Chapter 201: The Gentle Hometown and the Devil's Schedule
In the eighth round of the league, Manchester City traveled to London to face the Hammers, West Ham United.
Considering Lily Collins lives near London, Lin Quan sent her a message before the game, asking if she wanted to watch it live.
Lily Collins had never watched a football match before, and she was curious about Lin Quan playing football. So, she gladly accepted the invitation and came to the London Olympic Stadium.
The cameras at the stadium quickly captured her presence, and the director frequently switched the shots between Lin Quan and Collins.
West Ham United's strength was mediocre, and they did not cause much trouble for Manchester City at their home ground.
After 90 minutes, Manchester City defeated West Ham 3-1, achieving an impressive eight-game winning streak.
In this match, Lin Quan performed excellently, scoring two goals and providing one assist, directly contributing to all three goals for his team. He was undoubtedly awarded the best player of the match.
This record set a new milestone in Manchester City's history, marking their best start in over a hundred years since the club's founding.
If they can beat Chelsea away in the next game, they will tie Chelsea's record of nine consecutive wins at the start of the 2005/06 Premier League season.
Currently, only three teams remain undefeated in the top five leagues: Manchester City, Barcelona in La Liga, and Roma in Serie A.
Despite external criticism, Martino's Barcelona has had an excellent league performance, with Neymar perfectly integrating into the team, providing a strong attacking force upfront.
As for Roma, under the leadership of the young coach Rudi Garcia, they have achieved the best start in the club's history. If they maintain this momentum, Roma is likely to win their fourth league trophy in history.
...
After the match against West Ham, Manchester City did not return to Manchester but flew directly to Moscow from London.
This week, Manchester City will face a tough schedule.
On the 20th, they play West Ham away; on the 23rd, they play CSKA Moscow away; and on the 27th, after returning to London, they have another away match against Chelsea.
In one week, Manchester City will play three away games, one of which is 2,500 kilometers away in a foreign country.
After this round of matches, the players of Manchester City will be exhausted.
Due to the long-distance travel and consecutive matches, many doubt whether Manchester City can tie Chelsea's record of consecutive wins at the start of the season.
Although Chelsea also has to play an away match against Werder Bremen, Germany is much closer to the UK than Russia.
Additionally, Werder Bremen is not a strong team and does not have extreme cold weather conditions.
Therefore, even though both teams have a Champions League away game, Chelsea's players will consume far less energy than Manchester City's.
"Alas, there was a chance to break Mourinho's Chelsea's record start, but now it's probably less than a 30% chance!"
"Yes, if it weren't for the trip to Moscow, Manchester City's winning rate would be much higher."
"This schedule is really tough!"
"Actually, the English Football Association has helped by arranging two away games for Manchester City in London. After the Champions League away game, they can prepare in London without running around!"
"Last season, all Premier League teams were eliminated before the quarter-finals, which was disappointing for the world's top league. This season, the Premier League is taking the Champions League much more seriously!"
...
Lily Collins usually doesn't pay much attention to football, but after learning that Lin Quan is a football player, she started to keep an eye on such news.
Seeing the negative comments from Manchester City fans online, she couldn't help but worry and sent Lin Quan a message: "I heard your schedule is very tough recently?"
"Yeah, I'm so anxious I can't sleep!"
"Really? It sounds like you're lying to me."
Lily Collins doubted Lin Quan's words, thinking that a professional player shouldn't have such poor mental resilience. "Okay, I admit I lied. The real reason I can't sleep is because I'm missing a certain pretty girl!"
Lily Collins sent an emoji with a skeptical look, as if saying, "Keep going, I want to see how you perform."
"I checked, Moscow is two hours ahead of London. You might be having trouble sleeping because of the time difference."
Lily Collins glanced at the time; it was almost 9 PM in London, which meant it was 11 PM in Moscow.
For a professional player, not being able to sleep by 11 PM could indeed be considered insomnia.
"Detective Collins, sharp as always!"
"Stop it, I'll give you some tips. Try them and see if they help you sleep!"
"What if they don't work?"
"Then I can't help you!"
Lin Quan sent a pouting emoji.
Seeing this, Lily Collins replied with an emoji of a fist, ready to hit someone.
Lin Quan quickly typed, "Come on, Miss, I can take it, don't go easy on me!" and added a fighting spirit emoji.
"Can't you be serious for once?"
Lily Collins replied with a rolling eyes and a sweat emoji.
"I'm always serious in front of others!" Lin Quan replied with a smug emoji.
Pervert!! In a house somewhere in Surrey, a seventeen-year-old girl couldn't help but smile at his reply.
Then, she collected herself and became serious again: "Alright, no more joking around."
"Find a piece of soothing music, play it on a loop, and lie down in the most comfortable position."
"Once you lie down, clear your mind, think of nothing, stay calm, and breathe deeply and slowly..."
"How is it, does it work?"
"No!"
Lin Quan replied with a grinning emoji.
Lily Collins was so angry she wanted to punch someone.
"Why didn't it work? Did you not do what I said?"
Lily Collins sent several questioning emojis.
"I couldn't find such music on my phone. How about you call and sing it to me?"
"In your dreams!"
Although she said this, the next second, Lin Quan's phone rang.
...
The next morning, Lin Quan got up early.
Seeing his phone, as expected, it was dead.
He charged his phone, humming and singing as he happily went out.
Thinking of Lily Collins singing to him last night, Lin Quan felt warm inside, as if the temperature in Moscow had risen by several degrees.
