Chapter 1,191 Small Victory

Benfica could not accept the result of losing at home. After Gao Xiaodong's goal, Benfica fought back with all its strength in an attempt to equalize the score.

Gao Xiaodong returned to the midfielder position. With the assistance of him and Fletcher, the speed and experience shortcomings of center backs Smalling and Evans were covered up, and their advantages in height and confrontation were fully demonstrated. Benfica completely took advantage of Manchester United's There is no way to defend.

After 80 minutes of the game, Benfica used up three substitutions and gave it a go. They attacked across the board, trying to use their numerical advantage to break through Manchester United's defense.

Manchester United is an experienced team, and the more critical the situation, the calmer they act.

Manchester United resisted Benfica's crazy attack while looking for opportunities to counterattack.

In the 85th minute of the game, Benfica made a mistake in passing the ball in the frontcourt. The ball was grabbed by Fletcher. Fletcher passed it to Gao Xiaodong. Gao Xiaodong did not stop the ball and kicked the ball directly behind Benfica's defense.

After a season of running-in, Rooney and Gao Xiaodong already have a deep understanding. When Fletcher passed the ball to Gao Xiaodong, Rooney started to start. When Gao Xiaodong passed the ball, Rooney accelerated sharply and passed the ball from Benfica. Two central defenders passed between them, creating an opportunity to go to the meeting alone.

Goalkeeper Arthur quickly attacked and tried to pounce on the ball at Rooney's feet, but Rooney didn't wait for him to pounce and shot directly. The ball rolled from Arthur's feet into the goal.

3:1

Rooney went alone to seal the victory for Manchester United.

After Rooney scored, Benfica became furious and had no scruples. There was no difference between conceding three and conceding four, and their offense became even crazier.

After Manchester United took a two-goal lead, they ran out of time and had no intention of scoring. They wanted to use up the last few minutes, but Benfica, who was beaten by the can, pulled a goal back in stoppage time.

Benfica's morale was boosted, but Manchester United was a little flustered. In the last two minutes of stoppage time, Benfica got two good shooting opportunities, but both fired anti-aircraft guns.

Fortunately, there was no time. In the end, Manchester United defeated Benfica 3:2 away from home and won a good start in the Champions League.

Although Benfica lost the game, they only conceded one goal and had a chance to equalize in the end, so it was considered an honor to lose.

After the game, Benfica forward Cardoso exchanged jerseys with Gao Xiaodong, while Hernandez exchanged jerseys with Aimar.

Benfica midfielder Aimar accepted a live interview with reporters.

Aimar said that although the result was disappointing, it was not unacceptable. Manchester United has always been the best team in the world and they will definitely get a qualifying spot. Benfica's goal is to get another qualifying spot.

Aimar also specifically talked about Giggs and Gao Xiaodong. Aimar said that Giggs is a role model for all professional players. It is absolutely a miracle that he can score in the Champions League at this age.

Aimar said that Gao Xiaodong is the soul of Manchester United and he dominated today's game. Aimar even said that Gao Xiaodong really reminded him of Argentina's hero Maradona.

Gao Xiaodong also accepted an interview with reporters.

Gao Xiaodong said that he did not expect this game to be so difficult. Maybe they underestimated the opponents in this group before the game and thought it would be too easy to qualify.

Gao Xiaodong believes that the process may not be pretty, but the result is still satisfactory. Benfica is Manchester United's biggest opponent. Being able to get three points in the away game is very important for Manchester United to win the first place in the group.

Regarding his performance, Gao Xiaodong only gave him a passing grade. He believed that although he scored a goal and had an assist, the team's advantage on the field was not outstanding. He believed that this was because he did not do a good job.

Finally, Gao Xiaodong also expressed regret that Yu Debao was not able to play. He hopes that the Chinese Derby can be staged in the next game in Manchester.

Gao Xiaodong, who scored one goal and assisted one, said that his performance was not good enough. Manchester United head coach Ferguson and his disciples actually felt the same. He also said at the post-match press conference that he did not pay enough attention to this game and his tactics lacked pertinence. There were no losses because the players played well.

Not enough. Then Ferguson said that Benfica is the strongest opponent in the group. The two opponents behind are not as strong as Benfica. Being able to win Benfica in the away game means that Manchester United has the initiative to be first in the group in its own hands. This pair of Manchester United Very beneficial.

Jesus, the head coach of the home team Benfica, emphasized after the game that they had a chance to get a point, but unfortunately there was not enough time. However, Jesus believed that Benfica gained confidence through this game and they were fully capable of getting a qualifying spot.

The Manchester United general did not take the other two opponents in the group to heart, but Benfica could not ignore them.

In another game played at the same time in this group, Switzerland's Basel defeated Romania's Galati 2:1 at home, so Basel ranked second in the group.

Jesus believes that both Basel and Galati are not weak. They are Benfica's biggest opponents. He can lose to Manchester United, but he must defeat Basel and Galati.

At the end of the second match day of the first round of the Champions League group stage, except for Inter Milan's upset at home, which was defeated by Trab, everything else was uneventful.

Although the match between Manchester United and Benfica was not pretty, they won after all. They are still the team most favored by bookmakers and the media, and are the favorites to win the championship.

Barcelona, ​​another favorite to win the championship, was tied by Milan at home. They are the only team among the major powers that has not won except Inter Milan. However, because their opponent is Milan, they are also favored by the outside world.

Chelsea and Bayern performed very solidly in this round. They both defeated strong opponents with 2 goals. They are not as strong as Manchester United and Barcelona, ​​but they are definitely capable of competing for the championship. In cup competitions like the Champions League, things that are overwhelming often happen. , so Chelsea and Bayern are also the favorites to win the championship.

After Manchester United played against Benfica, they did not have time to stay in this beautiful city because three days later, they would face Chelsea at home.

If Manchester United's mortal enemy in the Champions League is Barcelona, ​​then their biggest opponent in the league is Chelsea. The game with Chelsea can be called a 6-point game, and from the perspective of damaging the opponent's morale, it is more meaningful than 6 points. big. ,

Manchester United was going back to Manchester the next day. When other players were resting in the hotel after the game, Gao Xiaodong asked Ferguson for a day off to visit Yang Fan, Yu Debao and Hulk.

Gao Xiaodong was born in the Portuguese Super League and had many friends here. Ferguson also understood. He allowed Gao Xiaodong to take leave, but asked Gao Xiaodong not to drink and come back early.

Yang Fan, Yu Debao, Hulk and others had already found a hotel to wait for Gao Xiaodong to have a midnight snack. After Gao Xiaodong arrived, everyone was very excited and came over to hug Gao Xiaodong and express their feelings of farewell.

Hulk came over after waiting for the Porto players to finish the game. Although Porto and Lisbon are not far away, Gao Xiaodong was moved by this friendship.

Although Ferguson told Gao Xiaodong not to drink, Gao Xiaodong still drank a few bottles of beer with his friends and teammates back then, and played until one o'clock in the morning before returning to the hotel.

When Gao Xiaodong returned, Ferguson was still awake and had been waiting for Gao Xiaodong. Although Ferguson was a little angry, he did not criticize Gao Xiaodong and just told Gao Xiaodong to rest early.

Gao Xiaodong was ashamed and embarrassed to explain. He told Ferguson to go to bed early, then lowered his head and returned to his room.