Chapter 479: Liverpool Finally Rises
David Silva's return from injury is good news for Manchester City. However, Guardiola finds himself with a headache. During the winter break, they signed too many wingers, and now with Silva back, the competition for positions is even fiercer. Silva's past performance leaves no doubt about his abilities, but the backups have been performing well too. Benching them might not sit well, making it a challenging situation for Guardiola.
On March 3rd, the 28th round of the Premier League began. Only three days after the League Cup final, Manchester City faced their old rivals, Liverpool, once again. This time, however, City wasn't as lucky as before. At Anfield, Manchester City scored first, but Sane's celebration angered the Liverpool players, almost leading to a brawl. Even Guardiola and Klopp, who had always had a good relationship, got into a heated exchange on the sidelines.
Liverpool, who had been trailing and suppressed, was ignited by this incident. They played beyond their capabilities, managing to reverse the score before halftime. Although City equalized in the second half, Liverpool, now in full swing, scored three more goals between the 65th and 78th minutes, making it 5-2. Despite Lin Quan scoring a free-kick goal in the final stages, Manchester City couldn't save the game and ultimately lost 3-5.
The Liverpool fans in the stadium went wild after the match. For them, this was more than just a regular league match; it was a revenge match. After a significant victory at home, they finally avenged their previous humiliation at Anfield. This victory was seen as a turning point, indicating Liverpool's rise. Beating a world-class team like Manchester City made the fans believe that there was nothing Liverpool couldn't achieve.
Klopp's status among Liverpool fans soared. Despite Liverpool's poor league performance this season, with no hope of winning the league and even a top-four finish seeming impossible, this victory against City was enough to satisfy the fans. Klopp had been at Liverpool for half a season, and the fans could see his potential. With improved squad depth in the summer, they believed Liverpool would become even stronger next season.
In addition to Klopp, the emergence of a young player gave Liverpool fans great hope for the future: Coutinho. In this match, Liverpool's winger Coutinho was on fire, scoring twice and providing an assist. His outstanding performance earned him the Man of the Match award. After this match, Coutinho's reputation soared, attracting the attention of many top clubs. Rumors circulated that Barcelona, particularly interested in him, was already counting the money to bring him to Camp Nou in the summer. Inter Milan, Coutinho's former club, also extended an olive branch, hoping to bring him back to the San Siro. Other clubs like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain also showed interest, making Coutinho a hot commodity in the transfer market.
Liverpool, of course, hoped to retain this key player. Guardiola noticed Coutinho's performance but had no intention of signing him. Manchester City already had too many wingers, and he knew Coutinho's success was largely due to Liverpool's tactical setup, where he had a free role as the team's offensive core. Without such freedom at another club, Coutinho might not perform as well. However, not everyone was as calm as Guardiola. Barcelona, still reeling from Neymar's departure, was eager to sign any promising winger.
Although it wasn't the transfer window, Barcelona privately contacted Coutinho's agent, trying to secure the player before approaching Liverpool. However, this secret approach was exposed by the media, causing a strong reaction from Liverpool. They condemned Barcelona's actions and immediately started contract renewal talks with Coutinho to ensure he stayed. Liverpool had learned from losing Suarez and were determined not to lose another key player easily.
While Liverpool celebrated, Manchester City seemed unaffected by their loss. In the 29th round of the Premier League, City hosted Aston Villa and won 5-0. Although both teams were scoreless in the first half, City exploded in the second half, scoring four goals in 14 minutes. Lin Quan completed a hat-trick, and Son Heung-min scored once. David Silva, who came on as a substitute, also scored, making it 5-0. The only blemish was missing a penalty in the 73rd minute, otherwise, it could have been 6-0. Nonetheless, the win and three points were secured.
Guardiola had been worried about the players' form in the first half, but as the goals kept coming in the second half, he couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Aston Villa. The ruthless scoring had the opposing players questioning their careers.
