Chapter 1032: Master of Zhangzou Control
The TV broadcast began to replay Diaz's goal, but the focus of the slow-motion replay was not on Diaz, the scorer, but on Salah.
Although the goal was scored by Diaz, the biggest contributor to this goal was Salah. It was he who initiated the attack with the ball in the center circle, it was he who made a smart forward run to receive the ball behind Manchester United's defense line, and it was he who lured goalkeeper De Gea out and made an accurate cross, sending the ball to Diaz's feet, giving him the opportunity to score an empty goal.
"Mohamed Salah, he made that killer pass for Luis Dias!"
The TV broadcast camera quickly found Salah and gave him a close-up. The Egyptian was celebrating the goal with his teammates with a happy smile on his face.
Lineker said with some emotion: "I think the entire Manchester United team was probably not prepared enough for this goal... Maybe this final will become Salah's battle of self-redemption..."
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The Liverpool players were jubilant after scoring the goal, while Manchester United suffered a blow. The players seemed helpless about the loss.
De Gea stood there, and now thinking about it, Salah's move was intentional. It was not because he was forced into a desperate situation... He just wanted to lure him out and create a vacuum in front of the goal!
The Manchester United fans in the stands and in front of the TV were all silent at this time.
The situation was so good in the first half, but in the second half, the opponent took the lead right from the start. This ups and downs were really unacceptable.
The lag also made many people feel sorry for Manchester United's generous waste of opportunities in the first half.
There were so many opportunities, even if I had seized just one, we wouldn't be in this situation now!
Zhan Jun suppressed his excitement and said in a calm tone: "In fact, Manchester United had more threatening shots in this game than Liverpool, but it was Liverpool who scored the goal. Although Manchester United's attack was very fierce, its efficiency was indeed a little worse. Whether it was Harry Kane, Rashford or Greenwood, they all wasted a lot of opportunities..."
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After conceding the goal, Mourinho rushed to the sidelines and gave instructions to his players.
In fact, there were no tactical instructions to give. He just reminded his players to stay calm and not panic because of losing the ball.
It was just one goal behind, and Manchester United was not at a particular disadvantage on the field, and was not at the end of its rope.
If you panic at this time, you will really give up the victory.
The Manchester United coach pointed at his head and kept yelling at the players on the field. Even if the players couldn't hear what he was saying, they could still understand what he meant just by looking at his gestures.
The Liverpool players finally ended their celebration and returned to their own half, while the Manchester United players were already waiting for the kick-off.
The head coach was right, we were only one goal behind.
In the past few seasons, they have fallen behind in the competition with Liverpool, but the final result is that in the 18 matches between the two sides in various competitions in the past six seasons, Manchester United has achieved an overwhelming record of 13 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses, making it a veritable Liverpool nemesis!
They are all experienced warriors and will not be thrown into disarray by this one ball.
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After the Liverpool players were in their respective positions, referee Tilpan blew his whistle and the game resumed.
Manchester United, trailing, didn't immediately kick the ball forward to try and get a shot. Bruno received the ball and passed it back. After passing, he even ran back, pretending to receive the ball.
He knew very well that Liverpool, who had just taken the lead, were in high spirits. Continuing to attack Liverpool at this time might allow Liverpool to exploit the flaws in their defense.
No matter how calm Manchester United players appear on the surface, they will definitely be affected by this goal in their hearts.
By then, it is inevitable that the defense will not be perfect. As long as there is the slightest mistake, Liverpool may seize it and score another goal.
As Manchester United's captain and commander on the field, Bruno must avoid such situations.
As the head coach, Mourinho did not give such instructions to the team. This was entirely Bruno's idea based on his own experience as a front-line commander.
During the game, Bruno often made such moves that seemed to disobey the coach's instructions, but each time he proved that he was right. Therefore, Mourinho and the coaching staff did not interfere, as they fully trusted Bruno's judgment in this regard.
Bruno retreated and asked for the ball again, and his teammates cooperated with him. Although they wanted to equalize the score immediately after conceding the goal, they also knew that impatient people cannot eat hot tofu.
If Bruno wants the ball, give it to him, for whatever reason.
