Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 571: Kane's Title Curse

Manchester City's lead was so comfortable that Guardiola even substituted Lin Quan in the 75th minute.

At first, some City fans were a bit nervous about the change.

But after observing for a while and seeing how ineffective Dortmund's attacks were, they began to relax.

From City's perspective, Dortmund's offense was chaotic and posed no real threat.

However, Dortmund didn't see it that way, especially Ousmane Dembélé.

After scoring his goal, Dembélé was visibly excited and kept actively looking for more chances to score, hoping to net another.

After all, they were playing Manchester City—one of the most well-known and strongest clubs in European football.

For a young talent like Dembélé, shining in a match like this was a great opportunity to make a name for himself.

But Dembélé was too focused on stealing the spotlight and forgot that football is a team sport.

His solo efforts didn't threaten City's defense as much as if Dortmund had worked together as a team.

This was why, despite their aggressive attacks, Dortmund hadn't been able to create any real danger for City.

Seeing that Dortmund's attacks weren't very strong, Guardiola relaxed and returned to the bench, even chatting with Lin Quan for a bit:

"What do you think of that kid?" Guardiola asked, pointing at Dembélé, who was trying to dribble past City defenders outside the box.

"He's alright, has some talent," Lin Quan replied with a measured evaluation. It wasn't that Lin Quan thought Dembélé was just average—actually, for Lin to acknowledge someone's talent was quite rare.

"Yeah, I agree," said Guardiola. "Just by watching the way he runs with the ball, you can tell this kid has real potential!"

Dembélé's dribbling aside, his balance and control when running with the ball showed his natural talent.

Having seen many young players in his career, Guardiola could easily recognize talent when he saw it.

As he spoke, a spark of excitement flashed in his eyes.

Lin Quan noticed this and was surprised.

Don't tell me Guardiola's thinking about signing Dembélé?

No way! You can't be serious about that!

Dembélé was already on Barcelona's radar, and they had prepared a massive transfer fee to sign him.

If City got involved now, they would only drive up the price, and Borussia Dortmund—famous for cashing in on their talents—would make sure to exploit it.

Lin Quan remembered that Barcelona ended up spending a whopping 150 million euros to sign Dembélé.

Dortmund had bought him for just 35 million euros, and within a year, they turned a 115 million euro profit. That's some serious business!

But after Dembélé joined Barcelona, his performances fell short of expectations, and he didn't live up to the hefty price tag.

Eventually, he was labeled a "flop," and after the World Cup final, he became a laughingstock for many. It was a tough time for him.

It's not that Dembélé lacked talent—far from it.

In fact, back in 2017, when he and Mbappé both burst onto the scene, many football experts and analysts believed Dembélé had the edge in terms of raw ability.

But Dembélé wasn't as disciplined as Mbappé.

Additionally, at Barcelona, he had to play second fiddle to Messi and didn't get many opportunities to shine in his preferred position, leading to his underwhelming performances.

City already had plenty of depth on the wings, so splashing out on another winger wasn't necessary.

Besides, if things didn't go well, it could disrupt the locker room.

"Don't even think about it," Lin Quan warned Guardiola. "Dortmund's asking price for him will be no less than 100 million euros, and if there's competition, the price will only go up."

The warning worked. As soon as Guardiola heard that Dembélé might cost upwards of 100 million euros, the smile disappeared from his face.

A 40-million-euro Dembélé seemed full of promise, brimming with potential, making him very appealing.

But a 100-million-euro Dembélé? Suddenly, all his weaknesses stood out, and he didn't seem nearly as desirable.

If I had 100 million euros, I'd rather spend it on Bayern's striker Lewandowski. That would strengthen City's squad far more than buying Dembélé.

Dembélé's efforts on the pitch seemed to run out of steam, as his attempts didn't bear fruit.

In contrast, Shinji Kagawa scored for Dortmund in the 84th minute with an assist from Nuri Şahin, narrowing the score to 2-4.

But City quickly responded in the 89th minute, with Van Dijk heading home to seal the score at 5-2.

With a massive away victory, City essentially killed off the tie in just the first leg.

Even if they lost 0-3 in the second leg at home, they wouldn't be eliminated.

Satisfied with their dominant performance, City left Germany in high spirits.

On the flight back, Guardiola began analyzing their potential semi-final opponents.

In this round of the Champions League, all four matches had winners, with no draws, which meant the final four teams were starting to take shape.

Juventus, after beating PSG 3-0 at home, had a commanding lead and a 70% chance of advancing to the semi-finals.

Real Madrid's 2-1 win at Bayern Munich also gave them a solid advantage.

With a one-goal lead and two away goals, Real Madrid had a 60% chance of progressing, especially since Bayern's key defender Javi Martínez had received a red card and would miss the next match.

As long as Real Madrid didn't make any big mistakes, they were in a good position to qualify.

The third potential semi-finalist was Atlético Madrid. They had beaten Leicester City 1-0 at home.

Although the scoreline wasn't as decisive, given Atlético's strong defense and Leicester's lack of strength, most people believed Atlético had an even better chance of advancing than Juventus.

And of course, the team with the clearest path to the semi-finals was Manchester City.

More than 90% of fans and experts were already counting City among the final four, even before the second leg was played.

Guardiola was slightly surprised that PSG, who had just knocked out Barcelona, were now on the brink of elimination.

PSG had been heavily favored and hyped up after beating Barça, but they were now being schooled by Juventus.

