SWR: 608/609

Chapter 608: Maintaining a Victory

Three days after the match against Manchester United, Manchester City played in the third round of the League Cup.

This time, their opponent was Fulham from London.

The team coached by Hodgson had just suffered a 1-2 away loss to Wolves, but at the Etihad Stadium, they turned the tables, taking advantage of Manchester City's heavy rotation and launching a fierce offensive. Hungarian midfielder Gra scored the opening goal, giving Fulham a 1-0 lead.

This gave everyone hope that Fulham might be able to upset Manchester City.

But in the 52nd minute of the second half, Ireland, Lallana, and Hazard linked up, and the Belgian winger provided an assist for Ireland to score and equalize for Manchester City.

Later, Kompany scored another goal from a corner kick.

In the end, Manchester City came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1.

Although they won the match, it was a close call.

Unlike the first team, which had been dominant and in superb form, Manchester City's bench lineup was clearly still lacking in depth.

After the game, media outlets like The Times pointed out that squad depth could become a serious issue for Manchester City.

Gao Shen insisted there was no problem with Manchester City's squad and praised the players' performances.

However, within the team, Gary Cahill and Jordan Henderson were both held responsible for the conceded goal.

…

It was the weekend again, the seventh round of the Premier League.

Liverpool, riding a winning streak, kicked off the round by thrashing Hull City 6-1 at Anfield.

Torres bagged a hat-trick, Babel scored twice, and Gerrard added one more, as Liverpool dismantled Hull and extended their unbeaten run in the league.

After being demolished 0-8 at home by their city rivals in the last round, Manchester United played poorly in the first half of their away match against Stoke City. But in the second half, they bounced back with goals from Berbatov and O'Shea, securing a 2-0 win.

Ironically, the two scorers were the same players who performed the worst in the previous round against Manchester City, especially O'Shea, who had been nailed to the wall of shame after the crushing defeat.

But this time, both turned into heroes, leading Manchester United to a valuable away win.

Tottenham Hotspur hammered Burnley 5-0 at home, with Robbie Keane scoring four goals.

Arsenal narrowly beat Fulham 1-0 away.

Chelsea, however, suffered their first defeat of the season in an away match against Wigan Athletic, losing 1-3 after their starting goalkeeper Cech received a red card.

Back at the Etihad, Manchester City defeated West Ham United 3-1, with Robben scoring twice and Gareth Bale adding another, continuing their unbeaten run.

As a result, after seven rounds, Manchester City remained top of the Premier League table with a perfect record, followed closely by Liverpool.

These two sides were also the only unbeaten teams left in the Premier League this season.

The morning after the win against the Hammers, Manchester City held a recovery training session, and players were given the afternoon off.

That's the benefit of playing only once a week.

Gao Shen quietly left Manchester and headed south, arriving at Heathrow Airport in London.

…

Even though Gao Shen wore a mask the entire time, he was still recognized by fans at Heathrow.

One passenger stared at him in disbelief, his expression exaggerated, almost shouting out loud.

Fortunately, Gao Shen reacted quickly and calmed him down. They ended up signing autographs and taking photos together.

As it turned out, the guy was pretty sly.

He promised solemnly that he wouldn't tell a soul but as soon as he left the airport, he posted the photo of himself and Gao Shen on Twitter, tagging Gao Shen and bragging that he was lucky the moment he landed in the UK.

Gao Shen was speechless. He felt like rushing out and tearing the guy apart with his bare hands.

Damn it, you've completely redefined the meaning of "leak"!

Still, he quickly stopped caring.

Su Qing's flight was about to arrive.

He'd arranged for the housekeeping staff to come a week earlier and thoroughly clean the house from top to bottom.

Then, he went to the supermarket himself and stocked up on all of Su Qing's favorite ingredients and snacks, hoping she'd show off her cooking skills while in Cheshire. He had also cleared his schedule, turning down all non-work-related appointments during this period.

Gao Shen had originally planned to arrange for a driver to pick her up at the airport.

But in the end, he decided to come himself.

He simply couldn't sit still.

Now that he was standing at Heathrow Airport, he felt even more anxious and excited.

He kept imagining what it would be like when he saw Su Qing again, and how she would react.

She would probably still be very composed.

That's always been her personality. Even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of her, she'd probably stay calm.

She had rarely ever lost her composure since they were kids.

At most, she'd just get a little excited.

They hadn't seen each other in a few months. Even though they talked on the phone and video chatted every day, it just wasn't the same as being together in person.

Waiting… waiting…

The flight from the capital landed, and Gao Shen's heart pounded with anticipation.

