We agreed to play football together, and you will be the head coach?

Chapter 86: Real-life Sicily affair

At the beginning of the second half, Palermo's adjustments immediately produced obvious results.

For a full ten minutes, Manchester City failed to launch a decent attack.

They seemed to have more time in possession of the ball, but most of the time they passed the ball back out of desperation.

Once they think of advancing or passing the ball across half court, Palermo's midfield and frontcourt players will start to siege them, forcing them to kick the ball out with long kicks.

In the 56th minute, Vidic easily suppressed Fowler and headed the ball back to Handanovic.

In the 62nd minute, Barzagli jumped up to compete with Anelka for the header, interfering with the French alien. As a result, neither of them could touch the ball, and Vidic then confiscated the ball.

In the 73rd minute, Modric completed a steal in the frontcourt and then made a through pass.

After Luca Toni received the ball, he even had time to make a slight adjustment before shooting.

He-Man was powerless.

Three to one!

Palermo extended their lead.

Originally, Manchester City could overtake with one more goal, but now, if Manchester City scores two more goals, they can only equalize.

The atmosphere at Manchester City Stadium cooled instantly.

They don't know why they have a higher ball possession rate, the number of shots is not much less than the opponent, and the game is also quite evenly matched, but why do they have a feeling of powerlessness?

This feeling should be deeply understood by Manchester United fans next door in ten or twenty years.

The reason is that their ball control was ineffective.

It is passive ball control.

It is a possession of the ball for the purpose of avoiding the opponent's pressing, and it is not offensive at all.

Most of Palermo's ball possession was offensive in order to find opportunities.

This is real ball control.

In the 79th minute, Sun Jihai, who was about to lose his starting position due to Ribery's breakthrough, completed a beautiful individual performance. He knocked the young defender Valencia to the ground and made a cross pass.

Robbie Fowler made a smart move and scored the goal.

Three to two!
Manchester City seemed to see hope of equalizing the score.

Unfortunately, He Tianqi notified Lao Kami to make adjustments in time.

Valencia was replaced by veteran defender Accardi.

The central defender is placed on the wing, which is very suitable for defending Manchester City's right side, which is not very fast.

Ashley Young comes on as a substitute for midfielder Brianza.

The space that He Tianqi gave Ashley Young to move around in the locker room was the left rib position.

Ashley Young is only allowed to move up and down the left flank, otherwise he will be lost in the vast grassland in the middle.

He doesn't have the same excellent positioning sense and court vision as Yaya Toure.

In the 88th minute, McManaman forced a long-range shot and completed a helpless shot.

The frontcourt couldn't receive any shells at all and their number of attacks decreased too much.

After finally getting the ball, there is a large group of defensive players on the other side, and each of them is extremely strong. It is impossible to break through in a one-on-one fight. Instead of being intercepted, it is better to gamble on a long shot.

boom!
The ball hit Yaya Toure and bounced towards Ashley Young.

Ashley Young received the ball and ran along the left rib. He was full of energy.

Ribery pulls the ball down the wing.

Ashley Young dribbled the ball across half court and encountered the opposing defender.

But at this time Ribery suddenly cut in from the wing without the ball.

"Pass the ball!" He Tianqi looked at Ashley Young, who didn't know what to do, and reminded him loudly, attracting the attention of all the fans around.

This command style is truly unique.

But is it useful?
boom!
Ashley Young made a lob pass, which was helpful.

This pick brought about another world. Ribery easily got the ball and broke into the penalty area.

boom!
Facing the attacking Seaman, Ribery scored with a low shot into the far corner.

"GOAL! 4-2! Ribery also scored!"

"The French killed the game! But it wasn't Anelka, but his compatriot Ribery!"

"Ashley Young's pass was brilliant and the Watford academy graduate has made great progress in Italy."

"Premier League teams should bring him back to England, he is a great youngster who can shine in multiple positions!"

The English media always prefers to brag about their own people.

They had no idea that if He Tianqi hadn't reminded him, Ashley Young would have tried to get past Manchester City's defender but failed, and thus missed the opportunity.

“Not as high as it used to be” is not just an exaggeration!

Finally, as the referee blew the whistle three times, the Manchester City Stadium booed in despair.

They were defeated 4-2 in a single game and 6-4 in two rounds, but were tragically reversed by Palermo at home.

Manchester City players felt very powerless in this game.

Anelka: "This team is different from the last time we played against them. I always feel that I have not been able to bring out a lot of my abilities."

David Seaman: "They played very aggressively, not like a lower-level team. They were much better at taking advantage of opportunities than we were."

Robbie Fowler: "We were targeted at the back and the team wasn't running well, whereas Palermo were the opposite."

McManaman: "It's a bad feeling. We had more quality but we couldn't show it. The Palermo players were able to show their best condition."

"So from the field point of view, they did almost everything better than us."

"This is terrible, this is a tactical crushing."

"Old Cami is worthy of being the veteran Italian head coach. His coaching ability is so strong!"

Old Kami: ???

Old Cami: I don’t give a shit about this game!
Some data after the game also reflected what the Manchester City players said.

Palermo's various statistics are slightly better than Manchester City's.

Not much, just a little.

But if all projects are a little better, then it's more than just a little better.

Total encirclement, also known as total suppression!
Both Manchester City players and fans lost the game in a very disgraceful manner.

They had the lead and had chances to equalize.

But the tempo of the game was in Palermo's hands from start to finish.

They have only felt this way in the games against Manchester United and Arsenal.

……

Turin Sports Daily: "Tactical suppression! Dimensional strike! Liverpool legend Kevin Keegan's coaching ability is not as good as Juventus' youth training!"

Gazzetta dello Sport: "Serie B team conquers Manchester! The Premier League is vulnerable, is it worthy of competing with Serie A for the first place?"

"Corriere dello Sport": "Palermo narrowly advances to the UEFA Cup, the Manchester team is not strong enough!"

It has to be said that the Italian media also tends to take things out of context.

It was as if Palermo had defeated the Premier League giants Manchester United.

In the past two years, when people mention Manchester, they must be talking about Manchester United. Who knows Manchester City?
However, the English media was also very strong and fought back.

Manchester Evening News: "The coach of this game was Camignani, not He Tianqi! How dare Juventus mention He Tianqi? Isn't it shameful enough that they lost the Italian Cup?"

Les Echos: "Manchester still has Manchester United, but it's a pity that Manchester United can only play in the Champions League and won't meet Palermo!"

The Times: "What's all the fuss about qualifying for the UEFA Cup? Liverpool advance easily, securing a place in the semi-finals, aiming to win the title, welcome Palermo to Anfield!"

But after several rounds of tug-of-war, The Sun still remains the most popular newspaper.

The Sun: "After the game, Monica booked a private room at a high-end restaurant in Manchester to date He Tianqi! A 39-year-old soccer player is eating young grass, a real-life version of Sicily's illicit love?"

(End of this chapter)