Full-level pass, please call me the speaker of the Three Lions

Chapter 426 Return to the Champions League knockout stage!
In the end, it was thanks to Ling Feng's volley that Manchester United was able to win three points at Goodison Park.

After 39 rounds of the league, Manchester United has an impressive record of wins and loss, accumulating points and continues to top the list.

Following closely behind was a streak of seven consecutive wins from mid-October to early December, which took Chelsea directly to second place in the league standings!
The Blues are only five points away from the Red Devils!

In third place is the "Gunners" Arsenal, with nine wins, three draws and two losses in 30 games, and points.

As long as Wenger is still in the team, Arsenal will always be a strong contender for the top four in the Premier League.

Fourth, it is the "Red Army" Liverpool, which finally showed its edge under Klopp's coaching this season.

Fifth, it is the "Blue Moon" Manchester City, which has the same points as Liverpool but is at a disadvantage in goal difference.

The "White Lily" Tottenham Hotspur, which is launching a youth storm, has been in poor form recently, with most draws and is only ranked sixth.

Although Tottenham, ranked sixth, has 27 points, they are 12 points behind Manchester United, which is at the top of the list.

However, there are still 24 rounds of the league and nothing is certain.

However, the better Manchester United performs and the better Ling Feng performs, the fans and the media have to mention another team whose performance has changed dramatically this season.

That is the "Blue Fox" Leicester City!
The defending champion Leicester City, which sold Ling Feng and Kante, has seen its performance this season plummet compared to last season's invincible performance!
What a contrast with Manchester United!
Even with a large sum of money in hand, the team strengthened its lineup.

However, the poor performance of the new players, coupled with changes in the tactical system, has led to the team's ups and downs this season, and they have not won the games they should have won.

Perhaps the only thing that can bring some comfort to the Foxes is that the team performed well in the Champions League and has already secured top spot in the group.

Seeing the defending champions, many fans couldn't help but sigh once again at the huge impact of Ling Feng's departure on the team.

On the other hand, Manchester United, with Ling Feng, has 39 points in games.
On this side, Leicester City, without Ling Feng, only got 15 points!
One is the biggest favorite to win the league title, and the other is a mid-to-lower-level team in the league.

In fact, in the eyes of insiders and football experts, Ling Feng is not the "culprit" for Leicester City's plummeting performance.

Kante is it!

As the Premier League champions last season, Leicester City's defensive counterattack tactical system is based on the dominance of Ling Feng and Kante in the middle!
Without Kante's sweeping and stealing in the middle, the team had no one able to protect the back line, which exposed the shortcomings of the central defender duo of Huth and Morgan's slow turning speed.

Without Ling Feng, Leicester City also lacked an instigator and promoter during the transition from offense to defense.

As a team centered around defensive counterattack, defense is the most important part.

In comparison, the impact of Ling Feng's departure is definitely not as great as Kante's departure.

It's just that Ling Feng's greater popularity and fame overshadowed the deeper impact of Kante's departure on Leicester City.
Although the Foxes fans are somewhat frustrated about the huge gap in the team's performance, they still stand on the side of the team.

The Blue Fox miracle is destined to be like a meteor that shines brightly for a short time but falls rapidly.

Being able to leave a mark in the history of the Premier League, and even in the history of football, is a great feat that most teams cannot achieve!

The unparalleled moments of touching and excitement last season were brought to them by head coach Ranieri and players such as Ling Feng, Vardy and Mahrez.

In fact, there was a certain amount of luck involved in their miraculous victory in winning the Premier League.

What's more, this season they lost their two core midfielders at once, and their strength was greatly reduced.

Coupled with the distraction of the Champions League, it is normal for the results to fluctuate.

Moreover, this is only their third season in the Premier League!
However, the fans' support cannot change the outside world's view of Leicester City's poor performance in the league.

After only three wins in 14 league games, the odds of Leicester City coach Ranieri being sacked have soared to first.

Many football experts and media believe that if Ranieri cannot turn the situation around as soon as possible, he may not survive until the end of the season.

