what he considered Manchester City's strongest lineup for this match.
In this game, Manchester City's formation was a 4-4-2 with two forwards:
Goalkeeper Joe Hart;
Right-back Zabaleta;
Central defenders Kompany and Lescott;
Left-back Kolarov;
Left winger Navas;
Defensive midfielder Fernandinho;
Midfielder Yaya Touré;
Right winger David Silva;
Lin Huang, number 10;
Forward Sergio Agüero.
The two forwards, Lin Huang and Agüero, were in the front line, but after the game started, Lin Huang withdrew to a deeper position and became a false forward, also assuming the role of an attacking midfielder.
The 4-4-2 is an old formation that Premier League teams like to use a lot, as it is balanced both in attack and defense.
When defending, the four midfielders can fall back, shortening the distance between them and the defensive line, reducing the opponent's attack space and increasing their own team's defensive tolerance, making it difficult for the opponent to break through the defensive line.
Additionally, when attacking, the two wingers can become forwards at any time, advancing to support the two main forwards and increasing the number of attacking players in the front, which increases the passing points and the attack surface, making it difficult for the opponent to defend.
However, this formation also has a disadvantage, which lies in the high demands on the midfield players.
Players of average skill have difficulty making the most of the advantages of this formation.
But for Manchester City, this is not a problem at all.
They have a luxurious midfield, especially the two wingers, Navas and Silva.
Their defensive ability may not be the best, but their attacking ability is totally reliable.
At 18:00 in the evening, with the main referee's whistle, the match between Manchester City and Newcastle at home began.
With the enthusiasm of the spectators in the stadium, Manchester City's players launched a fierce attack from the first second of the match against their opponent.
Newcastle seemed unaware of how frantic their opponent's attack was and was constantly overrun from the start, with dangerous situations near their goal.
In the first minute of the match, Manchester City had already made their first shot.
Lin Huang received a pass from Silva on the edge of the area and, after shaking off a defender's marking, attempted a shot from outside the area.
Although the shot didn't go in, the fans in the stadium still applauded Lin Huang enthusiastically.
The fans had already noticed that Lin Huang had a strong desire to attack in this match.
This made them anticipate a great performance from Lin Huang at the Etihad Stadium!
And Lin Huang did not disappoint the fans. In the sixth minute of the match, Silva made a break down the flank and sent a pass.
Lin Huang didn't attempt a long shot this time but entered the area and, after overcoming two defenders with skillful dribbling, calmly shot to score his first goal in the Premier League.
(End of chapter)
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