I'm 198cm tall. Are you giving me a Maradona template?

Chapter 233 Beyond Tactics.
"character"

Guardiola was thoughtful.

"You mean he's too flamboyant?"

"No," Arteta shook his head, "He is very strong."

"What kind of weakness is this?" A Manchester City coach shook his head.

"I have studied this player for a long time. He is a player who the more others target him, the better he performs. The stronger the opponent, the more excited he is." Arteta said, "It's not that he has never lost a game, but he lost to some unexpected teams. And these teams usually have one characteristic: they don't attract attention and are very low-key before the game. These performances obviously paralyzed Yang and reduced his excitement in the game."

"But we are in the same category as them, so how can we keep a low profile? An elephant can't hide behind Mickey Mouse."

"Yes, so I think we should take the initiative to create a low-key environment, show weakness to the enemy and paralyze the opponent," Arteta said. "This can even inspire the fighting spirit of our own players."

Guardiola looked at the other coaches: "What do you think?"

The coaches looked at each other.

Psychological tactics are very common, but to be honest, not many people have ever used them.

Seeing that no one was talking, Guardiola said, "Let's continue the preparations as normal. As for how to paralyze the opponent and make them lose their vigilance, we can continue to discuss it."

The second half of the season will see the showdown between Manchester City and Liverpool not far away.

The 23rd round of the league is when these two helper teams will face off.

If nothing unexpected happens.

At that time, the scores of both sides were still the same.

This head-to-head matchup will be a big game worth six points.

It is normal for both sides to start preparing for this battle two or three rounds in advance.

The twenty-first round of the league.

Manchester City's game started first.

They will challenge Swansea away.

In the pre-match press conference, Guardiola was inevitably asked about the league competition with Liverpool.

According to the general routine, Guardiola could choose to avoid answering and just say "I will not answer questions that are not related to this game" and get away with it.

But he did not give the media a perfunctory response this time.

But he answered this question very seriously.

"They are the favorite to win the league title," Guardiola said. "To be honest, I am very surprised by Liverpool's performance this season. They have already performed like a champion. I think they are the strongest team in the Premier League this season."

".Yang is the best player in this league. I can't even think of any good way to stop him from scoring goals."

Naturally, these remarks were widely reported by the media.

Liverpool fans were very happy to hear even Guardiola say this.

Is there any praise that is more comforting than that coming from your opponent?
If someone is unhappy.

Then the Manchester City players must be very unhappy.

They felt that the head coach's words were really trying to boost others' morale and undermine his own prestige, and that they were also meant to belittle his own players.

To prove to their head coach that they are the strongest team in the league.

Swansea is in trouble.

They were slaughtered 5-0 by Manchester City at home.

Seeing the players perform like this.

Guardiola and Arteta looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes.

Let’s not talk about the tactical effectiveness of “paralyzing the opponent”.

At least, this tactic worked for his own team.

This makes Manchester City players more committed during the game.

The Manchester City of today is not the Manchester City that had everything a few years later.

They are still a hungry team.

Following Manchester City's big win, Liverpool also beat Leicester City 3-0 at home.

The 2017 competition has come to an end.

Time has come to 2018.

".The main theme of the Premier League this season is the championship battle between Manchester City and Liverpool. Both sides are in amazing form. In the first game of 2018, the 9nd round of the Premier League, Liverpool defeated Burnley - away. At the same time, Manchester City defeated Crystal Palace - away in this round of the league. Manchester City scored goals in these two rounds of the league and did not concede a goal. They are even close to Liverpool in terms of goal difference."

". Before the 23rd round of the league, when Liverpool played against Manchester City at home, the Premier League teams fully participated in the FA Cup. Since there was a two-week international match day after the FA Cup, both sides played their best in this match. Sunshine, who participated in the FA Cup, the oldest football cup for the first time, scored twice in the match, helping Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 at home and advance to the next round of the FA Cup."

In 2018, the English media is still shocked by Sunshine's outstanding form.

"For Liverpool, the arrival of the international match day is a great advantage for them because their top star Sunshine does not have to participate in the international match day. He can get a complete rest for two weeks, which is equivalent to giving Sunshine a winter break."

Even the English media were surprised that Sunshine was still absent from the national team's games.

But they don't care about the feud between Yang Guang and the Chinese Football Association.

What they are concerned about is the upcoming battle for the top spot in the Premier League after the international match day!

After the international match day.

There were no major injuries on either side.

This allows people to look forward to the top battle between the two teams playing with their full lineups.

The first leg between the two sides at the Etihad Stadium was a goal-scoring battle.

In the end, thanks to Suns hat trick, Liverpool defeated Manchester City 3-2 away from home.

This time the battlefield moved to Anfield.

Although Liverpool won the first leg, they were not at an advantage in terms of statistics in the first leg.

Even if Liverpool won, it was a narrow victory.

Therefore, not many people believe that Liverpool will have a big advantage even if they play at Anfield.

This is still a game with an unpredictable outcome.

at the pre-match press conference.

Guardiola still implemented the strategy of "paralyzing the opponent".

He was generous in praising the entire Liverpool team.

Especially to the sun.

He expressed high appreciation.

"This is a phenomenal player. In the first leg, he was almost our nightmare. I don't think anyone wants to face him in the game."

Such words.

This will inevitably make Manchester City players feel even more unhappy.

Especially in the first leg, Stones was mainly responsible for defending Suns.

