Chapter 1006: Glorious Determination
Regardless of whether this game is regarded as the first game of Manchester City's unbeaten streak of 50 games, Manchester City finally got a win and avoided the embarrassment of two consecutive league defeats.
However, after the game, their performance still attracted a lot of criticism from the media.
The media believe that Manchester City's struggle to win against a team of Stoke's caliber is enough to show how bad the team's form is, and if they continue to do so, they could still lose. You can't think you're out of trouble just because you've won at Stoke City, a team of Stoke City's calibre can cause so much trouble for Manchester City, let alone other teams?
"If it weren't for Rong, Manchester City would have won this game, not to mention a draw. Therefore, the victory in this game can not make all Manchester City fans breathe a sigh of relief, because winning is not a reflection of Manchester City's normal strength, they rely on one person - Rong! Of course, they can rely on Rong to win this game, but can they rely on Rong for every next game? ”
This article was published in the North London Clarion and was written by George Allen.
Obviously, George Allen won't be so lightly defeated.
However, in the 24th round of the league, Manchester City beat Portsmouth 2-0 at home, which seemed to make George Allen's comments a joke.
In this game, Manchester City's form is much better than the previous one, and the two goals and glory are not related.
It seems to prove that Manchester City is not a team that only knows how to rely on glory.
However, in the next round of the league, Manchester City drew 1-1 with Hull City away from home.
If it weren't for the glory, Manchester City would have lost this time.
Glory stepped up to save the team.
So it looks like George Allen is right – Manchester City are a team that can only rely on glory. If it weren't for the glory, they would never have gotten the rankings and points they have now.
Not only that, but Manchester City also folded two players in the game.
One is centre-back Vincent Kompany, who strained his thigh muscle during the game and needs to rest for a month.
The other injured player was Sneijder, who was at the heart of the team's midfield, with a slightly lighter injury and a contusion to his right little finger, but also needed to rest for at least two weeks.
Injuries and winless spells have put City in a bad place right now.
After being held to a draw away by Hull City, Manchester City are in jeopardy at the top of the league. They are now level on points by Chelsea.
The two sides are tied on 63 points, with Manchester City only relying on goal difference to temporarily sit in first place.
But that's not an advantage anymore.
Because Chelsea's goal difference is also good, Manchester City's goal difference is now 46 goals, and Chelsea's goal difference is 40, which is only six goals short.
For a while, the media was full of discussion and criticism about Manchester City's precarious form during this period.
George Allen of the North London Clarion wrote triumphantly in his article: "...... Obviously, City are out of the question, their players are a little tired after a series of campaigns, Benitez has not made a large rotation in order to maximize the quality of this team, and his starting line-up in the league is relatively fixed except for the FA Cup. This will certainly allow the team to maintain a stable state and achieve good results. But at the same time, it can make the players feel tired.
The injuries that have come with Manchester City now are proof of that. If Benitez continues to be so obsessed, Manchester City will collapse sooner or later! ”
In fact, George Allen is right, Manchester City are really tired right now. After a busy Christmas, the team has not had much chance to rest. In the month since the start of January, City have played five league games, two FA Cup games, and three of the four weeks have been double-ties.
Even if the Manchester City players are iron-clad, they can't stand it at this time.
It was clear in the game that City's players were unable to run, and there were opportunities that they could easily catch up with if they had been replaced, but now they could only watch the football roll off the touchline or be picked up by the opposition.
There has been a physical bottleneck for City's players.
Rafa Benitez is well aware of the team's problems, on the one hand, hunger for wins is declining, and on the other hand, because the team is too tired.
Hunger can be rediscovered, but team fatigue is hard to solve.
He will only be able to use the rotation for the next Manchester City vs Bolton Wanderers league game to rest more of his main players.
But he can't guarantee the team's results in this way......
Rongguang has just released a bold statement that he wants to set a zào undefeated record, and the team has encountered such a problem, and Benitez is actually quite helpless.
He doesn't even think about being unbeaten now, and he can win the league this season.
