Capítulo 228: Liverpool Comes Knocking!
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"Lin, will you go easy on your old teammates when you play against Werder Bremen?"
After the Champions League draw was announced, a group of reporters swarmed around Lin, eager to interview him.
In response to the question, Lin smiled and said, "My old teammates are all very strong. They don't need me to go easy on them. In fact, I might need to ask them to go easy on me since they know my playing habits so well—no one understands how to stop me better than they do!"
Lin had a good relationship with his former teammates at Werder Bremen. In a smaller, more humble club like Bremen, players typically had closer relationships than they did in bigger, more glamorous teams. Lin cherished this friendship and wouldn't damage it by saying something like "I'll go easy on them," which could hurt their pride. Instead, he praised his former teammates, hoping the reporters would pay more attention to them and help raise their profiles. After all, some players at Werder Bremen were quite talented; they just lacked the right platform.
The reporters weren't completely satisfied with Lin's diplomatic answer, so they pressed on with more questions:
"Lin, how do you feel about returning to Weser Stadium?"
"If you score at Weser Stadium, will you celebrate?"
Lin was silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to answer.
"To be honest, I never imagined I'd return to Weser Stadium as an opponent. It's a very strange feeling. Last season, when I wore Werder Bremen's green jersey, I could always hear the applause and cheers from the home fans. But now, I'm afraid I might hear boos. It's not easy to score against Werder Bremen, but if I'm lucky enough to do so, I don't think I'll celebrate, whether it's at their stadium or ours."
Lin's sincere response touched Werder Bremen fans who read the interview. They flocked to Lin's social media, posting a unified message: "Lin, welcome home!"
The former captain, Fritz, mentioned Lin in a social media post, saying, "Lin, we all miss you. Welcome home!"
Arnautović added, "Hey buddy, we've got a surprise for you when you return to Bremen!"
Füllkrug wrote, "It's definitely a big surprise—I can vouch for that!"
Lin was curious about the surprise they mentioned, but when he asked them directly, they refused to give him any hints.
…
The Champions League match was still far away. After the draw, Manchester City quickly shifted their focus back to the Premier League and domestic cups.
On December 18th, the League Cup quarterfinals took place. Lin came on as a substitute in the 76th minute and scored his first goal in the League Cup. With Navas scoring twice and Lin adding another, Manchester City comfortably defeated Leicester City 3-1 away from home, extending their unbeaten streak to 25 games.
On December 21st, in the 17th round of the Premier League, Manchester City faced Fulham away. The two teams had met during the preseason, with City winning 2-0. Against the powerful Manchester City, Fulham wisely chose not to go head-to-head but instead parked the bus, hoping to contain their opponents with a defensive counter-attacking strategy.
However, Fulham's plan backfired against Manchester City's potent attack. By the end of the first half, City was already 2-0 up thanks to goals from Lin and Yaya Touré. After the break, Kompany headed in another goal, making it 3-0.
With the game in hand, City began making substitutions. Their next match was a top-of-the-table clash with third-placed Liverpool, so Pellegrini decided to rest Lin and other key players.
But after the substitutions, things got a bit shaky. In the 70th minute, Kompany made a mistake when trying to clear the ball with a header, accidentally scoring an own goal and giving Fulham a lifeline. Buoyed by this, Fulham launched an attack, and in the 77th minute, Richardson scored again, cutting City's lead to 3-2. In just seven minutes, City had conceded two goals, making their fans nervous.
In recent league matches, City had developed a habit of faltering after taking the lead. Fortunately, substitutes Navas and Milner stepped up, scoring in the 82nd and 85th minutes to restore City's three-goal advantage.
In the end, Manchester City won 5-2 away at Fulham, extending their unbeaten run to 26 games and maintaining their 17-game unbeaten streak in the league. If they hadn't lost to Norwich in the final game of last season, City's unbeaten run across seasons would now be over 20 games.