Even though he was the team's meritorious coach who led the team to win the Premier League title for the first time and achieved the team record of "qualifying for the Champions League group stage"
But in the world of sports competition, results are everything!
However, Lineker, a die-hard fan of the Blue Foxes, also tweeted to support Ranieri, who was looked down upon by the media:

"This season, the Foxes' goal is to show their football in the Champions League. As for the league, as long as we don't get relegated, I think it will be a successful season."

"Coaching a club is a long-term undertaking. You can't just invite a world-class coach on a whim and build a giant club."

A few days later, at the pre-match press conference for Manchester United's Champions League group match against Celtic at home, Ling Feng, who attended with Mourinho, was also asked by reporters about his old club.

"Leicester City has been struggling to win recently, and Ranieri's position as coach is unstable. As a former Leicester City player, what do you think?"

Faced with this question, Ling Feng first thought about it seriously, and then answered in a deep voice:

"In the world of football, the replacement of head coaches is often linked to the team's performance."

"Every time a head coach is fired, it is a regrettable change."

"However, I think Leicester City's current predicament is not Claudio's fault. It's just that the team is adapting to new players and a new tactical system."

"I know Ranieri very well. He is an experienced and excellent coach who can become friends with every player."

"I think the club should give him more time and patience, and he will definitely get the team back on track!"

Ling Feng's public support was also supported by many Foxes fans, who flocked to the Foxes' social media and official website to comment.

Ranieri was deeply moved by the public support from his former disciple, and he called Ling Feng to express his gratitude.

With the unanimous support of public opinion and fans, the Foxes officially issued an announcement to clarify that the team is considering the possibility of changing the head coach.

"Claudio has been with us for more than a year and has brought us three championship trophies in a short period of time. He is our legend! We will continue to support him!"

Originally, Leicester City's poor performance in the league eventually led to Ranieri being fired before the end of the season.

Now, with Ling Feng's transfer bringing in huge amounts of money, coupled with his public support, Ranieri's fate may be changed.

However, it is certain that Maguire's fate has already changed!
As Huth and Morgan get older and injuries increase, Maguire has almost become Ranieri's first choice as central defender this season.

Although limited by the team's tactics, the Foxes' defense was repeatedly attacked by opponents.

However, his frontal defense and air defense capabilities have been unanimously recognized by the media and fans. With other main players such as Vardy and Mahrez in a slump, Maguire's repeated clearance of opponents' high-altitude passes and his precise control of the ball have almost become one of the few bright spots for the team.

Many media and England legends have also called on Hodgson to recruit this young central defender with good passing skills into the team for training.

Unknowingly, the former English League One air overlord has now grown into the Premier League air overlord!

. . .

Ling Feng naturally expressed deep sympathy for his old employer's predicament.

However, he is no longer a Foxes player, and he also left a huge transfer fee to the Foxes.

And now, he is a Manchester United player, and what he has to consider is how to lead Manchester United towards revival!

Manchester United's final round of the Champions League group stage this season kicked off at Old Trafford.

The opponent is Celtic, the Scottish Premier League champions.

In the first leg of the match between the two sides, Manchester United was tied by Celtic at home.

And this time, no matter what the result is, the team has already qualified.

Therefore, Mourinho waved his hand and also played with an entire substitute lineup.

The starting eleven were all replaced!

Damian, Romero, Jones, Rojo, Carrick, Blind and others all got the chance to start.

Although there is no Ling Feng, no Ibrahimovic, and no Kante.

However, Manchester United's substitutes also played with passion amid the loud singing of tens of thousands of fans at Old Trafford.

In the end, thanks to Rashford's solo goal in the final moments of the game, Manchester United beat Celtic 2-1 at home.

This also caused the Celtics to be completely eliminated as they were at the bottom of the group!

"Go back to Scotland and play basketball. The Champions League is not the place for you!"

At this point, Manchester United's Champions League group stage journey came to a successful conclusion.

