host must win

Chapter 117
In the League Cup final, Ryan Giggs passed the final inspection of his thigh injury before the final, thus starting on behalf of Manchester United.The timely comebacks of Wes Brown and Scholes also added strength to Ferguson's title plans.Roy Keane, who had been complaining about the position of central defender before the game, returned to the midfield to partner with Yin Jun, and Bart, who performed well in the Champions League, was pushed to the bench.Sylvester also replaced O'Shea to occupy the left back position. Manchester United basically played with the strongest lineup today.

When the players took their positions on the field, people found that Manchester United's formation today is 4231, Butters sits in the goal, Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Ferdinand and Sylvester form the defense line, Roy Key En and Scholes formed a double midfielder, Beckham, Yin Jun and Giggs lined up on the forward line, and Ruud van Nistelrooy had a single arrow on the forward line.

10 minutes after the start of the game, coach Ferguson looked at the game situation on the field and couldn't help frowning, with a serious expression on his face.

The assistant coach Queiroz also noticed it, and said, "Liverpool's defense against Yin Jun is beyond imagination..."

For such a game, Ferguson and the Manchester United coaching staff had long expected that they would encounter many difficulties.After all, the opponent is the mortal enemy team of Liverpool. In the game against Manchester United, they will never be negligent.

But Ferguson and his assistants believe that Liverpool will focus on defensive targets on the field, such as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Beckham, but they don't care too much about Yin Jun.

After the game started, the fierce confrontation between the two sides on the field was as expected by the Manchester United coaching staff, but there were also situations that were not expected by Manchester United, that is, the Liverpool people did not relax their defense against Yin Jun, on the contrary they were almost inseparable the point.

No matter how Yin Jun runs, there will always be Liverpool players who will appear beside him in time, press him fiercely, use their physical advantages to rush him, interfere with him, and prevent him from taking the ball comfortably.

This level of defense was indeed something Ferguson's coaching team did not expect before the game.

………………

Although Yin Jun raised his hand for the ball at the front of the penalty area, Roy Keane still did not pass the football to him, but passed it to Beckham on the right.

Yin Jun turned around and ran into the penalty area, with a Liverpool player still following him.

Beckham first made a gesture to cross, then dribbled horizontally, and then took a long shot with his left foot. The football went above the crossbar, and Manchester United's attack came to an end.

Yin Jun didn't get any opportunities. It's not that Beckham deliberately didn't pass the ball to him, but that he really didn't have a good chance here.He neither ran into space nor got rid of the defense. Even if Beckham passed the ball to him, he would not be able to hold the ball in all likelihood.

A situation like this happened in Manchester United's last attack, when Giggs still passed the football to Yin Jun.Yin Jun received the ball, but he couldn't even turn his body under the close pressure of Liverpool's midfielder Harman behind him, let alone pass or shoot. He was able to protect the ball under the close pressure of the opponent's defender. , has greatly exceeded many people's expectations. In the end, Yin Jun could only pass the football back.So it's normal that Beckham didn't pass the ball to him. It's better to use him to advance into the penalty area and open up the opportunity of Liverpool's defense at the front of the penalty area to try to take a long shot.

Of course, the quality of Beckham's long-range shot is really not high.

………………

Because Liverpool strangled Manchester United's offensive engine, Manchester United's offense could not be played.And after containing the most dangerous man in United's attack, they launched a fierce attack on the United goal.

Although Manchester United's defense is very tenacious, but still at No.309 minutes, the goal was declared to be lost.

"Haman shot! Ferdinand blocked it beautifully, and the Manchester United central defender made a contribution!"

"Rise! Riise got control of the ball before Beckham! Pass it to Gerrard!"

"Gerald! Another long shot! Dangerous!"

With the exclamation of the commentator Huang Qiangjian, Gerrard's 30-yard shot probably shouldn't pose a threat to Barthez, but the ball hit Beckham's outstretched leg and changed the line and hung into the Manchester United goal. Liverpool opened the scoring.

