Icardi curses out De Bruyne: "You Belgian bastard, your job is to help me win the Golden Boot!"
The EFL Cup final between Manchester City and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium caused quite a stir in Britain football.
The main focus of the turmoil lies in the tactical battle between the two head coaches.
Wenger's rogue corner kick tactics amazed everyone!
Many Britain team managers have only just discovered that corner kicks can be taken in this way.
I originally thought that the Premier League referees were the most lenient in the top Top Five Leagues, but I didn't expect that they would ignore even the pressure and obstruction in the penalty area!
The head coaches all summoned their respective team's set-piece coaches and began imitating Wenger's hooligan corner kick tactics.
Especially for weaker teams that struggle to score, set pieces are often their key to breaking the deadlock.
With this tactic, the head coaches felt that there was no need to rack their brains for passing and movement tactics in attack; if they could just get the corner kicks right, they would have won half the battle in attack.
Compared to Wenger's post-match press conference, where he spoke with considerable pride about the team's corner kick tactics;
Pellegrini, on the other hand, remained tight-lipped about his tactics, avoiding the topic altogether.
Using a smaller player to guard a larger player?
This is an unprecedented event in the century-long history of England football.
However, no matter how the reporters asked, Pellegrini always avoided giving a direct answer.
His repeated ambiguities have raised considerable doubts among outsiders.
Ultimately, they had to come to the conclusion that only a tactical mastermind like Pellegrini could pull off such a dangerous tactic!
Other teams should not attempt this lightly, otherwise they might get headed down by a tall opponent!
Bayern's head coach Guardiola was equally shocked.
It was midnight that night.
The lights were still on in Bayern Munich's tactical analysis room.
Guardiola and his trusted scout Raymond, who had followed Manchester City throughout the entire 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium, reviewed the EFL Cup final together.
The two reviewed the footage frame by frame.
"Raymond, tell me, what exactly is Pellegrini thinking? Did you see anything suspicious on the spot?"
After repeatedly watching Manchester City's corner kick defensive tactics, Guardiola was still completely baffled.
I just can't figure out why Pellegrini used this tactic.
Such tactics go against the conventional principles of football development!
Even during Guardiola's time managing Barcelona, when the players were generally not very tall, the relatively taller players like Pique, Busquets, and Toure were still very effective man-marking tactics in set-piece situations.
"I don't understand either. If it were me, I would never use Iniesta and Lionel Messi to focus on marking the opponent's tall players. And Pellegrini didn't do that in the first half either. He suddenly changed in the second half and so easily neutralized Wenger's corner kick tactics!"
Raymond also told Guardiola many details from the scene that were not shown on broadcast.
He told Guardiola that when Arsenal scored two goals from corner kicks in the first half, Pellegrini also seemed very anxious and kept talking to his assistant coach.
His furrowed brow revealed that Wenger's tactic was completely unexpected, Pellegrini had made no preparations before the match.
"Then there's only one conclusion," Guardiola gasped, "In just 15 minutes of halftime, this Chile old man has come up with a brilliant way to break Wenger's strategy!"
Thinking of this, Guardiola was also filled with horror!
Although both are South America coaches, Guardiola has never taken Pellegrini seriously.
When the two faced off in La Liga before, Pellegrini's Real Madrid lost more often than they won against Guardiola's Barca.
In Guardiola's view, it's perfectly normal for him to take over Manchester City next season and get rid of his former underdog Pellegrini.
Guardiola hopes to use this opportunity to join the Premier League, the world's most watched football league.
However, Pellegrini's unexpected tactic in the second half of this EFL Cup match served as a wake-up call for Guardiola, forcing him to calm down.
He couldn't help but wonder, if Bayern were to face Manchester City, could our players break through this defensive system?
He recalled his agent telling him that Pellegrini was very unhappy about stepping down next season and was determined to make a big push this season. However, Manchester City won the treble against him and he was trying to secure a contract extension at the end of the season. Guardiola couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Raymond then interjected.
