Chapter 601: Manchester City Goes Wild Again, The Substitutes' First Trophy!
The draw at Anfield wasn't ideal for either team. As the saying goes, "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits." Liverpool and Manchester City each took one point, while Manchester United and Tottenham both claimed all three. United seized the opportunity to close the gap with City, and Tottenham reduced their deficit with Liverpool to just two points. Liverpool's hold on fourth place was now precarious.
Despite both teams suffering in the end, the fans from both sides could reluctantly accept the result. After enduring the tense final minutes, Liverpool fans were relieved their team didn't lose. The dominance City showed toward the end left them feeling rattled. While some fans regretted that Liverpool missed a great opportunity, they could see the potential in their team.
Sure, Liverpool wasn't as strong as City right now, but once Klopp had fully shaped this team, they could certainly compete with them in the future. Revenge could wait. Besides, drawing with City wasn't something to be ashamed of—many top teams this season couldn't even manage that.
On the other hand, City fans felt like they had escaped a near-death experience. Liverpool had such a huge advantage in the second half that many thought City was doomed. But in the final moments, City clawed back with three goals to salvage a draw.
However, the fact that City fell behind so badly during the match exposed several issues with the team. Guardiola now had time to fix these problems. If they persisted into the final stages of the season, when City would be fighting on three fronts—Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League—these weaknesses could be fatal.
In a way, the lessons learned from this match were worth the cost of the draw.
Guardiola used the game as a wake-up call and made some adjustments to the team's defensive setup, clarifying defensive zones to help players understand their roles better. He also focused more on protecting the weak side and applying pressure to the ball carrier during counterattacks, denying the opposition space to advance. These changes were meant to prepare the team for the intense battles of the Champions League, but they tested them in the league first.
With City's large lead at the top of the table, they had room to experiment.
Whether the changes made City stronger or the league opponents were too weak, the results were clear: City became unstoppable in the league once again.
In Round 24, City beat Newcastle 4-0 at home.
In Round 25, they won 3-0 at home against West Brom.
In Round 26, City defeated Burnley 3-1 away.
In Round 27, they thrashed Leicester 5-1 at home.
In Round 28, City beat Arsenal 3-0 away.
Before the Champions League knockout stages even started, City had racked up five consecutive wins in the Premier League. Not only were they winning easily, but their opponents stood no chance against them.
Against Newcastle, City had an astonishing 85% possession, winning 18 corners while Newcastle had none! Even teams with some quality, like Leicester and Arsenal, were helpless against them.
City had once again become a Premier League monster, seemingly unstoppable.
Fortunately for the rest of Europe, the Champions League knockout stages would soon begin, and City would have to split their focus. But thanks to some favorable draws, City's opponents in the knockout stages weren't particularly strong.
In the first leg of the round of 16, City demolished their opponents 4-0 away from home. With that scoreline, the tie was essentially over. Even if City fielded a full squad of substitutes in the second leg, they were unlikely to be eliminated.
With the next leg almost a formality, City's next league opponent, Chelsea, became the unlucky victims.
By the time the league reached Round 29, Chelsea, who had been in third place, had dropped to fifth. They were two points behind Tottenham and four points behind Liverpool. As for City, they were far ahead with 78 points—25 points more than Chelsea.
With ten rounds left, City only needed seven wins and a draw to break the Premier League points record and reach 100 points. And unfortunately for Chelsea, they were set to become the stepping stone for City's next milestone.
Despite both teams having just played Champions League matches, City had thrashed Basel 4-0 away, while Chelsea had struggled to a draw at home against Barcelona. Although Chelsea had played at home, they were more exhausted than City, who had traveled.
As Chelsea visited the Etihad, many recalled the controversial game last year where Chelsea had beaten City. Now, with a burning desire for revenge, City's players were expected to unleash their fury on Chelsea, making it the most anticipated game of the round.
City showed no mercy from the start, launching an aggressive attack on Chelsea. Chelsea tried to trade blows early on, but City's intense pressing quickly overwhelmed them.
For most of the first half, Chelsea barely touched the ball. City's possession reached over 90%, and the ball stayed around Chelsea's penalty area, constantly testing their defense.
Chelsea's fans had followed their team through thick and thin for years, but they had never seen such a terrifying level of possession football. Even when Barcelona was at their peak, they didn't make Chelsea look this helpless.
Of course, this might have been because that Chelsea team was stronger than the current one.
Despite the chaos, Conte's Chelsea managed to hold on defensively. They seemed like a tightly wound string, ready to snap at any moment, but somehow, they kept City at bay.
By halftime, City had taken 17 shots, with 7 on target, but hadn't managed to score. Chelsea's defense was a success, for the moment.
But playing like this couldn't last. Several Chelsea players had picked up yellow cards in their desperate efforts to stop City's attacks. If City kept up the pressure in the second half, those players would be cautious to avoid getting sent off, weakening Chelsea's defense.
During the halftime break, Conte gave Hazard and Pedro some instructions, hoping they could threaten City on the counterattack and force them to ease off their relentless assault.