In this team, Bruno is not only the captain, but also the brain, responsible for thinking and issuing orders, while others only need to follow the orders.
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So for the first time in this crazy offensive battle, the ball was passed back and forth.
Before, when everyone got the ball, they would rush forward desperately. When have you ever seen a scene like this where the ball is passed back and forth in the backcourt?
Manchester United's back pass drew boos from Liverpool fans in the stands, who believed that Manchester United was being cowardly.
They desperately booed Manchester United, hoping that Manchester United would press forward and attack. But the experienced Bruno would not let the Liverpool fans have their wish.
To win a football match, you must have a good balance between relaxation and tension and keep the rhythm of the game firmly in your own hands.
It's like playing a sport. If you just rush in like a fool, you will surrender after a few moves.
As for the attitude of the opposing fans, that is not something Bruno needs to consider.
So even though there were loud boos above his head, he calmly led his teammates to the backcourt.
His back pass wasn't necessarily intended to draw Liverpool players forward and press them, but rather to slow down the tempo of the game and prevent it from falling into the rhythm Liverpool preferred.
First, we need to wear down Liverpool's momentum so they don't score another goal in one fell swoop.
Manchester United's approach worked. After taking the lead, Liverpool players became a little reckless and were forced to run around by Manchester United's back passes.
Soon, the Liverpool players came to their senses and realized that this was Manchester United's "routine." If they continued to chase like this, not only would they waste their energy, but they might also create gaps behind their defense, which could be exploited by Manchester United.
So they didn't go up and slowed down. If Manchester United wanted to pass the ball back in the backcourt, let them do it. Anyway, they were leading in the score.
The pace of the game was slowed down.
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During the process of passing the ball, Bruno never stopped observing and thinking for a moment.
Slowing down the opponent's rhythm is just a strategy, and it is defensive. If you want to tie the score or even surpass it, you have to attack to solve the problem.
How can we score against Liverpool?
Tactically, Liverpool's defense is not impenetrable and there are many opportunities. But no matter how good the opportunity is, it will eventually face Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson.
Alisson, who is in great form today, is the biggest problem that Manchester United urgently needs to solve!
If we can't break through his defense, we can't equalize the score.
But how to break through his defense?
When it comes to creating better opportunities for teammates, which of those opportunities in the first half were bad?
Bruno will not blame his teammates for squandering the opportunities he created, but he still needs to be more prepared.
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After the pace slowed down, Manchester United began to plan a counterattack.
They quickly completed an attack, which ended with Harry Kane's shot going high again.
When it was Liverpool's turn to attack, they did not linger in the back like Manchester United, but advanced very quickly to the front of Manchester United's penalty area.
Luis Dias passed the ball to Mane in the middle on the left, and Maguire headed the ball out before Mane.
The flying ball was caught by Fabinho outside the penalty area. He shot directly, but the ball also went over the crossbar.
When possession returned to Manchester United, they deliberately slowed down and took a few steps before moving forward, which somewhat annoyed the "neutral" spectators.
It was a good offensive battle, but Manchester United dragged it into a clichéd trick.
If Manchester United had continued to attack Liverpool after conceding the goal, what a spectacular sight it would have been!
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Bruno doesn't care what the spectators think. He plays hard to win championships and victories, not just to please neutral fans who like to watch the fun.
Manchester United's back-and-forth was not meaningless. When the ball was passed back and forth, Bruno kept looking around, observing the situation on the field and looking for offensive opportunities.
The game went on like this for several more minutes, with the score remaining unchanged. Manchester United didn't score, but they also didn't allow Liverpool to score.
In the 62nd minute of the game, Manchester United launched an attack from the backcourt. Right-back Cancelo dribbled the ball forward from the right. After encountering the opponent's loan player, he passed the ball to Gundogan.
Gundogan made a long pass over the top to the frontcourt and found Greenwood in the penalty area.
Greenwood stopped Gundogan's pass, and at the same time he was stuck by Koulibaly. It was impossible for him to do anything in the penalty area that could directly threaten Liverpool's goal.
Facing Koulibaly's close defense, Greenwood couldn't even turn around.
Fortunately, at this time, he saw Bruno waiting for him outside the penalty area, so he quickly passed the ball to him.