After watching the match footage, Guardiola had to admit: Juventus had played brilliantly, completely neutralizing PSG's threat.

That said, while Juventus wasn't necessarily better than PSG overall, PSG still had a chance in the second leg.

But with Italian teams being known for their defensive prowess, it was hard to predict how many goals PSG could score back at home.

Still, in football, anything could happen on the pitch.

Guardiola predicted that the likely semi-finalists would be Juventus, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Atlético Madrid.

La Liga remained dominant, with half of the potential semi-final spots likely to be claimed by Spanish clubs.

Meanwhile, Juventus' dominance in Serie A had been translating into improved performances in the Champions League in recent years.

As for the English Premier League, City had been quietly carrying the flag for the league in European competition, despite the intense domestic rivalry.

Among the remaining teams, Guardiola hoped to face Atlético Madrid.

The reason was simple: Atlético was likely the weakest of the four.

Plus, Atlético had knocked out Guardiola's Bayern in the semi-finals a few years ago, and that loss still bothered him.

Of course, it all depended on the draw.

If they were lucky, they'd face Atlético. If not, they could end up against Real Madrid or Juventus.

...

After their Champions League win, City returned to the Premier League, where they found the title race had taken a dramatic turn.

In the 33rd round, Tottenham played first and once again thrashed their opponents, winning 4-0 at home.

But this time, Chelsea couldn't handle the pressure.

In a high-stakes match against Manchester United, José Mourinho exacted his revenge on his former club, leading the Red Devils to a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford.

Not only did Mourinho settle an old score, but he also dealt a major blow to Chelsea's title hopes.

Chelsea's lead at the top of the table, which had been four points, was now down to just one point!

With only five rounds remaining, the Premier League title race was tighter than ever, and the entire league was on edge.

City, meanwhile, comfortably beat Southampton 3-0 on the road and were content to sit back and watch the drama unfold.

With 70 points, City were still five points off the top.

With five games left, they still had a slim chance of winning the title, but it would require Chelsea to slip up multiple times. Otherwise, City's hopes were slim.

Not to mention, even if Chelsea faltered, Tottenham's form showed no signs of slipping.

Spurs had been in blistering form recently, winning game after game—and by big margins.

Their star player, Harry Kane, was in red-hot form, both scoring and assisting, and he, along with Christian Eriksen, had formed the most lethal attacking duo in the Premier League during this stretch.

However, despite Tottenham's excellent form, the title was still out of their hands.

Chelsea still held the advantage, even if it was by just one point.

If Chelsea managed to finish the season with five straight wins, it wouldn't matter if Spurs won every game 4-0 or 5-0—they would still miss out on the title.

The key question now was: Could Chelsea withstand the pressure?

For any team, the pressure of a title race is immense.

And for Chelsea, having seen their once-double-digit lead shrink to just a single point, the pressure was undoubtedly enormous—far more than anyone on the outside could imagine.

The 34th round of fixtures would be crucial.

If Chelsea cracked under the pressure and either lost or drew, the title could slip from their grasp.

Tottenham continued their relentless form, thrashing last year's runners-up Leicester City 6-1 on the road.

Harry Kane scored five goals and provided an assist, accounting for all of Tottenham's goals in the match!

Kane's god-like performance left Premier League fans in awe.

"This guy is unreal!" they exclaimed.

Kane was a local hero, and English fans couldn't contain their joy.

After all these years, England finally had another world-class striker!

And at just 24, Kane was still young, with plenty of room to grow.

However, when the final whistle blew at Stamford Bridge, Kane's stunning performance became meaningless.

Chelsea had held their nerve, defeating Southampton 4-2 at home and clinging to their slim lead at the top of the table.

In the 35th round, Kane remained in fine form, leading Spurs to a 2-0 victory over Arsenal in the North London Derby, extending their winning streak to 10 games.

This was a new club record, the longest winning streak in Tottenham's Premier League history.

Kane's one-goal, one-assist performance was outstanding, but it still didn't change the bigger picture.

Chelsea won 3-0 away at Everton, maintaining their lead over Spurs.

Tottenham fans were beginning to question everything.

Why couldn't Chelsea just collapse already?

With only a one-point gap, all it would take was one mistake from Chelsea, and the title would be Tottenham's.

But for some reason, Chelsea just refused to slip up!

Under intense pressure, it wasn't Chelsea that faltered—it was Tottenham.

In the 36th round, Spurs lost 1-0 away to West Ham United.

Meanwhile, Chelsea won 3-0 at home against Middlesbrough, stretching their lead to four points once again.

With just two games left, Chelsea were virtually guaranteed the title.

Even though Spurs gave it their all in the penultimate round, beating Manchester United 2-1, Chelsea clinched the championship with a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion, securing the Premier League crown with a game to spare.

It was Chelsea's first top-flight title in six years.

Despite their impressive performances throughout the season, Tottenham's efforts fell short in the end, and they couldn't stop Chelsea from lifting the trophy.

In the final match of the season, Tottenham demolished Hull City 7-1, with Harry Kane scoring a hat-trick to finish the season with 35 league goals.

But despite his brilliant form, Kane once again failed to lift the Premier League trophy—something that would become a recurring theme in the years to come.

From this moment on, Kane was branded with the infamous "title curse."

No matter how well he performed, the elusive championship trophy always slipped through his fingers.

Even when he moved to a club that dominated its league, joining a team that was a giant in the sport, his luck didn't seem to change.

(End of Chapter)

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