Full-level pass, please call me the speaker of the Three Lions

Chapter 394: Ibrahimovic goes behind enemy lines? Or is he squatting on Guagua?

Soon, the day of the competition arrived.

As the kick-off time was 12:30 noon on Saturday, Manchester United players arrived at The Lowry Hotel the night before.

In the past, Manchester United players would stay at this particular hotel the night before a home game.

However, Mourinho made subtle changes after taking office.

Whether to stay in a hotel or not depends mainly on the kick-off time.

If it is a night game, that is, a Champions League match that kicks off at 8 pm local time, the players do not have to stay in the hotel, they can just arrive at the Lowry Hotel at lunch time on the game day.

However, for early morning matches (kick-off at noon) or the traditional 3pm UK time, players must check into the hotel the night before.

Check-in is usually done around 8:30 pm, and photographers will be there to take pictures.

The so-called "long list" of players that the media reported before the game was guessed by the photographers counting the number of people.

Two hours before the game, Manchester United players, wearing headphones and carrying backpacks, boarded the team bus that had been waiting for a long time at the hotel entrance and headed to Old Trafford Stadium amid the cheers of the fans!
Along the way, sitting by the window of the bus, Ling Feng could see fans wearing Manchester United jerseys and holding scarves and team flags, singing passionate team songs as they headed towards Old Trafford:
"Glory, glory, Man United!"

"United! United!"

When these Red Devils fans saw the Manchester United players on the bus, they suddenly burst into enthusiastic cheers:
"Come on!"

"Guys, kill them!"

"Ling Bao, Mommy loves you!"

"Zlatan, it's great to have a hat trick in this game!"

Ling Feng and others in the car also waved to the fans through the windows.

At this moment, Ling Feng felt someone bumped into his shoulder and couldn't help but turn his head.

Lin Huang's expectant expression came into view:
"Man, do you think I have a chance to play today?"

"You have to ask the coach about this."

“How dare I ask?”

Although Lin Huang did not start in the first three rounds of the league, his performance as a substitute was definitely remarkable.

And there were goals scored.

Mourinho and his teammates noticed his outstanding performance.

Especially after Ling Feng joined, Lingard also joined Ling Feng's "extra training team".

This team is centered around Ling Feng, and its members include Lingard, Rashford, Kante, Luke Shaw and other young players in the team.

They mainly stay together on the training ground to continue practicing after the training is over.

As for the additional training items, they are based on each person's relative weaknesses:

For example, Lingfeng will add training for the reverse foot;

For example, Lingard will practice stopping the ball and shooting, especially the first touch of the ball;
For example, under Ling Feng's advice, Rashford focused on practicing his footwork.

The Premier League's top defensive midfielder Kante and Luke Shaw are the sparring partners for several people!
In one-on-one training, offensive players practice offense and defensive players practice defense, which is very reasonable!
Both coach Mourinho and captain Rooney were very happy to see Ling Feng taking the initiative to train with the young people in the team.

Ling Feng's joining not only brought a huge improvement in the team's combat effectiveness, but also brought an atmosphere of striving for progress.

Given time, the Red Devils will surely prosper!

. . .

Thanks to the media's hard hype, this Manchester derby version of the "Guardiola-Mustafa meeting" was portrayed as being filled with gunpowder.

It is worth mentioning that The Sun also took advantage of the traffic.

According to The Sun, the Red Devils' top scorer Ibrahimovic checked out after staying at the Lowry Hotel for a few hours because he was dissatisfied that the hotel where Manchester United was staying did not have a swimming pool.

The Lowry Hotel is a five-star hotel located just 5.4 km from Old Trafford. Manchester United stays at this hotel before every home game.

In addition, many players who have just joined Manchester United and have not yet settled in Manchester will choose to live here first.

But obviously for Ibrahimovic, not having a swimming pool is unacceptable, so he chose to stay at another luxury hotel in Manchester, Radisson Blue.

And this hotel is the favorite hotel of Manchester City players!
The purpose of The Sun in fabricating this news is obviously to attract attention and then let the public imagine things based on these seemingly plausible reports.

However, this news was criticized by many Red Devils fans.

"Although Ibrahimovic likes to brag, he is not a man without sense of propriety."

