Chapter 262: Lifting the Trophy at Home, We Are the Champions!
After defeating Arsenal, everyone at Manchester City could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Playing three games in four days is exhausting, and saying otherwise would be a lie. Thankfully, they managed to hold on!
The FA Cup final would be held on May 17th, a month from now. This meant they didn't have to worry about the FA Cup for the next month.
Now, Manchester City could focus entirely on the Premier League and the Champions League matches ahead.
On April 19th, after six days of rest, Manchester City hosted West Bromwich Albion.
This match could very well decide the Premier League champion for the season, so the FA brought the Premier League trophy to the Etihad Stadium.
Before the match, countless Manchester City fans flooded into the stadium, filling every seat. Even outside the stadium, tens of thousands of fans who couldn't get tickets gathered.
For Manchester City fans, today was like a festival. They were on the verge of lifting their second Premier League trophy in history!
To ensure fairness and create tension in the title race, the FA scheduled Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea's matches to start at the same time.
Currently, Manchester City led Chelsea by 9 points and Liverpool by 10 points. If Manchester City won this match, they would practically secure the championship, leaving Chelsea only a theoretical chance of winning.
For Chelsea to win the title, they would need to:
Win this match and their last three matches, while Manchester City lost their next three matches.Close the 38-goal difference between them and Manchester City in these four matches.
The likelihood of either of these conditions happening was close to zero, let alone both.
In the pre-match locker room talk, Pellegrini emphasized to the players that this was just an ordinary game, and they shouldn't feel too pressured.
The opponent wasn't very strong. As long as Manchester City played to their usual level without arrogance or impatience, they would be fine.
At 6:30 PM, all three matches started simultaneously.
West Bromwich Albion clearly didn't want to be the backdrop for Manchester City's championship celebration, so they defended with everything they had from the start.
Manchester City had seen this tactic many times in the league and knew exactly how to deal with it.
From the beginning, Lin Quan frequently used his dribbling skills to attack West Bromwich Albion's goal. To stop him, the opponents had to double-team or even foul him, giving Manchester City many set-piece opportunities.
In the 15th minute of the first half, De Bruyne scored directly from a free kick, making it 1-0!
This goal sent Manchester City fans into a frenzy. They were now very close to the championship trophy!
"Quick, check the scores of Chelsea and Liverpool's matches!"
Fans pulled out their phones to check the other two matches.
"Chelsea is 0-0 with Sunderland at home, and Liverpool is leading Norwich 2-0 away!"
"Damn, how is Norwich so bad? They've conceded two goals in just fifteen minutes?"
"Yeah, do they even want to stay in the league? If they lose this game, they'll be caught by Sunderland!"
The opponents of Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea were all teams fighting relegation.
West Bromwich Albion had 33 points, only 4 points above the relegation zone. Norwich had 32 points, in a worse position. The worst off was Sunderland, with 29 points, sitting third from the bottom and already in the relegation zone.
So, all six teams wanted to win; none wanted to lose.
Liverpool leading by two goals meant they would likely win their match. Now it was down to Chelsea. If they drew or lost to Sunderland, Manchester City would secure the title by winning this match, with four games to spare!
However, bad news soon came from the other match: "Damn, Chelsea has taken the lead!"
"Really? Who scored?"
"Eto'o. Chelsea's quick counterattack, Eto'o used his speed to break free from the defenders and scored."
"Sigh, Eto'o is already 33, but he's still so strong?"
"Well, he's the only player to win back-to-back trebles. He must be good to achieve such great results!"
"Come on, Sunderland, hold on! Just one goal, that's all it takes!"
Manchester City fans started praying for Sunderland. "For the sake of staying up, show some courage and fight! If you beat Chelsea, you'll get out of the relegation zone!"
It seemed Sunderland heard the fans' prayers, as they quickly equalized.
In the 18th minute, Alonso took a corner kick, and Wickham scored from close range after the Chelsea goalkeeper fumbled the save.
The Black Cats had bravely equalized!
"Well done, Sunderland!"
"Great job, Wickham!"
"Keep it up! Don't let Chelsea score again!"
The sudden cheers at the Etihad puzzled the players on the pitch. The score was still 1-0; what were the fans celebrating?
Shaking their heads, the Manchester City players refocused on the game.
Scoring the first goal against a packed defense is the hardest part. Once in the lead, the opponents can't keep defending and have to attack, opening up the game.
After falling behind, West Bromwich Albion had to come out and attack to avoid relegation.
In the 22nd minute, after defending a West Bromwich Albion attack, Manchester City quickly countered.
De Bruyne saw Lin Quan's position and sent a precise through ball. Lin Quan broke through the defense, calmly scored past the goalkeeper, making it 2-0!
Manchester City had secured the victory!