However, as their unbeaten streak continued, the psychological pressure on the players increased. They became more and more concerned about winning or losing, with the fear of losing weighing heavily on their minds.
In this state, they soon faced their next challenge—an epic showdown with Liverpool.
Liverpool had been impressive this season, shaking off the inconsistency that had kept them in the Premier League's second tier in recent years. They had forced their way into the title race. Since Suarez returned from suspension, they had won four games in a row, scoring an average of 4.5 goals per game, putting their attacking firepower on par with league leaders Manchester City.
In this round of matches, Arsenal was held to a draw by Chelsea at home. With two draws and a loss in their last three games, they had only earned two points. Not only had City widened the gap at the top, but Liverpool had also caught up with Arsenal in the standings. Thanks to a better goal difference, Liverpool leapfrogged Arsenal to take second place in the league.
So, this match was another top-of-the-table clash.
For Liverpool, who were second in the league with 36 points compared to City's 47, the gap was a daunting 11 points. If they couldn't beat Manchester City, entering the second half of the season with such a large deficit would make their title hopes almost impossible. But if they could defeat City, not only would they break City's unbeaten record, but they would also close the gap to eight points, bringing it back to a single-digit deficit.
Despite Liverpool's strong recent form, most people still favored Manchester City. With the best start in Premier League history and an unbeaten streak of 26 games across all competitions, including an unblemished home record, who could beat a team like that?
If this match were at Liverpool's Anfield, some might give Liverpool a slight edge. But Manchester City were hosting the game at Etihad Stadium, one of the most formidable home grounds in the Premier League, if not all of Europe. No team could confidently say they could conquer it. Winning at the Etihad? Even managing a draw there was nearly impossible.
This season, Manchester City had played 12 home games at the Etihad, winning them all and averaging 4.25 goals per game—a terrifying statistic. Losing by three goals there was considered a minor defeat, while conceding six or even seven goals wasn't unusual.
Among the teams that had been thrashed at the Etihad were powerhouses like Manchester United, Arsenal, and Tottenham. Even mighty Bayern Munich had conceded three goals in this stadium. At home, Manchester City were like gods—invincible.
Liverpool was strong, and their recent form was impressive, but with their current squad, they seemed to lack the firepower needed to breach this fortress.
However, before the match, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers confidently stated, "Manchester City is a very strong team, and playing them away will be difficult. But we've found a way to deal with them, and we're going to break their unbeaten record at the Etihad."
Rodgers' words were met with skepticism. Liverpool fans were convinced their team could topple Manchester City, but City fans and most neutral observers weren't so sure. Could Liverpool really achieve what so many top teams had failed to do?
Surprisingly, Rodgers wasn't just bluffing.
When the match started, Liverpool didn't play defensively. Instead, they went head-to-head with Manchester City, opting for an attacking strategy. Very few teams dared to go toe-to-toe with City at the Etihad, and those who did usually didn't fare well.
But Liverpool seemed to have luck on their side.
In the 24th minute of the first half, Liverpool launched a quick counter-attack. After Suarez's shot was parried by the goalkeeper, Coutinho followed up to score, giving Liverpool a 1-0 lead.
"Coutinho scores! Liverpool takes the lead at the Etihad!"
The commentators didn't react too strongly to this goal because several teams had taken the lead at the Etihad only to be overturned in the end.
However, when Suarez scored Liverpool's second goal in the 39th minute, the commentators could no longer remain calm.
"Suarez! An unbelievable goal! He's showing why he's one of the best strikers in the world!"
"This is Suarez's 11th league goal since returning from suspension. The Uruguayan is making a strong push for the top scorer title. At his current scoring rate, he could even challenge Lin for the Golden Boot!"
On Sky Sports, Martin Tyler heaped praise on Suarez. Although the player had been involved in many controversies, with his unsportsmanlike behavior earning him plenty of criticism, his raw talent made him one of the top forwards in the game.
