Chapter 189: Manchester Derby, Guardiola Present at the Stadium.
After the first round of the Champions League group stage, fans of each team and some followers of football stars engaged in intense online discussions.
"The Premier League and La Liga are really powerful! Their records are way ahead of other leagues!"
"The Premier League is strong, as for La Liga, apart from Barcelona and Real Madrid, the others are nothing!"
"Haha, don't underestimate La Liga mid-table teams. If they were to face Atlético in the knockout stages, these Premier League teams really can't guarantee a victory."
"That's right, I follow both La Liga and the Premier League, and this Simeone's Atlético really has something special, very much like the old Borussia Dortmund!"
When mentioning Atlético, Chelsea fans, especially, were left speechless.
In last year's UEFA Super Cup, Atlético defeated Chelsea 4-1. Not only did they snatch the UEFA Super Cup trophy, but they also achieved the biggest difference in UEFA Super Cup history in almost 20 years.
This score demonstrated Atlético's strength; underestimating them could have painful consequences.
Thinking about how Chelsea had just lost to the considered weak Basel in the group stage, Premier League fans were furious, and their confidence had considerably decreased.
The same couldn't be said for the other three teams, but in their current state, Chelsea might have problems if they were to face Atlético again.
In addition to the heated discussions between Premier League and La Liga fans, some followers of football stars also got into fights online.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is amazing, he scored a hat-trick in just thirty minutes, how impressive!"
"Correction, Cristiano Ronaldo didn't take 30 minutes to complete his hat-trick, it actually only took him 28 minutes!"
"No wonder he's Cristiano Ronaldo, does his goal-scoring efficiency not make him the best player in the world currently?"
"Of course, this season, with Bale's help, Real Madrid is destined to win the Champions League."
Cristiano Ronaldo fans praised their star, while Messi's followers were not far behind.
"Just a hat-trick? What's so special about that? Last year Messi worked a miracle and scored five goals in a Champions League match!"
"Haha, calm down. As the only player in Champions League history to score five goals in a single match, we must remain humble and not let fans of a certain cheating player think we're attacking them. After all, it's an achievement they'll never match in their lives!"
"Who's calling who a cheat? Do you have the courage to say it clearly?"
"With so many players in the top five leagues, I haven't singled anyone out. If you feel targeted, is it my fault?"
"This is what the dwarf's fans do, do they have the courage to beat Real Madrid on the field? What kind of feat is personal attacking?"
"Incredible, talking about personal attacks, and what about you?"
...
Other fans were already accustomed to fights between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo fans, and preferred not to get involved. They just wanted to find a quiet place to keep talking about football.
"Back to the topic, Lin Quan's performance in this match wasn't very good."
"An assist and a goal, isn't that performance enough? Aren't you being too demanding?"
"That's right, this performance is already quite good."
"But compared to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it falls a bit short. Both of them achieved a hat-trick!"
Fans didn't seem entirely satisfied with Lin Quan's performance, especially when the stars scored hat-tricks. His assist and goal, in comparison, seemed less impressive.
"The group stage is long, one match doesn't define everything. If Lin Quan keeps playing like this, the goals will keep coming."
"Don't just look at the Champions League, we must also look at the league. Lin Quan has scored eight goals in the first four rounds of the Premier League. In comparison, Messi only has six and Ronaldo only two. Lin Quan's goals equal the total sum of Messi and Ronaldo!"
"Wow, Lin Quan is so amazing! But Cristiano Ronaldo's goals are a bit scarce, aren't they? Just two goals in four league matches?"
"This season, Benzema has improved a lot. He's scored two goals in the league. Isco and Bale have also shared the goal-scoring burden, with three and one goal respectively."
"Yes, Real Madrid's attack is very luxurious. They no longer depend as much on Cristiano Ronaldo as before, which can be good for both him and the team. At least Cristiano Ronaldo can focus more on the Champions League!"
"So, does Real Madrid have a good chance of winning the Champions League this season?"
"Doesn't Ancelotti have the nickname 'Title Specialist'? If he can lead Real Madrid, maybe they can win the Champions League!"
With the end of the first round of the group stage, experts and betting houses adjusted the odds of winning this season's Champions League.
Real Madrid's winning odds rose to first place, surpassing defending champion Bayern Munich.
