章節 236: Mourinho’s Psychological Warfare
On January 23rd, Manchester City swept West Ham United 3-0 at home, advancing to the League Cup final with an aggregate score of 9-0.
Lin contributed with a goal and an assist, Aguero scored, and De Bruyne added a goal from a free kick.
City's frontline was firing on all cylinders, displaying hot form.
Two days later, City defeated Watford 4-2 at home in the FA Cup, advancing to the next round.
In this match, Aguero, who came off the bench, shone brightly, scoring a hat trick. Two of his goals were assisted by De Bruyne.
With stellar performances in consecutive matches, De Bruyne quickly endeared himself to City fans with his cartoonish looks and promising talent.
On January 29th, in the 23rd round of the Premier League, Manchester City thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at White Hart Lane, completing a double over Spurs with another heavy defeat.
Poor Tottenham conceded 11 goals to City over the season, setting a new club record and leaving them with a fear of Manchester City.
In this match, several City players scored—Lin, Aguero, De Bruyne, Jovetić, and Kompany all found the back of the net.
With the addition of two new midfielders, City's attacking potential was further unleashed, making them even more formidable than in the first half of the season.
[**"23 Matches Unbeaten—Who Can Stop This Manchester City?"**]
[**"Another Invincible Arsenal? City Could Break Arsenal's Unbeaten Record!"**]
The current Premier League unbeaten record is Arsenal's 49-match unbeaten streak from 2003-2004, the second-longest in the history of the top five European leagues.
Given the intense competition in the Premier League, Arsenal's record is highly respected.
Because of this, few teams have ever posed a serious threat to this record.
After defeating Spurs away, Manchester City, with a 23-match unbeaten streak, entered the top ten of the Premier League's all-time unbeaten runs.
Only nine teams now stand ahead of them, and given City's current form, they have a good chance of catching up to these teams and further improving their historical ranking.
However, just as everyone thought City would continue their unbeaten league run, they suffered an unexpected upset at home.
In the 24th round of the league, Manchester City lost 0-1 to Chelsea at home, breaking their unbeaten streak and ending their perfect home record.
In this match, Mourinho had a very targeted strategy against Pellegrini's lineup.
He fielded an extremely defensive counter-attacking team and deployed three defensive midfielders to pressure De Bruyne and Kroos's passing game.
Chelsea's new winter signing from Benfica, Matic, put in a standout performance.
His tireless running, extensive defensive coverage, and aggressive play made life difficult for technical players like De Bruyne and Kroos.
With De Bruyne and Kroos constantly disrupted, City's usual fluid attack faltered.
The attacking players up front became mere spectators, unable to threaten the opposition's goal.
Meanwhile, Lin's breakthroughs were consistently thwarted by Chelsea's solid defense, and Kroos struggled to control the tempo under intense pressure from Chelsea's aggressive counter-pressing.
Chelsea's counter-attacks were not only quick but also highly efficient.
Watching Mourinho calmly directing from the sidelines, people couldn't help but feel like they were witnessing the prime Chelsea team from eight years ago.
When the final whistle blew, City dominated in nearly every statistic:
65% possession to Chelsea's 35%, 25 shots to Chelsea's 13, 7 shots on target to Chelsea's 6, 12 corners to Chelsea's 7, with no offsides compared to Chelsea's 4, and 2 yellow cards to Chelsea's 4.
Yet, victory belonged to Chelsea. Their clean sheet also ended Manchester City's record of 1,178 days and 61 consecutive Premier League home matches with a goal.
City was just five games away from breaking Manchester United's record of 66 consecutive Premier League matches with a goal.
After the defeat, the mood in the City camp was very low.
De Bruyne, in particular, felt the sting. He had been determined to perform well against his former club to prove to Mourinho that letting him go was a huge mistake.
But Mourinho's targeted defense disrupted De Bruyne's game, and not only did he fail to help his team win, but he also became a liability.
This left De Bruyne feeling miserable, even questioning himself:
"Was Mourinho right about me? Am I really not cut out for the Premier League?"
[Lin noticed De Bruyne's low spirits and patted him on the shoulder for comfort.]
"Don't be discouraged. It's just one loss; it doesn't prove anything."
"Let's go thank the fans who came to support us."
Seeing Lin's calm demeanor, De Bruyne nodded firmly:
"Yeah!"
After consoling De Bruyne, Lin went around to comfort other teammates, while captain Kompany did the same.
Although the players were still downcast, they managed to complete a lap of the field to thank the fans for their support.
In the CCTV commentary booth, He Wei saw how Lin didn't let the defeat get to him and instead took the lead in comforting his teammates. He couldn't help but comment:
"This season, Lin has really grown a lot at Manchester City. He's showing more and more leadership qualities on the field."
