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

Chapter 431 Assists and four goals, IFFHS's annual organizing core!

In the away win over Crystal Palace, Ibrahimovic scored his fifth brace of the season.

As the Red Devils' leading striker, he scored 14 goals in 15 league appearances, with a goal efficiency close to one goal per game.

Quite amazing!

Such a hot state not only hit the haters who were not optimistic about Ibrahimovic's ability to adapt to the Premier League before the start of the season, but also made the media and fans sigh sincerely:
At the age of 35, Ibrahimovic is still as fierce as a lion!

However, there are people whose state is even more explosive than that of "God".

That is his teammate, the newly crowned third best player in the world and the best player in the current Premier League - Ling Feng!
In 15 league appearances, the Red Devils' No.7 contributed a terrifying 17 goals and 17 assists!

He created 34 goals individually, averaging 2 goals per game!!!
This number of goals scored ranks first among the top five leagues!
Neither Messi nor Ronaldo can compare to him!
Originally, before the start of the season, the odds ranking of the league's Golden Boot given by the bookmakers ranked Ibrahimovic third, only behind Kane and Aguero.

The reason why Ibrahimovic, who made his debut in England, was ranked third in the Golden Boot prediction was largely because he had Ling Feng, the Premier League assists king, to assist him!
And their prediction was not wrong.

Of Ibrahimovic's 14 league goals this season, ten were assisted by Ling Feng!

It is conceivable that without Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic's number of goals would inevitably decline significantly.

With Ibrahimovic's hot form in the league this season, he had a good chance of making history and breaking the record of being the first player to win the Golden Boot in the Eredivisie, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Premier League, as well as the oldest player to win the Golden Boot in the history of the Premier League.

However, success and failure are all due to Ling Feng!
No one would have thought that Ling Feng's goal efficiency would experience an explosive growth after he transferred to a new team!

At the same period last season, Ling Feng only scored nine goals; this season, he has scored an astonishing seventeen goals!
Last season, he was the top-scoring midfielder in the Premier League;

And this season, if he continues at this pace, he will obviously become the player with the most goals in the Premier League!

This means that if Ibrahimovic wants to make history, his biggest competitor is not the super striker of other teams, but his teammates on his own team, the best partner who always feeds him the ball!
The strongest competitor is already in the lineup!

The people who are most happy about the fierce competition between the two in the scorer list are Manchester United club and fans.

Since Van Persie in the 2012-13 season, Manchester United has not had a striker who scored more than goals in a single league season for several years.

And this season, they have two at once!

The combined number of league goals scored by Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic alone reached 31 goals, second only to Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, and exceeding the total number of goals scored by the other 15 Premier League teams!
It can be seen from this that this combination is definitely the strongest combination in the Premier League!
It was also because of the immediate hit it off between the two that Manchester United achieved an impressive record of 15 wins and one loss in 16 league games, firmly occupying the top spot in the standings.

Of course, Mourinho is not blinded by the team's current progress.

As a man with rich coaching experience, he knows very well that the team is indeed on the right track under his transformation.

However, the season is not even halfway through and it is too early to say anything.

The second half of the season, when several fronts must be taken into account, will be a real test for this new Red Devils team!

Can they maintain their lead in the league while focusing on the Champions League?
Can we still challenge for the League Cup or FA Cup?
These are the issues they will face and consider next.
Perhaps in order to give the main lineup a rest, in the 17th round of the league a few days later, Mourinho arranged for Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic, the strongest offensive combination in the Premier League, to take turns to rest.

Also taking a rest are Kante, Bailly and other main players.

However, Manchester United's substitute lineup led by Rooney encountered stubborn resistance at the Hawthorns Stadium.

In the end, the two sides shook hands and made peace with the score at 1:1, each getting one point.

Of course, West Bromwich Albion was very satisfied with this point, but Manchester United was very unhappy.

In the post-match interview, Mourinho also directly stated:
"We didn't perform well in this game. We wanted to attack too much but didn't coordinate well. The draw was a lucky result. We shouldn't have even gotten a single point!"

