Chapter 440 Manchester City in desperate situation

"I feel like I'm in a dream!"

Returning to the dressing room with a three-goal lead, Rashford couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The sweaty Manchester United genius forward took off his clothes and walked back and forth in the locker room wearing only a pair of underpants. He was so excited that he couldn't sit down.

Judging by his appearance, if there wasn't another second half, he would probably take off his pants and dance.

"Hey, tell me, why are Manchester City so weak tonight?" Rashford asked strangely.

In recent seasons, Manchester City has been the main sufferer of Manchester United. Every time the Red Devils face Blue Moon, they are not only basically at a disadvantage on the field, but also do not take any advantage in the results of the game.

Since the official rise of Manchester City in the 2011-2012 season, excluding this season, the two sides have played 10 games in the Premier League. Manchester United's record is 3 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses, which is obviously at a disadvantage.

在输掉的6场比赛里，包括2011-2012赛季在老特拉福德球场的1:6惨败，以及2013-2014赛季的主客场0:3和1:4的被双杀。

Although Rashford only made his first-team debut for Manchester United last season, he also noticed the battle between the team and Manchester City when he was in the youth team a few years ago.

In his memory, Manchester United has never been able to gain the upper hand.

………………

Faced with Rashford's question, everyone in the locker room looked at each other in silence. Obviously no one knew how to answer this question.

Are Manchester City weak? Definitely not weak!

But tonight's Manchester City did seem a bit weak in front of Manchester United.

what is going on? Why did the incomparably powerful Manchester City play like this tonight?

I am afraid that not only Manchester United players, but also media and fans around the world have the same doubts.

"I think Bruno's direct free kick was very inspiring, but it also severely damaged the opponent's morale." De Gea looked at Bruno and said.

He is now very happy that he and Bruno have become teammates, because last season, he also suffered a big loss at Bruno's feet, just like the unlucky Bravo who faced him tonight.

At that time, Manchester United and Udinese met in the Champions League group stage. As the group's top favorite, Manchester United suffered six goals in two games against Udinese. De Gea was eliminated in every game. Bruno scored three goals, which almost made the Spanish goalkeeper doubt his life.

Football matches are like this. Sometimes a successful tackle, a sudden shot, or an unconscious action can change the situation of the game.

This is the reason why football games are elusive and also the biggest charm of football games.

………………

"I also think so. Manchester City has been too tight during this period. In addition, Arsenal, who were locked in a stalemate in the FA Cup semi-finals last week, were eliminated in overtime. Their physical fitness is definitely not as good as ours, and it is doomed. All four goals were empty this season. In addition, qualification for the Champions League next season was urgent, so they were eager to establish an advantage in the first half, but they did not expect that we would score first, and then they became more anxious, but more problems were exposed. " Carrick analyzed.

Everyone also thinks that this analysis is reasonable and reasonable.

Manchester United already had the upper hand before walking into the Etihad.

Although Chelsea defeated Southampton at home in the 34th round of the Premier League one day ago, Manchester United still has a 2-point lead with 4 games in hand, which gives Manchester United enough confidence to win. Facing Manchester City. Because even if they lose, they still have a 4-point advantage over Chelsea and have one game in hand.

But Manchester City cannot accept failure, because in the competition for the top four in the league, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool compete very fiercely. Any failure may cause them to miss the top four in the league.

This is simply unacceptable to Manchester City.

To some extent, this is a game that Manchester City cannot afford to lose.

Realizing this, the Manchester United players couldn't help but feel even more grateful for the team's hard work in the past period.

………………

Mourinho still had a robot-like cold face, expressionlessly criticizing the team's mistakes in the first half, and at the same time, expressionlessly praising the team's performance in the first half. Performance.

It wasn't until he mentioned Bruno that Mourinho showed a smile, saying that he was very satisfied with Bruno's performance in the first half and hoped that he could continue his performance in the first half in the second half.

"In the second half, we still focused on counterattacks. If I'm not wrong, Manchester City must stabilize the situation first and use the advantage of passing and controlling the ball to create opportunities, while we continue to shrink our defense and wait for the opportunity to counterattack."

"You have to remember that we are now three goals ahead, but at the Etihad Stadium, such a score is still not safe, so I ask you to continue to stay fully committed and focus on the game."

