Chapter 593: Manchester City's 6-0 Win Over Liverpool Stuns the Football World!
In this system, the goalkeeper is extremely important. When defenders are being pressed by the opponent, the goalkeeper needs to act as an outlet for passing and relieving pressure on the defense. When the team pushes forward in attack, the goalkeeper must move up as well to maintain the team's structure and act as a sort of "sweeper-keeper."
This is exactly why Manchester City's new signing, Ederson, was the perfect fit for this role.
So, in the fourth round of the Premier League, in a high-stakes home match against Liverpool, Guardiola made a bold decision to bench veteran goalkeeper Navas and start the newcomer, Ederson.
Ederson did not disappoint; he lived up to all of his coach's expectations.
Manchester City displayed an overwhelming dominance that instilled fear in their opponents, completely dismantling Liverpool on both ends of the pitch.
In the 23rd minute of the first half, Kevin De Bruyne sent a perfect through ball to Agüero, who darted into the right side of the box and fired a shot to score the opening goal.
In the 37th minute, Lin Quan made a breakthrough on the wing. Under pressure, Liverpool's winger, Sadio Mané, made a reckless tackle from behind and was shown a straight red card by the referee.
Lin Quan's subsequent free kick was lofted into the box, and Virgil van Dijk leaped high to meet it, powering a header into the net to make it 2-0!
During first-half injury time, De Bruyne and Lin Quan once again showed incredible chemistry. De Bruyne spotted a gap in Liverpool's defense and delivered another precise through ball.
Lin Quan, seeing the opportunity, sprinted into the space without even looking back at De Bruyne, completely trusting that the ball would reach him.
And it did—Liverpool's defenders were caught off guard, and by the time they realized the danger, it was too late.
Lin Quan coolly finished the play, extending City's lead to 3-0.
On the sidelines, Liverpool's manager Jürgen Klopp was visibly frustrated.
Conceding three goals in one half, even with the setback of the red card, was a hard pill to swallow. The team's defense had been completely torn apart by City's attack.
At the start of the second half, Klopp made three substitutions in an effort to strengthen Liverpool's defense, but the changes didn't seem to help much.
In the 73rd minute, Lin Quan combined with Leroy Sané in a quick one-two, and Sané cut into the box, scoring with a tight-angle shot to make it 4-0!
Five minutes later, on the right side, David Silva and Lin Quan replicated the same combination play.
Lin Quan, after drawing Liverpool's defenders inside the box, made a reverse pass to the middle, where De Bruyne smashed in a shot to make it 5-0!
But that wasn't the end of it!
In the 88th minute, substitute Kylian Mbappé seized a counterattack opportunity, charging down the wing with dazzling individual skill.
A few seconds later, the stadium erupted into applause and cheers as Liverpool's goalkeeper, Mignolet, dejectedly picked the ball out of the net for the sixth time.
It was outrageous. In his three to four years at Liverpool, Mignolet had never conceded six goals in one match before.
For him, and for Liverpool as a whole, this game was a complete nightmare.
Thanks to goals from multiple players, Manchester City crushed Liverpool 6-0 at home, making a powerful statement that they were back stronger than ever.
The result of the match spread like wildfire across the internet after the game.
Fans who saw the shocking score couldn't believe their eyes:
"Could it be a mistake? Was it really Liverpool?"
"How could Liverpool lose by so much?"
But when they clicked the match highlights, everyone was left stunned.
It was indeed Liverpool that had been demolished by Manchester City!
This was Liverpool—the English club with the richest history in the Premier League!
Just last season, Liverpool had managed to hold their own against City, with each side claiming victories. But this season, how had they been humiliated like this?
Had Liverpool declined, or had Manchester City become even stronger?
Manchester United fans were overjoyed at seeing their rivals Liverpool thrashed.
Especially with Liverpool losing 6-0, it was a humiliation they could laugh about for years.
