Chương 359: Chapter 359: Chelsea's Crushing Defeat and the Arrival of the Ballon d'Or
Chapter 359: Chelsea's Crushing Defeat and the Arrival of the Ballon d'Or
After the Club World Cup award ceremony, Manchester City wasted no time in taking Mansour's private jet back to Manchester with their trophy. Predictably, upon arrival at Manchester's airport, City players were surrounded by a sea of ecstatic fans who had come to welcome them.
This was Manchester City's first Club World Cup and their first septuple, a feat never achieved by their rivals, Manchester United. The Blue Moon fans had every reason to be overjoyed and excited.
That night, Manchester was engulfed in celebration. Fans worldwide rejoiced over Manchester City's septuple. The news quickly spread throughout the football world.
"A septuple! That's incredible!"
"Congratulations to Manchester City on their septuple and to Lin Quan and Guardiola for unlocking this new achievement!"
"Keep it up, City! Aim for another one this year!"
"Ha, no chance! They've already been knocked out of the League Cup by Newcastle!"
"Messi won the Ballon d'Or after achieving the sextuple and then went on to win four in a row. Is Lin Quan following in Messi's footsteps?"
"It seems possible! Lin Quan plays like Messi, so his honors should match up as well!"
"I'm not so sure. Messi was not only strong in those years, but Barcelona was also in a league of its own. Messi's success came from a perfect combination of timing, location, and support. Manchester City did well last season, but their performance this season has been inconsistent. Plus, with fierce competition from Messi and Ronaldo, winning four Ballon d'Ors in a row will be much harder for Lin Quan."
"No worries. Lin Quan is still young, and he has a long future ahead. Once Ronaldo and Messi retire, the Ballon d'Or will be his for the taking!"
"Who knows? Maybe an even better player will emerge in the future."
"I doubt it. European players now seem to be factory-made, like robots—well-rounded but not outstanding."
"Yeah, creative young players in football are becoming rarer. Standardized training makes it very hard for new players to reach the heights of Lin Quan, Messi, or Ronaldo."
"And Lin Quan is so young. Any player over 18 will struggle to surpass him. As for those under 18, it will take them four or five years to emerge!"
Fans were full of admiration for Lin Quan. His sudden rise had excited those tired of the Messi-Ronaldo era. But they also felt for the young players who would follow, knowing how massive the challenge would be with Lin Quan standing in their way.
After Manchester City achieved their septuple, an old question from last year resurfaced—can City be considered a top club?
"Does this septuple make Manchester City a top club?"
"Probably. In terms of honors, I'd say City's achievements are already more impressive than Arsenal's. If Arsenal is a top club, why shouldn't City be?"
"Come on, no matter how bad Arsenal gets, they still have 13 top league titles. In terms of history and honors, how can City compare to Arsenal?"
"Exactly! Arsenal's status isn't a fluke."
City fans were not convinced and brought up a painful point for Arsenal fans:
"Good point, but I have a question—what has Arsenal won in the past ten years?"
"Sure, Arsenal was glorious in the past, but that's history. Since the Premier League started, they've only won three league titles, just one more than City. And they've never won the Champions League!"
"Past titles still count. City should be compared to Chelsea. Chelsea became a top club after winning three league titles and a Champions League."
The debate went on, with neither side conceding. However, by Chelsea's standards, City might be one league title away from top-club status. Regardless, the entire Premier League was both shocked and worried about City's septuple.
Winning titles in all competitions is immensely difficult, as Manchester United, who have tried many times, knows best. Winning both the Premier League and Champions League simultaneously is already a Herculean task. Most teams can only focus on one competition, either the league or the Champions League. Only a few top clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, and Manchester United can compete on multiple fronts. Even then, the risk of failure is high, and it's easy to end up empty-handed.
Manchester United has won the Champions League twice and was the first team in the top five leagues to achieve a treble. However, in the 1998-1999 season, they lost the League Cup, Community Shield, and European Super Cup. In the 2007-2008 season, they didn't even win the FA Cup.
Before Manchester City, only three teams had achieved the treble: Manchester United (1998-1999), Barcelona (2008-2009), and Inter Milan (2009-2010). Bayern Munich came close in the 2012-2013 season but were eliminated by Werder Bremen in the German Cup, missing the chance.
Even Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have failed to achieve the treble, showing how difficult it is. As for the sextuple, only Barcelona has ever completed it, making it even harder. Therefore, Manchester City's septuple has shaken the Premier League immensely. Though there's still debate about whether City is a top club, their current trajectory suggests it's only a matter of time.
