Star card system.

Chapter 576 Guys, welcome to Manchester

The day after Sanchez joined the team, the Manchester United game came.

In the third round of the FA Cup, the opponent is Derby County from the British Championship.

Because a Premier League exchange just ended three days ago, Manchester United spent a lot of energy on Everton.

Mourinho made a substitute lineup for this game.

And Sanchez is on the list.

Facing an underdog at the Championship level is a good opportunity for Sanchez to find his form and get in touch with the team.

Mourinho felt that this game was prepared for Sanchez.

In addition to Sanchez, Xia Xing also started the game, and other positions were substitutes and rotation players.

In the locker room, Sanchez was silent.

Sanchez has been very silent since joining Manchester United.

Xia Xing, who was sitting next to him, patted his shoulder gently.

"Man, how does it feel to join Manchester United?"

"I don't feel it. After all, I haven't played a single game."

"You are right."

"I think most of the feeling about the team should come from the stadium, not the atmosphere of the team."

"Makes sense."

Xia Xing nodded.

This guy is really cold.

But it's true, all skilled players have character.

"Xia, will you pass the ball to me later?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

Sanchez had some smile on his face.

Xia Xing also smiled.

This straight-forward guy.

But it's not bad.

As long as it helps the team win, that's fine.

The Manchester United soldiers ran onto the court and began to warm up.

5 minutes later, Derby County players arrived late.

This team does not have any big-name stars, and the most famous one is probably their team captain and steel goalkeeper Carson.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper has played in the Premier League for many years.

Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Brom and other teams have left his presence.

His characteristic is his super reaction speed, and his height of 188cm is enough to make him agile.

Derby County can continue to rank in the top six this season, and Carson has played an important role.

In this game, he still led the defense, going all out to ensure a solid defense, and then waiting for opportunities to counterattack and score.

Seeing the Derby County players entering the stadium, Xia Xing quickly walked towards the side of the pitch.

His target is of course not Carson, but forward Nugent.

"David! Long time no see!"

"Xia! Long time no see!"

The person who warmly embraced Xia Xing was Xia Xing's teammate in Leicester City - Nugent!

In the summer of 2011, Nugent transferred from Portsmouth to join Leicester City.

He experienced Leicester City's struggle in the English Championship until they successfully reached the Premier League in 2015.

In four years, he gave a lot to Leicester City.

But as Leicester City upgrades, the team's lineup also needs to be transformed.

Nugent, who had been a rotation player on the team before, eventually chose to leave and join Middlesbrough in order to get more playing opportunities.

Last winter he came to Derbyshire again.

When he was at Leicester City, he got along with Xia Xing for two seasons and the relationship has always been good.As an average forward, Nugent knows what level he is at.

Playing in the Premier League, he is indeed lacking in strength. He frequently wastes opportunities on the court and is complained by his teammates and fans. This feeling is terrible.

But back in the Championship, he thrived.

This is more suitable for his development.

Now, he is still Derby County's number one striker, helping the team to hit the Premier League seat, just like he once did at Leicester City.

This is his fate, he accepts it and enjoys it.

"Xia, you have changed so much in the past few seasons, but it was also what I expected. I knew at the beginning that you would become a superstar. Now you have done it. You have won the Golden Globe Award and become a superstar. The best player in the world, I'm so happy for you!"

"Man, you are great too. If only you could..."

"No, I'm at this level, I know myself very well."

"Don't say that..."

"Xia, I am not depressed or disappointed. On the contrary, I am passionate about life. Because I am just such a player, an ordinary player. I don't have as much talent as you and I can't achieve it even if I work hard, so I accept the status quo peacefully. Choose a way of life that makes you comfortable. Although it is very ordinary, it is good to enjoy it. The most important thing is that I still love football and love life."

Looking at Nugent in front of him, his smiling face was full of sunshine, making even the somewhat gloomy Manchester seem a little brighter.

What else?

Xia Xing doesn't know either.

At this moment, those words of comfort that I just wanted to say even seemed ridiculous.

Finally, Xia Xing smiled and hugged Nugent again.

"Welcome to Manchester, mate."

The warm-up is over and the game begins.

The referee blew his whistle, and Manchester United's FA Cup journey this season officially begins!
Although Mourinho did not set any clear goals for the FA Cup and League Cup, the players did not relax.

Especially the players who started today, they know very well that they are not the absolute main force.

Although Mourinho would not say this, it is the fact.

This is not because they are not good enough, but because there are players in better condition than him on the team.

Just like Argentina's No. [-] goalkeeper Romero.

Put him on most teams, even wealthy teams, and he will be the main player.

But unfortunately, no matter how well he performs at Manchester United, he can only be the second goalkeeper.

Because his competitor is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, one of the top five or top three goalkeepers in the world.

De Gea is in great shape.

But even so, Romero still trains hard and strives to perform better.

The same situation applies to players such as Mata, Rojo, Blind, Martial and others.

The domestic cup stage is the best stage for them to prove themselves.

And they still have an absolute core like Xia Xing to take charge of them, so that’s it!
Especially in last season's FA Cup and League Cup finals, Mourinho still played on the bench.

Just because they wanted to compete for the championship, they did not remove the substitute lineup that fought all the way to the finish line and put in the starting lineup to ensure the championship.

This moved the players very much.

So this season, they are still going all out!

In the first 10 minutes, Derby County turned against the visitors.

Several consecutive fast breaks were all in style, which put a lot of pressure on Manchester United's defense.

And both shots hit the goal frame, allowing Romero to make two wonderful saves.

In fact, this is normal.

It's not that the English Championship teams are useless compared to the Premier League teams, but they give the Premier League teams a headache because of their aggressive fighting.

That's why the FA Cup and League Cup are known as hotbeds of dark horse upsets.

The same is true for Derby County today.

In the 9th minute of the game, Nugent received a cross in the middle, jumped up high, and headed the ball into the goal!
The ball went straight to the corner!

Romero jumped up hard and blocked the ball with his fingertips!
Manchester United escaped a catastrophe!
Mourinho frowned slightly on the sidelines.

This Derby County still has a few moments left...

(End of this chapter)