After being rejected, I became Shi Yijiao

Chapter 253 He Can't Fly an Aircraft Carrier
February 2, still Manchester, but at the Etihad Stadium.

In a focus match of the last 16 of the Champions League, the Premier League upstart Manchester City encountered the Champions League newcomer Hamburg.

The game attracted [-] fans into the Etihad, and the scene was full of seats and voices.

"Manchester City are in good form, so I still think they will take Hamburg comfortably at home."

In the media seat of Sky Sports, Gary Neville said, but his face was not very good-looking.

Carragher, who was sitting next to him, joked: "Do you think Manchester City are in good shape because of their performance in the Manchester Derby? I said, is there such a possibility that Manchester United this season is too bad?"

"Shut up!" Neville rolled his eyes. "At least these two Manchester teams have entered the Champions League round of 16. How about Liverpool? Can you help me get a ticket for their Champions League this season?"

Neville and Carragher played for the rivals Manchester United and Liverpool respectively in the player era, and they can be regarded as tit-for-tat on the court.

But after retiring, they became a pair of living treasures who fell in love and killed each other. The bickering on the TV station can be regarded as a repertoire that fans love to see.

So Carragher didn't take it too seriously, he smiled and said: "You can be arrogant, but you shouldn't be arrogant for too long. By next season, I will be the one who says this."

Carragher certainly has the confidence to say this.

In the Premier League this season, Liverpool is still in the championship, and the Champions League seat seems to have a great chance.

However, Manchester United already has a huge point gap from the top of the list. Let alone the championship and the top four, even the qualification for the Europa League is not at hand.

"Let's watch today's game first." Neville changed the topic intentionally or unintentionally, "From the perspective of the Manchester City derby, Pellegrini's transformation of this Manchester City team is still very successful. The attacking combination moves very flexibly, and I doubt Hamburg can adapt to this style of play."

Carragher said: "But we have also watched the Hamburg game, and the same is true of Pan Yi's team, and I feel that the changes in the frontcourt are even worse. So I don't agree with your statement."

Neville defended: "I still have the previous point of view. The reason why Hamburg can play so smoothly is because they did not encounter the tough defense of the Premier League team. You also watched the Manchester Derby a few days ago, that kind of offensive and defensive Is the conversion speed comparable to that of Brunswick?"

"...You should at least compare it with Leverkusen or Dortmund?" Carragher was a little speechless.

"That's the same. They are all teams that focus on offense and light defense." Neville waved his hand, "This Manchester City team will adopt extremely aggressive counter-attacks to prevent the opponent from counter-attacking at the moment of transition from offense to defense. In this way, it is very difficult for Hamburg to have the opportunity to form an effective attack."

Carragher put forward a different view: "But it also means that when Manchester City is in possession of the ball, the double midfielders need to move in front of the top of the opponent's penalty area, and there is no guarantee that the structural level of each attack can provide sufficient protection. In this way, there is a large gap between the forward line and the back line, which may be exploited by Hamburg's extremely fast forwards."

"I doubt that those players who are used to the rhythm of the Bundesliga can find such a space." Neville snorted, "It's useless to say more, let's see how Manchester City can give Hamburg the strength of the Premier League!"

……

In the locker room of the visiting team, Pan Yi was giving the final reminder to the players.

Judging from the Manchester City starting list obtained before, Pellegrini should still use the 4411 formation when he won the Manchester Derby easily, but made an adjustment in the defense.

He replaced Clichy with the more attacking left-back Kolarov.

This also shows Pellegrini's attitude towards this game, that is, to take Hamburg by storm at home to take advantage of the promotion.

"Manchester City will definitely attack in the opening game. We must be mentally prepared, and we must not mess up in any case."

"The attackers in their frontcourt will frequently cross and change positions, but we adopt zone defense. Everyone is only responsible for marking the players who enter the zone, and they cannot run around with them and cause the formation to be scattered."

"Also, they will have more direct passes, and of course there will be crosses from the wing. This requires us to keep the formation rigorous and not leave too much space."

Pan Yi also named Van Dijk, Rudiger and Casemiro: "In addition to keeping an eye on their center Dzeko, you must also pay attention to Aguero. Especially in the area where he is in the middle of the penalty area, and if He retreats deeply, follow up cautiously, to avoid being transferred away from the mountain!"

After all, this is the Etihad, Manchester City's home stadium, and they are in good form and their morale is very strong.

It would actually be a bit unwise to have a fierce confrontation with Blue Moon at the beginning.

Although due to the rotation, Hamburg has an advantage in physical fitness, but this cannot be reflected in the opening stage.

