Chapter 595 Manchester City’s record winning streak!

After entering October, Manchester City continued to advance in the Premier League and Champions League, with 7:1 Stoke City in the eighth round, 3:0 Burnley in the ninth round, 3:0 West Bromwich Albion in the tenth round, 3:1 Arsenal in the 11th round, 2:0 Leicester City in the 12th round...

Unconsciously, Manchester City's winning streak has reached 10 games, and judging from their attitude, this state of consecutive wins will probably continue.

No one knows where Manchester City's limit is!

But their neighbor Manchester United has slowly begun to fall behind.

In the eighth round, in the new year's double red meeting, Manchester United had a lose-lose battle with its old rival Liverpool in the away game.

The two sides were tied at 0:0 for 90 minutes, and neither side fell well.

After the game, Liverpool's league ranking dropped further to eighth place, nearly 10 points behind Manchester City at the top of the list.

Manchester United is 2 points behind Manchester City because of this draw.

Originally it was only a disadvantage in terms of goal difference, but now it is better and we are also lagging behind in terms of points.

And this backwardness is still expanding!

In the 9th round, Manchester United lost to newly promoted Huddersfield 1:2 in an away game. This was a big upset and the gap between them and Manchester City widened to 5 points!

In the 11th round, when they visited Stamford Bridge and faced Chelsea in the red-blue battle, Manchester United lost again, which widened their gap behind Manchester City to 8 points!

The league has only played 11 rounds and is already 8 points behind. What a desperate gap!

Not even half the league schedule has been played and Manchester United look to be out of the title race.

This makes countless Red Devils fans very disappointed. Since Ferguson retired, this is already the fifth year that they have missed the championship.

The fans who had full confidence in the team a few years ago and firmly believed that Manchester United was the best team on the planet have had their self-confidence take a hit as Manchester United has continued to decline in recent years.

At this time, some people have begun to accept the fact that Manchester United is no longer a top team.

…

In fact, for Manchester United fans, there is no need to be so pessimistic. Their ranking in the standings is not bad.

Although eight points behind Manchester City, Manchester United is still firmly locked in second place in the Premier League.

After beating Newcastle United 4:1 and Brighton 1:0 in two consecutive home games in the 12th and 13th rounds, Manchester United further consolidated its position and widened its points gap with Chelsea, which is third in the standings. Arrived at 3 minutes.

But unfortunately, Manchester City won again in this round, and Manchester United failed to narrow the point difference between the two teams.

Due to Manchester City's hot form this season and their strong performance in the past few seasons, the outside world feels that there is not much suspense about who will win the Premier League championship this year.

Compared with the ownership of the Premier League championship, what they are more curious about is how long can Manchester City's winning streak be maintained?

As of the 13th round, Manchester City's winning streak in the league has reached 11 games, which has entered the top ten winning streaks in Premier League history.

But this is not Manchester City's limit. They may not have a chance to break Arsenal's 14-game winning streak created in the 2003-2003 season.

Last year, Chelsea was very close to breaking this record, but in the end they fell short and stopped winning 13 consecutive games. It was a pity.

Now, Manchester City is only 4 wins away from breaking this record.

In the 14th round of the Premier League, Manchester City defeated Southampton 2:1 at home, extending their winning streak to 12 games.

In the fifteenth round, Manchester City defeated West Ham United by the same score. The winning streak has accumulated to 13 games, tying the record set by Chelsea last season!

At this time, almost all fans in the Premier League are paying attention to Manchester City's next game-the Manchester Derby!

If Manchester City can win the next game, they will surpass Chelsea and tie Arsenal that year.

But Manchester United is not a boy who gives away points, and Old Trafford is their home court. Facing their rivals in the same city, they will never let the opponent win at their home court!

Manchester United, which has won four consecutive victories, is still 8 points behind Manchester City, but if they can beat Manchester City in this game, the point difference between the two sides will be narrowed to 5 points.

By then, Manchester United will have hope of competing for the league championship, and ending the opponent's 13-game winning streak will definitely have a huge blow to Manchester City's morale.