Barcelona's ranking didn't change and remained in third place.
In the Premier League, due to the unexpected defeat in the first round, Chelsea dropped to ninth place.
Manchester United also descended, occupying seventh place.
On the other hand, Manchester City, with five consecutive wins in the league and the Champions League group stage, rose to fourth place in the rankings, becoming the Premier League team with the best odds of winning.
But talking about winning the title after just one round is premature.
After the Champions League group stage, Manchester City returned home with a winning streak and prepared to face Manchester United.
This city derby was the most important match of this round of the Premier League.
Given the importance of this match and the large number of Manchester United and Manchester City followers abroad, the Premier League scheduled the match for three in the afternoon.
This way, viewers in Asia, especially, could watch the match during prime nighttime viewing hours.
It must be admitted that, compared to other leagues, the Premier League has more flexibility in this aspect.
They consider international viewers more, which is beneficial for promoting the event.
After all, considering the seven-hour difference.
If the match were scheduled for half past seven in the evening, it would be two or three in the morning in Asia.
Who would watch the match at that hour? They would already be in bed.
Of course, this practice will be adopted by other leagues as well, as the Spanish League did.
Playing in the afternoon is good for international viewers, but it's not good news for the players of both teams.
Around three in the afternoon, the sun would not have set yet, which would significantly affect players who had to face direct sunlight during the match.
On the other hand, the team with the sun at their backs will have a great advantage!
Before the match, Manchester United players made a call online, hoping that Red Devils fans would go to the stadium to support them and witness how they conquered the Etihad Stadium.
Rooney declared, "Manchester will always be Red Devils territory. And Manchester City? They're just noisy neighbors!"
Rooney criticized Manchester City as wealthy newcomers without the heritage of a traditional club; Manchester United is the true team of Manchester.
Van Persie wrote, "Manchester City? They have some good players, but as a complete team, my teammates and I are obviously stronger!"
Van Persie also criticized Manchester City's money policy, arguing that while they had good players, they lacked the honors to go with them.
Manchester United players launched the first attack, so Manchester City players naturally couldn't stay still.
Agüero tweeted, "I have a strong feeling I will score today, and not just once!"
Yaya Touré said, "Red Devils? That's history already, now it's the realm of the Citizens!"
Kompany said, "Along with my teammates, we will close the front against Manchester United. Whether it's Rooney or Van Persie, they won't be able to score at the Etihad Stadium!"
Once their teammates launched their harsh words, Lin Quan decided not to join the party.
He just posted an aerial photo of the Etihad Stadium with the text: "See you this afternoon at the Etihad Stadium!"
...
The atmosphere between the two teams was very tense, especially because it was a highly explosive local derby.
Fleet Street media, like sharks smelling blood, began to stoke disputes between the two teams.
This was the 166th Manchester derby. Until 2010, Manchester City practically had no chance against the dominant Manchester United. But after the arrival of investors from the Middle East, Manchester City began to rise, and the results of the matches between the two teams began to change.
In the last 7 meetings, Manchester City has won 4 matches.
In a clash two years ago at Old Trafford, Manchester City even won 6-1 against Manchester United.
It could be said that the dominance in attack and defense between the two teams has completely changed, and Manchester United is no longer the same as before.
Beating Manchester City wouldn't be easy, especially playing at their home ground.
However, for Moyes, it seemed good to face Manchester City.
Before coaching Manchester United, he led Everton to win 9 out of 12 matches against Manchester City, so he could be considered the Manchester City's executioner.
Therefore, during a pre-match interview with the media, Moyes confidently expressed, "Yes, I have found a way to face Manchester City. We will take three points away from home, I'm sure of it!"
When journalists asked what strategy he had prepared, Moyes simply smiled without answering, which gave a sense of mystery.
Pellegrini suspected that Moyes was playing a psychological game with him, so he didn't fall into the trap.
In a pre-match interview, Pellegrini stated that Manchester City would continue to play their way, and if they played at their normal level, they were sure to win the match, regardless of the opponent.
This response seemed to indicate lack of confidence to some journalists.
Compared to Moyes's assurance, they considered Pellegrini's response a bit weak.
Therefore, many media outlets expected Manchester United to win away.
However, there were also experts and former players who bet on Manchester City.
