Chapter 684: Quarterfinals!
Goodison Park, the big screen of the stadium faithfully records the current score on the field: o:o!
The game had reached stoppage time and both sides were still in a state of anxiety, with neither side able to score. ◇ Tomato Fiction Network '.
Referee Meyer is already looking at his watch.
'This is the last time Man City will attack and if they don't get on the scoresheet, the result will be 0-0!' said Mortensen, 'It's obviously an outcome that City can't accept!'
The match between Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers was over before the start of this game, with Manchester United beating Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at home!
This means that if Manchester City are forced to draw by Everton in this game, the gap between them and Manchester United will be stretched to three points!
David Silva was forced by Barnes and could only be forced to play.
The target of his pass this time is still Yang Fan.
This could be City's last chance to attack, with the players subconsciously opting to pass the football to their most trusted captain.
But it's a pity that Yang Fan was facing away from the direction of attack at that time, and as soon as he stopped the ball, he saw that he was surrounded. Jagielka and Heitinga were already up and tried to break the ball.
Yang Fan is also aware of his situation, let alone shooting now, it is almost impossible for him to turn around.
Yang Fan gritted his teeth anxiously—damn it! This is the last chance to attack!
He is not willing to fail, he wants to give it a go!
Yang Fan leaned Heitinga's body and made a posture of wanting to force a turn and shoot. Draw the attention of the Everton defenders and make them think they are going to shoot!
Sure enough, Heitinga was about to make a move, he planned to block Yang Fan's shot, but he didn't expect Yang Fan to shake under his feet. He passed the ball between Heitinga's legs, and he himself turned around to pass Heitinga's left.
As long as it passes, it is in his range!
Heitinga didn't expect that Yang Fan would be able to play the ball when he was blocked. Seeing that Yang Fan was about to break through, he subconsciously wanted to reach out and pull someone, but he immediately realized that Yang Fan had entered the forbidden area, and he immediately felt a little afraid, and the hand that had been probing Yang Fan's body retracted.
"Heitinga - he was broken through - oooooo - it was Jagielka, he came up - Yang Fan fell to the ground! he fell in the box, will it be a penalty?
He shouted out everyone's questions, is this a foul? If it is a foul, does the referee dare to award a penalty? You must know that this is the last moment of injury time, this is the last chance for Manchester City to attack! At this time, does the referee dare to award a penalty?!
You know, in the league, Manchester City and Manchester United points bite so tightly, if the game ends in a draw, Manchester United will open the distance with Manchester City, and once the referee awards a penalty, and Manchester City will give a penalty, this is the absolute sense of the stunt, Manchester City will continue to chase Manchester United, and even, if you look at the whole season, this penalty will even affect the ownership of the English League championship this season!
"Meyer's gesture!Penalty!Penalty!Meyer pointed to the penalty! He bravely and justly awarded the penalty!Long live! Long live Yang Fan! Long live Manchester City!" The Manchester City Radio commentator shouted frantically. □ tomato ''-.'f'q-x'
"Is this a penalty? Jagielka and Yang Fan had physical contact, but was it enough to cause Yang Fan to fall?" the Liverpool commentator questioned the penalty decision.
"Penalty! Unequivocal penalty! Jagielka stretched out his leg and tripped Yang Fan!"
The Everton players are protesting and they are begging the referee to take it back, they don't think it's a penalty!
Jagielka knelt in the penalty area, he knew it was bad after he kicked out, his kicking rate was not as fast as Yang Fan's dribbling with the ball, which caused him to go to the football, and when the outstretched leg arrived, he only touched Yang Fan's hind leg.
The referee ignored the Evertonian's protests and was adamant that his decision was correct.
"Penalty! Manchester City won a penalty in the last minute of the game!"
Yang Fan stood at the penalty spot, the camera was focused on him, and the Chinese star had a resolute expression.
The whistle sounded.
Yang Fan runs, shoots!
"Spoon! Spoon! Yang Fan, he dared to use a spoon to take a penalty at such a critical moment! He is really bold!"
"Gooooa1!Great Young, great player, at the critical moment, he withstood the huge pressure and scored the penalty he personally created!"
"1-0! 1-0! Man City scored! This goal is significant! Man City are still chasing Manchester United!"
After Yang Fan scored the penalty, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game, which can really be called a lore in the absolute sense!
Mancini rushed out of the coach's box to celebrate, he was really excited, Yang Fan's penalty saved Manchester City, it is not an exaggeration to say this sentence!
In Manchester, after the Manchester United team finished the Bolton Wanderers' game, the team was disbanded, but Ferguson was still busy in his office, when the assistant coach came in.
