The players, who had finished their simple lunch, quickly changed into their gear and appeared on the field to begin their pitch adaptation training.
Although Etihad Stadium wasn't completely packed today, over 50,000 fans still came to watch.
Mikel's The U's Legion was also present, with over 2,000 people attending today.
"Guys, a month ago, everyone thought we'd collapse this month."
"But so far, we've managed to get 4 points in the devil's schedule."
Seeing the four fingers Huang Hao held up, the Cambridge United players' spirits also rose.
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea—just looking at these three names, let alone the media and fans, even the Cambridge United players themselves couldn't believe that Cambridge United could actually win a game!
"As for our opponents in this match, I believe you are already very familiar with them, and even know where their most sensitive spots are. Although they have changed a few players."
After speaking, Huang Hao even winked at the players, a mischievous smile on his face, completely unlike a Head Coach.
Golonas and Lacazette, who had just joined this season, looked bewildered at their Head Coach and teammates, who were laughing together, not understanding the humor at all.
Seeing this, Mahrez quickly enlightened the two, and as Mahrez spoke, Golonas and Lacazette's eyes widened visibly, especially after hearing about the compilation of fouls specifically targeting every Manchester City player—it completely refreshed their understanding of football!
"Okay, get ready to go out and give our fans a beautiful game. Today, there's no limit to fouls, but I don't want to see any red cards!"
"Cambridge United!"
"Must win!!!"
Accompanied by Cambridge United's classic slogan, the players stepped onto the field with ambition.
As Cambridge United entered the Premier League, the focus gradually shifted to tactical deployment and the development of players' technical and tactical skills, rarely using dirty foul tactics, but one team was an exception: Manchester City.
Although Cambridge United players had only faced this team a few times, it left a deep impression on every player. Therefore, whenever facing Manchester City, Huang Hao could not waste the players' past experience.
A loud, long whistle sounded, and Tevez passed the ball to Robinho behind him.
Robinho immediately distributed the ball to Richards on the wing, and Richards immediately passed it forward to Phillips.
Before Phillips could dribble and break through, Mahrez aimed at Phillips' ankle, lightly kicked it with his toe, and then quickly retracted his leg!
Phillips immediately fell to the ground, clutching his ankle with his hand!
Mahrez, meanwhile, retreated his body and raised both hands, signaling his innocence! It must be said that Mahrez's move was very effective; after Jones went over to check, he only gave Mahrez a warning.
The unlucky Phillips took a long time to recover on the grass before finally standing up. The pain from his ankle filled him with resentment!
Phillips then used the free kick to complete Manchester City's first shot of the match, but unfortunately, the ball went directly wide of the goal and posed no threat.
Three minutes later, Cambridge United organized an attack, but Van Dijk's long pass was too powerful and was headed by De Jong to Robinho in front.
Robinho passed the ball to Phillips beside him and immediately sprinted towards Cambridge United's goal!
Manchester City changed their usual pass-and-control style, and Phillips directly lobbed the ball into the front field!
The moment Adebayor ran towards the ball, Cambridge United's defenders all raised their hands, signaling offside!
However, the linesman was unmoved!
Seeing this, Lovren and May immediately went into a sprint, chasing Adebayor with all their might! As Adebayor entered the penalty area, May finally caught up and rushed directly at Adebayor from the side-rear!
Interfered by May, Adebayor's shot lacked power, and Oblak caught the ball, pinning it beneath him!
"Old fellow, Manchester City is starting to play fast breaks!"
Huang Hao said to Darren, looking at Manchester City's efficient attack.
"But that was clearly an offside!"
Darren was a bit indignant.
"It's okay, our players are already used to it, this is also part of the game." Huang Hao was not wrong; the players didn't even have the desire to argue with the referee, directly returning to their positions, preparing for a new round of offense and defense.
In the 11th minute of the first half, Lewandowski advanced with the ball into Manchester City's attacking third, and just as he attempted to distribute the ball to the left wing, Bridge's precise anticipation directly rendered Tadić's effort futile!
Bridge immediately passed the ball to Robinho, who, after dribbling the ball past the center circle, quickly swung his lower leg and delivered a beautiful low, flat through pass!
As the ball quickly passed Lovren, Tevez also sprinted forward at high speed!
Unfortunately, the pass was a bit too strong, and Oblak immediately rushed out of his goal! He got to the ball before Tevez.
It must be said that Robinho, who came to the Premier League with the title of record signing, did not live up to his potential, with his performances in various competitions always being mixed.
After this attack, Huang Hao immediately rushed to the sideline, attracting the players' attention with his shouts.
When the players looked at Huang Hao, they saw their Head Coach pointing fiercely at his own eyes with his index and middle fingers!
The Cambridge United defenders, understanding immediately, quickly marked Manchester City's key breakthrough players!
Cambridge United's midfield and defensive lines also synchronously shortened their spacing, further compressing the opponent's attacking space in the front field.
Facing Manchester City, who suddenly changed their attacking routine, Huang Hao's desire to win also ignited!
Against Mark Hughes, who was about to be sacked, what better time to step on him than now!
Mark Hughes stared intently at the players running back and forth on the field, a hint of anxiety hidden in his eyes.
The match had been going on for 25 minutes, but the score on the field was still 0:0.
As Robinho's long-range shot went wide of the goal, Manchester City seemed to fall into the predicament of all bark and no bite again.
Once Cambridge United slowly figured out Manchester City's attacking patterns, it became difficult for either Robinho or Phillips to easily break through Cambridge United's defense with through balls. After all, this was Cambridge United's trademark, so they naturally knew exactly how to counter this tactic.
