Mourinho: Manchester City Are Strong, and So Is Tang-but None of Them Are a Match for Me!

Pellegrini is a very traditional coach.

This tradition is mainly reflected in the fact that he will formulate a set of tactics at the beginning of the season and then implement them throughout the entire season.

He filled in his strongest players, the players best suited to this tactical approach, one by one, like filling in letters, and executed his tactical system.

This is about selecting players based on tactical approach!

This approach is also commonly used by many professional coaches in Europe.

One advantage of this approach is that it helps to create a unified mindset within the team.

For example, if Pellegrini is determined that Manchester City will play a possession-based style of play, then the entire team, from the first team to the U15 team, will implement the same possession-based system.

If the key player is injured, then I'll play as a substitute;

When substitute players come on, the established tactics are still followed to fill the void left by the departure of the key players.

The entire team operates like a machine, following a set program.

If Manchester City were to be compared to a car, it would be a low-slung sports car that excels at cornering!

Even when faced with complex road conditions, it can still drive with ease thanks to its precise chassis tuning, zero-delay engine response, and perfect combination of brakes and tires.

With three key players unavailable, the sports car malfunctioned, requiring the replacement of several delicate parts.

Pellegrini will then replace parts on this sports car.

But can these aftermarket parts really function as well as the original parts?

Or, to put it another way, can a sports car with aftermarket parts still maintain precise handling and maneuver through corners with excellent drainage?

Pellegrini wouldn't consider these things.

To put it another way, he's incapable of considering these things!

His coaching level, while top-notch in Europe, is certainly first-rate, but far from being considered top-tier.

True top tactical masters, like Ancelotti, adapt their tactics to the situation rather than rigidly executing a set of tactics established at the beginning of the season.

I will use whichever players I can find and employ whichever tactics I can employ. As the 38 rounds of the league progress, these tactics will be dynamically adjusted based on player injuries and form!

If speed-type players are in good form, then I'll play more directly.

If all the passing and possession players are available, then keep the ball at your feet.

Such adjustments are not only reflected in the pre-match lineup and formation, but also in the on-the-spot adjustments during the match.

Pellegrini is not as good as Ancelotti; he doesn't reach that level.

Since he took charge of Manchester City, he has always implemented a tactical approach based on possession and passing.

As for the high-ball, high-pressing style that assistant coach Rayne tentatively mentioned, the Chile veteran coach hadn't even considered it!

Throughout his coaching career, no team he has ever coached has played this style of play.

So he rejected Rayne's suggestion without hesitation.

"Rayne, the possession-based tactic was something we devised at the beginning of the season. We won the Premier League title two years ago with this tactic, which shows that Manchester City works well with possession-based football in the Premier League!"

"But boss, we also need to make arrangements based on the current personnel. Silva isn't here, Agüero isn't here, and even Ranocchia, the key player for ball distribution in the backfield, isn't here. It's not easy to play passing and control, especially the progression from the backfield to the midfield..."

"Rayne! You've been with me for so many years, how come you haven't improved at all? Your will isn't strong enough. You've given up on the very foundation of our business because of a little setback. Is Manchester City still Manchester City if they don't play possession football? Not only will the management not agree, the fans not agree, but I won't agree either!"

"Uh... okay, boss, I'll support you."

In every argument, Rayne always ended up unconditionally supporting his superior.

He knew that as Pellegrini got older, his football thinking was becoming increasingly rigid, and changing him in a short period of time would be as difficult as climbing to heaven!

Having worked with Pellegrini for so many years, Rayne understands his character.

Rayne was just an assistant coach; he had to rely on Pellegrini, the core of the coaching staff, for his livelihood.

Even if Pellegrini is sacked by Manchester City and goes elsewhere, as long as he takes Rayne with him, Rayne will never be unemployed. From this perspective, Rayne has no need to go against his boss.

However, seeing Pellegrini field the starting lineup right in front of him, Rayne couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Otamendi plays as a center-back, is he capable of that?"

"Huh? Pellegrini is determined not to use Nasri, playing Iheanacho on the wing?"

"Bony is fine starting at center, but if only Don supports him and there's no space on the flanks, he probably won't have many opportunities to create chances."

"There's no need to bring on Caballero in this situation. Joe Hart has a wider control range and is more destructive in the penalty area. Oh well..."