"Yes, you can see it in how he plays. Lin isn't obsessed with personal stats; he's always creating opportunities for his teammates."
"Absolutely, he's incredibly team-oriented!"
…
After defeating Manchester City, Mourinho was full of confidence, telling the media:
"I think, after this match, there should be no doubt about who the best team is."
Since their draw at Arsenal, Chelsea had won seven consecutive league matches.
Taking advantage of the busy winter schedule, they overtook Tottenham, Everton, and Liverpool, climbing to third place on the table with 53 points, rejoining the title race.
They now trailed second-place Arsenal by just 2 points and were 10 points behind league leaders Manchester City.
With 14 matches remaining in the season, catching City was not impossible.
Especially with Chelsea applying such relentless pressure, the top two teams might buckle under the strain.
Mourinho knew this well, so he ramped up the psychological pressure on Arsenal and Manchester City:
"Wenger is a good coach, but Arsenal's owner is not a good owner. He hasn't given Wenger enough support. His team has always struggled with squad depth, and when the fixtures pile up, they tend to collapse. This year will be no exception!"
Compared to the financially strong Manchester City, Arsenal's weakness was glaring—a lack of money!
Or rather, a miserly approach!
During the winter break, Wenger made a £40 million plus £1 bid for Liverpool's Suarez, which Liverpool considered an insult.
Not only did Liverpool reject Arsenal's offer, but they also vowed never to sell Suarez to the Gunners, completely shutting down any chance of the transfer.
Had Arsenal been willing to spend a little more, the deal might have gone through. But their stinginess cost them the transfer.
Unable to leave Liverpool during the winter break, and with no Champions League football in the second half of the season, Suarez was demoralized. His form dipped significantly in recent matches, and Liverpool's results suffered as a result, allowing Chelsea to overtake them.
Similarly, Arsenal's failure to strengthen their forward line by signing Suarez left their attacking problems unsolved.
This outcome was a lose-lose for both teams!
With March approaching, the traditional season for Arsenal's collapse, Mourinho was practically ready to grab a seat and watch the show.
He could guarantee that Wenger's Arsenal would falter again this year.
As for the wealthier Manchester City, Mourinho took a different approach:
"City made too many signings during the winter break, overcrowding their squad. I think Pellegrini must be having a headache, figuring out how to keep all those veteran players happy."
Mourinho's comments weren't baseless. After being left out of the starting lineup for two consecutive matches, Fernandinho expressed his dissatisfaction with Pellegrini in an interview:
"I can help the team. I'm not worse than the players on the pitch. As for why I'm not playing, I think it's the coach's bias!"
Fernandinho was brought in last summer from Shakhtar Donetsk for a hefty €40 million. Such a player would typically be a key midfielder at any other club.
But at City, he found himself repeatedly benched, unable to secure regular playing time.
With the World Cup approaching, if he continued to sit on the bench, Brazil's coach Scolari might overlook him for the squad.
This put Fernandinho in a precarious situation, prompting him to pressure the club and Pellegrini to reinstate him in the starting lineup.
However, Fernandinho's plan backfired.
Pellegrini wouldn't tolerate a player challenging his authority as head coach, so he imposed a severe punishment—Fernandinho was suspended for 10 matches.
He wouldn't be seeing the pitch for the next two months!
Seeing his attempt to stir things up succeed, Mourinho continued to escalate:
"City will collapse like Arsenal. Without Fernandinho, their midfield defense will be exposed. Neither De Bruyne nor Kroos can replace him. It's unfortunate that Pellegrini doesn't know how to use him properly!"
Mourinho's remarks earned him favor with Fernandinho, who praised Mourinho as a wise coach.
This fueled speculation that Fernandinho wanted to join Mourinho at Chelsea.
Pellegrini had largely ignored Mourinho's jibes, knowing that Mourinho was skilled in psychological warfare and that he himself wasn't, so he didn't want to fall into Mourinho's trap.
But
now, Pellegrini had had enough.
Even a nice guy has his limits!
"Mourinho should shut his mouth. His team is 10 points behind us!"
Mourinho, instead of being angered, was pleased by Pellegrini's response.
If he's retaliating, it means he's taken the bait!
"Ten points isn't much. By the end of March, my team might have caught up with City!"
Whether Pellegrini fell into Mourinho's trap or wanted to prove himself, in the 25th round away at Norwich, Pellegrini stuck with the lineup from the Chelsea match.
However, City's midfield was once again targeted.