"This season Manchester City is on fire. They have won their last five matches in all competitions, although they haven't faced elite teams in this streak, which diminishes their value.
But the moment of Manchester City is better than that of Manchester United. If we analyze the squads, Manchester City's has nothing to envy to United's, and it could even be superior.
In this match, everything will depend on the tactics and performance on the field of the coaches. If Moyes has really prepared some secret tactic against Manchester City, then Manchester United could have a chance to win. Otherwise, the probability of Manchester City winning is higher."
Arsenal coach Wenger expressed his confidence that Manchester United would win since only if Manchester United defeated Manchester City, his team could reach the top of the league table.
However, Chelsea coach Mourinho believed that Manchester United's internal problems were too big to gain an advantage at the Etihad Stadium.
"I don't want to talk about Manchester United's midfield, but everyone can see that the midfield is Manchester United's weak point."
When journalists mentioned Chelsea's serious lack of forwards this season, Mourinho immediately changed his expression.
He abruptly interrupted the journalists' question and asserted that his team had no problems.
Though he said so, Chelsea's forward line problem was evident to anyone not blind. No matter how much he tried to justify, it wouldn't serve any purpose.
Furthermore, there were rumors that Chelsea was in contact with Drogba's agent privately, perhaps they wanted to bring back the former Chelsea hero.
But Drogba is already 35 years old this year, nobody knows how much he has left in the tank. Depending on a veteran like him, Chelsea should seriously consider the possibility of bringing in a first-class forward.
Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund, Diego Costa from Atlético de Madrid, both would be good options, and their prices are not excessive. With 50 million pounds, surely they can be bought!
But Chelsea already has quite a few forwards: Torres, Eto'o, Lukaku, Ba, Willian, and even a future prodigy like Lukaku.
They have many forwards, but they don't know how to use them correctly.
It's unknown if Chelsea's style limits the performance of the forwards or if the forwards forget how to play once they arrive at Chelsea.
...
Not only British media were closely following this match, but media from other European countries were also very interested.
Firstly, this was one of the most intense derbies of the five major leagues, and derbies always attract attention.
Secondly, both teams were participating in the Champions League, and if they advanced from the group stage, they were very likely to encounter teams from other leagues in the knockout stages.
Therefore, many teams sent scouts to closely observe the match and prepare for the next phase of the Champions League.
After the match started, even the television cameras in the stadium captured the image of Bayern Munich coach Guardiola.
Bayern would play against Manchester City in their next away match, so he was very interested in his biggest rival in the group.
Of course, if he was only observing the state of the opposing team, there was no need for Guardiola to come personally. He could have sent an experienced scout or an assistant to record the match. There was no need to come personally.
Guardiola's appearance at the Etihad Stadium made people think about his personal relationship with Lin Quan.
Probably, he had not only come as Bayern's coach, but also for personal reasons.
After being captured by the cameras, Guardiola didn't try to hide.
He kindly waved to the cameras, and the image was shown on the big screen of the stadium, where the players were warming up.
"Look, it's Bayern's coach!"
Lin Quan was practicing shots on goal, and only after his teammates warned him, he turned to see the big screen.
But just as he looked, the image on the big screen changed to show his own image looking at the big screen.
The fans in the stadium laughed friendly, and Lin Quan laughed too.
The director clearly noticed that he was looking at the big screen, so he decided to do that.
Fortunately, just before the image changed on the big screen, Lin Quan was able to see where Guardiola was.
So, before the match started, Lin Quan went up to the stands to greet Guardiola.
"Are you leaving after the match?"
"Yes, I have to train the team tomorrow."
"What time is your flight?"
"If you want to invite me to dinner, I surely have enough time."
"Well, then, you have to win this match first!"
"Alright, let's do it! Dinner tonight is on you!"
Guardiola smiled and hugged Lin Quan, patting him on the back to encourage him:
"Go and play well. Don't feel pressured because I'm here!"
Lin Quan made a dismissive gesture:
"If you say that, I'll feel sad. Oh, I thought I was here to cheer you up, but now it seems like I have to support Manchester United."
"Haha, if you dare to do that, Manchester City fans will lynch you!"
"They won't be that cruel, right? I'm a known figure after all!"
"That would be even better, they would make you famous if they beat you up!"
(End of the chapter)
Thanks for all the support friends. Go to my Patreon to read the chapters in