Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 564: Premier League Scandal Shocks the World

After nearly half an hour of chaos, the match finally resumed.

In the end, with two players sent off, Manchester City couldn't turn the game around and lost 2-1 to Chelsea at home.

After the match, the entire Premier League was in an uproar. It wasn't just the British media that paid close attention to the game—news outlets across Europe also made this incident their front-page story.

"Chelsea Storm the Etihad, Eight Consecutive Wins—Unstoppable!"

This was the headline from the pro-Chelsea media.

"Defeated at Home—City Didn't Lose to Their Opponent but to the Referee!"

This was the headline from the pro-Manchester City media.

"Chelsea End Three-Year Winless Streak at the Etihad—City Fall with Two Red Cards—Premier League Showdown Ends in Surprise Result!"

This was from the neutral media.

Regardless of their stance, every media outlet detailed the confusing decisions made by the referee. In particular, the incident where he judged Lin Quan for diving was widely seen as the catalyst that caused the match to spiral out of control.

After the match, it wasn't just the news outlets buzzing with excitement—social media also exploded, with many fans immediately taking to their platforms to vent about what they had just witnessed.

"This is absolutely ridiculous! Was this referee on a mission to make sure City didn't win?"

"It's insane! Lin being called for a dive? I don't even know what to say anymore."

"Lin has never dived! He's even apologized to opposing goalkeepers before when he was wrongly awarded a penalty, and he's voluntarily given the ball back to the other team, never taking advantage. And yet, this referee thinks he's diving? The ref must be corrupt to see things this way."

"Exactly! Before Lin was called for diving, there were already a few questionable calls from this idiot of a referee. He was clearly favoring Chelsea, but it was still somewhat tolerable. But after that dive call? If I were a City player, I wouldn't have been able to hold back either!"

"Do you think it's possible the referee was acting under orders?"

"You mean someone higher up told him to do this?"

"I didn't say that, but think about it: would a low-level referee really pull such an outrageous stunt unless he had backing? Anyone with eyes could see his calls were completely off, and if this is investigated, he could lose his job! So why would he do it if there wasn't something in it for him?"

Unsurprisingly, referee Anthony Taylor became the target of widespread criticism. His erratic and questionable officiating turned what should have been a grand Premier League showdown watched by fans around the world into a farce and a joke.

Because of the importance of this match, conspiracy theories began circulating online. Some even speculated that Taylor had been instructed by the FA or the Premier League itself to officiate the match this way.

Initially, these theories were confined to small circles and weren't widely known or believed.

But as public outrage grew following the match, these conspiracy theories gained more traction, with more people starting to believe and spread them.

At first, the FA and Premier League tried to downplay the situation. However, when they noticed the growing conspiracy theories online, they could no longer remain silent.

On December 5, the FA held a press conference, announcing that they would seriously investigate the officiating in various leagues, ensuring fairness and justice in English football.

The FA assumed that this statement would quell the public's doubts and satisfy the teams involved.

However, fans were not impressed by the FA's vague and evasive stance.

"What do they mean by 'seriously investigating the officiating'? Are they just planning to make the referee the scapegoat for everything?"

"Hah! What a way to turn a big problem into a small one and then sweep it under the rug. I bet the FA is involved in this!"

Compared to the FA's weak response, the Premier League's stance was more sincere.

The league had placed great importance on this match, not only assigning their best commentators and live broadcast resources but also spending their own money to promote it in several countries and regions. Their goal was to use such a high-profile match to expand their market and enhance the Premier League's global influence.

But the carefully staged event had been ruined by Anthony Taylor.

Many fans who had watched the game couldn't help but suspect that it had been fixed.

This led to doubts about the integrity of the entire Premier League, which was a huge blow to its brand image.

As a commercial league, the Premier League relies on its image and reputation. Damaging that is like threatening everyone's livelihood.

Even if the FA was willing to let this slide, the club owners in the league certainly wouldn't.

So, following the FA's announcement, the Premier League immediately declared that they would coordinate with both clubs to arrange a replay of the match.

Manchester City, of course, welcomed this decision enthusiastically, while Chelsea did not agree right away, likely reluctant to give up their hard-earned win.

However, Chelsea also knew that their victory hadn't been entirely clean, so they didn't outright reject the idea.

Still, the Premier League had no authority over the referees, and appointing officials for matches required approval from the FA.

The FA, in turn, stated that they couldn't make any decisions until the investigation was completed. It was clear they intended to stall and let the issue fade away.

Shortly after the FA's second statement, a tabloid called News of the World dropped a bombshell. The paper revealed that the FA's vice chairman had accepted bribes and used his influence to assign specific referees to certain matches.

Each referee has their own style—some are strict, some are lenient, some favor home teams, while others don't give home advantage at all.

This may seem minor, but used correctly, this could greatly benefit certain teams depending on their style of play.

Even though there wasn't any direct evidence of match-fixing or bribery influencing decisions, the revelation still sparked a huge scandal.

Fans across the UK were outraged. Football is a source of pride and passion for millions, but to find out that the game they loved was tainted by such dirty dealings shattered their trust.

Many were left heartbroken, feeling as though their dreams had been crushed.

Angry fans took to the streets, gathering outside the FA's headquarters to protest. Some of the more extreme supporters even showed up shirtless in the dead of winter, attempting to storm the building in a bid to "bring these corrupt parasites to justice."

The commotion naturally caught the attention of the police.

Following the revelations in the newspaper, the authorities moved quickly, arresting those involved for questioning.

Some fans speculated that the News of the World expose was orchestrated by the Abu Dhabi United Group, implying that Manchester City's owners had retaliated.