Finally, she came out.

Gao Shen scanned the crowd nervously, searching for that familiar figure.

When he saw her, he was stunned.

Is that her?

He wasn't completely sure.

She looked a little different from how he remembered her, and for a moment, he was thrown off.

But soon, Su Qing spotted him in the waiting crowd.

She was absolutely certain.

Even though Gao Shen was wearing a mask, a hat, and heavy clothes, she recognized him instantly.

Then, she pushed her suitcase out, let go of it, and ran straight toward him.

This completely caught Gao Shen off guard.

The young lady wasn't sticking to the script at all today, this wasn't like her usual reserved self.

Neither of them said a word.

They just hugged each other tightly.

After a long time, she let go, looked carefully at Gao Shen, and spoke her first words since arriving in England.

"You've lost weight."

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried hard to hold them back. The way she looked was incredibly moving.

"Come on, take me home!" She stretched out her hand.

Gao Shen was also touched. He took her hand, walked over, picked up the suitcase, and left.

…

On the way from London to Manchester, she slept on Gao Shen's shoulder the entire time, clutching his hand tightly, as if afraid he might disappear.

Gao Shen sat there without moving.

Originally, he had planned to stay in London with her until the following noon before returning to Manchester. But Su Qing wanted to go home.

Because she knew Gao Shen would resume team training the next afternoon, and she didn't want to be left alone at home.

So she wanted to return to that unfamiliar yet familiar place as soon as possible.

It felt unfamiliar because it was her first time living there, but familiar because Gao Shen had described this home to her countless times.

So much so that when she finally stood at the doorstep, she wasn't even excited. She simply turned around and flashed Gao Shen a radiant smile.

"I didn't expect we'd be living in such a large detached garden villa!" Su Qing said happily.

Gao Shen had also lived in a villa when he was in Naples, but the garden wasn't nearly this big.

Of course, Gao Shen hardly had to do anything around the house. All the chores were handled by a housekeeping company, and the garden was maintained by a landscaping service. All expenses were covered by Manchester City, so he didn't need to worry about a thing.

At most, he just had to make a phone call if something came up.

After entering the house, Su Qing walked around like she already knew the place well.

She had seen the entire house inside and out during her video calls with Gao Shen, and many of the interior design choices were based on her suggestions. So she didn't feel like a stranger at all.

But after she toured the ground floor, she returned to Gao Shen, took his hand, gently scratched his palm, and said coquettishly, "Why don't you take me to see our bedroom?"

Gao Shen had been holding back for so long, how could he resist any longer?

"There are only two of us here now, so isn't every room a bedroom?"

As he said that, he lunged at her like the Big Bad Wolf.

…

The next afternoon.

At Manchester City's Carrington training base, everyone was looking strangely at head coach Gao Shen.

Gao Shen stood by the training ground as usual, observing the session but this time, he was holding his lower back the whole time.

This made everyone in the team feel puzzled, and at the same time, it was hard not to laugh.

The British paparazzi were truly formidable. They were so omnipresent that they even dug up the news that Gao Shen had gone to Heathrow Airport to pick up his fiancée yesterday. And now, as if by coincidence, he sprained his back today...

Well, it was hard not to make connections.

"Boss, I understand that you missed her after such a long time, but your health is more important!" David Luiz said with exaggerated concern.

Gao Shen tilted his head, about to reply.

"Yes, Boss, you're the most important person to us. You have to take care of your health," Suarez chimed in.

"Boss, if your back's not doing well, you need to work more on your core strength," Giroud advised.

"I won't say anything, Boss…"

Before Rakitic could finish, Gao Shen cut him off.

"I really sprained my back. What are you all thinking?" Gao Shen looked genuinely confused.

He was telling the truth, he'd strained it while moving something earlier that morning.

These bastards! Why do all of you have such dirty minds?

And do I really look that weak?

"Yes, yes, we know it's a sprain. That's why you need to exercise some restraint," Kompany said, trying hard not to laugh.

The others couldn't help but laugh as well.

Truthfully, everyone understood that kind of thing. It was normal.

Not to mention, before every major match, Gao Shen always reminded the players to be restrained the night before a home game.

Now that the tables had turned, and they had a rare chance to "lecture" their boss, the players weren't going to pass it up, whether it was true or not, they were going to take their shot.

Gao Shen called over the team's physiotherapist, but that only made things worse.

"I can only confirm that he did sprain his back, and it's very minor. As for how it happened, I'm sorry, I'm not Sherlock Holmes, I can't uncover the truth."

