Starting With Real Madrid

As February approached, Manchester City remained under immense pressure.

The most grueling and brutal fixture run in history was still not over.

On the evening of February 1st, Manchester City headed to Liverpool once again to face Everton away.

After such an intense stretch of matches, City finally showed signs of fatigue.

Facing an Everton side that was disciplined and defensively solid, Manchester City controlled possession and dictated the tempo but squandered multiple clear chances.

Neither Gareth Bale's one-on-one nor Robben's close-range effort found the net.

Suárez hit the post twice.

What more could they do?

In the end, both sides settled for a 0-0 draw.

Manchester City walked away with just a point.

It's worth noting that this year's winter transfer window in the Premier League was relatively quiet.

Many clubs, including Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea, were cautious.

United only brought Paul Scholes out of retirement and poached a youth prospect, Vesely, from Manchester City's academy.

Neither Chelsea nor Liverpool made any significant moves.

There had been rumors that Tottenham Hotspur were looking to loan Adebayor from Real Madrid, but the move fell through.

This was largely because Spurs had sold Pavlyuchenko to Lokomotiv Moscow for £7 million, while Džeko had hit a wall this season and his Premier League performances had declined. Spurs hoped to bring in Adebayor as reinforcement.

Liverpool were also reportedly interested in Adebayor, but Mourinho blocked the move.

Although Mourinho's departure from Real Madrid was a foregone conclusion, Florentino and other senior officials insisted that he would remain in charge until the end of the season. Naturally, there was no reason to sell Adebayor midseason.

Both AS and Marca revealed that Real Madrid were already in contact with Gao Shen, and Mourinho would remain until the end of the season.

The quiet winter window reflected the state of the Premier League this year.

The biggest transfer came from Newcastle.

The Magpies were in seventh place, level on points with sixth-place Arsenal, just one point behind fifth-place Liverpool and two points behind Chelsea.

Such strong results sparked ambition within the club, and the dream of Champions League qualification became real.

Newcastle became one of the most active clubs in the window, bringing in Senegalese forward Papiss Cissé from Bundesliga side Freiburg.

Clearly, they were no longer content with the Demba Ba–Andy Carroll pairing and sought to strengthen their attack to push into the top four.

To that end, they offered Papiss Cissé a staggering £100,000 weekly wage.

That's a huge amount for a club not yet in a Champions League spot.

If they make the top four, it'll be a great deal. If they don't, it could backfire badly.

But sometimes, that's how football works. Whether you move forward or stay still, both carry risks.

Interestingly, both Demba Ba and Papiss Cissé represented Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, but the national team crashed out in the group stage. So the players reported back to their clubs immediately.

Only one Manchester City player went to the tournament—Yaya Touré, who joined the Ivorian national team at the end of January.

Côte d'Ivoire topped their group, and Yaya Touré would be playing in Africa a little longer.

Leeds United also had some African players, but Senegalese youngster Mané had not yet broken into the national team. Egyptian youngster Salah was included in the squad, but the Egyptian team was undergoing a transition and performed poorly, finishing bottom of their group and missing out entirely.

As for DR Congo's Bolasie, they also failed to qualify for the Africa Cup.

So, the tournament had little impact on either Manchester City or Leeds United.

…

On the evening of February 4th, at the Etihad Stadium.

In the 24th round of the Premier League, Manchester City hosted Fulham.

Three days earlier, they had been held to a frustrating draw by Everton. That frustration was fully unleashed tonight.

Just five minutes in, Hazard broke through on the left and whipped in a cross. Van Persie got in front of goal and poked it into the net.

From there, Manchester City launched wave after wave of attacks, playing with ruthless efficiency.

In the 25th and 30th minutes, they scored two more goals in quick succession.

Before the end of the first half, City countered quickly again. This time, Van Persie assisted Robinho, who made it 4-0.

By halftime, the game was effectively over.

Initially, City intended to push for a bigger win in the second half.

But the snow began falling harder.

Considering player safety, Gao Shen signaled the team to ease off the pressure.

In the 60th minute, the referee temporarily halted the game and summoned ground staff to clear the snow.

Ten minutes later, the game was stopped again for the same reason.

Seeing this, Gao Shen began making substitutions.

