Chapter 476 Derby Lost Again
20 days ago, Manchester City was 8 points behind Manchester United, and Mancini also said that "it's not a chance to win the championship". However, the Premier League has changed. In the last three rounds, Manchester United lost 3 points as if taking a nap, while Manchester City won three consecutive victories, and the difference was instantly narrowed to 5 points. Manchester City seems to see the hope of regaining the lost land.
If Manchester City wins the Tianwang Mountain Derby, the point gap between the two teams will be narrowed to one victory. Considering that Manchester City has the advantage of six goal difference before the game, if Manchester City wins, this advantage will reach at least eight. At the time of only two rounds left in the Premier League, this advantage is tantamount to one more invisible. The points.
As long as Manchester United makes any mistakes in the last two rounds, Manchester City will hope to win the Premier League at the last minute.
Before the game, Mancini said that he wanted Tevez to score a key goal: "I think Tevez is destined to score in this game. This goal will be an important goal in the history of the club. In that case, there is no need to argue at least who is Manchester's best team this season. I firmly believe this. For a club, it feels much better to beat its neighbors than to beat a foreign team. I have experienced the Milan Derby, and this feeling will be more satisfying. The important thing is that Manchester also has two such excellent clubs.
Previously, Mancini kept a low profile, and even two days ago, he said through the Daily Telegraph that even if Manchester City won, it would be difficult to win the championship.
But yesterday Mancini suddenly changed his style. According to the Daily Mail, Mancini talked about the prospects after winning the championship, saying that once he won the championship, he would dominate English football for many years: "The important thing is that Manchester City doesn't just want to win a championship. I want to leave a legend. Our goal is to catch up with the achievements of Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid in the future. My goal is to lead Manchester City to win many championships, and Manchester City is ready. We will remain the ranks of the top clubs for many years, and next season Manchester City will be stronger than it is now.
Mancini added: "If we beat Manchester United to win the championship, it will be the biggest achievement in my coaching career. Because this is the Premier League champion, this is the champion of the world's first league. As an Italian, winning the championship in the Premier League will be more wonderful than everything I have done in the past.
If Manchester City can win the championship, it will be their first league championship since 1968. The opportunity to create the team's 44-year history is just around the corner. Mancini said, "The most attractive thing about Manchester City is that I can help the club make history."
Balotheli, who has been released from the ban, is considered to be the focus of this game, and most people think that the "bad boy" will play an important role in this game. Mancini said nothing about this: "It's always up to him. In a game, Balotheli can do everything. If he decides, he can score two or three goals."
However, during Baloteni's three-game suspension, Manchester City has just won three consecutive victories. Mancini also said that Baloteni will sit on the bench in this game, and Tevez and Aguero will start. Mancini also said that Tevez will stay in Manchester City: "He has a contract with Manchester City."
In the face of Manchester derby, midfield core Silva repeatedly mentioned 1-6 in the first round of the two sides' league at Old Trafford. According to The Sun, Silva thought that Manchester United would be afraid to recall that 1-6. The Spaniard said in an interview: "I don't think Manchester United will be nervous, but They know that we have approached the score difference and beat them 6-1, which will put a lot of pressure on them. The atmosphere at the Etihad Stadium will be great. All Manchester City fans want us to win the championship, especially by defeating our rivals in the same city. The end of our season is on the front line. Anyway, we must win.
On the other hand, the Manchester derby is approaching, due to the difference of 5 points between the two teams, and Manchester City has the advantage of 6 goal difference. In the last three rounds, Manchester United seemed a little careless after expanding their lead to 8 points, allowing Manchester City, which has won three consecutive games, to narrow the gap again.
The Premier League, which has suddenly risen to suspense, will usher in a battle of Tianwang Mountain.
Manchester City will have to get 3 points in the game in order to win the last hope!
For Manchester United, a cruel fact is that if Manchester City wins, there will be no loss in the next game in order to maintain a two-point advantage.
And expand the advantage of the goal difference to at least 8 goals. When asked this question, Ancelotti answered affirmatively: "Yes, I agree. It means a lot to both sides. If either side loses, they will have to reflect. If we lose, we will lose more advantages. Yes, I think so.
Ancelotti said it was a very serious game: "This is everything to the supporters, and anyone who loses will feel extremely sorry, because this is the derby. For fans and teams on both sides, Tuesday at work will be the most important day in their lives. I think our fans will regard him as the most important one, because we will face the most opposing team. There will be no exceptions. I know what he will say if I ask a fan.
And General Evra expressed his concern about the derby through The Sun: "We must stop them before they set sail, because they have great potential. When a rich family set sail, it was when they won the first trophy at that time. They won the FA Cup last year, and if they win the Premier League this year, it will give them more confidence. If they win the championship, it will be a new page in their history, revolutionary, and will have a great impact on Manchester United. As a Manchester United player, as the leader or captain of the team, you must take responsibility when playing this kind of game.
