On the evening of August 26, the UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony was taking place in London, England.
According to UEFA's plan for the venues of the Champions League finals in the next five years announced in 2021, this season's Champions League final will once again be held at Wembley, the holy land of English football, while the final of the 2024-25 season will be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Tonight's draw ceremony has received a lot of attention because it will be the last tournament under the current format before the Champions League is restructured.
The UEFA Champions League has undergone four major reforms in 1969, 1992, 1998 and 2003, with many gradual reforms. Unlike the stability of the competition system in the past decade, historically, the UEFA Champions League system has actually been changing.
In the 1991-92 season, the Champions League introduced a round-robin system from a purely elimination cup competition. After the group stage, the quarterfinals were again divided into two groups, A and B. The top teams in the two groups directly advanced to the final. Barcelona also became the first champion after the reform.
In the 1992-93 season, the name of the tournament was officially changed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
In the 1994-95 season, the number of teams in the main competition was reduced from 32 to 16, divided into four groups, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarterfinals.
In the 1997-98 season, the number of teams in the main competition was adjusted to 24, divided into 6 groups. The first place in each group and the two best runners-up in the group advanced to the knockout stage.
In 1998, 14 European top clubs - Ajax, Dortmund, Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester United, AC Milan, Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid formed the G14, and for the first time put the idea of ​​the European Super League on the table.
Looking back now, some of these clubs are simply unimaginable to be associated with the word "giant clubs" in the eyes of today's football fans.
In order to meet the challenge of G14, UEFA restructured the Champions League again in the 1998-99 season and introduced the "European Cup Points" that is still in use today, allowing the top football associations to send up to 4 teams to participate in the Champions League, and promised major reforms in the next season to introduce rules that will benefit the top teams.
Manchester United also became the champion before the reform that year.
In the 1999-00 season, the Champions League took shape as it is today, with 32 teams participating in the main competition, divided into eight groups. The top two teams in each group participated in the second stage of the group stage, and the top two teams in each group advanced to the quarterfinals.
At the same time, the European Cup Winners' Cup was cancelled and replaced by the UEFA Cup, in which the champions of each country's football association's cup competition and the third place in the Champions League group stage will compete in the UEFA Cup.
Starting from the 2003-04 season, UEFA cancelled the second group stage, and the Champions League finally became what it is today.
The subsequent Champions League was not without reforms, but it focused more on qualifiers, play-offs, the transformation of the UEFA Cup into the Europa League, and the launch of the European Conference Cup.
The most "outrageous" of these was the rule introduced by then UEFA President Michel Platini in the 2012-13 season that each round of the Champions League knockout stage would have to be re-drawn.
This was at a time when self-media and mobile Internet were not yet highly developed, but people had already figured out how to use traffic and topics.
A considerable part of Arsenal’s famous “five years at Bayern and three years at Barcelona” took place during those years.
It was also during those years that rumors about UEFA arranging scripts and selecting opponents for certain teams to advance never stopped. There were controversies almost every year and godfathers every season.
Since May 27, 2015, when the United States's Förber raided the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and uncovered the chaos between former presidents Blatter and Platini, there has been no major turmoil in the Champions League. The draw rules were also changed in the 2018-19 season to a regional system in which the quarter-finals are drawn after the first round of the knockout stage. At the same time, the semi-finals and finals were drawn together, and there is no longer a draw in every round.
With the current president Ceferin taking office and being re-elected twice, his ideas of leaning towards small and medium-sized countries and sharing the dividends of football have both won him stable votes and once again put UEFA and the giants in opposition.
The European Super League has once again been brought to the forefront, but this time, as Europe's overall economy is heading from recession to deep recession, even governments cannot tolerate the football dividends being divided up by a few oligarchs. Both football powers and small and medium-sized countries have almost unanimously come out to oppose this event.
Therefore, a considerable number of people believe that this time the European Super League is nothing more than the giants trying to refer to the past G14 and once again unite to get more meat from UEFA.
UEFA has also made major reforms for this purpose.
Don’t you want to see more matches between the top clubs and attract more viewers?
OK, starting from the 2024-25 season, the UEFA Champions League group stage will be changed to a Swiss round system, and the number of teams in the main competition will be expanded to 36. All teams will be randomly drawn in the first round. After the first game is decided, the Swiss round rules will be followed. Starting from the second round, the winners will be randomly drawn with the winners, the draws will be randomly drawn with the draws, and the losers will be randomly drawn with the losers. Opponents who have met before will not meet again in the round-robin tournament.
