Football: Starting from being abandoned by Barcelona

Under Guardiola's coaching, they are not only invincible in the Premier League, but also show amazing dominance in the Champions League.

Especially Li Lei, the young player from China, showed his extraordinary superstar talent in the group stage.

Not only did he contribute goals and assists to the team many times, but he also completely restricted Barcelona's superstar Messi on the defensive end.

Manchester City has shown their ambition and strength to the world this season.

They have all the potential to reach the top of the Champions League!

However, the biggest surprise in this Champions League came from an unknown French team-Monaco.

This team from the principality showed amazing offensive power and explosive power in the group stage.

Not only did they advance to the knockout stage as the first in the group, but they also double-killed the Premier League giants Tottenham in the group stage!

And all this is thanks to a young man named Mbappe.

This 18-year-old teenager showed his amazing talent and potential in this Champions League.

His speed, technique and shooting ability have reached the world's top level.

Under his leadership, Monaco is like a dark horse, sweeping the entire European football world!

Mbappe's performance has also attracted the attention of countless top teams.

Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona... Almost all top teams are eyeing this young man.

After the season ends, he will likely become one of the hottest targets in the transfer market.

Before the smoke of the Champions League has dissipated, Manchester City has already re-entered the competition for the Premier League.

Two days after the game with Barcelona, ​​they welcomed their opponent in the 14th round of the league, Southampton, at home.

For Manchester City, this should have been an easy game.

After all, they just defeated the strong Barcelona in the Champions League.

Although Southampton is a team that cannot be underestimated, there is still a certain gap in their strength compared to Barcelona.

Less than 20 minutes into the game, Manchester City was already leading with a score of 2:0! Both goals came from Manchester City's strikers.

Center forward Aguero and left winger Sterling, as if they had made an appointment, took turns to create threats in front of Southampton's goal.

In the 12th minute, Aguero received a through ball from Gundogan, and facing the Southampton goalkeeper, he calmly pushed the ball into the net, opening the situation for Manchester City.

And just 5 minutes later, Sterling also joined the ranks of goals.

He received a cross pass from Sane, and after passing two defenders in the penalty area, he made a low shot, and the ball flew into the net along the goal post!

2:0! Manchester City took a two-goal lead against Southampton at home!

In the stands, Manchester City fans were in a carnival.

They waved scarves, sang songs, cheered and cheered for their beloved team.

Such a score and such a performance completely exceeded their expectations.

But at the same time, some fans noticed a detail: in these two goals, Li Lei, the Chinese player who has recently shined in the Champions League, did not seem to be involved too much.

In this game, Li Lei seemed to be a little "invisible".

He was still running on the field and still actively fighting for the ball, but he did not have too much ball possession and too many shooting opportunities.

What's going on? Is there something wrong with Li Lei's condition? Or did he encounter other difficulties?

In fact, the reason may be more complicated.

First of all, Southampton obviously carried out targeted defense against Li Lei.

In recent games, Li Lei's outstanding performance has attracted the attention of all opponents.

Southampton's coaches and players must have studied Li Lei's game videos and formulated corresponding response strategies.

In the game, they always sent one or two players to strictly guard Li Lei and limit his activity space.

Secondly, the recovery of the condition of other Manchester City players also affected Li Lei's performance to a certain extent.

In previous games, due to the low state of main players such as Aguero and Sterling, Li Lei often needs to take on more offensive tasks.

But in this game, Aguero and Sterling are in excellent condition, and their activeness means that Li Lei's ball possession will be relatively reduced.

Of course, this does not mean that Li Lei's performance is not good or his status in the team has declined.

In fact, even if he did not directly participate in the goal, Li Lei's running and containment also created space and opportunities for Aguero and Sterling to score.

This is the charm of team sports.Strength: Everyone is contributing their own strength to the collective victory.

The game is still going on. Before the end of the first half, Southampton scored a goal and changed the score to 1:2.

During the halftime break, Guardiola encouraged and guided the players.

He especially told Li Lei not to care about whether he scored a goal or not, but to continue to fight hard and create opportunities for the team.

In the second half, Li Lei's performance was more active.

He created threats on the right many times and sent several wonderful crosses.

Although he did not directly cause a goal, his performance was still praised by Guardiola and his teammates.

In the end, Manchester City defeated Southampton with a score of 3:1.

Aguero scored another goal in the second half, completing his double goal.

After the game, Guardiola mentioned Li Lei's performance in an interview.

"Li Lei performed very well today. He did a lot of running and containment work for the team."

"Although he didn't score, his contribution was equally important to the team's victory."

These words undoubtedly gave Li Lei great encouragement.

This victory allowed Manchester City to continue to lead the Premier League standings.

And these Manchester City players will also devote themselves to the next game with more enthusiasm.

December 2, a cold winter day.

Manchester City Football Club ushered in their third round of the English League Cup.

Their opponent is Hull City from the English Championship.

For Manchester City coach Guardiola, this game does not seem to be so important.

In previous games, he has expressed his "disdain" for the League Cup many times.

In his view, the Premier League and the Champions League are Manchester City's main goals this season.

The League Cup is at most a stage for training substitutes.

Sure enough, in the starting list of this game, we saw many unfamiliar faces.

Hart, Silva, Kompany, Aguero, Li Lei... these absolute main players of Manchester City did not appear in the starting list.

Instead, there were some young and little-known substitutes.

In the stands, some Manchester City fans were inevitably disappointed.

They were looking forward to seeing their idols, but they only saw a group of "new faces".

The game started in such an atmosphere.

In the first half, both teams seemed a little conservative.

Hull City, as a Championship team, obviously still had some awe for Manchester City.

Even facing Manchester City's "substitute army", they did not dare to attack easily.

And Manchester City's young players seemed to need some time to adapt to the rhythm of the game.

0:0, the first half ended in such a stalemate.