Therefore, Pan Yi will seek safety in the opening game, avoid Manchester City's edge, and then find a way to fight back.

"No matter how fiercely they attack in the opening game, we should not panic. And no matter what happens, any accidents, even if they score first, don't rush and don't mess up."

"They don't have a winter break in the Premier League, and they have more League Cups. During this period, they played more than four or five games more than us. Just a few days ago, their main players played a fierce Manchester derby. There must be a physical problem."

"And their players are generally older than us, and they can run without us! As long as we hold our ground, the next opportunity will be ours! The winner between us and Manchester City will appear in the second half!"

"This is Hamburg's first Champions League knockout game in so many years, and it is also the first Champions League knockout game in the careers of many of you present. In fact, it is also the first game since I became the head coach!"

"The first time is always difficult. Sometimes you may not be able to find the direction to use your strength, and you may not be able to find the entrance to move forward."

"But I also ask you to believe that as long as you relax your mind and play at your own level, I will definitely lead you to a good result from the Etihad!"

"Then just as I promised you before, we will reach the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and even the final! The Stadium of Light is waiting for us!"

After listening, the players were all excited and agreed in unison!
……

With the cheers of more than 5 fans at the Etihad Stadium, the referee officially blew the whistle to start the game.

Sure enough, just as Pan Yi expected, Manchester City aggressively pressed the attack from the beginning.

In addition to the four-person team in the frontcourt still actively running and attacking, Manchester City's two full-backs are also very high.

Especially Kolarov on the left, his cooperation with David Silva frequently launched an offensive to Hamburg's wing.

The Serbian left-back is 1 meters tall, but Kolarov's flexibility is not bad. Instead, he is known for his wide-range running and high agility.

And when he played in the frontcourt, he often threatened Hamburg's goal with his iconic left rib breakthrough and powerful shots.

When Kolarov assisted and stepped forward, Fernandinho or Yaya Toure behind him would fill in the gap in time, so that he would have no worries.

This style of play is actually very modern football, and it is somewhat similar to Pan Yi's Hamburg.

The main idea is to create a numerical advantage in a local area through the players' active running and interspersed filling.

And Manchester City's players performed very well.

So after the opening game, amidst the cheers and cheers of the home fans, Manchester City really forced Hamburg into a bit of a panic.

Hamburg's backcourt combination has encountered certain difficulties. Whether it is delivering shells to the front or the side, it is always not so smooth.

Therefore, the Hamburg players followed Pan Yi's instructions before the game and did not rush to launch an attack. Instead, they retracted the defense line a little bit and retracted the encounter line to better deal with Manchester City's stormy attack.

In this way, Manchester City pressed even higher.

Even Fernandinho and Yaya Toure moved forward, pressing the Hamburg defense more aggressively.

They also created some chances on goal.

In the 5th minute, Kolarov made a pass from the left. Dzeko in the middle shook his head and attacked, but it was higher than the crossbar.

In the 8th minute, Jesus Navas broke through from the right and made a cross. Aguero grabbed a shot with his right foot, but the ball hit the side net.

In the 12th minute, Manchester City launched another offensive on the left flank.

After a two-for-one with David Silva, Kolarov advanced forward at high speed to get the ball, trying to get to the bottom line and cross.

Carvajal defended in place and prevented the opponent's attempt.

And Kolarov didn't want to make a pass. He glanced at the middle, then dunked and swayed the angle, and sent the ball over.

At this time, Dzeko in the middle had retreated to the top of the penalty area. This action also allowed him to avoid Van Dijk's defense and gave Kolarov a passing line.

The ball also went to Dzeko's feet smoothly.

He stopped the ball, adjusted a little, then bent his bow and set his arrow, ready to shoot!

At this time, Rudiger, who came over to defend, saw that the situation was not good, and directly shoveled, preparing to block Dzeko's shooting angle.

But instead of shooting, Dzeko feinted and was about to switch the ball to the other foot to shoot.

But Rudiger's feet couldn't hold back, and they shoveled directly onto Dzeko's supporting feet, knocking him to the ground.

"Beep!—"

The referee's whistle sounded for the first time, then signaled that it was a free kick, and gave Rudiger a yellow card.

"Line up the wall of people! Line up the wall of people!" Pan Yi on the sidelines frowned, stood up and shouted.

This Dzeko was really difficult to deal with, even though he had already told Van Dijk and Rudiger, he still took advantage of him.

And the position of this free kick is also very good, which makes Pan Yi have a bad premonition.