<divclass="contentadv">At this point, Mourinho hesitated and finally continued: "Guys, many people may not remember that in the 2011-2012 season, we were at Old Trafford. The German Stadium suffered a huge humiliation and was slaughtered 6:1 by Manchester City. This was a disastrous defeat that Manchester United had never experienced in the past ten years. I believe that all Manchester United players who experienced that game will be ashamed."

………………

When Mourinho said these words, the way he gritted his teeth made everyone once again experience his sadness and anger as a Manchester United coach, and at the same time, they also felt the power in his heart at this moment.

Although he was not the head coach of Manchester United in that game, his words at this moment gave people a feeling of empathy.

If he didn't dare to think about it before the game, then they should all think about it carefully now.

Today is indeed a God-sent opportunity.

The three-goal lead in the first half gave Manchester United an excellent opportunity, which was the disgrace of Yixue's 1:6 defeat five years ago. I believe this was also the case for those who had experienced that disastrous defeat that year, including Carrick and De Gea. The voice of the players is also the voice of all Manchester United players.

"I hope that tonight, we return the shame of five years ago to Manchester City!" Mourinho shouted loudly.

Bruno and other Manchester United players also felt the thoughts from the head coach, especially players like De Gea, Carrick and Valencia who had experienced the disastrous defeat that year, and they were all praised by Mourinho. Surging, everyone became excited.

………………

At this time, none of them knew that the situation in the second half was exactly as Mourinho expected, and Manchester City tried to control the situation.

But no one expected that less than five minutes into the second half, referee Martin Atkinson would draw a red card.

"Man City launched an attack from the left. Sterling appeared on the left again to cooperate with Sane."

"One-two, Sane passed the ball diagonally to the front of the penalty area, looking for Sterling..."

"Maguire quickly stepped up, completed a steal, and passed the ball to Carrick in the middle."

"Manchester United launched a quick counterattack, and we saw Bruno and Gundogan both starting up, very fast."

"Carrick passed the ball diagonally behind..."

"The referee blew his whistle to signal that Yaya Toure committed a handball foul. The fans at the scene booed, obviously protesting against the referee's decision."

"You know, Yaya Toure has already received a yellow card in the first half. If he is awarded intentional handball at this time, he will accumulate two yellow cards and be sent off with a red card."

"Manchester City's players seemed very excited. Captain Kompany and others surrounded Martin Atkinson, seemingly trying to force the referee to change the decision."

"But it's obviously not going to be what they want. After the referee makes a penalty, it is almost impossible to change it, especially if it involves a major penalty like a red card. Because if the referee gives in and changes the decision, it means that the referee The referee felt that his decision was wrong and it was a major blow to their authority."

………………

"Let's look at this slow motion replay!"

"Manchester United's counterattack is very fast this time. If Carrick passes the ball, it will be a three-on-two frontcourt. Bruno and Gundogan are fully capable of creating threats. Rashford is also in a very difficult situation. in a favorable position.”

"Looking at it from another angle, it was indeed a deliberate handball. Yaya Toure deliberately slapped his hand to capture Carrick's pass when he could no longer grab the ball."

"Martin Atkinson separated City's players and raised a yellow card towards Yaya Toure, who was sent off shortly after the start of the second half with a red card as the pair trailed by three goals. It’s simply bad news for Manchester City.”

"Guardiola looked quite angry on the sidelines. I don't know whether it was for the referee's penalty or Yaya Toure's irrational foul."

"Although Yaya Toure's handball prevented a quick counterattack by Manchester United, it left Manchester City with one less player than their opponents for more than half an hour. Such a foul is extremely irrational and almost strangling. Before the game, Yaya Toure once provoked Bruno, but in today’s game, the veteran failed to fulfill his promise.”

"At the beginning of this season, Yaya Toure was abandoned by Guardiola. Although Yaya Toure later won back Guardiola's trust through his own efforts, in such a major game today, I wonder if Yaya Toure will lose Guardiola’s trust if he makes such a mistake?”

"Manchester United now have the advantage in terms of score and the number of people on the pitch."

"The fans at the scene were very dissatisfied with Martin Atkinson's penalty and booed everywhere, but we can see from the slow-motion replay that this is indeed a yellow card. Yaya Toure should not have done this at all, but he did If you do it, Manchester City will have to pay the price for having one less player than your opponent.”