Now, if Chelsea wants to overtake, I also hope that they will not be left too far behind, so that they can only chase after the team's physical fitness has adjusted.
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Next, Manchester City host Bolton.
It's the twentieth round of the league and three days later in midweek, Manchester City host Stoke City, this time in the FA Cup.
Stoke City came close to toppling Manchester City in the league and they must have even more ideas in the FA Cup.
Manchester City will face a lot of resistance.
Ahead of the game against Bolton, Rafael Benitez announced his team's starting XI and 18-man squad for the game.
The media saw that in this starting list, there were quite a few substitutes.
Sneijder was replaced by Elano, while Gareth Barry was replaced by Ireland, while Uruguayan centre-back Godin was replaced by injured centre-back Vincent Kompany. Left-back Leighton Barnes was brought off by Sun Hai.
In addition, there are also rotations in some other positions.
The original main players, except for a few people, were all rested, either on the bench or not even on the bench.
Of course, the glory is certainly not rotated.
No one in the rotation will rotate him, not because of his outstanding strength and core players, but because his physical fitness is very good. He was the best player in the Manchester City squad in the previous games, and he was able to sprint at high speeds even towards the end of the game.
With such a watch, there is naturally no reason to replace him.
And this game has almost become a one-man show for Glory.
Although the other Manchester City players are also not bad, although they are not very eye-catching, there are always rules and regulations. It's better than the last game when he was out of shape at all.
But the glorious table is better - in comparison with his own table in the previous game.
Just 17 minutes into the game, Rong Guang took the lead in scoring against Bolton.
“1:0! Glory! He helped Manchester City take the lead! Taking the lead so early is a relief for many worried Manchester City fans! Regardless of the other players' performances, Rong will always be their most trusted player! ”
"This is Young's twentieth league goal of the season! In the twenty-sixth round of the league, he has already scored twenty league goals! He is the strongest contender for the league's Golden Boot this season! ”
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Glory's goal not only reassured the Manchester City fans in the stands, but also reassured the Manchester City players.
Next, their table is better than before.
With the cheers of their home fans, they took full control of the situation on the field.
In the 61st minute, Rongguang scored again for the team, rewriting the score to 2:0.
"Rong! It's Rong again! Two goals ahead! Manchester City's game is stable! ”
The deafening cheers of Manchester City fans resounded over the Manchester City Stadium.
When the team is not on the right foot, they can express their dissatisfaction with any player in the Manchester City squad, even with the Manchester City coaching staff and the club's hierarchy.
But they will never show the slightest dissatisfaction with the glory.
Because the glorious table xiàn deserves their special treatment.
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In the end, Manchester City beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 at their home stadium, and Benitez relied on the substitutes to cope with the game, and with a brilliant performance of glory, he finally managed to get through it.
And after the game, there was good news.
Chelsea played Everton 2-1 away in this round of the league!
They lost!
It was meant to be level on points, but now Chelsea are three points behind.
A few weeks ago, Manchester City fans were cursing at Everton, and now they are cheering for Everton, football is just that......
Manchester City reopened the gap with Chelsea thanks to their victories and Chelsea's mistakes.
This is great news for them.
Because it won't be long before the Champions League knockout rounds come in.
Leading the league table helps them to face the knockout stages of the Champions League with a relatively calm mindset, so that they don't have to suffer from gains and losses.
After the game, Benitez praised the team's watch, fully affirming the substitutes.
As for Glory, he said bluntly: "He has maintained his usual level and is a reassuring player. ”
Although there are not many words, the evaluation is very high.
With glory, Manchester City is equivalent to getting an insurance.
Insurance that you won't lose!
Much of the media criticism of City's poor form has faded after the game, but the North London Clarion is still warning City fans not to be too happy with a win in a game and not to let up.
It may seem like they're thinking about Manchester City's fans, but fools know they're doing something to belittle Manchester City......
George Allen even predicted that after the start of the Champions League knockout round, it will be the real big test for Manchester City, at that time, if not careful, Manchester City is likely to collapse on both fronts, be overtaken by Chelsea in the league, and be eliminated in the Champions League, how tragic and miserable it will be......