Chapter 860: Heaven's Favored One (Happy New Year)

In China, CCTV Sports Channel also broadcast the game live. The famous host He Wei's excited voice rang in the ears of the fans: "Harry Kane, his double goal helped Manchester United lead Paris Saint-Germain 2:0 at halftime. Now Manchester United only needs one goal to complete the reversal and eliminate the invincible Paris Saint-Germain who won 4:1 at home in the first round!"

"The past two weeks have been extremely difficult for both Manchester United players and Manchester United fans."

"Due to the disastrous defeat at the Parc des Princes in the first round and the two consecutive draws against Chelsea and Crystal Palace in the league, Manchester United has fallen into a rare low point in recent years. It is on the verge of being eliminated from the Champions League and is in a desperate situation of being reversed by Manchester City in the league. Whether it is the UK, the whole of Europe, or even the whole world, they are repeating the same voice: Manchester United is finished! The Manchester United that swept across England, dominated Europe, was invincible and won countless championships is over! Many people are saying that Paris Saint-Germain's home victory over Manchester United marks the end of an era, the end of an invincible era belonging to Manchester United!"

"But at the critical moment, Manchester United completed their self-redemption. In the Manchester derby last weekend, at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester United was on the territory of their mortal enemy, stepping on the corpse of their mortal enemy to announce to the world that the sky of the Premier League is still red!"

"Although Manchester United won a 6-point victory in the derby against their arch-rivals, and then stabilized their advantage in the Premier League by defeating West Ham United, which has been in great form recently, before this game, if anyone said that Manchester United could lead Paris Saint-Germain 2:0 at halftime and have a chance to turn the tables, they would definitely be considered crazy."

"However, when the half-time match was over, this situation was actually happening. Paris Saint-Germain was really facing the risk of being eliminated!"

"Coach Mourinho and Manchester United showed their magic to everyone, especially the second goal. The whole process of scoring was like an offensive art, with speed, breakthroughs, wonderful passes, shots, and follow-up shots. The whole process of scoring did not give Paris Saint-Germain any chance!"

He Wei was very emotional, not only because he had a certain degree of support and goodwill towards Manchester United and Mourinho, but also because as a commentator, facing such a wonderful goal and the possible shocking reversal, he would be excited from the bottom of his heart.

Why are games with big comebacks praised and remembered for a long time? It is because people naturally expect this kind of "perseverance and counterattack in desperate situations". Everyone has this heroic dream of a comeback.

………………

In the home team's locker room at the Millennium Stadium, Mourinho was in high spirits and praised every player. In particular, De Gea, who made world-class saves and kept Manchester United's goal intact, was praised by Mourinho.

"Well done! Very good!" said Mourinho.

In Mourinho's view, De Gea's crucial touch was worth a fortune.

After all, if Martial had scored that goal, Manchester United's away goal advantage would have been wiped out by the opponent, and Manchester United would need to score two more goals to achieve a reversal.

After praising the players, Mourinho continued to encourage them: "Listen to the cheers in the stands and look at the lost and incredible expressions of the Paris Saint-Germain players. They were stunned by our beating."

"In the second half, let's continue playing like this!"

"Coach, do we have a chance to turn the tables?" Mbappe shouted excitedly.

Everyone was also stimulated by this question, and they looked at their head coach excitedly.

This is a very simple arithmetic problem. Although they can come to the conclusion themselves, they still want to get the answer from the head coach. It seems that such a simple question, when answered from this person's mouth, will have a different magic.

"Yes, according to the score, we only need one goal to turn the tables." Mourinho answered in the affirmative.

There was cheering in the locker room.

"But I hope you don't think about a comeback, don't think too much." Mourinho said with a serious expression, "The reason why we played so well in the first half is because we didn't think too much, didn't have so many distractions!"

"What we have to do now is the same as in the first half. Don't think too much and do your best. As for the result, you have to believe that God helps those who help themselves!"

Some people listened to it, while others were still immersed in joy and thinking about possible turnarounds.

Mourinho has no good solution for this. Humans are thinking animals and have ideas. At this time, it is impossible not to think about a comeback. Mourinho can only hope that this will not have a bad impact on the players' game state and psychology.

………………

In the visiting team's locker room, the atmosphere was somewhat depressing.

"Today was really weird," said Paris Saint-Germain center back Kimpembe. "No matter how many shots we took, they couldn't score, but they scored every time they shot."