All teams play 4 home games and 4 away games.
After eight rounds of competition, the 1st to 8th place teams will directly advance to the knockout stage, and the 9th to 24th place teams will compete in the play-offs to determine the remaining 8 places.
The advantage of this competition system is that strong teams can easily play against strong teams, avoiding the situation in the original group stage where some matches with too clear distinction between strong and weak teams became one-sided slaughters with low ratings.
Theoretically, if a strong team wins continuously in the round-robin tournament, then the opponents it encounters will most likely be the giants in the winner group. Even if they are not strong teams, they will at least be the stronger teams in the middle and lower reaches, which improves the viewing experience of the first stage of the competition.
Moreover, fans of each top team are unable to predict who their team’s opponent will be in the next round, which adds to the suspense of the game.
This system, which was originally commonly used in chess competitions, will not only be used in the Champions League, but has also been used in some e-sports projects such as League of Legends and CS:GO.
For tonight's draw, UEFA invited Brazilian legend and Ballon d'Or winner Rivaldo and Dutch legend Bergkamp to serve as guests of honor.
Manchester United did not send any players. Club chairman Hamad Al Thani and CEO Arnold personally went to the scene to witness the draw results.
The teams in the first tier were drawn one after another, including Roma, Juventus, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Feyenoord, Benfica and Barcelona. These eight teams, as the defending champions of the Champions League, Europa League and their respective league defending champions, were divided into Groups A to H.
Next are the teams in Tier 2, including Manchester United.
Due to their own country's avoidance, Manchester City's Group C will definitely not be able to go, but any of the other groups may go.
The first team to be picked out by Rivaldo is Arsenal!
Then Bergkamp reached into another glass basin containing the group numbers and took out a small ball. When he opened it, the whole audience laughed!
Group H! Against Barcelona!
Arsenal's sporting director Edu Gaspar, who was sitting in the audience, was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, his face turned green. How come after all these years, they still got Barcelona!
And it was found by a former Barcelona player and a former Arsenal player together!
Afterwards, RB Leipzig was placed in Group A with Roma, and Atletico Madrid was placed in Group G with Benfica. Rivaldo was reluctant to pull his hand out of Manchester United until the last two goals were left. The senior officials and celebrities in the stadium suppressed their emotions and pretended to be calm, but the fans watching the live broadcast were not calm!
There are still two second-tier teams, Manchester United and Real Madrid, that have not been drawn, and the only groups left are Group D of Bayern and Group E of Paris Saint-Germain. No matter which one is drawn, it will be full of drama!
Barrage:
[UEFA script master... Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid is Director Mu and Mourinho playing Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain vs. Manchester United is Mourinho playing Chen Xiaoliang, both are facing the old club]
[Don’t forget, Real Madrid’s current coach is Nagelsmann, and the same scenario will apply if Real Madrid draws against Bayern! ]
【Thai pants are hot! 】
[I thought I was on the fifth floor, but it turns out UEFA is already in the atmosphere]
…
Rivaldo drew Real Madrid, and then the pressure came to Bergkamp.
He turned the two balls in the glass bowl again and again, and finally took out one...
When I opened it, I saw Group E, Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid. The soap opera of Mbappe's transfer to Real Madrid throughout the summer was pushed to a new climax at this moment. At the same time, although Mourinho missed Chen Xiaoliang, his return to the Bernabeu is still full of expectations!
There is no need to draw the last lot, as Manchester United was placed in Group D where Bayern is located.
Ten Hag had just asked the coaching staff to start preparing detailed information about Bayern, but he didn't expect that this was just a prelude to tonight.
PSV Eindhoven, almost the strongest team in the third pot and the runner-up of the Eredivisie last season, coached by former Manchester United player Ruud van Nistelrooy, was drawn into Group D, while Lazio, almost the strongest team in the fourth pot and the third in Serie A last season, was also drawn in.
Bayern, Manchester United, PSV Eindhoven and Lazio, these four teams formed a veritable group of death.
But this is not the only group of death. Group B, which consists of Juventus, Dortmund, Salzburg Red Bull and Newcastle, also makes it difficult to predict who will advance successfully.
