Chapter 1,189 It’s Great to Be Young

The first half was coming to an end when Giggs scored, and neither side did anything in the one-minute stoppage time. After the whistle blew, both sides returned to the dressing room unconvinced.

In the visiting team's dressing room, Ferguson hugged Giggs affectionately, patted his back and praised him for playing well.

Ferguson was dissatisfied with Manchester United's performance in the first half. Manchester United did not create several scoring opportunities in the first half. The equalizer relied on a flash of inspiration from Giggs.

According to the performance in the first half, it would be good for Manchester United to maintain the tie in the second half. However, Ferguson's first goal is not to just score one point. One point is only the minimum requirement.

Ferguson made adjustments to the starting lineup. If you want to win, you must add offensive players. After Gao Xiaodong retreated, the three midfielders were no longer necessary. Ferguson replaced Carrick with Hernandez, and the formation became 442. .

Ferguson not only adjusted his personnel, but also his tactics.

Manchester United's two forwards are not tall, and none of the four midfielders are good at heading the ball. Whether it is the wing or the center, it is definitely inefficient to kick the ball high.

Ferguson asked players to pass more ground balls, low balls, and behind the ball, using the bodies of Rooney and Gao Xiaodong, and the flexibility of Hernandez to attack Benfica's defense.

Benfica's two central defenders are very strong, and it is not easy to break through their defense. Ferguson asked the players to strengthen their long-range shots.

Even if the long shot cannot directly score, it may attract the defensive players, so that players like Gao Xiaodong and Rooney can use personal breakthroughs to tear apart Benfica's defense.

Ferguson's substitutions and tactical adjustments were timely and decisive. Benfica head coach Jesus is also an experienced coach. He also made adjustments to his lineup during the halftime break.

Jesus was dissatisfied with his performance on the right in the first half, believing that Giggs was missed on the right and should be responsible for conceding the ball.

Jesus replaced Amorim with Matic to strengthen the offense and defense on the wing.

At the beginning of the second half, Manchester United continued the momentum of the first half and continued to attack Benfica.

Although Benfica is not satisfied with the current score, they also understand that Manchester United is stronger than them. They do not attack as urgently as Manchester United. Instead, they stabilize their defense and take advantage of the situation.

Manchester United passed and cut several times in the middle, but could not break down Benfica's defense. They immediately moved to the right wing out of habit and launched an attack from the wing.

Valencia took the ball and walked along the wing towards the baseline.

Benfica's defensive players followed closely inside, not making easy moves and not giving Valencia a chance to cut inside or cross.

Valencia made two fake moves but failed to get away from his opponent. He had to pass the ball back to the right back Phil Jones who followed.

Benfica also kept a close eye on Valencia's return line, and Valencia's return was intercepted midway.

This is a good opportunity to fight back.

The ball was passed to Argentinian winger Gaitan, who had performed well in the first half.

Gaitan dribbled the ball from the left and rushed forward. After reaching the frontcourt, he passed directly across the penalty area to find forward Cardoso.

Cardoso made an emergency stop to catch the ball.

At this moment, Manchester United's defense was retreating. Cardoso made an emergency stop and no one could keep up.

Cardoso stopped the ball sideways with his chest and wanted to volley directly.

However, there was something wrong with Cardoso's control of the ball. When he stopped the ball with his chest, the ball actually hit his hand.

The referee didn't see it, but the linesman did and immediately raised the flag.

Cardoso didn't see the linesman raise his flag and then volleyed the ball into the net.

After scoring the goal, Cardoso raised his arms and ran wildly. He didn't know that the referee had called him a foul until he saw no fans or teammates celebrating.

Cardoso waved his hands and complained dissatisfiedly, thinking that the whistle sounded too late.

Benfica head coach Jesus didn't see Cardoso's handball clearly, and he angrily yelled at the referee, thinking it was a misjudgment.

Manchester United served from the backcourt and the ball was passed to Evra, allowing Evra and Giggs to attack from the left.