"I've been following Manchester City for almost a whole season, and I know very well that Pellegrini simply doesn't have the intelligence to create such bizarre tactics."
Raymond told Guardiola a detail.
That is, when Manchester City uses a smaller player to mark a larger player in their corner kick defensive tactics, there is one person, Tang Long, who stands at the penalty spot and directs his teammates' movements.
"Could it be that Tang gave Pellegrini tactical advice during halftime?"
What tactics did Tang Long propose?
Guardiola was taken aback by Raymond's speculation.
He touched his bald head a few times, pondered for ten seconds, and then waved his hand firmly.
"No! How could that be? Are you kidding me? Tang is not even 20 years old. I admit he's a genius, but he's just a player. How could he come up with such a brilliant tactic? You're overestimating a player's potential!"
After saying that, Guardiola pulled Raymond aside to watch the video.
In the next three Premier League matches, Manchester City, riding high on their first title of the season, continued their unstoppable momentum.
In the 27th round of the Premier League, Sunderland Black Cats.
Before the match, the four members of the Team Committee, Kompany, Agüero, Toure and Tang Long, took the lead and placed the EFL Cup trophy in the center of the Etihad Stadium, allowing the 60,000 Manchester City fans at home to witness the team's first trophy of the season!
Although he was the team's fourth captain, Kompany insisted on having Tang Long stand beside him, raising the trophy high and waving it around the field.
The moment Tang Long raised the trophy high, the Etihad Stadium erupted in enthusiastic cheers!
Thunderous applause!
Tang Long took the microphone and, on behalf of the entire team, delivered an inspiring speech to the fans in the audience.
"Thank you for your support, which has given us our first title of the season. But I assure you, this is just the beginning. We still have the league, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League waiting for us to conquer!"
The cheers from Manchester City fans at the stadium hadn't stopped for the first 20 minutes of the match, almost scaring the Sunderland Black Cats half to death.
Manchester City started like a tiger descending the mountain, tearing the Black Cats to shreds with three goals right from the start.
Agüero opened the scoring with the help of Tang Long, Kolarov scored a 30-meter free kick, Ranocchia headed in another goal from a corner.
Meanwhile, Manchester United also easily defeated Norwich 2-0 away from home, with Icardi scoring twice.
Both assists came from De Bruyne!
That said, ever since his big argument with De Bruyne at home, the Belgium and Icardi have drifted further apart.
He failed to provide any assists for Icardi in three consecutive matches.
Icardi also experienced the longest goal drought of his Manchester United career.
This really worried the kid!
The Argentina were in a frenzy, and their first complaint was to head coach Van Gaal.
"Boss, Kevin is targeting me. He just doesn't want me to win the Golden Boot!"
Finally, Van Gaal, the Manchester United management, and captain Rooney had to call De Bruyne their office separately and take turns trying to persuade him to prioritize the bigger picture and put aside personal grudges.
After all, Icardi is indeed Manchester United's most prolific goalscorer.
De Bruyne came to Manchester City with a vengeance in his heart.
Initially, his transfer to Manchester City was almost finalized, and his personal salary contract had been agreed upon privately;
Unexpectedly, Tang Long landed in Manchester City before him!
It wasn't until that time that De Bruyne realized he was just Tang Long's backup plan!
De Bruyne Manchester United, which naturally included a sincere offer from the Manchester United.
But deep down, wasn't De Bruyne also eager to prove himself against Manchester City's arch-rivals?
I want to lead Manchester United to defeat Manchester City and win the league title!
I, Kevin De Bruyne, will prove to the world who is the best midfielder in the Premier League!
So despite his disdain for Icardi's character, De Bruyne temporarily put aside his personal grudges and reconnected with Icardi on the field.
Although Manchester United and Manchester City still have a 4-point gap after this match, Icardi is quite pleased with himself.
"I've scored two league goals, so I have 23 goals now, Agüero only has 21!"
"Not only have I widened the gap, but Kane hasn't scored either, haha, at this rate, the Premier League top scorer title is definitely mine!"
A confident Icardi no longer considers winning the Premier League Golden Boot a priority.
