I'm 198cm tall. Are you giving me a Maradona template?

Chapter 302 Suppressing the Enemy

For Mourinho

Despite having better players in his squad.

For example, Pogba's creativity and imagination in midfield, his talent certainly far surpasses Lingard's.

For example.

Martial's ball control is definitely better than Dalot's, who is playing as a substitute right winger.
but.

For Mourinho...

He would prefer to see a disciplined team with exceptional execution.

He doesn't like to see anything too flashy.

So he deployed this lineup.

These players are either very tall and strong, or they are very fast and have good physical fitness.

His goal was to make this team a disciplined team.

in spite of
Rumors are circulating in the media that he will be dismissed if he loses a game.

Mourinho himself knew that his time as Manchester United manager wouldn't be long.

But the Portuguese wanted to leave with their heads held high!

Judging from the situation after the start of the match.

Manchester United's defense was quite good in this match.

Rashford, on the left, didn't just stroll around; instead, he actively participated in the defense.

Dalot on the right goes without saying.

He originally played right-back, so having him play right midfielder was also to have him defend in that position.

Lingard's running was as energetic as ever.

behind him.

Herrera and Matic form the double pivot in midfield.

At least in terms of discipline, there's nothing to worry about.

Manchester United's left-back is Ashley Young.

This English winger is practically becoming the best left-back in the Premier League.
The right-back is Italian Darmian.

Lindelof and Bailly will partner at center-back.

Both players were players Mourinho trusted greatly and were players he was keen to bring in.

There's also the short-legged Fred on the bench who can provide options.

Standing on the goal line was none other than De Gea, who has been responsible for supporting Manchester United for the past seven or eight years.

The media once believed that...

De Gea is now Manchester United's only remaining top-class player.
Mourinho's team parked the bus at the away game.

This is not surprising at all.

Then again.

This tactic is frequently seen on the field.

The only reason is that it's very useful.

They compress space in the midfield and backfield, giving you little room and time to handle the ball.

They voluntarily vacated half of the field.

This makes Liverpool's attacking direction more difficult.

What we saw was a white bus parked in front of Manchester United's goal – Manchester United were wearing their white away kit for this match.

Ten minutes of the match time had quickly passed.

The first ten minutes of the game.

It can be described in four words: utterly unremarkable.

However, this is also related to Manchester United's tactics.

Liverpool were clearly wary of Manchester United's counter-attacks.

They appeared very cautious during those ten minutes.

However, after seeing Manchester United's formation drop so deep and their counter-attacks relying solely on the clueless Lukaku.

Liverpool are starting to prepare for an attack.

The signal that the attack was about to begin was the retreat of sunlight.

He retreated to the center circle to receive the ball, then turned to face the direction of the attack.

When the sun begins to take the ball.

The Manchester United players were noticeably more nervous.

Matic immediately pressed forward, Herrera seized the opportunity to intercept the ball, and Lingard ran to the edge of the penalty area to fill the space.

Not giving the sun even a chance to take flight.

However, Yang Guang didn't intend to take a random shot from forty meters away from the goal.

He kicked the ball to the wing.

After receiving the ball on the wing, Arnold immediately made a through pass forward.

Salah dribbled down the wing to the byline, then drew the defense before passing the ball back to Arnold.

Arnold crossed the ball without stopping it.

Arnold has been under a lot of pressure lately.

The competitive pressure from Ashraf made him realize that his starting position was not secure.

However, Arnold is able to start.

He relied on his own accurate cross.

Especially if he's paired with Yang Guang, the power of that precise cross would be even greater.

"Arnold crosses the ball directly!"

With a shout from the commentator.

Anfield Stadium erupted in cheers.

After passing the ball across to the wing.

The sunlight pierced straight ahead.

When Arnold crossed the ball, he had already begun sprinting towards the penalty area.

As the ball flew towards him, he leaped up near the penalty spot.

Bailly was tasked with stopping him.

The result was as expected.

Bailey, suspended in mid-air, was easily pushed aside by the sunlight.

Then, Yang Guang headed the ball towards the goal!

He headed the football towards the ground, and it bounced back towards the goal.

“YANNNNNNNNNGOOOOOOOOO”

The commentators at Liverpool Radio were already ready to celebrate.

The cheers at Anfield Stadium reached their peak at this moment.