After saying that, the guy walked off grinning shamelessly.

Gao Shen suddenly felt like the world was full of malice.

But soon, the laughter stopped.

Normally, after every training session, Antonio Pintus would come over and lead them on a long-distance run.

But today, training was supervised by Gao Shen himself, which initially got the players excited. They thought it was a lucky break.

That is, until reality hit.

This was the price of rebellion!

(To be continued.)

Chapter 609: Another Rumble

The eighth round of the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur drew 2-2 away at Bolton.

Manchester United, playing at home, fell behind twice and equalized twice, ultimately drawing 2-2 with Sunderland.

Arsenal delivered an impressive performance at home, defeating Blackburn Rovers 6-2.

The Gunners' six goals came from six different players, showing how widespread their attacking threat was.

Chelsea hosted Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, with the two sides drawing 1-1.

This was also Liverpool's first draw of the season, ending their seven-match winning streak.

Aside from Arsenal, the other title contenders all dropped points in this round.

This was mainly due to the fact that these teams were fighting on three fronts,Premier League, League Cup, and European competitions, making it difficult to manage everything effectively.

However, this also created an excellent opportunity for Manchester City to widen the gap.

On the evening of October 4th, Manchester City traveled to Villa Park to face Aston Villa away.

Gao Shen's fiancée, Su Qing, attended a Premier League match in the stands for the first time and was immediately picked up by Sky Sports' live broadcast cameras, prompting surprised reactions from commentators Andy Gray and Martin Tyler.

On the pitch, Manchester City took the initiative from the outset and firmly controlled the game. In the 15th minute, David Luiz opened the scoring with a header from a corner.

In the 67th minute of the second half, Suárez assisted Hazard to score, sealing the 2-0 victory.

In the end, Gao Shen's team defeated Aston Villa 2-0 away.

Villa's manager Martin O'Neill publicly stated after the match that his team had given their best effort but still couldn't stop Manchester City. He believed City were now the top favourites for the Premier League title.

After the game, Gao Shen publicly dedicated the win to his fiancée Su Qing.

"This is my gift to her!"

…

After the match against Aston Villa, the Premier League paused once again for a two-week international break.

Su Qing had accumulated enough vacation days in China to take time off, and Gao Shen also granted himself an extended leave. The two traveled together around the UK, with their first stop being London.

During Gao Shen's time off, all club responsibilities were handed over to Brian Kidd, and team affairs were fully managed by Carlo. Gao Shen had complete trust in these two assistants.

Over the two weeks, Manchester City closely monitored the status of their international players and also received more good news.

Back in early September, Gao Shen and Suárez were awarded the Manager and Player of the Month awards, respectively. In the October awards, Gao Shen was once again named Manager of the Month.

This achievement was extremely rare in Premier League history.

The league stated that Gao Shen's Manchester City had won eight consecutive matches, making them the only undefeated team in the Premier League so far this season. Gao Shen being named Manager of the Month for two straight months was fully deserved.

It was a rare feat in Premier League history for a manager to win the award in consecutive months.

Sir Alex Ferguson achieved it twice, once in 1996 and again in 2000. Arsène Wenger did it once in 1998, and Rafa Benítez also achieved it once in 2005.

Considering the fierce competition in the Premier League, winning Manager of the Month twice in a row was already enough to prove a manager's capability and form. What was even more remarkable was that this was only Gao Shen's debut season in the league.

"There's no doubt, he's become the most successful head coach in the Premier League!"

The media gave widespread coverage to the story, believing that Gao Shen's winning the award was mainly due to the shocking 8-0 away victory over Manchester United, which stunned not just the Premier League but all of European football. So, his winning the award came as no surprise.

However, some media outlets also pointed out that Manchester City would not face any truly strong opponents in the upcoming league fixtures, with the toughest challenge being the away game against Liverpool in late November.

In other words, throughout October, Manchester City's schedule looked manageable, making it entirely possible for Gao Shen to continue their winning streak.

If that happened, it wasn't out of the question for Gao Shen to win the Manager of the Month award again for October.

"In Premier League history, not many managers have won the Manager of the Month award in consecutive months, though it has happened several times. But no manager has ever won it three times in a row not even Sir Alex Ferguson at his peak," one report noted.

The general consensus among the media was that if Gao Shen could win the award for October, he would make Premier League history.

But to win it, Manchester City would have to keep winning throughout October.

Alongside the Manager of the Month, the Player of the Month award went to Manchester City winger Gareth Bale, who beat out Liverpool's star striker Fernando Torres.

