I started with Torres, to revive German football

Chapter 357 Decaying Old Trafford

Guardiola stood on the sidelines with his arms folded, his expression calm but revealing a hint of determination.

At such a championship stage, he will never easily give the opponent any tactical space that can be used.

Mourinho, who is expected by countless Red Devils fans, is in a very bad mood at the moment.

He actually thought Guardiola would choose the safest style of play, but he thought the worst result would be for Manchester City to put on their enviable double midfielders.

But Mourinho didn't guess about De Bruyne's substitute, nor did he guess that Manchester City would directly use three central defenders while playing almost four back midfielders!

To be honest, Guardiola's courage is already astonishing. In this kind of game, he dares to let his core midfielder substitute first. If something unexpected happens, he will be ridiculed and blamed by countless fans.

Guardiola definitely knew the risks of such an arrangement, but he did it anyway.

The only explanation is that he is very confident in this formation and style of play, and the entire Manchester City team has practiced it many times.

Judging from Manchester City's past tactical discipline, the players on the field will only implement Guardiola's tactics to the end.

In other words, the vast area in Manchester City's midfield and backcourt today may turn into a huge meat grinder battlefield because of the sufficient manpower!
However, because among Manchester City's four defensive midfielders, in addition to Kante, including Stones, the other three have the ability to organize and control the ball.

In particular, Yaya Toure and Gundogan can be used as the core of the midfield, and their back-breaking attack also has the final say!

Therefore, although there are four defensive midfielders, the Manchester City midfielder's ball control ability is definitely not bad, at least better than the current Manchester United midfielder!

Coupled with the fact that David Silva and Mahrez in front act as the front midfielders, it can be said that this lineup needs to have ball control and hardness.

The key is that because Manchester City has Zhao Jinge on the court at the same time, Mourinho really doesn't dare to mobilize too many backcourt players to press forward for support.

Once Zhao Jinge is allowed to charge, it will be a huge problem for him to break through a defensive area with his personal ability.

Not to mention there are so many good passers behind him who can deliver cannonballs to him!

After thinking about it, Mourinho feels that it is better not to act lightly now and wait and see how the situation develops on the field. Manchester City is good at playing from the back, and he will also make a backhand adjustment today!
It just so happened that Manchester City's offensive intensity in the frontcourt was greatly reduced today. As long as Zhao Jinge is not allowed to receive too much passing support to break the balance on the court, Mourinho feels that his tactical arrangements may not be able to do anything against Manchester City's defense.

Thinking of this, Mourinho also squeezed his palms, feeling more confident in his heart.

After players from both sides lined up to complete the pre-match ceremony, the time slowly moved to 05:30 in the afternoon.

In the tense atmosphere at Old Trafford, the referee on duty held his watch and blew the whistle to start the game.

For a moment, the Manchester United fans in Old Trafford seemed to be trying their best to shout their support for the team!
Amidst the commotion, Manchester City players quickly spread out their formation. Mahrez on the left side of the midfield was slightly forward, and Yaya Toure moved closer to him, always ready to help defend.

In today's formation, except for Laporte who is in the penalty area, the other nine people will more or less assume certain organizational or advancement tasks.

Therefore, Zhao Jinge did not position directly in the middle, but moved slightly to the right, leaving the entire left half of the offensive space for Mahrez, while David Silva cruised behind the two.

Guardiola did not send De Bruyne today, so Zhao Jinge naturally has to shoulder a certain amount of support and offensive responsibility.

However, compared to Mahrez, his space and position are indeed wider and more flexible.

From the center to the right, as long as there is a loophole in Manchester United's defense, he can choose the direction of attack by himself.

And when he attacks on the right, he doesn't have to worry about no one in the middle to respond. Gundogan exists to make up for this offensive flaw.

The German midfielder's offensive ability and ball-taking ability are top-notch in football. It may not be possible to let him be the finishing point in the center, but he can hold the ball to Mahrez, David Silva and the center on the wing. Zhao Jinge's ability to create a second offense has no problem.

After all, the physical fitness and skills are there, and they can also help Zhao Jinge share part of the fulcrum role. He can advance, attack, retreat and defend. This is the position Guardiola has found for Gundogan.

This is also the greatest confidence that Guardiola dares to use De Bruyne as a backup in this game!
However, the current Manchester United players have obviously not thought of this level. They are worrying about how to quickly pass through Manchester City's midfield.