The final grouping is as follows:
Group A: Roma, RB Leipzig, Glasgow Rangers, Braga;
Group B: Juventus, Dortmund, Red Bull Salzburg, Newcastle;
Group C: Manchester City, Inter Milan, Lens, Viktoria Plzen;
Group D: Bayern, Manchester United, PSV Eindhoven, Lazio;
Group E: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Union Berlin, Genk;
Group F: Feyenoord, Napoli, Real Sociedad, Celtic;
Group G: Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Young Boys Bern;
Group H: Barcelona, ​​Arsenal, Marseille, Dinamo Zagreb
As soon as the group results came out, Manchester United and Bayern's odds of winning the championship dropped to 5th and 6th, while Manchester City continued to top the odds list, followed by Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.
The draw results are out, and the devilish schedule is also revealed.
On September 2, they will play against Chelsea at home in the league, and then travel to Munich to challenge Bayern on September 6. Then they will rush to Bournemouth, the southernmost city in England, to continue the away game on September 9, and then return to Manchester to face Lazio at home on September 15.
Three days later, on September 19, they will continue to play West Ham at home, and then it will be the national team match cycle, during which they will have two weeks of rest.
This means that five games will be played in 17 days. Even the relatively weak West Ham United is a well-known tough nut to crack in the Premier League. What's more, their head coach is none other than the former "chosen one", the 81-foot cross master Moyes, who gets particularly excited whenever he sees Manchester United.
Manchester United also used the last time before the devilish schedule to build up physical strength, and September means the season has truly begun.
As of 23:00 on the evening of September 1, when the Premier League transfer window closed, a number of high-value transfers took place.
Tottenham signed French goalkeeper Maignan from AC Milan to replace the aging Lloris, who is in worse form day by day. At the same time, they spent 40 million to sign Swiss striker Okafor from Salzburg Red Bull.
Outside the Premier League, the biggest deal is that Real Madrid, which has been pursuing Mbappe and Haaland, signed Juventus striker Vlahovic for 100 million euros. The 23-year-old Serbian will also appear on Real Madrid's front line as Benzema's successor.
The next opponent Chelsea is naturally not idle either. After experiencing various competitions and twists and turns, they signed Marcus Thuram, who left the team after the expiration of his contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Frenchman will also form Chelsea's offensive line with Leao and Osimhen. At the same time, after Sterling, Aubameyang, Pulisic and Havertz were all rented or sold by the club.
Therefore, the Chelsea in front of us is completely different from last season.
Before the game, Chen Xiaoliang checked the system. In the last game against Burnley, he kept a clean sheet, shot one goal and assisted one goal, which earned him 2 breakthrough points (19→21). He won the man of the match for the third consecutive game and earned another 14 training points. In the past 6 days of training, he accumulated another 24 points, for a total of 38 training points (82→120).
He took out 80 points and continued to improve his endurance from 17 to 18 and his training value from 120 to 40.
At 18:00 on the evening of September 2, the Blues players were the first to arrive at Old Trafford by bus.
Enzo got out of the car with a handbag under his arm, and turned back to wave to the media and fans like a small boss in Wenzhou.
He has said in interviews many times this season that the day has "brightened" for Chelsea and that Pochettino is a real coach.
The implication is not difficult to understand. No one knows where Porter and Lampard got their coaching certificates .
What Enzo found most difficult to understand was that after Lampard arrived, he let Kante rush forward to attack, leaving him behind to take more responsibility for defense.
It's not that Enzo can't defend, he can also play as a defensive midfielder in Roma, but correspondingly a lot of defensive work is undertaken by Chen Xiaoliang in front of him and another defensive midfielder next to him, giving Enzo the opportunity to press forward and use his passing and attacking abilities.
In the last days of last season, he stood in the defensive midfielder position, and he was actually a little dazed when he saw Kante run into the penalty area and shoot again and again.
While bearing a large amount of accusations and abuse from fans, he really couldn't understand what kind of genius could come up with such a configuration.
Some media analyzed that Lampard saw how Chen Xiaoliang played in Roma and wanted to try the same tactics with Kante, letting him play as a central midfielder and initiate high pressing when the opponent's midfield and backcourt have the ball, while reducing the defensive pressure on the midfielder.
But Kante is already 32 years old, and he also suffered a 189-day hamstring injury and didn't even participate in the World Cup. Enzo even said to his friends when he complained that if Kante can still play like this at this age, why doesn't Lampard put on his jersey and play on the field himself...
Fortunately, everything is over, and Chelsea also lined up a new starting lineup today.