The first draw of this season also made Manchester United legends and fans, who had long been clamoring to win the championship, realize that the team has not yet reached the point of sweeping the Premier League.

Especially the content of the competition, which is lackluster.

When Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic are not on the court, the team seems unable to score goals.

As it turns out, Rooney is simply unable to take on the role of an offensive core.

Rooney plays as a winger, can he play?
He can't kick!

I don’t have that ability!

As long as the opponent arranges someone to mark Mata and crush this frontcourt organizer with poor physical strength, Rooney will not pose much threat when he gets the ball.

With Rooney's current physical condition, without Ling Feng to hold down the defense in the middle, he is a ruthless crossing machine on the wing.

Without speed, you can't get past people with the ball.

Either pass back or directly cross the ball.

Unfortunately, he is not Beckham and does not have the same precise crossing skills.

And with Ibrahimovic taking a rest, the team simply did not have a center forward who could receive high crosses.

And the low cross could not find Martial who was closely watched by the opponent's central defender.

If it weren't for the fact that West Bromwich Albion's forwards were not very good at seizing opportunities, and if Fellaini hadn't equalized the score with a header from a set piece, the league-leading team might even have suffered a bitter defeat at The Hawthorns!

After this draw, the entire British football world was abuzz with discussion.

The long-silent Manchester United haters have also returned to the internet:

"As expected of you! You're still that fake strong team that doesn't have the temperament of a champion!"

"Just wait and see, this game will be the turning point where Manchester United starts to fall behind in the league!"

"Without Lingfeng and Ibrahimovic, you are nothing!"

For a time, all the major trending search lists in the UK and the sports pages of all media outlets were filled with news about Manchester United.

This is Manchester United!
The most popular and talked-about team in the Premier League!

This draw also made Mourinho fully understand that the team should be more pragmatic when rotating players.

Don’t think about controlling the ball, just play defensive counterattack!
First, focus on defense, and then seize the opportunity to launch a concise and effective counterattack.

Moreover, in Mourinho's view, this draw came at the right time.

This can serve as a wake-up call to Manchester United players, pour a bucket of cold water on their newly-awakened arrogance, and make them reflect on themselves.

Wake up!

You haven't won the Premier League yet, so it's not time to be complacent!
What's more, the price of a draw is a week-long rest for the main lineup.

Great deal!

A week later, Manchester United returned to their home ground and sent out all their main players!

Under the leadership of Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic, Kante and others, they defeated the "Black Cats" Sunderland 6-1 at the Theatre of Dreams, giving them an early Children's Day gift!
During the game, Ibrahimovic scored his second hat trick in the Premier League with his head and feet, and also provided an assist for Martial. Ling Feng also completed four assists, becoming the sixth player in Premier League history to provide four assists in a single Premier League game!
This feat of quadruple assists also brought his real-time assist count to 21, thus achieving the extraordinary achievement of having more than assists in the league for the third consecutive season!

Martial, Lingard and Rashford all scored goals.

In the last game, they were tied by West Bromwich Albion;

In this game, we swept Sunderland by a large margin.

The huge contrast also made the media and fans understand why the performance of Manchester United was so different.

As the saying goes, when the tide goes out, you can tell who is swimming naked!
It turns out that it was the three core players, Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic and Kante, who lifted Manchester United to a height that did not belong to them!

Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic, with their imaginative passing and explosive finishing abilities, brought a steady stream of goals to the team;
Kante used his firepower and running to cover the entire midfield and blocked all threatening attacks outside the defense line!

These three also received the top three post-match ratings:

Ling Feng scored full marks of 10, Ibrahimovic scored full marks of 10, and Kante scored 9 points!

This is also the first time that the famous ratings website sofascore has given full marks to two players in a Premier League game.

From this we can see that the "one-zero" combination of Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic performed so well in the game!

After the game, Ibrahimovic and Ling Feng, the strongest combination in the Premier League, showed a very good relationship when they were interviewed by reporters together.

"Congratulations, what a beautiful victory!"

"Zlatan, this is your second hat trick in the Premier League. It only took you fifteen games and you have scored seventeen league goals!"

"Your start at the Theatre of Dreams and in the Premier League has been fantastic. Have you ever thought about this?"

