In the second half, the chaotic battle between the two sides continued, and neither could break the deadlock.

In the 86th minute, Pep Guardiola made a crucial substitution, replacing Mbappe and Zabaleta.

It was a desperate substitution, with an attacking player with little defensive ability and a main full-back.

Pep Guardiola does not seem to be willing to accept the result of a draw and wants to walk away from Anfield.

Mbappe is aware of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders and has been very active on the flanks since he came on the pitch, frequently using his pace to try to eat the opposition full-backs alive and create scoring opportunities.

But if you often walk by the river, how can you not get your shoes wet?

In the second minute of stoppage time, when Manchester City attacked from the side again, the opponent quietly changed its defensive strategy, in addition to sending fullbacks to entangle with Mbappe, Liverpool's defender Emre rushed up and wrapped up Mbappe.

Mbappe obviously didn't expect this, and in a hurry, he failed to protect the ball at his feet and was snatched away by Liverpool's players.

Although Liverpool didn't score or shoot many goals in this game, they could have created goals if they were given the opportunity to counter-attack.

Emre made a tackle and dodged Kevin De Bruyne and found Coutinho on the wing with a long pass.

Coutinho dribbled forward and drew attention before suddenly lobbing the ball into the box.

Wijnaldum, who had plugged in from the other side of the wing, slammed his forehead into the ball as he ran.

The ball bounced off the ground and Navas pounced in the wrong direction and the ball went into the net.

The Liverpool fans in the stands all shouted excitedly!

Lore!

It's a real lore!

Liverpool finally beat the opponent they had always wanted to beat at Anfield – Manchester City!

On the sidelines, Klopp looked particularly excited after Wijnaldum's goal, and excitedly threw a set of punches.

And Pep Guardiola, who was not far from him, had a solemn face, frowning and not knowing what he was thinking.

These photographers are really good at playing, putting such two contrasting head coaches in the same lens, and using the lens language to show fans the completely different situations of the two teams through the huge contrast between the expressions and movements of the two.

Two minutes later, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game.

Guardiola was in a bad mood, but he still packed his suit, walked up to Klopp with a calm face, and congratulated them.

Klopp accepted Guardiola's congratulations with a smile and took the other person's arm to have a deeper conversation.

But at this moment, the news from another stadium made Klopp's good mood disappear for the most part.

Chelsea came back from home to win at Stoke City to make it thirteen wins in a row.

Liverpool managed to snatch the three points from Manchester City's feet, but with Chelsea's winning streak, it didn't seem to make much sense.

When Guardiola learned the news, the expression on his face didn't change much.

After losing to Liverpool, Manchester City have fallen out of the title contenders, and this season's title is likely to be irrelevant to them.

So whether Chelsea have won 13 in a row, or 14 in a row, they don't care, they don't care.

……

Although there is no winter break in the Premier League, playing the first half of the season does not mean they can take a break to catch their breath.

However, Pep Guardiola gradually let go of his mentality after his team was stretched out by Chelsea by double digits.

After leaving Liverpool for Manchester, Pep Guardiola gave his players a day off, while he himself recalibrated his rotation plan for the second half of the season.

Since it is difficult to win the championship this season, don't blindly squeeze the main force, and give more opportunities and time for young players and substitutes to play.

On January 2, in the 20th round of the Premier League at home to Burnley, Pep Guardiola made a major change to the team's starting line-up.

A number of key players, including Lin Quan, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero, were put on the bench, and they were replaced by the team's substitutes and rotation players.

Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane, Son Heung-min and others were all given starts.

Maybe it's because a lot of the team's absolute main players are not there, or maybe it's because the opponent is playing very conservatively.

City's substitutes didn't do well in the first half, finishing a lot of shots but failing to score.

Shortly after the start of the second half, the opponent took advantage of a corner kick opportunity to take the lead.

This made the Manchester City players on the pitch even more anxious, and the result only got worse.

The Manchester City fans who came to the Etihad Stadium did not express any dissatisfaction, but continued to cheer loudly as always, always standing firmly on the side of the team, and being the team's most loyal 12th man.

Pep Guardiola stood on the sidelines, his hands forming a horn and yelling at the players on the pitch who he felt were not playing well, reminding them to play more calmly and patiently.

Although these people are not the main force, they are the substitutes of Manchester City, and the top teams like Manchester City, can their substitutes be weak?

Absolutely not!

Therefore, these players on the field are not good at strength, but they have not put their mentality right and have not fully exerted their strength.

Perhaps Pep Guardiola's shouting had an effect, and in the 62nd minute, Manchester City finally scored.

But it wasn't the men up front who scored, it was full-back Klich.

But the men up front didn't let Pep Guardiola down either, and after Klich's equaliser, the players' mentality calmed down and they got better and better on the pitch.

In the 68th minute of the second half, the Manchester City front trio completed a wonderful combination at the edge of the penalty area, Jesus received a cross from Son Heung-min, headed the ball into the goal.

The score became 2-1 and Manchester City reversed the game.

After seeing the goal, Guardiola finally had a smile on his face.

That's what he wanted to see, and the players lived up to his expectations.

After City took the lead, Pep Guardiola began to make substitutions.

In the 70th minute, Guardiola replaced Son Heung-min and replaced Mbappe.

On the way back from Anfield, Mbappe has been blaming himself for his mistake in the final stage that led to the team's loss, so many people in the team, including the manager, have comforted him, and finally did not leave a psychological shadow in the heart of such a No. 1 genius.

It's good to have that sense of responsibility to the team, but as everyone says, football is a team sport of 11 people, and neither losing nor winning is the fault or credit of any one person.

