Football: Starting from the Ronaldo Template

Chapter 306 Route 66

“It’s in, it’s in!”

"Manchester United was suppressed by Liverpool for 50 minutes and finally seized the opportunity of counterattack to equalize the score!"

"And the process of this goal is so magical."

"Chu didn't know when to retreat, not only disrupting Fabinho's long-range shot, but also taking advantage of the situation to complete a wonderful long-distance attack."

"In the 53rd minute of the second half, Manchester United equalized the score!"

Neville clenched his fists and roared.

Old Trafford also began to boil, with tens of thousands of Manchester United fans cheering loudly, making the cheers echo in every corner of the stadium.

Rashford even performed a passionate kneeling slide.

Now that Manchester United often plays in a 4312 formation, he rarely starts. In today's extremely important game, he scored a crucial goal against Liverpool. The feeling of being so dynamic is simply indescribable.

"I knew you could break through, so I kept following you!"

Rashford and Chu Feng high-fived each other.

Regardless of whether a quick counterattack can be effective or not, there is one thing the players must do - that is, they cannot just stand by and watch, but must try their best to keep up.

This is Mourinho's minimum requirement for his players.

There are many miracles in the history of football, but without exception, there are prerequisites, that is, the players cannot give up voluntarily.

Miracle of Camp Nou, Miracle of Istanbul
Although the goal that Manchester United scored against Liverpool just now was far from the standard of a miracle, it also reflected the mental state of Manchester United players.

"I didn't even have time to look back. If the ball had been passed to Van Dijk and Liverpool had counterattacked, we wouldn't have had anyone in the backfield and we would have conceded a goal."

Chu Feng felt a little scared when he thought about it.

But he didn't think so much at the time. He just thought about not wasting the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Fortunately, Rashford followed closely behind him.

"Indeed, it means luck is on our side. We must beat Liverpool today!"

Mahrez waved his arms.

He feels that during his time at Manchester United, he has the same feeling as he did at Leicester City, with everyone working together towards the championship.

This is the best environment for the players.

"It's almost sixty minutes, everyone, make an effort, we can only win at home!"

Chu Feng led the Manchester United players back.

When passing by the Liverpool players, Van Dijk frowned and raised his head. Liverpool's defense on Chu Feng could be said to have reached its extreme.

How could he still seize the opportunity?

No, it should be said that opportunities are created proactively.

Van Dijk carefully recalled the process of scoring the goal.

Chu Feng was very stealthy when he retreated, and he chose the timing very cleverly. He originally wanted to follow in and defend closely, but was thrown away due to being caught off guard.

Pressing forward further would cause gaps in the defense line, and Chu Feng could easily break through the defense with a diagonal pass. With Robertson's speed, he would definitely not be able to catch up with Mahrez.

There is nothing wrong with choosing to stay where you are and defend.

But who could have known that Chu Feng would run a long distance and pass Milner and himself successively. Although he interfered with Chu Feng's touch of the ball in the end, that flash of inspiration with his heel pass directly made Liverpool's efforts come to naught.

"It doesn't matter. Next time, observe the surrounding situation before receiving the ball. Don't give Manchester United players the opportunity to sneak attack. Now we should just treat the game as if it has just started. Our goal is still a more advantageous away goal."

Henderson shouted soothingly.

He is not worried that his teammates will lose their balance, but that they will be cautious when handling the ball.

"Don't worry, Manchester United should be the ones panicking now. Let's defend for a while, and then..."

Van Dyke also echoed.

Mourinho has targeted tactics, doesn’t Klopp have any?
In fact, since Manchester United won the Premier League title last season, it has become the subject of research for the whole of Europe. There is an old saying: "It has always been easy to conquer the world, but it is more difficult to keep it!"

They put Manchester United's strengths and weaknesses under a microscope and studied them carefully.

Chelsea, which was originally coached by Conte, fell into decline in an instant because of this and ultimately failed to get back on its feet.

Even Mourinho was prepared for the worst and studied many new tactics.

but.
Klopp walked to the bench, looked at Arnold and said: "Manchester United has a natural disadvantage on the right side. They lack mobility when Kante is missing. Even if they run very actively, they still can't cover up this defect."

“When you come on the field later, don’t hesitate. Keep attacking Manchester United’s right side and pull their defensive resources to the same side. Then we will move the ball over a large area to create an offensive advantage on the opposite side.”

Manchester United's right-back Luke Shaw is very serious in training and attitude, but he has broken his leg before.

