Chương 215: Best Premier League Start Ever!
"You rascal, I heard you went to Belgium. Were you visiting your girlfriend?"
Bosque called Lin after hearing the news from somewhere. He hadn't summoned Lin to the national team, considering Manchester City's tight schedule, wanting to give him more rest. But instead of resting at home, Lin had been running around, making Bosque quite angry. He planned to cancel Lin's privileges for the next FIFA match day.
"No, no, coach, let me explain…"
"Explain what? Keep up your form, or if we don't win the World Cup next year, you're in trouble!"
Beep, beep, beep—Bosque hung up. Lin heard the dial tone and felt speechless: Girlfriend? De Bruyne? Forget it, trying to explain would only make things worse. Better think about how to convince Pellegrini to buy De Bruyne in the winter transfer window. Maybe I should play poorly in the upcoming matches to highlight Manchester City's weaknesses up front, then pitch De Bruyne as a solution to Pellegrini?
That's what he thought, and that's what he did.
In the 12th round of the Premier League, Manchester City faced Tottenham Hotspur, ranked seventh in the league. Tottenham had been strong in recent seasons, consistently finishing between fourth and fifth, making them one of the strongest teams outside the title contenders. Lin thought that if he played poorly, it would make the match very difficult for City, thus highlighting their weaknesses to Pellegrini.
However, Lin didn't expect City's luck to be so good in this match. Just 13 seconds in, Navas scored from 35 meters out, catching everyone off guard, including Lin. This wasn't looking good for his plan. Navas's goal boosted the team's morale, leading them to launch a fierce attack on Tottenham's goal.
Things went from bad to worse for Tottenham in the 7th minute when defender Sandro accidentally scored an own goal while trying to clear the ball. Within just 7 minutes, City was up by 2 goals, and the match's outcome was already clear. The only question left was how many goals Manchester City would score at home.
Ninety minutes later, the answer was clear. City won 6-0, handing Tottenham their biggest defeat in 15 seasons, their last such loss being in 1997 against Kevin Keegan's Newcastle.
Tottenham's players were in disbelief at the final score, and so was Lin. Seeing the score, he stood with hands on hips, looking at the Tottenham players with a mix of disbelief and disappointment. Weren't they supposed to be strong? How could they lose so easily? Had he not intentionally held back, City might have set a new record for Tottenham's worst defeat.
If Tottenham's players knew what Lin was thinking, they'd probably curse him in their hearts. Holding back? With two goals and two assists, who was he kidding?
Following the match, the media was full of praise for Manchester City's performance:
**Sky Sports:** "6-0! An unbelievable score! Manchester City mercilessly crushed Tottenham at home! Before visiting Etihad Stadium, Tottenham had the best defense in the league, conceding only 6 goals in 11 matches. Yet, the Blues doubled that tally in just one game! Truly unbelievable!"
**The Guardian:** "In two consecutive home Premier League matches, Manchester City achieved stunning 7-0 and 6-0 victories. Their attacking power is terrifying! So far, they've won all their home matches across all competitions. Etihad Stadium is undoubtedly the most intimidating venue in the Premier League this season!"
**The Times:** "After a tough away victory, Manchester City silenced their critics with a resounding win, proving they are still one of the best teams in the Premier League!"
**BBC:** "With their home victory over Tottenham, Manchester City set a new Premier League record, surpassing Chelsea's best start in the 2005-06 season. The 'Special One' led Chelsea to a 9-game winning streak, achieving 10 wins and 1 draw in the first 11 matches. Chelsea's unbeaten run lasted until the 12th round when they were defeated by Manchester United. With this win, Manchester City now holds the best start record, relegating Chelsea to second place."
In the post-match player ratings, Lin received a perfect 10:
Lin delivered another dominant performance, scoring two goals and providing two assists. If he hadn't eased off in the final moments, he might have secured a hat-trick of goals and assists.
**Aguero (9 points):** "Manchester City's star striker continued his excellent form, scoring twice and assisting once. His partnership with team core Lin is becoming increasingly harmonious. Defending against this deadly duo will be a headache for all Premier League teams!"
**Navas (8 points):** "The Spaniard equaled the season's fastest Premier League goal record with his long-range strike. While he hasn't scored many goals, his lightning-fast goal shattered Tottenham's defense, laying the foundation for City's big win."