Although Cambridge United only made two simple adjustments, the success rate of Manchester City's through balls instantly dropped to less than 10%.
Even if Manchester City occasionally succeeded, Oblak became a nightmare for Manchester City's forwards.
Cambridge United maintained two players closely marking Adebayor through switching defenses and double-teaming. And through zonal marking, they effectively protected their own Zone 14.
As a result, Manchester City's attacks mostly originated from the wingers, but Adebayor, who was already slightly inferior in heading ability, almost completely lost his role as a forward pivot when double-teamed by two players.
After a long period of unsuccessful attacks, Manchester City's stars gradually abandoned the through-ball tactic set by Mark Hughes, instead relying more on their individual abilities to break through, attempting to gain more shooting opportunities through sheer dominance.
But two fists are no match for four legs; Cambridge United, with their numerical advantage in the defensive area, left Manchester City players with nothing but passion, unable to complete successive breakthroughs, as not everyone is Messi, capable of dribbling past multiple opponents.
Finally, in the 35th minute of the first half, Robinho received a pass from Barry and suddenly went into rampage mode!
After the two completed the ball transfer in the middle, Robinho immediately strode into Cambridge United's penalty area!
Robinho, at full speed, was like a flash of lightning, reaching the edge of the penalty area in less than 2 seconds!
Before Sun Jihai could even make a tackle, Robinho flashed past him!
A pure individual effort! There were no fancy dribbling moves at all!
Robinho simply changed direction slightly and completely shook off Sun Jihai's defense!
Facing Lovren, who came to cover, Robinho struck a low shot towards the near post!
Before Oblak could fully land, the ball was already in front of him!
Thud!
The post once again played the role of a surprise soldier, blocking Robinho's shot!
Oblak, who arrived just in time, happened to meet the ball rebounding towards him and immediately pressed it under him, letting out a long sigh of relief!
In just a few seconds, Robinho's solo run from midfield truly impressed Huang Hao!
If the goal had gone in, it would probably have been the best goal of this round, or even this season, belonging solely to Robinho.
Just three minutes later, Bridge threw a throw-in in the attacking third, Barry flicked it with his head, passing the ball to Phillips at the top of the penalty area.
Phillips hit a side-volley shot, and the ball once again grazed the right post and flew out of bounds!
At this point, Manchester City had already taken 11 shots, but the score remained a frustrating 0:0 for Mark Hughes.
In the 43rd minute, Bridge again threw a throw-in in the attacking third, and this time the ball went to a somewhat frustrated Tevez.
After Tevez received the ball on the right side of the penalty area, Sun Jihai remained close to him.
This time, Tevez chose not to force a breakthrough; his eyes fixed on Sun Jihai, he suddenly tapped the ball horizontally to the center!
The moment Sun Jihai looked towards the direction of the pass, Tevez suddenly accelerated and rushed past!
It turned out the ball wasn't passed to a Manchester City teammate, but rather left for himself!
Sun Jihai, a step too slow, chased after him, but Tevez, who reached the ball first, supported his body with his right foot, swung his left leg wide, and blasted the ball towards the goal with great force! The ball, imbued with sufficient power, soared into the air, heading straight for Oblak!
Oblak's gaze was fixed on the ball; he clearly couldn't hold onto this shot!
In a flash of lightning, Oblak spread his hands and tipped the ball over the crossbar!
With a collective groan, Etihad Stadium was instantly filled with sighs!
At this moment, Oblak seemed to emit a golden glow, becoming an insurmountable chasm for Manchester City players!
As Cambridge United's defenders successfully cleared Robinho's corner kick from the penalty area, the first half of the match also concluded.
Mark Hughes quickly rose and returned to the locker room, standing in front of the tactics board, waiting for the players to return to their positions.
"Sit down! No talking!"
"Stop drinking water too! Everyone sit down!"
As soon as they entered the locker room, Manchester City's players felt the powerful oppressive presence from their Head Coach.
De Jong had just brought his water bottle to his lips when he heard Mark Hughes's angry shout, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.
Without giving the Manchester City players any rest time, once everyone was seated, Mark Hughes immediately drew several attacking routes on the tactics board and began his deployment.
"Pass the ball to Adebayor, understand? We need him to score, we need our attacking players to finish the game!"
"If through balls don't work, then go down the wings!"
"If you can't shake off the opponent, then pass! Pass! Keep passing! Until you find an opportunity, understand!!!"
The marker pen in Mark Hughes's hand repeatedly struck the whiteboard, producing continuous thudding sounds.
"If you want to be a world-class team, you have to score f***ing goals! I need to see goals, constantly!"
Manchester City's players, some shirtless, others wiping sweat with towels, all stopped their movements at this moment, looking at the somewhat angry Mark Hughes, not daring to make a sound.
"Don't you f***ing look down! I know I'm not perfect, from the first day I came here, I told you, I'm not perfect, and I make mistakes, understand?!"
"We need a win, understand guys? We need to go to Anfield, to Old Trafford with a win!"
"Your real opponents should be Gerrard, Torres, Rooney, Berbatov, understand?!"
"I know it might be difficult today, but I believe you all want to win the game, right! So, go out there, give me a clean sheet against the opponent, and then score, score, score, okay?!"
Mark Hughes clapped his hands forcefully while looking into the eyes of every Manchester City player, trying to see the fire he desired in their gaze.
The Manchester City players did not chant in unison like Cambridge United's players, but rather nodded continuously, indicating they had heard Mark Hughes's lecture. After everyone clapped to boost morale, they successively returned to the field.
De Jong finally found an opportunity to drink the water he had been waiting for over ten minutes.