Chapter 1,129 Risky Tactics

The match between Manchester United and Tottenham was the last match of the second round of the Premier League. Among the 9 games played, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester City all won. Only Arsenal lost in the direct dialogue with Liverpool.

Before the game, all Manchester United's main defenders were injured, and Tottenham's core midfielder Modric was also absent due to off-field factors.

However, the impact of Modric's absence on Tottenham is less than that of Ferdinand and Vidic. Without Modric, Tottenham still have Van der Vaart and Bale, while Manchester United's replacements at center back are only Evans, Jones and Smalling.

Before the game, fans and the media were speculating about who Sir Alex would use as the starting central defender for this game, and whether Gao Xiaodong would make a cameo as a central defender. Gao Xiaodong was doing this job back then.

After the starting list came out, fans discovered that Ferguson was not unique this time, and it was basically a conventional configuration.

The goalkeeper is still De Gea, the back four is Fabio, Evans, Jones and Smalling, and the midfield four is Park Ji-sung, Gao Xiaodong, Nani and Carrick. Double forward Rooney and Hernandez.

The only thing that fans didn't expect in this starting lineup was Park Ji-sung.

Park Ji-sung was originally Manchester United's main midfielder and a regular starter. As he got older, Park Ji-sung's running ability for which he was famous declined, and he gradually became a marginal figure in the team.

Fans speculated that Ferguson asked Park Ji-sung to start because the midfield and backcourt were too young. The average age was only 23 years old. They wanted to have more experienced veterans in the lineup, but they also wondered why Ferguson didn't take Giggs' position. His abilities are much greater than those of Park Ji-sung.

The second round of the Premier League was Manchester United's first show at Old Trafford this season. The opponent was a powerful team like Tottenham. The Old Trafford Stadium was packed with more than 70,000 Red Devils holding fan scarves and singing the Manchester United anthem. , the atmosphere in the entire stadium was heated up even before the game started.

"Sky Sports" commentator, former Manchester United captain Gary. Neville believes that this is the first test since Gao Xiaodong became the captain. "Almost all the veteran players are injured, and Carrick and Park Ji-sung who can play do not have the prestige of Ferdinand, Vidic, Giggs and others. The team can The inability to fight a tough battle mainly depends on the performance of Gao Xiaodong and Rooney, especially Xiaodong. As the captain of Manchester United, this is his first test. I hope he can lead the team through the difficulties."

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the final round of the Premier League officially kicked off.

Manchester United, playing at home, did not be conservative because many of their main players were absent. They pressed forward quickly at the beginning and pressed the Tottenham players full court, making it impossible for their opponents to pass and receive the ball easily.

Tottenham were somewhat unprepared for Manchester United's full-court pressing style.

In the first two minutes, Park Ji-sung and Hernandez made a high-quality breakthrough on the wing. Hernandez made a pass, and Rooney suddenly made a diagonal pass from the center and headed the ball towards the goal.

The attack was fast and sudden, and the ball went straight to the lower right corner of the goal.

Fortunately, Tottenham goalkeeper Friedel was in a good position. He quickly fell to the ground and hit the ball to the wing with one palm.

Manchester United did not retreat after completing this attack. The defenders were still in the frontcourt preparing for the second attack. Manchester United's bravery was rewarded. The ball saved by Friedel was first caught by Tottenham player Kaboul, but after Nani Under the fierce fighting, Kabul made a mistake in the clearance and kicked directly in front of Carrick.

Carrick could give this ball to Gao Xiaodong, but Carrick did not think highly of Gao Xiaodong as the captain. There were no old players on the field, so Carrick regarded himself as the leader of the team. His chest stopped and he raised his feet. shoot.

Carrick still has some skills in long-range shooting. He pressed the ball well and went straight to the right side of the goal.

But Friedel had already climbed up and stood in position. He took a step sideways and flew to catch Carrick's long shot in his arms.

Friedel hugged the ball and wanted to counterattack, but Rooney reacted quickly. He quickly rushed in front of Friedel, stopped Friedel from serving, and gave his teammates time to retreat.

When Rooney got out of the way and Friedel took another big kick, the Manchester United players had returned to their positions and the ball was once again obtained by Manchester United.

Manchester United continued to attack. Park Ji-sung and Nani repeatedly attacked from the two wings. Gao Xiaodong came to the midfielder position to cooperate with Rooney and Hernandez in passing and cutting, and constantly used breakthroughs to create free kick opportunities.

Manchester United's wild attack made Manchester United fans tremble with fear.

Manchester United's defense is very unstable, and they may not be able to hold on if they are on the defensive, but it is also very dangerous to adopt this kind of full-court pressing tactic. Once Tottenham counterattacks, with Bell's speed, it will be very fatal.

Obviously, Tottenham were even less prepared for Manchester United's crazy attack. Under Manchester United's crazy attack, their shortcomings of missing midfielder Modric were fully revealed. Under pressure, lacking the ability to pass the ball to Bell or the forward, Manchester United quickly succeeded in counterattacking and launched another attack.

Under Manchester United's tidal attack, Tottenham's defense finally showed its flaws.

In the 8th minute of the game, Manchester United organized an attack on the right wing. Nani crossed to the ribs at a 45-degree angle. Rooney and Dawson fought for a header. Dawson barely touched the ball under Rooney's pressure. The ball was not far away and was cleared. Gao Xiaodong quickly threw away the defensive player and grabbed it.

Gao Xiaodong stopped the ball to the left with his chest, which was in the opposite direction to Bell who was rushing to grab the point. Bell couldn't stop the car and was passed by Gao Xiaodong.

After getting out of the way of Bell, Gao Xiaodong didn't wait for the ball to hit the ground and shot directly with his feet.

Gao Xiaodong's shot was very similar to Carrick's shot just now, but it was much more powerful.

It is said that the only martial arts skill in the world is fast. Although Friedel was ready to save, the ball was too fast and he flew up. His arms were not fully extended, and the ball roared in front of him and flew into the net.

1:0

Gao Xiaodong broke the deadlock for Manchester United with a long shot in the 8th minute. This was Gao Xiaodong's first goal this season and the first goal at Old Trafford this season.

After scoring the goal, Gao Xiaodong raised his hands in the air, ran to the stands, and knelt down on the sidelines.

"GOALGOALGOAL... high, high, high..."

"High, high, high..."

"Gao...we love you..."

…

Gao Xiaodong's goal set off the audience. More than 70,000 Red Devils stood up, waving towels and chanting Gao Xiaodong's name.

The on-site commentator He Hui burst out excitedly, "Beautiful long-range shot! Xiaodong finally scored! It's so beautiful! He did not disappoint the Chinese fans who came from afar. He proved that he is a Manchester United player in every game." At the core, he leads Manchester United forward in a different way every game..."

Ferguson has been standing and watching the game since the beginning. Because of too many injuries, he formulated a risky tactic today: attack + full-court press. He has no idea what the result will be. If Manchester United scores the goal first, he will score the goal early. , then winning is a high probability event. If you can't attack for a long time, you will probably be knocked down by Tottenham's counterattack.

Now that Gao Xiaodong has scored in the eighth minute, Ferguson's hanging heart is finally relieved. With this goal, the young players of Manchester United are more confident. Tottenham's psychological shadow is even greater, and the following games will be much easier to play. .

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