Chapter 230: Another Battle at the Top, the Reds of Liverpool Attack!
"Lin, will you go easy on your old teammates when playing against Werder Bremen?"
After the draw results were announced, a large group of reporters surrounded Lin Quan, eager to interview him.
In response to their questions, Lin Quan smiled and said: "My old teammates are very strong; they don't need me to go easy on them. Actually, I should be asking them to go easy on me since they know my playing habits very well. No one understands how to limit me better than they do!"
Lin Quan maintained good relationships with his former teammates at Werder Bremen. In a smaller team like that, players tend to have closer bonds compared to when they're in a big club.
He cherished this friendship and wouldn't easily damage it. So, he wouldn't say something like 'go easy on them' which might hurt their pride.
Instead, he praised his old teammates generously, hoping that the journalists would give them more attention and help raise their profiles a bit.
After all, some players at Werder Bremen were quite good; they just lacked the right stage to shine.
The reporters were not entirely satisfied with Lin Quan's diplomatic answer, so they continued to press him:
"Lin, how do you feel about returning to Weser Stadium?"
"If you score at Weser Stadium, will you celebrate?"
Lin Quan was silent for a moment, seemingly pondering how to answer.
"To be honest, I never thought I'd return to Weser Stadium as an opponent. It's a very strange feeling.
Last season, when I wore the green jersey of Werder Bremen, I always enjoyed the applause and cheers from the fans. But now, I'm afraid I might hear their boos.
Scoring against Werder Bremen won't be easy, but if I am fortunate enough to do so, I don't think I would celebrate, whether it's at home or away."
Lin Quan's sincere answer moved many Werder Bremen fans who read the interview.
They went to his social media accounts and left messages in unison: "Lin, welcome home!"
The former captain, Fritz, tagged Lin Quan on social media and wrote: "Lin, we all miss you. Welcome home!"
Arnautovic added: "Hey buddy, we have prepared a surprise for your return to Bremen!"
Fullkrug confirmed: "It's indeed a big surprise, I can testify to that!"
Lin Quan was very curious about the surprise they mentioned, but when he asked, they wouldn't tell him.
...
The Champions League match was still far off. After the draw ceremony, Manchester City quickly shifted their focus back to the league and cup competitions.
On December 18th, the League Cup quarter-finals took place.
Lin Quan came on as a substitute in the 76th minute and scored his first goal in the League Cup.
With Navas scoring twice and Lin Quan's goal, Manchester City easily defeated Leicester City 3-1 away, extending their unbeaten streak to 25 matches.
On December 21st, in the 17th round of the Premier League, Manchester City faced Fulham away.
The two teams had met during the pre-season warm-up matches, with Manchester City winning 2-0.
Against the strong Manchester City, Fulham wisely chose not to go head-to-head but parked the bus at home, hoping to utilize defensive counter-attacks to restrain them.
However, against Manchester City's powerful offense, Fulham's strategy failed.
By halftime, Manchester City was leading 2-0 with goals from Lin Quan and Yaya Toure.
After the second half started, Kompany scored a header, extending the lead to 3-0. With victory assured, Manchester City began to make substitutions.
Their next match was a direct confrontation with third-placed Liverpool in the league, so Pellegrini chose to rest Lin Quan and other key players.
However, after the substitutions, some drama unfolded on the pitch.
In the 70th minute, Kompany made a mistake with a header in his own penalty area, scoring an own goal and giving Fulham a chance.
Inspired by this, Fulham launched a wave of attacks and scored again in the 77th minute through Richardson, making the score 2-3. Conceding two goals in seven minutes made Manchester City fans anxious.
In recent league matches, Manchester City had a habit of slipping up after taking the lead.
Fortunately, substitutes Navas and Milner stepped up, scoring consecutively in the 82nd and 85th minutes, expanding the lead back to three goals.
In the end, Manchester City won 5-2 away, extending their unbeaten run to 26 matches and their league unbeaten streak to 17 matches.
If it weren't for the loss to Norwich in the last game of last season, Manchester City's unbeaten streak would have exceeded 20 matches by now.
However, as their unbeaten streak extended, the players' psychological pressure increased.
They became more concerned about winning and losing, with the fear of losing growing heavier.