However, his teammates found Moscow's weather to be terrible.
Before the match, Pellegrini specifically asked his assistant about the weather conditions. For Manchester City, the most challenging part of this game would be the weather, not the opponents.
"According to the weather forecast, the temperature will drop to around zero degrees Celsius at night!"
"Will it snow?"
"Hard to say, it might. If there is rain or snow, we should hope for snow. In this temperature, rain is more troublesome. If players get wet, they'll definitely get sick!"
Continuous rain at close to zero degrees would rapidly drain the players' body heat, making them susceptible to illness over time.
"Alright, we need to change our tactics!"
Pellegrini decided not to let the players fight in such temperatures for long. He planned to start with a quick attack, aiming to secure an early lead, then substitute the main players with younger ones for counter-attacks.
This approach would minimize the main players' physical exertion, ensuring good performance in the European competitions while also conserving energy for the upcoming match against Chelsea.
However, their opponents had the same idea! "GOAL!!!"
"Just thirteen minutes into the game, CSKA Moscow broke through Manchester City's defense, with winger Tosic scoring the goal!"
"Incredible, facing the mighty Manchester City, CSKA Moscow chose to attack rather than defend and seized the opportunity to score first. Now the pressure is on Manchester City!"
In the commentary booth, the guests were all surprised by this outcome.
Before the game, the external consensus favored Manchester City, who had won ten consecutive matches across all competitions and had just beaten Bayern Munich in a previous Champions League group stage showdown.
But they didn't expect CSKA Moscow to be so strong, suppressing Manchester City on their home turf.
"If Manchester City loses this match, Group D might see three teams with six points, each with mutual victories, making the qualification scenario very unpredictable."
"This is good news for Bayern Munich, but not what Manchester City fans want to see!"
On the sidelines, Pellegrini and his assistants were discussing something.
"The temperature is too low, the pre-match warm-up effect is gone. The players' bodies have cooled down and need to warm up again. The opponents adapt to the cold better than we do. Starting with an aggressive attack was risky!"
"Yes, we should have pulled back a bit at first, then attacked after their initial onslaught."
"Alright, from now on, let's play it safe and launch an attack at the twenty-minute mark to equalize the score!"
Manchester City's coaching staff quickly reached a consensus and relayed their latest instructions to the players on the field, advising them to play more cautiously.
So, after restarting, Manchester City's players didn't rush to attack but patiently passed the ball, keeping everyone moving to warm up quickly.
On the other side, CSKA Moscow, after scoring an early goal, intended to retreat and play defense.
However, after settling into their defensive positions, they found Manchester City was not in a hurry to attack and was instead passing the ball around in the back.
This puzzled CSKA Moscow's players: Have they given up? If the opponents have given up, should we seize the opportunity to launch more attacks and increase our goal tally? The players were a bit torn, and on the sidelines, CSKA Moscow's coach Slutsky was also hesitant.
From the first ten minutes of play, Manchester City didn't seem that strong to him.
He didn't find them particularly formidable, at least not compared to Bayern Munich, whom they had previously lost to.
However, once their opponent adjusted their tempo, Manchester City's advantage quickly became apparent.
In the fifteenth minute, Manchester City suddenly accelerated their attack. Lin Quan, who had been quiet, started organizing attacks in the frontcourt. He passed several brilliant through balls, instantly increasing Manchester City's threat level.
Seeing this, Slutsky was startled, realizing Manchester City had not given up but had been waiting for an opportunity.
Fortunately, his defense was stable, and they weathered Manchester City's wave of attacks.
Slutsky hurriedly signaled his team to play more conservatively, focusing on defense, waiting for halftime to rethink their strategy.
Once CSKA Moscow stabilized, Manchester City's second wave of attacks came at the twenty-fourth minute.
David Silva received a pass from Lin Quan on the left side, broke through CSKA Moscow's defense, and scored a powerful shot to equalize.
Seeing this goal, the fans in the stands cheered, and Pellegrini nodded in satisfaction.
Manchester City has a solid defensive system, and he believed his team would not concede any more goals.
With the score level, CSKA Moscow had to take the initiative, giving Manchester City more opportunities to counterattack. If they could score another goal before halftime, the second half would be much easier.
Just as Pellegrini was making plans for the second half, a sudden change occurred on the field.
In the thirty-seventh minute, Lin Quan broke through on the left and passed the ball, attempting to find Aguero.
But CSKA Moscow's defender Berezutskiy made a desperate block, clearing the ball.
Unfortunately, the ball didn't go far and landed at Milner's feet. He quickly shot, but the ball hit a CSKA Moscow defender and bounced to Aguero's feet.
Aguero's powerful shot was blocked by CSKA Moscow's goalkeeper, but Lin Quan, who had been watching, seized the opportunity to score with a powerful volley, putting Manchester City ahead.
With this goal, the situation on the field reversed, with Manchester City gaining control.
At halftime, Manchester City led 2-1, having taken the lead through a series of coordinated attacks.
After a brief rest, the second half resumed.
Despite some defensive efforts, CSKA Moscow was unable to equalize.
Lin Quan once again took control, dribbling past several defenders and scoring a spectacular solo goal.
With a final score of 3-1, Manchester City secured their third consecutive win in the Champions League group stage, maintaining their top position.
Despite the grueling schedule, Lin Quan's performance was exemplary, demonstrating his resilience and skill under pressure.