But right now.

De Gea made a sudden descent to the byline and incredibly saved the ball, pushing it out of bounds!

The cheers at Anfield paused for a moment, followed by gasps of surprise.

"Yang's header goes to De Gea!! Wow! A miraculous save!!"

Even Zhang Jun, the commentator for Xinglang Sports, couldn't help but shout out.

"Awesome!"

"Holy crap! De Gea!"

"This reaction."

"Explode!"

Fans in the comments section exclaimed in surprise.

De Gea watched the ball fly out of bounds, breathed a sigh of relief, and jumped up from the ground.

He clapped his hands and shouted, "Cheer up! Cheer up!!"

The Manchester United players, still shaken, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Manchester United fans in the away stands were already chanting De Gea's name.

Mourinho stood on the sidelines, his body swaying slightly.

After seeing the ball being saved.

Everyone could see that Mourinho let out a long sigh of relief.

He's under a lot of pressure.

The sunlight shook its head slightly.

He was just about to celebrate his goal.

As a result, the opponent pounced on it.

He clapped his hands and shouted, "It's okay, it's okay, keep playing like this! Keep playing like this!"

The game has only been going on for ten minutes.

They still have plenty of time.

"Ten minutes into the game, Liverpool launched their first threatening attack. Manchester United parked the bus away from home, but can they really hold on? I highly doubt it."

"Mourinho has to come up with a solution. Manchester United needs to attack, to use attack to suppress and disrupt Liverpool's attacking rhythm, otherwise, if Liverpool continues to attack like this, it's only a matter of time before they concede a goal."

In the commentary box.

Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville frowned.

Although this was only Liverpool's first threatening attack.

But Neville had already seen the crisis.

because
Liverpool are only just beginning to get going.

The fact that the ball didn't go in won't affect the Liverpool players' confidence.

Anyway, this is just an attack that hasn't really been launched yet.

Next.

What Manchester United's players felt was the offensive onslaught from the world's strongest attacking trident.

Thirteenth minute of the match.

Mane cut into the penalty area and shot, but the ball was blocked by a defender.

Two minutes later, Liverpool's attack came back, and Suns' shot from the edge of the penalty area was deflected by De Gea and hit the crossbar before going out of play.

When Liverpool finished their probing of their opponents and began a full-scale attack, even Manchester United, who had been parking the bus, found themselves struggling to cope.

Mourinho stood on the sidelines, waving his arms frantically to make his players tighten up even more.

Carragher couldn't help but laugh when he saw this.

Neville, standing nearby, was extremely frustrated: "Manchester United needs to attack! They need to attack! If they keep playing passively like this, conceding a goal is only a matter of time!"

Just now.

The television broadcast camera focused on the stands.

Ferguson appeared in the stands.

His expression was very solemn.

Since Ferguson retired.

He often goes to watch Manchester United's home games.

However, there are fewer away games.

After all, the old man is already eighty years old.

But he came to this away game in the Manchester derby, which clearly shows that he attaches great importance to it.

But Manchester United's performance clearly frustrated the Scottish manager.

Since the start of the match, there have been few shots on goal, let alone possession of the ball.

Just now.

The television screen displayed a comparison of possession statistics for both sides.

Liverpool had a possession rate of 80%!
Manchester United only had 20% possession.

"Holy crap... possession is 20/80."

"This"

"Manchester United are such cowards!"

"Press them down and attack!"

"To be honest, Liverpool would struggle to maintain this level of possession even against relegation-threatened teams!"

"Positioning doesn't determine the outcome; there are plenty of examples of teams winning because of high possession."

"But at this point, I don't see any signs that Manchester United can win."

"Heh, you people have no idea how amazing Psy is!"

"What makes it so impressive?"

"Just you wait...we'll see."

The comments section was very lively.

Liverpool's attack was also quite exciting.

The match was approaching its 26th minute.

Although Manchester United were on the back foot, they ultimately did not concede a goal.

Mourinho breathed a sigh of relief.

Liverpool's attack has been going on for over ten minutes since the tenth minute of the match.

In his opinion.

Liverpool now needs to make some adjustments.

No team can keep attacking indefinitely.

Liverpool won't work either.

this means.

Manchester United players can get a valuable respite.

We weathered this storm.

