Chelsea drew 1–1!
Arsenal also drew 1–1!
The Red Devils, Manchester United, still drew 1–1!
When the first round of the Champions League group stage ended, the entire United Kingdom was shocked to discover that all three of the Premier League's traditional powerhouses had drawn—and, bizarrely, all by the exact same score of 1–1.
Had the three teams arranged this beforehand?
Or was some hidden hand controlling the results behind the scenes?
Otherwise, how could three 1–1 draws have happened so strangely?
However, the conspiracy theories were ultimately shattered when Man City defeated Dortmund 2–0. In their place came a theory of astonishment.
Last season, Man City had replaced Liverpool and broken the four-family monopoly over the Premier League, which was already astonishing enough. Now, with the three traditional powerhouses all drawing 1–1 at home and away, Man City had instead crushed Dortmund 2–0 at home in their first-ever Champions League appearance. It was simply too surprising.
Was Man City's opponent just too weak?
Clearly not.
Dortmund was widely recognized as the strongest team in the fourth tier, superior to the Naples side Arsenal had faced, let alone Benfica, Manchester United's opponent, or Valencia, Chelsea's opponent.
Whether judged by player market value or past results, Dortmund was universally considered the best team in the fourth tier. After all, this was a fierce side that had come close to knocking Bayern Munich from the Bundesliga throne. They feared no opponent.
Yet Man City had still defeated Dortmund at home through sheer team strength.
No one who had watched the match would doubt Man City's ability to win tough battles.
Dortmund had stuck with what it did best: a fierce, storm-like style of play, with fouls, dirty tricks, and all kinds of aggressive tactics. At the same time, it had unleashed its