September 19th afternoon.
Three days after the first round of the Champions League group stage, Manchester City faced Wigan Athletic away in the fifth round of the Premier League.
Gao Shen made a major rotation. Except for the two central defenders and the goalkeeper, the remaining eight outfield players were all changed.
Although Wigan Athletic were playing at home, they still adopted a defensive approach.
In the 14th minute, Manchester City took the lead with a long-range strike from Van Persie outside the penalty area.
In the 44th minute, Neuer launched a long ball over Wigan's defensive line. Gareth Bale timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap, brought the ball down, broke into the left side of the penalty area, and calmly slotted it home to extend Manchester City's lead.
Two-nil.
In the 70th minute of the second half, Bale won the ball high up the pitch and sent a pass into the left side of the penalty area. Van Persie cut inside and squared the ball with his left foot. Yaya Touré followed up and scored, sealing the win for Manchester City.
In the end, Manchester City defeated Wigan Athletic 3-0 away from home.
…
In the same round that saw Manchester City beat Wigan 3-0, Manchester United drew 3-3 with Liverpool at Old Trafford.
United had taken a two-goal lead, but Liverpool fought back with Gerrard scoring twice in six minutes to equalize.
Berbatov then scored again in the 84th minute to restore United's lead, but at the death, Torres latched onto a pass from Biglia and made it 3-3.
In the end, United and Liverpool shared the spoils.
Arsenal drew 1-1 away at Sunderland.
The Gunners' vulnerability exceeded outside expectations.
This was supposed to be the time of the season when Arsenal were usually at their sharpest.
On the other hand, Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to beat Wolves 3-1 at home.
The North London side had no problem bullying weaker opposition.
Chelsea played at home and thrashed Blackpool 4-0, with Malouda scoring twice.
This performance once again shocked the Premier League.
They had previously won 6-0 at home against West Brom, 6-0 away to Wigan, 2-0 at home to Stoke, and 3-1 away to West Ham. Now they had added a 4-0 home win over Blackpool.
Chelsea had taken maximum points from their opening five league games and were performing impressively.
Both Drogba and Malouda had shown strong attacking form so far this season.
In the midweek Champions League group match, Chelsea had also beaten Zilina 4-1 away.
In six matches, they had scored 25 goals and conceded just two.
Ancelotti's team had displayed immense attacking power at the start of the season, and their overall performance was very stable.
The Blues were one of only two undefeated teams remaining in the Premier League.
The other was the well-drilled Manchester City.
Interestingly, in the upcoming sixth round of the Premier League, Manchester City would face Chelsea at home.
…
In late September, Manchester City began facing their first real fixture congestion.
On the 21st, in the third round of the League Cup, they were away to West Bromwich Albion.
On the 25th, they would host Chelsea in the Premier League's sixth round.
And on the 29th, in the second round of the Champions League group stage, they would visit Schalke 04.
All three matches were crucial, especially the last two, which Gao Shen prioritized highly.
More frustratingly, Manchester City's luck in the cup draw was terrible.
While other clubs drew lower-league opposition in the League Cup, City were the only Premier League side drawn against another top-flight team—and had to play away.
After careful consideration, Gao Shen and the coaching staff opted to rotate heavily.
He selected Jérôme Boateng to start, giving both starting center backs a rest.
David Luiz and Kompany had already played two full matches in a row.
In midfield, Gao Shen gave minutes to local players like Stephen Ireland and Adam Lallana, offering them valuable match experience.
In the first half, Manchester City performed well. In the 19th minute, Hazard created a great opportunity, assisting Giroud to open the scoring.
But in the second half, in the 55th and 57th minutes, Manchester City conceded twice in quick succession.
The first goal came from a mistake by Boateng, while the second was a direct free-kick that Given was unable to save.
Afterward, City responded with sustained pressure but couldn't find the equalizer.
In the end, they lost 2-1 away to West Brom and were eliminated from the League Cup.
It was Manchester City's first defeat of the season.
Gao Shen said he could accept the result.
At the post-match press conference, he once again took responsibility for the loss, stating that Manchester City's players actually performed well. They dominated the game in all statistical aspects and controlled the tempo.
"In fact, I value the process more than the result."
Gao Shen pointed out that Boateng made several good defensive plays and that Adam Lallana had delivered some impressive passes, though the English midfielder still needed to improve his fitness and running ability.