It's definitely not possible to rush through forcefully. Let's not talk about whether you can rush through the steel defense line set up by Manchester City's midfield. It's just a matter of luck that you got through.

When the two wings are marked one-on-one and there are three central defenders in front of them, the ball holder will eventually have no choice but to control the ball and pull the ball to the side or simply pass back because he cannot find a point of contact.

This kind of attack seems to be time-consuming and not very profitable. We still need to think more about how to quickly pass through Manchester City's midfield.

Fortunately, Mourinho's formation today gave Manchester United's midfielder a true core and the ability to control the ball stably.

Seeing the figure who frequently ran and caught the ball in the midfield to escape the interceptions of Manchester City defenders, many Manchester United fans instantly forgot about the turmoil he caused in recent times.

"Pogba, Pogba, Manchester United still let Pogba take on the important task of leading the midfield against Manchester City in the last Manchester derby of this season!
Among all the midfielders in Manchester United, only Pogba is not afraid of Manchester City's pressing press. Manchester United has invested a lot in the midfield today. It depends on whether they can help Ibrahimovic in the frontcourt find Manchester City. There is a loophole in the defense! "

Moving Pogba's position closer to the midfielder allows the Frenchman to show his offensive talent as much as possible without having to worry about defense. This is Mourinho vs. Pogba in this game. compromise.

Mourinho's arrangement today can be regarded as barely solving the problem of Manchester United's lack of midfield control and ability to break the press.

But again, if Pogba moves forward, the symptoms of Manchester United's weak waist will be fully revealed. This also allows Zhao Jinge to attack Manchester United's unstable defense line unscrupulously, which is a bit unreliable no matter how you look at it.

And although Manchester United's offense has improved slightly, the two wing offensive players arranged by Manchester United today are Rashford and Martial.

Due to the injuries to Mkhitaryan and Uncle Mata, Manchester United had to make huge adjustments to their wing arrangements. The offensive threat is much smaller than before. These two young people who are a little confused can give Ibrahimovic Help is certainly not enough.

Manchester City happened to increase the number of defenders on both sides today. After this increase and one decrease, Manchester United's advancement became more difficult, while the defensive tasks of Manchester City's two midfielders became easier.

At least after the game started, Manchester United's several attempts to advance from the wing were forced back by Manchester City. Martial was unable to break through and almost turned into a quick counterattack after being intercepted by Kyle Walker, which attracted Herrera to continue. He signaled Martial not to go up.

Martial's momentum is there, and he is active in both offense and defense, but sometimes he seems a little stuck. Herrera has to always pay attention to his offensive and defensive choices and remind him to make less mistakes.Frequent injuries to Fellaini have left Herrera without his best midfield partner in recent years for the rest of the season.

Carrick, who is about to retire, is currently 35 years old. At such an old age, it can only be said that he has no big problem with his performance, but Herrera does not expect him to help him share too much defensive and organizational pressure. .

Like Pogba, Herrera, who has a heavy responsibility, is extremely eager to have a trustworthy companion by his side.

Herrera smiled self-deprecatingly, and continued to direct the positions of his teammates with a hint of helplessness.

For Manchester City, Herrera didn't dare to relax even a little bit. Although Manchester United is still in the offensive rhythm, Manchester City may launch a fatal counterattack at any time after stealing the ball.

So Rashford and Martial can think less and follow the instructions and play step by step, but he has to think more.

In the 13th minute of the first half, the moment Zhao Jinge cruised from the right to the middle, Kanter, who had just finished stealing the ball, directly sent a long pass over the top. At the critical moment, Herrera boldly went around and passed the ball. The pass went over the sideline.

Enough caution and vigilance allowed Herrera to help Manchester United resolve a defensive crisis, but after completing this interception, Herrera became even more worried.

Because he was the only one who read Manchester City's counterattack intention just now, Carrick basically had no reaction next to him. Coach Ai could see that Carrick could no longer adapt to such a high-intensity game.

If the fight continues like this, he can stop him once or twice, but after Manchester City tries more and more, he is not on the opponent's counterattack route, so who can break the interception?

In the current situation, it is impossible for Pogba to retreat to the midfield and backfield to organize and defend. He alone supports Manchester United's offense with Ibrahimovic in the front. If he still needs to retreat, I'm afraid the French are about to give up their game!

After hesitating for a moment, Herrera could only choose to take it slow.

At least now Manchester United needs to devote more energy to the offensive end, and he has to bear this defensive pressure if he can't bear it!