"Oh! I still lost the ball! After Liverpool's offensive started during this period, Manchester United's defense has always been very dangerous, and in the end they still failed to defend..."

Butters thumped the ground angrily. According to his original judgment, Gerrard's shot should have missed the post, but Beckham stretched his foot in the middle, making what was originally a harmless shot become a His goal.

"Alas!" Yan Peixiu let out a long sigh, and slowly fell back on the back of the sofa.

Yin Mingshan, who was sitting next to her, maintained his previous posture, with his hands crossed over his chest, sitting upright on the sofa cushion, motionless.

………………

After conceding the ball, Ferguson continued to sit on the bench, but the assistant coach Queiroz couldn't sit still, and quickly stood on the sidelines, shouting to the Manchester United players: "Don't panic! Don't panic! Hold on! Take back the defense, defend first By the end of the first half!"

Then he stood on the sidelines, trying to bring confidence and strength to the players and stabilize the morale of the army.But when the game restarted, he found that the players did not panic because of the loss of the ball.They quickly shrunk their defense, preventing Liverpool from having a chance to expand the score.

Whether it is the defenders like Ferdinand and Wes Brown, or the goalkeeper Butters, they are desperately using their bodies to block the shots of Liverpool players.

It was only then that Queiroz remembered that this team was the battle-tested Manchester United, not the South African national team he had previously led. The Triple Crown experience four years ago allowed this team to face any unfavorable situation.

Even Ferdinand and Yin Jun, who are new to the team, have experienced training in major competitions such as the World Cup.

Queiroz returned to the coaching bench and said to Ferguson: "Since Liverpool put all their defense on Yin Jun, then we can let Yin Jun continue to be the bait and let Scholes take over the task of the team's offensive organization. Giggs and Beckham create opportunities. Similarly, if Giggs and Beckham can pose a threat to Liverpool's goal, it can also liberate Yin Jun."

Ferguson thought for a while, then nodded and said: "It is feasible. But we must first defend and stop conceding the ball. Being behind by two goals at halftime will deal a great blow to the morale of the team."

………………

In the game against Liverpool, Manchester United also does not need to mobilize.After losing the ball, he took the initiative to return to defense and not only withstood Liverpool's offensive in the remaining few minutes, but also played a threatening counterattack.After all, the strength of this Manchester United team is not weaker than Liverpool, or even stronger.

At No.401 minutes, Giggs received a long pass from Scholes in the backcourt, dribbled the ball for tens of meters, and finally dribbled horizontally at the front of the penalty area to complete a shot. Unfortunately, it missed the bottom line and missed. Can pose a threat to Liverpool's goal.

After running so far, he ran to the front of the penalty area and then made an emergency stop and changed direction to get rid of it. The physical exertion was too great, which caused his movements to be deformed when he finally shot, and he couldn't stabilize it.

Although Ryan Giggs did not score, Manchester United still held the score of 0:1, only conceded one goal, and entered the intermission.

Back in the locker room, Ferguson first affirmed Manchester United's performance in the first half, and then began to make tactical adjustments.

"We have to adjust our strategy in the second half of the game. Yin Jun, you have to be the bait. Use the opponent's strict marking of you to create opportunities for your teammates." Ferguson said solemnly.

Yin Jun replied: "Don't worry, boss, I know what to do."

Ferguson is very satisfied with Yin Jun's attitude. Yin Jun is the core of the team he set before the game, the offensive engine, and the role on the field is very important.

After some players became the core, they felt that the whole world should revolve around him. If he was asked to cede some power, it would be like killing him, and he would not even do it.If there is no better substitute for such a person, then the coach can only recognize it by pinching his nose.Anyone who had other options would be eager to kick him away.

Ferguson turned to the other side, named Giggs and Beckham, and said: "You two need to change positions more frequently in the game, disrupting the opponent's defense, and at the same time create opportunities for yourself or others. In addition The positions should be closer to each other, so that we can use quick passes to tear apart Liverpool's defense."

"Understood, boss."

"No problem, boss."

The two answered at the same time.