"The gossip in the Sun is equivalent to an official announcement, right?"

"You are all wrong. Ibrahimovic didn't dislike the hotel. He went to the hotel to wait for Guagua!"

The feud between Ibrahimovic and Guagua is a well-known secret in the football world.

Ibrahimovic has also criticized Guardiola many times in public. There are even rumors that Ibrahimovic claims that he will beat Guardiola every time he sees him!
However, these rumors, which have not been personally acknowledged by the player himself, are just topics of conversation among fans after dinner.

Ling Feng, who really knew the truth and couldn't stand The Sun's constant stirring up trouble, also directly criticized The Sun on his social media:

"Bullshit! That was last month! Zlatan hadn't found a house yet, so he stayed in a hotel temporarily."

"As for which hotel he wants to stay in, it's none of your business!!"

Ling Feng's attitude is very tough.

However, this is not the first time he has criticized the media on social media.

Especially his love for The Sun, which he has already put on his blacklist!

Whether it was the intimate photos of him and his girlfriend on vacation or his private meeting with Manchester United executives, they were all revealed by The Sun.

Therefore, he hated the Sun's all-pervasive reporters very much.

In other words, any Premier League star would not like The Sun, which always digs into their private lives.

However, The Sun did not care at all about Ling Feng's angry response and was very happy instead.

Anyway, their reputation is bad to begin with, and they have been scolded for a long time.

Ling Feng's response actually brought more attention to the entire news, and newspaper sales soared.

The editor-in-chief of The Sun saw Ling Feng's social media at the headquarters and his face broke into laughter.
It is worth mentioning that this game, in addition to being a Manchester derby, is also a showdown between two teams that have won three consecutive league games!
So far, the Premier League has played three rounds of games, and only three teams have maintained a perfect record.

They are the "Red Devils" Manchester United, which ranks first with the advantage of goal difference, the "Blue Army" Chelsea, which ranks second, and the "Blue Moon" Manchester City, which ranks third!
In other words, no matter who wins in the end, the other team's undefeated record will be ended! Even though the outside world is using "fateful duel" to highlight the importance of this crucial battle.

However, no matter how lively it is outside the venue.

Back to the essence of the game, this is just an ordinary league.

It doesn’t mean that whoever wins will win the Premier League title this season.

Both Guardiola and Mourinho were very calm before the game.

Even at the pre-match press conference, Mourinho, as the host, took the initiative to come to the press room and shake hands with Guardiola.

After Mourinho left, Guardiola was asked if he would have a drink with Mourinho after the game. He smiled and gave a positive answer:

"I'd have a drink with him if he invited me."

"Pep, this is your first time against Ling Feng, what do you think of this player?"

As the darling of thousands of English fans and the most expensive player in today's football, Guardiola also anticipated the arrival of this problem.

"I've seen him play and he's absolutely an incredible player!"

"His vision on the field reminds me of Xavi and Messi. He can pass the ball to his teammates and help the team win."

“Also, his speed is just astounding.”

He started by praising the reporter, and when the reporters were all smiling, Guagua suddenly changed the subject:
"However, my team also has many top players, such as De Bruyne and David Silva, who can also make exquisite passes. I am 100% confident that my team can limit his performance!"

Judging from Guardiola's expression, he obviously has enough confidence in his ability to stop Ling Feng.

However, the media will certainly not let off this world-class coach who is making his debut in the Premier League so easily.

The reporter from the Daily Mail also immediately jumped out and asked:
"Pep, Mourinho thinks Ling Feng has reached the level of Messi and Ronaldo, what do you think?"

"I can only say that Messi is the best player I have ever seen!"

Although there was no direct answer, everyone heard the subtext:

Messi is the best! Everyone else is nothing!
After Ling Feng's topic, the media reporters who like to stir up trouble also asked about Yaya Toure who was banished to the cold palace:
"Pep, why didn't Toure get a chance to start? As the leader of the team, he hasn't started once this season."

Faced with this very sharp and psychological question from the reporter, Guardiola just raised his eyebrows and answered very officially:

"How to select players to play is all based on tactical considerations. I believe my players will understand."