However, that joy didn't last long. The very next day, Manchester United was held to a draw by Stoke City, and suddenly, their smiles faded.
"Shit!!"
"What the hell? How did a team like Stoke end our winning streak?"
United's draw immediately shifted the momentum in the Premier League title race.
Manchester City, with their massive victory, leapfrogged United to take the top spot, thanks to a superior goal difference.
United fans were furious. Three wins, one draw, 10 points, and 10 goals scored—this was a fantastic start, one that would be celebrated in United's history.
And yet, City had still managed to overtake them. How was this even fair?
What made United fans even more frustrated was the realization that once City took the top spot, they didn't seem like they were going to give it up.
In the fifth round of the league, Manchester City went on the road and scored another 6-0 thrashing!
Even though Manchester United won 4-0 against their sister club Everton, they couldn't close the gap, and the goal difference between the two teams only widened.
To make matters worse, in the sixth round, City won again, and it was another dominant victory.
At home, they demolished Crystal Palace 5-0, extending their winning streak to three games.
Although United won their game as well, they could only keep pace in terms of points, unable to narrow the goal difference, which had now grown to seven goals!
In the first six games, Manchester City had scored 23 goals, averaging almost four goals per game. It was terrifying!
Guardiola's new tactical system at City was working wonders.
Whether it was mid-table teams or league giants, no one could withstand City's relentless attacking force.
Manchester City's offense seemed as natural as eating or drinking, and any player could score, making them nearly impossible to defend against.
And City wasn't just dominant in the Premier League. In the Champions League group stage, they first thrashed Feyenoord 4-0, then followed it up with back-to-back 3-0 wins over Shakhtar Donetsk and Napoli.
In the fourth group match, City trailed 2-0 away to Napoli but came back with four goals in the next 60 minutes to win 4-2, securing their fourth straight victory and clinching first place in the group with two games to spare.
Manchester City's terrifying attacking power was now the talk of the football world.
Top coaches from across Europe were racking their brains, desperately trying to figure out how to stop City's onslaught.
No one wanted to face Manchester City on the field and be humiliated like Liverpool had been.
After all, top clubs have their pride, and losing so badly was an embarrassment that was hard to live down—just like how Liverpool fans had been enduring endless mockery from United supporters over the infamous "six-six" scoreline.
What was different from previous seasons, though, was that while City was soaring in the Premier League and Champions League, the rest of the English teams weren't far behind either.
Thanks to Manchester United's Europa League win last season, the Premier League had five teams in the Champions League this year.
Had it not been for City's spectacular performances, Manchester United's own campaign would have been worthy of praise.
Like City, United also claimed four consecutive group-stage victories, including a 3-0 win over Basel and a 4-1 thrashing of CSKA Moscow. United's back-to-back wins over Benfica had also secured them first place in Group A with two games to spare.
For once, Mourinho's team wasn't in danger of an unexpected collapse.
Compared to the Manchester clubs, reigning Premier League champions Chelsea's performances had been slightly less impressive, though that was partly due to being drawn into the "Group of Death."
In their group, Chelsea had to contend with both Atlético Madrid and Roma—two formidable opponents!
Atlético Madrid had been a regular in the Champions League knockout stages in recent years, even reaching the final once. Their strength was not to be underestimated.
Roma, meanwhile, had finished second in Serie A and pushed Juventus for the title until the final rounds of last season.
Given these two strong opponents, Chelsea's results had been fairly decent.
They opened with a 6-0 demolition of bottom-placed Qarabag, followed by a crucial 2-1 away win over Atlético, securing three valuable points.
In the third round, they failed to capitalize on a two-goal lead and were forced to settle for a draw against Roma after an Eden Hazard equalizer saved them from defeat.
Overall, Chelsea's two wins and a draw from their first three matches were respectable results.
But in the fourth round, Chelsea was dealt a crushing 3-0 defeat away at Roma, putting their qualification hopes in jeopardy.
Just when Chelsea fans began to worry, Atlético surprisingly faltered.