And in this state, they soon faced a showdown with Liverpool.
Liverpool's performance this season had been impressive. They not only broke away from their previous struggles in the second tier of the league but also made a strong push into the title race.
Since Suarez's return from suspension, they had won four consecutive games, averaging 4.5 goals per match, their offensive firepower rivaling Manchester City's.
In this round, Arsenal were held to a draw by Chelsea at home, with two draws and one loss in the last three rounds, earning only two points. Not only had they fallen further behind Manchester City at the top, but they were also caught up by Liverpool.
Due to goal difference, Liverpool had even surpassed Arsenal on the league table, moving into second place.
So, this match was another battle at the top.
For Liverpool, even though they were currently in second place, they only had 36 points compared to Manchester City's 47, with a gap of 11 points between them.
If they couldn't beat Manchester City, entering the second half of the season with such a large gap would make their chances of winning the title slim.
However, if they could defeat Manchester City, not only would they break their unbeaten record, but they would also narrow the gap to 8 points, no longer a double-digit difference.
Although Liverpool's recent form was strong, the public favored Manchester City more.
With the best start in Premier League history, unbeaten in all competitions for 26 matches, and undefeated at home, who could beat such a team?
If this round were played at Liverpool's Anfield, they might slightly favor Liverpool.
But unfortunately, Manchester City was hosting Liverpool at home, a venue known as the most formidable home ground in the Premier League, if not all of Europe. No team could confidently say they could conquer it.
Not only was it difficult to beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, but even drawing against them was tough!
This season, Manchester City had played 12 matches at the Etihad Stadium, winning all of them and averaging 4.25 goals per game.
Here, losing by three goals was considered a small margin, with conceding six or even seven goals not unusual.
Among the teams humiliated at the Etihad were giants like Manchester United, Arsenal, and Tottenham. Even mighty Bayern Munich had conceded three goals at this stadium!
While Manchester City might face challenges away, at home they were almost divine, unbeatable.
Liverpool was strong, and their recent form was excellent, but their ability to conquer such a fortress seemed lacking.
However, before the match, Liverpool's coach Rodgers confidently stated: "Manchester City is a very strong team, and it will be difficult to challenge them away, but we have found a way to deal with them. We will break their unbeaten record at the Etihad Stadium."
Rodgers' words were met with skepticism. Liverpool fans were confident their team could topple the invincible Manchester City.
But most Manchester City fans and neutral observers doubted them. If so many top teams couldn't do it, could Liverpool really succeed?
Surprisingly, Rodgers was not just boasting.
When the match began, Liverpool did not choose to defend but set up to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City.
Few teams dared to go head-to-head with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, and those who did usually didn't fare well.
However, Liverpool seemed to have good luck today.
In the 24th minute of the first half, Liverpool completed a quick counterattack. After Suárez's shot was saved by the goalkeeper, Coutinho followed up with a shot to break the deadlock and help the team lead 1-0 against the home team.
"Coutinho scores! Liverpool is ahead of Manchester City away from home!"
The commentators' reaction to this goal was not very intense because many teams visiting the Etihad Stadium had previously taken the lead, only to eventually suffer a reversal of fate.
However, in the 39th minute, when Suárez scored Liverpool's second goal, the commentators couldn't stay calm.
"Suárez! An incredible goal, he's showing his ability as a top striker!"
"This is Suárez's 11th league goal since his comeback, and the Uruguayan is launching an assault on the top scorer position. With his current scoring efficiency, he might even threaten Lin Quan's Golden Boot status!"
On Sky Sports, Martin Tyler praised Suárez fiercely.
Although this player is controversial and has received a lot of criticism for violating sports ethics on the field, in terms of sheer ability, he is indeed a top striker.
"This goal has pushed Manchester City to the edge. So far this season, Manchester City has never been behind by two goals at home, but Liverpool has done it!"
"Before the match, Rodgers told the outside world that they had found a way to deal with Manchester City, but everyone was skeptical of his words. However, now, I think no one doubts him anymore. Liverpool has indeed found a way to restrain Manchester City, and they are very likely to break Manchester City's unbeaten record!"
Two goals behind, Manchester City's players generally appeared very anxious.
