The French Ligue 1 ended on October 17, and Monaco went all out to prepare for the third round of the Champions League group stage.
In the third round of the Champions League group stage, Monaco will travel to England to challenge the upstart Premier League Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Currently in this group, Manchester City's situation is very bad. They were upset by Cottbus in the first round, and were tied by Sevilla in the second round. After the two games, they only got one group point, and their qualifying situation was in danger.
If there is another problem in this game, their Champions League dream this season will be completely shattered.
For this game, they even did not hesitate to field an all-substitute lineup in the weekend league, and were tied by the underdogs.
But they don't care, because Manchester City coach Hughes's current main direction is not in the league, but in the Champions League. He is focused on preparing for the Champions League group stage and wants to go all out to win this game.
Manchester City coach Hughes has been in a bad mood recently, and everything is not going well.
Since the Arab consortium acquired Manchester City, Manchester City has suddenly become richer. They have bought many strong players and are preparing to make great achievements in the Premier League and Champions League.
However, Hughes' coaching performance last season was very poor. They only ranked fourth in the league and were far from the championship.
On this basis, they once again invested a large amount of transfer funds this summer, and many world-class stars joined Tevez, Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Sylvinho, Toure, Lescott... Blue Moon, Manchester City's lineup is now even more luxurious.
But so far this season, although Manchester City has been in the top four in the league, they have been going back and forth and can never look like a champion. Especially the two consecutive losses to Manchester United and Chelsea have made them lose face. .
There have been rumors this summer that Manchester City executives are currently discussing coaching matters with Mancini. Maybe it won't be long before the fate between Hughes and Manchester City comes to an end.
In order to keep his coaching position, Hughes must seek a breakthrough in the Champions League. With two games without a win, he urgently needs to score points against Monaco.
At the press conference the day before the game, Hughes was full of confidence: "Our team is back on track and has found the path to victory. We will definitely be able to defeat Monaco at home and win the first place in the Champions League group stage. A victory!"
Looking back at Monaco's press conference, it seemed much duller.
The Monaco general, who arrived in Manchester a day early, had a good night's rest. Yun Sheng just held a 15-minute press conference as if he was just doing some errands, talked a lot of nonsense, and then ended it hastily.
Because he is not in a good mood today.
In yesterday's training, Recoba sprained his ankle while shooting and was confirmed to be unable to participate in the game. The time for his return from injury has not yet been determined, which makes Yun Sheng very depressed.
Under this circumstance, Yunsheng's 18-man roster was adjusted, Recoba was replaced and Diego Costa was brought on.
On the eve of the game, the Monaco coaching staff discussed Recoba's replacement overnight.
Among the current 18-man roster of the team, the most suitable candidates are Diego Costa and Dong Fangzhuo.
Compared with football intelligence, Diego Costa is better. His handling of the ball at the center position is very reasonable, and his last shot is also very accurate. This is his strength.
Dong Fangzhuo is faster, more explosive and physically stronger, which is his advantage.
After an hour of discussion, in the end, the vast majority of people were more optimistic about Dong Fangzhuo.
On the one hand, because the opponent is a team that is good at attacking, Monaco is likely to face counterattack opportunities many times, and Dong Fangzhuo's speed is very important.
On the other hand, Dong Fangzhuo is very familiar with Manchester City.
As a former Manchester United player, Dong Fangzhuo knows his former city rival better, and he is more adaptable to the rhythm of the Premier League.
Therefore, Dong Fangzhuo became the team's center in the starting lineup, replacing the injured Recoba.
One night passed, and the next morning, Monaco went to the Etihad Stadium to adapt to the field training.
Stepping on the turf of the Etihad Stadium, Sun Jihai was speechless for a long time.
He left the best eight years of his youth in this stadium. How many eight years are there in a person's life...
"Brother Hai, are you a little sad?"
Someone spoke behind him. Sun Jihai turned around and saw that it was Dong Fangzhuo.
"Xiao Dong, you, a rough guy, don't understand."
"Don't mention it, I really don't understand these sad things," Dong Fangzhuo scratched his head, "But don't worry, Brother Hai, since Manchester City has abandoned you, don't miss it anymore!"
"Bah! You were abandoned by Manchester City! Your whole family has been abandoned by Manchester City!"
"Am I wrong?"
"We broke up peacefully and terminated the contract freely! It's different from you and Manchester United. That's what you call abandonment!"
"You can't say that, Brother Hai. Manchester United has been very good to me. My teammates even sent me messages when I left."
"Our Manchester City teammates also sent me messages, what's there to show off!"
"Brother Hai, I know you are angry and unhappy with Manchester City, and I understand why you are angry with me. But don't worry, I will start this game, and I will definitely help you fight Manchester City well and kill them!"
"You did Manchester City, you, you..." Sun Jihai said "You for a long time" and couldn't find the words to continue.
Yes, Manchester City is Monaco's opponent today, and Dong Fangzhuo is right to kill them.
"I'm too lazy to tell you, just get used to the venue!"
"I don't have to adapt to the venue. When I was at Manchester United in the 2007-08 season, I came here twice and won two games against Manchester City. In the end, Manchester United won the Double."
"Don't talk to me again!"
"Brother Hai, don't worry. I promise you with my bright red blood that I will avenge you today and kill Manchester City to death!"
"Go away! Anyway, the sky in Manchester is very blue today!"
Sun Jihai and Dong Fangzhuo were talking about making trouble. The two of them were very familiar with this stadium.
Among the Monaco team, there are not a few who have played on this stadium.
Heinze, Makelele, Flamini, Ljungberg, Gudjohnsen, Senderos... these players have all played for Premier League teams and they are very familiar with this stadium. This is also one of the reasons why Yunsheng defeated Manchester City today.
Know thyself, ever-victorious.
Looking up at the sky, Yun Sheng found that the sky had changed.
The sky was blue and white just in the early morning, but now it is covered with dark clouds. The weather forecast says there may be light rain today, and it seems that the forecast is quite accurate.
In a rainy day in England, playing against the upstarts of the Premier League, Yun Sheng was already excited before the game even started.
Manchester City, Blue Moon, let Monaco step over your corpse today, and use a victory and three points to establish the victory of our group!
