Except for Manchester City's core coaching staff, no one knew that Gao Shen had already performed the "Hogwarts prophecy."
Everyone was focused on the conflict between Lampard and Villas-Boas at Chelsea, and the news that Manchester United had been held to a draw away at Stoke City. Crouch's goal had left Ferguson furious after the match.
Because of that draw, Manchester United once again lost their place at the top of the league.
Just a week ago, Ferguson had made a bold statement, vowing to beat Manchester City and win the title. How long had it been?
First, they were knocked out of the League Cup by a Championship side. Now they had surrendered the lead in the league. Where could Ferguson put his face?
However, Ferguson also had his response.
Although Manchester United drew with Stoke City, Ferguson didn't talk about his own team but instead pointed out Manchester City's biggest current problem.
"More and more teams are becoming familiar with and understanding Manchester City's tactical style. They're no longer afraid of them."
Ferguson claimed that Everton was just the beginning, and that more teams would cause problems for Manchester City on the pitch. The stronger the opponent, the more difficulties they would face.
"It will be hard for them to win easily in the Premier League and Champions League like they have over the past two seasons."
Ferguson's remarks were echoed by many in the media.
After all, professional managers were doing their jobs. Manchester City was now too strong, so naturally, opponents were studying how to counter them tactically.
It's worth mentioning that the Queens Park Rangers, managed by Mark Hughes, were currently ranked 17th in the Premier League, just one point above second-to-last Bolton.
Before the season, the former Manchester City manager had confidently predicted that QPR would avoid relegation and even become a dark horse. But after six rounds, his prediction had clearly failed.
Not only that, Jonathan Howson, the homegrown midfield talent selected by Mark Hughes at a cost of £10 million, had played all 540 minutes of the first six matches.
But unlike his standout performances in the Championship last season, his displays in the first six rounds of the Premier League could only be described as miserable.
Zero goals, zero assists, two yellow cards, and the lowest player rating on the team.
As a midfielder, Howson had posted an impressive double-double last season in the Championship. But in the first six league matches for QPR, he had failed to score or assist. Even his passing, the most basic skill for a midfielder, was poor. He simply couldn't keep up with the pace of the Premier League.
Worse still, he was giving the ball away far too often.
England U21 coach Stuart Pearce was also disappointed with Howson's post-transfer form. He said the player needed to get back in shape quickly, but in the meantime, excluded him from the youth team squad.
Amid this, the Yorkshire Post began to break the story, claiming that Jonathan Howson was never Gao Shen's choice.
"In fact, from start to finish, the midfielder Gao Shen admired most was Paul Pogba. He even personally spoke with Ferguson and Pogba, which led to the French midfield prodigy's transfer to Leeds United."
Paul Pogba had since become one of Leeds United's standout performers this season.
"His talent is so obvious, it's overflowing!"
As for the previous rumors that Gao Shen had picked Jonathan Howson, the Yorkshire Post said those were tabloid fabrications, which were then picked up by many major outlets. But in reality, Gao Shen had never made such claims.
The issue quickly attracted the media's attention.
When reporters asked Fernando Lucas directly, the Leeds United CEO stated clearly that Gao Shen had never said that.
"He was our best player last season, and we all believed he deserved a new contract. But the moment he submitted a transfer request, we knew we couldn't keep him."
As for reports that QPR manager Mark Hughes was becoming dissatisfied with Howson's performances and might even consider offloading him back to Leeds United at a discount during the winter transfer window, Lucas denied it outright.
"The deal is done. We got a good fee. QPR got the player they wanted, and the player fulfilled his wish to play in the Premier League. There's no point talking about it now."
"We have a group of outstanding young midfielders like Paulinho, Pogba, Schneiderlin, and Kondogbia. I don't think Jonathan Howson would be able to establish himself in this new Leeds United team even if he came back."
The implication was obvious—there was no longer a place for him at Leeds United.
But Mark Hughes did have regrets.
According to media reports, he regretted missing out on veteran players like Wright-Phillips and bringing in Jonathan Howson instead.
QPR's management had also started reviewing the transfer decisions and were even considering holding Mark Hughes accountable.
As for Gao Shen, he remained silent throughout the whole incident.
