Chapter 594 Haaland’s first Premier League goal, PUA master Guardiola!
This season's Premier League ratings, the number of overseas broadcast platforms and the number of viewers have all improved significantly compared with last season.
The reason is also very simple. This season’s Premier League is so exciting!
With the rise of Tottenham, the Premier League has formed the BIG6 group consisting of six teams including Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal!
Compared with the Bundesliga, which is the only one, La Liga, where the Spanish Super League is dominated by two heroes, and leagues such as Serie A and Ligue 1, which have great disparity in strength, the competition in the Premier League is the most intense.
The fiercer the competition, the more interesting each round will be, and because there are so many powerful giants, there will be a focus battle between the powerful in almost every round.
This is a great attraction for fans. After all, except for die-hard fans, few people care about the games between ordinary teams that can't even remember their names.
The vast majority of fans gradually deepen their understanding of the entire league because they like a certain team and watch the team's games.
When they watch more games and know more, they will gradually form a habit of watching games. Even if there are no home team games, they will try to watch other teams' games, and naturally they will become a loyal team player. of Premier League fans.
Compared with other leagues, the Premier League has six giants with different styles.
This gives fans a lot of choice, allowing them to easily find a home team that better suits their tastes.
And as the Premier League teams perform better and better in European competitions, the entire league and these giant clubs will become more famous, making it easier to attract new fans, ultimately forming a virtuous cycle.
If La Liga was the well-deserved No. 2017 league in the world in the past few years, then starting from , the throne of the No. league in the world should belong to the Premier League!
As a banner of the Premier League in foreign competitions, Manchester City has many followers around the world because of its three championships in four years in recent years.
Although the team's foundation is not as strong as Manchester United and Liverpool, it is not even as good as the Gunners and Chelsea.
But now, the number of Manchester City's overseas fans has surpassed Arsenal and the Blues, approaching or even surpassing Liverpool and Manchester United.
Especially among young people, Manchester City is more well-known and popular.
So gradually there is a saying that Manchester City is the first home team for young people, just like the Cosmos team Barcelona back then!
Although the team's results are very good in both civil and foreign games, Guardiola is not satisfied with this.
On the contrary, in the seventh round of the league, after Manchester City defeated Chelsea in an away game, he rarely got angry.
The players were a little confused. The team had won four consecutive games and had just defeated last season's defending champion Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, avenging the previous defeat at the Etihad Stadium. What do you think of the coach's reaction? Make it seem like they are the losing side?
The reason for Guardiola's anger is actually very simple. He was dissatisfied with the team's defense in this game.
Chelsea's defensive ability is very strong. After the opening, Manchester City's offense was not smooth. Many times they had to press heavily and use all their strength to surround the opponent.
Chelsea seized the opportunity and kept trying to counterattack Manchester City, and it was effective and created several opportunities.
If Morata, Azpilicueta, Hazard and others hadn't missed opportunities one after another, Manchester City would probably have lost this game!
In the past, when I was abusing vegetables, because the opponent was weak, these defensive problems were not exposed, so they did not arouse vigilance.
But today, through this strong showdown with Chelsea, Guardiola realized that Manchester City's defense was far from the level he wanted.
In order to solve the defensive problem, Guardiola made adjustments to several frontcourt positions and further emphasized the high-pressing tactics, requiring players to implement this to the letter.
The 3142 formation is already top-heavy, with so many people piled up in the frontcourt. If they don't press, once the opponent breaks through the first line of defense, the four people in the backcourt will be in trouble.
In view of Kanter's weak offensive ability, Guardiola simply asked him to stay in the back and take full responsibility for defense. He did not need to intervene in the offense. He would arrange for others to do it.
In this way, Kanter has the energy to take care of the wings on both sides. Even if the players in front do not have time to come back, there will be no gaps on both sides easily. Manchester City's defensive ability in the backcourt has been further improved.
