章 218: Manchester City's Grueling Schedule!
Lin hadn't followed Barcelona's situation for a while, but when he learned that Rosell had embezzled up to 40 million euros, he was deeply shocked.
"Does the club president really have that much power?"
Barcelona is a membership-based club, and the president shouldn't have such extensive authority.
"Who knows? He probably used transfer dealings as an excuse to embezzle the money. As for whose pocket the money ended up in, that's a mystery," David Silva said, shaking his head. He wasn't from La Masia and didn't know much about Barcelona. These bits of information came from his friends in Spain. Reportedly, Rosell denied the accusations in court and refused to disclose where the money went, citing commercial confidentiality. But rumors suggested the money might be linked to Neymar's transfer this summer.
"Barcelona fans are furious. They protested outside the club, demanding Rosell's resignation. It's said that Rosell doesn't even dare to go home, fearing he'd be caught by the angry fans!"
Lin nodded. This seemed like a deserved fate. He rose to power through improper means and fell for the same reasons—a full circle.
The news of Rosell's alleged crimes had apparently impacted Barcelona's performance. After 14 unbeaten rounds, Barcelona was defeated by Athletic Bilbao away, breaking their undefeated streak. As a result, no team in La Liga remained unbeaten.
La Liga was highly competitive. After this loss, Barcelona's points were caught up by Atletico Madrid. Their old rivals, Real Madrid, were only three points behind. The previously advantageous title race had suddenly become uncertain. If Barcelona didn't quickly recover from this negative impact, they might fall behind the Madrid teams.
Aware of this, the Catalonia court intensified the investigation and prosecution of Rosell. Following tips from informants, they discovered evidence that Rosell was involved in tax evasion, match-fixing through forged documents, and bribery of the Brazilian Football Association president and FIFA executives. This news caused an uproar in the football world. The Brazilian Football Association president and the FIFA executives resigned and faced investigations from their national courts.
Rosell himself was forced to resign as Barcelona's president and faced trial, with rumors suggesting he could be sentenced to at least three years in prison. This news shocked many. The position of Barcelona's president seemed as precarious as that of some countries' presidents. From Nunez to Laporta to Rosell, none of the recent Barcelona presidents had good endings. It was uncertain whether Bartomeu, who temporarily took over from Rosell, could escape this curse.
...
Barcelona's unbeaten run ending actually benefited Manchester City.
"Ha, Barcelona lost! Now only Bayern and we are unbeaten in the top five leagues!" Navas said gleefully.
"Yeah, our next match is against West Bromwich Albion, a weaker team. We've got this one!" Negredo said confidently, not taking the opponent seriously.
"Now it's just a matter of who makes a mistake first, us or Bayern!"
The players were very proud of their unbeaten record and wanted to outlast Bayern to become the only unbeaten team in the top five leagues. However, Lin wasn't so optimistic. He vaguely remembered that in Guardiola's first season at Bayern, he set the club's longest unbeaten streak. He couldn't recall the exact number of games, but it was a significant record in Bayern's history.
"Other leagues are approaching their winter breaks, but the Premier League doesn't have one. We need to be prepared for a potential dip in performance," Pellegrini said during a pre-match training session, discussing with his assistants. This was Pellegrini's first time coaching in the Premier League, so he had to be extra cautious.
"Is the Premier League's winter schedule that daunting?" an assistant coach asked curiously.
"Yes, it is. In other leagues, after about three months of matches, players get almost a month of rest. But in the Premier League, without a winter break, December's schedule becomes increasingly packed with cup and league matches. Players will have to play significantly more matches compared to the previous months. For example, in November, we had three league matches, but in December, we have seven, including three within six days around Christmas. Matches in the 17th and 18th rounds are even back-to-back."
"Wow, that's brutal. Why does the Premier League schedule matches like this?"
"Commercial reasons. To maximize commercial benefits, they deliberately schedule more matches during Christmas when other leagues are on break, attracting viewers during their holiday."
"Right, fans, regardless of their allegiance, will watch Premier League matches during the holidays if they want to see football. It's a clever strategy!"
"But for the players, it's tough. The congested schedule greatly increases physical strain and the risk of injuries. Also, not being able to spend Christmas with family and having to play instead can lead to resentment and a drop in performance."
Pellegrini had clearly done his homework. Although he hadn't experienced the Premier League's winter schedule, he understood its challenges.
"So, what should we do now?" asked the assistant coach, worried after hearing about the harsh schedule.
"We must rotate players. We need to start planning now to minimize the main players' fatigue. This way, during the hectic Christmas schedule, the key players' performance won't drop significantly."
Pellegrini was thorough in his planning. He even considered giving players time off before Christmas to rest and spend time with their families, hoping it would reduce their resentment during the busy period. However, looking at Manchester City's December schedule gave him a headache. After the Swansea match, they had eight matches left in December—six in the league, one in the Champions League, and one in the League Cup.
