Chapter 332 UEFA Awards Ceremony, meeting Royce again!
On August 16, the 2014-2015 Premier League season officially started.
Manchester United, which spent nearly 200 million euros in the summer, was scheduled to play in the opening game.
It can be seen from Manchester United's series of signings this summer that their ambitions are great.
And this opening game is just the perfect opportunity for them to show the outside world that they are back as kings.
The Premier League still takes good care of Manchester United. The opponent they arranged for them was Swansea, which ranked 12th last season.
The value gap between the two teams is huge. Manchester United's entire team is worth more than 600 million euros in total, while the opponents' worth is less than 80 million euros in total.
Such a disparity in worth comparison makes this game seem to have lost its suspense.
The outside world is generally optimistic about Manchester United and believes that they can get off to a good start.
After all, Manchester United has never failed in the first game of the season at Old Trafford since 1972!
Moreover, Manchester United is unprecedentedly strong on paper this season. With so many top stars, will it still lose to a team in the middle and lower reaches of the league?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
In order to witness this victory with their own eyes, countless Manchester United fans from all over the world poured into the Old Trafford Stadium, causing the attendance at the Dream Theater to explode.
Sir Alex Ferguson, who has retired, also appeared in the stands. He was chewing gum and looked very relaxed. He seemed to be very optimistic about Manchester United's good start.
However, after 90 minutes, the score on the field was fixed at 1:2!
The home team goes first and the away team goes last.
The highly anticipated Manchester United gave Red Devils fans all over the world a bad start at home.
In this game, Manchester United continued the problem they had in the International Champions Cup, that is, the team did not play like a whole, but more like a piece of scattered sand.
The players are working independently, and it is difficult to see the wonderful cooperation between them.
After the game, the media criticized Van Gaal, believing that he was obsessed with the 352 style of play, which has proven to be completely outdated in the World Cup.
Not only did this stubborn old man not make changes, he also brought this style completely to Manchester United.
Facts have proved that this style of play is not suitable for Manchester United at all.
Not only was Van Gaal criticized, but a number of Manchester United's big-name stars were also criticized.
They receive super high annual salaries but play so poorly. Are they worthy of the fans?
RNM, refund your money!
But there is one exception, and that is Rooney.
His overhead shot helped Manchester United score a face-saving goal, giving Manchester United a hope of winning.
It's a pity that they failed to seize such an opportunity.
"In the end, only Rooney was trustworthy, and he is one of the only remaining players in the current Manchester United squad who was promoted by Sir Alex Ferguson!"
"Manchester United is still enjoying the legacy left by Sir Alex Ferguson!"
…
Manchester United's overturn in the opening game made other giants who appeared later a little nervous, fearing that they would follow in Manchester United's footsteps.
No matter what they are afraid of, several wealthy teams did not play very smoothly in this round of games.
In Tottenham's match against West Ham United, one player was sent off with a red card not long after the start.
But they did not collapse because of this. Instead, they gritted their teeth and persisted until the last moment. They defeated their opponents in stoppage time and won a difficult victory.
Arsenal, who came on the scene next, chased two goals in a row after falling behind at the start, and also relied on a goal in stoppage time to beat the opponent.
Compared with Tottenham and Arsenal, Liverpool took the lead at the beginning. After being equalized and almost reversed in the middle, Sturridge's goal in the 80th minute defeated the opponent.
Although these teams all won, the process of winning was so thrilling that their fans couldn't stand it.
But when it was Manchester City's turn to play, Blue Moon fans were very relieved.
Other teams have more or less experienced lineup adjustments and changes in the summer, but Manchester City has not.
Moreover, they still have Lin Quan here, and Manchester City fans are not worried about the team's state at all.
This is also true. Lin Quan scored early in the first half and assisted David Silva to score a goal, helping the team establish a winning streak.
In the second half, Manchester City played more confidently and completely contained their opponents' counterattack.
In the 78th minute of the second half, Lin Quan once again provided an assist to help Aguero score a goal, locking the score at 3:0.
This score was also the final score of the game. Newcastle lost completely without temper at their home court.
Technical statistics after the game showed that Manchester City's ball possession rate in this game exceeded 80%, and the number of shots reached 18, which was more than three times that of the opponent.
Throughout the game, Manchester City firmly controlled the situation of the game.
Not giving the opponent the slightest chance!