But this was just speculation, with no solid evidence to back it up.

This circus continued until around Christmas, when things finally started to calm down.

In the meantime, three more rounds of the league had been quietly played.

Although Sheikh Mansour had sought revenge against the FA, the result of Manchester City's loss to Chelsea couldn't be changed.

Fortunately, after City's appeal, the additional suspensions for Agüero and Fernandinho's red cards were lifted.

During these three rounds, despite their depleted squad, City managed two wins and one loss. They now sat third in the standings, one point behind second-placed Liverpool and seven points behind league leaders Chelsea.

After beating City, Chelsea's momentum only grew stronger. They won all three of their next matches, extending their winning streak to an incredible 11 games.

With Chelsea's unstoppable run, more and more people began to believe they would be this season's Premier League champions.

On December 26, the 18th round of the Premier League kicked off.

Before the match, Manchester City's star winger David Silva returned from injury and was named in Guardiola's 18-man squad.

Silva's return was good news for City, but Agüero was injured again, Kompany had suffered a relapse of his old injury, and Gabriel Jesus had been hurt in the previous game against Arsenal. City's injury list was growing fast.

But Guardiola had grown used to this situation. As long as Lin Quan stayed fit, he could always shuffle the rest of the team around and make it work.

With City set to visit Anfield next, they wasted no time in the first half of this match, with Lin Quan scoring an early goal and then winning a penalty to put them 2-0 up.

Early in the second half, De Bruyne added a free-kick goal, making it 3-0.

Guardiola began to rotate his squad, subbing off Lin Quan, De Bruyne, and other key players for a group of younger substitutes.

What was meant to be an opportunity for these youngsters to gain experience ended up surprising Guardiola.

In the 78th minute, Sané latched onto an assist from Mbappé to score City's fourth goal.

In the 89th minute, as the match neared stoppage time, Mbappé's run into the box drew a foul, earning City their second penalty of the game.

Mbappé took it himself, converting with ease to seal a 5-0 victory.

As City's match ended, news came from another stadium that Chelsea had beaten Bournemouth 3-0, extending their winning streak to 12 games.

They were on fire—truly unstoppable.

With 12 consecutive wins, Chelsea had now equaled the third-longest winning streak in Premier League history.

The only team with a longer streak was Arsenal, who had 14 straight wins in the 2002-2003 season.

Tied with Chelsea's current run were Manchester United, who also had a 12-game winning streak in the 2000-2001 season.

Conte's arrival had brought unexpected changes to Chelsea.

His three-at-the-back system initially seemed awkward, even leading to two early defeats. But once the players adapted, Chelsea's defense reached new heights, and their win rate soared.

Of Chelsea's 12 consecutive wins, 10 were clean sheets.

In the other two matches, their opponents only managed to score one goal each—those opponents being Tottenham and Manchester City, both of whom were top teams.

But even they couldn't find a way to break through Chelsea's defensive wall.

Poor Manchester United were humiliated 4-0 by Chelsea, leaving Mourinho's reputation in tatters against his old club.

On the final day of 2016, also the last round of the first half of the Premier League season, Manchester City traveled to Anfield to take on Liverpool, who were one point ahead of them in the standings.

With Chelsea facing a weaker opponent this round, neither City nor Liverpool could close the gap with Chelsea, even if they won.

But despite this, both teams took the match very seriously.

Winning wouldn't help them catch Chelsea, but losing would see them fall further behind.

This match wouldn't decide the top spot, but it could determine second place in the standings.

City had played at many stadiums in the Premier League, but Anfield was still one of the most memorable.

Liverpool's fans were famously passionate, and the atmosphere at Anfield was always electric.

As the home team, Liverpool charged forward like an unstoppable juggernaut, aiming to knock City off their feet.

Both teams boasted powerful attacking firepower, and many fans were eager to see a thrilling, high-scoring game.

Unfortunately, the match was marked by fierce physical battles, with both sides constantly fighting for possession.

Due to the intense pressing from both teams, their passing accuracy suffered.

In the first half, Liverpool attempted 212 passes, completing only 130, for a success rate of just 61%.

This meant that, on average, Liverpool made a mistake every three passes.

City didn't fare much better. They completed 275 passes in the first half, with 206 successful, for a 75% success rate.

For a team like City, known for their possession-based style, this wasn't great. Their passing numbers were naturally higher than other teams, especially with a lot of short, safe passes in the backline that inflated their stats. But the true picture was much worse than the numbers suggested.

The midfield battle was so intense that neither side could mount any effective attacks.

Both managers recognized this and quickly adjusted their tactics, shifting their offensive focus to the wings.

This move paid off. In the 53rd minute of the second half, City scored the opening goal.

Lin Quan linked up with David Silva on the wing, exchanging quick passes before cutting into the box. After drawing in all the defenders, he passed the ball across to Son Heung-min, who slotted it into the empty net with ease.

City took a 1-0 lead over Liverpool.

But Liverpool weren't about to give up.

Just eight minutes later, they nearly replicated City's goal, with Coutinho finding the back of the net to level the score.

For Coutinho, this might have been his last game for Liverpool, and possibly his last goal in a Liverpool shirt.

After scoring, Coutinho kissed the Anfield turf, a gesture that brought many of the home fans to tears. They didn't want to see him go.

But deep down, they knew Liverpool couldn't keep such a talent.

Coutinho's heart was set on leaving, and if the club tried to force him to stay, things would only end badly, with no goodwill left between the two sides.

Besides, Barcelona's offer was simply too much to refuse—160 million euros! They'd never seen such a lavish offer before!

(End of Chapter)

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen10