The big game between Chelsea and Manchester City is getting closer and closer, and not only fans of the Premier League, but also fans of many other leagues seem to be very interested in this English league match.

After all, it is a duel between Pep Guardiola and Mourinho's coaching team.

Although both are no longer in La Liga, their coaching style has not changed, and the matchup between Chelsea and Manchester City is also regarded by many La Liga fans as a weakened version of the "national derby".

Coupled with the official publicity of the Premier League.

Therefore, before the start of this Premier League battle, many fans of major leagues have memorized the date and time of the start of the game, and they are waiting to enjoy this audio-visual feast on time.

On February 1, the 24th round of the Premier League officially began.

Newcastle and Sunderland completed their early opening fixtures of the league round.

Over the next two days, all 18 Premier League teams played nine of their league games.

There were a number of upsets in the middle and lower reaches of the league, such as Sunderland's 3-0 win over the Magpies and Tigers' strong draw with Tottenham. Everton were held to a draw by Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion drew at home to Liverpool......

The arrival of the FA Cup and the tightening of the fixture schedule after the 23rd round of the Premier League have affected most of the Premier League's top eight teams.

However, this phenomenon did not cause panic among the Chelsea players, on the contrary, the whole Chelsea were happy because of the situation.

After all, they had voluntarily abandoned the FA Cup, so Chelsea have benefited from the fact that other Premier League teams have been hampered by recent tight fixtures.

The rest of the teams were affected, but Chelsea were able to prepare and recuperate, and the two sides naturally extended Chelsea's advantage in the league.

And their league rivals Manchester City, who will face each other in this round of the league, have also been affected by the FA Cup tie.

After Manchester City played the FA Cup fourth round against Watford with a semi-main squad on 25 January, they went to battle Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on the evening of 29 January.

The two games in quick succession took a lot of physical energy from City's first team and the rotation players.

And they were given less than five days of recuperation.

Therefore, even if they have the advantage of playing against Chelsea at home, this part of the physical disadvantage consumed by Manchester City cannot be easily compensated.

Reflected in the fans of both teams, their respective emotional mentalities are completely different.

Manchester City fans, although confident because of their recent excellent results, are very worried about the fitness of their players after watching the last round of the 5-3 Tottenham Hotspur match.

And the Chelsea fans are very relieved of their main players.

After all, after the 22nd round of the league, all of Chelsea's main players did not consume the slightest bit of fitness in the EFL Cup and FA Cup.

The recuperation time between the 22nd and 23rd rounds of the Premier League is a full 10 days!

Chelsea's main players took four days off and played West Ham United in the 23rd round, which Chelsea won comfortably.

Compared to Manchester City's fixtures, Chelsea's side cannot be described as relaxed.

The game against West Ham United seemed like a warm-up game for Chelsea, a warm-up before the big game at the top of Manchester City.

So when they arrived at the Etihad Stadium on match day, thousands of Chelsea fans looked relaxed?

They are confident but not arrogant, and it may be their calm and calm attitude that makes tens of thousands of Manchester City fans on the scene a little nervous.

As the players warmed up in the pitch, Mourinho was still reflecting on what Pep Guardiola said at Manchester City's pre-match press conference yesterday:

"Jose and I are old friends and rivals, I played against him in the Champions League before he even came to La Liga, and when he came to La Liga, there were countless duels between us.

So we know each other very well, and we can even say that we are friends and rivals who know each other best.

Our first meeting with Chelsea this season ended in defeat and that's an undeniable fact and we will certainly be better prepared for the second leg.

Tactical hole cards? No, there are no tactical hole cards, as I said, Jose and I know each other very well, and there is no possibility that we can play tactical hole cards between us......"

Mourinho thought about it again, but his mouth was whispering.

"..."

Pep Guardiola agrees with one thing, and that is that they do know each other very well.

What tactics is he good at? They all know what Pep Guardiola is good at, so when it comes to tactical hole cards, it is indeed very likely that they do not exist.

Because they will do a lot of relevant tactical plans for each other, very detailed tactical plans.

