The Etihad Stadium was packed and the crowd was buzzing.
On a sunny afternoon, Manchester City fans poured into the stadium with the excitement of witnessing the team's championship. It was hard to get a ticket.
The top four spots in the Premier League have been settled.
Arsenal is third and Manchester United is fourth.
Manchester City and Chelsea compete for the title.
Tottenham secured fifth place, while Liverpool competed with Southampton for sixth place in the league.
Sixth place means advancing to next season's Europa League.
Liverpool leads Southampton by 2 points.
Southampton has a goal difference of 17 more than Liverpool, which means that if Liverpool cannot win in the away game, and if Southampton wins the final game, then Southampton can reverse Liverpool and finish sixth in the league.
Advance to next season's Europa League.
Coincidentally, Southampton is the team visiting the Etihad Stadium today.
Manchester City fans don't take Southampton seriously.
What they care more about is their city rivals Manchester United.
Manchester United's return to the Champions League may be a positive sign.
But if Manchester City can win the league title today and complete the first Premier League defense in team history.
So does this mean that Manchester City will usher in a magnificent era?
Manchester City fans are full of confidence in this.
"From today onwards, the Premier League is ours to rule!"
"Manchester United is a thing of the past. Even if they return to the Champions League, looking at the points difference between us, this is a reflection of the strength gap."
"If we win the final game and win the league championship, our next step will be to reach the top of Europe!"
When the starting players of the two teams came on the stage, the atmosphere in the stadium was full of excitement, and the fans paid high respect to the teams with enthusiastic cheers.
Mubarak stood calm and composed at the VIP table. It is not difficult to find that as the chairman of Manchester City, he can finally enjoy the sense of accomplishment of being the "winner" in the spotlight.
In the past, Manchester City was the focus for only one reason: they were too rich and willing to spend huge amounts of money on football.
But this kind of attention often has the opposite effect: once their performance fails to meet expectations, they become a joke.
Last season's Premier League championship was just a fig leaf for them to make sky-high signings.
It cost 150 million euros, but in the end it was just the Premier League champion.
This is obviously unsatisfactory.
But this year, reaching the Champions League final with the Premier League title within easy reach, especially the double defeat of the defending Champions League champion Real Madrid, has earned Manchester City a lot of face.
It seems that their level has also been improved invisibly.
Hao Qiang's parents sat in a box watching the game, a lively crowd. They came to Europe this time and brought some relatives with them.
After the Premier League finale, isn't there still the Champions League final?
Before the Champions League final, they can travel around Europe with their relatives.
Pellegrini stood on the sidelines, wearing a suit and leather shoes, and he was confident.
I don’t know whether he stood on the sidelines to show his importance to the game because the final game attracted much attention, or whether he was about to win the championship and show his sense of presence.
Southampton coach Ronald Koeman sat on the coaching bench with a serious face.
It would be great if we could reach the Europa League.
After all, it is always good to have more income from the European war.
But to say how eager Southampton is to play in the Europa League is pure nonsense.
Premier League teams have never paid much attention to the Europa League and have always played casually.
This involves the huge difference in revenue from the Europa League compared to the Premier League.
Because part of the Premier League's prize distribution is based on rankings.
A team like Southampton does not have the strength to advance simultaneously in both Premier League and European competitions.
Once the Europa League affects their performance in the Premier League next season, they may lose more than they gain.
There are many cases where the league failed to recover while taking care of the European war.
Even if Southampton can really enter the Europa League next season, they will just follow the performance of Premier League teams in the Europa League in the past few years and completely let it happen.
The main battlefield is definitely still in the Premier League.
Ultimately, the revenue-generating ability of the Premier League is too high.
In February 2015, the three-year broadcast rights auction for the 16-19 seasons was completed.
Total value is £8.1 billion.
This means that on average each Premier League team will earn more than 100 million pounds per year starting from the 16th season.
This is a theoretical distribution, but the Premier League's distribution principle itself takes into account the interests of small and medium-sized teams.
Therefore, compared with the meager income from the Europa League, Premier League teams are naturally not interested.
Playing well in the Premier League is their main way to generate revenue.
This is why the Bundesliga and La Liga teams are very strong in the Europa League, because they are really generating revenue.
Most Premier League teams look down on it and are afraid that the Europa League will drag down their performance in the league.
It's not a heavyweight tournament like the Champions League.
Of course, pursuing dreams must also be combined with practical interests.