After Leeds United got on track, he basically no longer involved himself and never brought it up again.
Three days after the match against Everton, Manchester City headed into the second round of the Champions League group stage.
The team flew to Porto, Portugal, for an away match at the Estádio do Dragão.
Ferguson was right. More and more teams were starting to figure out how to deal with Manchester City.
Especially a team like Porto, who had already played against them in the European Super Cup.
In this match, Victor Pereira dropped his usual approach and adopted a more defensive setup, fielding a three-man midfield of Souza, Fernando, and Defour.
The two wide players were also adjusted from before.
Hulk remained on the right, Kleber played in the center, but the left wing was now manned by Colombian youngster James Rodríguez.
Yes, the same James Rodríguez rumored to have helped Florentino land a billion-dollar business deal.
He hadn't yet made his mark on a World Cup stage, but his talent was already clear to see.
Porto called it a 4-3-3, but in practice it often played like a 4-4-2, with James Rodríguez acting more like an attacking midfielder.
Still, their overall setup was based on defense and counterattacks.
Once the match started, Manchester City's attack was immediately stifled by Porto.
With the protection of three defensive midfielders, plus support from the backline and hard-working attackers, Manchester City's offensive game ran into serious resistance and kept getting shut down.
After their loss in the Super Cup, Ferreira had clearly studied Manchester City more carefully and had put together an effective defensive strategy.
The first half ended 0–0.
Manchester City dominated possession and tempo, had the upper hand on the pitch, and constantly created chances, but still couldn't break the deadlock.
The team was visibly frustrated.
Gao Shen had expected this.
At halftime, he swapped Rakitic and David Silva, moving the Spaniard to the right.
He also asked Gareth Bale, Suarez, and Robben to rotate positions frequently.
"The tighter the opponent's defense, the more we need to pull them around and create openings."
Gao Shen told his players to stay calm and patient, no matter what.
In the second half, Manchester City's attack remained stalled by Porto.
But in the 69th minute, Robben suddenly appeared on the left. After receiving a pass from Suarez, he quickly drove down the flank. Fucile chased him all the way.
Just as he reached the left edge of the penalty area, Robben suddenly stopped and cut back. Fucile lost his balance and slid to the ground. Robben had already pulled away and passed the ball back to the edge of the box.
Suarez didn't stop the ball, instead playing it forward to Gareth Bale inside the box.
At that moment, the Welshman was positioned near the penalty spot, holding off Otamendi with his body and controlling Suarez's pass.
But Otamendi defended well and didn't let Bale turn. With Fernando, Souza, and others retreating quickly, Bale used his body to shield the ball, then quickly laid it off to Suarez.
The Uruguayan striker didn't stop it and fired with his right foot.
"Goalkeeper Helton makes a crucial save!"
"What a great stop!"
"Suarez's right-foot shot was sudden, but Helton still got a hand to it!"
"But the ball is still in the six-yard box. City still have a chance!"
"David Silva!"
"The ball is in!"
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
"David Silva scores!"
"It was the 70th minute. David Silva pounced on the rebound and tapped the ball into the Porto net!"
"One-nil!"
"My goodness, Manchester City's attack was completely rearranged!"
"Right winger Robben appeared on the left, Gareth Bale took on the role of center forward, Suarez dropped deep to support, and David Silva cut inside from the right channel, appearing at the far post to score the crucial goal!"
"We can see the City players are ecstatic."
"Porto are definitely no pushovers. They won the treble last season!"
"In last year's European competitions, only two teams won the treble: Manchester City, who won the Champions League, and Porto, who won the Europa League."
"But before that, Manchester City beat Porto in the European Super Cup, proving they are the true kings of Europe!"
"Tonight, at the Estádio do Dragão, against a tough defensive setup, City still managed to find their moment."
"Now it's up to Porto. Do they want to chase the equalizer?"
"City have the lead, and Gao Shen is preparing substitutions."
"I believe that now that they've gone ahead, he'll make the most of their initiative."
"Porto also need to consider whether they want to push forward."
"Three days ago in the Premier League, Everton conceded one and tried to fight back, only to concede a second shortly after."
"Ferreira must think carefully. Should Porto press forward?"
(To be continued.)
***
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