Football: Starting from being abandoned by Barcelona

On the other side of the training ground, Guardiola was thinking in his office. As the head coach of Manchester City, he was responsible for leading the team to victory.

Right now, Manchester City is in a critical period of fighting on four fronts.

Premier League, Champions League, League Cup, FA Cup, every stadium requires them to go all out.

Guardiola knew clearly that now is the time to test the depth of their bench.

He must reasonably arrange the playing time of each player to ensure that they can play at their best at the critical moment.

Two days later, it is the FA Cup match against Aston Villa, and Guardiola must make a difficult decision.

Should the main players continue to start and ensure victory? Or give young players more opportunities to let them grow in the game?

Sure enough, two days later on January 30, Guardiola led a young team to Aston Villa's home stadium, Villa Park.

Villa Park, Manchester City's locker room.

Guardiola was mobilizing the players before the game. He first looked around and his eyes fell on those young faces.

"Today is your stage," Guardiola continued.

"Go show your talent, prove your value, remember that you represent Manchester City, and represent our glory."

At this moment, the players' eyes were shining with fighting spirit and expectation.

At the beginning of the game, Manchester City's formation today was a rare 433, which shows that the head coach Guardiola still adopted a safe tactic.

Willy Caballero guarded the goal, Pablo Zabaleta, Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis and Alexander Kolarov formed the back line.

Fernandinho, Fernando and Fabian Delph sat in the midfield.

Kelechi Iheanacho, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne led the forwards.

At the beginning of the game, Manchester City showed a strong offensive.

The young players were running and fighting on the field, and their enthusiasm infected the entire stadium.

Especially Kelechi Iheanacho, the 19-year-old young striker, was fearless on the field.

His speed and skills gave Aston Villa's defenders a headache.

In the 20th minute of the game, Iheanacho received a pass from De Bruyne.

In the penalty area, facing the Aston Villa defender, he showed his amazing speed and skills.

With a feint and a turn, Iheanacho broke through the defense, facing the goalkeeper, he shot calmly, and the ball went into the net!

Manchester City led 1:0! Iheanacho ran to the corner flag area and celebrated excitedly. This was his moment.

The game continued, and Manchester City's offensive became more and more fierce.

In the 35th minute, Raheem Sterling dribbled the ball on the right and saw Iheanacho in the penalty area.

With a precise pass, Iheanacho faced the goalkeeper again, so he calmly adjusted his steps, then pushed the ball with his left foot, and the ball went into the net again!

Manchester City led 2:0! Iheanacho once again became the focus of the game.

He showed all the qualities a striker should have: speed, skills, calmness, and a nose for the goal.

In the second half, Aston Villa tried to launch a counterattack, but Manchester City's defense was not weak.

Fernandinho and Fernando kept intercepting in the midfield, and Demichelis and Otamendi were as stable as a mountain in the back line.

In the 80th minute of the game, Manchester City's counterattack caught Aston Villa off guard again.

This time, it was Delph who intercepted in the midfield, and he saw Iheanacho in front of him.

A long pass, Iheanacho faced the goalkeeper again, so he easily pushed the ball and completed his hat trick in this game!

Manchester City led 3:0! Iheanacho became the hero of this game.

He showed the unlimited potential of a young player and the results of Manchester City's youth training.

Manchester City's ball possession and offensiveness dominated the whole game. Although Aston Villa tried hard to organize defense, it was ultimately unable to withstand Manchester City's offensive.

In the injury time, Sterling expanded the score to 4:0

Manchester City defeated Aston Villa 4-0 and successfully advanced to the next round of the FA Cup.

This game became an excellent opportunity to show Manchester City's deep lineup and young talents such as Iheanacho.

The morning sun shone on Manchester City's training ground, full of vitality.

The players came to the training ground one after another and started a day of training. They wore training clothes, warmed up on the field, and prepared to meet new challenges.

Li Lei walked to the side of the training ground and saw Kevin De Bruyne, who performed well in yesterday's game.

At this moment, De Bruyne was talking to the coach.Flowing, with an excited and satisfied smile on his face.

"Kevin, congratulations on your beautiful game yesterday!" Li Lei walked up and greeted with a smile.

De Bruyne turned around and saw that it was Li Lei, and a friendly smile appeared on his face.

"Hey, Li, you really should go to the scene to see, these guys' performance on the court is really great!"

"Yeah! Look at Iheanacho's three goals, I feel pressured!" Li Lei said jokingly, his eyes revealing his appreciation for his teammates' performance and relaxed challenge.

"Young people nowadays are so hardworking!" De Bruyne exclaimed, with a hint of admiration and pride in his voice.

Li Lei couldn't help laughing when he heard De Bruyne's words.

"Ah hey! Don't talk so old-fashioned, we are only in our early twenties!"

He deliberately made an exaggerated old-fashioned pose, which made De Bruyne laugh, and the laughter of the two floated on the training ground in the early morning.

It was a hopeful morning, and the young players showed their talent and potential.

Li Lei and De Bruyne, as the backbone of the team, were also infected by this young force.

"Let's go, Kevin, let's go to training too! We can't let these guys beat us!" Li Lei said with a smile, patting De Bruyne on the shoulder.

"Haha, let's go! We have to set an example for them!" De Bruyne responded with a smile.

The two walked side by side to the training ground and joined the players.

The sun shone on them and on Manchester City's blue uniforms.

Recently, Manchester City's games have been quite tight.

Two days after the just-concluded FA Cup fourth round match with Aston Villa, the Premier League kicked off again.

On February 3, Manchester City's bus drove to Sunderland's home ground, the Stadium of Light.

On the bus, the players were resting, listening to music, or talking. But everyone knew the importance of this game clearly in their hearts.

Manchester City is fighting for the Premier League title, and they need to win every game. Sunderland, on the other hand, is fighting to avoid relegation. This will be a game about honor and the future.

Sergio Aguero and Li Lei sat together, they are the spearheads of Manchester City's attack.

Aguero has always been in good shape, he is Manchester City's scoring machine.

And Li Lei, the young superstar from China, is gradually becoming an indispensable part of Manchester City.

"Brother, we must go all out in today's game." Li Lei said to Aguero.

"Of course, we all know the importance of this game." Aguero nodded, "Sunderland will not be an easy opponent, we must be careful of their counterattack."

Li Lei nodded, Manchester City's performance always faces more challenges away from home.

The bus arrived at the Stadium of Light, the players got off the bus and walked into the locker room.

In the locker room, Guardiola was mobilizing the players before the game.

"Today, we are facing an opponent fighting for relegation." Guardiola said.

"They will do their best, and we must be ready."

"We must control the tempo of the game and the midfield, we must pass the ball quickly to find opportunities, and we must always be alert to their counterattacks, especially Jermain Defoe, who is a very dangerous striker."

The players listened attentively and were fully motivated for the game.