With no midfield support, the Premier League's top scorers, City, were shut out, held to a 0-0 draw away.
This was the second consecutive match where City failed to score, while Mourinho's Chelsea comfortably beat Newcastle 3-0, extending their winning streak to eight games and closing the gap to 8 points.
After this match, even those who had doubted Mourinho's prediction began to have concerns about Manchester City.
Two consecutive scoreless draws, losing 5 points to Chelsea in such a short time—could City really be heading for a collapse, just as Mourinho said?
After the match, a triumphant Mourinho told reporters:
"Now, does anyone still doubt my words? Last match, it was a 10-point gap; after this one, it's 8. Maybe next time it'll be 6 or even 5 points—it wouldn't surprise me!"
"City shouldn't have benched Fernandinho. If Pellegrini doesn't fix this mistake, his team will keep dropping points!"
The press loved this narrative—teams blowing a big lead and getting caught. The last time it happened was in the 1995-1996 season with Newcastle.
That time, Newcastle blew a 12-point lead, succumbing to Ferguson's psychological warfare and eventually losing the title to Manchester United.
The situation now seemed eerily similar.
City's lead over Chelsea was even bigger than Newcastle's had been over United.
If Mourinho could lead Chelsea to overturn City and win the title, even the reporters who had criticized him would have to applaud him!
While City was on the verge of collapse, Arsenal had already fallen apart.
At Anfield, Wenger's team was thrashed 5-1 by Liverpool!
Despite Suarez's dip in form and failure to score, Liverpool's Skrtel and Sterling stepped up, with Skrtel scoring a hat trick and Sterling bagging a brace, leading the team to a big win over Arsenal.
After this heavy defeat, Arsenal dropped to third place, overtaken by Chelsea by a single point.
And looming behind them were Liverpool and Tottenham, ready to pounce.
Arsenal might as well give up on their title dreams and start preparing for the battle to finish in the top four.
City didn't have time to sympathize with Arsenal, as the 26th round of the league was about to begin.
To solve City's attacking woes, Pellegrini made adjustments to his midfield lineup.
He moved Yaya Touré to a defensive midfield role, placing him in front of Kroos as a protective shield to ease Kroos's defensive burden.
City's recent defeats were largely due to their midfield struggles.
Mourinho might have been right—without Fernandinho's defensive strength, City's midfield was a bit too soft.
Kroos and De Bruyne weren't physically strong, nor were they known for their defensive prowess.
Asking them to do such work was a mismatch of skills.
So, Pellegrini decided to convert Yaya Touré, a box-to-box midfielder, into a defensive midfielder, focusing entirely on defense. This might just achieve the desired effect.
In addition, Pellegrini also devised specific tactics to address Lin's playing style, aiming to solve the team's offensive issues.
Amidst growing doubts from the public, the 26th round of the Premier League kicked off.
Manchester City hosted Sunderland at home!
In the first half, Yaya Touré's sweeping interceptions in midfield thwarted several of Sunderland's attacks. With City controlling the midfield, their passers took turns feeding the forwards.
In the 2nd minute, Lin received an assist from De Bruyne and opened the scoring for City.
In the 32nd minute, Aguero added another goal from Lin's pass, giving City a 2-0 lead over Sunderland.
Based on the first half, Pellegrini's adjustments seemed to be working.
City fans at the stadium breathed a sigh of relief—the team's two-match winless streak had made them anxious.
Now it seemed there was no need to worry—City was still City, as strong as ever!
By the 75th minute of the second half, City was still in firm control of the match.
Although they hadn't extended their lead due to Sunderland's defensive tactics, the two-goal cushion and Sunderland's lack of attacking threat left City fans feeling confident.
Pellegrini waited until the 80th minute to start making substitutions, bringing off Lin, Kroos, and David Silva to rest them for the upcoming Champions League match.
However, just as Pellegrini completed his substitutions, the game took a dramatic turn.
Sunderland's number 10, Wickham, exploded with two goals in the 85th and 89th minutes, almost single-handedly forcing a draw against City.
When the final whistle blew, the faces of the City fans in the stands were filled with disbelief.
They couldn't believe their team had been held to a draw like this!
With this result, City had now gone three consecutive Premier League matches without a win.
But there was some good news—Mourinho's team had also faltered.
In a match played at the same time, Chelsea was held to a 1-1 draw away at West Bromwich Albion.
Like City, Chelsea had led for most of the match, only to concede an equalizer in the 89th minute.
By the time this round ended, the points gap between City and Chelsea remained 8 points.
But City's three-match winless streak left many questioning whether they could hold onto their lead.
With 12 rounds remaining, could City really maintain their eight-point advantage until the end?
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