Evera believes that the Premier League trophy is the most important trophy: "Whether you ask me or Giggs, what trophy is the most important, we will answer this (English Premier League champion)."
In the derby, the role of the veteran will be crucial. Before the game, Giggs encouraged the whole team to win the derby: "We can't wait for Monday night's derby. We don't fantasize that this is an easy game. It's a tough derby for both sides. There is no doubt that Manchester United and Manchester City are the two best teams this season. Manchester City is an excellent team and plays at home, but we are Manchester United and we are the champions. We will try our best to win away from home and use derby to show that we are worthy of the league championship.
The derby also touched the hearts of the old Manchester United. Before the game, Gary Neville said in his Daily Mail column that the result of this derby will affect three years: "This is the 162nd Manchester derby, but the significance of Monday night will be unprecedented. I have been a Manchester United player for 18 years, but I have never seen such an important derby. From one perspective, this derby will determine the ownership of the championship, but I think the influence is more than that. In my opinion, it is about the voice of the two teams in Manchester, the voice of the Premier League and the voice of English football. Imagine that if Manchester City wins the championship, it is very important to build confidence in them and a sense of authority in the city.
Neville recalled the time after losing the championship in the 94-95 season: "I used to think that I could no longer participate in the championship battle. There was nothing worse than regret in my career, so I was very lucky that there were many experienced teammates and coaches by my side. They told me that we can return to the championship again. I know that both clubs will strive for 3 points on Monday, and the result of hard work will affect the club for 3 years.
Etihad Stadium is a veritable devil's home. Manchester City has only conceded 4 points in the past 27 home league games. In addition, no team in the history of the Premier League has been able to return to lose 5 or more goals in the first round.
Judging from the performance of the two teams, Manchester City is also fully worthy of the victory of the Battle of Tianwang Mountain. If it hadn't been for the Blue Moon players who felt mediocre in front of the door, this game would have turned into a massacre.
In the whole game, Manchester United did not hit the opponent's goal range. Even if the shots blocked by the opponent's defender, Manchester United's number of shots was only 5, while the total number of shots of Manchester City was as high as 15.
What's worse is that Manchester United did not show its spirit of king at all when they were behind. Manchester United, who was "reversible and not Red Devils", did not complete the only shot in the second half until the 5th minute of injury time. In the case of falling behind, there was no shot in the first 49 minutes of the second half, which is unbelievable, the Red Devils. Where is the blood?
Ancelotti could only say helplessly after the game: "I am very disappointed that the players failed to create any substantial tests for the opposing goalkeeper."
In addition, Manchester United's old midfield is also completely suppressed by Yaya-Toure, with a ball possession rate of 47.4%-52.6%, a pass success rate of 80.8%-84.0%, and a pass number of 396-450 passes, ** nakedly exposed Manchester United's decline on the scene. It is rude to say that Manchester United In this game, he was pressed on the ground by his opponent for 90 minutes without making any counter-hand movements.
If Manchester United eventually loses the championship due to the bleak end of the game, the game is even more humiliating for the team than 1-6 nights. Don't forget, this is the third time that the Blue Moon has double-beaten Manchester United in the league in nearly 40 years since the 1969/70 and 2007/08 seasons. The unbeaten myth of Manchester United's Monday night game since 1998 is also ancient.
In this round, Manchester City scored 83 points and Manchester United scored 85 points, with only a 2-point advantage, but Manchester City won 8 goals. If Manchester United has any problems in the last two rounds, the champion is bound to be replaced by another club in the city!
With two rounds left in the league, it is almost a fantasy for Manchester United to equalise such a goal difference. Manchester United must win in the last two rounds.
What's more frightening is that Manchester City will cultivate strong self-confidence and psychological advantages, so as to grow into a stronger opponent in the next few years.
Gary Neville said in the column that if Manchester City can win the championship, the championship will become their unshakable belief. Evra believes that if Manchester City wins the league championship, they will achieve a revolutionary breakthrough and it will be difficult to be stopped from this time. Mancini also changed his previous low profile and shouted the slogan of "ruling the Premier League for many years".
Of course, these are all assumptions. Don't forget that the competition for the league is not over yet.
Former Manchester City coach Reed, Kendal and former Manchester United players Paul Ince and Schmeichel all predicted before the game that Manchester City may win the battle but lose the war, because even if they win the derby, the championship will still be Manchester United in the end.
At present, Manchester City must pass the last two levels to laugh to the end, but whether it is Newcastle, which is desperate for the Champions League quota, or the Queens Park Rangers who are relegated, are not easy opponents to deal with, especially as an away challenge to the home dragon Newcastle. This season's away record is only The chances of retreating for Manchester City, which has 9 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses, may not be too high. You should know that the Magpie Legion's home record this season is as high as 11 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses, and the last 9 league games have been unbeaten with 7 wins and 2 draws.
Legendary Premier League striker Alan Shearer believes that Manchester City is likely to lose points in Newcastle. For Manchester City, the only good news is that Newcastle will challenge Chelsea away in the middle of the week. In this key battle for a place in the Champions League, the Blues are expected to give Newcastle players a double blow to their physical fitness and morale, which will greatly reduce the difficulty of Manchester City's game over the weekend.
All the premise is that Manchester United also made mistakes in the last two rounds, so how valuable is the key goal scored by Manchester United No. 9 against Everton.
This goal completely determines the direction of the final championship, and now the Manchester United media are criticizing the problem of Manchester United's weak attack in the derby. Such problems cannot be borne by Manchester United No. 9 alone. Losing is not his responsibility!
I don't know when the "pu Ji-sung in the competition" has become the only magic weapon for Ferguson to defeat the enemy against the strong team.
"Park Sanfei"'s concentration on the game and his tireless struggle won him the appreciation and reuse of Ferguson.
Ancelotti made the same choice as his predecessor in this game. Although Park Ji-sung's playing time has plummeted this season and he has failed to play in seven consecutive games before this game, considering the importance of this Manchester derby, Ancelotti still chose to trust Park Ji-sung and let him almost decide the championship in this game. The first scene in the battle of Tianwang Mountain. However, this time history did not repeat itself. Park Ji-sung staggered to tell us that "Park Sanfei" also has a day when he can't run.
The midfield control was unfavorable. In the 58th minute, Ancelotti sent Werbeck to replace Park Zhixing, which was also equivalent to denying his previous decision, which was equivalent to admitting the failure of gambling.
Park Ji-sung only passed 17 times in the 58 minutes of his appearance, which was the least among the team's starters except for the goalkeeper. On the defensive end, Park Ji-sung only had one successful tackle and one relief.
In the post-match scoring of Sky Sports, Park Ji-sung only got 5 points, which was the lowest for the team. Sky Sports's evaluation of him was also concise and "unable to keep up with the rhythm of the game". You should know that before this game, Park Ji-sung has not played in seven consecutive games, and his last league start can be traced back to the 2-0 home victory over Stoke City by Manchester United on January 31 this year. It has been three months since today!
Another noteworthy is the duel between the two Italian leaders.
1 to 0! In this world-renowned Manchester derby known as the "strongest in history", Manchester City beat Manchester United with a header in the first half of Compani.
Throughout the game, Manchester United, which was the first to be stable, had been suppressed by Manchester City's strong offensive, and the scene was very passive. On the offensive end, Manchester United only shot five times in the whole game and all of them were deflected. The Red Devils even completed the only shot in the second half in stoppage time.
The backward situation also made Ancelotti on the sidelines unable to sit still. In the 75th minute, Welbeck was kicked down from behind by Manchester City midfielder Derong, who was also a substitute, in the process of counterattacking. The Manchester United striker covered his left ankle and rolled on the lawn with a very painful expression. The referee Marina immediately turned to the perpetrator De Show me the yellow card.
At this moment, the broadcast camera suddenly came to the sidelines. Ancelotti rushed to Mancini angrily. Obviously, he was angered by some Italian words, because in An Shuai's eyes, De Jong's back shovel with his feet off the ground was not too much even if he was given a red card, but Mancini did not think so.
In the face of the aggressive accusations of his fellow villagers, Mancini, who was equally hot-tempered, refused to show any weakness. Then he went forward to fight back to his face. Both of them read a word and greeted each other with dirty words. Mancini even made a gesture of "shut up" to Ancelotti, but Ancelotti, who rarely broke out, followed his way. He made the same gesture to Mancini not to say anything about the sentence.
The two people who are angry have shown a tense confrontation. If it hadn't been for the fourth official and the staff of the two teams in time, I don't know how this conflict would end!
After the game, Ancelotti revealed the reason why he was angry with Mancini at the first time: "Mancini has been entangled with the referee, the linesman and the fourth official throughout the game. He has been complaining about the referee this week, but he can't complain about the correct sentence.
Mancini, who won the game, hopes to turn the conflict into a small matter. He said in an interview: "I don't remember what the conflict was for at that time. I told the fourth official that it was a foul, not a complaint. The atmosphere was very tense at that time, but I have left it behind now.
Although Ancelotti and Mancini shook hands at the moment of the whistle at the end of the game, the relationship between the two was finally knotted.
In the Manchester derby in the first leg of this season, Mancini, who led the team to a -6-one victory away, gave his fellow villagers a bottle of good red wine from Italy as a tribute. Before this game, Mancini also joked in an interview that he hoped that Ancelotti could "reciprocity", but after this hot conflict, it is estimated that it is difficult for Mancini to receive red wine from his fellow villagers.