Modern medicine has not been able to restore him to his original state.

Therefore, it is inevitable that there will be sequelae, the weakening of explosive power and the decrease of mobility have led to a significant weakening of his defensive ability.

Same with McTominay.

It's just that he didn't suffer any serious injuries, it's just because of his physique and characteristics.

Arnold's eyes were shining with excitement. As a native Liverpool man, his hatred for Manchester United was self-evident.

Besides, Chu Feng's mention of "Route 66" made him be laughed at by everyone.

No young man with blood in his veins could tolerate this!
Arnold has been holding back his determination to defeat Manchester United today and return all the shame to Chu Feng.

"I see!"

Arnold responded excitedly, then put on his vest and went to the warm-up area to warm up.

The game on the green field has begun.

Manchester United took advantage of the high morale and launched a fierce attack on Liverpool.

Chu Feng is no longer confined to the front of the penalty area, but is running around like a headless fly. However, if you analyze his running route carefully, you will find that he is shuttling back and forth in Liverpool's formation, seeming to interfere with the movement of Liverpool's overall defense.

59nd minute of the second half.

Rashford, who was in good form, was faster than Milner and shot directly with his right foot after an urgent stop.

The quality of this shot is very high.

Alisson also made a world-class save, stretching out his hand and barely pushing the ball over the crossbar, causing Manchester United fans to express regret.

As Manchester United's offensive gradually increased, the intensity of the confrontation also increased.

When Rashford wanted to repeat the same trick, Milner tackled without saying a word, violently shoveling both the player and the ball out of the sideline.

Moreover, Milner touched the ball first, and even though the resulting movement was a bit big, the referee did not give him a yellow card, but only gave him a verbal warning.

Rashford rolled on the ground a few times, rubbed his calves and quickly got up.

Manchester United are not in the habit of diving.

When Ronaldo first came to Manchester United, he liked diving. Ferguson not only dissuaded Ronaldo with words, but also asked Keane and others to make tackles during training.

This will help Ronaldo learn his lesson.

But that doesn't mean Manchester United will retreat. In just three minutes, they launched a strong counterattack against Liverpool.

Mane was also dribbling the ball on the wing, and Wan-Bissaka seized the advantage and knocked Mane directly out of the baseline. If there was not some distance between him and the billboard, Mane might have hit the reporter on the sidelines.

Mane was extremely angry when he stood up and almost attacked Wan Bissaka.

If Firmino hadn't dissuaded the player in time, Liverpool would probably have been playing with one less player, which made Klopp terrified.

When Mane first joined Liverpool, his personality was relatively kind, but I don't know when he started to become more and more emotional, like a willful child. For example, in the Premier League not long ago, because Salah was too sticky in the frontcourt, Mane cursed directly on the spot.

In the end, he was substituted off the field.

Fortunately, Firmino is one of the Red Arrows. He is the contact point between the two during the game and is also good at reconciling the relationship between the two outside the game.

Wan Bissaka felt a little sorry when he saw this.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Klopp made a substitution.

Arnold replaces Milner.

"Route 66 came on as a substitute, and his abysmal defence will definitely lead to a drop in Liverpool's defensive intensity on the flanks."

"According to WhoScored, Alexander-Arnold has been dribbled past most defenders in the top five leagues this season."

"If I were Mourinho, I would choose to attack the right side."

“Moreover, Chu and Rashford can rotate and confuse Liverpool’s defense. Even if they can’t score, they can suppress Liverpool and reduce the pressure on the backcourt.”

Neville turned into "Brother Knows" and began to analyze the situation.

The more Carragher listened, the more it made sense. He couldn't help but worry about Arnold, and prayed in his heart that he would not make any mistakes.

"Manchester United still hasn't made any substitutions?"

Neville suddenly asked curiously.

He feels that given the current situation, Manchester United can make some adjustments and continue to strengthen their frontcourt attack.

"The game continues, Liverpool's rhythm has changed!"

Carragher's voice interrupted Neville's thoughts, and he couldn't help but look down at the green field.

It didn't matter that I saw this, my heart beat faster instantly and my hands clenched.

The ball was transferred to Arnold's feet. He boldly dribbled past Rashford, and then kicked a long pass across half the court!

Arnold's defensive level is indeed not very good, but no one will question his offensive ability.

As the ball spun towards the empty space on the left, Mane cut forward and took away Wan Bissaka, and a fierce confrontation ensued between Matic and Wijnaldum.

