Chapter 287: Christmas Day Battle of the Premier League!

However, Li Qi's performance was not over yet, Manchester United scored another goal 3 minutes later.

In the 62nd minute, after receiving a straight pass from Giggs on the wing, Li Qi dribbled the ball sideways and made a Marseille turn to break into the right side of the penalty area. Then Li Qi pretended to dribble the ball and tricked Pienaar into recklessly stretching his legs to intercept... So Li Qi was successfully tripped by the latter into the Toffees' penalty area.

Ronaldo, who counted as Li Qi's half assist, gave Li Qi a signal, and after receiving a positive response, he naturally took the penalty kick. Then Ronaldo succeeded in one fell swoop, fooled Howard, and kicked the ball into the lower left corner of the goal!

C Ronaldo scored twice in this game, helping Manchester United to lead 3-1 over the visiting team Everton. At the same time, he finally surpassed Ricardo Reggie, whom he had long resented, in the scorer list. This was his 11th league goal of the season. C Ronaldo, who leads the Premier League scorer list this season, also scored against Everton for the fourth time.

Right after the penalty, Sir Alex Ferguson didn't want to wait for Everton to react, nor did he want to give Ligg a chance to catch up with Ronaldo, so he immediately replaced Ligg, who had set off Manchester United's offensive climax in the second half, and prepared to keep him in the next league game three days later, replacing him with new signing Anderson; then he replaced Carrick with Fletcher, changing the midfield combination from an organizing offense to a defensive pressing combination.

After that, Everton coach Moyes made repeated adjustments to his troops, trying to change the situation on the field, and successively replaced the bald tough guys Gravesen and Anichebe to strengthen the attack, but to no avail.

The last 30 minutes of the game were uneventful, with both sides firing more long shots at each other. Manchester United had more shots on target, while Everton was just chaotic, but only a few of them posed a threat.

最终曼联在主场3比1轻取埃弗顿，取得联赛4连胜，继续紧追本轮也在主场拿下对手的阿森纳，而埃弗顿则是近13场比赛11胜2平、5个多小时没失球的不败记录被曼联无情终结……

@

This game was the 13th time that Ronaldo scored twice in his career, but he still didn't have a hat trick...

However, in the post-match press conference, both the visiting and home team coaches gave high praise to Cristiano Ronaldo, the best player of the game.

Everton coach Moyes admitted that Ronaldo has become Everton's nemesis, scoring key goals in both the first and second half: "It was indeed a penalty. Pienaar played very well today, but he was not calm enough at that moment and was caught by Li Qi in the defensive loophole. What complemented him was Ronaldo. The Portuguese attacker has been attacking our defense since last season..."

Sir Alex Ferguson also praised Ronaldo by name: "This was a wonderful performance by Ronaldo! His first goal was so beautiful. This kid is really versatile and we can count on him to score at any time. And his penalty was so calm and confident, and the shot was beautiful... Considering that Arsenal also won this round, our win today was still very crucial. It not only allowed us to narrow the gap with the top of the list again, but also made a good start for the upcoming holiday campaign."

On Boxing Day this Wednesday, Manchester United will travel north to challenge Sunderland, coached by former captain Keane. Sir Alex Ferguson is now planning a rotation of the lineup: "We will use a different lineup at the Stadium of Light than today, but the changes will not be too big, probably one or two. We need to inject a little freshness and vitality into the team. We hope that Rio (Ferdinand) and Owen (Hargreaves) can catch up with the game on Wednesday, but Van der Sar's groin injury is very serious and he will definitely not be able to participate in the next two or three games."

According to the schedule, Manchester United will play away against Sunderland on December 12, away against West Ham on the 26th, and at home against Birmingham on January 29. Ferguson must be hoping that after these three tight schedules, Manchester United's points will really surpass Arsenal.

This is even more intensive than the usual two games a week. The next game starts almost 72 hours after the previous game ends. This is a huge test both mentally and physically for the players who fight continuously!

