Chapter 278: The Blue Side of Manchester II


    A ck bus drove into the grounds of the ETIHAD stadium and parked in front of the opening into the stadium.


    The Porto yers began toe down from the bus looking smart in their ck suits as they walked into the stadium amidst the shes of dozens of cameras capturing all their movements.


    Jason also came down behind Fabio Viera and Mylo but Jason’s dressing was a bit different from the rest as he wore a double-breasted overcoat over his suit due to the cold temperature of the surroundings… or at least, that was his excuse for looking like a Peaky Blinder.


    He looked more like somebody going on a business trip to off somebody than somebody who had a football match to y in a few hours.


    Waving at the cameras as he walked by, Jason quickly made his way into the ETIHAD stadium with his teammates as they headed to the locker room assigned to them.


    Once in the locker room, the Porto yers began to undress out of the stuffy suits that they had worn into the stadium, and dressed up in morefortable sportswear that they would use to train before the match.


    while most of the yers began to get ready for the pre-match training Sergio Conceicao and Pepe, the team captain, and Sergio Oliveira, the team’s vice-captain headed out for a pre-match press conference.


    Despite the manager, captain, and vice-captain leaving the yers behind, the other club staff, namely the assistant coaches, led the yers to the field to begin their training. ***


    in the Porto locker room, the yers were back inside afterpleting their pre-match training. the head manager had alsoe back with the other yers that he took along with him to the press conference.


    With all the physical preparations done and the match’s starting time rapidly approaching it was time for the manager to select the team’s starting line-up,the bench yers, and the game n.


    the lineups would be shared through the media after the yers in the starting lineup were selected by the manager,but the game n of thePorto team would not be shared with the media.


    “All right boys, let’s get into it,”


    “Our formation would remain the same 4-4-2 as usual,”


    “For the starting lineup, Augustin Marchesinwill be in goal,defendingthe sticks,”


    “Our two center-backs will be Pepe and Chancel Mbemba,I don’t need to tell them their jobsI believe, I’ll be expecting them to take out every threat to our defense shoulde too close forfort,” Sergio Conceicao began filling out the jobs of each yer in the formation.


    “In the right back position we will have Wilson Manafa,and in the left back position,we will have Zaidu Sanusi, I expect them to do their defensive duties while also staying open enough to help on the counter should the opportunity present itself,”the Porto head manager said while looking at the two concerned yers.


    “In the center of the park, Otavioand Mattheus Uribewill partner up to control the midfieldand contribute to the attacking and defending jobs of the team,”


    “If we have the ball I expect those two to keep the ball moving around.they should be the connectionbetween the forwards and defenders,andonce the ball is in the final third I want them to be just behind the strikers,”


    “There,” Sergio Conceicao said as he pointed to the spot on the whiteboard where he was to exin the formation.


    “They must be ready to support the strikers if they ever get boxed in,once they receive the ball, I want them to send it down the nks where there should be more space”the manager further exined.


    “Ignoring that, they also should help the defensive efforts of the team when we do not have the ball,”


    “Moving on, the left winger will be Luis Diaz,while the right winger will be Jesus Corona,”


    “I want the two of you to run down the wingsat every opportunityyou get,”


    “Our opponents have especially fast wingbacks which means that we cannot usually outrun them, but because of the attacking nature of their team, the wingbacks usually go up to join the attackers which meansas long as we’re fast enough we can break through from the nks, especially from the right,”


    “We will be depending on you two for that.If the opportunity to run into the boxes, don’t hesitate. Still, if the wingbacks can get back in time to stop our attacks,then you can send the ball into the penalty box instead,” Sergio Conceicao made it clear what he wanted to see from the wingers.


    “Our two strikers for the match will be Mehdi Taremi and Sergio Oliveira, who will be partnering with each other to try and break past ouropponents whenever they leave themselves open,”


    “I want you guys to run into spaces once they open up so that your teammates can send the ball to you,” Sergio Conceicao said as he drew the line with an arrowhead trying to depict what he wanted the strikers to do.


    “I think you guys have the idea of what I want to see from you in the match,”Sergio Conceicao said with a gesture at the board that was now filled with all sorts of drawings and lines.


    the yers nodded affirmatively as the manager had been descriptive enough with his instructions.


    “On the bench are the rest of you who did not hear your names in the starting line-up,” Sergio Conceicao said to finish up the basics of the meeting.


    While the confirmed line-up of both teams was released to the public, the yers and their managers stayed in the locker rooms to continuously go over the game n and give even more specific instructions to each yer.


    the time passed quickly and soon it was time for the yers to head out to the field with the starting Time of the match quickly approaching.


    **


    {It is finally here, the long-awaited, long anticipated, and long-expected day for the Porto and Manchester City fans has finally arrived}


    {Today is theirteam’sopening day in the Champions League, the firstgame that either of the two teams would be ying in thispetition}


    {Thefans have waited patiently, and they finally will be satiated with this exciting encounter between the Champions of Ennd and the Champions of Portugal}


    {What should we expect from the game!?}


    {My name is DerekRae and my partner in comentary is n McKenzie} The mainmentator of the game gave his introductory remarks as the yers of the two teams stepped out of the tunnel and walked onto the pitch.


    {The Champions League football is back again in the 2020/21season of football}


    {It began yesterday with other teamsalreadyhaving their opening match and now we are here in what is arguably the biggest matchof thenight, it isManchester City versus Porto here at the ETIHAD stadium}


    {Porto will have to be careful in this match against this opponent if they hope to gain anything from the game as we’ve seen many teams crumble in front of this club,especially here at their home ground} n McKenzie added his ownmentary to the game.


    {Let’s go straight into the lineups of the two teams} Derek Rae once again beganmenting.


    {The Manchester City sideseems to be arranging themselves in their usual 4-3-3formationthatwe’ve seen and known to be a personal favorite of their manager Pep Guardi}


    {The Brazilian Ederson will be in goal}


    {Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko will be the wingbacks partnering up withJohn Stonesand Eric Garcia in the Center of the defense to keep the Porto forwardsat bay}


    {In the central defensive position isthe legendary Fernandinho Who is also the team captain,and with him are Ilkay Gundoganand Bernardo Silva inthe midfield}


    {Up front,we have Riyad Mahrezon the right, Raheem Sterling on the left,and Sergio Agueroin the center}


    {Manchester City will be looking to control possession of the game which Porto is also known for sowe may end upseeinga battle forpossession, or maybeeither of the two teamshas somethingdifferent in store for us}


    {Moving on to the Porto side…} Derek Rae went on to list out the yers inPorto’s starting lineup while the yers arranged themselves on the pitch while waiting for the whistle to kick off the game.


    The captains of the two teams waited while the referee did the coin toss and itnded on heads.


    With Fernandinho having chosen heads, the Manchester side had won the toss and Fernandinho chose to pass first.


    With that, Pepe selected a side and shook hands with Fernandinho before the two captains went to join their teammates telling them of the final decision.


    While the yers arranged themselves on the field and waited for the referee’s whistle to start the match, the bench yers of the two teams settled in their seats, waiting patiently for the match to start.