Maybe after this defeat, Manchester City will be unable to recover, giving Manchester United a chance to chase points.

In view of the importance of this game, numerous news media conducted extensive reports on this game between the two teams before the game.

This focus battle has already attracted the attention of fans across the UK before it even begins.

Not only British fans are paying attention to this game, there are also many teams and fans in Europe who are silently paying attention to the result of this game.

Manchester United is second in the Premier League this season and Manchester City is first. Such a battle for the top spot should reflect the highest competitive level of the Premier League.

Since the Manchester City duo have achieved unbeatable records in the Champions League, they have become the favorites to win the Champions League this season.

This makes some giants aiming to win the Champions League pay special attention to the league performance of Manchester City and Manchester United.

Especially Manchester City, their form this season is completely different from last season.

They are in an extremely hot state, and anyone who encounters them will tremble.

Given that Manchester City has maintained its unbeaten streak on multiple fronts this season, many teams are wondering, can anyone find a way to deal with them and break their unbeaten streak?

Among the many followers, Real Madrid is obviously the one that cares the most.

After all, this year's defenders have become them.

…

December 11, Old Trafford.

Half an hour before the game, the stadium was already packed with people and the seats were full.

With the team's recovery this season and the morale and confidence boost brought by last season's Triple Crown, Manchester United's football market has improved significantly this season.

At several home games this season, the stands at Old Trafford were almost full.

You must know that Old Trafford is the largest stadium in the entire Premier League, with a capacity of 76,000 spectators.

Manchester is not a big city, and the population living here is not large. In addition, there are rivals like Manchester City in the same city to divide the fans. It is difficult for local fans alone to fill the stands of more than 70,000 people.

Therefore, Manchester United has always followed an international route, building international influence by performing well in the league and the Champions League, and actively promoting the team's image and brand externally, and then attracting international fans to come and watch the games.

In the entire Premier League, Old Trafford has the largest number of international fans. Many people even come to the Premier League to watch a Manchester United game at Old Trafford.

But since Ferguson retired and the older generation of Red Devils gradually withered away, the number of international fans has begun to decline rapidly.

Especially with the strong rise of Manchester City next door and three championships in three years, a large number of international fans have been attracted to the Etihad Stadium.

After all, compared to Manchester United, which lacks star talent and has a poor record, Manchester City, a new giant, is leading in all aspects and is naturally more attractive.

Most people admire the strong and support whoever is strong.

In the past four years, there is no doubt that Manchester City is greater than Manchester United, so it is normal for Manchester United's football market to be affected.

But for this game, whether you are a Manchester City fan or a Manchester United fan, if you want to watch the game, you have to come to Old Trafford, so it is difficult to get a ticket at Old Trafford, and scalpers have raised the ticket prices to the sky. There are still some Many enthusiastic fans did not hesitate to pay for tickets!

Perhaps out of respect for his opponents, or perhaps because Manchester City's wins in the past two games were a bit thrilling, Guardiola did not arrange a 3142 formation for this game, but arranged a 433 traditional formation.

Compared with Guardiola's formation, Mourinho is still the same, starting from 4231!

I have lost count of how many times the two have competed. When the two were not in the same league, the competition was still in the Champions League.

After Mourinho joins Real Madrid, the two will not only compete in the Champions League, but also in the league.

I thought that after both of them left La Liga, the frequent rivalry would come to an end.

But fate is so interesting. The two came to the same league again, and they were in charge of another pair of mortal enemies.

Before the game, Mourinho's face was tense, and he could not see the sadness or joy. He walked over to shake hands with Guardiola expressionlessly.

Guardiola had almost the same expression on his face. The two didn't even bother to exchange greetings. After hurriedly shaking hands, they turned around and returned to their coaching seats without looking back.

With the referee's whistle, this focus battle that attracted countless fans officially started.

After the opening, Manchester United launched a fierce attack.

Their two wingers were aggressive and frequently launched attacks on the wing, trying to create opportunities for forward Lukaku in the penalty area.

But Manchester City's defense did an excellent job. Lukaku was completely restricted and could not find a chance to catch the ball.