Not just Lallana—Gao Shen had also spoken privately to De Bruyne, telling him that to become an excellent playmaker, he had to work harder off the ball. Only through constant movement could he avoid being marked out of the game.
Gao Shen also mentioned Giroud.
Although he scored, he also missed several chances, which was a bit unfortunate.
Still, Gao Shen remained encouraging overall.
With the big clash against Chelsea approaching, City's defeat in the League Cup raised some concerns about their form. But Gao Shen remained confident.
"I don't think our League Cup defeat will affect our league performance this weekend."
Regarding the upcoming top-of-the-table clash, Gao Shen declared confidently, "Only one team will remain unbeaten after this weekend."
"That will be us—Manchester City!"
…
Confidence does not come from nowhere.
After the League Cup loss, Gao Shen immediately convened a coaching meeting upon returning to Manchester to begin preparing for the weekend league match.
At the meeting, Gao Shen expressed doubts about Chelsea's so-called explosive start to the season.
"West Brom, Wigan, Stoke, West Ham, and Blackpool—Chelsea's five league opponents so far are all bottom-half teams."
"It's obvious that Chelsea has a significant advantage in individual ability, speed, and strength against these sides. Ancelotti's tactical setup has further maximized those strengths."
Fatty An's hallmark was clear.
He tailored tactics to the personnel at his disposal.
If a team like Chelsea was handed to Ancelotti, he would ensure they played steady football with few flaws. As long as they consistently beat weaker teams, there would be no problems.
That's why Gao Shen said Chelsea's five-match winning streak was essentially meaningless.
And it wasn't just him. Most of the British media agreed.
Many were calling this weekend's clash Chelsea's first real test of the season.
What does that say?
The teams they had faced so far were simply too weak.
Even their Champions League group opponent, Zilina, wasn't convincing.
By contrast, Manchester City had proven themselves against stronger sides—Real Madrid, Liverpool, Tottenham.
So even if City were trailing in the league table, they looked more powerful than Chelsea.
Of course, at the level of Manchester City and Chelsea, either team could win or lose. There was no room for complacency.
More importantly, it wasn't just a league match. The second Champions League group match was also approaching.
The trip to Schalke 04 would be another major battle.
Others might not know it, but those who were informed understood very well.
In his previous life, under Magath, Schalke 04 had reached the Champions League semifinals that season.
And it wasn't just luck.
In the group stage, they beat strong teams like Lyon and Benfica. In the knockouts, they eliminated sides like Valencia and Inter Milan. Inter had knocked out Bayern Munich to reach the quarterfinals.
This showed just how strong Schalke 04 were.
Many Italian outlets had criticized Inter's 0-0 draw with Schalke at home, but in that previous life, Schalke beat Inter 5-2 away in the first leg of the quarterfinals.
By comparison, a 0-0 draw didn't look so bad.
That was exactly why Gao Shen, aware of Schalke's real strength, wanted to preserve energy during the weekend match in preparation for the Champions League.
In the group of death, every match required maximum effort. A single slip-up could cost valuable points.
But resting players against a team like Chelsea was risky.
Especially after the recent loss and elimination at the hands of West Brom during a rotated match.
"Space!"
Gao Shen pinpointed Chelsea's greatest weakness.
"The biggest change in Chelsea this season is their players' improved movement and ability to create space. That's why even someone like Essien appears to be an effective passer. It's because he always has time and space on the ball."
"This is partly down to tactics, but more so because their opponents haven't been strong."
"So against Chelsea, we must not allow them any space. If they can't find space, they won't be able to pass like they usually do, and then our advantage will emerge."
Carlo, Sarri, and the others all nodded in agreement.
"What about Drogba?" Sarri asked. "If we can't contain him, Chelsea's attack will be difficult to stop."
Gao Shen nodded. Sarri's sharp eye was indeed that of a future top coach.
Drogba was the key.
The Ivorian striker had a clear physical advantage, allowing him to constantly overpower opposing center backs and fullbacks. He created space for teammates like Lampard to make runs from deep.
"Then we'll assign someone to tightly mark Drogba!"
Tightly mark Drogba?
Was that even possible?
Over the years, many Premier League sides had tried and failed.
Did Manchester City really have a player capable of shutting down Drogba?
(To be continued.)