Vs Manchester City - Part 2
Back in the days when I was rolling around on the grass with sweaty boys, Manchester City was a team with no real connection to the Champions League.
Last season, they kicked off their brutal Champions League history by landing in a group of death with Bayern Munich, Napoli, and Villarreal.
In the original history, for the 12/13 season, they were drawn with Real Madrid, Manchester City, Ajax, and Dortmund.
In 13/14 and 14/15, they barely scraped through the group stage to reach the round of 16, only to get crushed by Barcelona two years in a row.
At this point, you can't help but think they've been cursed by the Earth writer for buying league titles with their dirty oil money that's destroying the environment.
Come to think of it, PSG couldn't win the Champions League even with Mbappé, Neymar, and Messi.
Anyway, Manchester City's fate hadn't changed much.
Even in this altered history, they were stuck in a hellish group with Real Madrid, Dortmund, and Celtic.
Rated as the weakest in Group D, they got caught by the neck by Celtic and were currently ranked 4th in the Champions League standings.
So, they gritted their teeth for a must-win home game against Dortmund.
Manchester City lined up in a 4-4-2 formation.
True to Mancini's style of dominating the center with physically strong, technically gifted midfielders, the central midfield featured two tanks: Yaya Touré and Javi García.
Up top, Edin Džeko and Sergio Agüero formed the big-and-small striker duo, with Samir Nasri and David Silva on the wings.
The lineup and tactics screamed their intent to target Dortmund's backline with long balls.
It was a tactic aimed at Dortmund's weaknesses, but it didn't seem like they'd lose to that.
To overcome Jurgen Klopp's heavenly Gegenpressing—his divine technique—you'd need the god of soccer, Lionel Messi, and maybe three idiots.
Or just wait for them to burn all their stamina in the second half and self-destruct.
Neither applied to the current Man City, though.
"Yaya! Pass!!"
Ignoring the pass request, Yaya Touré tried a dribble breakthrough himself.
The sight of the 190cm giant charging at full speed was honestly a bit scary, but in a counterattack situation, dragging the ball made him less threatening.
"Fuck! I said pass!"
Cooperative defending shut down Yaya Touré's dribble, and Manchester City's attackers vented their frustration.
What can I say? It felt like, Is this even a team? Probably because they'd hoarded star players with big egos, their team organization was lacking.
"Jino!!!"
Anyway, Dortmund's counter after the interception rolled on. Sebastian Kehl called my name and pointed to Marco Reus charging forward at Rolls-Royce speed, living up to his nickname.
I checked Marco Reus's position and swung my foot hard.
A diagonal pass from the right flank to the left.
The ball, loaded with backspin, slowed perfectly in front of Marco Reus.
"Marco!!"
Marco Reus, smiling unconsciously at the perfect pass, spotted Robert Lewandowski bursting into the box and whipped in a cross right away.
Matija Nastasić, partnering Vincent Kompany in defense, stuck to Lewandowski, but couldn't win the aerial duel against the Pole who timed his run a step ahead.
Lewandowski nailed it with his forehead, redirecting it straight toward goal.
A smile crept onto Lewandowski's face, anticipating the goal.
Thwack—!
But Joe Hart's save rescued Manchester City.
"Ahh…."
"Phew…."
Dortmund's away fans clutched their heads in regret, while City fans sighed in relief.
"Nice save!"
Spotting Mancini encouraging his players from the touchline, eyes turned to Manchester City's bench.
"Whoa. What? Is the manager a bodhisattva or something?"
I couldn't help but blurt out in admiration.
There sat Carlos Tevez (on strike) and Mario Balotelli, both nursing hangovers.
Just as the commentators cautiously mentioned the tactical failure…
The center-back, weak in defense but strong in build-up, sent a long pass to Edin Džeko.
Sergio Agüero momentarily disrupted Dortmund's offside line and slipped into the space behind.
The "Bosnian Bomber" calmly nodded it down to Sergio Agüero infiltrating the space behind.
With his signature low center of gravity and quick feet, Agüero pierced Dortmund's defenders and entered the box.
He spotted Roman Weidenfeller rushing out and calmly struck a right-footed shot toward the bottom left corner.
Clang—!
Agüero's shot was stopped by Dortmund's goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller's brilliant save.
"Scheiße!! That's me!!"
Weidenfeller roared, pumping his fist in the air after the save, drawing cheers from the away fans. Manchester City earned a corner kick.
A fierce aerial battle ensued.
David Silva's corner floated long and high toward Edin Džeko.
As Roman Weidenfeller caught the ball, Dortmund players sprinted forward for the counter.
Weidenfeller threw it to Łukasz Piszczek on the right, who passed to İlkay Gündoğan requesting it.
With City defenders not yet back…
Yaya Touré tried hands and shoulder barges to foul him, but Son Jinho nutmegged him effortlessly and stole the ball between his legs.
I let out a hollow laugh at Joe Hart's save in that golden chance.
In this match, Joe Hart was showing his world-class keeper form without holding back.
Not even halftime yet, and he'd already stopped five clear scoring chances.
Without him, Manchester City's defeat might've been sealed long ago.
Anyway, I positioned myself at the right corner flag to deal with the corner kick.
"Jino! I'll take it!"
As dedicated kicker Marcel Schmelzer approached to handle it…
"It's fine! Just trust me and mark up tight!!"
I spotted a momentary lapse in Manchester City's defensive focus.
Seeing that, I recalled Arne Slot's corner that toyed with Barcelona—er, Arnold—and stealthily backpedaled before whipping in a surprise corner kick.
I could've ended up like Thomas Müller if it went wrong, but luckily, the ball sailed perfectly into the box.
"Huh?"
Lewandowski awkwardly poked at it and rattled the net.
The scorer ran to me at the corner flag, hugged me, and whispered,
"Dude, does this count as a goal?"
Well. For now.
"Let's roar with the crowd first."