I am the king of football

Chapter 423 Back to Wembley

The next day, the battle kicked off at Manchester United's home ground, Old Trafford. The fans present still filled the stadium, but this red and blue battle was not that exciting.

First of all, Manchester United's core starting players were either injured or rotated to prepare for the FA Cup final three days later. Top players like Qin Hu and Van Persie did not play.

Carrick in the midfield, Vidic in the backcourt and even goalkeeper De Gea were not even on the bench, which disappointed some fans who wanted to watch another peak red and blue battle.

At the beginning of the game, the home team began to choose to shrink their defense and put out the second team. The whole Manchester United team was very pragmatic. They chose to control the ball at the beginning and protected the ball in their own half at the fastest speed.

This caught Chelsea off guard. In their expectation, Manchester United should continue with their previous aggressive style of play to attack them. However, considering that the opponent directly played with the second team, it was not difficult to understand. So the Chelsea players who were still confident in themselves began to press forward slowly.

In this match, Hazard, the young winger who had been completely promoted to the regular position for the Blues, became the most dazzling presence. He kept taking the ball, breaking through and harassing on the wing, and Manchester United's contracted defensive layout was unable to completely defend against him.

Throughout the first half, Chelsea's offensive opportunities were all launched from the wing where Hazard was located. They completed three threatening attacks. If it weren't for Lindegaard's quick reaction, one of his shots straight to the near corner post would have almost rolled over the goal line.

After the start of the second half, Chelsea, who had the right to kick off and fully realized that Manchester United was prepared to defend and counterattack throughout the game, immediately pressed forward with all their players.

The team's captain Lampard personally took the ball forward to organize the attack. Five minutes of passing and continuous breakthroughs allowed their attack to once again reach the Manchester United penalty area.

When Hazard cut into the penalty area from the left and received the pass from Lampard, he stopped and dribbled past Maguire, and then shot the ball past Lindegaard's fingers.

1-0, Chelsea took the lead away from home, which boosted the morale of the entire Blues team.

No matter whether it is the opponent's first or second team, this is a serious league and it is held at Old Trafford. The Blues, who have been bullied for a season, feel really comfortable being able to ride on the faces of the opponent's fans and embarrass their mortal enemy.

After feeling comfortable, Chelsea played more and more aggressively. Their attacks were endless and for a time Manchester United was unable to get out of their own half.

Ferguson on the sidelines pursed his lips when he saw this scene, but he still did not change the team's strategy, saying that defensive counterattack is defensive counterattack, which will not be easily changed.

Then, in the 73rd minute of the game, the Red Devils finally seized the opportunity when Chelsea continued to press forward and became complacent, and completed a counterattack.

"Fletcher and Maguire cooperated to directly block the ball from Hazard's feet. The young Belgian player was really crazy in this game. He passed the ball to Anderson, who kicked the ball forward directly. The Little Pea and Welbeck had already broken through. This was a chance for Manchester United to counterattack!"

The excitement was brought by Zhan Jun. Everything that happened on the court really made people feel that the ball could be kicked in this way. When the ball kept falling and came in front of Welbeck's charge, the striker did not stop the ball at all but headed the ball out again in front of Asleigh Piquer who came out to try to steal the ball.

By the time the ball fell again, Hernandez had already gone around another Chelsea defender and unloaded the ball.

Everything that happened afterwards was simple. He pushed the ball to the left and shot at the empty goal behind Cech. However, in a one-on-one situation, Cech failed to perform any magical tricks and was pierced by Hernandez.

1-1, Manchester United equalized the score at home. At this moment, Chelsea players looked extremely unhappy. They were happy for less than half an hour before the score was equalized again. Why was it so difficult to beat Manchester United?

The more difficult things are yet to come. After scoring this goal, Manchester United's counterattack continued. Compared to Chelsea, who still needed points to catch up with Manchester City, they were not in a hurry at all as they had already won the championship. A point is still a point, as long as they don't lose.

With this mentality, the next twenty minutes or so really made people see the Blues' fury.

When the whistle sounded at the end of the game, the score remained at 1-1. Manchester United's second team remained unbeaten against Chelsea at their home ground this season, which made the entire Chelsea team leave the stadium as soon as the game ended. They didn't want to stay here for a moment.

In this way, Manchester United's second team also received enthusiastic cheers from their own fans when they left the field after the game.

The fans can also distinguish between the unimportant and the unimportant. They were exhausted from this game and even if they beat Chelsea it would not have much impact on their season results. However, the FA Cup final three days later is a real championship battle.

After the game, Hernandez became the Manchester United player representative to be interviewed for the first time. He not only responded happily to the excitement of the goal but also said that he had enough energy to help the team in the upcoming FA Cup final, which made Ferguson, who was sitting next to him, laugh very happily.

As the FA Cup final was approaching, there was no time for the team to rest, and the team's training began again at the training base the day after the league ended.

This time, Manchester United's main players had no reason to slack off. They tried their best to show themselves in the last three days of preparation. No one wanted to miss a final.

The day before the final, Manchester United gathered in the team meeting room before leaving for London. Ferguson finalized the starting lineup based on the team's training status during this period.

Ferguson arranged a 4132 formation, and Qin Hu was bound to occupy a starting position in the striker position. Ferguson hesitated for a long time between Rooney and Hernandez. Finally, considering that the little pea had already played a league game and was extremely efficient as a substitute, he chose Rooney.

Behind the two, Nani, Carrick and Shinji Kagawa form the front three. These three players have strong offensive capabilities. Nani on the left is known for his impact and Shinji Kagawa on the right has good breakthrough ability. As for Carrick, needless to say, he is the model worker and MVP of Manchester United's midfield this season.

In the single defensive midfielder position, this time Xiao Congming was unable to compete with Fletcher who had performed well in the league in the past few days. Since he had been playing in the team as a substitute before, Fletcher did not fall into poor form because of one league game, and he successfully won Ferguson's favor.

In the back four, Rafael, Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra returned to Manchester United's first-choice back line at the end of the season with their steady and sophisticated performance, which was unexpected.

As for the goalkeeper, De Gea is naturally the best choice.

Such a starting lineup fully demonstrates Manchester United's importance to Wigan Athletic. Although they have defeated their opponents twice in the league, for a decisive final, these past records are no longer important. They must be prepared and pay attention to their opponents, so that they will be qualified to win the championship trophy in the end.

That night, with the full roster announced, the entire Manchester United team set off for Wembley again.

The second chapter is here! Thank you all for your support!!!

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(End of this chapter)