After the first round of games, Manchester City took advantage of this big victory and 3 goal differences to directly top the list, and began to lead the standings from the beginning!
This made fans of other teams howl!
Last season, Manchester City never came down from the top of the standings. They led all the way until they finally won the championship, without giving other teams any chance.
Now seeing Manchester City reach the top again, they seem to be seeing a repeat of last season.
…
One week later, the second round of the Premier League begins.
Chelsea took the lead and temporarily topped the list after defeating Leicester City 2-0.
Arsenal's subsequent away game was almost completely defeated by Everton. Fortunately, Ramsey and Giroud stepped up and scored two goals in the last 8 minutes of the game, helping Arsenal to draw with their opponents with difficulty.
Even Everton had such a difficult time. While the Gunners fans were thankful that they did not lose, they also began to be pessimistic about the new season's record.
There are so many strong teams in the Premier League this season that are difficult to deal with. Can Arsenal still complete the task of securing fourth place?
Manchester United tells them with practical actions: Yes!
After losing to Swansea in the opening game, the outside world expected Manchester United to rebound and prove themselves with a hearty victory.
However, there was no big victory, but a second consecutive defeat was almost achieved.
In the away match against Sunderland, Manchester United held their opponent to a difficult draw.
Manchester United, which only scored 1 point in two games, is ranked fourth from the bottom and is almost falling into the relegation zone!
The consecutive defeats made Manchester United fans extremely angry. Van Gaal spent so much money and had such a luxurious lineup, but he handed in such an answer?
This result is not as good as Moyes last season!
There is endless criticism of Van Gaal from the outside world. There are even betting companies betting on when Van Gaal will be fired!
When the outside world's attention was attracted by Manchester United, Manchester City returned to their home court and ushered in the challenge of an old rival-Liverpool!
This is the third time Manchester City has faced Liverpool within a month.
For Manchester City, they are very happy to meet this Liverpool, because they have already learned a lot from playing against Liverpool.
For Red Army fans, they really don't want to encounter Manchester City at this time.
After Suarez left, Liverpool has not yet completely solved the team's offensive problems.
When encountering Manchester City in this state, the winning rate is probably less than 10%. The previous two consecutive losses have proved this.
They don't want to lose a third time!
But there's no way, that's how the schedule is set.
Liverpool tried to apply for an extension but were rejected by Manchester City.
Manchester City has to fight on four fronts this season. If it is postponed at this time, it will only increase the burden of multi-line operations in the future.
Therefore, it is impossible for them to agree, and they even hope to take advantage of the fact that the Champions League has not started yet and quickly play a few more rounds of the league.
The application for an extension was rejected by the opponent, and Liverpool came to the Etihad Stadium with a tragic face.
They no longer expect to take away victory from here, because it is simply impossible!
But they really didn’t want to lose anymore, so Liverpool abandoned the dignity of a wealthy club and set up a bus at the Etihad Stadium!
Seeing the bus set up by their opponents, Manchester City fans were stunned.
It's not that wealthy families can't set up buses, but it's just that it's rare.
Because this is a strategy that a weak team is forced to adopt when encountering a strong team.
Wealthy teams are proud of themselves, so it's rare to see someone take the initiative to show weakness before a game like this begins.
Unless the opponent is really too strong, just like that Cosmic Barcelona team back then!
When I met Barcelona at that time, even the major wealthy teams set up their buses.
Don't be ashamed if you encounter Barcelona running a bus, because if you don't run a bus, you will really die miserably!
When opponents set up buses at the Etihad Stadium, are they admitting that they are not as good as Manchester City, or do they feel that Manchester City is as powerful as Barcelona back then?
Although Liverpool set up a bus, Manchester City still had no intention of letting them go.
In the 41st minute of the first half, Lin Quan once again used a free kick to knock on Liverpool's goal.
This goal almost killed the game as Liverpool's hopes of holding on to a tie were dashed!
So, after the start of the second half, Liverpool really gave up the negative strategy of setting up a bus and bravely started a confrontation with Manchester City.
Facts have proved that this decision is very irrational.
In the 55th minute, Lin Quan scored the second goal of the game.
In the 69th minute, Aguero also scored.
It wasn't over yet. In the 78th minute, De Bruyne received a pass from Lin Quan and scored his fourth goal of the game.
Manchester City 4:0 Liverpool!
Manchester City used practical actions to tell the people of Liverpool that if they don’t set up a bus, they will really die, and they will die miserably!