Ferguson looked at Scholes again and warned him to pay close attention to the positions of Giggs and Beckham during the game. Once there is space, he must pass the football in time and try more through balls. Risky, but worth the risk.

Of course, if there is a pass error, you must actively counterattack on the spot in the frontcourt, and if you can’t grab it, you must make a foul. In short, you must not let Liverpool counterattack.

After all, Liverpool also has a super fast horse like Owen on the front line, and everyone will have a headache when they fight back.

………………

Meanwhile in Liverpool's dressing room, their manager Houllier was praising the team's defense: "You guys did a great job in the first half! The defense against Yin was a success! It turns out that Manchester United's attack The core is him, once he can't play, Manchester United's offense will be over! Boys, our offense must be more proactive in the second half! We not only want to win, but also win more goals!"

The players in the locker room burst into laughter. If they were to win against a mortal enemy like Manchester United, they would naturally beat their opponents to death.It would be the most perfect thing if Manchester United could be directly collapsed in the first battle, and even affect their performance in other games, thus being eliminated from the competition for the league title and the Champions League title.

………………

After the start of the second half, the positions of Manchester United players on the field did not change, but before they knew it, the team's offensive organization power had been transferred to Scholes, who played as a defensive midfielder, and Yin Jun was in the front midfielder The position is full of pretense.

Scholes has been observing the situation in front of him, whether he has the ball at his feet or not, and he hopes to accumulate enough samples through a large number of observations for analysis.

Although he only observed 10 minutes in the second half, compared with the first half, he can already see some differences.

Liverpool still defended Yin Jun very tightly, and did not relax with their successful defense of Yin Jun in the first half.But in contrast, their defense against Giggs and Beckham is far less strict than against Yin Jun.

It cannot be said that they are completely blindly underestimating the enemy by doing this. With the influence of Giggs and Beckham in the Premier League, Liverpool will definitely not look down on them, but because neither Giggs nor Beckham in the first half. How to pose a threat to Liverpool's goal.

Giggs still had a counter-attack shot wide, and Beckham, apart from that anti-aircraft gun, had nothing too impressive.

The performance of both of them is relatively sluggish, so it is understandable that the opponent doesn't care much about them.

And this is a good opportunity for Scholes.

Scholes took the ball again, Yin Jun ran out and raised his hand to ask for the ball. He was still followed by a Liverpool defender. Besides, there was another Liverpool player not far away, forming an angle with the defender. With such momentum, these two people guaranteed that Yin Jun could be locked up at any time.

Scholes saw that both Giggs and Beckham were running, but obviously Beckham's position was better, so he chose to pass the football to Beckham.

Beckham shot directly after receiving the ball, but the football was still caught up by the Liverpool centre-back with his legs to block the baseline.

Although the goal was missed, Scholes saw hope.

If Carragher came back a little slower this time, Beckham should have been able to shoot the ball directly in front of the Liverpool goalkeeper, right?And such opportunities were few and far between in the first half.So after adjusting the tactics, it worked.

………………

In the penalty area, Liverpool goalkeeper Dudek was shouting at his teammate, Carragher, who had just completed a clearance: "Jamie! You are slow! You almost let him shoot the ball!"

Goalkeeper Dudek still seemed dissatisfied, although Carragher had done his job defensively.

Carragher waved his hand and said casually: "But I blocked his shot, didn't I?"

The other Manchester United players, including Beckham, who shot the goal, didn't care about the dialogue between the two sides. They thought the goalkeeper was just shouting routinely to boost morale, but Yin Jun looked at Carragher.

From Carragher's answer and attitude, Yin Jun keenly captured a message-the concentration and vigilance of Liverpool players are gradually declining.

That's great!

If the Liverpool people have shown a high degree of concentration in the nine and 10 minutes on the field, then he and Manchester United have nothing to do, they can only rely on hard work to see if there is a chance.

However, it is too difficult for all players to maintain their concentration for 10 minutes on the court.

And once the opponent is negligent, the opportunity for him and Manchester United will come!

(End of this chapter)