Hazard clearly took his coach's words to heart and became more active at the start of the second half. At one point, he even earned a free kick after forcing a foul from Kante, earning the City midfielder a yellow card.
But just as Chelsea began to push forward, City struck them with a brutal blow.
Taking advantage of Chelsea's advancing formation, City seized the opportunity to exploit the transition. After successfully defending, City quickly moved the ball down the wing with just a few passes, reaching Chelsea's penalty area.
Mbappé delivered a perfect cross, and Agüero, who was waiting in the box, slotted it past the Chelsea keeper.
After nearly 50 minutes of holding out, Chelsea's defense had finally crumbled.
Once the psychological barrier was broken, the floodgates opened for City.
In the 55th minute, less than 10 minutes after the first goal, City struck again. David Silva and Lin Quan played a quick one-two, with Silva bursting into the box and finishing neatly into the corner.
The score was now 2-0!
But it wasn't over. Just two minutes later, Chelsea's defense made a mistake, allowing Lin Quan to intercept the ball in a dangerous area. Lin Quan found himself one-on-one with the keeper and calmly chipped the ball over him, making it 3-0.
A 3-0 scoreline against Chelsea was unusual, considering they were known for their strong defense, consistently among the best in the Premier League. But under City's relentless attack, Chelsea had fallen apart.
This defeat was bad news for both Chelsea and their coach, Conte.
In an earlier match, Tottenham had easily beaten Huddersfield 2-0. If Chelsea lost to City, the gap between them and Spurs would widen. At that moment, Chelsea trailed Tottenham by only two points. With 10 games left in the season, they still had a chance to catch up.
But if the gap widened to five points, it would be much harder to close with only nine matches remaining.
Failing to surpass Tottenham would mean no Champions League football for Chelsea next season. On top of that, they had already fallen out of the Premier League title race early in the season. Although they still had a chance to win the FA Cup, a trophy with little prestige wouldn't satisfy Chelsea.
Given that Abramovich was known for his impatience and tendency to fire coaches on a whim, Conte's days at Stamford Bridge were likely numbered.
Conte couldn't shake the feeling that, after this summer, he might be out of a job.
Sigh, he thought. I'm so tired. The troublemakers in the squad never listen, the results are poor, and on top of that, I have to deal with an angry, volatile boss. I can't take it anymore.
Let it all end quickly. I'm done.
Perhaps this change in mentality affected Conte's decisions. With Chelsea down 3-0, instead of bringing on attacking players like Giroud and Morata for a final push, he opted to substitute in more defensive players.
This decision sparked widespread controversy after the match, drawing the ire of many Chelsea fans.
They had a point: as the coach, Conte was supposed to be the team's backbone. If he gave up, what would the players on the field think?
However, to be fair, Conte's decision did achieve the intended result. City continued to attack ferociously, but they couldn't extend their lead any further. From this perspective, Conte's substitutions were effective.
...
After facing Arsenal and Chelsea in quick succession, combined with the demands of the Champions League, City's squad was starting to show signs of fatigue.
This wasn't surprising. Every year, teams nearing the end of the season begin to feel the strain. The Premier League, with no winter break, was particularly grueling.
At this stage of the season, most top Premier League teams were riddled with injuries.
While City also had their share of injuries, they were in better shape than most. Still, to minimize risks and give the players more rest, Guardiola decided to use his domestic cup squad for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 on March 8.
After winning 4-0 away against Basel, City simply needed to prevent the Swiss side from scoring four goals at the Etihad, and they'd be through to the quarterfinals.
As a result, there was little pressure on the team. Even though they were fielding backups, these substitutes were highly valued players—just young and less experienced. They weren't amateurs, and Basel wasn't going to walk all over them.
The substitutes had something to prove. Not long ago, they suffered a humiliating FA Cup loss to Wigan Athletic, a League One team. Although playing with 10 men after a red card in the first half contributed to that loss, being beaten by a third-tier side was still embarrassing.
The FA Cup has always been full of upsets, with major teams frequently falling to lower-league opponents. A few years ago, no one would have paid much attention to City losing to Wigan. But with City's recent success and newfound reputation, such a loss sparked widespread discussion.
A loss is a loss. Although they redeemed themselves by beating Arsenal 3-0 in the League Cup final just a week later, the shame of the Wigan defeat hadn't been erased.
So in this Champions League match, City's substitutes were determined to prove themselves. They wanted to show the world that losing to Wigan was just an anomaly.
After all, if they could beat Premier League giants like Arsenal, defeating Basel shouldn't be a problem.
It seemed the substitutes were eager to prove their point, as Gabriel Jesus scored shortly after kickoff, giving City a perfect start.
But the joy didn't last long. Basel quickly struck back, equalizing in lightning-fast fashion. Norwegian winger Mohamed Elyounoussi exploited a lapse in City's defense and caught them off guard, leaving many of the City players stunned as the ball found its way into the net.
Guardiola was furious on the sidelines. He allowed young players to make mistakes, but not like this—not such basic, collective errors.
For heaven's sake, this was the Champions League, not some neighborhood amateur league!
Get it together!
End of chapter.