Chapter 956 The battle of life and death
Chapter 956 The battle of life and death
Everyone thought that Pellegrini was doomed this time, but in the end they did not wait for the news of Real Madrid's dismissal of Pellegrini.
On the contrary, Florentino came out and said that Real Madrid has not been eliminated. Now the team's task is still to get out of the group, and he doesn't want to talk about other things.
However, the local media in Madrid have expressed that if Pellegrini continues to coach, Real Madrid may not be able to qualify for the group.
But they just think that Real Madrid should not continue to trust the Chilean, but who should be hired as the head coach, and the media did not have a good candidate.
Ignore the endgame on Real Madrid's side for now.
After Manchester City returned to England, they immediately ushered in the tenth round of the league. They played against Fulham at home.
Although Benitez replaced a large number of main players, Manchester City, who had just defeated Real Madrid, had high morale, and they still defeated Fulham 2-0 at home.
After ten rounds of the league, Manchester City lost one game, but still ranked first with 25 points.
Leading No.2, Chelsea, who played one more game than them, is one point.
Manchester City is also the only team in the entire league that has not lost a game.
Manchester City's outstanding performance has also aroused heated discussions throughout England.
Before the start of the season, everyone believed that Manchester City's strength should be greatly improved compared to last season, but no one expected to be so strong.
At that time, everyone felt that after Manchester City's reinforcements in the summer, they should be able to become a qualified spoiler this season.
But who would have thought that Manchester City would directly become a strong contender for the championship!
"...If Manchester City can maintain this state, I think they still have great hopes of competing for the championship...Of course, the season is very long, and there are only ten league rounds now. In the next 28 league rounds, no one knows what will happen now...But Manchester City has made a good start to its new season after all..."
"...Manchester City, with one game less, can still rank first. No one can underestimate this team this season. Whoever underestimates will be in bad luck!"
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Next comes the fourth round of the League Cup, with Manchester City hosting Scunthorpe at home.
In this game, Benitez replaced all the main players except Rong Guang, and sent substitutes and reserve players.
Even so, Manchester City eventually defeated Scunthorpe 5:1 at home.
Rong Guang himself scored a hat-trick in the League Cup.
It was also his first three goals in the league, his first hat-trick.
Last season, Manchester City was eliminated from the League Cup in the first game they participated in. Rong Guang didn't even score a goal. Now he can finally make up for this regret.
After playing the League Cup, Manchester City went to challenge Birmingham away. This is the No. 11 round of the league.
After this game, Manchester City will welcome Real Madrid at home.
However, Benitez did not rotate in this game, but sent all the main players.
Because of the League Cup last game, these main players got a chance to rest.
So now they don't need to rest for another game. On the contrary, they need to find the rhythm and state of the game, so participating in this league is a must.
Manchester City, who played with all the main players, defeated Birmingham 4:1 in the away game. Just 5 minutes into the second half, Manchester City had already scored three goals, completely securing the victory of the game.
The rest of the time turned into garbage time.
At this time, Benitez began to make substitutions, replacing the main players one after another.
All three substitutions were used up.
Manchester City was also scored by the opponent during this period.
But soon, the glory of staying on the pitch restored Manchester City's lead to three goals again.
It was also his tenth goal in the league this season.
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After the game against Fulham, Manchester City continued to top the list.
Now they have to set their sights on the Champions League.
After the three rounds of the league, the situation in Group A where Manchester City is located is as follows:
Manchester City won all three games, with nine points, ranking first in the group.
With one win, one loss and one tie, Bayern Munich is second in the group with four points.
Bordeaux has two draws and one loss, and is third in the group with two points.
Real Madrid has one draw and two losses, and is fourth in the group with one point.
If Manchester City can beat Real Madrid at home in the next round of the group stage, then regardless of the outcome of the match between Bayern Munich and Bordeaux, Manchester City will qualify from this group two rounds ahead of schedule.
Because as long as Manchester City can beat Real Madrid, their points will reach twelve points.
