From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 703 Difficulty
"Let's look at this slow-motion replay. When Alba made the cross, Fred obviously didn't follow Suarez in time, which led to Suarez's subsequent header, which was completed almost unmarked."

"This was definitely a big mistake, because before the game started, we said that Manchester United's header advantage was very obvious. If Fred had followed Suarez just now, I believe Suarez would have had a hard time getting a chance to score with a header."

"But no matter what, the mistake has been made. Manchester United should be careful."

Mourinho slapped his forehead hard, shook his head and walked back.

What he worried about before the game still happened. Fred had been absent from the game for too long, which caused him to be unable to keep up with the rhythm after the start of the game. He was thrown away by Suarez just now, and it was obvious that he did not smell the danger for a while.

Being absent for a long period of time can make a player's senses numb and become less sharp.

But he does not regret his choice, because the defensive abilities of several other Manchester United midfielders are not as good as Fred, so he will still choose Fred.

He understands the Brazilian midfield and believes that he will gradually adapt as the game time goes by.

In fact, Manchester United did not play badly after the opening. Bruno sent a straight pass, Mbappe made a cross from the left, but Harry Kane did not follow up and missed an opportunity.

Coutinho took the ball from the left and cut inside several times, but was double-teamed by Cancelo, Kante and Maguire.

In the twelfth minute, he fell in the penalty area and tried to get a penalty, but the referee ignored it.

Luke Shaw was specifically marking Yosi. The Argentine player did not perform very well after the opening. Barcelona's attack was mainly concentrated on the left, and the right was basically silent.

This is not surprising. Rashford was holding Roberto back in the frontcourt, and Yosi was restricted by Luke Shaw. Barcelona's right offensive channel could not be opened, so they could only go to the left more often.

………………

Coutinho is indeed very strong!
Although many people say that he has not been able to continue his good form at Liverpool and his performance has not met the expectations of the fans and the club, this Brazilian is still very magical. Almost as long as the ball is at his feet, anyone, even if three players double-team him at the same time, he can protect the ball and pass it out.

He can pass the ball easily, as if any defensive player is useless in front of him.

The goal just now seemed to be a cross from Alba, but before that, Coutinho's pass allowed Alba to get rid of Rashford, and the receiving and crossing were done at the same time.

This is the world's top superstar!

With Mourinho's successive adjustments, Manchester United stabilized. Van Dijk took on more responsibilities to keep a close eye on Suarez, and Maguire began to free up his hands to assist Cancelo. In this way, Manchester United's entire right half of the defense was stabilized.

By restricting Barcelona's left side, Manchester United's defensive task was mostly completed. In addition, Luke Shaw restricted Yosi on the right side, so Barcelona's two wings could no longer gallop freely.

After the defense line was stabilized, Mourinho immediately made adjustments and the team's entire defense line slowly pressed forward.

Barcelona's defense pushed across half the court, while Manchester United's defense tried hard to get out of the penalty area, which flattened the formations of both teams and revealed a huge space behind Barcelona.

This is the area that Mourinho mentioned during the pre-match attack drills as Manchester United's key counterattack area.

Harry Kane and Rashford are two points, and Mbappe is a sharp knife!

………………

It's easy to say it in theory, but it's very difficult to practice it on the court.

Barcelona's excellent passing and ball control skills, the players' individual abilities, and the advantage of the devil's home court left Manchester United with few counterattack opportunities, especially in the first half. And in the few opportunities, it was not easy to quickly create threats and cooperate.

Manchester United has a targeted tactic, and Barcelona also has a targeted tactic. If they can't grab the high point, they will try to control the second landing point.

The Red Devils counterattacked several times near the front line, and although they got the first point, they were never able to pass the ball well for the second point.

Roberto followed Mbappe throughout the game. It was obvious that Valverde's strategy was exactly the same as Mourinho's strategy against Yosi.

He would rather sacrifice Roberto's attack on the right and freeze Mbappe.

Of course, none of this was beyond Mourinho's expectations.

Before the game, he had repeatedly told the players that Barcelona would dominate the first half. At this time, they still had their energy and were playing at home, so their attacking firepower was definitely strong.

Facing Barcelona in the first half, if Manchester United could maintain their defense, it would be a success. However, launching a counterattack would only depend on luck. The team really wanted to exert its strength in the second half.

………………

The game went as Mourinho expected before the game. The only mistake was Fred's in the 14th minute, which resulted in a goal.

After that, Manchester United stabilized their defense. Barcelona launched several offensives but failed to break Manchester United's goal. Although Barcelona had four or five shooting opportunities, they were either long shots or barely kicked. There were no real threatening shots, but Manchester United also paid the price of two yellow cards.

One time, Van Dijk pushed Suarez from behind, and the other time, Rashford tackled Alba in the frontcourt.

In the 38th minute of the game, Mbappe got a chance on the right. When he was about to dribble the ball, Roberto decisively fouled and was shown a yellow card by the referee.

"Manchester United quickly takes a free kick in the frontcourt."

"Bruno passed the ball to the front post and Harry Kane headed it in!"

“A little too high!”

"That was Manchester United's most threatening shot in the first half."

"It was a free kick opportunity from the right front court created by Mbappe, but Harry Kane didn't take it."

"Goal kick for Barcelona."

……

As Barcelona sent a goal kick, Manchester United retreated back to their own half. It was already the 38th minute of the first half.

Soon, it jumped to thirty-nine minutes.

Barcelona still controlled the ball, but although Manchester United was one goal behind, the situation was not chaotic at all. The players on the court still appeared very calm and full of fighting spirit, especially after the team created a threat.

At this moment, Manchester United is like a shark that has smelled blood, ready to chase and bite at any time.

(End of this chapter)