Chapter 1050 Showdown (3)

The ball reached Pique's feet, and Barcelona continued to control the ball, attracting Manchester United players to press.

Manchester United started the game proactively and did not lose any momentum. Facing Barcelona who had the ball, Manchester United continued to press hard.

After the initial panic, Barcelona gradually adapted to Manchester United's pressing rhythm. The passing and cutting cooperation in the backcourt became smoother, and the speed through the midfield became faster and faster.

In the 6th minute, Barcelona broke Manchester United's frontcourt press and sent the ball to the frontcourt. Harvey made a cross from the right, and Pedro suddenly started to shake off Ferdinand and missed the shot from 7 meters away.

In the 10th minute, Iniesta passed the ball to Xavi, and Xavi made a cross from the left rib. Villa avoided Vidic's frontal defensive shot from 25 meters away and missed the right post.

Two minutes later, Villa once again received a pass from Messi, and his right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area was saved by Edwin van der Sar.

Barcelona's three consecutive shots all passed through the midfield quickly, and then Manchester United's frontcourt pressing players had no time to return to defense. Barcelona got the opportunity when the numbers were equal.

Ferguson felt bad. If Manchester United continued to press, it was very likely that Barcelona would score first.

In a strong dialogue, the side that scores first has a huge advantage. In the first 12 minutes, Manchester United did not have as many opportunities as Barcelona through pressing, so it is not worthwhile to continue to take risks and attack.

Ferguson was very decisive in his on-the-spot command. He immediately asked Rooney to step back ten meters, give up the pressure on Barcelona's defenders, and press Barcelona's midfield with all his strength, preventing Barcelona from organizing the offense.

Ferguson's tactical adjustment is very critical. Manchester United concentrated its troops in the midfield, destroying Barcelona's passing and cutting cooperation. As the space became smaller and the number of people increased, Barcelona's passing success rate dropped rapidly. Messi and Ines It became difficult for the tower to pass through, and it was also difficult for Harvey to send out fatal through balls.

Rooney retreated and Manchester United fought hard in the midfield, reducing Barcelona's threat to their defense and keeping themselves away from Barcelona's goal.

There is a big gap between Manchester United's passing ability and Barcelona's, especially since Scholes, Giggs and Nani are not here. It is very difficult for them to send the ball to the opponent's frontcourt like Barcelona, ​​so Manchester United can only adopt long passes. Play behind Barcelona and use speed to attack Barcelona's defense.

With Scholes and Carrick not playing, only Ferdinand and Gao Xiaodong can provide accurate long passes for Manchester United.

Ferdinand is a central defender and his attacking distance is too far. His long passes can only be made occasionally. Manchester United can only rely on Gao Xiaodong to initiate long pass attacks.

What Barcelona players fear most is Gao Xiaodong’s ability to score goals.

They don't attach much importance to Gao Xiaodong's long passing ability in the backcourt, and they don't think Gao Xiaodong has the same long passing skills as Scholes.

In the 15th minute of the game, Gao Xiaodong got the ball in the backcourt. He glanced ahead and hit a 40-meter-long low ball that accurately found Rooney who was advancing along the right.

Rooney shook off full-back Alves and swept a cross into the penalty area.

When Rooney was advancing, Hernandez was also advancing. He turned quickly and Pique was left far behind.

Fortunately, Barcelona has a tall and fast central defender. Mascherano kept up with Hernandez at this critical moment. He pulled and pulled to slow down Hernandez's forward speed. The ball difference It flew past Hernandez's toes and flew out to the other sideline.

Although Manchester United did not have a shot this time, the offense of Gao Xiaodong, Rooney and Hernandez posed a huge threat to Barcelona's goal.

However, Manchester United's long-pass attack did not arouse Barcelona's high alert. Barcelona's defense was honest for only five minutes, and then continued to press forward, burning the battle near the center circle.

Gao Xiaodong likes this offensive and defensive method very much. Before the game, he believed that Manchester United was unable to compete with Barcelona. Even if Ferguson designed a high-position pressing tactic, Gao Xiaodong was not optimistic about it because he had played against Barcelona in the past two years. Knowing the horror of Barcelona's passing control, almost no team in world football can successfully press at a high position. The only way to win against Barcelona is through defensive counterattacks.

The reason why Ferguson designed such a tactic before the game was because Manchester United eliminated Barcelona three years ago with ugly defensive counterattacks three years ago. This time he wanted to change his style of play. Of course, when Ferguson did this, he still did not think Barcelona Stronger than Manchester United, I think Manchester United can give Barcelona a try, although bookmakers and many media are optimistic about Barcelona winning the championship.

However, facts have proven that Barcelona's overall strength is stronger than Manchester United. Although Barcelona was forced into a panic by Manchester United five minutes before the opening, after Barcelona adapted, Manchester United's high press did not have much effect.

Ferguson did not want to change his tactical design, he was simply forced into helplessness. If Manchester United continued to press at a high position, Barcelona would very likely score the goal.

The reason why Ferguson has achieved such great success is that he is not stubborn and can keep pace with the times. When he sees something is wrong with his tactics, he immediately makes changes.

In the 22nd minute of the game, Busques received the ball and passed Rooney's press, and found Xavi with a direct pass.

When Xavi received the ball, Gao Xiaodong quickly came over to steal the ball. Xavi made a circle and then wanted to pass the ball diagonally to Messi.

Harvey's circle technique is almost 100% accurate, because when he passes the ball, most opponents do not turn around and cannot interfere with Harvey's pass.

However, this time Harvey faced Gao Xiaodong, who was dressed in black technology. Gao Xiaodong did not turn around completely, but his super glasses allowed him to see Harvey's movements.

When Harvey passed the ball, Gao Xiaodong stretched out his leg behind him and intercepted Harvey's through ball.

Harvey didn't expect the ball to be blocked at all. He rushed over to grab the ball again, but Gao Xiaodong rushed over and bumped Harvey with his shoulder, knocking Harvey staggering.

Harvey lost his center of gravity and the ball was easily won by Gao Xiaodong.

Gao Xiaodong saw the situation in the frontcourt before he got the ball. When he got the ball, he saw that Hernandez and Rooney had already started to move alertly, especially Hernandez, who collided with Gao Xiaodong. It started during maintenance.

Hernandez expressed his trust in Gao Xiaodong with his actions, and Gao Xiaodong lived up to his trust. Gao Xiaodong swung his legs hard and whipped out a long pass. The ball was very fast and flew past the midfielder and defender like lightning. , falling between the defender and goalkeeper.

Hernandez dodged past Pique and Mascherano, removed the ball with his instep at the penalty area line, faced the attacking Valdez with a push from the arch of his foot, and the ball rolled under Valdez's armpit. Into the net.

However, just when Hernandez raised his hand to celebrate, he found that the linesman had already raised the flag.

This ball is offside!

Hernandez was very angry. He rushed over to protest to the referee Kaushoy. He believed that he was not offside. He just watched the defender run.

Ferguson on the sidelines was also angry and roared into the stadium. He also believed that Hernandez was not offside and this was a misjudgment.

But the referee Kaushoy believed in his companion. He waved at Ferguson and asked him to return to the coaching bench, and then asked Barcelona goalkeeper Valdes to serve and continue the game.

Although the Manchester United players were dissatisfied, they had no choice but to go back and continue the game.

After all, they couldn't watch the video, and they weren't sure whether the ball was offside or not.