If Bayern Munich can win against Bordeaux, they will be second in the group with seven points.But Bordeaux is still two points, and the points gap with Mancheng has reached nine points, which is impossible to catch up anyway.
Even if Bayern Munich lost to Bordeaux, Bordeaux would only have five points, which is seven points away from twelve points. With only two league rounds left, it would still be useless.
So the point is that Manchester City will beat Real Madrid at home.
Similarly, if Real Madrid still wants to retain the hope of qualifying for the group, it must beat Manchester City away.
In this way, they accumulate four points, and in those previous situations, their ranking can become the third place in the group.
Then in the last two rounds, defeating Bayern Munich and Bordeaux, scoring a few points, can still qualify from this group.
Before leaving for Manchester, Real Madrid captain Raul accepted an interview with reporters. He talked about the team's head coach and the team's prospects for the Champions League.
He expressed his full trust and support for Pellegrini.
"...It's not time to give up yet, we won't give up this game easily. Manchester City is very strong, but I think Real Madrid, who are cornered, will be stronger! We will definitely qualify from this group!"
Lauer expressed his confidence.
Other Real Madrid players have said similar things in interviews.
No one wants to throw in the towel before the game starts.
As the captain of Manchester City, Rong Guang also expressed his welcome to Real Madrid: "This is our home court. Manchester City has never lost a tradition of key games at their home court."
A reporter said to Rong Guang: "If you beat Real Madrid, then Real Madrid will be the first time in history that they have not qualified for the Champions League group stage..."
Rong Guang didn't care about his opponents: "That's their own business." He said a little coldly.
It really has nothing to do with Real Madrid to set a record.
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The Manchester City Stadium was overcrowded an hour and a half before the game started.
The stadium was almost filled with Manchester City fans.
There are only about 2000 seats left for Real Madrid.
In other words, there will be more than 2000 Real Madrid fans coming from Madrid to cheer for their team in this game.
But these people are not enough to see in front of [-] Manchester City fans.
There are also Manchester City fans hanging such slogans in the stands to stimulate Real Madrid.
"Real Madrid will make history today! For the first time in history, they will not qualify from the group stage!"
The slogan is almost as long as the entire East Stand and hangs outside the railing of the second-floor stand.
Very striking.
And...perhaps to take care of the guests coming from afar, this slogan is not written in English, but in Spanish!
No longer have to worry about Real Madrid players or fans not being able to understand... This is a naked provocation.
It is predictable how Real Madrid players will feel when they walk out of the stadium and see this slogan...
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After the Real Madrid players came out, they did see this slogan at a glance.Because this slogan is facing the passageway where they come out.
As soon as you come out, you can see it with your eyes level.
Most players didn't change their expressions when they saw this slogan.
They just glanced at it and then lowered their heads.
However, some players frowned slightly.
Such as the team captain Raul.
He walked in the front, No.1 who saw the slogan.
After seeing clearly what was written on the slogan, he couldn't help frowning.
This matter has been hyped by the media for a long time before this game.
If Real Madrid fails to qualify in the Champions League group stage, then they will create a history-for the first time in the history of the Real Madrid club, they cannot qualify in the Champions League group stage!
This is definitely not a history to be proud of...
Raul and the team came to this stadium just to avoid such a thing from happening.
It wasn't just the Real Madrid players who noticed the banner, but also the commentators.
The telecast also featured a five-second close-up of the banner.
In the shot, every subtitle on the banner is very clear.
"...It's really like this... If Real Madrid can't win this game, they will bid farewell to this season's Champions League. But in the previous history, they have never been so embarrassed. Before 1992, the Champions League did not have a group stage. In 1992, the Champions League had a group stage. Since then, as long as Real Madrid participates in the Champions League, they have been out of the group stage every time..."
The commentators introduced the situation to audiences from all over the world in front of the TV, telling them how serious it would be if Real Madrid did not even make it to the Champions League group stage this season.
For Real Madrid, this is a real battle of life and death!
(End of this chapter)