The Champions League round of 16 has come to an end.
In the locker room after the game, Hao Qiang took an early shower, got dressed, hydrated a little and ate something to replenish energy, then sat in front of the closet without saying a word.
The disappointment of being eliminated from the Champions League was all reflected in his posture.
When his teammates complained about too many ineffective ball possessions and delays in the Barcelona game, Hao Qiang had no interest in getting involved.
And when everyone fell silent, from time to time someone would look at Yaya Toure with strange eyes.
Strictly speaking, Yaya Toure's performance in this game was not bad, and the entire responsibility for the loss cannot be entirely placed on him.
But if you take into account Manchester City's complete defeat at home in the first round, the defensive imbalance in the midfield still bears a heavy responsibility.
The more silent Hao Qiang was, the more uncomfortable Yaya Toure felt.
From his perspective, everyone has implicitly placed all the blame for the elimination on his head.
He is No. 42, Hao Qiang is No. 9.
After walking around the dressing room, the two happened to be facing each other through the open space in the middle.
Hao Qiang did not look at Yaya Toure, but simply looked ahead.
But Yaya Toure always felt that Hao Qiang seemed to be staring at him.
And he thought that Hao Qiang's eyes were full of hostility when he looked at him.
"Say what you want to say, don't stare at me like that!"
Yaya Toure's words caused Hao Qiang to recover from his trance, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"What do you want to hear from me? I can satisfy you."
Yaya Toure stood up and struck first.
"Aren't you awesome? Why didn't you help us win tickets to the top 8?"
Hao Qiang said calmly: "I can win even 10 against 11, but 10 against 12, I'm really not that good."
Yaya Toure was furious upon hearing this and walked towards Hao Qiang.
"In the end, you still put all the responsibilities on me! Are you no longer the core at this time?"
Hao Qiang stood up and faced Yaya Toure who walked up to him. His eyes were cold and he said: "If you don't understand the difference between the core and the whole thing, then you'd better go and catch up on your knowledge. You can treat it as if it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to you."
It may be commonplace to say failure, but I am not. The responsibility for not advancing to the quarterfinals lies with me, because not being able to play in the first round really has nothing to do with you!"
Hao Qiang really didn't want to put the failure behind him by passing the responsibility to Yaya Toure.
But the more he said this, the more Yaya Toure became 3 points weaker!
The more Hao Qiang takes the initiative to take responsibility, the more his insignificance is highlighted!
The true core and soul will not evade responsibility.
Hao Qiang's disappointment stems from his failure to at least defend the Etihad Stadium in the first round due to injury.
This is also a topic that all Manchester City fans will discuss after the game.
"If Hao Huang hadn't missed the first leg, would Barcelona have been able to stop Manchester City?"
But this kind of regret can be found everywhere on the green field.
Everyone else in the locker room looked at Yaya Toure and Hao Qiang with suppressed anger.
This internal strife seems to have come to an end.
Because the entire team has paid the price for this.
Kompany walked between the two, separated them and said to Yaya Toure: "Do your part."
This is a somewhat merciful statement.
At this time, Pellegrini happened to attend the post-match press conference and return to the locker room.
Seeing the scene in front of him, he said coldly: "If you have any questions, please go back to Manchester! Don't embarrass yourself here!"
Indeed, every Barcelona person outside is celebrating the team's advancement to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
If any more negative news comes out of the Manchester City locker room at this time, it will definitely make Barcelona people laugh.
There is no need to add drama specifically for your opponent's amusement.
Hao Qiang picked up his backpack and walked out. He was not interviewed in the mixed zone.
The whole world watched as he won the European Championship for four consecutive years before finally being eliminated halfway through the fifth year.
No one in the media saw the joke.
After scoring a hat-trick of goals at Camp Nou, Hao Qiang is regarded by the outside world as a Manchester City player who can definitely leave Catalonia with his head held high.
And the media will also speculate that if Hao Qiang can play in the first round, will Barcelona still advance?
Even if there are problems within Manchester City.
Fleet Street had already mentally expected Manchester City to be eliminated after the first leg.
But the trend and result of today's game made them a little bit confused.
This night, there are many regrets.
After Hao Qiang returned home, he hugged Liu Chang and went to bed early.
His family members are giving him psychological massage, hoping that he can get rid of the negative emotions of being eliminated.
Hao Qiang himself was not immersed in the mood of despair.
The sun still rises.
After adequate rest, he went to the training base for recovery training.
Take training seriously and focused.
Being eliminated will only inspire him to have stronger fighting spirit and make him understand the importance of concentration.
Fleet Street follows Manchester City's progress.
Manchester City definitely have one thing to sort out after their exit from the Champions League.
That's internal strife.
The view given by Fleet Street is an alternative.
Manchester City's top brass will either give up on Yaya Toure.
Or replace Pellegrini.
The former costs a lot, but has immediate results.
Yaya Toure left, and the internal strife disappeared.
But Manchester City's combat effectiveness will decline.
There is no doubt about this.
The cost of the latter is not high, and the cost of changing coaches is not even a drop in the bucket for Manchester City.
Manchester City executives have always hoped that Pellegrini can solve the problems in the locker room.
He didn't do it, and the senior management wouldn't bother with details.
Just look at the results.
He is not capable enough.
Can't control the stars in the locker room.
But Hao Qiang, who is in the whirlpool, is the safest.
Because Manchester City has at least seen Hao Qiang's ability and contribution.
Without Hao Qiang in the league, Manchester City would not be able to lead the standings all the way.
Without Hao Qiang in the League Cup, the team might fail in the finals.
Without Hao Qiang in the FA Cup, there would be no current semi-finals.
Exiting from the Champions League will make Manchester City's senior management dissatisfied with the team's performance.
But Hao Qiang scored a hat-trick of goals at Camp Nou, and when analyzing the reasons for the defeat, it was impossible to put the blame on him.
Could anyone say: He scored three, which is not enough. He should score at least four!
That is obviously impossible.
The training ground was quiet this day.
But it was the administration building that took center stage.
After Hao Qiang finished training, he went home and continued to rest.
Huge news broke out in Fleet Street the next day!
"Manchester City executives met with Yaya Toure's agent and publicly stated that Yaya Toure can transfer and leave!"
"Pellegrini continues to gain trust, and Manchester City's top management chose the fastest way to resolve internal strife!"
"Rather than changing coaches, Manchester City hopes to focus on building a team with Hao Qiang as the core!"
Sometimes Fleet Street reports are unreliable and make up topics based on facts.
But when Manchester City visited Hull City in the league at the weekend, Yaya Toure did not appear in the team's squad, which basically confirmed the external rumors were not groundless.
