On October 2, the second round of the Champions League group stage began.

In the other game that started in the same group, CSKA Moscow, who was playing at home, narrowly defeated Plzen 3:2 with an own goal gift from the opponent and got three valuable points.

Manchester City will also be watching this game, and if they can't beat Bayern Munich, then CSKA Moscow will be their biggest rivals in the group.

"Doesn't CSKA Moscow look very strong?"

"That's right, if the opponent hadn't sent an own goal, this game would be really hard to say!"

"Don't be careless, it's not time for them to play at home."

"Yes, by the time we play them, the temperature in Moscow will be much cooler than it is now, and everything will be difficult to say at that time!"

Everyone nodded, the Labor Expedition plus the debuff of the weather, this away game is really not easy to play.

"Okay, don't think about it so much, just play our game well, as long as we can win, then we don't have to look at other people's faces, but it will be someone else's turn to look at our face!"

"Yes, by winning Bayern, we can not only qualify, but even replace them as the favorites to win the championship!"

"Haha, the champion can't think about it, it's okay to reach the quarterfinals this year!"

"Don't look down on yourself, our strength, as long as we don't meet those top teams in the knockout round, there is still a great hope of entering the quarterfinals!"

There are several games in the spotlight in this round of Champions League fixtures.

In the group of death, Arsenal's home game against Napoli, the match between Paris and Benfica in Group C, and the match between Porto and Atletico Madrid are all the kind of games that all parties think are more balanced before the game and the outcome of the game is difficult to predict.

Moreover, these games also have a great impact on the qualifying situation of their respective groups, and whoever can defeat their direct competitors in a strong duel will be able to grasp the initiative to qualify.

However, compared to these games, the matchup between Manchester City and Bayern Munich is obviously more attractive.

There are a lot of things to watch in this game, first of all, both teams have a large number of stars.

Someone calculated based on the data of the German transfer market that if the value of the players of the two teams is combined, the total value will exceed 1 billion euros.

This figure is very exaggerated, and it also reflects how luxurious the line-ups of the two teams are.

Secondly, it is a showdown between the rich and the nouveau riche.

Bayern Munich is an established giant in the Bundesliga, while Manchester City is the new Premier League rule.

One has decades of strong heritage, the other has just risen, and the honor book is blank.

Such two teams can be seen as a collision between the old and new forces in today's football.

Is it the traditional giants who are better with their deeper heritage, or the new rules of football that overturn the giants with strong financial resources?

This is one of the highlights of the competition!

In addition to this, there is another attraction:

This is the first duel between the father and son of Pep Guardiola and Lin Quan in an official match, and people are curious to see who will have the last laugh between the two.

"It must be Pep Guardiola, do you need to say that?"

"That is, what is the strength of Bayern, what is the strength of Manchester City, can this be compared?"

"Bayern's main framework this season has basically not been moved, and it has also strengthened Gotze, Thiago and others, plus Pep Guardiola, a famous football coach, their strength may be stronger than last season, I don't know how they will lose?"

In the pre-match online poll, the majority of fans supported Bayern's victory.

Objectively, Bayern is significantly stronger.

And in the Champions League, Bayern are also more experienced.

Manchester City have only played in the Champions League three times, and the first two times did not even qualify for the group stage, so they are far from the Champions League winners in terms of experience.

However, Manchester City are not completely unsupported here.

"Optimistic about Lin Huang, he can lead the team to overthrow Bayern in Werder and Bremen, and there is no reason why he can't go to Manchester City!"

"That's right, although Bayern is very strong, but football is round, strong teams may not be able to win, last season's Champions League group stage, Bayern also lost to Borisov Bart!"

"And there is also a very important point, after Guardiola coached Bayern, Bayern's technical and tactical play was adjusted, but there was not enough time, and the team did not fully achieve the state he wanted, which may be a weakening for Bayern, so Bayern may not be as strong as we imagined!"

In general, although there are people who support Manchester City, there are still relatively few people who support Manchester City.

And Spinach also opened a handicap before the game, and the initial handicap reference they gave was Manchester City's home handicap, which was obviously more optimistic about Bayern's away win.