At this time David Silva and Kolarov were already standing in front of the ball.

The two discussed a few words, and then both backed away.

David Silva makes an approach, but runs right past it without touching the ball.

Kolarov made another run-up, this time he raised his foot and shot!

The ball drew a beautiful arc, bypassed Hamburg's human wall, and drilled into Hamburg's goal from the near corner.

Faced with such a high-quality free kick, Hamburg goalkeeper Kerol Navas had nothing to do, and he didn't even have time to make any moves.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!! Manchester City scored!!!"

After Kolarov scored a goal, he turned around and ran excitedly, and all the Manchester City players also chased him and ran to celebrate.

Kolarov, the "golden left foot", in addition to his strong assist ability and a long shot, his free kick skills are also famous all over the world.

When he was in Lazio in Serie A, he was even hailed as the heir of Mikhailovich!
At this time, the Hamburg players were all stunned and looked very frustrated.

The ball was conceded in the first ten minutes of the game. This game is not easy to play.

"Remember what I told you in the locker room!!!" Pan Yi shouted from the sidelines.

Of course he was not happy when Hamburg conceded the ball, but he knew that he couldn't show such emotions now.

Once the head coach is impatient, the players will not be able to get better.

"Cheer up your spirits! Hold on tight and play hard! It's still a long time!"

"Who the hell is downcast again, wait until I kick his ass hard with my boots!"

"Whatever you look at, it's you! You kid, raise your head up for me!"

With a loud shout, the players came to their senses.

The main reason is that Pan Yi's current status in the Hamburg locker room is really high, and everyone trusts him 100% unconditionally.

He is the backbone of the Hamburg team!
Under Pan Yi's reminder, the Hamburg players also regained their spirits, cheered up and threw themselves into the game!
……

In the chairman's stand of the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City Club Chairman Hosni Mubarak, Football Director Begiristan and CEO Soriano are all watching the game.

When Kolarov broke through the Hamburg goal with a beautiful free kick, they immediately jumped up and cheered and embraced like ordinary fans.

"Pretty!"

"Pretty!"

"Great!"

There was of course a reason for their excitement.

Since the Abu Dhabi Group entered Manchester City in 2008, and won the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League in 2012, they have shifted their focus to the Champions League.

Winning the Champions League is the ultimate pursuit of Manchester City's behind-the-scenes owner Sheikh Mansour!

It can even be said that the main reason for the dismissal of Manchester City's former coach Mancini was not the loss of the Premier League title, nor the loss of the FA Cup final, but the disgraceful exit from the bottom of the Champions League group stage with 3 draws and 3 losses .

The Chilean engineer Manuel Pellegrini was brought in to take over as Manchester City's coach, and it was precisely because of his excellent performance in the Champions League when he was in La Liga.

"It seems that Pellegrini is the right choice to be the head coach," said Chairman Mubarak. tactics."

Director Begiristan also nodded and said: "Yes, I think he is one of the best head coaches in world football today."

"It's a good thing we didn't choose Pan Yi." Mubarak laughed. "He is indeed too young."

When Mancini dismissed get out of class, the Manchester City executives really considered Pan Yi seriously.

At that time, Pan Yi had just led Hamburg to the Bundesliga runner-up, and his achievements in the Triple Crown during his tenure as an assistant coach in Milan were not ignored.

However, after long-term discussions, the executives still believe that Pan Yi's performance after independent coaching still does not guarantee that he will be qualified for the post of Manchester City coach.

First of all, Pan Yi has only been the head coach for one year. Sometimes it is normal for a new coach to achieve some results in the early stage of coaching. The difficult thing is to consistently achieve results.

This kind of example is also very common in world football, and it feels like a kind of "novice luck".

For example, Di Matteo took over the Chelsea coach and won a Champions League, but then disappeared.

And sometimes, some coaches lead a small team to do well, but once they reach a strong team, they immediately fail.

When you think he is really not good, he returns to the small team and immediately does it again!

This is commonly known as "can't fly an aircraft carrier".

There are more people like this, like Emery, Moyes... all of them.

For Manchester City and Sheikh Mansour, they want to build a dynasty.

Not only a dynasty that can rule the Premier League, but also a dynasty that can dominate the Champions League!

Therefore, a stable, powerful senior head coach who can "drive an aircraft carrier" is a must.

And now it seems that Pellegrini is the one they are looking for!

As for Pan Yi...

Observe for a few more years to see if he can really prove himself!

……

The game restarts.

Although Manchester City led by one goal, they were still organizing offenses non-stop.

This is actually one of the more distinctive features of Pellegrini.