"We can only hope that Don and Sterling can perform well. I'm never worried about Don, Sterling... at least he played well in the last game, keep it up!"

Rayne's pre-match concerns came true.

Although Pellegrini replaced the necessary parts for Manchester City's damaged sports car.

But aftermarket products are never as good as the original ones!

In the 13th round of the Premier League, Manchester City travels to Swansea for an away game.

Swansea City is Premier League team, but the city where the team is located is in Wales.

Although the possession-based style of play from continental Europe has created quite a stir in Britain, teams from Wales and Scotland don't seem to have been affected much.

Or, to put it another way, they don't have enough financial resources to find technically gifted, possession-based players in the transfer market.

These players are too expensive!

Swansea's small businesses can't afford to play that game, so they'll stick to the traditional English long-ball style!

What they're really into is the sheer force of charging through a hail of bullets and taking down the hilltop!

After the match started, Manchester City continued to play their usual possession-based style of play;

They especially like to advance the ball forward layer by layer from the backcourt through passing.

Swansea immediately discovered Manchester City's Achilles' heel!

"Rob it! Go rob Otamendi!"

Swansea's manager waved his hand, and the attacking players began high-pressure pressing!

There's only one goal – Otamendi, who will be playing as the ball-playing center-back in this match!

Initially, Otamendi remained relatively composed when facing pressure from opposing players.

He was able to mimic Ranocchia's footwork and thinking, forming passes with defensive midfielder Toure, goalkeeper Caballero, and the two full-backs Kolarov and Klich, using passes to disrupt the opponent's defensive attempts, causing them to retreat in vain.

But as he played, Otamendi started sweating profusely!

He wasn't originally a goal-scoring center-back; before joining Manchester City, he was always a disruptive center-back.

He can learn the form of Ranocchia, but not his spirit!

For example, when facing pressure from the opposing striker, Ranocchia would choose to pass the ball back to Caballero and then immediately create space;

At this point, the striker faces a choice: press Caballero or move closer to Ranocchia to prevent Caballero from passing the ball.

This gives Caballero time and space to think and choose his passing options.

Otamendi followed suit, passing the ball back to Caballero and creating space between them.

However, in the details of choosing to run into open spaces, it is evident that there is a significant gap in football intelligence between him and Ranocchia, who has been playing as a center-back for many years!

Should we veer to the left to create space, or should we veer to the right?

If I run to the left and a forward kicks at me, what should my next move be?

Forward, backward, or downward?

Often, it's just a difference in choices made within a few steps of a radius of ten meters that causes his coordination with Caballero to seem to be on the same point, but they never quite hit the mark.

"Otamendi back to Caballero, then moves to the wing to receive Caballero's pass... Oh no, how come Otamendi didn't receive that ball? It went out of bounds!"

"Otamendi the ball, he suddenly turns and gets past the Swansea striker's pressure, okay... Otamendi the ball!"

"Oh dear, he was trying to connect with Tang Long, but Tang Long was retreating! He should have been gentler with the ball, otherwise it wouldn't have been intercepted!"

"Caballero seems a bit scared; this time, he passed the goal kick to Clichy on the wing."

"Clichy passes back to Otamendi then surges forward!"

"Otamendi a long ball at Clichy! My God, it was so high and far! Clichy caught the ball with his hands outside the sideline and shook his head in disbelief."

Tang Long couldn't stand it anymore!

Taking advantage of the brief moment when the ball was dead, he ran back from his position in the attacking third to Otamendi's side.

"Just now, Clichy made a run down the wing to draw away the opponent's winger. He was creating space, not for you to pass. You should have either passed to Toure or Fernando to allow for a gradual advance. Otherwise, Caballero could have just launched a long ball."

"But... but that's how Ranocchia kicked it before!"

Otamendi stared wide-eyed, looking utterly bewildered.

Tang Long covered his face with his right hand.

Ranocchia did indeed deliver some accurate long passes from the center-back position, but those passes came when the full-backs had already pushed up to the opponent's offside line and started to accelerate.

Clichy had just pushed past midfield, and there was still a defender marking him closely;

Besides, Clichy was with his back to the goal; how could you possibly pass him a high ball like that?

Tang Long realized that Otamendi wasn't incapable of playing center-back; he simply didn't know how to play the ball out from the center-back position.

Throughout the first half, Manchester City struggled to advance from their own half due to the team's ineffective passing from the center-backs.

