I started with Torres, to revive German football

Chapter 341 The nightmare returns
As the head coach, Guardiola has done enough tactical work before the game, and the rest naturally depends on the performance of the players on the field.

Zhao Jinge also made the last mobilization before the game after Guardiola's speech.

Instead of going straight to the topic to boost morale, Zhao Jinge first gave his teammates some time to sort out the upcoming schedule.

After playing Manchester United today, they will go to Monaco away from home three days later in the evening.

And on the fourth day after the Champions League knockout match, they will usher in the final of this season's League Cup.

Three consecutive games are important battles, and there is not enough time. After all, after taking a plane to Turkey, no one can say whether Manchester City's players will experience ups and downs in form.

Therefore, other Manchester City players will inevitably have some solemn expressions.

This kind of cup competition is no better than the league, and the error tolerance rate is indeed too low. Even the optimistic Sterling is looking at Zhao Jinge seriously with his arms crossed.

They are still high-spirited, still united and confident, but there is no doubt that at this moment they also need more external forces that can boost morale and give them more confidence.

As the inner support of every Manchester City player when fighting on the field, Zhao Jinge, who is the backbone of the team, is naturally the source of this strength.

After Zhao Jinge established his unique status this season, he began to relentlessly instill in every Manchester City player the belief that they should continue to be big winners.

Now that we have reached a critical moment, his teammates naturally once again chose to put their trust in his hands.

"There is actually nothing new in this football world. When we feel difficulties, the teams that have created legends in the past have actually experienced such a schedule long ago.

They succeeded, so in the end they became the objects of praise, while those who fell in the middle will naturally no longer be remembered.

We need this kind of vigilance, those failed teams will keep us fighting spirit and sense of urgency, but at this moment I hope everyone in our team clearly recognizes:
When we exist as individual players, we will fail, we will be knocked down, and we will feel frustrated and anxious because of losses, but when we exist as a member of this Manchester City team, we are united and willing to do everything for each other. Sacrifice and do our best on the court, then no difficulty can overwhelm us!
Because we are the great Manchester City, and as a member of this great team, every one of us here will also become a legend of the team! "

Zhao Jinge did not disappoint his teammates and Guardiola. After another passionate speech as the backbone of the team, he took the lead in pushing open the door of the visiting team's locker room.

The Manchester City players who were shouting various slogans followed him and encouraged each other aggressively to the players' tunnel.

Looking at the astonishing Manchester City team, the Manchester United players on the side were already used to it.

Since last season, Manchester City has been in such a desperate state whenever they encounter them.

This created a strange scene. The Manchester City players, who had won the championship last season, were in the tunnel of the Old Trafford Stadium, observing the owner of the stadium domineeringly.

Therefore, when the players from both sides lined up on both sides, the smell of gunpowder in the air suddenly became stronger.

Although Manchester United is currently in a bad situation, anyone who faces an opponent who has repeatedly slaughtered themselves and is ambitious enough to continue to ravage their opponents will become red-eyed.

The players on both sides don't need to use words anymore, and the truth will be seen on the field, and don't engage in any draws and play-offs, today's game will determine the outcome!

At close to five o'clock in the afternoon, players from both sides entered the stadium steadily amidst the din of the Old Trafford scene, and Mourinho and Guardiola also sat on the coaching bench seriously.

The two did not communicate much before the game today. Before the final whistle sounded, there was no possibility of friendly communication between them.

After the short pre-match ceremony, the players of both sides stood still, and with the whistle of the referee on duty, the focus of the FA Cup battle officially started at Old Trafford.

Andy Gray of Sky Sports is also introducing the lineups of both teams to the audience in as much detail as possible.

Manchester City chose an offensive [-] formation today, while Manchester United chose a more balanced [-] formation!
For Manchester City, Zhao Jinge partners with Mane and Sterling on the striker.

Midfielder Gundogan, De Bruyne and Kante lined up.

The defense line from left to right is Cancelo, Stones, Laporte and Fernandinho.

The goalkeeper position is naturally the irreplaceable Joe Hart.