"Jazz, it's over for Manchester City. Tomato □ net○ ---.-f'q'x-s''.com"
"Oh, still 0-to-0?" Ferguson asked, without looking up.
"One to zero. The assistant coach's voice was a little lost, "They scored in the last minute, Yang Fan created a penalty, and he scored the penalty. ”
Ferguson's hand as he wrote and drew in his notebook paused.
Manchester United's assistant coach Hui Lan clearly heard a sigh from the old man, Yang Fan, this name is the eternal pain in the heart of Ferguson, the godfather of Manchester United......
The next day, the whole of England was talking about the Manchester City captain's performance, and his late penalty was nothing short of a great performance for City.
"This goal is as important as gold!" – says The Times.
It really is so important.
Manchester City's last-minute win over Everton and a hard-fought three points not only continued to chase Manchester United by one point in the league, but they also had a surprise when Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw away by West Bromwich Albion in the subsequent game.
In this way, Manchester City are four points ahead of Arsenal, ensuring that they can continue to compete for the league title, while also widening the gap with Arsenal behind them.
For Manchester City, it was a joyful celebration, while for Arsenal, it was a gloomy cloud.
At Arsenal's A.T. Kearney training base. The atmosphere on the training ground was a little solemn, solemn to the point of depressing, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's face was gloomy, as if the weather was above his head at this moment. The usual laughter and conversation in training is now gone.
Joke. Does anyone dare to be hippie smiling in front of a boss who is in a bad mood?
It's Walcott who usually has a lively personality. People who like to play treasure are all honestly doing their own training projects today, and they don't dare to slack off.
In the last round of the league, Arsenal was drawn 2-0 by West Bromwich Albion in a good situation, in this way, Arsenal was not only opened up by Manchester City in front of the league in the league, but also, because Chelsea won in this round of the league, Chelsea is currently only three points away from Arsenal, and Arsenal is unable to keep the third place in the league.
After that game, Arsene Wenger, who has never been easily angry, got angry and the Frenchman left everyone in the dressing room, completely ignoring the press conference outside that needed him to deal with it, and scolded the whole team in front of him. It is said that the team's striker Theo Walquette was scolded and cried by Arsene Wenger for wasting a chance to equalize the score in the final moments of the game.
About this paragraph. Nothing was revealed by the news media after the game. Because they don't know what they have given birth to. It is destined to only be revealed in the autobiography of an Arsenal player in the future.
Why is Arsene Wenger so furious?
The third place in the league and the fourth place in the league are only one place apart, but the difference is huge. ☆ Tomato ''-.- f-q-x's-'.-c'o-m'The third place in the English League can directly qualify for next season's Champions League, while the fourth place in the league also needs to play in the Champions League qualification play-offs, which will undoubtedly affect Arsenal's preparations, and it should be noted that the Champions League qualification play-offs are not easy to pass, and it is not uncommon for teams in the four major leagues to fall behind in the Champions League play-offs.
What's more, originally, Wenger's goal to give the ball is to go to the league championship, you must know that before this round of the league, Arsenal is only two points behind Manchester City, which is in second place, and three points behind Manchester United in the rankings, there is still hope for winning the championship, but now it is good, the top four in the league have won, only Arsenal has planted a heel in West Bromwich Albion, Arsenal now goes to hope for the league championship or runner-up, it will be difficult, not only that, but also be careful of the Chelsea behind him to catch up.
Arsene Wenger looked at the players who were training with their heads bowed on the field, and he yelled hard: "Stinky boys, you have nothing to complain about, this is your debt for the points you lost in the last game!"
The Times even used the term 'atmosphere of terror' to describe the current atmosphere at Arsenal, which is extremely rare for an Arsenal manager who has never been easily angered, and it is all the more evidence of how angry Wenger is now.
A week later, the 31st round of the English League.
Manchester United won 4-2 away at West Ham United and continued their steady march towards the league title. In the words of the English media, despite only one point ahead of Manchester City in the bottom line, Ferguson's team is desperately solid!
Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw away at Stoke City.
Arsenal were also held to a surprise 0-0 draw at home by Blackburn.
Manchester City hosted Sunderland and Yang Fan scored a pass and a shot in the game, and Manchester City also won a wild victory, as they slaughtered Sunderland 6-0 at home.
In this way, after the end of the 31st round of the English League, the situation in the English League table has changed again, Manchester United is first with 68 points, Manchester City is second with 67 points, Arsenal and Chelsea have drawn this round, they continue to be in the third or fourth place in the table, and the distance between the top two Manchester City duo is getting farther and farther away, in addition, Tottenham Hotspur, who are in fifth place in the league, were also drawn 0-0 by Wigan Athletic......
