Good evening, PPTV football fans!"
"Today, we bring you a Premier League match from the 33rd round of the 2016-2017 season. Manchester City will face Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium, and James Jun will provide live commentary for this match."
"This match can be considered a highlight. Manchester City is currently in fourth place in the standings, and with a 16-point gap from league leaders Chelsea, the championship is basically out of their reach. However, they still need to secure their top-four position to ensure a Champions League spot."
"As for Sunderland, after consistently being at the bottom, they have shown phenomenal performance in the last two rounds. Especially in the previous round, they swept their derby rivals Middlesbrough with a record-breaking 9-0 score, which was a pleasant surprise."
"Currently, they are tied with Middlesbrough at 26 points, ranking second to last in the standings, but only 4 points away from Hull City, who are fourth from the bottom. Whether they can escape the relegation zone under the leadership of young coach Zhao Zhao is one of the upcoming highlights of this Premier League season."
"Of course, today's match will be a severe test for Coach Zhao Zhao."
"Manchester City's strength is far superior to Sunderland's, and Manchester City has only lost one home game this season. Can Zhao Zhao's Sunderland leave the Etihad Stadium unscathed today?"
"Alright, with the referee's whistle, the match has officially begun."
"Playing at home, Manchester City is still wearing their traditional sky-blue jerseys, attacking from left to right on the live broadcast. The away team, Sunderland, is wearing their classic red and white striped shirts, attacking from right to left."
"Now, let's introduce the starting lineups for both teams. From Sunderland's formation, it seems Coach Zhao Zhao has opted for a 5-4-1 formation today, appearing to focus on defense."
"The goalkeeper is Pickford, and the three central defenders are Kone, O'Shea, and Lescott. Lescott is a former Manchester City player, so he's facing his old club today."
"The two wing-backs are still Oviedo and Billy Jones, and the double pivots are Larsson and Cattermole."
"On the two sides of the midfield, one is Borini, and the other is Khazri. Today, perhaps Zhao Zhao considered the defensive pressure, and the relatively slender Januzaj did not start."
"Leading the line is still the veteran England international Defoe."
"Now, let's look at Manchester City..."
While James Jun was still introducing Manchester City's starting lineup, Manchester City on the field had naturally gained possession and started their attack.
After receiving the ball, Yaya Touré quickly distributed it to the right, giving it to De Bruyne, the team's attacking core.
Even back in the Bundesliga, Guardiola already admired De Bruyne.
After the two met at Manchester City, Guardiola entrusted De Bruyne with many of the team's attacking responsibilities.
However, Sunderland was clearly prepared for this.
As soon as De Bruyne got the ball, Borini from the left rushed forward, with Oviedo always ready to provide cover behind him.
Seeing that the opportunity wasn't good, De Bruyne passed the ball back to Navas, who had pushed up behind him.
Sunderland's reaction was still very quick; Cattermole immediately came up to block his path, forcing Navas to pass the ball back to Fernandinho.
Fernandinho then passed it back again, giving it to the central defender Nicolás Otamendi to handle.
At this point, Nicolás Otamendi saw that Sunderland's midfield defense was still quite tight, so he didn't rush forward but instead exchanged a few passes with captain Kompany.
This is a common tactic in Guardiola's tiki-taka style: passing the ball in their own half to lure the opponent into pressing.
As long as the opponent's attacking and midfield players come up to press, the number of players in the midfield will definitely decrease, and the corresponding spaces will increase.
At this moment, Manchester City can use precise long passes from the back or high-speed breakthroughs on the flanks to tear apart the opponent's otherwise complete defensive line!
But the problem was, Nicolás Otamendi and Kompany had been passing the ball back and forth there for seven or eight touches, but no Sunderland player came up to press!
They just stood individually near the halfway line, maintaining their distances from each other, and simply watched Manchester City circulate the ball.
However, Sunderland players were not letting their guard down, as could be seen from their body language and communication.
While watching intently, they were also loudly shouting to remind their teammates to stay focused.
Clearly, this was to be ready at any moment to defend against Manchester City's sudden forward passes!
This also made Guardiola frown on the sideline.
To be honest, what he said to Zhao Zhao about an open game before the match was just banter.
Who doesn't know that a weaker team playing a stronger team should first focus on defense?
Especially against Manchester City, known for their possession-based play, weaker teams that try to play an open game often lose very badly.
And Zhao Zhao is clearly not a coach who only knows how to attack; his defense in the second half against Manchester United was very good.
Even in Sunderland's first half against Middlesbrough, Zhao Zhao initially used a defensive counter-attacking approach before switching to an attacking formation to extend their lead.
And Zhao Zhao's intentions could also be seen from the starting lineup announced before the match, after all, he started with three central defenders!
But the problem is, is his defense today a bit too cautious?
There was no high press, and certainly no full-field pressing.
If Manchester City's attack advanced to the final third, someone would indeed immediately come up to defend;
But once Manchester City passed the ball back to their own half, Sunderland players immediately went into 'watching mode,' completely ignoring how they were circulating the ball.
Guardiola glanced at Zhao Zhao, only to find him still sitting there very calmly, his eyes deliberately or inadvertently darting over.
His expression seemed to say: "If I cross into your half, I lose!"
Guardiola shook his head slightly.
Because this situation was actually very unfavorable for Manchester City to launch their offense.
Football is a game of contesting space, and the pitch is a space of about seven to eight thousand square meters, with 22 people running on it.
If one side doesn't cross the halfway line, the game will be compressed into four thousand square meters, but there are still 22 people—or perhaps 21, as the goalkeeper usually doesn't come up.
But this way, the space available for Manchester City's stars to display their skills becomes too small.
Why are counter-attacks easier to score?
It's because the defending team suddenly switches from offense to defense, unable to deploy personnel to their own half in time, leading to huge spaces, making it easier for attacking players to pass or control the ball.
If everyone is crowded in the penalty area, then star or no star, it's impossible to dribble past so many legs.
So, for the next period, the only option Manchester City had was long-range shots.
However, today's Sunderland was not entirely in the penalty area but rather reinforced control of their own half.
As soon as Manchester City attacked, someone would immediately close down, making it difficult for Manchester City players to even use long-range shots to break the deadlock.
As a result, the match became a bit boring.
First, scattered boos came from the South Stand of the Etihad Stadium, then the boos spread further and further, and the sound grew louder and louder.
Finally, almost every stand in the entire stadium was booing!
Of course, except for the away end where Sunderland fans were located.
They were naturally happy to see their team seemingly making the mighty Manchester City somewhat at a loss.
Therefore, they continued to clap in unison, shouting a unified chant:
"sunderland 'til i die!"