The Blue Moon fans at the stadium were overjoyed, celebrating wildly.
Now, with a two-goal lead, they could relax and focus on the other two matches.
Unfortunately, until the end of the first half, there were no changes in the scores of the other two matches.
In the second half, West Bromwich Albion tried to attack early but was immediately overpowered by Manchester City.
The game turned into a one-sided training session.
In the 50th minute, Lin Quan assisted Agüero, who made it 3-0.
West Bromwich Albion had no hope left.
Manchester City fans were singing and dancing, already celebrating the victory.
As long as Sunderland held on for another 40 minutes and the other match ended in a draw, Manchester City would win the title with four games to spare!
So, although they were in their home stadium, their minds were on Chelsea's Stamford Bridge.
At Stamford Bridge, the score was still 1-1, a very unfavorable result for Chelsea.
Mourinho's face was grim as he stood on the sidelines.
Since halftime, when he learned Manchester City was leading West Bromwich Albion 2-0, Mourinho had been restless.
Manchester City's lead meant Chelsea had to win to keep their slim title hopes alive.
If they lost, they would have to watch their rivals lift the trophy!
In the coaching area, a few assistant coaches whispered to each other.
"How's the match at Manchester City?"
"No need to check, Agüero scored again, it's 3-0 now!"
"Damn, West Bromwich Albion is supposed to be a relegation-threatened team. Aren't they supposed to be strong at the end of the season? How could they be so easily thrashed by Manchester City?"
"There's no way. The gap between the two teams' strength is too big. West Bromwich Albion tried to defend but couldn't hold on. The game was actually over when De Bruyne scored the first goal!"
Talking about De Bruyne, the assistant coaches couldn't help but sigh.
This player was discarded by Mourinho at Chelsea, not even making the bench.
But at Manchester City, Pellegrini gave him an important role, making him the engine of Manchester City's attack.
With his precise passes, De Bruyne repeatedly opened up the game for Manchester City, contributing greatly to their victories.
What puzzled them was why De Bruyne, who didn't meet Chelsea's standards, performed so brilliantly at Manchester City?
In the Stamford Bridge VIP box, Chelsea's owner, Abramovich, watched the match with a grim face. Learning that Manchester City was leading 3-0 only made his mood worse.
Although it was already clear that Chelsea had almost no chance of winning the championship, he still held onto a bit of hope. After all, Mourinho had led Chelsea to great success at Stamford Bridge before.
Abramovich still had a little bit of expectation for him! However, now all those expectations have turned into disappointment. Once again, Abramovich felt a strong dislike for Mourinho, just like when he had fired him years ago.
But this time, Abramovich didn't act impulsively. Firing Mourinho was easy, but finding a suitable replacement was very difficult.
The person he really wanted was not likely to come to Chelsea in the short term.
So, without a better option, he had to tolerate Mourinho for now.
He would give him another year. If Chelsea ended up with nothing again next year, Abramovich might finally run out of patience.
…
After leading 3-0, Manchester City started to ease up.
Pellegrini substituted Lin Quan at the 67th minute and then De Bruyne at the 72nd minute.
These substitutions were clearly to prepare for the Champions League semi-final against the formidable Real Madrid on the weekend. Manchester City had to take advantage of playing at home in the first leg to beat them.
If they couldn't win at home, their Champions League journey this year would basically come to an end!
Real Madrid had also sent scouts to watch the game. Seeing Manchester City's powerful attack, their expressions were very serious.
Manchester City was indeed tough to deal with!
Shortly after Manchester City made their substitutions, news came in from another match.
Norwich had scored two goals in the 67th and 72nd minutes to miraculously equalize the score! "What? What's going on with Liverpool?"
Manchester City fans were surprised to hear this news.
Could Liverpool really blow a 2-0 lead?
"Never underestimate the determination of a relegation-threatened team!"
With that in mind, Manchester City fans couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
Could their team be overturned too? Just as this thought occurred, West Brom scored.
In the 76th minute, West Brom took advantage of a corner kick to pull one back.
This made Manchester City fans even more anxious, thinking of the other match's result.
But Manchester City didn't give their opponents any more chances. They started to control the pace of the game, limiting the opponent's attacks and curbing West Brom's counterattacks.
The game fell back under Manchester City's control, and their fans breathed a sigh of relief.
In the 81st minute, news came again from the Liverpool match.
Sterling had exploded with another goal, completing a hat-trick and putting Liverpool back in the lead.
After Suarez was suspended, Sterling's performance ensured that Liverpool's attacking firepower wasn't greatly affected.
Sterling's outstanding performances in these matches had also attracted attention from several big clubs.
As Manchester City fans were amazed by Liverpool's comeback, another update came from Chelsea's match – Chelsea was behind!