**Yaya Toure (8 points):** "As Lin spends more time with the team, Toure's coordination with his new teammate improves. Since assisting Lin against Chelsea, their cooperation has increased. In this match, Toure not only provided an assist but also became an impassable barrier in midfield, halting most of Tottenham's counterattacks."
The team's excellent performance, inadvertently setting a new Premier League record, led the media to shower them with praise. Manchester City fans were overjoyed, wishing the media would hype them up even more. However, Lin felt a bit disappointed. The easy victory didn't reveal the team's problems in midfield and attack, making it harder to convince Pellegrini to bring in De Bruyne during the winter transfer window. There was still over a month until the transfer window opened, so he decided to observe for a while longer.
Shortly after the league match, the fourth round of the League Cup began. Manchester City was to play away against Newcastle. Considering they had a Champions League home game in two days, Pellegrini left most of the main players in Manchester, taking a mix of first-team and reserve players.
Notably, David Silva, who had been injured for three months, had returned to training before this match. To help him regain form, Pellegrini included him in the squad.
This proved to be a wise decision. At St James' Park, Newcastle seemed inspired either by Manchester City's recent thrashing of Tottenham or Sunderland's near draw against City by parking the bus. They chose a defensive strategy against City. Without Lin, City struggled for 90 minutes and failed to score, dragging the match into extra time.
In extra time, Pellegrini substituted Silva, whose presence immediately revitalized City's attack. His organization, passing, and movement were like oil to a rusty machine, energizing City's offensive play. Consequently, City scored twice in extra time, advancing to the League Cup quarter-finals.
Pellegrini concluded two things from this match: Manchester City's bench wasn't strong enough, and the team couldn't do without Lin. This realization gave Lin some comfort. At least Pellegrini recognized the team's issues up front.
On December 2, the penultimate round of the Champions League group stage began. Manchester City faced their weakest group opponent, Viktoria Plzeň. Though City had already secured their spot in the knockout stage, they still aimed to top the group ahead of Bayern Munich, so they took the match seriously.
Given the opponent's weakness, Pellegrini took a risk by starting Silva, who had recently recovered from injury. Plzeň seemed to have noticed this, targeting Silva's side, exploiting the typical caution of players returning from injury. With nothing to lose after four straight defeats, Plzeň played openly, contrasting their previous conservative approach. For the first 30 minutes, City struggled to create good chances, while Plzeň, capitalizing on Silva's hesitation in physical confrontations, managed several threatening counterattacks. Silva's vulnerability in defense forced Lin to frequently cover for him, impacting City's attack.
This situation couldn't continue. If City couldn't score soon, it would affect the players' mindset and boost the opponent's confidence. More importantly, it was Silva's first start post-injury; a poor performance could have significant psychological repercussions.
Remembering how Silva had supported him when he first joined City, Lin decided to take action. From the 30th minute, he increased his dribbling and breakthrough attempts to quickly exploit defensive gaps, reducing his teammates' need to hold the ball and thus freeing them from defensive pressure. Plzeň underestimated Lin's solo abilities, giving him opportunities.
In the 33rd minute, Lin dribbled past several defenders and was tripped inside the box, earning City a penalty. Normally, as City's primary penalty taker and competitor for the Champions League top scorer, Lin would take the penalty himself. But today, he gave the opportunity to Silva.
"Lin, this isn't right. You need this goal for the top scorer race. I don't. There's no need to give me the chance," Silva said, deeply touched by Lin's gesture but reluctant to accept.
"Don't worry, even without this goal, it won't affect my top scorer chances. Go ahead, consider this my gift to you—a symbol of your return. Get back to your best form soon!" Lin's sincere words moved Silva, who finally nodded and accepted.
Fans watching in the stadium, on TV, and online were surprised when Lin didn't take the penalty. Instead, he and Silva seemed to be debating who should take it.
"Why isn't Lin taking the penalty himself?"
"Looks like he's letting Silva take it."
"Really? Giving up such a good scoring chance?"
"Seems genuine!"
"He's so kind, I'm gonna
cry!"
"Lin is truly a great teammate. If I had such a teammate, I'd give my life for him!"
"On another note, Lin only has five Champions League goals. City likely won't go far in the knockout stages. Competing with Messi and Ronaldo for the top scorer will be tough!"
"Who knows? Lin isn't far behind Messi and Ronaldo. If he didn't give up this penalty, he'd only be two goals behind Ronaldo!"
"It's good he didn't take it. This way, his goals won't include penalties, making them more valuable!"
"True, goals without penalties are always more impressive!"
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