The race for the English League title is now in full swing, with Manchester United and Manchester City battling it out for the league title, Arsenal and Chelsea battling it out for third or fourth place, while Tottenham Hotspur have not given up their desire for a fourth-place finish.
After this round of league play, the next midweek game is the Champions League quarter-finals.
With four days to go until the Champions League quarter-finals. Roberto Mancini announced that the squad had entered a closed training phase and that all training sessions would not be open to the media. Even a reporter from the Manchester Evening News, who has a good relationship with Manchester City, was denied permission to enter the Carrington training base.
Breaks between trainings. The players are sitting on the sidelines to rest. They chatted about topics of interest to them. The coaches of the coaching staff, too, talked the most about the Champions League quarter-finals. Tomato△Novel△網 --'.-f'q-x's'
This season is Manchester City's return to the Champions League after more than half a century, and it is a remarkable achievement to reach the quarter-finals and, if they can get past Inter Milan, to reach the semi-finals.
After the semi-finals, the final, these people really didn't think about it, in fact, even if they were eliminated in the quarter-finals, Manchester City people seem to have the right to be proud, after all, it is the first time in more than half a century to participate in the Champions League, which is quite good.
Yang Fan is chatting with Yaya Toure.
"Yang, talk to me about Chinese football. Yaya Toure said.
Yang Fan was drinking water, and he almost choked on the water.
"Ahem! You're so boring...... Ahem!"
Looking at Yang Fan's embarrassed appearance, Yaya Toure was surprised, is this topic boring?
"Talking about Chinese football...... Is there anything inappropriate about this......" Yaya Toure was a little surprised, and when he said it, he brought up this topic, and it was purely out of bore to ask, because a week ago, Yang Fan returned to China and played a warm-up match, which was a match between the Chinese Olympic team and the South Korean Olympic team, and Yang Fan scored a hat-trick in that game to help the Chinese Olympic team defeat the old rival South Korean Olympic team 4-3.
Of course, Manchester City Club also almost fell out with the Chinese Football Association, after all, the game of the National Olympic team is not an international A-level event, and this is not a national team match day, Manchester City is now entering the sprint stage of the season, Yang Fan's importance to Manchester City is undoubted, Manchester City is reluctant to let Yang Fan go back to participate in a national Olympic team game, and it is just a warm-up game.
In the end, the Chinese Football Association tried hard, especially when Yang Fan himself agreed to return to China to play, Manchester City was unwilling to release him, and Yang Fan was tired in that game, but despite this, he still scored a hat trick. In the words of the Chinese media, this game was completely exhausted Yang Fan dragging his tired body and leading the Chinese Olympic team to win, if there was no Yang Fan, the Chinese team would be very likely to be beaten by the South Korean team with a 3-0 defeat score!
"Nothing. I just don't think there's anything to say. Yang Fan found this topic boring. Reluctant to go deeper.
"I watched your national team win the Asian Cup, and they played well. Yaya Toure seems to be genuinely interested in the topic of Chinese football, and he continued, "As a Chinese fan, I must be very happy." ”
"Well, very happy. What can Yang Fan say, he can only nod, he is very happy, especially before, it is simply ********. Of course, he is also very proud and proud, under his leadership, the whole team is very hard-working, the mental outlook has changed greatly, and being able to win the Asian Cup in Qatar is undoubtedly the best feedback for the unwavering support of Chinese fans over the years.
"What do you think about the game against Milan?" asked Silva.
The topic has finally moved away from Chinese football and returned to normal topics.
"Not bad. Yang Fan nodded.
"Oh, what do you mean?"
"That's a good opponent. ”
Silva raised his head and thought about the meaning of Yang Fan's words, really, although Inter Milan is the defending champion and looks very strong, but, in fact, at present, compared with Barcelona and Real Madrid, Inter Milan is indeed a relatively suitable opponent. The team seems to have fallen rapidly since Jose Mourinho's departure, and in the words of the European media, Inter Milan are now only half as capable as they were when they won the title last year.
"I heard that they have also lost two in a row in the league. Yaya Toure nodded, "However, it also makes us have to be careful, be careful that they explode in Europe." ”
"How can there be such an easy ...... to explode," Yang Fan sighed, "We just need to do our own work, and we are not afraid of them exploding." ”
"I love to hear that. Yaya Toure laughed.