In both their home and away games against Qarabag, Atlético was held to a draw—despite their opponents having players sent off in both matches.
This shocking outcome gave Chelsea a major boost in their chances of advancing from the group.
While it was unlikely they would finish first ahead of Roma, securing second place seemed more than achievable.
If Chelsea had started strong but faltered later, then Liverpool had done the opposite—they started poorly but gained momentum.
In the first round, they suffered a painful comeback defeat at the hands of Sevilla, with Roberto Firmino even missing a penalty and defender Joe Gomez receiving a red card in the final minutes—piling misery on top of disappointment.
In the second round, Liverpool's form didn't improve much as they were held to a 1-1 draw away to Spartak Moscow.
With only two points from their first two games, Liverpool's path to the knockout stages seemed uncertain.
It appeared that their crushing 6-0 defeat to Manchester City had shaken the team's morale, leaving both players and staff in a slump.
Fortunately, under Klopp's guidance, Liverpool finally woke up.
In the third round, they demolished Slovenian side Maribor 7-0 away from home, and followed it up with a 3-0 win at Anfield.
While Liverpool collected six points, Spartak Moscow and Sevilla engaged in a brutal battle of their own.
Spartak thrashed Sevilla 5-1 at home, only to lose 2-1 away in the rematch.
With both teams splitting the points, Liverpool found themselves atop the group with eight points.
With two games left to play, Liverpool would face direct competition for the remaining spots in the knockout stage. If they could win just one of their final two matches, they would secure qualification.
As for Liverpool's return to the Champions League, they weren't the only team making waves.
Tottenham Hotspur, who had now qualified for the Champions League for the second year in a row, were making heads turn with their impressive performances.
Like Chelsea, Tottenham found themselves in a "Group of Death."
In fact, their group was even tougher, featuring reigning champions Real Madrid, Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund, and APOEL, a team that, while no pushover, wasn't considered as tough as the others.
Tottenham, however, had strengthened their attack with the signing of Son Heung-min, and their offensive firepower had noticeably improved since last season.
Unfazed by their challenging opponents, Spurs opened their campaign with a 3-1 win over Dortmund at home, followed by a 3-0 victory over APOEL away, securing two consecutive wins.
In the third round, Tottenham went to the Santiago Bernabéu, where they held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw thanks to an own goal.
In the fourth round, Tottenham stunned the football world with a 3-1 victory over the defending champions at home, causing a major upset.
Suddenly, Spurs' attacking trio of Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, and Son Heung-min had become household names across Europe.
Tottenham's chairman, Daniel Levy, couldn't stop smiling as he watched the team's success.
Son Heung-min had been a brilliant acquisition, adding versatility to Spurs' attack while also easing the burden on Harry Kane.
What made Levy even happier was that the Son Heung-min deal had actually turned a profit—Spurs had made a few million euros on the transfer!
"This is what I call smart business!" Levy thought to himself.
Rumor had it that after their defeat to Tottenham, Real Madrid had set their sights on signing Harry Kane, hoping to bring the Spurs striker to the Bernabéu.
When Levy heard this, he couldn't help but get excited.
Kane was the team's star player, and Levy had no intention of selling him.
But if Real Madrid was serious about buying him, well, they'd have to pay up!
Given the current transfer market, Levy wouldn't even consider a deal for less than €100 million.
In his mind, Kane was worth far more than Gareth Bale had been—after all, Kane was a homegrown talent and selling him would hurt the club's image. Plus, the fans would definitely not be happy about it.
Levy's high asking price meant that unless Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, it was unlikely that the Spanish club could afford Kane anytime soon.
So, this transfer was unlikely to happen in the near future.
Regardless of whether Kane went to Real Madrid or not, one thing was certain: the Premier League was back at the top of European football.
Not only was this evident from the performances of English clubs in the Champions League, but the quality of competition in the Premier League itself was at an all-time high! (End of chapter)
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