Glory Greenery

Chapter 457
Because of the international match day, Manchester City's pace in the league finally slowed down.

In the next fourteen days, although there were few games, it did not mean that there were no games.

On February 2th, Manchester City sat at home and ushered in a fairly easy game.

In the FA Cup quarter-finals, Manchester City's opponent is Leeds United from the British Championship.

This famous white team in England has a history dating back to the early twentieth century and once occupied a place in England's top league.

But it is a pity that since the financial crisis, Leeds United's performance has taken a turn for the worse, and it was once hovering in the League One.

However, in 10 years, Leeds United climbed out of the League One again and competed in the British Championship again.

If you want to talk about team honor, then this team from Yorkshire is definitely going to beat Manchester City.

But it is a pity that today's Leeds United is no longer brilliant, and they have played very difficult in the British Championship. Obviously, they will not be Manchester City's opponents.

Speaking of which, there is an old acquaintance of Manchester City in this Leeds United team, and that is Neil Warnock, the former head coach of Queens Park Rangers.

Last season, Neil Warnock led the Queens Park Rangers to relegation and was dismissed, so he accepted Leeds United, which is really a coincidence.

As a person who faced Yang Mo head-on last season, Neil Warnock was naturally very cautious about Yang Mo's defensive attitude at the beginning of the game.

In fact, it can no longer be described as cautious, it is completely like facing an enemy.

The technology of the Premier League has always been ridiculed by other European leagues as rough brothers.

Facing Yang Mo, the defense that this Leeds United can do is very simple, which is to rely on double-teaming and deterrence by rough fouls.

Seeing Yang Mo being knocked down by Leeds United players again and again, Pellegrini was so frightened that he didn't dare to sit down, for fear that something might happen to Yang Mo.

How important Yang Mo is to Manchester City, there is no need for others to explain to Pellegrini.

If Yang Mo is injured for the FA Cup match, then Manchester City is very likely to collapse directly in the league and the Champions League. If something like this really happened, Pellegrini would not even cry.

So the game just started, and I took the opportunity of the dead ball to ask Yang Mo if he should be replaced.

"Need not."

Yang Mo's answer made Pellegrini temporarily dispel this idea, but he was still a little worried.

Compared to Pellegrini, who was terrified, Yang Mo on the field was actually not that scared. With his current confrontation ability, it was not so easy for Leeds United players to injure him.

Besides, this is not the first time he has encountered this foul tactic.

In the eyes of ordinary people, he has always been a player with outstanding skills, he plays fancy football and is highly appreciated.

But in fact, what is hidden under this impression is indeed his powerful confrontation ability.

Don't think that Messi can't fight because he is small, and don't think that he can't resist when he plays fancy football. The most basic requirement for a top star who can continue to play a role in the top European leagues is not to be knocked down by injuries.

Since he played in Europe, whether it is in the Eredivisie, Bundesliga, or Premier League, people who use foul tactics against him are indispensable.

What a deal it is to use a substitute player's foul to replace him directly.

In the early days of the Eredivisie, he was inexperienced and often suffered minor injuries. The nails on all ten toes were stepped on by his opponents.

Now in the Premier League, in an environment where the Premier League already encourages physical confrontation, such lethal tactics are of course indispensable.

However, with the improvement of confrontation ability and rich experience in the game, he is now able to handle this situation well.

Leeds United's foul tactics didn't really want to hurt him, but they wanted to use this kind of deterrence to make him feel afraid and dare not give full play.

"Hehe... If you can block my words in this way, then why can we go so far in the Premier League? I am not the only one in Manchester City." Yang Mo sneered in his heart.

Continue to catch the ball and continue to break through, but after attracting Leeds United's defensive focus, Yang Mo did not choose to go it alone.

A pass under his feet directly tore through Leeds United's defense. In the empty penalty area, Ibrahimovic turned around after receiving the ball, swung his legs and shot around, and Manchester City opened the scoring first.

After Manchester City led by one goal, Leeds United coach Neil Warnock understood that Leeds United might have gone too far in this game.

And the direction of the game afterwards also confirmed Neil Warnock's premonition.

Yang Mo completely turned into a pie-making machine, relying on his own ability to attract Leeds United's defensive focus, and then frantically created opportunities for his teammates.

In just 10 minutes of the first half, Manchester City collapsed Leeds United.

Ibrahimovic scored twice, Aguero scored a long-range goal, Yaya Toure scored a header, Manchester City made more points, and the victory was established 4-0.

Although Yang Mo did not score a goal, he also scored two assists, and his role in offense is difficult to reflect with statistics.

Seeing that the victory was decided, Pellegrini replaced Yang Mo with Nasri without waiting for the end of the first half.

After Yang Mo went off, the game ended 6-0.

In the second half, Silva and Nasri, who came off the bench, each scored a goal, killing Leeds United out of the game.

It seems that Manchester City, which temporarily put down the butcher knife in the league, did not let go in the cup.

After reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, Manchester City did not wait long at Manchester City. The next day they flew to Ukraine to prepare for the Champions League knockout match with Shakhtar Donetsk.

When the plane landed in Donetsk, looking at the surrounding scenery, it was still the same.

Compared with the ever-changing cities every time he returned to China, Yang Mo really felt that the development of both here and Europe seemed a bit slow.

The environment is the same, and the words of the team staff have not changed at all.

"Don't provoke strangers, especially strange women..."

Hearing this, Yang Mo smiled knowingly, thinking of Yusof who is now hanging out in the secondary league.

After entering the hotel, Pellegrini gave Manchester City a foot ban and strictly prohibited players from going out.

This is not because of the fear of the players messing around, but because of safety considerations.

Although Donetsk is a big city in Ukraine, the law and order at night is definitely not good. These players are rich, and some people will take risks for money.

Coupled with the unstable political situation in Donetsk, you can see democrats holding demonstrations every day, and it is really not suitable for wandering around.

Compared with concerns about Donetsk's safety, Pellegrini is full of confidence in the upcoming game.

With Manchester City's current strength, as long as there are no accidents, Shakhtar Donetsk will never be Manchester City's opponent.

On February 2, when the game between Manchester City and Shakhtar Donetsk ended, the ending also proved Pellegrini's confidence.

(End of this chapter)