When faced with the reporter's question, Ibrahimovic just raised his eyebrows and answered as if it was a matter of course:

"Of course! I never doubted whether I could adapt to the pace of the Premier League."

"A lion is a lion no matter where it is!"

Watching closely the "King of Football" Ibrahimovic showing off in front of the camera, Ling Feng, who was standing next to him, also had a crazy smile on his face.

Ibrahimovic saw the way he was trying to hold back his laughter, and he immediately reached out and hugged Ling Feng, pointing at his best partner:
"Of course, I also have to thank the handsome guy standing next to me."

"He is the best passer of all the players I have ever worked with. No one else!"

After praising Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic did not forget to add a pretentious quote:
"Without his help, I might have conquered the Premier League later."

Hearing this, Ling Feng immediately revealed a brilliant smile, and his heartfelt sigh followed:
As expected of you!

"Zlatan, Ling, you have both scored 17 goals in the league now, tied for first place in the scorer list. You have a good chance of winning the league's Golden Boot this season, which also makes you a contender. Have you discussed this privately?"

After exchanging a glance with Ibrahimovic, Ling Feng responded:
"Well that's a good question. Actually, we haven't talked about it. We know our roles very well on the pitch. It doesn't matter who scores the goal, the important thing is that the team wins."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ibrahimovic added:
"We'll see! After the season is over, we'll know who is the best goal scorer in this league!"

Ling Feng also smiled and accepted Ibrahimovic's "challenge" in front of the camera.

"Happy to accompany you!"

At the end of the interview, the reporter asked:
"Who do you think will win the Premier League this season?"

Facing this question from the reporter, and looking at Ibrahimovic next to him, Ling Feng suddenly had an idea and asked the reporter:
“What team am I playing for?”

After this was said, both the reporter and Ibrahimovic were a little confused.

However, the reporter responded immediately:

“Manchester United.”

“That’s Manchester United!”

As soon as the voice fell, Ibrahimovic, who was the first to react, also sighed at Ling Feng's pretense, and directly stretched out his hand and high-fived Ling Feng:

"Wow, good job!"

Finally, looking at the backs of Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic walking away together with their arms around each other's shoulders, the reporter showed a helpless expression.

Grass!
Two pretenders!

. . .

December has always been the season when major football awards are announced.

After the Golden Globe Award, on December 12, Ling Feng received another piece of good news:

That is, he defeated top midfield organizers such as Messi, Iniesta, Kroos, and Erdogan, and was elected IFFHS 2016 Annual Organizer!
The IFFHS Best Organiser of the Year is an award that the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) has been awarding since 2006.

The criteria for the award is, of course, to select the player who can create the most opportunities this year.

It is worth mentioning that except for Kaka, who was playing for AC Milan in Serie A in 2007, the winners in other years were all from La Liga.

Among them, Xavi was elected four times, Iniesta twice, and Messi won the award once.

Ling Feng's election not only broke the eight-year monopoly of La Liga players on this award, but also marked the first time that a Premier League player was elected for this award!

It can be said that it is a good fight for the Premier League!

You know, in recent years, with the addition of capital and commercial operations, the league atmosphere of the Premier League has become more mature and the brand effect has become more successful.

The fast pace and high intensity make every game full of entertainment.

The addition of outstanding players has narrowed the huge gap between teams and made the competition more intense.

The changes in the league environment have also made many Premier League fans feel that the Premier League is already qualified to compete with La Liga for the world's top league.

The fact that Ling Feng defeated Messi to be elected the IFFHS Best Playmaker of the Year is enough to prove that the Premier League can also cultivate superstars who are comparable to Messi and Ronaldo!

However, La Liga fans scoff at the mysterious confidence of Premier League fans.

They also directly used the number of Champions League titles and the number of places in the Champions League round of 16 to hit back at Premier League fans:

"Four La Liga teams made it to the Champions League round of 16, while only three from the Premier League! The best league in the world? You're still a little naive!"

"When you win the Champions League again, tell me again!"

"The Premier League? It's just a nouveau riche league controlled by capital!"

(End of this chapter)