Chapter 123 What a naughty little fox!
The first ten minutes of the first half passed quickly, and the fanatical atmosphere hovering over Old Trafford continued to decline as time went by, leaving only the die-hard Manchester United fans from the Stretford Stand shouting wildly.
Old Trafford can accommodate 76,000 fans, and the Stretford Stand, which occupies 17,000 fans, is nothing to the entire stadium.
The Liverpool fans gathered in the East Stand were very excited. Whenever Liverpool attacked with the ball, they would make high-pitched cheers. For a while, they even rivaled the boos made by the home fans.
Mourinho, who was standing in the command area of the home team's coach, was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. From time to time he looked up at the court, and from time to time he lowered his head and sighed. It was obvious that he was helpless about Manchester United's performance on the field, but he was also helpless.
Where is the player's upper limit, and you still expect to perform above the upper limit?
The on-site director took advantage of the game to reach a stalemate and gave a close-up shot of the VIP box, showing Ferguson and Bobby Charlton sitting together. The fans in front of the TV could clearly see the faces of Ferguson and Bobby Charlton. All ugly.
As the architect of Manchester United's past glory, how can you bear to see Liverpool players dominating at their home court?
Ferguson's greatest achievement in his life was to pull Liverpool off the throne, and now, Liverpool seems to have climbed from the ground to the throne.
Time is also destiny!
This is a word that Ferguson thought of and learned from the media interviews that year.
However, the current Manchester United is not without its merits. Compared with the coaching periods of Moyes and Van Gaal, the mental outlook has been greatly improved.
I hope... we can gradually find our form in the next games, defeat Liverpool at home, and get close to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
In the 16th minute, Li Qing received the football from Coutinho about 30 meters away from the baseline on the right wing of the attack. Damian and Herrera both maintained their defensive focus. Arnold pushed forward close to the sideline. Part of Damian's attention near the wing was attracted by Arnold, which meant that the only Manchester United players defending Li Qing were Herrera and half of Damian.
Li Qing raised his foot to pass the ball to Arnold, who was slowly running forward. Rashford's eyes lit up and he wanted to complete the defense, but Li Qing seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and quickly stepped on the ball with his raised left foot. With a pull, the football passed between the legs of Rashford, who was actively defending. Li Qing took a step back, raised his left foot, and sent a direct pass.
The football rolled quickly between Damian and Herrera against the grass. Rojo did not dare to step forward, guarding the inside line and leaving the outside line.
While running, Firmino directly used the inside of his instep to pass an inside arc. The football bypassed Smalling in the middle and flew to the back.
Phil Jones was left behind by Mane and could only watch helplessly as he dived to the top.
Mourinho, standing in the command area of the home team coach, held his head in his hands and looked very painful, as if the end was coming next.
However, at this moment, De Gea was like a hungry tiger pouncing on food, blocking Mane's diving header with one palm from the outside of the left post of the goal.
"aoaoaoaoaooooooo——"
There was a burst of exclamations in the sky above Old Trafford.
If De Gea hadn't made a subconscious save quickly enough, the team they supported would have fallen behind by two goals at home.
fortunately!
De Gea, who was not domineering enough, did not yell at his teammates, but just shook his head indifferently.
I felt that the reborn head coach Mourinho was not so 'calm'. He rushed to the sidelines and roared at the defensive players, which even the Manchester United fans in the nearby auditorium could hear clearly.
They feel that Mourinho's scolding is correct. If it weren't for the lax defense, how could Mane get such a header opportunity with a chance of scoring?
Phil Jones, Smalling and Rojo knew they were wrong and kept their heads down, not daring to refute. They swore in their hearts that they would perform well in the next game. Not every time De Gea has such a divine performance.
The live broadcast just captured this controversial scene. Xinying Sports commentator Jin Xiangkai said solemnly: "Liverpool created a chance to score through just two passes. The defense must bear the absolute responsibility. I hope that in the next game Being able to understand shame and then be brave means that you don’t know whether you will be blessed if you survive a disaster.”
Rashford, who was penetrated by Li Qing, had a straight face, as if everyone in the world owed him five million.
Perhaps due to Mourinho's encouragement from the sidelines, Manchester United's defensive players improved greatly in the subsequent defense, and basically did not leave any big gaps for the Liverpool players.
Li Qing worked very hard, but Herrera made a lot of small defensive moves and it was difficult to find opportunities, but he was not discouraged. He was able to face Kante, the number one midfielder in the Premier League, with ease. How could he be helpless against Herrera?
During this period, Manchester United not only defended well, but also counterattacked vigorously. The tactics of using Ibrahimovic as the bridgehead were very successful. It is a pity that Mkhitaryan and Rashford were hesitant at critical moments. .
The time of a high-level game often passes very quickly. In the blink of an eye, it comes to the end of the first half. Mourinho, who was still standing in the home team coach's command area, has returned to the coaching bench and is watching the game leisurely. It was as if the game had nothing to do with him.
The confrontation between Li Qing and Herrera can be said to have a chance of winning. Herrera restricted Li Qing's performance during this period, but he also received a yellow card while defending Li Qing, which means that the defense during this period was only Can rely on defensive skills and game experience.
Li Qing, who was moving slowly, suddenly accelerated sideways to the middle. Herrera was so frightened that he subconsciously stretched out his hand to pull the jersey. However, thinking of the card on his back, he didn't use any force with his stretched out hand and chose to start on the spot to keep up. At this moment, , Li Qing stopped suddenly on the spot and turned his body back.
After receiving Coutinho's pass, Henderson saw Li Qing waving for the ball and passed the ball directly.
Herrera was accelerated by Li Qing's sudden stop and turned to open up space for the ball. Rashford and Damian made up for it in time. Left center back Rojo's attention was invisibly attracted to Li Qing.
Phil Jones and Smalling consciously leaned towards the middle while defending Firmino, obviously fearing that Li Qing would show off as much as he did at the beginning of the game.
Manchester United has few midfielders, so Pogba and Valencia moved into the middle.
Li Qing was waiting for this opportunity. He pretended to break through, suddenly pushed the ball back with the outside instep of his left foot, and quickly kicked the ball toward the bottom of the football with the inside of his left instep.
The football rises from the ground, quickly crosses the center of the field from the attacking right, and flies towards the attacking left rib.
There, Milner, the left-back who had been lying in wait for a long time, moved forward at high speed.
Manchester United head coach Mourinho's pupils suddenly shrank, he quickly stood up from the coaching bench, looked up, and cursed: "Damn it!"
Before the game, he made certain arrangements for Li Qing's accurate long pass transfer, but Li Qing did not make a long pass throughout the first half, so that the players on the field ignored this...
What a girly little fox!