Manchester City's goal performance was not over yet. In the 83rd minute, their defender Zabaleta also scored a goal.
Unfortunately, the ball was headed into his own goal.
Navas is a little helpless. The team's record is so good. He originally planned to keep a few more clean sheets, but who would have expected that his teammates would become traitors?
In the end, Manchester City sat at home and defeated Liverpool with a score of 4:1. While winning two consecutive games, they also overtook Chelsea in the standings and continued to lead the standings.
In just one month, after three disastrous defeats at the hands of Manchester City, it is said that Liverpool fans are suffering from a disease called 'Manxophobia'...
After this round of competition, Pelleclini and Lin Quan took a plane to Monaco to participate in the group stage draw ceremony of the 2014-2015 European Champions League.
Lin Quan has participated in this event twice before, but the attention he received in the previous two times was far less than this time.
When he arrived at the ceremony in a special car, the place was full of long guns and short cannons.
More than 300 reporters had been waiting here for a long time. The moment they saw him, they rushed in and blocked his entrance.
"Lin, what are your expectations for Manchester City's results this season?"
"Lin, is your goal this season to defend the Champions League?"
"Lin, are you confident about winning the Golden Globe Award?"
…
All kinds of questions came to Lin Quan's face, and Lin Quan had no time to listen clearly and no time to answer them one by one.
There was only one feeling in his mind: Is this how top superstars are treated?
Lin Quan briefly answered a few innocuous questions, and then made an apologetic gesture to the reporters, indicating that he would enter the venue to participate in the awards and lottery ceremony.
The security personnel at the scene came over and escorted Lin Quan out of the crowd.
The reporters were separated by security personnel and finally had no way to continue harassing Lin Quan.
"Haha, how does it feel to be a superstar?"
As soon as he entered the venue, Lin Quan saw a guy who looked like he deserved a beating - Mario Royce.
"Is your foot healed?"
Lin Quan glanced at the opponent's left foot, which was injured not long ago, and asked.
"Ahem, don't mention this, we are still good friends!"
Reus accidentally injured his left ankle in a warm-up match for the German team before the World Cup.
This injury was very fatal for Reus, because the injury occurred too close to the start of the World Cup, causing him to miss the 2014 World Cup in Germany.
It happened that the German team lost to Spain in the final and unfortunately missed the championship.
This result makes the fans of the German team extremely painful!
If Royce is still around, a player like him who can break out, lead, and has strong explosiveness will be of great help in improving the German team's offensive strength.
And Royce is a typical example of someone who can't run to death. Not only can he make huge contributions on the offensive end, he is also very active on defense.
Compared with Gotze who lacks physical fitness, Ozil who is weak in physical confrontation, and Schürrle who can only shoot violently, Royce is undoubtedly a better choice!
But it happened that he was injured!
When he saw the German team losing to Spain at home, Royce felt equally painful and remorseful in his heart.
He blamed himself for being injured when he shouldn't have been and for not being able to contribute to the team.
"How do you feel? If your ankle is injured, it can easily become a habitual injury. I suggest you rest for a few more months and try to reduce the number of appearances and time during this period. Don't go to the national team games!"
Lin Quan remembers that Royce was very unlucky in 2014. Not only was he injured before the World Cup was about to start and missed the World Cup, but he was injured again in a European Cup qualifying match after the World Cup, and the injury was in the same position - his left ankle. ligament!
These two injuries had a great impact on Royce!
Moreover, Royce's injury has a great impact on Dortmund's performance in the league and Champions League this season!
This season is a year in which Dortmund's record collapsed. After players such as Gotze and Lewandowski left the team one after another, Dortmund's strength declined very quickly.
In addition, the Bundesliga teams have gradually adapted to their style of play and have even developed targeted countermeasures, making it very difficult for them to play in the league.
In this case, a desperate man like Royce will definitely squeeze himself further.
And this will only cause him to suffer more injuries...
This is a vicious cycle!
Rather than continually getting injured in subsequent games, it is better to recuperate early in the season.
Dortmund this season is destined to be hopeless. This is not a problem that Royce can solve alone, but a systemic problem.
Unfortunately, it seems not easy to convince Royce.
Sure enough, after hearing Lin Quan's persuasion, Royce smiled and said:
"That's not possible. Everyone on the team is still waiting for me. I can't be a deserter!"