In Suns' winning goal, Stones became a complete background figure.

His last-ditch charge not only failed to knock down Yangguang, but also caused him to lose his balance.
After the game.

Many media outlets mocked Stones for overestimating his own abilities and trying to use his body and strength to block the sun.

This made Stones, who was already filled with rage, even more angry.

Now the head coach still admires that Chinese man so much.

This made Stones' fighting spirit explode like a lit powder keg.

Guardiola said the sun was their nightmare.

Don't you think that your defense line cannot resist the sunlight?
As Stones, who is touted by the English media as "the best central defender in the Premier League" and "the second Terry", he is naturally arrogant and will not allow himself to be looked down upon.

He wants to prove it to the world.

He, Stones, is not the "British star" touted by the English media, but the genuine "No. 1 central defender in the Premier League"!
How to prove it?
Of course, the goal is to freeze the sunlight through one's own abilities during the competition!

Stones is a smart guy.

Since the last match against Liverpool, he has unfortunately become a background figure.

He was reflecting on some of his defensive mistakes.

At the same time, I was thinking about how to defend myself if I encounter the sun again.

After reviewing the analysis.

He had more confidence to deal with the sun.

But in the media.

Most media outlets were not optimistic about his ability to freeze Sunshine one-on-one.

Most of the suggestions given by the media are defensive suggestions such as "double-team", "isolate Sunshine", and "reduce Sunshine's chances of getting the pass".

It seemed that as long as the ball reached Sunshine's feet.

Then Manchester City’s defense would be very dangerous.

This made Stones feel humiliated.

He doesn't want to be looked down upon, he wants to prove himself to the head coach, the English media and the fans.

He, the best central defender in Great Britain, is a defensive iron gate who is definitely capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility and worthy of everyone's trust!
He can fight the sun.

Guardiola was not surprised that Stones took the initiative to talk to him.

Because his strategy of "paralyzing the opponent" also has a "side effect", which is to stimulate the fighting spirit of his own players.

So he was very happy when he heard Stones volunteered to take on the responsibility of defending Suns in the game.

"You're going to defend the sun by yourself?!"

Guardiola was surprised - of course, this was intentional surprise.

He just wanted to make the fire in Stones' heart burn brighter and brighter.

Guardiola still agrees with Arteta's judgment: to deal with Sunshine, it is best to start with his character.

On the one hand, avoid stimulating sunlight to arouse his fighting spirit and increase his excitement for the game.

On the other hand, stimulate your players, especially Stones, to push his fighting spirit to the limit and raise his excitement for the game to a fixed point!

This is a long time.

Although, Guardiola believes that it is impossible to completely freeze the sun.

But he didn't put all his hopes on Stones being able to completely freeze the sun.

Same with Wenger.

Guardiola also believes that is the key to defeating Liverpool.

It's about attacking.

As long as we can slightly reduce the possibility of Sunshine scoring a goal, and at the same time seize the opportunity and attack Liverpool's defense.

It would not be surprising if they beat Liverpool by "scoring one more goal than Sunshine".

"But, you are alone." Guardiola showed an embarrassment on his face. He shook his head and said, "I originally planned to let you and Fabinho attack him together. Fabinho knows him better."

"Boss, I promise I can limit him!" Stones said gritting his teeth.

Letting him and Fabinho double-team Sunshine, doesn't this mean that the coaching staff does not agree with him being able to restrict Sunshine alone and thinks he does not have the ability to do so?

Stones said very firmly: "I won't let him have a chance to threaten the goal."

Guardiola was pleased with Stones' reaction.

He needs a motivated Stones.

The heat is almost right here.

He patted Stones on the shoulder: "Okay! Then Yang will be left to you!"

For Liverpool and Manchester City.

In this game, both sides have little room for surprise at the tactical level.

These are two "me-first" teams.

They are unlikely to abandon their usual tactical system just because of the existence of opponents and seek a new tactic to deal with their opponents.

Before such a big battle.

It is very dangerous to change your system rashly, which may lead to failure.

and so.

The head coaches of both teams, without prior agreement, focused their game on stimulating the morale of their players.

In the team's locker room.

Klopp personally wrote a sentence and posted it in the most conspicuous place in the locker room: "Since we can beat them once, we can beat them a second time!"

Klopp knows what the problems are with Liverpool's current team.

Almost all the players on this team have no experience in competing for championships.

Before such a focus battle.

The players were somewhat worried and anxious.

And this is how Klopp wants to tell his players.

They are the best team in this league.

In their home court, they have nothing to fear from their opponents.

You should be scared.

It's their opponents who are.

that's it.

The top battle between Liverpool and Manchester City at home has arrived.

The match was scheduled for three o'clock in the afternoon.

This is to cater to the audience in faraway East Asia, mainly Chinese fans - the start time of this game is 10 pm, China time.

The sun is shining in the Liverpool area.

All the players stepped onto the Anfield grass in the sunshine.

Both sides sent out strong lineups.

The Anfield live broadcast introduced the starting lineups of both teams.

When the live DJ called out Yangguang's name.

The cheers that shook the entire audience made everyone's eardrums vibrate wildly.

You can tell from the cheers.

How welcome the sunshine is on this court.

Stones stood in the middle of Manchester City's team.

He did not look back at the sunlight.

But in his mind, he had already locked onto the sunlight.

He wants to use this game to prove to the world that he, Stones, is a central defender who can compete with a center forward of Sunshine's level!
(End of this chapter)