The starting players of Manchester City and Southampton lined up for kick-off.
Hao Qiang partnered with Dzeko and Navas to start the trident.
Silva, Fernandinho and Milner formed a midfield three.
Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis and Clichy form the back line.
Joe Hart is in goal.
Southampton's front three are not weak either.
Pellet, Mane, Sean Long.
It's no wonder that their record this season is outstanding.
After the game started, Manchester City played steadily and did not appear to be trying to devour their opponents.
Southampton are also extremely cautious.
The offense only relies on the Trident, and everyone else is ready to support and intercept Manchester City's fast break at any time.
Mane shuttled in the heart of Manchester City's defense, but his teammates' threatening balls could not be delivered.
Even if he takes the initiative, Kompany is always there to stifle the threat.
It’s been a season.
Manchester City has fallen on Mangala.
In the end, it turned out that he and Demichelis were both cheats.
But after all, Demichelis has experience and can keep his composure, and is definitely much better mentally than Mangala.
Because it is also a mistake, Mangala's performance will begin to decline sharply after making a mistake.
Demichelis's mistake was a pure mistake and would not affect his mentality.
The team has been gaining momentum recently, and Demichelis has not made many criticismable mistakes.
After today's opening, he successfully intercepted Sean Long twice and showed his strength.
This reassures Manchester City fans a lot.
But when it comes to facing Barcelona's msn trident in the Champions League final, I'm afraid Manchester City's defense will inevitably make fans restless.
Manchester City's attack focused on Dzeko.
Hao Qiang was heavily guarded and restricted, so he naturally created opportunities for his teammates first.
Silva's long-range shots are generally ineffective, and Navas's crosses basically find Dzeko.
Alderweireld on Southampton's defense performed well, repeatedly beating Dzeko in high-altitude ball battles, and the defense seemed to be watertight.
As the game time goes by.
Manchester City fans couldn't help but feel a little nervous again.
Chelsea, who kicked off at the same time, already had a one-goal lead at home against Sunderland, who had no desire for anything and was weak.
Chelsea fans naturally focused their attention on Manchester City.
In addition to the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge who will listen to the broadcast to understand the progress of the Manchester City game.
Other fans watching the TV will receive goal reminders for the Chelsea game, but the TV screen has switched to Manchester City.
"Southampton's formation today is not good!"
"Yeah, they seem to want to play in the Europa League, but they don't have absolute strong pressure. They don't seem determined enough."
"Oh, it would be great if Southampton put up a barrel array."
"At least Manchester City has not yet had a particularly threatening shot. Maybe they will be the same as they were three years ago?"
"Uh, the final countdown?"
"Of course not, it's better to lose at home."
Etihad Stadium.
Just 30 minutes into the game, Manchester City's defense had no major problems, and Southampton did not launch an attack with absolute determination.
After Manchester City gets better, it is obvious that the frequency of attacking is increasing.
Played crosses and long shots in the frontcourt for a long time.
Hao Qiang actively responded and performed impeccably whether he was kicking the ball or protecting the ball.
If there's one thing that's not enough for fans, it's the threat to the goal.
In the past ten minutes, he has stepped up his attack on the penalty area.
Navas and Zabaleta's frequent crosses were of mediocre quality, leaving Hao Qiang to outflank him repeatedly.
But this allowed Southampton's defense to improve its protection of the left rib area of the penalty area.
In the 35th minute of the game, Hao Qiang received a long pass from Clichy on the left side of the frontcourt. He stopped the ball with his chest and protected the ball smoothly, resisting the pressure from full-back Klein.
Then smoothly pass the ball to the center to find Silva.
Silva then distributed the ball to the wing to find Navas.
It looked like just another cross attack.
However, Navas's dribbling gesture came to an abrupt end, and he passed the ball back in an inverted triangle to the front area of the penalty area.
Silva took the initiative to take the initiative and led the defensive players to follow up. He kicked the ball back and passed it back.
Milner followed up and touched the ball, and he also made a diagonal pass.
The Southampton generals looked in the direction of the pass.
On the left side of the penalty area, the scene that greeted their eyes made their eyes uncontrollably filled with fear!
Hao Qiang!
Manchester City played very carefully this time.
The frontcourt passing coordination is very good.
It starts from Hao Qiang and ends with Hao Qiang!
Hao Qiang touched the ball with the outside instep of his right foot and adjusted the ball accordingly. He then swung out of the angle and shot furiously!
