For the game against Chelsea, Manchester City have been preparing for a long time.

Needless to say, in terms of tactics, as early as before Christmas, the team began to do targeted training, and the last game against Derby County was also used as an 'advance rehearsal' to familiarize the team with the style of play and rhythm, in short, Manchester City was very well prepared for the game.

It can also be seen from here that Manchester City attach importance to the game.

It's like a lot of multimedia to say, "This is a game that could decide the league title", the situation is not so serious, but it will definitely affect the league standings, Manchester City only need to lose the game, no, as long as it draws, it is likely to be overtaken by Chelsea and fall to second in the league.

They've experienced the benefits of being first in the league, they've experienced the beauty of standing on the top of a mountain, and naturally no one wants to fall back in, which is not a good feeling.

There is no doubt about the importance of the game to the team, which has gone far beyond the average league.

Those Manchester City media have advertised the game as the 'England North and South War of the new century', England's 'North and South War' used to be the match between Manchester United and Arsenal, but now it has changed, the best league performance is Chelsea and Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal are in London, Manchester City and Manchester United are in Manchester, and the game between the two teams just replaces the original 'North and South War'.

Of course, on this point, Manchester United and Arsenal fans will certainly not admit it.

But what they think doesn't matter because there is more media attention to the game, which means more fans around the world who are paying attention to the game, and obviously the rise of Chelsea and Manchester City has attracted the attention of the whole world, the 'new' and strong of both teams, and it has attracted more fans.

On the morning of the match, the Manchester Stadium was already full of people, and there was a sea of people all around the stadium. It's like coming late and not being able to get into the stadium. Many of them don't have tickets, they come to experience the excitement or they want to cheer on their supporters up close.

By this time, the buses of Chelsea and Manchester City had already driven into the stadium.

The entire Chelsea squad stepped off the bus in turn, looking left and right at the pitch and feeling the familiar warmth.

They all had serious faces.

It's not nervousness. It's serious, the game is important for Manchester City, it's important for Chelsea as well, so they take it very seriously.

But they were full of faith.

Despite City's good results, the Chelsea players still recognise the quality of their team, and the feeling about Manchester United is generally like, "their luck is good" or "their coach is good", and they still recognize the ability to win, but many Chelsea players have it in their heads. The impression of Manchester City is still the same as Keegan's team last season.

As the manager, Mourinho has repeatedly reminded them to take their opponents seriously and pay attention to them, but many of them don't take it to heart, or because it doesn't matter at all - anyway, when it comes to the game, just do what the coach tells them to do.

In fact, Mourinho is also confident in the game.

Although he struggled to take advantage of Wan Sheng, Chelsea finished second in the league. City are still one point behind, but he still thinks the team can win away from home.

He has studied City's tactics carefully.

Compared to Derby County last season. Manchester City's tactical control ability is stronger, passing and receiving the ball and controlling the rhythm, Manchester City have done a very good job, but they also lack the threat of that kind of quick attack, there is no way to compare which is better, it depends on the strength and play.

But there is no doubt about it. Chelsea's tactics were to restrain Manchester City.

City's attack is flashy, but attacking is attacking, and the biggest headache is always solid defence, and Chelsea are good at defending, and his team can keep their own half of the pitch tight. As long as we keep the goal in place, Chelsea are invincible.

This is also the reason why Mourinho has always insisted on defending, and the modern football defence wins, as long as the opponent can defend the goal, the opponent will not be at a disadvantage.

A draw may not be the best outcome, but as long as you don't lose, you will have the best chance of winning.

That's Mourinho's philosophy about the outcome of the game.

So after leading the team to the Manchester stadium, Mourinho continued to emphasise in the dressing room, "I've said it many times, but I need to stress it again. We have to pay more attention to the defense and don't give them any chances! It's any chance! ”

"As long as you can do it, we can be invincible!"

“……”

……

At the same time, Wan Sheng was also in the dressing room, announcing the last mobilization before the game, but what he said was different from Mourinho.

"You should all know how the game will be played, so I won't say more." Wan Sheng jumped directly away from the style of play, because he has said many times that the team is very well prepared, and there is no need to repeat it, "What I want to discuss with you is what kind of team we are!" ”

“……？”

Everyone was paying attention, and they were a little unclear about what Wan Sheng was saying.

Wan Sheng glanced around, looked at everyone seriously, and said, "It's the end of December now, and we are ranked first in the league, this is not the Championship, League One, but the Premier League!" In 18 rounds of the league, we won 16 rounds and drew 2 rounds, which is shocking enough in previous years, and this is not to be talked about for the time being, the league is first after 18 rounds, what this means, each of you should know very well. ”

"We qualify for the league title! No, it should be said, we have a good chance of becoming the league champion! The only one who can compete with us is Chelsea! ”

"Do you know what that means?" Without waiting for anyone to answer, Wan Sheng continued, "This means that we are one of the best teams in the league. We don't have European competitions this season, so we can focus all our energy on the league, in this case, as one of the best teams in the league, if we don't win the league yet, what will people say about us? ”

"Look at it! Manchester City, the dark horse of the season......"

"Yes, Dark Horse! At that time, we will not be a strong team, we can only be dark horses, because we did not win the league championship, and the honor will always belong to the champion! ”

"Well, then, I'm going to ask you now. What is the most important thing for us to win the championship? ”

Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Wan Sheng looked at Morris, hoping that this disciple could say something, Morris raised his head and glanced at him, thought about it and stood up and said in doubt, "Is it the mentality?" ”

Wan Sheng smiled with satisfaction.