"This goal has pushed Manchester City to the brink. This season, they've never trailed by two goals at home, but Liverpool has done it!"
"Before the match, Rodgers claimed they had found a way to deal with City, but
many doubted his words. Now, I don't think anyone will question him. Liverpool has indeed found a way to challenge City, and they're on the verge of breaking their unbeaten record!"
Trailing by two goals, Manchester City's players grew anxious. Desperate to attack and equalize, they found themselves up against a highly organized Liverpool defense. The more they pressed, the less effective their attacks became.
Meanwhile, Liverpool nearly capitalized on Manchester City's urgency with a dangerous counter-attack. If not for Joe Hart's heroics in saving Sterling's one-on-one chance, City might have been down by three goals.
The first half ended quickly, with Liverpool's players smiling and joking as they headed to the visitors' dressing room. In contrast, City's players were visibly downcast.
During halftime, Pellegrini made some tactical adjustments. He brought on Milner, known for his defensive prowess, to curb Liverpool's attacks down the flanks. He also pushed Lin forward and shifted David Silva to the central attacking midfielder role to provide Lin with more opportunities.
This change had an immediate impact, as Silva assisted Lin in scoring early in the second half. For a moment, City glimpsed the possibility of a comeback.
But Rodgers quickly countered by substituting the goal-scorer Coutinho for Moses, who was tasked with man-marking Silva. The tactic worked. Under Moses' close watch, Silva's passes lost their sting, and Lin, now isolated up front, saw his threat to Liverpool's goal diminish.
Pellegrini responded by replacing Fernandinho with Javi Garcia. Garcia was a good passer and had previously linked up well with Lin. Pellegrini's intentions were clear: he wanted to keep feeding the ball to the forwards, particularly Lin, to stage a comeback.
However, this substitution backfired. Removing Fernandinho significantly weakened City's control in midfield. Under Liverpool's relentless pressure, City began making mistakes in midfield. Garcia, who had been on the field for less than five minutes, lost possession twice, one of which nearly led to a disastrous counter-attack.
Without midfield support, City's forwards were left stranded, and the threat to Liverpool's goal evaporated.
As time ticked away and the match neared its end, City was still trailing. The home fans grew restless, chanting Lin's name, hoping for another last-minute miracle like in previous games. Realizing he was getting no service upfront, Lin disregarded Pellegrini's instructions and dropped back to collect the ball.
He was determined to use his individual brilliance to salvage the game, just as he had done in previous clutch moments.
In the 89th minute, Lin received the ball deep in his own half.
When the ball reached Lin's feet, Liverpool fans, both those who had traveled to the Etihad and those watching from home or in bars, grew tense. They knew Lin had a history of scoring last-minute goals and feared he might do it again, turning their three points into one.
With the match now in stoppage time, all Liverpool had to do was hold on for a few more minutes to secure a historic win at the Etihad.
But Lin wasn't about to let that happen. Liverpool's players resorted to tactical fouls to stop him. Both Moses and Suarez were booked for taking Lin down, but he kept getting up, quickly restarting play and driving forward toward Liverpool's goal.
Eventually, Johnson, already on a yellow card, had no choice but to bring Lin down just outside the penalty area. The referee immediately blew his whistle for a foul and showed Johnson a second yellow, sending him off.
Liverpool had paid a heavy price to stop Lin, but now he stood poised just outside their box.
It was the 93rd minute, with stoppage time nearly over. This free kick was City's last chance to salvage something from the game. They might not keep their perfect home record, but they still had a chance to preserve their unbeaten streak.
As Lin stood over the ball, more than 50,000 fans in the stadium—both home and away supporters—rose to their feet.
Lin, you have to score!
This was the collective hope and prayer of City's fans.
Don't let it go in! Mignolet, come on, you have to save this!
This was the wish of Liverpool's fans.
At that moment, the entire Premier League was watching, all eyes on the pitch, waiting to see the outcome of this final free kick.
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