With Yaya Touré away at the Africa Cup, City's midfield was already stretched. Gao Shen didn't want his players to get injured on a frozen pitch.

Even so, in the 82nd minute, Sturridge, who had come off the bench, cut in from the left and crossed low. Van Persie completed his hat trick with a simple finish.

5-0!

Manchester City thrashed Fulham.

That same day, Arsenal also smashed Blackburn 7-1 at home and were applauded off the pitch.

Chelsea were unlucky. After leading 3-0, Manchester United came back with three second-half goals to draw 3-3 at Stamford Bridge.

The match was surrounded by controversy, as the referee awarded United two penalties within ten minutes.

Liverpool drew 0-0 with Tottenham at home.

Benítez's side remained the same—solid in midfield, lacking up front.

Reports suggest Liverpool's managerial change is already in motion, with Brendan Rodgers, who has impressed with Swansea, the most likely successor.

…

There was a full week's rest between the 24th and 25th rounds of the Premier League.

It was a timely break, much needed by teams who had endured the brutal Christmas and winter schedule.

But not for Manchester City.

Because they played in the Club World Cup, their Round 16 league match against Arsenal had been postponed until now.

So, another week of two matches began. With the FA Cup, League Cup final, and Champions League looming, Manchester City had no free slots. The Arsenal match had to be squeezed into midweek.

It didn't matter much to Arsenal, who had no European commitments, but it was a huge burden on City.

Since Christmas, City's schedule had been packed, nearly pushing the team to the brink.

Many players were not in peak condition and had no time to recover.

Some carried minor injuries but couldn't rest.

With Yaya Touré away, the midfield burden was even heavier.

Thanks to their squad depth, Manchester City managed to hold on. Any other Premier League club might have collapsed by now.

In the rescheduled match, both teams struggled. In the end, thanks to a goal from David Silva, City narrowly beat Arsenal 1-0 and scraped three points.

On February 12, in the 25th round, City traveled south to Birmingham to face Aston Villa away.

After a hard-fought match, they secured another 1-0 win, this time from a corner header.

With the Aston Villa game done, Manchester City finally got a break.

Because the FA Cup's fifth round was scheduled for the weekend, the Premier League was suspended. City's next opponent: Brighton.

To be honest, Gao Shen had never taken this team seriously.

The day after the Aston Villa game, after some light recovery training in the morning, Gao Shen directly announced a two-day break.

Carrington was filled with joy.

Not just the players—coaches and staff too.

From Christmas until now, they had been playing nearly every three days. And almost every opponent was strong. This brutal schedule had driven everyone to the edge.

It was Gao Shen and his coaching staff's constant encouragement that helped the team get through it.

But Gao Shen clearly saw the team's growth.

"We Chinese have a saying," he smiled as he addressed the joyful group, "A sword is sharpened by grinding. The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold!"

"I know how much you've given these past two months. You've worked harder than ever before. But now, it's all worth it."

"We're in the League Cup final. We've reached the fifth round of the FA Cup. And we're still top of the league. All of this is thanks to your sweat and sacrifice."

"I hope you enjoy this break."

The crowd erupted again.

But Gao Shen quickly added, "That said, you can relax, but don't slack off. When you return, the medical team will assess everyone thoroughly. If anyone fails the physical standard…"

He snorted twice, casting a mock-threatening glare. "You all know my temper."

The players were so thrilled to have time off that no one cared about the warning.

They all nodded and agreed instantly.

As soon as Gao Shen gave the signal to dismiss, within thirty minutes everyone had showered, changed, and driven off. Not a single one lingered.

Gao Shen, Carlo, and the rest couldn't help but laugh.

But no one could deny how tough this stretch had been.

"Thanks for all the hard work. Get some real rest. We'll need it for what comes next," Gao Shen said.

Carlo, Brian Kidd, and the others all nodded in agreement.

The players had worked hard, but so had the coaching staff.

Training sessions, opponent analysis, tactical prep—none of it was easy.

Lately, something strange had been happening.

Gao Shen had been clocking out on time every day and leaving work to his assistants.

That wasn't like him at all.

He used to be a total workaholic.

Had his personality changed recently?

(To be continued.)