Chapter 607: Consecutive Fierce Battles, Is Manchester City About to Collapse?
Haaland's sudden outburst completely caught Liverpool off guard.
By this point, there was very little time left in the match. Even though Liverpool had realized that they had underestimated Haaland's threat, it was already too late.
In the final moments of the game, Liverpool launched a frenzied counterattack in an attempt to equalize. However, they were unable to break through Manchester City's solid defense, and they had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill of defeat at their home ground.
For Liverpool, this result was almost like a death sentence. If they couldn't beat their opponent at home, their chances of winning away were even slimmer.
After the match ended, the Liverpool players on the pitch were utterly dejected, collapsing one by one onto the ground. They had fought with all their strength but still couldn't beat Manchester City, and worse yet, they had been reversed by their opponent. This outcome was even worse than their previous draw.
The same discontent was shared by the Liverpool fans in the stands. When the referee blew the final whistle, many of them even began to cry. They knew that after losing to Manchester City at home, Liverpool's journey in this year's Champions League was effectively over.
This left the passionate Red fans, who had been hoping to see their team bounce back, feeling incredibly disappointed.
When the match between Manchester City and Liverpool ended, all four of the Champions League quarterfinals had also concluded. Looking at the final results, the teams that had been favored before the matches mostly secured victories, and there were no major upsets.
Defending champions Real Madrid claimed a commanding 3-0 away win against Juventus, effectively securing their place in the semifinals. Bayern Munich, whose squad has aged and declined somewhat in strength, managed a narrow 2-1 victory away at Sevilla. While Bayern didn't deliver the kind of dominant performance their fans were hoping for, and even needed an own goal from the opponent to equalize, a win is a win!
Bayern won and secured two away goals. Unless they suffer a shocking defeat at home in the next leg, their spot in the semifinals looks secure.
Compared to Bayern, Barcelona had even better fortune. At home, they secured a comfortable 4-1 victory against Italian side Roma. In this match, Roma's defense handed out gifts, with captain De Rossi scoring an own goal, followed by another own goal from Manolas. With two goals gifted by the opposition, Barcelona's victory came remarkably easy.
After the first leg of the quarterfinals, most fans could already predict the semifinal lineup. As a result, many began to skip the second-leg discussions and fantasize about the potential matchups in the semifinals.
"Real Madrid are the defending champions, and Manchester City were last season's runners-up. If these two meet in the semifinals, it'll definitely be a match worth watching!"
"Guardiola and Lin Quan were both former Barcelona players, and Manchester City once beat Barcelona in the Champions League final. A semifinal between City and Barca would be an epic showdown!"
"By that logic, Bayern were Guardiola's former team, so a 'revenge' story with him taking City back to face his old club would be just as exciting!"
All four teams were incredibly strong, and no matter how the draw played out, the semifinals were bound to be thrilling. But it was still too early to say. After all, the second leg hadn't been played yet, and while these four teams held strong advantages, surprises weren't entirely out of the question.
...
After the match against Liverpool, Manchester City wasted no time and immediately boarded the bus back to Manchester. Though the distance between Liverpool and Manchester isn't far, the game had taken a lot out of the players, and it could take them several days to fully recover.
Unfortunately for them, their next Premier League match was a Manchester Derby at home.
While Manchester City are generally stronger than Manchester United, having just played against Liverpool and with limited rest, facing United at this time could lead to a fierce battle.
And that's exactly what happened!
On April 8, in the 33rd round of the Premier League, Manchester City hosted Manchester United. By the 30th minute, thanks to goals from Lin Quan and Aguero, City had already established a commanding 2-0 lead.
However, after halftime, Manchester City's players began to tire, and with United increasing pressure in midfield, players like Pogba and Herrera began to dominate the game.
In the 53rd minute of the second half, Herrera assisted Pogba for a goal. Just two minutes later, Sanchez provided an assist, and Pogba scored again, completing a brace within two minutes.
The substantial advantage City had built in the first half was quickly erased, but the worst was yet to come.
A now-energized Manchester United began to take control of the match, and they even managed to overpower City on their home turf. To make matters worse, City's luck was terrible. After hitting the post twice in the first half, De Bruyne's long-range shot in the 59th minute struck the crossbar again. Just two minutes later, Lin Quan's shot inside the box was also denied by the post.
While City kept hitting the frame of the goal, United seemed to score with every opportunity. In the 69th minute, Sanchez broke through on the right and delivered a cross. Lingard's half-turn volley resulted in a spectacular goal, putting United ahead.
The Etihad Stadium fell silent, with City fans staring at each other in disbelief. In their memory, it had been four or five years since City last lost to Manchester United. Could today be the day City were defeated on their home turf?
On the sidelines, even Guardiola couldn't stay seated any longer. He quickly made substitutions, bringing on Gundogan for the exhausted De Bruyne and Sane for the struggling Mbappe. After hesitating for a moment, he made one final bold move.
"Haaland, you're up!"
Guardiola decided to trust Haaland, the hero of their last match, and brought him on to replace Aguero.
Seeing City's changes, Mourinho responded with substitutions of his own. He replaced Sanchez, Herrera, and Lingard with Rashford, Lindelof, and McTominay to shore up his defense.