But to say that the game will lose all the tactical suspense, it is that Guardiola is deliberately misleading the group of reporters, and he is also deliberately misleading himself.

It's one thing to have no more curious tactics.

But among the tactics that the two of them have played, picking out a set of tactics that most surprised the other party is another thing that is likely to happen.

That's true for Pep Guardiola and so is for Jose Mourinho.

After all, there are too many games between them, Mourinho was only in his first season at Real Madrid, Real Madrid lost badly, but then Pep Guardiola's Barcelona was suppressed.

The two faced off, and they had played too many routines, winning and losing each other, and there were also some draws.

Jose Mourinho had to admit that when he played Pep Guardiola for the first time in the Premier League this season, Leon's sudden outburst brought him a great surprise.

It was precisely because of Leon's sudden explosive play that Chelsea's easy victory far exceeded his pre-match expectations.

However, the player's individual outburst cannot be counted in the tactical design, so Mourinho was not as easy as he appeared before this game.

Pep Guardiola's current Manchester City side is not easy to play.

Because now this Manchester City team is much stronger defensively than Barcelona in La Liga.

Mourinho could have attacked the wings, avoided Barca's dominating midfield, and crushed Barcelona with high balls and Ronaldo's individual ability.

That is also taking advantage of Barcelona's inability to defend against high-altitude balls.

But now Manchester City, although the midfield control is far less than Barcelona in the previous two seasons, in the defensive end, this Manchester City is neither afraid of ground balls nor high-altitude balls.

Their defence is both strong and balanced, and Manchester City have defended well throughout the Premier League. Probably the same as Arsenal, second only to Chelsea.

The only flaw can only be said to be Joe Hart.

By now, perhaps the vast majority of fans in the world have not been able to figure out why Joe Hart likes to make small mistakes when he has excellent goal-line skills.

This flaw of his also allows him to always drop the chain when defending long-range shots and shooting by surprise.

However, with the lesson of the defeat in the last duel under Leon's long-range shot, Mourinho does not believe that Guardiola will continue to suffer such losses.

It is conceivable that in this big battle, Guardiola will definitely focus on protecting the front of his penalty area.

So to be on the safe side, Mourinho has little hope of continuing to take advantage of Manchester City on long-range shots.

It is reflected in the tactics he arranged today, that is, defending the wings, counter-attacking and pushing the middle line, and then splitting the ribs to play the ball in the Manchester City penalty area.

Leon stepped in and Ibrahimovic in the box to form a double finish, and the scoring threat had to be completed in the Manchester City penalty area.

Long-range shots can be a secondary attacking tool, but they won't be Chelsea's primary attacking tool today.

Mourinho's side was still imagining whether there were any mistakes in the tactics laid out before today's game, and the players on both sides soon finished their pre-match warm-ups.

After entering the last mobilization link before the game, Mourinho and Guardiola, neither of them spent too much time explaining tactics.

After all, the pre-match preparations have been done, and now is the time to decompress the players.

Shortly around 8pm local time, players from Manchester City and Chelsea began to follow the referee onto the pitch.

And in the cold winter night of Manchester, the fans of both teams created an unusually hot atmosphere.

As soon as Leon, who wore Chelsea's white away No.10 shirt, appeared, he saw Pep Guardiola sitting in the dugout in a trance.

With an almost pure white jersey, pure white pants and socks gloves, and black stripes on the shoulders, at first glance Guardiola thought he had seen the familiar Real Madrid lion again.

However, the big three-star letter on the chest of Chelsea's away shirt finally brought Pep Guardiola back to his senses.

"Today's Chelsea away team shirt is a bit familiar, and it looks particularly suitable for Leon~"

"I've been wearing it for two and a half years, can that be inappropriate? Everyone looked familiar. ”

In the studio of Sina Sports, Zhan Jun and Coach Zhang once again partnered up to comment on the Premier League's focus battle for domestic fans.

After the two joked, they also quickly explained to the domestic audience the recent points situation and results of Chelsea and Manchester City.

In fact, Chelsea and Manchester City have long had a relatively deep fan base in China.

A large part of Chelsea's domestic fan base comes from Jose Mourinho's debut as a manager.