If you win and go crazy, if you lose, don't take any responsibility on yourself, that will only crush you.

Although the mentality has adjusted, Mbappe has become more desperate on the pitch.

After his 18th birthday last month, Mbappe is now an adult.

The team's big brother, Lin Quan, has already led Manchester City to the Champions League at his age.

And now I still have nothing, so if I don't fight now, when will I wait?

Burnley's players saw that the opponent was young and still a substitute, so they didn't pay much attention to it at first.

But when Mbappe put on a couple of solo performances on the wing, they were dumbfounded.

This guy came out of nowhere, why is the speed so fast, and that smash the ball to change direction, you smash the ball so fast, does it really matter if your knees are okay?

Mbappe doesn't have as much of a rich arsenal as Lin Quan, but he has taken his advantages to the extreme, one word - fast!

As long as the person who is passed by him, he will never try to catch up with him, and the person who defends him head-on will only have one chance, either complete the steal from under my feet or be passed by me.

In the 78th minute, less than 8 minutes after Mbappe came on the field, he scored a goal with his trademark wide break and inward shot, rewriting the score to 3:1.

After the goal, Mbappe suddenly ran to the sideline and bowed to the Manchester City fans in the stands to apologize.

The fans were stunned for a moment, and then erupted in even more enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Mbappe's move made him completely capture the hearts of Manchester City fans.

Pep Guardiola was overjoyed to see Mbappe also score, applauding and saying to the assistant coach: "Go, let those two kids on the bench warm up!" ”

Arteta, the former Arsenal captain who had just joined the Manchester City coaching staff, was stunned for a moment and subconsciously asked:

"Boss, are you talking about those two imps who are not yet 17 years old?"

Guardiola glanced back at the two excited little guys on the bench and patted Arteta on the shoulder with a smile:

"Yes, that's them!"

Well, since the manager has said so, then Arteta doesn't say anything.

He hurried back, found the two, and said to them:

"You still have you, take off your jacket and go to the sidelines to warm up!"

When the young player with a baby face heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Yes, coach!" ”

After that, he ran away, for fear that if he ran one step slower, such a good thing would slip away.

Another tall player couldn't believe it and asked:

"Coach, are we going to play?"

Arteta wasn't sure if Pep Guardiola would let them play, so he said vaguely:

"Hurry up and warm up, you're running out of time!"

As soon as the boy heard this, he immediately stopped being entangled, quickly took off his coat, rushed out, and ran with all his strength faster than the babyface.

"Is there a warm-up like this?"

"This guy, you're too excited, aren't you?"

"Haha, if I'm 16 years old, I'm so excited to know that I'm going to play for a top team!"

On the bench, several main players couldn't help but laugh after seeing the exaggerated actions of the two teenagers.

Guardiola really wasn't joking, and after the two warmed up, in the 82nd minute, the two were substituted together.

Haaland replaces Gabriel Jesus and Foden comes on for Ilkay Gundogan.

Countless reporters at the scene pointed their cameras at the two young players who were about to play, and they were still extremely young.

The duo may not have played for City's first team, but they have already made a name for themselves in the youth team.

Many see them as the hope for the continuation of the Manchester City dynasty, just waiting for them to grow up one day, take over the banner from their predecessors and take it to greater heights.

Both are talented players, but this is their first Premier League game.

Nervousness is certainly inevitable.

The opposing players also seemed to feel that this was an opportunity, so after the two came on the field, they frequently targeted the two.

Haaland is okay, he is a striker, he can't catch the ball in the front court, and he is tall and strong, and the opponent has nothing too good to do with him.

Foden is miserable!

He took over the position of Gundogan's midfielder, and the ball in this position is still very heavy, although after he came on, Manchester City also adjusted the style of play and reduced the ball in the front midfield.

But even so, when he had the ball at his feet, he was still fiercely targeted by the opponent.

Foden is not tall and weighs too much, and it is easy for the opponent to rush up and bump him down.

And once he was knocked down, the football at his feet was naturally lost.

The law enforcement standards of Premier League referees are already very relaxed, and this kind of physical collision, in their opinion, may be just a very ordinary physical confrontation, which is within the normal range, so they will not blow the whistle in most cases.

Foden was already nervous, and with the fact that he was targeted and stealed, he was now even more nervous, and even a little self-blaming.

In this case, Foden's performance has become even worse, and he has even begun to fear physical confrontation.

Pep Guardiola looks, this is worse!

He regretted letting Foden come on too early, this kid is obviously not used to the physical intensity of the Premier League, after all, the youth team does not meet such a ferocious and rough person.

But on second thought, this is the only way for young players like Foden to grow up, and it is impossible to keep them in a greenhouse, right?

If you continue to cultivate like that, even if you are a genius, you can practice for nothing.

Let this guy recognize the reality and know the gap between himself and the players in the professional league, which can spur them to grow and improve more favorably.

Of course, after this match, the next period of time will focus on strengthening their physical confrontation training.

However, we still have to consult the youth director about this matter, maybe they have their own training plan.

The two are too young for Guardiola to take them to the league all the time.

It's enough to let them play once in a while, feel the atmosphere of the game, and accumulate a little experience in the competition.

After they have digested and absorbed what they have learned in the league and have grown, they will be given more opportunities to play and improve their abilities little by little.

Guardiola did these things when he was at Barcelona, and at that time, he really regarded Barcelona as his home and never planned to leave for the rest of his life.

It's a pity that it backfired, and the changes at the top will eventually affect those of them who do things below.

I just hope that this time, there will be such an opportunity at Manchester City!

(End of chapter)