Seeing that the striker was not working, Manchester United immediately changed their strategy. Instead of crossing from the bottom, they tried to cooperate with the ribs and let the midfielder who inserted behind complete the shot.

This move had a good effect, and Rashford, Matic and others all got opportunities to shoot.

It's a pity that the two seemed to have forgotten their shooting boots, and their shots went a little too far.

But in this round of offense, Manchester City's full-back Walker received a yellow card for a tactical foul, which may have a profound impact on the situation of the game.

The Red Devils fans who came to the stadium made a huge noise and supported the team in launching wave after wave of attacks with exciting cheers.

Mourinho has obviously studied Manchester City's style of play in the past few games. By attacking on the wings, he restricted Manchester City's two full-backs and prevented them from participating in the offense.

This makes it difficult for Manchester City's counterattack on the wing to be effective due to insufficient numbers.

In the middle, Manchester United's strangulation tactics were also very successful.

Through constant fouls and high-intensity physical confrontation, the opponent's first pass is restricted and the opponent is not allowed to cooperate smoothly, thus preventing the opponent from organizing an efficient offense.

It's simply not enough if you don't do this. Manchester City's winger Mbappe has speed and impact.

As long as the opponent is given a chance, their response will probably be to concede the ball.

Real Madrid has already demonstrated this to everyone in the Champions League final.

Therefore, Manchester United defended the center very hard and restricted Mbappe very fully, not giving Mbappe any chance to speed up.

Mbappe finally enjoys the treatment of a superstar, but such treatment does not seem to be a good thing for him.

After Guardiola saw through the opponent's intentions, he quickly made adjustments.

He asked Lin Quan and David Silva to switch positions, with Lin Quan, who had stronger ball protection and breakthrough abilities, in front, and asked David Silva to retreat to reduce the opponent's pressure on him so that he could It can complete passing and organization work more conveniently.

As David Silva's age has increased, his explosive power, which was not very strong in the first place, has further declined. At this time, he is becoming increasingly unable to perform as a winger.

Therefore, Guardiola made some adjustments to his position and role on the field. Most of the time, he was moved back to reduce the pressing pressure he faced, allowing him to more calmly use his strong passing ability. .

Similarly, De Bruyne's position is also appropriately inserted back, allowing midfielder Kante to push up, and the three of them form a triangle position.

De Bruyne and David Silva are two different passers. De Bruyne is very strong in short and long passes, has first-class creativity, and can often send some incredible passes.

David Silva's short passing ability is excellent and his ball protection ability is better than De Bruyne's. He can take on part of the work of holding the ball forward, and can cooperate with nearby teammates in small-scale passing and cutting. His The long passing ability is not outstanding, this was originally Cross's job.

But after Cross left, Manchester City adjusted their style of play, and the number of long passes to find forwards became less and less. The team now no longer relies on this style of play.

After Guardiola completed the adjustments, Manchester United's mid-range strangulation effect is no longer so effective.

The positions of the two organizers are too deep, and Manchester United does not dare to invest too much force in the frontcourt to press the opponent high, because this can easily cause the overall formation to be disconnected, especially when Lin Quan and Mbappe are still in their own half. Under such circumstances, reducing the strength of the backcourt is a very dangerous thing.

But if the restrictions on De Bruyne and David Silva are reduced, the two can more calmly display their strengths and allow Manchester United to bear greater defensive pressure.

It's hard to say whether this choice is right or wrong. From Mourinho's perspective, it seems reasonable for him to make such a choice.

But the situation on the field has gradually turned against Manchester United. After 30 minutes, Manchester City gradually took the initiative in the game. Their offense frequently threatened Manchester United's penalty area. Stones made a very threatening goal. Header.

If it weren't for De Gea's outstanding performance and magical save of the ball, Manchester United would have fallen behind at this time.

But what is coming is bound to come, and there is no way to hide.

In the 43rd minute, De Bruyne took a corner kick from the right. Van Dijk defeated Lukaku in the penalty area and headed the ball. The unmarked David Silva scored with his left foot from close range before De Gea. !

Manchester City 1:0 Manchester United! (End of chapter)