Football: The king of midfield, Guardiola is crying with envy

The match between Southampton and Manchester City started at 5:30 pm London time, which is not a good start time for Manchester City fans in East Asia.

Fortunately, this is a match in the early morning of Sunday, so workers and students can watch the game before going to bed.

However, when the starting lineups of both sides came out, Manchester City fans were directly numb.

Why?

Because Chen Chen and De Bruyne did not play, and the other half of the main players did not play either. This is a substitute game with a lot of water!

Good guy, I worked hard all night, and you show me this?

Therefore, many fans chose to go to bed directly. In the winter, it is still comfortable in the quilt.

But more fans continued to bet secretly, thinking that Manchester City, which had not lost for a long time, would suffer a defeat.

At least, at least it was a small ball!

Of course, this game still received some attention.

Gravenberch and Alvarez continued to start, and the sudden increase in attention from Argentina and the Netherlands filled the gap in the attention lost by East Asian fans.

In the Migu studio, Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu were also discussing Guardiola's starting lineup.

"Coach Zhang, what do you think of Guardiola's starting lineup today? Manchester City's last game was on the 12th, the second leg of the League Cup semi-final against Chelsea."

"I saw many netizens saying that there was a gap of ten days between them, shouldn't all the main players play? After all, a lion needs to fight a rabbit with all its strength!"

Zhang Lu said, "That's the truth."

"But Manchester City's bench is very thick now, and many players have not got enough playing time. Like Gundogan and Palmer, they have been squeezed out of playing space."

"Today we play Southampton, they are now ranked 17th in the league. In the words of our netizens, the first in the league is playing against the 17th in the league, and they have a sure win."

"Many people say that these rotation players, substitutes Make up players should be played in the cup. But think about it. When signing a contract with Manchester City, there must be a negotiation explanation in the appearance time. Said facing the camera, "Zhang's guidance is right." "Okay, gossip, let's take a look at the starting lineup of both sides." After Zhan Jun reported the lineup of the two teams, the audience fans who were watching the game in front of the screen suddenly took a breath! Even if Chen Chen and De Bruyne are absent from the starting lineup, this Manchester City substitute lineup can now aim for the championship on all fronts!

Goalkeeper Ederson.

The four defenders are Zinchenko, Laporte, Stones, and Kyle Walker.

Three midfielders, James McCarty, Rodri, and Gravenberch.

Left winger Sterling, right Palmer, center forward Spider Alvarez!

With this lineup, after a few more runs, they will have a chance to fight in the next Champions League knockout rounds!

Of course, if you want to win the cup, you must play with all the main players.

Seeing this, the fans finally understood.

Chen Chen's outstanding performance made everyone forget that this is Manchester City, which is the most valuable football club in the current football world.

Chen Chen's value is high, but no matter how high it is, it is not more than one billion per person!

Manchester City's outstanding performance is inseparable from every Manchester City person!

Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu in the studio also recovered.

With this formation, Manchester City can easily beat Southampton, which has been in average form recently!

"Beep!"

With Simon Hooper's whistle, the game officially began.

Why is the Blue Moon the first in the Premier League? That's because they can turn any stadium into their home stadium!

Even Anfield, or Stamford Bridge.

Not to mention the current St. Mary's Stadium!

At the beginning of the game, Manchester City took the initiative. Southampton, who originally played in a 442 formation, immediately shrank and played 541 at home.

Manchester City's offensive attacked Southampton like a tide. The 541 formation did not seem safe. It seemed that it was only a matter of time before the Saints lost the ball.

On the benchChen Chen was chatting with De Bruyne wrapped in a thick coat.

After today's game, the Blue Moon Army will not stay here overnight, they will return to Manchester immediately.

The next day, Chen Chen will fly to Huaxia Magic City, and De Bruyne beside him will fly to Antwerp.

"Chen, do you think it is possible for the two of us to play today?"

"I don't know, I hope we don't play. That way (we) can rest more. To be honest, if you don't warm up well, it's easy to get injured when playing in this weather."

"Yes, that's what I think. I went for a re-examination yesterday, and the results were not very good. The doctor asked me to rest as much as possible."

De Bruyne lowered his head and pointed to his ankle.

Chen Chen turned his head to look at De Bruyne, and then looked in the direction of Ding Ding's finger.

Chen Chen sighed softly.

Only then did he truly realize the blow and trouble of injuries to a player.

This season, De Bruyne's playing time is not very much, and it has only increased in the past month. Previously, it was all due to injuries.

Ding Ding's peak life should be from 2017 to 2020. Later, due to injuries and age problems, the Belgian talent slowly went downhill.

Of course, he is going downhill compared to his previous self. Compared with other fledglings or players of the same age, De Bruyne is still top-notch.

But what about Ding Ding?

What about others?

Let's not talk about the distant ones, such as Hazard and Bale, who should have continued to soar in the sky, but unfortunately they had to return to the ground from the sky due to injuries.

Chen Chen raised his eyebrows and comforted him,

"OK! Don't worry, Kevin, everything will be fine. Believe me. We will win a lot of games together and win a lot of championships!"

De Bruyne responded to Chen Chen's concern in a friendly manner, and then the two discussed the game on the field.

In the 17th minute of the game, Manchester City's first goal came.

Zinchenko got in position and the Ukrainian sent a straight pass to Sterling. Happy Sterling did not waste this rare opportunity to penetrate the opponent's defense.

Aiming at a long distance, Sterling made a curved kick and the ball went in!

The score came to Saints 0-1.

The Saints' coach Nathan Jones was really patient.

Seeing that the team had lost the ball and fell behind, he did not change the formation hastily.

The former Luton coach chose to let the team continue to strengthen the defense, especially to do a good job of connecting the two sides.

For his behavior, Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu in the studio gave high praise.

In fact, this is how weak teams should play against strong teams.

No matter if the first goal is lost in the 7th minute, the 17th minute, or the 77th minute, it must be defended to the end.

Only when the difference between the two teams is small enough, the weak team will have the opportunity to suddenly counterattack when the opponent is busy running and attacking, and find the best scoring opportunity.

Equalize the score in an instant, or kill the game in one fell swoop!

So, can Southampton do it?