Chapter 935 Change of formation

Chapter 935: Change of Formation

At the beginning of the second half, both sides took to the field with their own purposes, especially the Manchester United players. After being scolded by Mourinho in the locker room, everyone was furious and wanted to prove themselves and defeat their opponents.

So as soon as the second half of the game started, Manchester United launched a very fierce offensive, impacting Wolves' defense.

In the stands, Manchester United fans who were a little depressed in the first half became excited. They kept cheering for their team with singing and cheering. For a moment, the new Old Trafford Stadium came back to life.

But the goddess of fate seemed to be deliberately against Manchester United.

Just when the entire Manchester United team was regrouping and preparing for a comeback, just three minutes into the second half, Manchester United's left winger Rashford was hit in the muscle on the back of his thigh during a scramble. He felt muscle soreness at the time and was unable to continue running. Of course, he could not continue the game and had to be substituted.

The second half had just begun, and Rashford, the main player in the attack, was injured and had to be replaced. This was really an unexpected situation.

"Ah, Manchester United is so unlucky! The offense finally seemed to be improving, but Rashford got injured and it looks like he can't continue the game..."

……

Faced with such a bad situation, Mourinho did not swear. He frowned and muttered to his assistant coach Faria. Then Faria returned to the bench and hooked his finger at Amad Diallo, who was sitting on the bench and a little anxious: "Amad."

………………

This was not the first time for Amad Diallo, a rookie sitting on the bench in the first team. He knew what this meant. He was a little surprised but also a little excited and nervous. He quickly stood up and ran to the warm-up area.

In the new season, Diallo did not get many opportunities in Manchester United. Even though Mourinho rotated the team, the 19-year-old only had some opportunities to come on as a substitute in the garbage time of a few games. And Diallo's performance was just average.

In Mourinho's view, Diallo has not yet fully adapted to the intensity and rhythm of the Premier League games.

But Rashford is injured at the moment, and Diallo comes on. His task must be very heavy, so can he do it?

Originally, the fans envisioned that Diallo would first play in the garbage time of the game, play for a few minutes, get a feel for it, and gradually adapt both physically and mentally.

Now, however, they are somewhat worried that Diallo will be under too much pressure. If he performs poorly, it will definitely hit the young player's confidence and morale, and make his journey at Manchester United even more difficult.

The commentator Gary Lineker was also worried when he saw Diallo warming up. He was surprised: "Is Mourinho going to let Diallo replace the injured Rashford? Letting a young player replace an injured player, I think this may not be a good consideration... Maybe Mahrez would be a better choice?"

………………

However, Diallo, who was warming up, didn't think about this at all. His mind was full of thoughts about his upcoming game, and these thoughts made him excited. He was so excited that he didn't even think about the pressure he was under.

It was not until he stood on the sidelines and assistant coach Faria stood in front of him again and said to him: "You go up and replace the injured Rashford, and form a striker partner with Harry Kane and Greenwood..." that he suddenly realized that he was not asked to play to feel the atmosphere, but to fight with the opponent with real swords and guns!

Only then did he hesitate a little.

Faria pointed to the court, indicating to him where exactly he would move after he came on the court. He looked up somewhat mechanically, but in fact his eyes were unfocused and he didn't even observe where the coach asked him to move.

He was still thinking: No way? This is what I encountered when I went on the court?

But as he felt confused and panicked, his unfocused eyes searched for Bruno on the court.

Bruno was concentrating on the game. He kept shaking his head and looking left and right. His eyes scanned everything on the court like a radar.

Seeing Bruno like this, Diallo's heart suddenly calmed down.

He remembered what Bruno had said to him last night in the hotel room.

Believe in yourself, Ahmad!

There's nothing to be afraid of, Ahmad!

……

Bruno's voice echoed in his ears, calming Diallo's panicked heart.

What's wrong with being called upon to take charge? It's no big deal. I'm Amad Diallo!

………………

"Amad, do you understand?" Faria seemed to notice that Diallo was a little abnormal, so he asked.

"I understand, coach." Diallo answered simply.

"Do you really understand?" Faria looked at him suspiciously.

"Yeah. I really understand, coach. After you come on the court, move around Harry Kane, connect Bruno, Dalot, and others. If you have a chance, shoot yourself. If you don't have a chance, pass the ball to a teammate who is in a better position, right?" Diallo repeated.