Furthermore, Swansea's effective defensive tactics and compact formation resulted in a 0-0 draw.

During halftime, assistant coach Rayne, seeing the situation was not going well and that continuing like this might result in another fruitless game, immediately suggested to Pellegrini that Otamendi should not be allowed to play out as a center-back.

However, Pellegrini rejected the assistant coach's statement and insisted on his original tactics.

At this stage, only Otamendi and Demichelis, the two center-backs, have decent footwork skills;

Demichelis is too old; Otamendi is ranked higher.

However, Pellegrini made some minor adjustments, moving Tang Long from the attacking midfield position to the defensive midfield position, and then moving Yaya Toure to the attacking midfield position.

The tactical intention is very clear: to use Tang Long's passing and ball control to organize the backcourt effectively!

Pellegrini's adjustment at the start of the second half had an immediate effect!

With Tang Long on the court, Otamendi's passing became much simpler.

Anyway, once you get the ball, as long as Tang Long isn't completely marked, just give him the ball;

Even though Tang Long was tightly marked and surrounded by multiple players, Otamendi still trusted him completely and passed the ball to Tang Long.

Every time Tang Long receives the ball in the backfield, he faces a battle with two or more defenders.

Fortunately, he remained highly focused, and through a series of quick maneuvers, he managed to avoid any mistakes or losing possession.

But no sooner had one problem subsided than another arose!

In solving one problem, Pellegrini created new ones.

With Bony as the starting striker and Iheanacho on the left wing, Tang Long's forward runs into the attacking third lacked sufficient spacing and support.

Iheanacho and Bony are both Black, very fast runners, and they excel at chaotic fighting!

However, precise passing and control, and purposeful and methodical positioning, are not their strengths.

The only one with experience was Toure.

However, Toure's physical condition unfortunately became a problem...

At 32, Toure felt that his physical fitness was declining year by year after he turned 30.

In the first half, he was really let down by Otamendi, which used up more than 65% of his energy. After 60 minutes in the second half, Toure was also unable to run anymore.

His declining physical fitness caused his technical movements to become distorted. Despite his tall and strong stature, he ultimately couldn't withstand the fierce battles of Swansea's young lads, frequently falling to the ground and losing possession of the ball.

Left with no other option, Tang Long, after receiving the ball in the defensive midfield position, could only rely on his individual ability and anticipation of the situation on the field to dribble forward, trying to get as close as possible to Swansea's penalty area and connect with Bony.

However, this also consumed a lot of Tang Long's physical strength!

The connection won't be successful every time.

After making a run and receiving a through pass from Tang Long, Bony hesitated, thinking about it and then deciding to shoot.

In the heat of the moment, Swansea's center-back intercepted the ball and launched a long ball forward!

If Tang Long were positioned in the defensive midfield role, he could immediately anticipate the ball's trajectory, either positioning himself in advance or intercepting the pass directly.

If Toure is in the defensive midfield position, he can also position himself to disrupt the game.

But Toure has become an attacking midfielder, Tang Long, the defensive midfielder, has just made a long run from the backfield, beating three players to bring the ball to the front. No matter how fast Tang Long runs, he can't keep up with Swansea's passing speed.

Fortunately, Swansea's performance was all bark and no bite; a bunch of rough guys passed the ball around a couple of times, and just five meters from the penalty area, they volleyed it straight into the stands.

Otamendi, who had made a diving tackle, slowly got up from the ground. His jersey was covered in mud, and his whole body was soaked in sweat, as if he had just taken a shower.

"Control the ball! Control the ball! Have you forgotten everything we taught you in training for this match?!"

Pellegrini was so anxious on the sidelines that he kept stamping his feet.

What's wrong?

I've painstakingly developed my possession-based tactics for over two years, and after changing three players, do you think I've lost the ability to play?

In the stands of Swansea's Stadium of Light, which can only hold 20,000 fans.

A Chelsea scout, his hat pulled low to the ground, observed the situation on the field with a pleased expression, scribbling and drawing in his notebook...

In the next round, the 15th round of the Premier League, Chelsea will host Manchester City at home.

The Blues manager Mourinho specially dispatched a trusted scout to the Stadium of Light in Wales to watch the Manchester City vs. Swansea match live.

Mourinho wanted to see what tactics Manchester City would employ after losing three key players.

Looking at it now, Mourinho must be very happy to have received this scouting report!