City fans, noticing that United's striker Lukaku was still on the pitch, pinned their hopes on him making another mistake. After all, in the previous match at Old Trafford, it was Lukaku's two "assists" that made City's win so easy.
With Sane and Haaland on the field, City's attacking power did improve. But unlike Liverpool, Mourinho is an expert in defense. When he's committed to defending, even a fully-fit City would struggle to break through, let alone the tired squad on the pitch now.
In the 85th minute, Lin Quan broke free from Matic's marking and sent a through ball to Haaland, who swept the ball into the net. Just as Haaland raised his arms to celebrate, the goal was ruled offside and disallowed.
An agitated Haaland ran to protest to the referee, insisting he wasn't offside, but the referee, feeling his authority was being challenged, was in no mood to argue. He immediately issued Haaland a yellow card and stuck to his decision.
Replays showed that when Haaland received the ball, he was level with the last defender, making it difficult to judge by the naked eye whether it was offside. If VAR had been available, this goal might have stood. But in this era, the referee's decision was final, especially with such tight calls.
Although the goal was disallowed, it gave Chelsea a scare. At Mourinho's request, United tightened up their midfield defense even further, committing fouls if necessary to prevent City from passing through.
United had waited too long for this victory, and the players were fighting like they were on adrenaline, both in attack and defense. Even Pogba, not usually known for his defensive work, was willingly tracking back and doing the dirty work.
Under United's united defensive effort, City failed to equalize. When the referee blew the final whistle, the score remained 2-3. City had lost the Manchester Derby, and their unbeaten run this season was over.
After the match, United's players celebrated wildly, as if they had just won the Premier League title.
"You played a good game, congratulations!" Guardiola, ever gracious in defeat, approached Mourinho to shake his hand and congratulate him.
The two had once been good friends, but differences in philosophy and some on-field clashes had strained their relationship. However, they hadn't become enemies; their friendship had just cooled somewhat. And with the growing gap in their league and Champions League achievements, Guardiola had gradually lost interest in competing with Mourinho.
After all, winning so often can make you a bit numb.
But for Mourinho, he had always regarded Guardiola as his greatest rival, and this victory was a massive morale boost for him and his team. It proved that he could still defeat Guardiola and his squad.
Mourinho glanced at the Manchester City players on the pitch and said, "Thank you, and congratulations on having such excellent players and an outstanding team!"
Guardiola was a little surprised to hear Mourinho's compliment, not expecting him to have changed his tone. But before Guardiola could respond, Mourinho added, "But my team is the greatest team, and I'll prove it!"
With that, he turned and left with a flourish.
Guardiola paused for a moment and then smiled, shaking his head. That guy still had the same strong competitive spirit and arrogance; he hadn't changed a bit!
Manchester City's home defeat to Manchester United quickly made the front pages of several newspapers. Across the UK and even throughout European football, everyone had been wondering when City's unbeaten run would come to an end. There weren't many Premier League games left, and if City didn't lose soon, they were on track to win the title unbeaten.
In Premier League history, only Arsenal had ever gone unbeaten to win the title. But Arsenal's momentum that season had never been as strong as Manchester City's.
If City truly went unbeaten to win the title, the rest of the Premier League would be living in City's shadow for another season.
So this win was not only significant for United but also for the rest of the Premier League.
For City, though, having already secured the title seven rounds in advance, this loss didn't affect their standings much. However, losing to United at home did have some impact on the players' morale.
In the dressing room, Guardiola calmed the players and announced they would have the next day off to rest and recover. After their break, they would begin preparing to face Liverpool at home.
This period had been particularly brutal for City. Their last four matches had all been against strong teams: first away to Liverpool, then at home against United, followed by another home game against Liverpool, and after that, they had to travel to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham.
Within just ten days, City had to play four high-intensity matches—a massive challenge for any team. And with City having just lost to their bitter city rivals, their morale had taken a significant hit. If they lost again to Liverpool, they could not only lose their place in the Champions League semifinals but also risk collapsing towards the end of the season.
That's why Guardiola placed extra importance on the upcoming match, despite City holding a solid advantage. He couldn't afford to be complacent.
After all, in the last game against United, even though City had built such a big lead in the first half, they still collapsed in the second half.
Considering the team's brutal schedule and the players' fitness levels, this next match couldn't be taken lightly, as the consequences of another loss would be too much to bear.
Losing to United in the league didn't matter much to City—they had already won the title. But losing to Liverpool in the Champions League would mean crashing out at the quarterfinals and missing out on a chance to avenge their defeat to Real Madrid.
That was something City could never accept.
So Guardiola didn't stick to the same tactics or formation from the last game. Instead, he reverted to the strategy that had led City to an 18-match winning streak earlier in the season. City lined up with a high-pressing, three-center-back formation!
With their fans roaring them on, City launched a fierce attack against Liverpool from the very start of the match.
In the 2nd minute, De Bruyne provided an assist, and Lin Quan broke into the box for a lethal finish. City scored at lightning speed, bringing the aggregate score to 4-2!
The goal came so quickly that it left both Liverpool and their fans completely stunned.
On Liverpool's bench, Klopp's frown deepened. They were now two goals behind, and with City holding three away goals, Liverpool would need at least three goals to advance.
That was going to be extremely difficult! (End of Chapter)