The football flew straight to the upper right corner of the goal like a cannonball!
Southampton goalkeeper Kevin Davies tried his best to save but failed.
The Etihad Stadium was shaken instantly!
"Hao Qiang! An impeccable long-range shot scored! At the critical moment, it was Hao Qiang who stood up.
Manchester City’s top star, the Premier League’s top player!
Despite missing some time in the middle of the season, Hao Qiang still topped the scorer list.
35 league goals reflect his terrifying efficiency.
Under the premise that Manchester City must win to win the championship, Hao Qiang's goal gave reassurance to the fans who were already a little impatient.
Now Manchester City only needs to do one thing to ensure that they can defend the league title.
That’s a clean sheet against Southampton!”
Hao Qiang ran toward the sidelines and pointed in the direction of the stands, with a confident smile on his face.
Manchester City fans paid homage to him one after another!
Maybe Hao Qiang didn't hit the terrifying figure of 43 goals last season in the league this year.
But the average goal efficiency of 35 league goals so far is not much different from last season.
After all, we are going to compete in the Asian Cup in the middle of the season.
The key is that Hao Qiang has broken the Champions League single-season scoring record he once set in the Champions League.
This is very scary!
Manchester City fans firmly believe that Hao Qiang is the strongest striker on the planet!
He is even comparable to the historical level.
Chelsea fans' mentality is shattered.
"What can I say? Hao Qiang is just ridiculously strong!"
"If Manchester City didn't have Hao Qiang, it would be impossible for them to compete with us for the championship!"
"Isn't this nonsense? If Manchester City didn't have Hao Qiang, they would be at the level of securing fourth place in the Premier League at best!"
"Oh, what's the use of talking about this? You'll only fall short of what you've accomplished!"
"Don't give up hope. There is still time in the game and Southampton may not be able to equalize the score!"
Chelsea fans are still cheering for Southampton.
As a result, news came a few minutes later that Sunderland had scored at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea 1:1 Sunderland.
Chelsea fans were in tears.
This rhythm calls for surrender.
Manchester City has strengthened its defense and control since taking the lead.
The forward trident is no exception, actively engaging in interception and pressing in the midfield.
Southampton's situation on the field gradually deteriorated.
The offense lacks fluidity and it is almost difficult to organize effective teamwork in the frontcourt.
There are occasionally eye-catching operations when a single soldier rushes in, but they are limited to small technical demonstrations of controlling the ball at his feet.
That's all.
Halftime is over.
Manchester City leads by one goal.
After returning to the locker room at midfield, the players cheered each other on.
Aguero came to the locker room again.
"I'm here to cheer you on. I'm familiar with winning the championship if you win!"
He stepped forward into the locker room, and Hao Qiang then laughed and scolded him: "Get out of here and sit on the bench! Don't run around blindly. If you get hit, you won't even get to play in the Champions League final!"
Aguero turned around and left.
Everyone smiled knowingly.
Then they put away their smiles, took a short break, encouraged each other, and then returned to the field to start the second half of the contest with Southampton.
Manchester City still strengthened its defense and control, and patiently looked for opportunities.
Southampton's counterattack was not resolute, or there were no obvious signs of starting a counterattack and strengthening the offensive.
I don’t know if it’s because today’s game puts pressure on the players.
Both Dzeko and Silva's shots were a bit off.
Hao Qiang's restrictions were strengthened, and he did his job of containing and covering to the extreme, and he was even able to deliver threatening balls.
But Manchester City was unable to score the second goal.
It took Chelsea 25 minutes in the second half to confirm their victory.
Leading Sunderland 3:1 at 70 minutes.
Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge were not happy.
Everyone is paying attention to the progress of the game at Manchester City.
If Manchester City wins, they will have no chance of winning the title unless they beat Sunderland by more than 20 points.
"Everything is ready, except Manchester City cannot win!"
"Southampton is right to be stable now, and they will definitely counterattack in the last 10 minutes!"
"Life or death, wealth and wealth are in the balance. Southampton must give it a try, otherwise they will be looked down upon for the rest of their lives!"
Almost all Chelsea fans are cheering for Southampton now!
Southampton's own fans are still very calm.
Looking at the trend of today's game, Southampton may be able to draw with Manchester City.
But there is little hope of beating Manchester City.
If they cannot win, they will not be able to reverse Liverpool and advance to the Europa League next season.
Therefore, they watched the battle with a calm mind.
As for what the result will be, they no longer particularly care.