Affected by this, the outside world is even more optimistic about Manchester City.

After all, the spinach company eats this bowl of rice, and it must be much more professional than ordinary fans.

……

An hour and a half before the game, Manchester City and Bayern Munich buses departed from Carrington's training base almost simultaneously and headed for the Etihad Stadium.

The street leading to the stadium was almost crowded with Manchester City fans in sky-blue jerseys.

"Kick them well, you must take them!"

"Lin, come on, let them know how good you are!"

"Aguero, score a few more goals, don't be polite to them!"

The fans shouted all kinds of cheering slogans to cheer for the players.

In fact, it can be seen from the expressions on their faces that Manchester City fans are also nervous.

Fans are well aware that this game may be the most important game of the season for Manchester City.

If they can't win this home stadium, they will most likely follow in the footsteps of the previous two years and fall in the Champions League group stage again.

As a result, countless fans have rushed to support the team, hoping to help the team win this victory.

The enthusiasm and anticipation of the fans made the Manchester City players feel an invisible pressure.

Tension began to creep in the team.

After arriving at the court, the players changed their clothes and equipment, and silently walked to the court for a pre-match warm-up.

Fans were also entering the stadium at this time, and the Etihad Stadium was dyed blue, and only a small red area could be seen on the side of the away team's stands, which was the 3,000 Bayern fans who accompanied the team.

It's also difficult for them, and the football hooligans in England are famous.

They are watching from the side, and if they are not careful, they may clash with the fans of the home team, and if the two sides fight each other, the number of fans at Bayern is too small, and they are likely to suffer a big loss.

Of course, UEFA is also prepared for this, with a large number of security personnel coming to the scene of this game, and there are also police patrols and guards outside the stadium.

The existence of such a group of football hooligans not only poses a threat to the law and order of Manchester, but also brings face damage to the United Kingdom, so they have always cracked down on this kind of behavior.

At 19:40, the players of both sides, under the leadership of the referee, led the caddie and stepped into the field.

Before the game even started, the Etihad Stadium was already playing Manchester City's anthem – Blue Moon.

The rhythm of this song is not passionate and passionate at all, but has a soothing and tender feeling.

But at this time, with this tender and soothing melody, the impetuousness and nervousness in the hearts of Manchester City players are being leveled out little by little.

They pursed their lips and sang softly.

The players held hands and formed a circle.

No high-fives, no slogans.

Only the song flowed slowly.

Beep!

A loud whistle sounded.

The race is on!

"The game officially started, wearing a blue jersey on the field, attacking from left to right was the home team Manchester City; Attacking from right to left in a red jersey is the visiting team Bayern. ”

In the CCTV studio, He Wei cheered up, and this long-awaited focus showdown finally started.

While looking through the starting lists of the two teams, he opened his mouth and introduced:

"Before this game, both teams had the same points and goal difference, so this game is also the top spot in Group D."

"That's right, so it's a big game for both teams!"

Xu Yang hurriedly agreed.

"Let's take a look at the starting line-ups of both teams, Pellegrini has Rihards in the backline, presumably to limit the play of Ribery, the heart of Bayern."

'Franck Franck Ribery's performance in the Champions League last season was evident and I don't think anyone who takes Bayern lightly is to take him lightly.

"That's right, it's the same on Bayern's side, midfielder Martinez started the game, and Guardiola probably used him to limit Lin Quan!"

"Hehe, Heynckes has also used this trick before, and the effect is not too good, I don't know if Guardiola has any hidden tricks."

"Manchester City's defensive arrangement today is very cautious, after the opening did not rashly attack, looking at their formation, it is estimated that they do not plan to fight with Bayern to possess the ball, but to focus on defense and counterattack, catch the opponent's mistakes."

"It wasn't surprising for Bayern that Pep Guardiola's side put up a strikerless lineup."

"That's what he did when he was at Barcelona, but Bayern is not Barcelona, so it remains to be seen whether this tactic will be successful here at Bayern."

"It was thought that Pep Guardiola might find stability in such a strong matchup and continue to use the mature tactics of the Heynckes era, but obviously, everyone guessed wrong, and Guardiola did not adopt conservative tactics because of the importance of this game."