He's determined to compete with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the final dozen or so rounds of the league and win the UEFA Champions League Golden Boot this season!
If you're going to dream, dream the biggest dream ever!
The ball must go in, and it must go in as many times as possible!
So after the match, in an attempt to curry favor with the assist provider and latch onto De Bruyne.
[A photo with the world's best passer!]
His wife Wanda, immediately commented below the picture:
[A photo of the world's best center forward and best midfielder]
In the 28th round of the Premier League, Manchester City will play away against the Aston Villa.
Manchester United will play Chelsea at home.
Manchester United's match starts earlier, meaning they have one less day of rest than Manchester City.
Fortunately, since Mourinho announced last month that he would find a mole within the team, he has turned Chelsea's dressing room into a complete mess.
The players were acting independently on the field, seemingly intent on going against the Portugal coach.
Old Mu was also anxiously watching from the sidelines!
Chelsea, hampered by internal discord, ultimately lost 1-3 to Manchester United away from home.
After the match, the Red Devils players waved to the cheering fans at Old Trafford, but Icardi walked back to the locker room alone, looking dejected.
He was furious because he had only scored one goal!
Goal scoring should be a happy thing, but what angered Icardi was that De Bruyne had a chance to pass or not, but chose not to pass and instead took the shot himself, although he curled out a beautiful world-class goal.
But what can we do about it?
I didn't score.
So when De Bruyne celebrated, Icardi wore a cold expression, constantly counting on his fingers the gap between himself and Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"My goodness, Cristiano Ronaldo has already scored 5 more goals than me. This 31-year-old guy always seems to surge ahead in the final stages. De Bruyne doesn't pass me the ball and the whole team doesn't keep providing assists, how am I supposed to catch up with him?"
The following day, Manchester City's 4-0 away victory against the Aston Villa only added fuel to the fire of Icardi's already bad mood!
Agüero scored a hat trick!
That's great! Agüero has now equaled Icardi's league goal tally!
Both players have 24 goals in 28 rounds.
After watching Tang Long provide three assists for Agüero.
Enraged, Icardi was so angry he was practically grinding his back teeth to powder!
Because on one occasion, Tang Long faced a situation similar to De Bruyne's, where he could both pass and shoot.
But Tang Long precisely passed the ball to Agüero's feet, allowing the latter to score into an empty net.
Watching the video, Agüero had an incredulous and surprised expression on his face, and even jumped onto Tang Long's back to celebrate— Icardi angrily threw his phone to the ground and started cursing at De Bruyne.
"That Belgium bastard is so uncooperative. Van Gaal said he had to make me the European Golden Shoe winner, why doesn't he listen?"
Icardi immediately logged onto his social media and deleted his previous post, "[A photo with the world's best passer!]".
Premier League Round 29.
Manchester City's winning streak finally came to an end in this round.
The away game against West Ham United ended in a 1-1 draw.
Tang Long scored the only goal, while Agüero and Bony performed poorly, repeatedly missing good opportunities.
Manchester City played in the early game and Manchester United played in the late game. After watching Manchester City's draw on Saturday, all the Red Devils players cheered!
The opponent finally tied!
Icardi's shouts were the loudest!
Hooray, Agüero finally didn't score!
Van Gaal will not let his rivals take this opportunity to slack off.
They narrowly defeated Newcastle 1-0. In the 85th minute, De Bruyne dribbled into the penalty area and was tripped, earning Manchester United a penalty.
Without consulting Rooney, Icardi grabbed the ball in full view of everyone, placed it on the penalty spot, and calmly converted the penalty.
"Haha, I've surpassed Agüero!"
After this battle...
Manchester United have finally narrowed the gap with league leaders Manchester City.
The two teams are now only two points apart!
The Manchester Derby is coming this weekend!
The decisive battle for this season's Premier League title!
<Icardi vs. Agüero: Who is the best striker in the Premier League?>
<De Bruyne vs. Tang: Who is the Premier League's number one midfielder?>
"Please tune in to Sky Sport for a live broadcast on Sunday at 7:30 PM!"