Chapter 1,055 The Harvest of Adventure
Gao Xiaodong led his teammates in a sudden attack. The goal was not all to score. Of course, it was best to score, but it didn't matter if he didn't. Gao Xiaodong mainly wanted to create a little tension for Barcelona and prevent them from controlling the ball calmly.
Gao Xiaodong's goal was achieved. Manchester United caught Barcelona off guard. In the remaining minutes of the first half, Barcelona seemed a little nervous when they took possession of the ball. They were not as relaxed and comfortable as before, and they did not dare to devote all their energy when attacking. With the strength of the team, three or two people should always be left behind to defend to prevent Manchester United from counterattacking.
In the last few minutes of the first half, Barcelona did not dare to attack with all its strength, and Manchester United could not get out of the hole easily. Neither side created any shooting opportunities until the end of the first half.
In the first half, Manchester United and Barcelona tied 1:1. No one took advantage of the opponent in terms of score, but Barcelona had the upper hand on the scene, and they mainly controlled the ball and consumed less physical energy. If Manchester United did not change their strategy , the second half could be very difficult.
The fans in the stands did not care about this. They felt that the first half was very exciting and intense, and they were very happy that their team had not suffered a loss. When the players came off the field, the fans bid farewell with warm applause and cheers. got them.
The Manchester United players returned to the locker room, and head coach Ferguson happily hugged the three scorers Gao Xiaodong, Rooney, and Evra, and praised their performance in the first half.
Later, Ferguson admitted without hesitation that he had made a mistake in judging the strength of both sides. Ferguson believed that Barcelona's strength had been greatly improved compared to three years ago. The current overall strength of Manchester United was still a little worse than Barcelona. It is unwise to attack, and defensive counterattack is still the most promising tactic to win.
Although Manchester United practiced full-court pressing tactics before the game, defensive counterattacks were Manchester United's most common tactic, and they were familiar with it. Ferguson didn't need to say more. After giving brief instructions, he talked to the players one by one and gave them guidance. Problems arose in the first half of the game.
Finally, Ferguson called Gao Xiaodong to his lounge and asked: "Gao, at the forty minute mark, you were the one who decided to press high."
Gao Xiaodong didn't know what Ferguson meant by asking this question. He looked at Ferguson's face. Ferguson's expression was calm, with no emotion or anger. Gao Xiaodong had no choice but to tell the truth, "Yes, I invited my teammates to join us in the robbery. "
Ferguson still asked calmly: "Why are you doing this? Don't you know that if Barcelona breaks our high position, we will be in great danger?"
Gao Xiaodong said: "I know, but I think if Barcelona keeps controlling the ball like this and we can't do anything, we will be in danger, and our psychological pressure and physical energy consumption will be great."
Ferguson said: "If you can't steal the ball and get counterattacked,
You need to catch up immediately, the physical energy consumption will not be greater. "
Gao Xiaodong smiled and said: "We don't always grab it, but we just grab it occasionally. It won't have much impact on our physical fitness, but Barcelona will be frightened. They don't know when we will grab them again."
Ferguson smiled this time and said: "You are quite a kid. Yes, this is a good decision. I asked you to give up the high post during the game. I don't have time to tell you in detail. In fact, my thoughts are the same as yours. We have to play like this in the second half. It's like robbing them from time to time to prevent them from controlling it so comfortably. This time is up to you."
Gao Xiaodong was very happy to receive recognition from Ferguson. This is a legendary coach. He agreed that he has certain tactical options on the court. This is a very high honor. It also affirms Gao Xiaodong's status in the team. Gao Xiaodong began to dream of becoming a captain again.
In another locker room, Guardiola was criticizing and motivating Barcelona's players. After losing to Manchester United in the 2008 semifinals, as Barcelona became increasingly powerful domestically and in Europe, they have been looking for opportunities for revenge. Now the opportunity has come. , but Barcelona's performance in the first half was not very good, with only a slight advantage, and the opponent evened the score under unfavorable circumstances.
Guardiola believes that the player's rhythm is still slow, and the backcourt can slowly control the ball. When reaching the frontcourt, the speed of passing and receiving should be accelerated. Don't be afraid of mistakes and counterattacks. If you lose the ball, you can counterattack on the spot.
Guardiola said: "The only midfielder in Manchester United is Gao Xiaodong who can pass the ball and organize the ball. Can't you still control this? He created Manchester United's two most threatening opportunities in the first half. In the second half, I guess Manchester United With Scholes or Giggs, their offense will change more, but the pressing and running will be worse. At that time, the competition is who can seize the opportunity better. Three years ago, our opponent stepped on us and scored. I won the championship in the finals. I hope you won’t let me down this time and don’t let yourself regret it.”
Guardiola then called Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, Mascherano and Messi together and talked with them in detail about the offensive and defensive details of the second half.
The 15-minute break passed quickly, and the players from Barcelona and Manchester United returned to the court.
Obviously, the score of 1:1 was unsatisfactory for both sides, so no one took the lead in making substitutions and continued the battle with the original team.
In the first half, Manchester United pressed the whole game from the beginning. This time Manchester United started steadily and stood in their own half waiting for Barcelona to attack.
After Guardiola's midfield tactical adjustments, Barcelona's style of play has changed slightly, which is to let center backs Pique and Mascherano take turns to break the opponent's defensive formation.
This adjustment is risky, because if the ball is intercepted and counterattacked, the back will be empty, but the benefits are obvious. In the first half, Manchester United mainly started to press near the center circle. This not only compressed Barcelona's passing space, but also reduced the number of defenders. Yes, the sudden intervention of the central defender can prevent the opponent from finding the corresponding defender, creating space for Messi and Iniesta or the opportunity for individual breakthroughs.
This adjustment was too risky, and Ferguson didn't expect it. He didn't expect Guardiola to be so bold and dare to do this in the Champions League final. So when Pique and Mascherano pushed forward, sometimes no one stepped forward to defend. Sometimes it becomes two people rushing to defend together, disrupting Manchester United's midfield defensive formation.
In the 49th minute, Barcelona center back Mascherano quickly jumped into the attack.
Mascherano was originally a defensive midfielder, but was transformed into a central defender at Barcelona. He has the skills and speed to penetrate forward.
In order to defend Mascherano, Fletcher went up, and Evra on the left side of Manchester United's defense had to cover the middle, thus exposing the gap on the left side.
Pedro took Park Ji-sung away, Mascherano passed the ball to Iniesta, Xiaobai distributed the ball in the middle, Alves quickly inserted into the penalty area and shot hard, but the ball was blocked by Van der Sar, and Messi hit the ball at a high speed in the middle. Follow up, grab the point and shoot again, Evra uses his body to block the ball from the baseline.
2 minutes later, Pique moved forward again, disrupted the defense and passed to Xavi. Xavi and Iniesta passed the ball consecutively, and then Iniesta made a wonderful pass to Messi. At this time, Manchester United's defense was already in chaos. , when Fletcher came to press, Messi predicted in advance, took the ball one step past Fletcher, and then decisively shot from the front of the penalty area with his right foot, which he is not good at. Van der Sar was not prepared enough, and again Vidic blocked his view, and before he could make a save, the ball went into the lower right corner of the goal.
Messi scored for the first time in England, Barcelona 2-1 Manchester United.
This is also Messi's 12th goal. He is only two goals behind Gao Xiaodong in the Champions League scorer list. If he can score a hat trick, he will share the Champions League Golden Boot with Gao Xiaodong.