Goalkeeper Kepa, since Pochettino came, his chances of coaching have become zero;
The back four of Cucurella, Fofana, Koulibaly and Colville;
Double defensive midfielders Kante and Enzo, attacking midfielder Mount;
Left winger Leao, center forward Osimhen, right winger Thuram.
Lukaku, Mudric, Kovacic and others sat on the bench.
Manchester United also made changes, goalkeeper David De Gea;
Defenders: Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Lima, Timber;
Double defensive midfielders Fred and Casemiro, central midfielder Chen Xiaoliang;
Left winger Rashford, center forward Cesco, right winger B Fee.
This game is indeed very important, but the team cannot ignore the Champions League group stage that will be held in a few days. Chelsea will be difficult to beat, and Bayern at home will be even more difficult.
For this reason, Luke Shaw, Varane, Eriksen and others were rotated to the bench.
Bruno Fernandes is still the captain on the field. Ten Hag has told reporters at the pre-match press conference that the team will determine the sequence of the main, deputy and third captains this season before the Champions League games.
The handshake between the two sides before the game was also very interesting. First, when Chen Xiaoliang passed by Enzo, the two not only shook hands but also hugged each other.
Next are Osimhen and Leo standing at the back of the Chelsea team. These two big black guys are old acquaintances to Chen Xiaoliang.
Osimhen gave up playing in the Champions League for Napoli and came to Chelsea. Although he was thinking about money and life in London, he said that he wanted to prove himself in the Premier League, and his words even seemed to imply that he wanted to find Chen Xiaoliang for another showdown.
Chelsea fans, who have a special affection for the dark and tough striker, naturally regard him as their biggest reliance in returning to the top this season.
He had a blank expression on his face when shaking hands with Chen Xiaoliang, and his eyes deliberately looked away.
And "the ever-laughing man" Leo was even more amazing. He seemed like he couldn't close his mouth, but when he saw Chen Xiaoliang coming over, his smile disappeared instantly. He rarely looked serious and touched hands with Chen Xiaoliang, which meant he had said something.
After the match between him and Chen Xiaoliang in AC Milan last season, the media told him that Chen Xiaoliang called him Nezha. He even searched it online and initially discovered that Nezha was a mythical figure, and he felt proud from the bottom of his heart.
Although he lost the game, his opponent still recognized him, so he smiled even more brightly.
But after a while, until the Red Country's Internet was reversely exported to European football, he finally understood what this "one-head, two-armed" Nezha meant, and he was immediately furious.
Leo is here to take revenge tonight.
On the contrary, Chen Xiaoliang couldn't help but grinning when he saw his funny look.
After the referee blew the whistle, Chelsea, who had no European competition this season and did not need to conserve their energy, took the initiative and launched an offensive from the very beginning.
Pochettino's most skilled set of offensive and defensive changes were immediately demonstrated in actual combat.
When defending, it is 4-2-3-1. When attacking, Cucurella goes along the left, Mount stays close to the right, Kante and Enzo press forward, Leo and Thuram move on both sides of Osimhen, forming a 3-4-2-1 formation. This is also the formation change that more and more head coaches who insist on four defenders will use in offense, and Pochettino has tried it many times when he was at Tottenham.
But at Chelsea, since Osimhen does not have the same fulcrum role as Kane, he can hold the ball in the frontcourt but cannot do the detailed organizational work in the frontcourt like Kane. Therefore, the nominal right winger Thuram is more inward in the middle, using his sturdy figure of 192 cm and 88 kg to help activate the frontcourt next to Osimhen.
Lukaku can obviously serve as a fulcrum, but the 30-year-old is clearly inferior to the popular Osimhen in terms of goal efficiency and impact in the penalty area.
The 24-year-old Osimhen has scored 3 goals in the first three rounds, ranking second in the scorer list. Today, Ten Hag sent Lindelof on the field in order to face him one-on-one.
Although Maguire is better at head-on confrontation, Osimhen's speed is too fast and the aircraft carrier cannot keep up.
In the 3rd minute, Leao faced Wan Bissaka on the left and forced an overtake. Wan Bissaka seized the opportunity and made a sideways tackle, sending the ball out of the sideline.
Leao has become even lazier since coming to the Premier League. Basically, he returns to his own half to defend no more than three times in a game, but Pochettino does not put pressure on him and lets him stay in the frontcourt to give full play to his offensive ability.
The rhythm of constant running back and forth in the Premier League is not suitable for Leo's habits. The team has specially equipped Kante and Cucurella, who can go up and down, behind him to sweep and fill in the positions.