They were eager to launch attacks to equalize the score, but Liverpool's defense today was very targeted.
The more anxious Manchester City became, the lower their attacking threat became.
And taking advantage of their anxious attacks, Liverpool even launched a very threatening counterattack. If it weren't for Joe Hart's heroic save of Sterling's one-on-one shot, Manchester City might have been three goals behind already.
The first half of the match quickly ended, with Liverpool's players walking towards the away team's locker room with smiles and laughter.
On the home side, Manchester City's players generally seemed very low-spirited.
During halftime, Pellegrini made some tactical adjustments to the team.
He brought on Milner, who had stronger defensive abilities, intending to limit the opponent's attacks on the wings.
At the same time, he moved Lin Quan up to the front line and let David Silva play as an attacking midfielder to supply Lin Quan with ammunition.
This substitution adjustment had some effect. After the start of the second half, David Silva assisted Lin Quan in scoring a goal.
Manchester City once saw hope of equalizing the score!
But Rodgers quickly made personnel adjustments as well. He substituted the goal scorer Coutinho for Moses, number 12, to mark David Silva closely.
This move quickly paid off. Under Moses's marking, David Silva's passes gradually lost their threat, and Lin Quan, after heading the ball forward, couldn't get the ball, greatly reducing the threat to Liverpool's goal.
Pellegrini immediately made another personnel adjustment. He substituted Fernandinho for García.
García's passing ability is good, and when he was on the field before, he had very good cooperation with Lin Quan.
Pellegrini's purpose in this substitution adjustment was obvious. He was still trying to supply ammunition to the front line players, especially Lin Quan, with his powerful attacking ability to equalize or even reverse the game.
However, this substitution not only failed to achieve the expected effect but also greatly weakened Manchester City's midfield control due to Fernandinho's departure.
Under the frantic pressure from Liverpool players, Manchester City made frequent mistakes in midfield. García, who came on for less than five minutes, conceded two goals, one of which led to a counterattack, almost turning into a tragedy.
Lacking support from midfield, the forwards were left isolated, greatly reducing the threat to Liverpool's goal.
As time passed by, the end of the game drew nearer, yet Manchester City remained behind.
The crowd of Manchester City fans at the scene anxiously began chanting Lin Quan's name. Lin Quan, realizing there were no opportunities up front, disregarded Pellegrini's tactics and actively retreated to receive the ball.
He wanted to equalize the score with his individual ability, just like those several game-winning moments before!
In the 89th minute of the match, Lin Quan got the ball in his own half.
When the ball appeared at Lin Quan's feet again, whether it was the traveling Reds' fans or those watching the game on TV or in pubs, they all became nervous.
Lin Quan has had several game-winning moments before, and the Reds' fans are very afraid of him changing the score at the last moment.
If that were to happen, the three points they had gained would turn into one!
At this point, the game was approaching injury time. As long as they held on for these last few minutes, they could take away a victory from the Etihad Stadium.
To stop Lin Quan's attack, Liverpool players resorted to fouling tactics against him.
Moses and Suárez received yellow cards for fouling Lin Quan, but Lin Quan, like a superman who couldn't be knocked down, immediately got up every time he was brought down by the opponents, quickly passed to his teammates, and continued to charge towards Liverpool's goal!
To stop him, Johnson, who had already received a yellow card, had to choose to foul him again, knocking him down outside the penalty area.
The referee immediately blew the whistle for the foul, and mercilessly showed Johnson a yellow card. With two yellows becoming a red, he was sent off.
Liverpool paid a heavy price to stop Lin Quan, but Lin Quan still came to the edge of their penalty area.
At this moment, the game time had reached 93 minutes, and injury time had run out.
This free kick was Manchester City's last chance to attack.
They had already failed to continue their home winning streak, but they still had one chance to preserve their unbeaten record.
More than fifty thousand fans at the scene, whether home or away, stood up collectively when Lin Quan stood at the spot to take the kick.
Lin, you have to score! This was the voice and prayer in the hearts of Manchester City fans!
Don't let it in, Miniole, come on, you have to defend it! This was the voice of Liverpool fans.
At this moment, apart from the fans of both teams, the entire Premier League's attention was focused on the field, watching the outcome of this free kick.
(End of this chapter)
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