The Red Devils advanced to the round of 16 as the second in the group with four wins, one draw and one loss in six games, accumulating 13 points, second only to Barcelona with 15 points!
This is also the first time Manchester United has returned to the Champions League knockout stage after three years!

After the game, Manchester Evening News once again began to praise Mourinho:
"The Champions League master of success, with his team, returns to the land he once ruled!"

After qualifying for the Champions League group stage, Mourinho and Manchester United players can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

At least until the knockout rounds start in February, they can focus on the league.

And a few days later, on December 12, they faced the challenge of Tottenham at Old Trafford!

This is a showdown between the league's first and sixth teams, and also the first time the two sides have met this season.

As one of the league's BIG6 and the team with the youngest average age in the league, Tottenham's performance this season can be described as outstanding.

The record against title contenders is also commendable.

Draw with Liverpool and Arsenal, beat Manchester City, and only lost to Chelsea!
However, young people are energetic and have the courage and spirit of a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger, but they still lack experience.

They were tied by mid-table teams such as Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City, and lost a lot of points.

In this away game against Manchester United, if they want to escape unscathed, they must make a concerted effort and take the lead in using frequent interspersed runs and the impact of young people to attack Manchester United's relatively slow back line.

Therefore, Pochettino also put out the strongest lineup:
In goalkeeper position, it is French goalkeeper Lori;
The four defenders are Walker, the best defender in the UK, Alderweireld, the Belgian central defender, Vertonghen, and Ross, the fast winger;
The double defensive midfielders are Kenyan midfielder Wanyama and Tottenham's core player Dembele.

There are three attacking midfielders, South Korea's top player Son Heung-min and Denmark's commander Eriksen are on the left and right, and the new British star Ali is in the middle.

The lone striker is White Hart Lane's darling Harry Kane!
The DSEK combination is in its prime, with Dembele, the core of the midfield, and Wanyama, the full-back combination with both wings, the stable Belgian double center backs, and the French goalkeeper.
In Ling Feng’s opinion, this lineup is definitely Tottenham’s strongest lineup in the past decade!

Even in terms of overall strength and age structure, it is better than Manchester United!

This season, in addition to Kane, the British striker who continues to perform well, Ali's outbreak makes people seem to see Ling Feng who emerged out of nowhere that year!
Even compared to Ling Feng back then, Ali's shooting from behind and his sense of goal are stronger.

However, no matter how awesome they are this season, when Tottenham's twin stars Ali and Kane meet their two big brothers in the national team, they are still naturally a head shorter than them.

At least in the player tunnel, it was Kane and Ali who took the initiative to come forward and greet Rooney and Ling Feng.

Manchester United also attaches great importance to this strong dialogue.

In order to defend the unbeaten record at home, Mourinho also sent out all the main players!
The only change is that Fellaini replaced Herrera who was absent due to injury.

Fortunately, Herrera's injury is not serious, only a hamstring strain, and he will be able to return in two weeks.

After the start of the game, Manchester United quickly took the initiative at home.

With one victory after another, the Red Devils led by Mourinho are no longer the hypnotic ball-control team of last season.

With the addition of Ibrahimovic and Ling Feng, the team has been brought with bloodiness and a domineering attitude that no one else can do better than us!
In the eyes of many fans, today's Manchester United is still not as energetic and spirited as the Red Devils under Ferguson.

However, there have been great improvements.

The players' mental outlook and attitude on the field also showed the fans their positivity and fighting spirit.

When I saw Ibrahimovic celebrating passionately on the field and raising his arms to encourage others when he fell behind;

When seeing Kante constantly running and sweeping in the midfield;

When seeing Ling Feng being violated again and again and falling to the ground, he still stood up as if nothing had happened;
Whether it is the Manchester United players on the field or on the bench, they seem to be facing soul-searching questions in their hearts:
Did you really fight for the team?
Did you give your all every minute and every second on the court like they did?
Under Mourinho's iron-blooded transformation and the leadership of the two alpha dogs, Ibrahimovic and Ling Feng, the Red Devils have gradually regained their former glory when they dominated the Premier League and topped the European continent!

(End of this chapter)