Other players not far away also looked over and saw Yaya Toure Yang Fan and Silva laughing one by one, although they couldn't talk about any happy topics, but before the Champions League quarter-finals, it also made them feel more at ease to see a few core players of the team so relaxed.
After the training, Silva looked at Yang Fan's back from behind, was silent for a while, and opened his mouth. After some hesitation, he spoke again: "Will the pressure be too much?"
"Huh?"
"The best farewell game for Michael. Another final for him. and leading the team to the league championship...... You put these things on yourself. No one asked you to do this, aren't you afraid that the pressure will be too great to hold on?"
Hearing Silva say this, Yang Fan smiled and pointed to his heart, "It's okay, I have a big heart." ”
Facing Yang Fan's sunny smiling face, Silva also smiled, and then he took a deep breath, looking forward to the future, for the future of the team and himself.
The first day of the Champions League quarter-finals is 5 April, with Manchester United hosting Chelsea and Manchester City and Inter Milan the next day.
This year's Champions League quarterfinals. With four of the English teams on the list, it's a big deal for the English media to be well advertised. The Italian Serie A, once the "number one league in the world", has declined, and La Liga has been weak after a few years of strength. It's the British world now!
The media in England are so optimistic. With four teams, at least one team can ensure that one team makes it to the final.
The Bundesliga has declined, and Ligue 1 has long been kicked out of the "five major leagues". Serie A is on the wane. La Liga has been up and down, and it seems that only England can maintain a high level of league performance for ten years. With this mentality, the English media began to report positively and optimistically about the quarter-finals of the Champions League. They boast Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City, as well as Tottenham Hotspur, another dark horse in this season's Champions League.
In the eyes of those proud England media, England is now the world's No. 1 league, then, the England team is also the world's strongest, in short, English football is now strong, it is a bull.
"Inter Milan has flown to Manchester. They will challenge hosts Manchester City here. It was the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals and Eto'o spoke at the airport about the opponents of the match. He thinks Yang Fan and Silva are both very good players, Manchester City is a strong team, but he is confident that he will reach the semi-finals......"
Earlier in the day, sports news was playing on the TV, as Inter Milan arrived in Manchester. Two days later, they will have a crucial game at this stadium.
As the team's number one star, Cameroonian star Samuel Eto'o has caught everyone's attention. Countless microphones, flashes, and cameras surrounded him. It makes it seem difficult for him to even take a step forward.
'Eto'o ......' muttered Mancini in front of the TV, the Cameroonian is definitely a player that City need to focus on, and he is the most dangerous of Inter's attack.
Meanwhile, the Inter Milan players who have arrived in Manchester are watching TV with a replay of the last round of English League fixtures, just in time for City's 6-0 win over Sunderland.
"Hey. Man, how nice do you think it would be if Yang Fan could come to Inter Milan...... In that case, we have Milito, Eto'o, and Yang Fan in the offensive line...... It's invincible!" Inter Milan midfielder and Dutch star Sneijder said excitedly as he watched the TV.
At the FIFA FIFa Golden Ball Awards ceremony at the beginning of the year, Yang Fan's 'righteous words' made Sneijder have a good impression of Yang Fan, and of course he is eager to become teammates with the star.
"Don't dream, this kind of person Manchester City won't let go. "Stankovic is not in the slightest interested in such unrealistic fantasies.
"Yes, Manchester City is not bad for money, they can't sell Yang Fan. Said Ranocchia, a rising star in the backline.
"And, to be honest, the current Manchester City squad is already very luxurious......," Thiago Motta said, his implication is that Manchester City is no worse than Inter Milan now, and Yang Fan has no possibility of leaving Manchester City, even if he leaves Manchester City, it is unlikely that he will come to Inter Milan.
Inter Milan captain Zanetti sighed with some emotion, two years ago, who would know which onion Manchester City is, now, Yang Fan to Manchester City, with the support of the Arab consortium, Manchester City's rapid rise, the team that no one cared about before, now it has become a fragrant bait, from Thiago Motta mentioned Manchester City actually had a slightly envious tone It can be seen that everyone's impression of Manchester City has changed now.
"Alright, guys. Don't patronize Yang Fan. Zanetti clapped his hands and said, "Manchester United's home game against Chelsea, the coach asked us to go live together at that time. ”
With that, Zanetti distributed the tickets to everyone.
Everyone didn't say anything. Take the ticket and put it away.
Eto'o continued to turn his head to watch TV. The news has turned to Manchester United. Started reporting on Manchester United's preparations.
Ferguson on the screen had a solemn face, and the sky over Carrington's training base was cloudy. The army is overwhelmed.