Leao, who was full of energy and focused on attacking, scored 2 goals and 1 assist in the first three games, which can be regarded as repaying Pochettino's trust with actions. At this time, he started at full speed but was cleanly tackled by Wan-Bissaka. He grinned with his white teeth showing, which was a bit surprising.
If this happened in Serie A, it would be normal to be stopped while charging, but how could it happen that someone was cleanly tackled while charging?
Looking at Wan Bissaka, who was darker than him and had whiter teeth than him, Leo said the cruelest words with the brightest smile: "I'm going to kill you."
Wan Bissaka was confused, wondering where this came from... Oh yeah, he is the one with the two arms! No wonder!
Cucurella threw the sideline ball to Kante who was pressing forward. Fred came over to press and Kante passed the ball back to Enzo, who made a large move to the right.
Thuram received the ball, and with a height of 192cm, he dribbled the ball in small steps and slowly approached Tinbell, who was 182cm tall.
Just as the distance was slowly closing, Thuram suddenly moved the ball to the right, then stretched out his long legs and rushed directly to the baseline. The 9-kilogram weight difference plus the impact after the sudden start made it very difficult for Tinbell to push in the inside.
Before the game, Manchester United's coaching staff said in their analysis that Chelsea's forward combination this season, to put it bluntly, was like a group of cattle tied together.
They are all black and tough, with excellent confrontation, speed, burst, height and jumping ability. The only difference is that there is a black and lazy guy mixed in.
Thuram overpowered Timber, relying on his explosive power and body to squeeze out a passing route, and then pushed the ball into the small penalty area with his right foot!
While Osimhen was struggling with Lima, he came up and wanted to shoot, but fortunately De Gea stretched out his left foot to block the ball!
The ball changed direction and rolled outside the small penalty area. Mount came in and shot hard, but the ball hit the back of Casemiro who was returning to defense and flew over the crossbar!
Zhan Jun: "Today, Chelsea's two wingers were very active after the opening! Compared with Wan Bissaka on the right, Timber, who temporarily played as a left back today, was obviously under more pressure when facing Thuram!"
Zhang Lu: "These two black guys have great physical fitness. Having these two explosive players on the wing will be a huge test for Manchester United's defense."
Chelsea took a corner kick from the right side, Koulibaly, Colville and three forwards all pressed forward in the middle, and Chen Xiaoliang retreated to the penalty area to defend.
The ball fell on Thuram's head, he jumped with all his might, Chen Xiaoliang and Tingbel beside him also jumped at the same time, but neither of them could get past Thuram.
Fortunately, Thuram was affected by the two players, and although he headed the ball, it was not accurate and went wide of the post.
Lima is 175 cm tall, Timber is 182 cm tall, and Lindelof is 187 cm tall. Even if Casemiro, who is 185 cm tall, is added, the height of this defense line is still not outstanding.
Not to mention Thuram who is 192cm tall, although Osimhen who is 186cm tall is not too tall, his jumping ability is amazing. Last season he even broke the record for the highest jumping ability for a header goal in Serie A.
Pochettino also saw this and frequently kicked high balls from both sides.
In the 11th minute, Enzo made a cross from the right, and Osimhen headed the ball again, beating Lima and heading towards the right side of the goal, but De Gea flew and saved it with one hand.
In the following corner kick, Mount took a tactical corner kick to Enzo, who passed the ball to the middle. Kante received the ball and moved to the left. Cucurella received the ball and passed it to the penalty area. Just as the ball went around Manchester United's defense, Koulibaly's header was blocked by Lindelof. Kante followed up with a long shot, which was again deflected by De Gea's hand over the crossbar.
Chelsea fans were waving flags and cheering in a corner of the stands. Many men had already taken off their jerseys and were waving them around in their hands to cheer for the team.
It is said that the explosion after repression is more powerful. Speaking of repression, which fans are more repressed than Chelsea fans who experienced the nightmare-like experience last season?
After finally being able to straighten your back, you still have to walk sideways.
Enzo took the corner kick from the left side and he was full of confidence today.
He practiced a lot throughout the summer. He was always studying why Chen Xiaoliang could improve so quickly. There was even a time when, after returning to his residence, he would record what Chen Xiaoliang practiced alone that day, how many times he practiced, how he rested and relaxed, how long he rested, what he ate at home, how much he ate, how long he ate, and even how long he defecated.