I don’t know whether the players turned their grief and anger into fighting spirit after being scolded by Guardiola, or whether his adjustments have truly enhanced the team’s strength.
In the eighth round of the league, Manchester City returned to their home court and once again played a jaw-dropping game - beating Stoke City 7:1 at home!
Stoke City's only goal was an own goal accidentally sent by Walker himself.
Anyone who watched this game noticed new changes in Manchester City's defense.
Because the opponent was weak, the changes in the backcourt were hard to see, but the players in the frontcourt seemed to have turned into mad dogs, catching Stoke City players and robbing them.
The overall strength of Stoke City's players was not strong to begin with, but they were immediately panicked when they suddenly received such grand attention from the opponent.
They continued to make mistakes in passing, frequently giving Manchester City opportunities to launch attacks on the spot.
In the first half, Manchester City scored three goals in just ten minutes from the 17th to the 27th minute, two of which were opportunities to counterattack on the spot.
In the second half, Manchester City had another offensive climax, scoring three goals in just seven minutes from the 55th to the 62nd minute.
These two offensive climaxes immediately stunned Stoke City!
It seems that as long as the opponent exerts his strength, he can score goals, and he will score consecutive goals without even giving him a chance to breathe.
What can they do when they encounter such a team?
They are also desperate!
In the 80th minute, Haaland scored his first goal in the Premier League and Manchester City not long after coming on as a substitute.
Although it is just an icing on the cake, it does not have any impact on the outcome of the game.
But after scoring, Haaland and the Manchester City fans at home were still very happy. Haaland took off his jersey excitedly and celebrated wildly.
The Manchester City fans in the stands gave him applause and cheers with smiles in their eyes.
Because youth team games are free of charge, many fans present have gone to watch Haaland and his team play in the youth team.
Haaland, Foden, Sancho and others have long left a deep impression on them. Even those who have never seen it have more or less heard of these three people because of word-of-mouth among fans. name.
At this time, they are both relieved and looking forward to seeing these young players being able to join the first team and establish themselves in the first team.
These are all young talents from our team’s youth training. I hope they can thrive in the first team and support Manchester City’s future!
Since Manchester City often plays big-scoring games this season, Guardiola often gives these young people on the bench a chance to play.
Many players, including Harland and Foden, have already played. Harland has even appeared 4 times and finally scored his first league goal, which is gratifying.
Compared with Haaland, although Foden has also played, he was not used to being pressed by opponents on the court and his performance was not as good as expected, so he was temporarily hidden by Guardiola.
He plans to train Foden first. There is no rush to increase his physical resistance for the time being, but his mental construction needs to be done in advance.
For a player in Foden's position, playing football mainly relies on his brain, not his body. He needs to learn more from Lin Quan and David Silva on this!
……
Because there are many young players in the team, Guardiola attaches great importance to the English League Cup this season.
Not for the useless EFL Cup trophy, but to train the new players in the team.
In the English League Cup, Manchester City drew a Premier League team-West Bromwich Albion in the first round.
Guardiola arranged a lineup with a small number of main players and a large number of substitutes.
In order to prevent the team from traveling in the first round, he also brought the main players such as De Bruyne, Lin Quan and Aguero and asked them to stand by on the bench. If something goes wrong, they can be replaced to turn the tide.
But in the end, these three people still did not appear.
Manchester City did not play particularly well in this game. The opponent saw that Manchester City had a large number of substitutes and played very proactively after the start.
It almost suppressed Manchester City, but Rudiger, Kimmich and others who were sitting in the defense performed well and did not give their opponents a good chance.
In the midfield, Fernandinho showed his prowess. Not only did he perform well on the defensive end, he was also often seen on the offensive end.
Under the leadership of several leading brothers, the substitutes stabilized their position and began to gradually launch a counterattack.
In the 33rd minute, Manchester City launched a counterattack in the backcourt. Sane relied on his outstanding personal ability to break through alone, breaking the deadlock and helping Manchester City lead 1:0.
