Chapter 963 1 A Powerful Opponent Every Day

The slow motion on the stadium's big screen finally showed the entire process of Gao Xiaodong's goal.

After being knocked down by Barry, Gao Xiaodong got up immediately and ran towards the penalty area as fast as possible. However, when Valencia passed the ball, Gao Xiaodong suddenly changed direction and pointed backwards.

Not many fans noticed Gao Xiaodong's change at the time, but it turned out that Gao Xiaodong's movement was very critical. This is the forward's sense of smell. As a midfielder, it is difficult to achieve this step.

Gao Xiaodong's goal was a huge blow to Manchester City. After the opening, although Manchester City did not have much advantage on the scene, they played at their own pace. Except for Gao Xiaodong's goal, they did not give Manchester United too much. A good opportunity, and their counterattack is equally threatening.

However, Gao Xiaodong's goal broke Mancini's wishful thinking. It became difficult for him to stick to the defensive counterattack style. Manchester United, which was one goal ahead, would definitely reduce the number of troops invested in the offense, so that Manchester City's counterattack threat would be smaller. .

However, it is difficult for Mancini to make changes immediately at this time, because the game is only 23 minutes old, and the players on the field are all configured according to defensive counterattacks. It will not be of any benefit to Manchester City right away, and may allow the veteran Manchester United to strike while the iron is hot. Continue with one ball.

Mancini is also an experienced and scheming coach. He did not make tactical changes immediately. He called Kompany, Yaya Toure and other core players over to ask the players to calm down and continue playing according to the original tactics.

The players did not all agree with Mancini's decision, but they did not object and chose to support Mancini's decision.

Before the game, some Manchester City players had a small conflict with Mancini, but the prickly Tevez was put on the bench, Balotelli also reconciled, and other players also understood that they can't blame each other now. The most important thing is They worked together to defeat Manchester United and win the only possible FA Cup title.

Manchester United's players really slowed down the pace of the game after scoring. They hoped to see Manchester City attack impetuously, so that they would have the opportunity to quickly expand the score.

However, Manchester City did not rush forward after losing the goal and still played according to the original rhythm. This surprised the Manchester United players. They played two games with Manchester City this season. Although Manchester United double defeated Manchester City, it was difficult to win, and They also saw that their opponents were improving every time, which made Manchester United fans secretly frightened and strengthened the determination of Manchester United players to suppress the upward momentum of their rivals in the same city.

This is a game at Wembley Stadium, with hundreds of millions of fans around the world watching. Since Manchester City does not attack, as the Premier League hegemon, Manchester United, the world's top giant, can only continue to attack.

Manchester City's previous goals came from Gao Xiaodong's advanced position and forward attack. It cannot be said that Manchester City was not prepared for this. The main reason was that Gao Xiaodong attacked too fast, came and went like lightning, and there were two very imaginative personal attacks. The performance suddenly tore apart Manchester City's defense.

After losing the ball, Manchester City paid more attention to the defense of Gao Xiaodong's movement without the ball, especially the two villains De Jong and Barry. They also continued to make physical contact with Gao Xiaodong when they did not have the ball, preventing Gao Xiaodong from making forward connections.

Referee Quinn's energy was mainly focused on the players with the ball. When Gao Xiaodong was fouled, he did not get Quinn's attention. He did not even get a foul, but his speed and timing of the forward thrust were greatly affected. Impact.

Manchester City is very strong. After Mancini took over, after more than a season of running-in, it is now getting stronger and stronger. Although it is not yet able to compete with Manchester United, it is still capable of fighting. The quality of Gao Xiaodong's forward assists is not good. High, Scholes is old and doesn’t have much offensive power, and Carrick has to stay behind to defend. Even if Manchester United can form a cross from the wing, it will be difficult for Manchester City’s second defense to defend Berbatov, who does not have much explosive power. Not big.

At this time, to increase the offensive power of the frontcourt, only defenders can assist, or Nani and Valencia can use their personal abilities to cut in and shoot to increase the threat to the goal.

If the score is 0:0, Manchester United needs to score. At this time, a two-pronged approach is used, and all kinds of offensive magic weapons are used. But now, Manchester United is 1 goal ahead. Scoring is not the first priority, not conceding is the first priority. Naturally, they will not weaken their defense line to increase their attack power, so the two full-backs Evra and O'Shea did not all go up to support. Unless the opportunity is good, the two of them go up to assist, mainly relying on the frontcourt trio. Plus the offensive power of Gao Xiaodong and Scholes.

Manchester City blocked a wave of Manchester United's attack for almost ten minutes, finally regained its composure, and launched an attack on Manchester United under the leadership of Silva and Yaya Toure.

With the strong financial support of Mansour, Manchester City has still collected a group of talented and capable players. The reason why their previous record was ups and downs was mainly due to insufficient running-in. After the second half of the season, their results have actually been rising. .

Now that Manchester United's offensive has been frustrated, Manchester City has finally begun to show the power of the gold dollar to fans around the world.

In the 38th minute, Silva dribbled continuously on the right, passed Evra and then passed across the middle of the penalty area.

Balotelli's astute movement avoided Vidic and Ferdinand, and he got a fleeting shooting opportunity. He volleyed the ball without stopping.

But when the ball was passed over, it bounced on the turf. Balotelli kicked it empty. The ball missed him and Balotelli fell to the ground.

This caught everyone off guard. Vidic, who came to block, staggered when he intercepted, and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was knocked directly to the ground.

The ball missed the ball just in front of Barry, who was running forward. Barry was also a little unprepared. He chased the ball two steps, caught up with the ball 10 yards from the left rib, turned around and hit an empty goal, but this good opportunity was hit by him on the side netting.

Although Manchester City's attack was very dangerous, the scene just now was so funny that fans from both sides in the stands couldn't help laughing. It was just that the Manchester United fans laughed with a hint of fear, while the Manchester City fans smiled with fullness. Full of regret.

Although this erratic attack did not result in a goal, it boosted the morale and confidence of the Manchester City players. Subsequently, Manchester City's offensive flourished, pushing the formation forward by almost 20 meters.

Mancini was not dissatisfied because the players did not obey his orders. The situation on the court was changing rapidly. After Manchester City defended firmly, the morale of the army was stable, and a wave of attacks posed a great threat. At this time, it was good to take advantage of the situation and attack. It's a morale, and it's not like Manchester City doesn't have the ability to break through Manchester United's defense. In the previous two league games, Manchester City has broken through Manchester United's gate, but they just didn't hold on.

Manchester City's offensive choice was good. After Manchester United took the goal kick, Manchester City pressed hard and snatched the ball away. Silva once again broke through and passed the ball from the side.

The young Balotelli shot directly with his right foot from 30 yards. The kick was so powerful that goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar struggled to lift the ball over the crossbar.

Manchester City quickly took a tactical corner kick. Adam Johnson passed the ball across the penalty area. Manchester United missed the target. The unguarded Manchester City center back Lescott volleyed 6 yards from the goal. However, the defender's shooting skills were really touching. Lescott kicked the ball into the sky.

Although Manchester City's offense still did not score a goal, Ferguson's expression on the sidelines became extremely serious. He saw how difficult his opponent was. In terms of strength and experience, Manchester City's current attack was even stronger than the previous two. His timing was also very good, but his shooting skills were a bit poor. If Gao Xiaodong was given to Manchester City, Manchester United would probably have fallen behind 1:2. Even if Manchester City had Rooney, whose shooting skills were not as good as Gao Xiaodong's, the score would be hard to say.

Ferguson hopes that his disciples can withstand this wave of attacks from Manchester City and will discuss ways to deal with Manchester City during the halftime break.