Wijnaldum is a typical hexagonal warrior.

Not only does he have excellent intercepting and stealing abilities, he also has a beautiful header, a powerful long shot, and accurate long passes.

Arguably the most underrated Liverpool player.

Wijnaldum did not get entangled with Matic, but headed the ball to his teammate who was in the middle, and Fabinho met the ball with a diagonal pass!
The football moved from left to right, and then from right to left, drawing a broken line.

It was this large-scale transfer that tore through Manchester United's defense!
The same tactic was used, Salah moved forward to contain Luke Shaw, and Arnold quickly moved forward along the sideline!
"Pretty!"

"After Arnold came on, the intensity of Liverpool's attack on the right side increased by several levels."

"As for Manchester United, they are still immersed in the previous rhythm, so now they can only watch their defense being broken by Liverpool!"

Carragher stared at Arnold and muttered to himself: "One more goal, one more goal, let Manchester United fall into hell!!!"

Under the gaze of all the fans.

Arnold suddenly changed direction and passed by McTominay.

In Liverpool's internal tests, Arnold's sprint speed is even higher than Mane and Salah.

While taking into account the speed advantage, Arnold also has good footwork skills.

McTominay turned around and hurriedly chased back, but he was already half a body length away from the ball. He could only remind Maguire loudly: "Go for it, don't let him shoot!"

Maguire has already taken action.

He knew he was slow to turn, so he turned sideways to the left in advance.

Because David Luiz is on the right side, as long as Arnold dares to break through there, he will be greeted with fierce attacks.

Not everyone is Chu, Arnold wants to break through continuously.

It’s too difficult!

However, Arnold did not break through, but passed the ball secretly!

Maguire subconsciously stretched out his foot, but still didn't touch the football. He turned his head and looked back.

"Salah!"

"After receiving the ball, he cut into the penalty area and shot directly into the far corner!"

“Ten cents!!!”

"Ten minutes later, five minutes after Arnold came on, Liverpool scored again!"

"Arnold used his passing skill to lead Liverpool's attack, allowing Salah's personal ability to be perfectly utilized!"

"Who dares to underestimate this 21-year-old young player!"

Carragher shouted excitedly.

All the worries in his heart disappeared, and were replaced by endless ecstasy. He didn't expect that Liverpool would take the lead again!
"Klopp's tactical suppression not only did not cause his own flank to explode, but instead opened up the situation from Manchester United's flank!"

"Classic attack to counter attack!"

"With two away goals in hand, the balance of victory has begun to tilt. Perhaps today will be the night when Manchester United's dream is shattered!"

Carragher teased Neville as he spoke: "Wijnaldum is Manchester United's nemesis. He is the first player to beat Manchester United by representing three teams, Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool."

In the away stands at Old Trafford, Liverpool fans were already boiling with excitement.

They shouted Arnold's name.

Salah, surrounded by his teammates, celebrated the goal wildly in the corner area.

"Is the game over? But I didn't hear the whistle. And! Liverpool has led Manchester United many times, but has rarely won the game." Neville answered in a bad tone.

It’s not like Manchester United hasn’t been led by Liverpool before?
In the two games last season, we led, reversed, led, and reversed again.
No one knows the result until the last moment of the game.

But Neville still had a bad feeling. Klopp seemed to have guessed Mourinho's plan, as could be seen from his tactical arrangements and adjustments.

Otherwise the second goal wouldn't be so easy.

Aren’t you going to change people yet?
Just as Neville was thinking this, the fourth official raised the sign and Ashley Young replaced Luke Shaw.

Mourinho rubbed his brows.

He was indeed a bit too arrogant and should have replaced Luke Shaw earlier. After all, with the experienced Ashley Young, the pressure of defending Salah would be much less.

A tiny mistake led to a goal.

"Tell Chu to let him and Rashford switch positions more frequently. We need to put enough pressure on Liverpool's right side."

Mourinho said in Ashley Young's ear.

Ashley Young nodded.

But Chu Feng was a little puzzled after hearing this. Considering the strength of Liverpool's defense, the effect of cross-position substitution would not be very good.

It would be better to just replace him with Lukaku and let him play as a left winger.

But he did not question Mourinho's decision. He nodded and said to his Manchester United teammates: "Don't be affected by Liverpool's goal. Follow our own pace. There will be no problem in equalizing or overtaking the score!"

(End of this chapter)