Chapter 622: The first win in the Champions League
In Dick's view, Manchester City is getting better and better, but in fact, they still only get two points so far, Fiorentina has two points like them, Bayern has four points, and PSV Eindhoven is at the bottom, but after two rounds, all teams have got points, which seems to prove that this group is indeed a group of death.
In the next league, Manchester City encountered Liverpool, and they drew 3-3 with Liverpool at home, which made Liverpool's head coach Benitez quite dissatisfied, because in his opinion, without the involvement of the Champions Cup, Liverpool should have a great upper hand, and Manchester City's players also looked quite tired in the game, in this case, Manchester City still stubbornly scored three goals for Liverpool in the game, and was not thrown away by Liverpool, who also started the season quite well. Now Manchester City has 14 points after seven rounds, tied with Manchester United and Chelsea, only three points behind Liverpool - Liverpool have started the season very well, they won five and drew one in the first six rounds, Benitez originally intended to beat Manchester City in this round to gain more lead, but this draw has made Benitez's hopes come to naught.
Dick knows that this season will be more difficult in the league, after all, Manchester City have not played on two fronts before, and the league will definitely start more passively, and now they can maintain themselves in the first group, which is a victory.
It was another FIFA matchday, with City's main players travelling to play in the national team, and when the team came together again, Dick sent most of his substitutes to prepare for the upcoming Champions League game against Newcastle, and as a result, they drew 2-2 with Newcastle in the league, and after such a draw, Manchester City slipped to sixth place in the table, and the gap with Liverpool was extended to five points.
Dick didn't really care about this situation, after all, the next game away to PSV Eindhoven is the most important, and if the game against PSV Eindhoven cannot be won, then the group will be difficult to play.
And if they can win two games in a row against PSV Eindhoven, then the group will be bright!
Manchester City has not yet reached the point where it can easily qualify for the group in the Champions Cup, so at this time, a certain sacrifice in the league, that is necessary, now Manchester City is a layer of window paper, although the first two games played very well, but they have not won but have become their hard injury, as long as they can get a victory, then the next game, will become a matter of course!
For PSV Eindhoven, they also have to win at home, after all, they only got one point before, the bottom of the group, the first two seasons they were the Champions League quarterfinals, although they were divided into a group of death this season, but they also have to fight desperately to qualify, the first two rounds against Bayern they were only a small defeat, and the game against Fiorentina also equalized at the last moment, this situation also made PSV Eindhoven full of confidence in the next game, After all, Manchester City have not shown much form, and they have drawn with Bayern Munich and Fiorentina, and it is clear that the opponents have not been able to adapt too well to the rhythm of the Champions League.
At home stadium, PSV Eindhoven intends to give the opponent a good look, and if they can beat the opponent at home, then in the next away game, Eindhoven's advantage will become very big.
In recent years, PSV Eindhoven can be called the hegemon of the Eredivisie, and has suppressed the old rivals Ajax and Feyenoord all to the death, they have won the Eredivisie twice in the previous two seasons, and no team is their opponent at all, but in their squad, there are no particularly outstanding players now, except for the young winger Afelai, who makes Dick feel a little jealous, the other players are not particularly good - their dominance to some extent, also proves that the current Eredivisie is a star vacuum, excellent players are basically playing abroad, and few outstanding rookies have emerged in China, even if they still have a very good mechanism for developing players, there are no newcomers who can be good in recent years.
However, at their home stadium, PSV Eindhoven was still extremely proactive from the beginning, suppressing Manchester City in the shouts of the fans, and at the same time constantly tearing apart Manchester City's defense and creating a threat to their door!
And Manchester City's players are still a little slow to perform in this environment, this is the difference in experience, PSV Eindhoven have been regular visitors to the Champions League in recent years, and the first two seasons have also entered the knockout stage, they have plenty of experience, and they quickly entered the state of the game!
Manchester City, however, need some time to get into the game.
This made PSV Eindhoven quickly score two goals in the first 20 minutes, and after conceding two goals, Manchester City seemed to come to their senses, and under the leadership of De Cotores and others, launched a fierce counterattack towards Eindhoven!
Fernando Torres pulled a point back for City and Deco netted the equaliser in the following game, two of those goals that gave the City players confidence back and they continued to attack fiercely for the remainder of the first half in the hope of taking the lead into the second half.
