"If Manchester City smells blood at Christmas, New Year's, it's really game over. Once they start winning, there's no stopping them. They don't pull their hips, they don't panic, they don't fluctuate. ”
What a painful realization, it was none other than Liverpool Prince Alexander-Arnold, who had twice been suppressed by Manchester City by 1 point.
Manchester City, which is competing for the title in the second half of the season, is really terrible, so stable that its direct competitors - Liverpool in the past and Arsenal now - feel hopeless, suffocated, and even doubt life.
In the early hours of this morning, Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the Premier League replay, leading Arsenal by two points and approaching the finish line of an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title.
In the first half, the goalkeepers of both sides played well, Ederson and Vicario each made wonderful saves, and in the second half 6 minutes, Pudding connected to the line, De Bruyne swept in front of the goal, Haaland easily pushed the empty goal to eat cake, Manchester City led 1-0.
In the 63rd minute, Ederson was injured and retired for the fourth time this season, and the second goalkeeper Ortega came off the bench. He didn't disappoint Pep Guardiola, saving Son Heung-min before the end to keep City ahead.
According to Opta statistics, Ortega made 11 saves from 13 shots on target in the Premier League this season, completing 11 consecutive saves from 13 shots on target! Guardiola praised after the game: "In a one-on-one situation with an opponent, Ortega is the best goalkeeper I have ever seen in my life. ”
In stoppage time, Doku made a point, and Haaland scored twice, and finally Manchester City won 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur and won the crucial three points.
The latest situation! Manchester City won the game for the fourth time in a row
In the standings, Manchester City has 88 points, two points ahead of second-placed Arsenal. The Premier League title suspense was left to the end, with only one game left for both sides to play Sunday's final game.
At 23 o'clock in the evening of May 19, Beijing time, Manchester City vs West Ham and Arsenal vs Everton, the two games kicked off at the same time. Manchester City only need to win to win the title, and if Arsenal do not win, Manchester City can win the title even if they lose. Arsenal must win if they want to win the title and need the help of the Hammers to beat or draw against the Blues.
Similar to previous seasons, City had an incredible ability to pick up points in the second half of the season. Entering 2024, Manchester City has not lost in the league, winning 8 consecutive games since April, and has averaged at least 2 goals per game, breaking the team record.
In the past six seasons, Manchester City have won the Premier League five times. Among them, in the 2018-19 season, Manchester City won 14 consecutive victories from the 25th round to the 38th round, and finally accumulated 98 points, leading Liverpool with 97 points, and won the championship by 1 point.
In the 2021-22 season, Manchester City remained unbeaten in the 27th-38th rounds, with 9 wins and 3 draws in 12 rounds, including falling behind 0-2 in the final game, and reversing Villa 3-2 with three goals in 5 minutes, once again leading Liverpool by 1 point to win the cup.
In the 2022-23 season, Manchester City remained unbeaten in the 23rd-35th round, with 11 wins and 2 draws in 13 rounds, winning the championship three rounds ahead of schedule, 5 points ahead of runner-up Arsenal.
In fact, Arsenal's performance in the second half of this season is also historic: entering 2024, the Gunners have 15 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in 17 Premier League games, and they have drawn Manchester City away, and the only loss is 0-2 Villa at home, but this defeat is too bad!
Manchester City firmly holds the initiative in the title race, and the final hope of Arsenal to win the championship can only be pinned on West Ham. But do the Hammers have the motivation and quality to help the Gunners stop Manchester City? They currently sit ninth and have no hope of European competition, with manager David Moyes confirmed to leave at the end of the season, and the players are waiting for a big holiday.
Subjected to cyberbullying! Son Heung-min was washed on social media: garbage player
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min started the whole game and missed a good chance to go on a single shot. Tottenham Hotspur lost and had no hope of finishing in the top four and missing out on next season's Champions League. After the game, many fans poured into Son Xingmin's social media to leave messages and mock him.
Something like: "Why did you just kick that one-on-one, garbage player, you gave the Premier League title to Manchester City, how much did you charge?" That's why you're uncrowned~"
It is not difficult to find that the vast majority of the messages are Arsenal fans, far more than Tottenham fans. Also breaking the defense is the well-known gun fan Pierce Morgan, Morgan, who was still wearing the Tottenham shirt the day before the game, has changed his face during the game, and scolded the Tottenham players as a bunch of rubbish and idiots.
But let's be honest, was Tottenham's defeat a surprise? Tottenham lost against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City at the end of the season, can you say that it deliberately gave water to Manchester City? It doesn't make sense. If you want to compete for the championship, you have to rely on yourself. If you leave your fate to someone else, you must be prepared for disappointment.