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Chapter 278: The Blue Side of Manchester II

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 play 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 players began to undress out of the stuffy suits that they had worn into the stadium, and dressed up in more comfortable sportswear that they would use to train before the match.

while most of the players 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 players behind, the other club staff, namely the assistant coaches, led the players to the field to begin their training.

***

in the Porto locker room, the players were back inside after completing their pre-match training. the head manager had also come back with the other players 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 players, and the game plan.

the lineups would be shared through the media after the players in the starting lineup were selected by the manager, but the game plan of the Porto 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 Marchesin will be in goal, defending the sticks,”

“Our two center-backs will be Pepe and Chancel Mbemba, I don’t need to tell them their jobs I believe, I’ll be expecting them to take out every threat to our defense should come too close for comfort,” Sergio Conceicao began filling out the jobs of each player 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 players.

“In the center of the park, Otavio and Mattheus Uribe will partner up to control the midfield and 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 connection between the forwards and defenders, and once 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 explain 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 flanks where there should be more space” the manager further explained.

“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 wings at every opportunity you 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 means as long as we’re fast enough we can break through from the flanks, especially from the right,”

“We will be depending on you two for that. If the opportunity to run into the box comes, 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 our opponents 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 players 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 players and their managers stayed in the locker rooms to continuously go over the game plan and give even more specific instructions to each player.

the time passed quickly and soon it was time for the players 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 their team’s opening day in the Champions League, the first game that either of the two teams would be playing in this competition}

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

{What should we expect from the game!?}

{My name is Derek Rae and my partner in co-commentary is Alan McKenzie} The main commentator of the game gave his introductory remarks as the players of the two teams stepped out of the tunnel and walked onto the pitch.

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

{It began yesterday with other teams already having their opening match and now we are here in what is arguably the biggest match of the night, it is Manchester 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} Alan McKenzie added his own commentary to the game.

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

{The Manchester City side seems to be arranging themselves in their usual 4-3-3 formation that we’ve seen and known to be a personal favorite of their manager Pep Guardiola}

{The Brazilian Ederson will be in goal}

{Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko will be the wingbacks partnering up with John Stones and Eric Garcia in the Center of the defense to keep the Porto forwards at bay}

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

{Up front, we have Riyad Mahrez on the right, Raheem Sterling on the left, and Sergio Aguero in the center}

{Manchester City will be looking to control possession of the game which Porto is also known for so we may end up seeing a battle for possession, or maybe either of the two teams has something different in store for us}

{Moving on to the Porto side…} Derek Rae went on to list out the players in Porto’s starting lineup while the players 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 it landed 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 players arranged themselves on the field and waited for the referee’s whistle to start the match, the bench players of the two teams settled in their seats, waiting patiently for the match to start.