Especially with Lin Quan and Guardiola, and the support of the Abu Dhabi group, City's future looks bright. While this may be great for their fans, it's a nightmare for other Premier League teams, who have now agreed to do their utmost to stop City.
On January 2nd, in the 20th round of the Premier League, Manchester City hosted Sunderland. Before the match, Sunderland's coach boasted about weighing the strength of the septuple winners. Normally, such talk would be seen as overconfidence. Sunderland, after all, couldn't compare to Manchester City. If City went all out, a two-goal win would be a modest outcome.
However, this time, things were not in City's favor. Despite the main players' return after winning the Club World Cup, they were exhausted from the game and travel. To avoid injuries, Guardiola again used a full reserve lineup. Unfortunately, just seven minutes in, City conceded a penalty and a red card, making their home defense incredibly tough.
Adam Johnson, who briefly played for City, calmly converted the penalty, giving Sunderland the lead. Despite Nasri equalizing for City, Sunderland's Jack Rodwell scored in the 68th minute, restoring their lead.
Coincidentally, Rodwell was also a former Manchester City player. He transferred to Sunderland last summer for 12.6 million euros and scored the decisive goal on his first return to the Etihad Stadium.
With two former players turning against them, Manchester City suffered a 1-2 home defeat to Sunderland. Sunderland's coach backed up his pre-match talk, delivering a cold, harsh reminder to Manchester City fans that their time of joy was over and darkness was coming.
The news of Sunderland's triumph at the Etihad became the top story across major news outlets. An underdog victory always captures the public's imagination, especially when the upset is against a team that had just secured a historic septuple.
Media outlets that had previously praised Manchester City's achievements now turned their praise into ridicule, becoming tools for rival fans to mock City.
"Ha! This morning, the media was singing praises of City's septuple, and by evening, they were slamming and criticizing them. Interesting, very interesting!"
"Typical media behavior. Trusting their integrity is like believing pigs can fly!"
Some fans were fed up, noting that it was the same media hyping up and now tearing down City, all for the sake of selling more papers.
City's shock defeat brought immense joy to Chelsea fans. They saw a golden opportunity: a win in their upcoming match would widen the gap between Chelsea and City to six points. With the season halfway through, a six-point lead would be significant and could be crucial for Chelsea's title hopes.
However, high hopes can lead to great disappointment. As Chelsea fans assumed an easy win, Tottenham had other ideas.
While Spurs might not be a top-tier club, they are certainly a strong second-tier team. Chelsea might be formidable, but they are not unbeatable, especially at Tottenham's home ground.
Thus, at home, Spurs engaged Chelsea in a fierce battle. Despite Chelsea scoring first, Harry Kane led Tottenham in a 20-minute spree, scoring four goals and leaving Chelsea reeling.
Chelsea fans were stunned: is this the same Spurs team that Manchester City regularly thrashed? Spurs were so fierce it seemed like they might hand Chelsea a crushing defeat.
Tottenham, which had suffered heavily against Manchester City in recent seasons, averaging 5.5 goals conceded per game, turned their frustration into a powerful display. Chelsea had not faced such an aggressive attack all season, not even from Manchester City.
In the end, Tottenham secured a 5-3 victory, defending their honor with a resounding win. Chelsea, meanwhile, failed to extend their lead at the top and revealed vulnerabilities for other teams to exploit.
This match saw Harry Kane's market value soar from 5.5 million euros to 50 million euros, replacing players like Jack Wilshere as the new darling of English football. England proved once again they are experts at creating stars, and many believed in Kane's potential.
Manchester United quickly made a 50 million-pound offer to bring Kane to Old Trafford as a replacement for the declining Rooney. Surprisingly, Kane refused to leave White Hart Lane. A product of Tottenham's youth academy, Kane was deeply attached to the club and wanted to win a title with them before considering a move.
This decision endeared him to Spurs fans, and the club's chairman immediately sought to renew his contract with a pay raise.
Chelsea's unexpected loss gave City some respite from media criticism. The media quickly shifted their focus to Chelsea, criticizing Mourinho for underestimating Tottenham. Manchester City, having fielded a full reserve team, now seemed less controversial.
In this relatively relaxed atmosphere, City calmly regained their form. On January 4th, after a three-day rest, City fielded their main players in the FA Cup third round and defeated Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 at home, advancing to the next round.
The entire team performed exceptionally well, especially Lin Quan. He completed a hat-trick in the first half alone, effectively ending the match and turning the second half into a formality.
With the Ballon d'Or ceremony approaching, Lin Quan's hat-trick was a perfect showcase of his outstanding form. The Ballon d'Or seemed all but assured for him.
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