As for Manchester United, Mourinho chose to push Rooney to the front line today and let Lu Xiaopang and Ibrahimovic partner.

The midfield four consists of Mkhitaryan, Pogba, Herrera and Mata.

In terms of defense, Smalling, who returned from injury today, was unlucky to have the opportunity to face off against Zhao Jinge. His classic combination with Bailly made Manchester United fans frown.

The full-back combination of Rojo and Valencia is something that Manchester United fans cannot count on. Except for De Gea, who is becoming increasingly stable on the goal line, Manchester United's lineup today has no improvement at all compared to before!

In the previous duel with Manchester City, Zhao Jinge single-handedly destroyed Manchester United's defense. They really don't want to see the scene of Zhao Jinge smashing Evans or Blind again, and it will appear on Smalling again. , if he is crushed again, Manchester United's defense will really have no other manpower.

However, the physical fitness of the England central defender is at its peak, and Bailly is capable of withstanding Zhao Jinge's impact from the front.

The only uncertainty is his speed and physical condition after returning from injury. In addition, it is also doubtful whether his game experience can help him keep an eye on the increasingly sophisticated Zhao Jinge.

But Mourinho dared to let him play today, which naturally had tactical considerations. However, facing Manchester United's personnel arrangement, Manchester City obviously had a response plan and did not seem panicked.

After all, Smalling had returned in the league before and had played two games recently. His condition seemed to be recovering, and Guardiola had already made tactical preparations.

Compared to Blind and Evans, Smalling is obviously a better choice to deal with big centers.

But Zhao Jinge is obviously not in the category of these ordinary forwards. Facing Manchester United's two best defenders, the central defender neither holds the ball and walks to the center, nor does he avoid fighting and pull wide. Instead, he starts to play with Manchester United's two central defenders non-stop. hand-to-hand combat.

Manchester City also seemed to have forgotten to use Zhao Jinge's fulcrum ability, and made a fuss around Mane's right wing first.

Zhao Jinge played without the ball, and Manchester United supporters breathed a sigh of relief, but at this moment, Smalling and Bailly had bad thoughts in their minds.

Zhao Jinge's style of play today was a little too rough. He didn't show any remorse even if he was called for a confrontation foul by the referee. He just dragged two Manchester United center backs who were not physically fit enough to constantly consume energy in and outside the penalty area.

The key is that he also has a sprinting ability that does not match his body shape. The moment he breaks forward and starts to speed, Smalling can always recall some bad game memories from last season.

In another confrontation between Manchester United's two central defenders and Zhao Jinge, they quickly recalled the aggrieved feeling of most central defenders in the Premier League.

Last season, there were some central defenders who were slightly better than Zhao Jinge in terms of physical strength. This season, there are very few Premier League central defenders who can compete with Zhao Jinge.

The key is that in addition to Zhao Jinge's static confrontation, he more often likes to use his advantages in technology and flexibility to rush up and fight with defenders to seize position.

Smalling suffers a big loss in terms of speed. Bailly could help him make up for this shortcoming before, but now that Bailly can't help himself, Smalling becomes more and more vulnerable when facing speedy forwards. Been struggling.

Mourinho may have wanted to first limit Zhao Jinge's ability to break games in the middle, but he did not expect that Manchester City simply did not focus on Zhao Jinge's point.

Zhao Jinge does not hold the ball and has no offensive pressure. When he runs without the ball, he mobilizes Manchester United's two central defenders to run back and forth, and his physical fitness drops quickly.

Mane, on the right side of Manchester City, pressed Valencia hard and hit hard, forcing Pogba to retreat to help defend in the right half.

Without Pogba's organization and scheduling, Herrera was not sure that he could sort out Manchester United's backcourt transmission under Kante's constant interference. In the end, he had to rely on Rooney and the offensive players on the wing to get the ball.

This frowning scene has left many Manchester United fans who were a little confident just now in doubt.

Manchester City still had the initiative on the field. Even if Mourinho chose to change the formation, Manchester City changed the main direction of attack, forcing Manchester United to reduce the offensive force in the frontcourt to sort out the midfield.