After a press conference full of innuendos and pre-match warm-ups, both sides announced their starting lineups and rosters an hour before the game.

Manchester City changed its tactical formation from 4231 in the last round of the league to 433.

The goalkeeper is Bravo;

The back four is Kolarov, Otamendi, Stones and Sagna;

In the midfield, Fernandinho is in the middle, David Silva and De Bruyne are on the left and right;
Nolito on the left, Sterling on the right, Iheanacho in the middle!

For Manchester City, the team was missing three core players, Aguero, Kompany and Yaya Toure, in this game, which was definitely a huge loss.

All summer long, the media has been talking about how ruthless Mourinho's purges have been.

Little did people know that Guardiola was even more cruel towards Manchester City’s meritorious players!
First, the goalkeeper Joe Hart was abandoned and loaned out because his passing ability did not meet Guardiola's requirements for goalkeepers.

Then there is Yaya Toure, who had a feud with him at Barcelona.

As soon as he arrived at the team, Guagua gave him an ultimatum and asked him to leave.

In the end, because the offer was not good enough and did not meet psychological expectations, Yaya Toure did not leave.

Guardiola simply chose to keep the former Premier League's top midfielder out of the game, only letting him play during garbage time.

This made Yaya Toure even more uncomfortable.

I played for a few minutes and didn't know whether to take a shower after coming down.
It is worth mentioning that Aguero’s suspension has also caused concern among many Manchester City fans.

If ninety-nine out of a hundred people in the world believe that the absence of the team's top scorer Aguero will definitely be very unfavorable to Manchester City.

So, the only one who disagrees is Mourinho!

When interviewed at the press conference, Mourinho believed that Aguero's suspension was not a disadvantage for Manchester City, but an advantage for Manchester City!
"When Aguero is on the pitch, we know what formation they (Manchester City) are in and how they play. But when Aguero suddenly can't play, Sterling, De Bruyne and Iheanacho can all take his place.

“But they have completely different characteristics and roles, and there are too many uncertainties here.”

These are Mourinho's original words.

Of course, whether this is a sign of weakness or a provocation, perhaps only Mourinho himself knows.

However, in order to express his respect for his old rival Guardiola, Mourinho also made several changes to the starting lineup.

The goalkeeper is De Gea, and the four defenders from left to right are Luke Shaw, Blind, Bailly, and Valencia;
The double defensive midfielders are Fellaini and Kante, who have the "cutest height difference";
Rooney is in the middle, Martial and Ling Feng are on the left and right;
Ibrahimovic is the lone arrow!
After the starting lineup was announced, it also sparked heated discussions among fans.

Although Martial had zero goals and zero assists in three games, and his lazy attitude on the field was criticized by many Manchester United fans as "playing like a headless fly on the field"

However, after a private one-on-one interview, Mourinho decided to give him another chance.

If Martial doesn't listen to my advice and change his playing style in this game.

Then, he can go to the bench!

Many people were surprised to see Ling Feng being placed at the right winger position.

However, if you think about it carefully, it makes sense.

Mourinho's purpose of making such an arrangement is very simple, which is to hope that through Ling Feng's super personal ability, he can attack Manchester City's left-back Kolarov on the wing, suppress his attack, and at the same time tear open Manchester City's defense line to create opportunities for shooting or crossing!

Moreover, this is also a key step for Mourinho to target Guardiola's tactical play!
After all, it’s no secret that Guardiola’s “full-backs move inwards towards the centre” style of play is no longer a secret.

Therefore, Mourinho wanted Ling Feng to create threats on the right, prevent Manchester City players from gathering in the middle, and organize and pass the ball calmly.

Soon, accompanied by the loud singing from Old Trafford, players from both teams, holding their caddies, lined up and walked into the stadium.

"Welcome to Sky Sports to watch the fourth round of the Premier League focus battle, Manchester United will host their city rivals Manchester City at home."

"Both teams changed coaches in the summer and spent more than 100 million pounds on signings. After the start of the new season, they remained unbeaten in the league."

"This is the first time two of the best managers in the world will face off in the Premier League"

With a long whistle from referee Paul Tierney, the first round of the Manchester derby this season officially kicked off at Old Trafford!
(End of this chapter)