After the team took the lead, the young players in the team became more relaxed and played more and more calmly, and even felt a bit like the main team.
However, just when the Manchester City players relaxed their vigilance, Gibbs, who had just transferred from Arsenal this summer, sent a wonderful pass, penetrated the Manchester City defense, and assisted his teammates to equalize the score.
This first blow came too suddenly. The young players in the Manchester City team seemed to be stunned and were in a state of confusion for a while. West Bromwich Albion took advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack and once again took the initiative in the game.
Guardiola on the sidelines shook his head repeatedly. These young people still have too little experience.
Just when he was considering whether to use his trump card, Sane stepped up again and scored another one to help the team take the lead again.
Although Sane has gradually fallen into a disadvantage in the competition with Mbappe, don't tell me, his strength is not weak, at least in a competition like the English League Cup, it is really easy to use ah!
If he leaves Manchester City and goes to a team ranked in the middle or lower reaches of the league, he will be the number one player in the team!
But Sane doesn't seem to want to leave Manchester City, unless the Bundesliga team calls on him, otherwise, he feels that it is better to stay in Manchester City than transfer to other teams!
Although the competition in Manchester City's wings is fierce, it is very comfortable to play here, the atmosphere in the team is good, and there is no intrigue.
And he can often compete with his teammates, which has made him make great progress.
Sane is still very young. He is only 21 years old this year. He is not in a hurry to stand out and become famous. The right way is to learn his skills first!
As if to make things more difficult for the team, Guardiola replaced Sane after he scored his second goal.
West Bromwich Albion was already on the verge of surrendering. A tasteless and useless competition like the EFL Cup was not that important to ordinary teams like them.
For them, league relegation is the most important thing.
So after seeing Manchester City take the lead for the second time, they no longer planned to continue fighting.
But the other party actually replaced the most powerful person. What does this mean?
Do you look down on us?
Maybe he saw hope, maybe he was angered by Manchester City's actions.
West Bromwich Albion launched a counterattack again, and the situation began to become passive again.
At every critical moment, someone from the team always stands up.
Sane, the big brother who took the lead, left the game. Seat B stepped forward and assisted Haaland to score another goal in the 87th minute of the game, completely sealing the victory.
West Bromwich Albion is crying, aren't you bullying others?
Although you are on the bench, your bench lineup is more luxurious than our main lineup. Can you still have a good time?
Look who's on Manchester City's bench?
Goalkeeper Navas.
Defense: Rudiger, Danilo, Kimmich, Delph
Midfielder: Seat B, Fernandinho, Foden
Striker, Sane, Haaland, Jesus
It's so brutal, this lineup is now worth over 3 million euros!
Winning is nothing, losing is embarrassing!
Although he won, Guardiola was very dissatisfied with the process of the game. During the review after the game, he took the players and talked carefully for several hours, opening and closing his mouth, "What would have happened if Lin Quan was here?" ', PUA the players no matter what.
But the effect of PUA seems to be pretty good. At least in the second round of the League Cup, the performance of Manchester City's substitutes was obviously much better than in the first round.
In the second round against Wolves, with goals from Jesus, Haaland and Kimmich, Manchester City defeated their opponent 3:0 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
In the next round, they are likely to encounter a tough fight.
Because among the other seven teams that have entered the quarterfinals this season, there are several giants, including Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
If you are unlucky enough to draw these teams, and if Guardiola cannot insist on using all the main players, if the opponent uses all the main players, the probability of Manchester City losing is still very high.
But Guardiola's attitude is still firm, he doesn't care who the other side plays.
Anyway, the League Cup has nothing to do with the main force. The win is the credit of you substitutes, and the loss is your fault. Even if it reaches the finals, he will arrange for these people to play.
This kind of commitment makes the substitutes feel happy and worried.
Happily they are firmly in place and don't have to worry about being replaced.
The worry is, if they are lucky enough to make it to the finals, can they really compete with their opponent's main lineup? (End of chapter)