Except that Zhao Jinge committed more fouls on the offensive end today and didn't seem to have a very good offensive opportunity, this scene didn't look much different from Manchester United's previous loss to Manchester City.

It is all on the defensive end that one side is almost blown out, the midfield is not as good as the opponent, and the offensive end is forced to reduce manpower.

Manchester United fans don't understand. Could it be that Manchester United's tactics were leaked by the insider before the game?

Otherwise, why would Manchester City always be able to hit Manchester United's seven inches and create such a tactical suppression scene? !
At this moment, Guardiola looked at the development of the situation on the court, and finally a relaxed smile appeared on his serious face.

Outsiders don't know how far their coaching staff has studied Manchester United. It can be said that Manchester United has studied all their underwear.

To be honest, Guardiola admires Mourinho's ability to bring together these current Manchester United players to create a team that still has a chance to compete for the first-tier Premier League team.

If it weren't for the wave of injuries, Manchester United would really be in the top four. If someone else were to be Manchester United's head coach, judging from the current cards in Manchester United's hands, I'm afraid they would be dropped directly to the middle of the league!
It is precisely because there are shortcomings in Manchester United's lineup that cannot be erased by tactics, so Guardiola is confident that he can always suppress Manchester United.

To put it bluntly, it is to make a fuss about the offensive direction on one side and the confrontation in the midfield.

Manchester City has offensive superstars that other teams don't have. Whether it's Zhao Jinge or Mane, they can use their personal abilities to destroy one side of Manchester United's defense.

As long as the defensive players are unable to stop the offensive player's progress one-on-one, then you can either deploy manpower on the defensive line to double-team, or sacrifice a control point in the midfield and pull him back to help defend.

Manchester United's current midfield control is not as good as before. For this reason, Mourinho has to devise tactics of wingers advancing or Rooney retreating to get the ball to make up for the weak midfield advancement ability.

Now that Pogba retreats, Manchester United's midfield becomes even thinner with Herrera alone.

If you want to continue to compete with Manchester City, you can only bring more offensive players back to your own half to hold the ball. In this way, your offensive threat will be greatly reduced. Ibrahimovic has no support and no ball rights. How different is he from Welbeck?
So it's not that the tactics designed by Guardiola are so brilliant. He designed several conventional response methods based on the formations that Mourinho may arrange. But in the final analysis, the core is to rely on the performance of his own offensive players to target Manchester United's weak points. Midfield.

As long as Manchester United does not solve the problem of their midfielder for one day, Manchester City can use this shortcoming of Manchester United to crush them to death.

After all, you basically don’t have the ability to quickly steal and counterattack in the middle, and you only have two people on the field. Why are you playing with me?
The last time I overwhelmed you with the attack, this time I will play midfield control with you. There is no need to fight you in the areas where you are good at every time. Does Manchester City still need to prove anything?

Since defeating Manchester United in the previous three encounters, the fact that Manchester City has suppressed Manchester United in all aspects has been recognized by the vast majority of Premier League fans.

The shortcomings in the midfield require Manchester United to spend more time to launch an effective attack. During this time, Manchester City can attack for three or four rounds relying on the performance of Mane and Zhao Jinge.

Enough patience and the number of attacking rounds allowed Manchester City to finally take the lead in the 304th minute of the first half.

Mane's breakthrough from the wing was the beginning of the variation, and Zhao Jinge was constantly looking for opportunities while constantly consuming Smalling's physical energy.

When Mane retreated and a possible connection was established between Mane and Zhao Jinge, the goal naturally became a matter of course.

"De Bruyne received a pass from Mane in an inverted triangle! Sweep pass! Zhao's poke!"

"GOAL!!!!!!"

"Bailey and Smalling's reaction was a beat too slow! Zhao stabbed the football before Manchester United's two central defenders could clear the ball. His sense of smell and shot selection in front of the goal are still terrifyingly stable!
Manchester City once again took the lead at Old Trafford, Manchester United is in danger! "

Under Andy Gray's passionate explanation, many Manchester United fans grabbed their hair in pain.

This game is fucking hanging in the balance again!
(End of this chapter)