On December 11th, Manchester City would face Bayern Munich away in a crucial Champions League group match. Then, on December 14th, they would play Arsenal, their direct rivals for the league title, in a six-pointer match. Both games were vital to their season's success in the Champions League and the league. Pellegrini couldn't afford to give up on either and had to go all out.
On December 5th, Manchester City played against 12th-placed West Bromwich Albion away. Since Lin had just returned from Italy, Pellegrini, considering his physical condition, didn't start him but put him on the bench. With the intense Christmas schedule approaching, Lin, the most crucial player for Manchester City, needed to be kept in top form to avoid a potential team collapse.
In this match, Pellegrini paired Aguero and Negredo up front in a 4-4-2 diamond formation. Despite Lin not starting, Manchester City's attack remained formidable. At The Hawthorns, City started aggressively, taking the initiative and launching a fierce attack on West Bromwich Albion.
In just 9 minutes, Aguero opened the scoring, giving Manchester City the lead. The Argentine's scoring efficiency had significantly improved this season. This goal was his 14th in the league, placing him second in the Premier League's Golden Boot race, just behind Lin, who had 21 goals.
In the 22nd minute, Yaya Toure scored a high-quality direct free-kick, extending Manchester City's lead. When Lin wasn't on the field, Yaya Toure was the first-choice set-piece taker for both free-kicks and penalties.
With two early goals, Manchester City had a comfortable lead, and their traveling fans started singing in celebration. The match had settled into a rhythm familiar to City. Facing such a rampant City, who could resist their attacks?
Seeing this result, Pellegrini felt relieved. He stood up to applaud the players and reminded them to control the pace of the game and conserve their energy.
With Manchester City's attack restrained, neither team had significant opportunities, and the score remained 2-0 at halftime.
In the second half, West Bromwich Albion's performance remained poor. They seemed stunned by City's early onslaught, worried about a heavy defeat like Tottenham and Norwich had suffered. Losing to City wasn't shameful, but being thrashed at home was. Seeing the opponent losing their fighting spirit, Pellegrini started making substitutions early.
In the 65th minute, Manchester City substituted Milner for Aguero, the goal scorer. However, unexpectedly, the match's dynamics changed after this substitution.
In the 72nd minute, a long-range shot from West Bromwich Albion's forward, Shane Long, caused chaos in City's penalty area. In the scramble, City's goalkeeper, Pantilimon, made a critical error, deflecting a teammate's clearance into his own net, gifting the opponent an own goal. Kolarov was speechless; he had cleared the ball successfully, but Pantilimon inexplicably blocked it!
Pantilimon quickly apologized, taking responsibility for the goal. However, this unexpected goal reignited West Bromwich Albion's fighting spirit. They began attacking City aggressively.
In the 85th minute, substitute Anichebe cut inside from the wing, and a defensive mix-up allowed him to break through. Goalkeeper Pantilimon rushed out but was tricked by Anichebe's feint and instinctively grabbed his ankle, bringing him down in the box.
[Whistle!] The referee immediately blew his whistle and ran over with a serious expression. Pantilimon realized his mistake, trying to explain to the referee and help the fallen Anichebe up, but the referee ignored him and harshly showed a red card, sending him off!
"This idiot!" Even the usually calm Pellegrini couldn't help but curse when he saw Pantilimon being shown a red card. Letting the opponent score would have been better than this; now, they had to play with ten men and face a penalty.
As the referee sent off Pantilimon, he also awarded a penalty. The fans at The Hawthorns were ecstatic; if this penalty was converted, it would level the score!
Manchester
City had suddenly lost control of the match. Pellegrini couldn't sit still any longer. He brought on Joe Hart and sent Lin to warm up, preparing to substitute him.
Joe Hart, who had been benched for several matches, saw this as a chance to reclaim his starting position. Pantilimon's mistakes had given him an opportunity, and he was eager to prove himself.
Unlike Hart, Lin wasn't excited. He felt an ominous premonition. The team's sudden slump didn't sit well with him. Although Pantilimon's performance was poor, the defense was also lackluster, especially captain Kompany, who seemed a shadow of his former self.
Lin had often played the hero this season, rescuing the team with last-minute goals. Pellegrini, with only two substitutions left, chose Lin without hesitation, hoping he could turn the tide.
Unfortunately, Hart couldn't save the penalty. When Lin came on, the score was already 2-2. The situation wasn't as bad as it could have been; they were level, not losing. But as soon as Lin entered the field, he noticed his teammates' emotions and performance were off.
Lin initially didn't think much of it. He called for the ball, trying to organize effective attacks with Milner, David Silva, and others. From the bench, he had observed that without Aguero, City's attack became disorganized, reducing their threat to West Bromwich Albion.
His plan was to restore City's attacking threat and force the opponent back into defense. However, he soon noticed a problem: his teammates were hesitant to support the attack. Apart from Navas and David Silva, the others seemed afraid to push forward.
This situation made Lin frown. His teammates' mentality was clearly an issue, but what exactly was the problem?
Suddenly, he had a thought—could it be because of that reason!
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