Being in the Premier League, heart in the World Cup.
The World Cup in Qatar is less than 10 days away, but at this juncture, Europe's major leagues have to play another round this weekend. For the internationals who have been selected for the 26-man World Cup squad of their respective national teams, their hearts must be complicated and contradictory at this time.
Youth is only a few World Cups, if you miss the World Cup due to injury, it will definitely become a regret for a lifetime, especially if it is the last round of the league before the World Cup.
But any international player who has entered the World Cup squad, there is only one most sincere thought in his heart at this time - don't get hurt. In this mentality, the players must be cautious, trembling and fearful.
Manchester City take on Brentford in the opening game of the Premier League round of 16, although Pep Guardiola did his best and even Cancelo, who applied for the Red Dot package just 28 minutes into the opening 28 minutes of the previous round. But except for Haaland, who has no World Cup mission at all, the remaining 10 people who started on the field have already flown to Qatar.
After the opening, Manchester City were visibly absent-minded, not only absent-minded, but also playing in a loose game. Brentford from afar was at first terrified and must have been on Manchester City turf. But after some testing, it was discovered that Blue Moon had scruples, and this little bee, known for its madness, revealed its stinging tail pin.
After messing up City's defence, Tony, who had been selected for England's 26-man World Cup squad, knocked on Ederson's goal with a header in the melee, and City actually trailed behind in Etihad.
After conceding the goal, Manchester City woke up like a dream and began to fight back frantically, but the big players who were no longer on the Premier League field, the pace of attack and defense at both ends was half a beat slower, and the smooth and skillful cooperation in the past no longer existed, and even De Bruyne, who has always passed accurately, lost his head.
However, under the indiscriminate bombardment of Manchester City, the Brentford goal was declared missing in the first half - in first-half stoppage time, Foden equalized the score with a powerful kick in a corner kick.
Usually, this will be a signal for Manchester City to push their strength and reverse the game in the second half. But shortly after the start of the second half, Laporte was knocked on the head in a corner kick and left many of City's internationals terrified.
Since then, Manchester City has played too simply and directly, and the players want to overtake the score as soon as possible and prepare for the World Cup early. However, Brentford is by no means a soft persimmon and it is obviously naïve to think that the game can be done with simple attack, and Manchester City's attack is like scratching the boots and is unorganized.
Long stoppage time left fans still confident that City would reverse the scoreline, and Alvarez, who came off the bench, showed Pep Guardiola's determination. Manchester City pressed almost all the way in the final moments. Unfortunately, City's last-minute onslaught did not achieve much effect, and the consequence of the heavy pressure was to give Brentford a great chance to fight back.
Tony picked up Silva's cross on the counter-attack and easily pushed Rudt to help Brentford save the game with a brace. During the injury period, Tony had a chance to score a hat-trick, but his shot was blocked by De Bruyne, who came back to the defense...
Brentford exposed a huge upset before the World Cup, sending Manchester City their first home defeat of the season and also missing Manchester City from winning the Premier League Christmas title this season.
It's a weird game, the minds of Manchester City players are not on the field at all, the attack and defense are disjointed, and the cooperation is stagnant... Admit it or not, the World Cup has affected the mentality of the players. Tony became a hero, and he just fell out of Southgate's World Cup squad, proved himself with a brace, and also made Southgate more stressed...