Torres had performed brilliantly in September, scoring twice against West Ham United and netting a hat-trick against Hull City.

But Gareth Bale's hat-trick of goals and assists against Manchester United earned him rapturous applause. His performances afterward were just as eye-catching and impressive.

In the end, the Welshman edged out Torres to win the September Player of the Month award.

Having won both the Manager and Player of the Month awards last month, Manchester City repeated the feat again this month. Their momentum this season was simply unstoppable.

The only question now was: when would Manchester City's winning streak end?

The Daily Mirror analyzed that, based on Manchester City's current form, consistency, and increasingly dominant performances, the only teams with a real chance of stopping them were Liverpool and Chelsea.

At the very least, with just one match per week, it was unlikely that Manchester City would drop points against mid- and lower-table teams.

After winning September's Player of the Month award, and ahead of the ninth round of the Premier League, Gao Shen personally accompanied Su Qing to Heathrow Airport and saw her off as she boarded her flight home.

The two had spent a brief yet inseparable half-month together. Parting again, they were understandably saddened.

…

The ninth round of the Premier League.

In the first match after the international break, Chelsea suffered a 1-2 away defeat to Aston Villa.

Drogba opened the scoring for the Blues, but Martin O'Neill's side responded with two goals to complete the comeback.

A 2-1 defeat—Chelsea dropped points on the road.

Arsenal continued their good form from the previous round, defeating Birmingham 3-1.

Manchester United beat Bolton 2-1 at Old Trafford, thanks to two goals from Valencia.

Liverpool edged Sunderland 1-0 away from home.

It was evident that after the two-week international break, most of the Premier League matches lacked spark.

But no one expected that, in the final match of the second matchday of the ninth round, Manchester City would once again unleash a shocking and dominant performance, this time away against Wigan Athletic.

Just six minutes into the match, Giroud assisted Robben to score the opening goal.

After that, Gareth Bale linked up superbly with Hazard on the left, repeatedly launching aggressive attacks down Wigan's right flank. In the 31st minute, Hazard dribbled into the penalty area from the inside-left channel and drew a foul from former Chelsea veteran Mario Melchiot.

Referee Alan Wiley issued a red card and awarded a penalty.

Rakitic converted calmly from the spot to double Manchester City's lead.

With two goals and a one-man advantage, Manchester City unleashed a relentless wave of attacks and went into halftime leading 4-0.

In the second half, Wigan made substitutions and attempted to dig in, but it didn't last.

From the 63rd minute onward, Manchester City completely took control. Gareth Bale and Hazard on the left, Robben on the right, their dazzling attacking play overwhelmed the hosts. Manchester City scored four more goals through a mix of headers and close-range finishes.

In the end, Manchester City crushed Wigan Athletic 8-0 away from home.

This match once again stunned the Premier League and the wider European football world.

After just nine rounds of the season, Manchester City had already recorded two 8-0 victories. Their offensive firepower was terrifying. More importantly, their attacking coordination on the left flank was becoming increasingly effective.

After the match, when Gao Shen met Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, the future head coach of Belgium's national team appeared helpless.

"If it hadn't been for that red card, I believe we could have held on!" said Martinez.

Gao Shen just smiled and said nothing.

What, you win the match and still won't let people indulge in 'what ifs'?

But the truth was, even without the red card, it would have been extremely difficult for Wigan to stop Manchester City.

In this match, Roberto Martinez used a 5-3-2 formation, which left far too much space on the flanks, especially for Gareth Bale to exploit.

Gao Shen deployed Bale and Hazard as his left-wing pairing.

Hazard was excellent at cutting inside with the ball, while Bale made runs outside. Conversely, if Hazard stayed wide to draw defenders, Bale would cut diagonally into the inside channel and surge into the box.

This pattern of attack completely dismantled Wigan's defense.

Even without the red card, Gao Shen believed the scoreline would've still been a blowout.

But what pleased Gao Shen most wasn't the score, it was how the left-flank attacking system had matured.

According to his tactical vision, the left wing was to become the team's primary attacking avenue. Gareth Bale's speed was absolutely essential to executing this style of play.

By contrast, on the right flank, Zabaleta was doing fine. But Micah Richards couldn't provide enough support behind Robben, meaning the right wing was overly dependent on Zabaleta for now.

As for the center...

Well, Giroud really wasn't suited to being a goal scorer.

He started as the lone striker and played the full 90 minutes. Manchester City had 27 total shots and scored eight goals but Giroud only managed three shots and didn't score at all.

What could Gao Shen even say?

Giroud... what exactly is your strong point?

(To be continued.)