In the first half, Giggs and Evra's left wing played a big role in the offense, but after Jesus' midfield adjustment, Benfica's right wing performed very well in the second half and did not give Giggs and Evra any space. Opportunity for breakthrough.

Manchester United and Benfica continued to compete on the left. After changing the ball several times, Evra realized that it was difficult to open up the situation on the left. He passed the ball across to Fletcher and gave up the attack on the left.

Fletcher was the main defender, and he did not take Gao Xiaodong's job. He then passed the ball to Gao Xiaodong, allowing Gao Xiaodong to decide the direction and method of attack.

Gao Xiaodong had been observing in the middle, and he also saw the dilemma on the left. Gao Xiaodong did not continue to play on the left. After taking a few steps, he passed the ball to Valencia on the right.

Valencia was very smart this time. He did not attack directly to the bottom line, but first passed to Rooney in the middle.

Rooney passed back to Gao Xiaodong who was running in at high speed. Gao Xiaodong pushed the ball forward without stopping and just found Valencia who was running along the sideline without the ball.

After Valencia ran into position, he did not stop the ball at the baseline. He passed the ball directly to the penalty area.

Manchester United's wing attack was so sophisticated and fast that when Valencia passed the ball, neither the offensive nor defensive players arrived and could only watch the ball slide past.

Although Manchester United's attack did not result in a shot, the danger was not small.

Encouraged by this attack, United continued their onslaught down the right.

Right back Phil Jones received Gao Xiaodong's pass and broke through to the edge of the penalty area from the right under Valencia's cover.

Phil Jones was too excited with the ball. He missed the cross and then cut inside with the ball, trying to hit the goal himself. As a result, the ball was destroyed by Garay and went out of the sideline.

Valencia quickly served the ball from the sideline. Rooney took the ball in the frontcourt and passed it to Valencia. Valencia knocked back to Gao Xiaodong, and Gao Xiaodong shot a powerful long-range shot from the penalty area!

Benfica defended Gao Xiaodong more tightly with the ball, and Gao Xiaodong's shot was blocked by defender Louison.

Valencia continued to dribble the ball down, and the ball was shoveled out of the sideline by Emerson.

Manchester United was stubbornly blocked by the opponent on the right, and it was difficult to form a good shooting opportunity. After sending the ball from the sideline, Smalling passed the ball to Evra on the left, and the direction of the attack returned to the left.

Evra cooperated with Giggs and Gao Xiaodong on the left in consecutive one-twos. However, when approaching the opponent's 30-meter area, Evra's pass to Giggs was intercepted again.

Benfica launched a quick counterattack and the ball was passed to Aimar in the center.

Gao Xiaodong took a side step and did not return to the middle. Aimar dribbled the ball along the middle and headed towards Huanglong.

Only Fletcher is left in Manchester United's central defense.

Fletcher is also a veteran. He is experienced and does not panic when faced with this situation. He retreats and observes, waiting for his teammates to return to defense.

Fletcher's stability brought a turnaround for Manchester United's defense. Gao Xiaodong returned to the center as quickly as possible. He rushed towards Aimar from one side at high speed, trying to shovel the ball out.

Aimar had discovered Gao Xiaodong a long time ago. He deliberately continued to dribble the ball, but in fact he had already thought of a countermeasure. When he saw Gao Xiaodong fall to the ground and shovel, Aimar immediately stopped suddenly, dodged Gao Xiaodong, and continued to dribble forward.

Aimar felt that Gao Xiaodong had fallen to the ground, and without any worries, he boldly approached Fletcher, made a feint and changed direction, and threw Fletcher away.

Aimar was prepared for Fletcher to foul, but he did not expect that Fletcher did not make a foul action.

Isn’t it a bit unscientific for a player like Fletcher not to foul in this position?

When Aimar was confused and happy, Gao Xiaodong suddenly stepped in from behind and kicked the ball out.

Only then did Aimar realize that Fletcher had seen Gao Xiaodong coming up from behind.

This kid came so quickly! It’s great to be young!

Aimar was annoyed, surprised, and envious. This is the advantage of youth. If he were five years younger, Gao Xiaodong might not have the chance to destroy his ball.