"Yeah, yeah, Anthony hit the post twice. That's really bad luck."

The players of Paris Saint-Germain were talking about it. They were not worried about the two goals scored by Manchester United. The two goals scored by the opponents were very exciting. They were at most unhappy, but they had nothing to say. What made them most depressed was that their luck was too bad!

In the first half of the game, the performance of Paris Saint-Germain players was definitely not bad. They had a slightly better ball possession rate than Manchester United, reaching 55%, and had eight shots, one more than Manchester United.

But the result was that Paris Saint-Germain did not score a single goal and only hit the goal frame twice; while Manchester United scored two goals with two shots on target.

"Okay, don't think about the first half." Pochettino clapped his hands. "Although our luck was not very good in the first half, it also shows one thing, that there is no problem with us, it's just that our luck is a little worse. So in the second half, as long as our luck is a little better, scoring goals will not be a problem, and winning will not be a problem either."

What Pochettino said is correct. With Paris Saint-Germain's strength and form, as long as their luck is not so bad, they are confident of scoring goals and winning.

However, there is an idea that lingers in the minds of Paris Saint-Germain players: What if there is no change in the second half of the game and the situation remains the same?

Do not underestimate this psychological impact. If Paris Saint-Germain had one or two sure-shot goals in the second half but failed due to luck, the players' psychological pressure and confusion would only become more intense.

………………

Pochettino did not make any adjustments to the team's lineup. As he himself said, the team was trailing 0:2 in the first half. It was not their own problem, but just bad luck.

If Martial had been a little luckier in those two shots, at least one of them would have gone in, and the situation would have been completely different.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

But despite the lack of goals, the performance of Paris Saint-Germain players was actually very good, so there is nothing that needs to be adjusted.

Not only does the lineup not need to be adjusted, there is nothing that needs to be changed in tactics. Paris Saint-Germain's eight shots say it all, there is no problem with the team.

"Don't think too much. No matter how bad your luck is, it is impossible for you to hit the goal frame three times. Come on in the second half!" Before leaving the locker room, Pochettino comforted Martial, who was a little depressed.

As a former winner of the European Golden Boy Award, after joining Paris Saint-Germain, although Martial no longer has the stunning performance he had in the season when he won the European Golden Boy Award, he has always performed well and was once the number one star of Paris Saint-Germain.

Although Neymar came to Paris for a record-breaking 2.2 million euros, stealing Martial's glory in the team and making him no longer the number one star of Paris Saint-Germain, Martial still has a pivotal position and influence in the Paris Saint-Germain team and is a player that Pochettino relies on very much.

Of course, what Pochettino values ​​most is that Martial once played for Manchester United for a year. Although he only played under Mourinho for a short two months, he is very familiar with the playing style of Manchester United. This can become his trump card to defeat Manchester United and end the Red Devils myth.

And Martial did not disappoint Pochettino's expectations. His hat-trick at home helped Paris Saint-Germain win 4-1 at home, almost killing the two-round knockout stage and pushing Manchester United to the brink of despair.

Due to Manchester United's excellent performance in the first half, Paris Saint-Germain encountered some troubles. Pochettino hoped that Martial could be the one who decided the outcome again.

Martial nodded sullenly. He was a little depressed, but the coach was right. Hitting the goal frame twice in a game was already the most unfortunate thing. It couldn't get any worse.

………………

The second half of the game started quickly and both sides continued to fight fiercely on the field.

In the 51st minute of the game, Paris Saint-Germain won a penalty kick. Maguire kicked Icardi over in the penalty area. The referee reviewed and confirmed the penalty. Martial took the penalty kick, and the ball was saved by Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea and hit the outside of the post: Bang!

Martial's expression froze, and the expressions of other Paris Saint-Germain players also froze. Even the commentator was stunned and exclaimed "Damn it"!

"Damn it! It's the goal frame again! Martial has hit the goal frame three times today!" Andy Gray shouted, shaking his head.

Martin Taylor also shook his head repeatedly and said in disbelief: "Martial's luck today is just too bad. Maybe Martial can go buy a million-dollar jackpot after the game. His chances of winning will be higher than hitting the goal frame three times in a row in a game, especially when there was a penalty kick!"

At this time of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, the author wishes all book friends good health and all the best in the new year! Good luck in the Year of the Snake!! Make a fortune every day!!!