So after the game, Ricardo, who immediately went home to soak in the bathtub and apply ice, also had some complaints. After all, long-term contact with ice cubes will not make your body feel too sore. The key is that the surface of the skin is often frozen, but the deep muscles and ligaments are still not effectively relaxed...

However, on the second day of the competition, after doing some relaxing exercises, Ricardo received a Christmas blessing text message from Professor Connolly: "Merry X'mas Ricardo! I hope I didn't disturb your sweet dreams, but I heard from Julian that you are a very self-disciplined athlete who gets up early every day to exercise. In addition, I heard from Julian that you want to purchase a cryochamber for sports rehabilitation? I have the most professional American manufacturer here... Contact me if you need it!"

Ricardo was not ambiguous and called Professor Connolly. After a meaningless Merry Christmas and a round of pleasantries, Ricardo commissioned Professor Connolly to order two of the most advanced sports rehabilitation cryochambers currently available. One was sent to his apartment in Manchester, England, and the other was sent to Liana's laboratory in Italy...

One is $30, two are $50, and they are not in stock yet. They will be delivered in February next year. Ricardo knew that Professor Connolly must have taken a big gamble, but he had to accept it. Because Liana's feedback was that they had not found a cryo chamber that met Ricardo's needs. Either the temperature did not meet the standard, or the functions were single and still mainly used for medical treatment... Moreover, the price was cheap and too heavy. Of course, for Ricardo, money was no longer a problem.

Originally, Ricardo thought that if there was no suitable one in Europe or the United States, he would ask Pimenta to help find one in Japan, the birthplace of cryotherapy. After all, the Japanese are good at miniaturization and customization.

But I didn't expect that Professor Connolly had strong connections. All the parameters and customized designs could meet Ricardo's actual needs. Although it would take two months to deliver, it could be used for several years after all. As for the price? Professor Connolly should make the money. Besides, if the professor sent one to the laboratory in Italy, they knew it well and didn't say anything. This is the pattern of everyone making money!

Maybe it would be cheaper if he waited a few months, but Ricciardo still felt that it was more important to stay healthy in the second half of the season, after all, there were the European Cup and the Olympics in the summer! Ricciardo didn't want to miss either event...

@

Christmas with Sarafina passed quickly. After all, happiness flies by, and the recent games were too frequent.

Because early in the morning on the second day of Christmas, Ricardo had to take a train with the team to play an away game in Sunderland, which was a two-hour drive away. Therefore, the little princess, who had already drained a lot of Ricardo's energy, did not wait for Ricardo to return from the away game. After all, Manchester United had another away game in two days and Ricardo needed to rest.

Although the next round of the league is to play West Ham in London, Sarafina is already on winter vacation. She just came out of London and she doesn't want to go back. Instead, she chose to take a flight directly back to Milan and plans to go to Florida for vacation with her family...

Vacation is good! I'll be gone for more than half a month! It just so happens that my sister-in-law Emma can come to take over my sister's shift, and Liana has also made an appointment to come to Manchester to report on work, um, for a meeting...

@

Due to the Christmas holiday, although it was an early game, Sir Alex Ferguson still chose to arrive at the away stadium on the same day and start the game directly, which can be regarded as a kind of humane approach.

And Sir Alex Ferguson is also aware that compared to Manchester United, who have a deep bench, Sunderland, who face a similarly intensive schedule, are much more stretched...

At 2007:12 on the afternoon of December 26, 15, local time in the UK, the day after Christmas, the last round of the first half of the Premier League, the 07th round of the 08/19 English Premier League, the Red Devils Manchester United in black shirts and white pants challenged the Black Cats Sunderland in red and blue striped shirts away at the Stadium of Light!