In the 82nd minute, Sunderland's substitute Altidore broke into the right side of the penalty area and went down under Azpilicueta's challenge. Referee Mike Dean awarded a penalty, but the replay on the big screen showed that the decision was controversial.
Thousands of Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge booed the referee, accusing him of bias.
On the sidelines, Mourinho was furious, wanting to argue with the referee. Giving the opponent a penalty at this time was almost like killing the game!
Indeed, Borini converted the penalty, changing the score to 2-1!
This penalty dealt a huge blow to the Chelsea players' morale. In the final stages, Torres nearly got into a fight while trying to win the ball and received a yellow card.
In the end, Chelsea, playing at home, suffered a comeback defeat despite leading at the start.
Losing this match meant Chelsea not only lost their hopes of winning the championship but also fell to third place in the standings, overtaken by Liverpool.
When this news reached the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City fans erupted in cheers!
"We won!"
"We are the champions!"
At that moment, the game was still ongoing, with only a few seconds left in stoppage time.
Seeing West Brom's lack of fighting spirit, the referee blew the final whistle early.
As the whistle blew, tens of thousands of fans in the stadium went crazy.
On the sidelines, coaching staff and players on the bench rushed onto the field to celebrate with their teammates.
Lin Quan and De Bruyne exchanged happy smiles.
This was Lin Quan's first league championship trophy. The regret of not winning the title with Werder Bremen last season was finally made up at Manchester City.
When Pellegrini came onto the field, the players immediately lifted him up and threw him into the air!
As the main architect of Manchester City's championship this season, Pellegrini deserved such a treatment.
The Chilean had a very successful first season at the Etihad, winning the league and the League Cup, reaching the FA Cup final, and making it to the Champions League semi-finals…
These achievements were the best in Manchester City's history, reaching heights that were previously unthinkable.
"Alright, alright, that's enough, kids, put me down, I'm getting dizzy!"
After being thrown a few times, Pellegrini, who was in his sixties, couldn't take it anymore and had to ask for mercy.
"Haha!"
The players burst into laughter at their coach's plea and finally put him down.
Then, they set their sights on Lin Quan! Seeing his teammates looking at him, Lin Quan knew something was up.
But before he could start running away, his teammates had already caught him and lifted him up.
As the core of Manchester City, who often stepped up at critical moments to help the team through tough times, Lin Quan was undoubtedly the second biggest contributor to the team's success, perhaps even more important than Pellegrini in some ways.
When he first came to Manchester City with the highest salary in history, many players were skeptical and even resentful of him.
But after a season, no one doubted Lin Quan's abilities anymore.
He had earned the respect and admiration of all his teammates with his consistent outstanding performance.
Without his addition, Manchester City would never have gone so far on so many fronts this season!
"Alright, alright, that's enough, we need to go to the locker room to change and get ready for the award ceremony!"
Seeing the players had had enough fun, Pellegrini quickly reminded them.
The crowd let go of Lin Quan and scattered, leaving him to fall to the ground with a thud.
These heartless guys!
Lin Quan rubbed his butt and was about to get up when he saw a hand extended towards him.
He looked up and saw it was De Bruyne.
"You're a good guy!"
Lin Quan unsuspectingly took De Bruyne's hand, but with a mischievous grin, De Bruyne suddenly let go just as Lin Quan was about to stand up.
So, with another thud, Lin Quan fell back down!
Lin Quan: "???"
Oh no, De Bruyne has turned bad too! Back in the locker room, the players put on the club's special championship celebration jerseys.
When they appeared in the player tunnel, the staff had already set up the award stage.
FA officials had also brought the Premier League trophy to the Etihad Stadium!
Loud applause filled the venue as Manchester City's players entered the field, walking through the blue archway onto the pitch.
Amid the cheers of the fans, Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore awarded medals to Manchester City's players.
When it was Lin Quan's turn, Scudamore patted his shoulder and said: "Lin, congratulations, your performance was impressive. You deserve this medal!"
Lin Quan bowed slightly to let Scudamore put the medal around his neck and then shook his hand: "Thank you for the congratulations, Mr. Scudamore. I hope to see you again at this time next year!"
Scudamore smiled. Lin Quan's words implied he wanted to defend the league title?
That's not easy. The Premier League is always highly competitive. With Manchester City winning this season, they would surely be the target next season.
When Lin Quan reached the podium, his teammates pushed him to the center spot. Lin Quan tried to decline a few times, but seeing their insistence, he reluctantly took the central position.
Just then, Captain Kompany was the last to appear, holding the trophy as he walked to the podium.
Manchester City's players all reached out for the trophy. Kompany turned around, facing the players, and shouted three, two, one, then raised the trophy with a swoosh!
"We are the champions!"
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.