novelraw Chapter 635 - 440: Thrilling! The first match is the Manchester Derby! The two giants clash in the Community Shield!
Chapter 635 - 440: Thrilling! The first match is the Manchester Derby! The two giants clash in the Community Shield!
August 7, 2016.
It’s still Wembley Stadium!
The two teams from Manchester will duel here in the Community Shield.
The Community Shield is an annual competition organized by the English Football Association, played between the Premier League champion and the FA Cup champion.
Since Manchester City was the double champion last season, winning both the Premier League and the FA Cup;
the opposing team became the Premier League runner-up.
Thus, Manchester City and Manchester United, these age-old rivals, have come to Wembley Stadium once again.
The season opener is a derby, attracting unprecedented media attention!
In the three days before the match, the entire media of the British Isles were discussing this match.
In recent years, with Manchester City’s rise, the traditional double red meeting has gradually lagged behind the Manchester Derby in terms of media attraction.
But aside from the derby, the media is more concerned about the state of these two teams!
Both teams have had coaching changes in the new season.
After Pellegrini was axed as Manchester City’s coach, he immediately joined Manchester United;
and after Guardiola took over at Manchester City, can his Guardiola Style, successful in both La Liga and Bundesliga, make a bigger splash in the Premier League?
Both teams have spent heavily in the summer transfer window.
There’s no need to say much about Manchester City, Guardiola has received strong support from the City Football Group, recruiting extensively;
Manchester United has also acquired the record signing Pogba, plus Ibrahimovic’s joining, Pellegrini now has a team full of talents!
Who will come out on top in this clash of titans?
This is definitely an exciting match, whetting the appetite of Premier League fans.
However, just the day before the match,
The Sun broke a shocking news!
This news was so explosive and captivating that people shifted their focus from the match outcome to the relationship between Icardi and Ibrahimovic.
[Shocking! Ibrahimovic beats up Icardi over the number 9 jersey!]
"Ibrahimovic always wore the number 10 jersey at Paris Saint-Germain, and Rooney even agreed to generously give him the number 10 jersey, but upon arriving at Manchester United, Mr. God decided to change his number and requested to wear the number 9.
However, the number 9 jersey was on Icardi’s back, and he wouldn’t agree!"
"Ibrahimovic had no choice but to temporarily wear the number 13 jersey during pre-season preparations, allegedly to celebrate his 13th league title this season."
"Though wearing the number 13, Ibrahimovic was very unhappy with Icardi’s rejection, leading to a fierce argument in the locker room!"
"According to reliable sources, Ibrahimovic said, ’Kid, Manchester United brought me here to win the league title, I’ve won 12 in my career, how many have you won?’"
"Icardi smashed a water bottle on the ground, angrily shouted, ’I was the team’s top scorer last season! I scored 33 goals! Who do you think you are, to demand my jersey!’"
"Ibrahimovic looked down at Icardi, his big hooked nose pressing against his forehead, ’I scored 38 in the league, and 50 in all competitions, more than Messi and C Luo, who do you think you are? Little Mauro, you’re from Inter, right? When I played for Inter ten years ago, you were probably still playing with mud somewhere!’"
"Before captain Rooney could intervene, the two started fighting in the locker room!"
"According to reliable sources, the fight went like this: Ibrahimovic, towering over Icardi by 14 cm, lifted Icardi by the waist over his head, spinning him around in the locker room like a baton, saying he would toss him headfirst into a trash can!"
"But Icardi was stubborn, even in the air, refusing to budge, fiercely slapping Ibrahimovic’s face several times, sounding with a crisp slap, making Ibrahimovic wince in pain."
"Helpless, Ibrahimovic could only continue wearing the number 13 jersey, as seen from both teams’ line-ups announced for tomorrow’s match, with Icardi still number 9 and Ibrahimovic still 13!"
Seeing this news, netizens were in stitches.
- [Yes, I was there on site, I saw it with my own eyes!]
- [I’m a stadium administrator, I saw it too!]
- [I’m the bench in the locker room, I also saw it!]
- [I’m really curious how The Sun got all these details?]
- [The Sun has truly become more unscrupulous, writing these vivid tales!]
- [Oh no, Wanda is going to send a lawyer’s letter to The Sun again!]
- [But I must say, Icardi and Ibrahimovic, though both starting with an ’I’, have incompatible personalities, two tigers cannot share one mountain, their relationship is definitely not that great, right!]
But the next day,
When the broadcast camera was aimed at the player tunnel, fans noticed the bruising on Icardi’s forehead and the injury marks on Ibrahimovic’s orbital bone, and they fell silent...
In fact, although The Sun’s account had some exaggeration,
the general direction wasn’t wrong.
Icardi and Ibrahimovic did have a dispute over the number 9 jersey;
However, their physical confrontation didn’t happen in the locker room but during the last training session before the match.
Manchester United was split into two teams for a scrimmage.
Icardi and Ibrahimovic contended for a high ball, Icardi leaping with all his might, Ibrahimovic jumped with arms spread, ultimately Icardi’s forehead collided with Ibrahimovic’s cheekbone, both fell clutching their heads, then quickly stood up, they drew close again, grabbing each other.
Pellegrini immediately expelled both from the field to calm down.
Pellegrini believed that the jersey battle was entirely unreasonable on Ibrahimovic’s part, so for this match, he started Icardi and placed Ibrahimovic on the bench.
Ibrahimovic is a capable troublemaker, but Pellegrini is confident that with his extensive dressing room management experience, he can tame this troublemaker to work for him.
The starting line-up: 4231
Icardi
Bony/De Bruyne/Rooney
Pogba/Fellaini
Luke Shaw/Smolin/Bailey/Valencia
De Gea
Manchester City: 433
Tang Long/Agüero/Sane
Mkhitaryan/Ranocchia/Gundogan
Robertson/Stones/Kompany/Sabaleta
Bravo
Wembley Stadium was filled to capacity, with 90,000 fans roaring!
Tang Long stood at the center of the pitch, with one foot on the ball, filtering out the noise around him, waiting calmly for the referee’s whistle.
This was Tang Long’s first time in his career, taking the kick-off as a forward.
At this moment, Icardi was standing five meters away outside the center circle, staring at Tang Long with a puzzled expression.
He was confused, thinking, "Why is Tang taking the kick-off, did he switch from midfield to forward?"
After the referee blew the whistle, Tang Long’s movement further confirmed Icardi’s suspicion!
Tang Long passed the ball to Agüero, then ran forward, brushing past Icardi who was also rushing forward, their jerseys brushing together—
Bang!
Icardi deliberately bumped Tang Long’s shoulder.
Tang Long staggered, almost falling, glanced back at Icardi and sighed, thinking, "Mauro, you brought this on yourself."
Icardi ran more than ten meters forward, and something even more surprising happened.
Former Inter teammate Ranocchia was standing at the central midfield position, smiling at him as he rushed over!
Um...
Icardi was dumbfounded.
He came to a sudden stop, staying put.