曼联在双方近8场交锋中6胜2平保持不败，近11场联赛交锋中8胜3平保持不败。曼联上次在光明球场落败还是2000年11月的联赛杯第4轮，上次联赛中在这里告负还是1997年3月，占据绝对的心理优势。

双方英超历史交锋13场，曼联9胜3平1负，其中客场3胜2平1负；双方历史交锋124场，曼联51胜34平39负，曼联同样占据优势。

With the Korean star Park Ji-sung returning to the bench after recovering from a knee injury, and Ferdinand returning to the starting lineup, Sir Alex Ferguson was as steady as an old dog, and used O'Shea, Fletcher, and Saha to replace Evra, Giggs and Tevez in the starting lineup respectively.

Although there were four changes in the starting lineup, Sir Alex still used a 4-4-2 parallel formation with both wings flying together:

The goalkeeper is No. 29 Kushchak;

The back line from right to left is No. 6 Wes Brown, No. 5 Ferdinand, No. 15 Vidic and No. 22 O'Shea;

The central midfielders from right to left are No. 7 Cristiano Ronaldo, No. 16 Carrick, No. 24 Fletcher and No. 17 Li Qi;

The two strikers are No. 9 Rooney and No. 9 Saha.

After the game started, Sunderland, who had lost 1-2 to Reading away from home in the previous round, obviously had not recovered from the defeat and the holiday. The players were in average condition and lacked excitement. No, it should be said that they seemed to have no energy.

On the contrary, on Manchester United's side, the starting lineup was in great shape, especially Saha, Fletcher and O'Shea, who flew up and down, showing extraordinary enthusiasm.

Li Qi changed his usual behavior. Because his parents were not at home, he and Carrick played the role of veterans on the court and began to control the rhythm. But Li Qi knew that Rooney, who did not score in the last game, and Ronaldo, who did not score a hat trick in the last game, were as excited as Saha in this game, as eager to score, and as hungry for goals...

Manchester United took over the game quickly after the kick-off and kept suppressing the home team Sunderland; Manchester United kept tearing apart the Black Cats' defense, looking for a chance to score a fatal blow, while the Black Cats could only run around, blocking the visiting team's offensive by committing fouls, and even counterattacks had difficulty getting through half the court.

And it was under such circumstances that the Red Devils Manchester United naturally broke the deadlock in the 20th minute of the game and broke through the home team's densely packed defense.

Right back Wes Brown suddenly moved forward to receive the pass from Ronaldo and made a long pass to find Li Qi on the other side of the court.

Li Qi leaped into the air and unloaded the ball with his instep, then he started to connect and dribbled past McShane who came to defend; then the former found a gap in the penalty area and made a direct diagonal pass, finding Rooney who was ambushing in the ribs of the penalty area.

Rooney stopped the ball and turned halfway, and before the defender could come over to defend, he shot a curved ball with his right foot into the far corner! The ball passed over the defender's toes who stretched out his legs to intercept, and brushed against the fingertips of Sunderland goalkeeper Gordon who was flying to the extreme, and crashed into the dead corner of the home team's goal like a frightened hare!

Rooney's fifth goal of the season helped Manchester United take the lead, 5-1!

Li Qi once again completed Rooney's assist KPI, and while receiving Rooney's goal bonus, he also gained another point of friendship from Rooney! Well, friendship boat +1.

Then the four little geese, oh no, the three Aru combination without Tevez, did not choose to perform a non-physical instrument performance for their own entertainment. Instead, the three of them slid on their knees together and drew 7 deep grass marks...

However, Manchester United's offensive wave did not stop after the goal, and it continued to hit the home team's shaky defense wave after wave.

Ten minutes after the previous goal, in the 10th minute of the game, Manchester United extended their lead.

Li Qi successfully broke through from the wing and quickly cut inside, thinking that he would also do one for Ronaldo, completing the KPI of assisting his friends in this game early. Unexpectedly, Ronaldo, who scored twice in the previous game, obviously did not want to eat such a hasty cake. He did not choose to cut inside and then shoot from 25 yards outside the penalty area. Instead, he took the ball from Li Qi, made a fake shot and passed it, shook out the gap in the home team's defense line, and passed it directly to the gap in the side of the penalty area.