The highlight of this round was the North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham. These matches are always intense, and this one was no exception. At White Hart Lane, both teams received eight yellow cards and one red card. Arsenal took the lead in the first half but were reduced to ten men. Spurs capitalized on their numerical advantage in the second half and launched a fierce counterattack.
Harry Kane and Alderweireld scored consecutively, changing the score to 2-1. Just when everyone thought Arsenal was out of chances and Tottenham was about to win this North London Derby, Arsenal's star player Sanchez stepped up. In the 76th minute of the second half, Sanchez scored with an assist from Bellerin, helping the ten-man Arsenal equalize under extremely unfavorable circumstances.
The 2-2 score remained until the end, allowing Arsenal to narrowly escape defeat, while Tottenham regretted not securing a win at home.
In other matches, Chelsea continued their poor form, being held to a draw by Stoke City at home. Liverpool maintained their good form by securing an away win. Leicester City battled hard and secured three points with a crucial goal from Mahrez.
The most unfortunate team was Manchester United. In their away game against West Bromwich Albion, Mata received two yellow cards in the 24th and 26th minutes of the first half, resulting in a red card and his dismissal. Mourinho was stunned on the sidelines, feeling the referee's decisions were criminal. Mata, having played in the Premier League for so many years, had never received a red card. To get two yellow cards in two minutes and be sent off seemed like targeted unfairness against Manchester United.
Mourinho protested vehemently to the fourth official, even receiving a yellow card warning from the referee for using foul language. After receiving the yellow card, Mourinho sarcastically applauded the referee and gave him a thumbs up, which led to the referee sending him to the stands with a red card.
With the game just starting, United was down to ten men, and their head coach was sent off. This made the match extremely difficult to play. Already struggling with form recently, United faced an even tougher challenge with one man down. Ultimately, ten-man Manchester United lost 1-0 away, dropping another place in the league standings, overtaken by Liverpool and falling to seventh place. They were now a staggering 25 points behind league leaders Manchester City, highlighting the vast gulf between the two teams.
Manchester United fans, who had high hopes for Mourinho at the start of the season, were now utterly despairing. Since Ferguson's retirement, United seemed to have completely declined, with no manager able to reverse the trend. In just three years, they had gone through three managers without finding a solution. Was United destined to remain in decline forever?
Manchester City fans, who once mocked their struggling neighbors, had now lost interest in taunting United. It seemed to them that United was no longer worthy of comparison with City. This indifference from City fans only fueled the anger and frustration among United fans, who felt powerless to change their situation.
In the 30th round of the league, to prepare for the Champions League knockout match four days later, Guardiola fielded a mix of main and substitute players for the away game against bottom-ranked Norwich.
Despite being deep in the relegation zone, Norwich still had hopes of staying up, as the gap between them and the teams ahead wasn't too large. They aimed to secure points against Manchester City, especially since City was fielding a half-strength team.
At Carrow Road, Manchester City faced a defensive wall from Norwich. Without their key player Lin Quan, City struggled to break down Norwich's defense. Sane, Jesus, and Iheanacho collectively took 18 shots, but only one was on target, resulting in no goals. The low shooting accuracy reflected the tight defensive pressure City faced, with most shots being long-range efforts under pressure.
Norwich's defensive effort frustrated City's attackers. City players couldn't understand why Norwich hadn't defended this well in previous matches, leading to their relegation struggle.
Although Norwich parked the bus effectively, they managed one shot on target, matching City's effort in that regard. With just 21% possession and two shots in total, Norwich successfully held City to a goalless draw. The hard-earned point, however, lost its shine as relegation rivals Sunderland secured a crucial 3-0 home win over Everton, making Norwich's situation even more precarious.
Guardiola was somewhat surprised by the draw, but he wasn't too concerned. City's substantial lead at the top allowed them to absorb such setbacks. Despite Leicester City winning their match, the gap between them and City remained at nine points with only eight rounds left. Closing this gap would be extremely challenging, especially relying on City to falter repeatedly.
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