"It's the exact opposite of Mourinho!"

"Both teams have a good record in the league at the moment, Bayern are unbeaten with five wins and one draw, and Manchester City are currently on a six-game winning streak, so it can be said that both teams are in their best form at the moment."

"However, it is worth noting that Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini has not tasted a win in eight meetings with Pep Guardiola in eight meetings, seven defeats and one draw, of course, this is related to the strength of the team coached by the two, but it can also reflect that there may be a certain restraint between the coaching styles of the two."

"Hehe, this doesn't seem to be good news for Manchester City!"

On the sidelines, in the home team's dugout, Pellegrini's expression looked a little nervous.

The commentator is not right, he was in charge of Real Madrid in the 2009-2010 season, and Real Madrid were beaten home and away by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona.

Pellegrini has always been very jealous of this rising star in the coaching world.

This is the main reason why he chose to play defensive counter-attacking tactics at home.

With Manchester City's current defensive level, playing against Pep Guardiola's team, I really don't know how to write dead words!

In the opening stage, both sides were testing each other, and the offensive between them was not large.

In the fifth minute, Sergio Aguero's long-range shot was saved by Manuel Neuer and City were awarded a corner.

Lin Quan walked to the corner kick area, took a few steps back, and glanced at Bayern's penalty area.

Bayern's defenders are tall and strong, and the few strikers on Manchester City's side have struggled to grab points.

So instead of looking for a striker, he sent the ball back and prepared for captain Vincent Kompany to head the ball into the net.

Lin Quan's corner found Kompany, but the latter's header was directly confiscated by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Neuer didn't delay after getting the ball, ran out of the goal quickly, and threw the ball to a teammate on the wing with one hand.

The goal was for Ribery, who was very empty at the back and could drive straight into the ball and pose a threat to City's goal.

But fortunately, Richards concentrated and grabbed this landing point, pushed the ball out of the sideline, and defused Bayern's counterattack.

Manuel Pellegrini applauded Richards' clearance from the sidelines, although it looked like Ribery was still a long way from City's goal and felt less dangerous.

But if Ribery does get the ball, once he picks up the ball, it's not worth mentioning at all.

After five minutes of probing, Bayern sounded the horn of a big attack.

From this time on, the likes of Ribery, Robben and Muller all began to become active.

In the seventh minute of the first half, after Bayern Munich fell in the middle of the field in succession, their defender Raphinha suddenly sent a long ball down the right flank.

The ball was very precise and found Ribery in front of him.

Ribery waited for a moment after receiving the ball, took advantage of the change of tempo to get past the City players who came up, and then quickly cut inside with the ball.

At the same time, Muller and Robben both stepped forward, and Bayern fired three arrows in front, and for a while there was a lot of noise in the Manchester City penalty area.

Ribery glanced in the direction of his team-mates and looked ready to pass the ball, but suddenly volleyed.

Joe Hart didn't expect the opposition to hit the near corner, and was unprepared to make a hasty save.

Although he touched the ball, Ribery's shot was so powerful that Joe Hart's fingertips couldn't poke the ball out, only to watch the ball fly into the net.

Bayern 1-0 Manchester City!

Franck Franck Ribery took the lead on the road with a cold shot.

Ribery was so excited after the goal that he rushed to the stands where the visiting fans were and celebrated his goal with a slide.

As a key player in Bayern's Champions League triumph, in the absence of major tournaments such as the European Championship and the World Cup, there are rumors that he has a chance to win this year's Ballon d'Or.

Needless to say, the Ballon d'Or is attractive to the players, and Ribery is naturally looking forward to it.

After five years of monopoly by the peerless Ballon d'Or, if he can win the Ballon d'Or, then his fame will be greatly enhanced, and he will truly become a top superstar comparable to Melo.

However, the outside world is just rumors now, and before the Golden Globe Awards are awarded, no one knows who will win this year's Golden Globes.

So for Ribery, he must show as much as possible before the Golden Globe Awards are awarded, so as to impress the judges, increase his votes, and beat the competition!

And leading the team to kill all sides in the Champions League is obviously the best means!

(End of chapter)