After the disastrous defeat to Manchester City in the previous games, the Manchester United midfielders headed by him have been sprayed by fans from all walks of life, so it doesn't matter if they are sprayed again in this game, as long as they can win, Herrera feels that they have been beaten. No amount of scolding will do.

With the expectations of their teammates and countless fans, Manchester United's offensive players in the frontcourt tried their best to try to disintegrate Manchester City's midfield defense.

With Pogba's guidance and forward restraint, Rashford's side and Ibrahimovic, who often withdraws from the penalty area, actually got a lot of opportunities to get the ball.

But they are still too far away from Manchester City's penalty area.

Ibrahimovic doesn't leave the penalty area and basically can't get the ball. This is an unsolvable problem.

Just like Pogba helps Ibrahimovic contain the defensive forces in the frontcourt, Manchester United's midfield loses control. Pogba retreats to stabilize the midfielder, and Ibrahimovic is isolated and helpless. You choose one end and don't care about the other end. A choice has to be made.

Mourinho's confidence is slowly dissipating with the passage of time on the court.

After all, he overestimated the ability of Manchester United's offensive system to break through dense defenses.

When you meet other Premier League opponents who are in decline, these problems are not fatal. After all, if you have a weird midfielder and a backcourt, and your offensive firepower is fierce enough, other worse teams will naturally help cover up the problems.

But in front of a top team like Manchester City, the flaws in Manchester United's lineup were completely revealed and completely displayed in front of fans around the world.

Under Manchester City's super targeting, Manchester United can't press out the wings or the center. No matter how strong Pogba's personal ability is, he will not be able to drive Manchester United's midfield back to what it was when Ferguson was still there in previous seasons. appearance.

Mourinho really feels regretful. He does not regret taking over Manchester United last summer. He just regrets that he did not put forward sufficient conditions before taking over last year, such as directly spending money to start a major overhaul of the midfield and backfield.

Manchester United's midfielder is completely insufficient to rely on Pogba and Mkhitaryan. He needs at least a top midfielder and a first-class substitute.

As for the defense line, except for De Gea and Luke Shaw, everyone else should have left long ago!

Mourinho has already begun to think about how to transform the riddled midfield and backfield if he can continue to coach Manchester United next season. As for this game, in his opinion, it will be a destined ending. !
"Manchester United, which had been unable to attack for a long time, suffered the most threatening counterattack since the start of this game!

Manchester City's two wingers are resolutely plugging in!

Kyle Walker is even moving closer to the center. At this moment, Manchester City does not only have two superstars running, as many as seven Manchester City players instantly suppress the Manchester United defense! "

Under the excited commentary of Andy Gray, Manchester City seized the opportunity of Manchester United's offensive mistakes and launched a quick counterattack in the 207th minute of the first half.

The football was quickly pushed from the Manchester City backcourt into the heart of Manchester United. Gundogan quickly pushed the ball to Manchester United's right wing before Herrera tried to foul.

Valencia was still returning to defense. Phil Jones stared at Mahrez without giving up his defensive zone and easily pulled wide. Kyle Walker got the ball and swept the ball directly into Manchester United's penalty area!

Mahrez's movement at the front point forced Phil Jones to catch up, but Mahrez made a mistake. While taking Phil Jones away, he also gave the ball to Zhao Jinge, who raised his hand at the back point.

Luo Huo was entangled with Zhao Jinge, determined never to give Zhao Jinge a chance to start easily.

But Zhao Jinge took the initiative and took two steps to meet the incoming ball. While leaning against Rojo with his back, he used his left foot to lead the ball to the left side of his body.

Then, with his back to the goal, Zhao Jinge quickly took the ball with his right foot and completed a large turn!

This forced turn after receiving the ball was done in one go. Rojo tried his best to push Zhao Jinge slightly towards the edge of the penalty area, but Zhao Jinge didn't care, all he wanted was to complete the turn smoothly!

After obtaining a small space for his feet, Zhao Jinge took the initiative to stick close to Luo Huo and completed the movement of swinging his legs with force!

Luo Huo was smart but was mistaken. The close position between him and Zhao Jinge made it difficult for him to get down to intercept.

So against the background of De Gea swearing and making a hasty save, Zhao Jinge's explosive shot hit the far corner of the Manchester United goal!

"GOAL!!!!!! Zhao Jinge! The ball is scored!"

(End of this chapter)