"That's right. It's the mentality! "To be in the top three in the league will be a quality team, like us, like Chelsea, like Manchester United, but I have to admit that although we are the top of the league, we are not as good as theirs. That's the mentality. ”

"They're big clubs, of course they're title contenders, they're strong teams. We're different, at the beginning of the league, when we were doing well, people would just say we were dark horses, and now a lot of people say that, and some of you probably see it that way. Right? ”

There were a couple of players who didn't notice that they were looking down, and that's exactly what they thought.

"But I'm going to tell you now. We are not dark horses! The dark horse is only a good result for a while, but we will stick to it until the end, so we are also a strong team with the strength to compete for the championship! ”

"I'll repeat again, we're a strong team with the quality to compete for the title!" Wan Sheng almost shouted out this sentence, "You must remember it carefully, keep it in your hearts!" Right now. Repeat, what are we? ”

"It is a strong team that has the strength to compete for the championship......"

A few voices followed.

Wan Sheng frowned dissatisfiedly and shouted loudly, "I didn't hear it, be louder!" ”

"We are also a strong team with the quality to compete for the championship!! The sound has gotten a lot louder.

Wan Sheng nodded with satisfaction. "Very well, you must always remember this sentence......"

Everyone's spirits were lifted a lot.

Everyone knows that Wansheng is inspiring everyone, but Wansheng's words are still very exciting, just like he said, many people thought that the team was a dark horse, they were still working hard for relegation last season, and this season they became a strong contender for the championship, and naturally there are many people who can't adjust their mentality.

But what Wan Sheng said told them that the situation had changed.

The team is no longer a team working hard for relegation, nor is it a dark horse with good results for a while, but a strong team that has the strength to compete for the championship through and through!

It lifts their spirits!

Some people are thinking that they have finally become a 'big club', and with this mentality, they naturally feel excited and look forward to the next game.

……

Before the game, the two sides announced their squads and starting lineups.

Chelsea are nothing special, but they are largely the main players in goal, with the excellent Cech in goal, Patrick Ferreira, William Gallas, John Terry and Del Horno in defence, Claude Makelele, Essien and Frank Lampard in midfield, Joe Cole, Didier Drogba and Darmion Duff up front.

Their formation is still 442, and Mourinho is looking to use the lineup and formation that the team is best at to achieve victory in this away game.

In contrast, Manchester City's starting line-up is a bit of a catch.

It's still the side that matters.

Musampa and David Silva, the duo of the two is the first time to appear, Musampa has only made one substitute appearance for Manchester City since he recovered from injury, he started or played the original position, and David Silva replaced Sinclair as a fullback, which is equivalent to changing lanes left and right.

That's a bit weird.

Very few full-backs can adapt to two positions, because the left and right sides play in much the same way, but the switch between left and right can be very uncomfortable, but David Silva is equivalent to switching sides completely, the question is, can he adapt?

This is very surprising.

Even Sky TV commentator George Woodgate wondered, "How did David Silva change his path?" Will he be able to adapt? ”

But no one knows what Wan Sheng is thinking.

……

The game is about to begin.

David Silva was standing on the pitch and he was getting a lot of attention, with a couple of cameras pointing at him constantly.

When he first came to England, he must have been nervous in that situation, but not anymore.

He's used to the environment.

It's still a bit strange to think back, six months ago he was worried about which club he would be loaned to by Valencia, but now he is on the top stage of the world and playing in a match that has attracted the attention of the whole world.

Now he's the focus of attention.

David Silva kind of knows how he got into focus, as he started in place of Sinclair, but he didn't care too much, and in fact, he played in this position a lot in training on weekdays, which even made him feel that the coach bought himself into Manchester City just to play as an all-round wing-back.

Of course, this is not bad.

Compared to a season in the lower leagues, it is not bad to play the 'first substitute full-back' in the Premier League, but the whole team knows that the manager Wan Sheng likes him - he is a key player for Manchester City.

He can affirm this because he can feel that the coach values him.

It is difficult for other players to get Wansheng's individual guidance, and even most of the time, Wansheng will not appear on the training ground, but he is different, Wansheng told him that as long as there is any doubt, he can come at any time.

On the training ground, other coaches will also pay great attention to him, and in the first few games, Wan Sheng also put him in the starting position in the middle, and even once started for Morris.

By this time, David Silva already knew that the coach was about developing himself into the heart of the team...... The heart of the Premier League's number one team? Seems to be very good!

But at this stage, he is not capable of doing well, so he can only continue to work hard.

He remembered what his coach had said to himself before the game.

"What you need to do is be stable, stable, stable. Do you understand? No matter what position you are in, stability is always the most important thing, just like Lee, why can he be the core? Because he's always the most credible offensively and defensively, you don't have to worry about him being out of position or doing something on impulse. So I'm going to rely on him and the team is going to rely on him. ”

"You're more talented than Lee, you're younger, and your future is bright. I hope you can do your best soon......"

Thinking back to this passage of Wan Sheng, David Silva always feels his blood boiling.

He originally had a lot of respect for Wan Sheng, because Wan Sheng is a champion coach, and he has a set of skills in developing players, he is already very satisfied with coming to Manchester City, but he didn't expect Wan Sheng to attach so much importance to himself.

He's more talented than Lee!

He's younger!

His future is bright!

Thinking of this, David Silva is extremely glad that he chose to join Manchester City in the first place, and he is also lucky that Manchester City can find himself, otherwise, he would still be in one of the lower Spanish teams, right? How can you have the opportunity to stand on the top stage in the world!

Now he has to work hard to repay Wansheng's trust.

He wants to prove that Wansheng is not wrong in valuing himself! (To be continued......)