Manchester City, not to mention, the team played by the Chinese Sun was also a team that was deeply concerned by domestic Premier League fans in that era.

The two teams already have a relatively strong fan base in China, coupled with the absolute viewing factor of Li Ang, Sina Sports in the early hours of this morning is destined to set off a ratings frenzy.

In the middle of the night in Huaguo, which was close to 4 o'clock in the morning, accompanied by Zhan Jun's familiar introduction voice.

After the opening ceremony, the players from both Chelsea and Manchester City were already standing in their respective halves, waiting for the game to begin.

'Chelsea played 433 today and the starting goalkeeper was Czech international Petr Cech.

At the back:

Bertrand at left-back, John Terry and David Luiz at centre-back, and Cesar Azpilicueta at right-back.

In midfield, Nemanja Matic played as a lone midfielder, with Leon and Frank Lampard on the left and right flanks of midfield.

Eden Hazard on the left, De Bruyne on the right, Ibrahimovic on the centre. ”

'Manchester City started in a four-two-three-one formation today.

The starting goalkeeper was England international Joe Hart.

At the back, left-back Kolarov, centre-back Nastasic and Vincent Kompany, right-back Zabaleta.

In midfield, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho played in the back two, with Cesc Fabregas starting in front today, followed by David Silva and Jesús Navas on the left and right wings respectively.

Center Dzeko. ”

As soon as Zhan Jun's voice fell, the referee on duty today also blew the whistle directly.

The second half of the Premier League 2013~2014 season has officially begun!

Manchester City, who kicked off first, were the same as usual. Cesc Fabregas had possession of the ball and sought steady control at the back with Yaya Toure.

In the past, Cesc Fabregas did it with Fernandinho.

But after Rea Toure recently had to bow to Pep Guardiola, the Ivory Coast superstar midfielder has also regained his chance to start.

In the first few league and cup games, Yaya Toure played very well at the back.

He and Cesc Fabregas were able to complete the tactical tasks assigned by Pep Guardiola.

As long as Yaya Toure isn't pumping, the midfield duo of him and Cesc Fabregas is one of the Premier League's top midfield combinations.

The Premier League's strongest midfield duo right now is, of course, Lianga Matic, and in terms of attack alone, they may be slightly inferior to Cesc Fabregascar's Yaya Toure duo.

But when it comes to the balance of attack and defense, in the entire Premier League, Leanga Matic is the absolute first level.

However, Manchester City played patiently today and were not in a hurry to attack after the opening, which made the defensive net laid out by Leon and Nemanja Matic in the middle useless.

At first, Mourinho thought that Guardiola was using his previous style of passing, advancing from back to front, layer by layer, layer by layer.

So Mourinho was also very patient, and he did not signal his disciples to put pressure on Manchester City in a hurry.

Leon also made tactical gestures for Frank Lampard to drop back first, and in his own half he and Nemanja Matic stuck City's possible route of passing and penetration.

Personally, he went deep into the heart of the opposition to test City's possession intensity today.

With Leon leading Eden Hazard and De Bruyne to put pressure on Manchester City's playmakers at the back, according to common sense, Manchester City can usually try to pass the ball forward at this time.

But City didn't do that today, with David Silva and Keylor Navas not getting up to Chelsea's slightly empty flanks ready to pick up the ball.

Instead, the two of them retreated to the flank areas of several halves to meet Cesc Fabregas and Yaya Toure to further strengthen their own half's control of the ball.

This resolute possession made Mourinho frown.

Not only did he recall what Pep Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference.

"Do you really have any tactical hole cards?"

Mourinho was a little unconvinced, and the game had only been played for less than five minutes at the moment, so Mourinho could only continue to watch patiently.

He wants to see what kind of medicine is being sold in the gourd by Guardiola playing pass control in his own half so abnormally today!

Leon was in no hurry on the pitch because now it was just him and two wingers, plus an Ibrahimovic at most, to put defensive pressure on City's half.

This kind of pressing, even if you can't grab the ball, it's not a loss.

