Chapter 354: The £900 Million Battle
In July, Portugal won the European Championship, and two months later, they began their World Cup qualifying campaign.
On the evening of September 1st, local time in Europe, Portugal faced Gibraltar in Porto in a warm-up match before the World Cup qualifiers. Cristiano Ronaldo, who injured his knee in the Euro final, was in recovery and was not called up for this match. Renato Sanches, who rose to fame during the Euros, also missed out due to injury. Nani, with 103 caps for Portugal, led the team as captain.
Although Bruno was selected for the new Portugal squad, coach Santos did not field him in this match.
Portugal dominated the first half but missed several chances, with Nani opening the scoring. In the second half, Nani added another goal, Cancelo scored a powerful strike, Bernardo Silva provided a goal and an assist, and Pepe scored with a header.
In the end, Portugal secured a 5-0 victory over Gibraltar.
Five days later, Portugal traveled to Switzerland to face their toughest opponent in the European qualifiers for the 2018 Russia World Cup.
According to the allocation of slots, UEFA had 13 spots for the World Cup finals, excluding host Russia. UEFA divided its 54 national teams into nine groups, with the top team in each group directly qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The eight best second-placed teams would enter the playoffs to compete for the remaining four spots.
During the group draw, Portugal was placed in Group B along with Switzerland, Hungary, Latvia, the Faroe Islands, and Andorra.
Clearly, in this group, Portugal, who had just won the European Championship and was ranked fourth in the world, was the strongest team and the top seed in Group B. Switzerland and Hungary, ranked 18th and 19th in the world, respectively, posed some threat to Portugal. As for Latvia, ranked 110th, the Faroe Islands, ranked 135th, and Andorra, ranked 203rd, they were considered minnows.
The away match against Switzerland was not only Portugal's first step towards the World Cup in Russia but also their toughest challenge.
The Swiss displayed strong home performance, while Portugal, still basking in the glory of their European Championship victory and missing their captain Cristiano Ronaldo, seemed unprepared and fell behind 0-2 in the first half.
During halftime, coach Santos substituted the underperforming William Carvalho with João Mário.
Portugal, now on the offensive, completely dominated the game. Bruno performed spectacularly, scoring a hat-trick to help Portugal overturn the score and start their World Cup qualifying campaign with a victory.
After the international break, European leagues resumed.
The Premier League's first match after the break was a high-profile clash: the Manchester Derby!
Before the 2010s, the Manchester Derby didn't attract much attention because Manchester City was a mid-to-lower-tier team, often relegated from the Premier League.
However, since the Middle Eastern oil capital acquired Manchester City in the summer of 2008, their nearly unlimited investment transformed the team over the past eight years.
Particularly since the 2010s, City had never finished outside the top four in the Premier League, winning two titles, finishing as runners-up twice, securing one third place, and one fourth place, making them the best-performing team in the league during this period.
Once dismissed by Sir Alex Ferguson as the "noisy neighbors," Manchester City had upended Manchester United's Premier League dominance and were on the verge of taking over.
This summer, both teams spent heavily on signings, with net investments exceeding €200 million each, making them the top spenders in world football.
Both teams also brought in some of the best coaches in the world: Manchester City hired Guardiola, the mastermind of tiki-taka football from Bayern Munich, while Manchester United appointed Mourinho, the master of defensive counter-attacking football.
In the eyes of football fans worldwide, this rivalry was a classic clash of offense versus defense.
In the first three rounds of the new Premier League season, both Manchester clubs were in top form, each winning all three matches.
Guardiola showcased his possession-based tactics in the Premier League, with his team dominating opponents and tearing through defenses with overwhelming attacks. City scored nine goals in three games, the most in the league, earning them the title of the Premier League's most potent attack.
Mourinho, familiar to Premier League opponents, reminded everyone of the fear instilled by his formidable defensive tactics a decade ago.
United's defense was impenetrable, not conceding a single goal in three matches, making them the only team in the Premier League without a goal against, earning them the title of the league's best defense.
While United's offense was not as overwhelming as City's, their quick counter-attacks were fearsome. United scored eight goals in three games, second only to City.
Thanks to their solid defense and sharp counter-attacks, United topped the Premier League table on goal difference, ahead of City and Chelsea.
The upcoming clash between the two teams was a true battle for the top spot in the Premier League, a key match in the season that could significantly impact the title race.
United had lost only once in their last four matches against City, but they had won only once in their last five home league matches, losing three times.
This was the 171st Manchester Derby, with United leading the head-to-head record with 70 wins, 51 draws, and 49 losses.
In 38 Premier League meetings, United had 20 wins, 7 draws, and 11 losses, with 10 wins, 2 draws, and 7 losses away from home.
Compared to their last Premier League match, both teams made significant adjustments.
Mourinho stuck with his 4-3-3 formation, but instead of using Kante as a single defensive midfielder, he benched Mata and gave new signing Gündoğan his first start for United, pairing him with Kante. In the attacking trio, with Martial transferred out, young star Rashford got a start, forming a front three with Ibrahimović and Rooney.
For City, new signing Bravo started, with Sagna and Kolarov rotating in. Iheanacho replaced the suspended Agüero, and new signing Sané was on the bench.
Guardiola also used a 4-3-3 formation, with Fernandinho as the lone defensive midfielder, De Bruyne and David Silva on the flanks, and Sterling, Iheanacho, and Nolito forming the attacking trio.
The total value of the starting players for both teams was a staggering £920 million.
(End of Chapter)
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