The match is over!

Swansea put up a valiant 0-0 draw at home against the mighty Manchester City!

The moment the referee blew the final whistle, all the Swansea players raised their arms in triumph!

They were just as happy as if they had won a Premier League match, and even happier than if they had won!

The Manchester City players, on the other hand, were unwilling to accept defeat.

In the established plan, facing a mid-to-lower-table Premier League team like Swansea, whether at home or away, is 100% part of the plan to get three points. After all, if you want to win the title, there's no reason why you can't beat a team like Swansea.

Tang Long was named the best player of the match!

Although the score was 0-0 and neither side scored, the whole match seemed uneventful.

However, the only bright spot is Tang Long!

Tang Long started and played the full 90 minutes of the match, covering a total distance of 12.1 kilometers, ranking first among all players.

Among them, 3.1 kilometers were sprint runs, which also ranked first.

In terms of passing, Tang Long made a total of 102 passes, with a passing success rate as high as 94%!

In defense, he made 2 tackles and 4 interceptions, ranking first in Manchester City's defensive statistics.

Perhaps due to his impressive statistics, even though neither side scored, the Premier League League still awarded Tang Long the Man of the Match award.

However, Tang Long, who once again won the MVP award, did not seem happy in front of the camera.

Since joining Manchester City, he has won countless Man of the Match awards.

But the team won every time, and he either scored a goal or provided an assist.

The fact that he was named MVP of the match after this fruitless game is more of a disgrace than a compliment!

"I am not satisfied with the team's performance today, nor am I satisfied with my own performance. We could have done better," Tang Long told reporters.

Apart from Manchester City, all the teams ranked 2nd to 4th in the Premier League won!

Manchester United easily defeated Southampton 2-0 at home, with Icardi scoring twice!

This victory not only helped Manchester United narrow the gap with Manchester City to 2 points, but also allowed Icardi to surpass the injured Agüero and take the top spot in the scoring charts with 13 goals!

Chelsea secured a comfortable 4-1 away Tottenham Hotspur against their city rivals Tottenham at White Hart Lane in London, bringing their points total to 31, just 4 points behind league leaders Manchester City.

Arsenal, on the other hand, came from behind to win 3-1 at home against Leicester City after conceding an early goal!

Compared to Icardi, who continued to boast and talk big in the post-match press conference, the media paid more attention to Mourinho's post-match remarks.

Since returning to Chelsea from Real Madrid, Mourinho has become much more restrained than he was in his younger days, and no longer appears as unruly.

But his speech still revealed his inner pride and his self-identification as "a special one".

"I'm just baffled! At the beginning of the season, you media outlets kept touting that the Premier League title would be decided between Manchester City and Manchester United."

"Have you forgotten about Chelsea? Have you forgotten about me, Mourinho?"

"Open your eyes and look! Who was the Premier League champion last season, the 2014-15 season?"

"Not Manchester United, not Manchester City, and certainly not Arsenal, but us, Chelsea!"

Mourinho's eyes revealed a wise smile as he unscrewed a bottle of water, took a big gulp, and leaned back in his chair with a tactical backbend.

Although their match against Manchester City was at the same time, he received a call from a scout at the Stadium of Light as soon as the match ended.

In the phone call, Mourinho's trusted scouts provided a detailed report on Manchester City's draw against Swansea away from home.

Mourinho is very happy with this result!

As the defending champions, Chelsea are unwilling to fall behind and will certainly compete for the Premier League title.

Mourinho was even happier about this process!

He even felt that although his temples were graying, he wasn't too stubborn in his coaching. There were many coaches in the Premier League who were more stubborn than him, and Pellegrini was one of them.

"You're asking me about Manchester City's game? I know they drew."

How would you evaluate their draw? What's your opinion on Tang?

"Okay, you media always like to set traps for me. I don't like commenting on other teams, nor do I like evaluating other teams' players."

"However, given that we're playing Manchester City at home in the next round, I'd better say a few words, otherwise you'll all criticize me for not giving you news material again."

"Heh, Manchester City is indeed very strong, and Tang is also very strong, but neither of them are my match!"

"You ask me why I say that? Young man, what organization are you from? Judging by your age, you haven't been a reporter for very long! Ten years ago, when you were still in high school, I was coaching Chelsea, and I once said, 'Because I'm the special one!'"

(Premier League champions? Don't forget about Chelsea!)