With Nemanja Matic and Frank Lampard at the back, Manchester City is playing no tricks, and his wingers will be defended one-on-one by Matic or Lampard for the first time.

And now that the three players in the middle of Manchester City are all honestly staying under their noses, Leon doesn't believe it, in terms of speed, can Yaya Toure and Cesc Fabregas be faster than him?

Li Ang still has such self-confidence.

But he never expected it. When Manchester City deliberately slowed down the speed of passing, and the pressure on Chelsea's side also slowed down appropriately, Lampard suddenly appeared in his field of vision!

Leon felt bad in his heart, but before he could shout a reminder to Lampard to retreat, Cesc Fabregas had already sent a diagonal through ball to the ground!

Cesc Fabregas didn't play a long pass straight forward, but gave the ball to Manchester City's high school striker Dzeko, whose pass was aimed at Manchester City's left-back Kolarov, who was determined to move forward on his chance!

Previously, when Frank Lampard was guarding the right side of Chelsea's half, Kolarov was very honest and showed no signs of stepping forward.

But just after Frank Lampard crossed the halfway line and wanted to get involved in the pressure on Manchester City. Kolarov immediately used his decisive forward insertion to catch Chelsea off guard!

Skimming past Kevin De Bruyne to receive the ball, there was no Chelsea player in front of him to make the first interception.

Frank Lampard lost his defensive position and Nemanja Matic had to be in the middle of the pack at this point, so he had to drop back with John Terry and David Luiz to set up the defence in front of the box.

Azpilicueta had no choice but to press forward to intercept Kolarov, but it was at this time that Kolarov sent a long pass forward!

The ball sliced through the air in a flat trajectory before falling straight into Dzeko's control.

David Luiz immediately gave up the pullback and Dzekoka position.

His decisive defence made it impossible for Dzeko to easily control the ball and turn around, only to keep the ball on the right side of Manchester City with his back to it.

Jesús Navas was already plugged in at high speed, and after receiving Dzeko's ball, he did not hesitate to force an overtake and make a gesture to break through Bertrand's bottom.

Bertrand had no choice but to stick to Navas as soon as possible and force him to slow down.

But Keylor Navas's subsequent backheel knock failed Bertrand's defence!

Zabaleta, like Kolarov, was very resolute in the counterattack, and Navas's strong attack looked more like a feint, and the real threat point was Zabaleta who stepped forward!

The Manchester City winger, who played the first right-back in the Premier League last season, raised his foot and sent a big slash pass directly!

The ball clung to the turf in a wonderful arc, and Dzeko and Terry couldn't reach it at the front point.

And at the back post, seeing Kolarov rush into the Chelsea penalty area, he was about to complete the goal-catching shot!

As a result, a white figure narrowly fell to the ground before Kolarov and stabbed the ball to destroy it, and stabbed the ball directly to Cech in front of the Chelsea goal!

This time the defense was extremely bold.

If there is no tacit understanding between the player who fell to the ground and destroys the football and Petr Cech, it is likely to result in an own goal.

Fortunately, Cech's attention had been focused until now, and the defender yelled at Cech to pay attention when he did a defensive disrupt.

So the Czech international finally held the ball in his arms very neatly!

Guardiola went from a state of readiness to jump, to the last kneeling and hugging his head in frustration, and between his mood, he glared fiercely at Leon, who had just gotten up from the turf.

Yes, it was Leon who completed the chase tackle just now!

Frank Lampard, who had previously lost his position, also breathed a sigh of relief at this time, and hurriedly stepped forward to pull Leon up from the turf, and kept apologizing and thanking him.

Leon just patted Lampard's arm and didn't say anything more.

Frank Lampard didn't come from a defensive midfield after all, and he has tried his best to switch to a back midfield this season, so it's normal to make a little defensive mistake once in a while.

However, Manchester City's performance today surprised Leon.

In the past, Mourinho's team played Guardiola's counterattack, but today Guardiola used his novel tactics to teach Mourinho a lesson!

And the Chelsea players who had just been threatened to fight back were all looking at each other at this time.

"Suffered, they fought back against us, and we became stand-ins today!"

(End of chapter)