However, in the case of their attack a little carried away, PSV Eindhoven played a counter-attack before the end of the first half, Afelai slashed into the penalty area, and faced the attacking Hart to push the far corner to score, PSV Eindhoven took the lead again!
"First half...... I can't say that you are doing well, nor can I say that you are doing badly...... Because you work very the field, but like a virgin who has slept with a for the first time, you can't enter the door at first, and you finally get in but you quickly leak out...... Don't laugh! Don't you think it's a shame? Are you virgins? No! Even in the face of the Champions Cup, it is definitely not the first time for you, but you are still flustered like a little virgin, I despise you! ”
Dick made a gesture of disdain that was common all over the world: "It's not the first Champions Cup game again, what are you so nervous about?" PSV Eindhoven is not as good as Tottenham at the moment, don't forget how we beat Tottenham all over the place...... Go to the game in the second half, if you lose this game, I will put all the blame on you, because there is absolutely no problem with the tactics I arranged, and if you can't win the game, it must be your problem. ”
Dick's words made the Manchester City players smile, and then quickly became serious, Dick's words are right, PSV Eindhoven is not a very strong team, and whether it is form or tactics, Manchester City has no problems, if they can't perform better in such a situation, it can only mean that they have their own problems.
Now, they want to prove that they have no problems, and that they are definitely not the first brother in the love field, but the kind of fierce general in bed, who can easily play seven times a night......
PSV Eindhoven's players came out with confidence, in their opinion, although Manchester City is now famous and has many stars, but in Europe, they do have a big problem, if they can beat Manchester City, this is also a very good improvement for them, maybe the rich owner of Manchester City will look at himself because of this, and dig himself with a high salary......
A one-goal lead in the first half was a nice advantage, and PSV Eindhoven started the second half with a slower-tempo confrontation, more defensive focus, and counter-attacking against Manchester City in an attempt to extend their lead again in the second half.
However, instead of attacking with a roar like in the first half, Manchester City slowed down the tempo in the same way, with Deco organizing from behind, constantly stabilizing the rhythm through passes, and attacking slowly......
This style of play should have met Eindhoven's requirements, but under such a slow-paced attack, Eindhoven's defense began to gradually become fragmented - after all, in terms of individual ability, Eindhoven's players are a cut worse than Manchester City's players, and under such a slow-paced confrontation, Eindhoven's players' running and form also began to decline unconsciously.
Such a slow pace is difficult to play in the Premier League, but in the Champions League, it is still useful, and Deco seems to have found his peak form in such a pass, making Manchester City's attack more and more organized!
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Deco made two passes in a row with Yaya Toure and Parker, and then suddenly sent a rather penetrating ball, and Ribery, who was inserted diagonally, instantly formed a single knife, and after lifting his foot to unload the ball, Ribery took advantage of the situation and picked the ball into the door of Eindhoven!
Three to three draws!
Such a goal has caused PSV Eindhoven's players to have a mental imbalance - they were hoping to get a win, but now it has become a draw......
Eindhoven, who began to lose some of their usual heart and pressed on the attack, made the Manchester City players relax - the Champions Cup is like this, when the opponent becomes unfavorable, there will also be fluctuations, and as the leader said, the opponent is at most about the same strength as Tottenham, we have an absolute advantage in strength!
With such emotions, Manchester City's players gradually became more comfortable on the field, although they could not accept a draw away, but at least, they could barely accept it, and if PSV Eindhoven could not win three points at home, the situation would be even more serious.
Manchester City began to control the midfield constantly, and then seized on the holes in the opposition defense to launch counterattacks, which made them feel very relaxed.
In the 75th minute, Manchester City finally took the lead for the first time in the game, Deco cleverly divided the ball, Alves, who assisted later, received the ball and sent the ball straight into the penalty area, and the follow-up Torres grabbed the ball in front of the opposing defender to cushion the ball, and Di Natale, who followed up on the other side, faced the ball rolled out is a volley, scoring Manchester City's fourth goal of the game!
PSV Eindhoven began to launch a fierce counterattack, but was completely unable to break through Manchester City's defense, while Manchester City's counterattack was still unfolding, and finally in the 83rd minute, Samuel made a long pass from the backfield, Ribery received the ball and broke through the last defender of the opponent, went straight in, and pushed the far corner in the face of the attacking goalkeeper, extending the lead to two goals!
Five to three! In a goal shootout, Manchester City won their first victory in the Champions League with great difficulty, and after this victory, Manchester City's prospects of qualifying from the group began to brighten!