When the team leads but not much, many teams will take some ways to avoid risks.

Those who are strong will use "defense with the ball" and use possession of the ball as an alternative means of defense;

Those who are weak will fall back to the low position and organize a solid defensive structure.

Pellegrini, however, tends to use neither.

On the contrary, he will let the team continue to maintain a more direct offensive style, and hope to score the second and third goals when the offense and defense transition, in order to expand the score advantage.

In addition, no matter what time period he is in and what opponent he faces, he will insist on aggressive high pressure.

This is actually one of the reasons why Manchester City's top management chose Pellegrini as the head coach.

More goals and better games are also important factors to attract fans to the field.

As a "new giant", there is a big gap between Manchester City and those "old money" in terms of fan base around the world.

For example, compared with their neighbor Manchester United, they are not at the same level at all.

But as long as Manchester City sticks to the offensive style of play and can still win, it will slowly shorten this part of the gap, making Manchester City truly a world-class giant team with loyal fans all over the world!

However, at the competitive level, Pellegrini's approach is actually risky.

That is, once you can't score more goals, your physical fitness will decline under strong pressure, the space on the two lines will be exposed, and you will lose control of the rhythm of the game.

Including if you encounter some opponents with a more direct style of play, such as when you lost to the underdog Sunderland this season, the opponent used long passes to resolve Manchester City's press, and then smashed Manchester City to death.

For this, Pellegrini is also well aware of it.

So although Manchester City has taken the lead, the Chilean engineer is still a little uneasy.

After all, the current Hamburg seems to have stabilized after experiencing a little panic and conceding goals after the opening.

Especially after Pan Yi stood up and yelled for a while, the players in Hamburg didn't show any anxiety or panic on their faces, and they were all patiently building a defensive line to withstand Manchester City's offense, and they were not in a hurry to push the ball away. to the front field.

Fifteen minutes into the game, Hamburg didn't even have a shot!

But they are still actively defending calmly.

This did surprise Pellegrini a bit.

Of course, he has studied the Hamburg game before, and he also knows that Pan Yi's team is mostly young people, and they often launch a fierce attack in the opening stage, which is simply a replica of Manchester City.

But today it was a bit uncharacteristically, even if it fell behind, it was like a normal person.

"They can really hold their breath." Sitting next to Pellegrini was assistant coach Brian Kidd, who looked at the head coach, "Does Pan Yi want to withstand our onslaught first, and then launch a counterattack in the second half? ?”

"When we're almost exhausted?" Pellegrini asked.

Kidd nodded: "Based on the team's current style of play, we will have a big physical problem in the second half. At that time, they may have a chance to counterattack."

Pellegrini also nodded silently.

Why doesn't he know about this?

A few days ago, they just played a Manchester Derby about the championship and honor, and the consistent high-intensity schedule of the Premier League team also made many players feel tired.

Although the opposite Hamburg is also fighting on the third line, it can only be compared with Manchester City, which is fighting on the fourth line, has no Christmas holiday, and has more games.

Not to mention that in the previous league, Hamburg played a full rotation of players, and now all the main players in the starting lineup have received sufficient rest.

The average age of Hamburg is also much lower than that of Manchester City!

But Pellegrini also knew they couldn't slow down.

Hamburg is also a team that is good at controlling the rhythm of the game and then launching a deadly attack.

If Manchester City slows down, Hamburg can immediately speed up, and then counter-press, and then push Manchester City to a rhythm they are not familiar with.

Therefore, what Pellegrini can do is to let the players attack desperately while their physical condition is still good, and strive for more goals!

In this way, on the one hand, it can relieve the pressure of being counterattacked in case of physical decline, and on the other hand, it can also hit the confidence of the opponent and make the Hamburg players lose their fighting spirit. This will further reduce the pressure on Manchester City in the future.

In fact, Manchester City is now half successful, after all, they have scored goals.

But not enough.

This goal does not seem to have hit the self-confidence of the Hamburg players.

Pan Yi made Hamburg retreat in a timely manner, and encouraged the players well, which hindered Manchester City's offense.

"Continue to attack." Pellegrini stood up and walked to the command area. "As long as we can score one more goal, the situation will be much better."

If you can lead 2:0, it will not only be the victory of this game, but also play a vital role in the knockout match where the winner will be determined in two rounds.

If you don't try to win as many goals as possible at home, it will be even more difficult on the road.

So, under the command of Chilean engineers, Manchester City continued to frantically launch wave after wave of attacks towards the restricted area of ​​Hamburg!

(End of this chapter)