After listening to him, Faria realized that Diallo really listened to him and was not lying to him, so he nodded with relief and said, "Very good, there is nothing to worry about. Everything will be the same as you played in Atlanta before. That is the rhythm and style you are familiar with."

He was afraid that Diallo would think too much and be burdened too much.

Diallo nodded. He played well in Atlanta before moving to Manchester United. This is something he is familiar with. Although he played fewer games in the year after joining Manchester United in the winter transfer window last year, Diallo believes that it will not become unfamiliar so easily. Maybe he needs to adapt at the beginning, but soon he will remember that feeling again.

………………

During a dead ball, the fourth official stood on the sidelines holding a display board, the linesman raised the flag above his head with both hands, and the referee signaled for a substitution.

Because the injured Rashford had already been helped off the field, Diallo, who was waiting on the sidelines, did not need to hand over to Rashford and could go directly on the field.

After having his studs checked by the fourth official, he ran onto the field.

"Manchester United made a substitution! Mourinho replaced the injured Marcus Rashford with young player Amad Diallo. Although this was not the first time Diallo appeared in the game after joining the team, I would say this appearance was a bit unexpected..." said Gary Lineker.

As Diallo ran onto the court, he saw Bruno's eyes on him and he gave a thumbs-up in return.

Bruno smiled at the thumbs-up.

He knew that Diallo was fine. His biggest worry before was that this kid would think too much and affect his performance.

After Diallo came on, Manchester United made some minor adjustments to their formation. After all, Rashford and Diallo have different playing styles, and simply replacing Diallo and Rashford is not a good choice.

After the adjustment, Bruno moved slightly to the left, but did not go to the left side. He was more like a midfielder leaning to the left.

Diallo was roaming behind Harry Kane, with his position not very fixed.

It seems that Manchester United's formation has become less symmetrical, as if it is leaning to the right, which makes people worry whether Manchester United's offensive power on the left side will be lacking.

………………

But Mourinho is not worried about such problems.

The starting left-back in this game is Luke Shaw. The England international finally returned from injury after more than a month of injury and was included in the starting lineup today.

Luke Shaw, who is known as the best left-back in the world, is a genuine left-back, but he is actually a player who is better at attacking than defending. So even when he plays as a left-back, he sometimes can't suppress his inner passion and rushes up to play like a left forward.

Bruno moved slightly to the left, but did not go to the wing, which was equivalent to leaving space for Luke Shaw to sprint and attack along the left corridor. At the same time, Bruno's approach also made it easier for him to support him, adding more changes to his attack.

So in fact, this position not only did not weaken Manchester United's attack on the left side, but strengthened it. However, many people did not see through and understand this point. They just thought that Manchester United's formation and position after the adjustment were very strange, and they didn't understand why Mourinho did this.

In such an important game, would the team's sudden change to such a strange formation become an important reason for the team's loss?

If the team loses the game in the end because the players are not adapted to such tactics, will Mourinho take responsibility for it?

………………

Outsiders were confused and puzzled by this adjustment, but for Manchester United players, there was nothing to be uncomfortable with.

In fact, it can be understood by changing the method - when attacking, Luke Shaw joins in and becomes a winger, and Manchester United's formation becomes 352.

In the first half, Luke Shaw mainly played as a defender. Occasionally, he could not suppress his inner passion and rushed forward. After participating in the attack, he had to quickly return to defense. It was difficult for him to organize multiple waves of attacks on the left.

But now Mourinho has used this adjustment to tell Luke Shaw that when the team is attacking, he just needs to boldly move forward, seek cooperation with Bruno, and make some moves, instead of simply going straight up and down.

Sure enough, after the game resumed, Luke Shaw consciously moved forward more, and he didn't have to worry about losing the ball after moving forward, causing a huge space behind him to be exploited by Wolves, because he had Bruno.

If he encounters difficulties and is unable to move forward, he can simply pass the ball to Bruno and let Bruno make the decision.

Bruno is like a magnet. After getting the ball, he will attract all the Wolves defensive players around him, so that the obstacles that Luke Shaw originally faced no longer exist.

He can continue to rush forward, and Bruno can pass the ball to him. At the same time, his continued forward movement may also attract the Wolves' defensive strength, creating some space for Bruno to move the ball in other directions.