Chapter 789: Nightmare Strikes Again
"The fact that Wang Feng scored two goals in five minutes was the key factor in Manchester City's big win," wrote Laura Smith, a special reporter for the London Evening Standard, after the match.
She believes that the Sky Blues took advantage of Chelsea's lack of concentration at the start and quickly took the lead, not only dampening the enthusiasm of the opposing players but also greatly affecting their head coach, Conte.
"This should be a carefully planned tactic, and the execution by the Chinese superstar was also perfect. It can be said that in the entire football world, no other player can do better than him."
After such a devastating defeat, the gap in points between the two teams has widened to 9 points, and the Blues have completely lost hope of catching up.
Manchester City's league title is almost certain, and the only suspense is probably how many rounds they will officially lock it in.
Next up is the 32nd round of the Premier League, with Manchester City facing relegation-threatened Hull City.
In preparation for the upcoming Champions League quarter-final clash, Guardiola once again chose to use a partially rotated lineup.
After a stalemate for 45 minutes, the second half saw the Sky Blues take the lead with a header from Kompany, followed by a second goal assisted by substitute Wang Feng for Yaya Toure, with the score frozen at 2-0.
After the match, the entire Manchester City team had no time to rest, as they assembled the next morning to travel to Turin for the first leg clash with Juventus.
Departing from Manchester Airport and flying directly to Turin Caselle Airport, the whole journey took about 3 hours.
There is no doubt that they used the club's private jet. At the beginning of the season, in order to welcome Wang Feng, Mansour specifically upgraded the configuration of the private jet to make the players more comfortable during the journey.
For most of the domestic league season, the team only needs to travel to their destinations by bus, so Mansour's move is to show optimism towards European competitions.
He believes that with the leadership of the Chinese superstar, the club will definitely use this plane frequently, shuttling across Europe.
Upon arrival in Turin, Manchester City stayed at a local five-star hotel and used the facilities of the Turin Football Club for training, as the team is currently competing in the Serie A.
As cross-town rivals, Turin is very happy to see Juventus suffer, in terms of historical background, they actually look down on the Old Lady as an old aristocratic club.
As early as the establishment of the Italian Football Federation, Juventus was excluded from the league because they were "far below the level of other clubs".
Turin, on the other hand, is different. They dominated the Piedmont region earlier, creating the "Team of the Gods" era, but unfortunately, a plane crash destroyed everything, as if it also destroyed the club's future development.
Now, this team and its fans can only hold onto past glory, silently cursing Juventus for losing their position as the dominant force in Serie A.
Although Turin has only hovered around the relegation zone in recent years, based on its rich historical background, the training facilities are still good.
Manchester City's pre-match training also attracted many Italian fans to watch. These people mainly came for Wang Feng, after all, he once left a glorious reputation in Serie A.
They would hold up banners and cheer for the Chinese superstar outside the wire fence.
After training, many fans wearing Inter Milan jerseys came up to ask for autographs.
"Why do you feel like you're not even playing away? The fans on Juventus' side probably aren't as enthusiastic as ours." Kompany teased with a smile.
"The king has returned to his valley. After all, Wang conquered the entire Piedmont. No matter how long ago it was, there will never be a lack of admirers and followers." Aguero said.
Not only the fans but also many Italian media outlets have been squatting in the two locations where Manchester City stayed and trained, specifically capturing every bit of the world's number one footballer.
"Wang's professionalism is admirable," said Philip, the host of the Turin TV evening news program. "He always completes all training tasks meticulously, from morning to night, and occasionally adds some extra exercises."
"Perhaps this is the secret to his long-term maintenance of being number one in the world. Despite the great glory and achievements, the Chinese superstar still carries a pure competitive spirit."
The Turin Sports Daily wrote an article titled "Zebra Nightmare Strikes Again," pointing out that whether representing Inter Milan or wearing the Real Madrid jersey, Wang Feng has left a deep scar on Juventus.
He is fully worthy of being called the nightmare of the "Old Lady". Now, with great momentum, leading Manchester City to crusade, whether the home team can turn the historical disadvantage around will be the biggest focus of this round of the series.
"Nightmare!" Dybala was quite interested, constantly refreshing his phone to browse news and discussion topics related to the match. He couldn't wait to face his idol on the field.
The Argentine forward has no real feeling about Juventus' past shameful failures, only remembering when he was 10 years old and just entered the Cordoba Academy club's youth training camp, he witnessed Wang Feng become the winner of the European Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year.
The young and towering figure was deeply imprinted in Dybala's mind. At that time, he quietly fantasized that one day he would definitely step onto the highest stage and receive the shiny trophy himself.
As he grew older and his skills improved, Dybala became more aware of the difficulty of this matter, and his dream became more realistic. As long as he could land in a top club, the opportunity to meet the Chinese superstar would be the greatest honor.
At the age of 19, he moved from Argentina to European leagues, helping Palermo win the Serie B championship and then move up to Serie A in three years, and then transferred to Juventus. This is the best achievement he can achieve.
Compared to the enthusiastic Dybala, Higuain was full of worries. Although the club as a whole generally believed that drawing Manchester City was not the worst luck, the Zebras had the strength to fight, but he still felt extremely bad.
He understands better than anyone else Wang Feng's own strength and the impact on the overall strength of the team. After all, he has won 10 Champions League titles following the Chinese superstar and has experienced the glory of the Wang Dynasty firsthand.
As long as Wang is there, all his teammates are willing to believe in him and rely on him. They basically won't feel lost and at a loss on the field, just need to do what they should do.
Don't underestimate this point, it can maximize everyone's performance level, and at the same time unite the team as a whole, and even the Chinese superstar can display all threats.
This is also the fundamental reason why even though he is in different teams and cooperates with different people, Wang Feng can still lead everyone to defeat strong enemies time and time again.
Looking at Manchester City's performance this season, Higuain can be sure that the precious feature of the Chinese superstar is still continuing, and shouting the slogan of competing on four fronts is by no means empty talk!
Whether Juventus can stop the momentum of the Sky Blues? The Argentine forward holds a pessimistic attitude.
But he will not be intimidated by this, but actively participate in the tactical discussions of the coaching staff based on his understanding of Wang Feng, and also share his technical characteristics with his teammates.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