Manchester City, with 16 players set to fly to Qatar after this weekend, is the club contributing the most internationals in the Premier League. Yesterday's starting lineup was only Haaland who did not have to participate in the World Cup, and this game is actually not good to play, and the mind is not here. Guardiola said before the game that there was no way, and after two days these people would not be under his control.
It can't be said that Manchester City slackened, yesterday they had 75% possession and 29 feet on goal. It's just that they lost, and Ivan Tony, who lost the World Cup, became the protagonist, and he seemed to be giving a strong response.
Pep Guardiola appears frustrated that they are already five points behind Arsenal and they are still favourites to win the title, but there is no denying that this year's opponents have also been exceptionally strong. Pep Guardiola admits the Bees were the better side yesterday, their high-pressure pressing was defused by Frank's long-ball tactics, at least losing the threat, while also being overwhelmed by their opponent's high balls.
Just 3 minutes into the game, goalkeeper Raya drove to the front with a big football, and several players grabbed the landing point and simply tore through the Blue Moon defense, thanks to Ederson making a timely attack. However, Brentford still scored on 15 minutes, Raya made a long pass straight into the box, Ben Mi fought for the first point in front of Akanji, and Tony pressed Laporte to grab the second point to complete the header.
Little Bee's frisbee tactics did make Guardiola scratch his ears a little. That's how they won Manchester United in the second round of the league, when it was against Martinez's height. However, in front of the Manchester City defenders, who are not in bad physical condition, their high altitude advantage is still reflected.
If Tony had had a better chance, he could have scored a hat-trick. He missed a good chance in the first half and one in stoppage time, but the 98-minute outflank was bright enough. Tony had 10 touches in the Manchester City penalty area, six shots on target, seven aerial wins and four retrieving possessions.
Regarding the loss of the World Cup, that must be an unavoidable question in the post-match interview. Tony confessed: "It's really disappointing, but it's not going to affect my game, my motivation comes from these teammates in the dressing room and the fans in the stands, as you can see, I'm okay. ”
After scoring twice, Tony has scored 10 goals this season, with only Harry Kane having more than him among English players. Next came Foden and Madison's seven goals. And Tony's scoring methods are abundant, including penalties, headers, free kicks, outflanking in front of goal, and a hanging shot from outside the box.
Tony's all-round and offensive aggressiveness, as well as penalty efficiency on 25 career 26 free throws, are considered pieces of the puzzle that Southgate's side need. Tony turned down an invitation from the Jamaica Football Association earlier this year, and he probably still believes in his heart that he has the opportunity to represent England.
In September's Nations League, Tony was invited by Southgate for the first time, and everyone around him was happy. Tony also took this photo when he reported to the national team, "Pride, except pride or pride." ”
The last time Brentford played for England was in May 1939, by a man named Les Smith. Tony had hoped to continue this history after 83 years, but unfortunately he did not get a chance to play in both games against Italy and Germany.
After announcing the World Cup squad on Thursday, Southgate explained his selection principles and status. Whoever has a good recent form has a better chance of being selected, so he chose Wilson over Abraham. However, in terms of recent state, Thomas Frank has reason to complain about his disciples.
"In my opinion, Tony's selection should be a matter of course and he proved it again in the game just now, we beat the strongest club in the world. Southgate has his own considerations, his perspective is different from ours, but I still hope he can consider Tony if someone has an injury. ”
"Tony is a tough guy, he's hard to get knocked down by difficulties, and generally the bigger the blow, the more violent his rebound becomes. It's his character and why we love him. ”
Having debuted at Northampton City in the English Fourth Division, Tony is not the elite player we are usually familiar with. Although he played two Premier League games at Newcastle, he spent the first eight years of his career in the lower leagues, playing in the Championship at Brentford in his ninth year.
He has played for 8 teams and has a 5-legged loan history. These experiences have developed an indomitable resilience for Tony, and a strong psychology can help him adapt to less comfortable environments.
Tony has many tattoos on his torso, including a cat on his right abdomen looking at the reflection in the water, but he is a tiger in the reflection. This is Tony's spiritual chicken soup, as long as you think you are a winner, you are a winner. If you want to do something, you don't care about other people's opinions, just do it.
This is also what Tony's mother, Lisa, has always taught her son, always be aggressive and fighting spirit, so that the other party is afraid to be an enemy of you on the court. In May 2021, Tony's parents witnessed his rush success at Wembley Stadium, when Brentford beat Swansea 2-0 in the Championship play-offs to be promoted to the top flight for the first time since 1947, with Tony scoring a penalty. It was one of the family's proudest moments and Lisa could be proud to tell others that her son was playing in the Premier League.
However, Tony, who has been in hot form recently, has been in some trouble off the court. Last week, there were media reports that he was cooperating with the FA in an investigation into alleged gambling.
According to FA rules, any player is prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in gambling activities, including football matches outside England. The ban is not limited to the game itself, but also includes any football-related actions, such as player transfers, coaching staff changes, player selection of rosters, etc.
Tony's alleged incident is said to have occurred before he joined Brentford in 2020, and the matter is still inconclusive, with neither the club nor the FA revealing too many details.
It's not sure how much this has affected Southgate's selection, but the 26-year-old is in the prime of his career and it could be his closest to a World Cup. But as he and Frank say, those who come out of setbacks won't be knocked down by the next difficulty.
End