Chapter 927: Unpredictable Substitutions

Arsenal had an absolute advantage on the field, but it was Manchester United who scored first.

Seeing Rooney rushing to the stands with his arms raised and shouting wildly at the fans in the stands, the Arsenal people could only shake their heads and sigh, complaining that God was unfair.

Sky Sports commentator Andy Gray sighed: "Rooney is really destined to Arsenal. His first Premier League goal was a stunning Arsenal goal. Arsenal clearly had the upper hand this time, but Rooney's follow-up shot was another. Manchester United took the lead, but Rooney's goal must be thanked by Gao Xiaodong and Hernandez. Without Gao Xiaodong's beautiful overhead pass and Hernandez's clever forward shot, Rooney would not have been able to score. There might be a chance to score this time."

Rooney did not forget Gao Xiaodong and Hernandez. After celebrating with the fans, he immediately turned around and hugged Gao Xiaodong and Hernandez who ran over.

Ferguson on the sidelines was very satisfied with the goal, but he was not as excited as the assistants and substitutes. Manchester United was full of injured soldiers, and Arsenal's attack power was very strong. One goal could not determine the final result, and it would be more difficult later.

Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger was very disappointed. Manchester United had injured so many people and played six defenders. It was Manchester United who scored first. The game was really unplayable. Wenger felt that Ferguson was really lucky. Regardless of the league or the Champions League, he can always turn danger into disaster at critical moments. Mad, did this old guy save the earth in his previous life?

The game continued, and Arsenal, who were lagging behind, launched a more fierce attack on Manchester United.

Although Manchester United played at home, the defeat in the last double-red club taught Ferguson a deep lesson. Even with ten generals injured, Ferguson was very pragmatic. Not only did he send out 6 defenders, but Gao Xiaodong was also moved by him. Given a heavy defensive task, in short, Arsenal can pass from the wing, but will never give him a chance to break through in the middle of the penalty area.

Arsenal has many good offensive players, but there are too few players who can grab points. Although the Dutch striker Robin van Persie is strong, there are two central defenders watching him. Gao Xiaodong comes over from time to time to help defend. Van Persie basically can't even touch the ball. , let alone shooting.

Even so, after Manchester United scored, Arsenal still got two shooting opportunities through their delicate cooperation. However, Van Persie got rid of the two central defenders in the middle and the shot was blocked by Gao Xiaodong with his legs. Then Nasri received Wilshere's shot. He broke into Manchester United's penalty area from the ribs. Smalling brought down Nasri when he made a clearance. Nasri asked for a penalty kick, but referee Foy ignored it.

Manchester United then launched a counterattack, but Rooney made a pass error under the pressure of two defenders and the ball was intercepted by Arsenal.

There was one minute of stoppage time in the first half. Neither Manchester United nor Arsenal could form a threatening attack in this minute. The referee Foy blew the whistle to end the first half.

During halftime,

Arsenal made no substitutions, but Manchester United, who was leading the score, made substitution adjustments.

Defender O'Shea, who plays midfielder, comes off and 18-year-old rookie midfielder Pogba comes on.

Under normal circumstances, winning is a no-brainer, but Ferguson, who was leading the score, made substitution adjustments. Not to mention the fans couldn't understand, even Ferguson's old rival Wenger didn't understand.

"What kind of trick is this old guy playing? He actually replaced him with a child? Looking down on Arsenal and training new people? No, there must be a conspiracy."

Wenger understands the characteristics of his compatriot Pogba, but does not think that Pogba's characteristics can play a big role against a team like Arsenal.

On-site commentator Andy Gray said: "Judging from the first half of the game, although Manchester United led the score, the situation was very passive and it was difficult to get the ball. Maybe Sir Alex hoped to use Pogba's ball control and breakthrough to help the ball. team, but Pogba can control the ball and break through against low-level teams. Is it still useful against a strong team like Arsenal? Maybe Sir Alex just wants to use Pogba's running ability to make up for it. Coles's shortcoming is that after all, O'Shea is too old and can't run well. In any case, Sir Alex Ferguson's adventurous spirit is worthy of admiration. Ordinary coaches will definitely not move when they are ahead, let alone Replace it with a young guy like Pogba."

After Pogba came on the field, Manchester United fans even paid more attention to him than Gao Xiaodong. Everyone wanted to know what role this 18-year-old could play in this powerful dialogue.

Is he as blockbuster as Rooney back then, or is he making frequent mistakes and mediocre performance.

Arsenal had an excellent scoring opportunity at the start of the second half.

After Arsenal passed the ball through the midfield, they passed it continuously on the wing and in the middle. When the ball was passed to Wilshere's feet again, Arsenal center back Koscielny suddenly inserted into the ribs of Manchester United's penalty area from the back row. Wilshere had an excellent overall view, and he immediately passed a through ball to Koscielny.

Manchester United's midfield defense is basically a carrot and a pit. Everyone has someone to defend. Central defender Koscielny stepped in and no one was marking him. It was too late for Pogba to fill this position. Koscielny Ni put the ball into the penalty area and shot.

Koscielny's forward move was very good, like an attacking midfielder, but his true nature was revealed with the shot, and the ball hit goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar directly.

The distance was too close and Van der Sar had no time to react. The ball hit him and bounced in front of Koscielny.

Koscielny once again pushed the shot into the near corner with the arch of his foot, but goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar made a magical save. He saved Koscielny's inevitable goal again from the bottom line.

"God! It's too dangerous!"

The Manchester United fans in the stands screamed, and Ferguson even shouted nervously towards the stadium. .

Pogba was a little frustrated and felt that Koscielny's threatening shot was caused by his own mistake.

Gao Xiaodong saw Pogba's worry and came over to comfort him and said: "It doesn't matter. It's difficult for veteran players to judge when the defender comes in. Don't be afraid of mistakes. I'll watch it for you. Go ahead and defend this corner kick."

After hearing what Gao Xiaodong said, Pogba felt better and gained some confidence, so he quickly ran into the penalty area to defend the corner kick.

Pogba is 1.9 meters tall. Ferguson sent him up to compete for heights. After all, Gao Xiaodong, Scholes, Rooney and Hernandez in the frontcourt are all short. With Pogba as tall as Being tall, you can fight for headers forward and increase your air defense capabilities when you move backward.

Pogba is marking Arsenal's main defender Koscielny.

Koscielny also wanted to bully Pogba's youth and resist Pogba's header, but Pogba's strength was not compromised. He got stuck in his position and cleared the ball with a header.

After this clearance, Pogba became more confident, and then he took advantage of his height and long legs. Not only did he get ahead of the central defender to push away Arsenal's high-altitude balls, he also used his long legs to complete two Steals.

Although Ferguson did not just use his defense to let Pogba play, Pogba's ability to play a role in defense can be regarded as meeting Ferguson's basic requirements.