It might be several minutes before Liverpool launch another attack.

It looks like the match time has almost passed thirty minutes.

As long as we can hold on during this final period.

A 0-0 score at halftime is perfectly acceptable to Mourinho.

He still has a backup plan.

Second half.
Go out and hit it again.

I won't say we'll win then.

It should still be possible to leave Anfield unscathed.

Mourinho turned around and sat back down on the bench.

Liverpool are indeed slowing down their attacking pace.

The passing speed was noticeably slower than before.

After Yang Gu received the ball near the center circle, Matic behind him did not dare to be careless and stuck close to Yang Gu's back to prevent him from turning around. However, Yang Gu did not intend to force a turn. He could not shoot directly after turning around from this position, so it was not worth the risk. He passed the ball diagonally back to Wijnaldum.

Then he leaned back, pushing Matic aside, and turned halfway forward.

Matic grabbed Sunny's jersey and yanked it hard before quickly letting go.

He didn't dare to keep pulling on it.

If you keep pulling, it will be called a foul.

And they are also more likely to get a yellow card.

If it's a quick counterattack.

He paid the price of a yellow card to stop his opponent.

That makes sense.

Now, behind them, Manchester United's defensive system is so complete.

There's no need for him to apply for a yellow card himself.

However, if Matic knew what would happen in the next few seconds, he would definitely regret letting go.

The sunlight was pulled, and he staggered, but he didn't lose his balance. He quickly adjusted his pace and took a step forward.

Wijnaldum then passed the ball to him.

Sunshine took a step forward with the ball and then flicked it with the outside of his foot.

The ball has reached the wing.

Mane dropped back from the wing to receive the ball.

He took control of the ball and moved inside, intending to cut inside and shoot.

However, Manchester United's defenders were very vigilant.

Damian quickly regrouped, and Bailey moved toward his area as well.

Instead of forcing a shot, Mane passed the ball across to Sunshine.

The sunlight, as if in a shooting stance, attracted the defense like a magnet.

"Don't let him kick!"

De Gea shouted from the goal line.

Lindelof rushed forward quickly, compressing the angle of Sunshine's shot.

The sun's raised foot fell, but instead of striking the ball, it was kicked.
Pass it on!

"Sunshine... a lob pass!"

"Robertson is up!"

"Robertson crosses the ball!"

Robertson came up with a huff and puff to assist.

He received the pass from Yang Guang right near the edge of the penalty area.

Mane's cut inside and Sunshine's feint shot drew Manchester United's defenders into the middle.

Therefore, when Robertson receives the ball, he has ample time to adjust and aim for the pass.

By this time, the sunlight had entered the restricted area.

He was accompanied by Lindelof and Matic.

The two of them sandwiched the sunlight between them, one in front and one behind.

On the contrary, Mane was in a relatively weak defensive position.

However, Robertson did not hesitate and went straight for the top of the sun.

The football flew up
Lindelof suddenly took a step back, then jumped, trying to clear the ball first.

Matic, close to the sun, put up plenty of physical contact.

However, facing this kind of defense.

I've gotten quite used to the sunshine.

He watched the ball coming from the air and pushed back to create space.

Matic pressed down on his shoulders with both hands, almost hugging Sunshine from behind, preventing him from jumping.

However, Yang Guang had no intention of jumping.

He retreated all the way.

Lindelof jumped too hastily, and the ball flew over his head and landed.

"Lindelof...he slipped through!"

Lindelof turned his head in alarm.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that Matic was practically hanging in the sunlight.

Under such circumstances, sunlight has little power.

And as long as he doesn't fall to the ground, the referee probably won't call a foul on Matic.

after all
This is a double Reds match.

The standards have always been quite lenient.

But the sun had no intention of shining directly at you.

He was being hugged from behind by Matic, and even if he tried to push the ball, he probably wouldn't be able to generate much speed.

Given De Gea's form in this match.

He knew that such a forced shot would not be able to break through the Spanish goal.

therefore
His plan is to use his feet.

The football fell from the sky.

The sunlight nodded, and the football slowed down, descending slowly from the sky.

then
He suddenly stepped back, shoving Matic aside, then swung his thigh...
boom!
A powerful shot from close range!

call!
De Gea felt the ball rush into the goal like the wind.
This time, he didn't have time to react.

(End of this chapter)