In addition, Enzo also kept track of what websites Chen Xiaoliang visited in his spare time and the comic book "One-Kick Superman" that he occasionally read.
However, as a South American, he really couldn't accept the rough style of "One-Kick Superman" and gave up before seeing a certain S-class robot appear.
He believes that there must be reasons for Chen Xiaoliang's explosive progress. Physical fitness, football talent and understanding of football certainly have a great influence, but acquired training methods and lifestyle are definitely more important.
After all, those techniques, such as passing accuracy and tackling precision, cannot be achieved solely by talent and understanding.
"Record, I want to record!"
He never missed any opportunity, and kept recording and imitating, hoping to sum up the secret and enter such a mode of explosive growth.
Although he didn't say it, in his heart, he had already regarded Chen Xiaoliang as his master.
For this reason, when the team regrouped in the summer, he also set up an extra training team at Chelsea, dragging a few newcomers and youth players to train together.
After a summer, I have to say, I feel a little stronger and my sense of the ball seems to have improved significantly.
He was confident that he had entered the right pattern. In addition, with his understanding of Chen Xiaoliang, he began to consciously refer to Chen Xiaoliang's way of playing to deal with various situations on the field.
He started in the first three games, helped the team win consecutive games, averaged 2.3 steals per game, and made 1 assist, which made him believe that he would soon catch up with Chen Xiaoliang's level.
After playing for 10 minutes, not only Chen Xiaoliang noticed it, but also Ten Hag, Pochettino, and even the commentators Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu noticed it.
Zhan Jun: "Zhang Zhi, do you feel that Enzo is becoming more and more like Xiao Liang in his every move? The way he runs, the way he looks around, and even the posture and look when he bends over and half-bends when retreating to defend, he is simply Xiao Liang's clone."
Zhang Lu: "This is not surprising. We saw it in the Champions League final last season. When Xiaoliang scored, he was more excited than anyone else in the stands. It's not surprising to imitate an idol."
"It's like playing soccer. Although their skills vary, many people will imitate Ronaldo's 'SIU' move when celebrating. When we were young, many people had their hair braided like Baggio."
Enzo took a corner kick, the ball spun inwards, bypassed the penalty spot, turned to the bottom line, went straight to the back point, and found Thuram again.
After all, Timber was a backbone of the defense bought for 70 million. After being suppressed by Thuram twice in a row, he simply leaned on Thuram this time and suppressed him with the strength of his body.
I can't jump over you, and I won't let you jump either.
As expected, Thuram did not jump high enough, and the ball was touched by him and bounced to the left side of the penalty area.
Rashford, who was defending on the left side, rushed out, grabbed the ball and rushed forward.
Manchester United has not had any decent chances since the start of the game, and has been defending Chelsea's high and low air strikes from the left and right in its own half.
Although it was somewhat unexpected, the team managed to defend it anyway. How could they miss the opportunity to counterattack at this time?
Rashford ran wildly, and soon Fofana, who was left behind, blocked him.
Rashford passed the ball along the sidelines and tried to dribble past the opponent. Fofana quickly turned around and tried to stop Rashford with his body and hands. Rashford spread his legs and rushed forward desperately.
This kind of action would definitely be called a foul in Serie A, but in the Premier League, tonight's referee Stuart Atwell was too lazy to even make a gesture to facilitate the attack.
What is there to do? It's not too late to blow it up when it's really over.
Rashford knew that he might not be able to completely get rid of Fofana and catch up with the ball, so when he rushed forward, he fell to the ground and used his left foot to face the bottom of the ball, kicking the ball into the air and sweeping it towards the middle!
He knew very well that he was originally the fastest in the team, but now, the new counterattack maniac No. 1 had already snatched his position as the fastest!
Rashford, who was lying on the ground, first looked towards the middle, and saw the red number 7 he was expecting rushing up. He immediately used his hands and feet to get up and continue running forward!
Chen Xiaoliang faced the ball in the middle, leaned his body against Kante, and headed the ball back to Casemiro who was following him, then turned around and bypassed Kante and rushed forward.
Casemiro didn't stop the ball. He swung his right foot up and down and kicked the ball to the right side of the court. B Fee had already rushed up from there!
B Fee received the ball and moved forward about 10 meters in an instant, but speed is not his strong point, and Cucurella who was chasing back had already caught up with him.
"pass!"
Chen Xiaoliang ran in the middle and made gestures to B Fee.
Bruno Fernandes was still looking up, but he didn't kick the ball. Seeing that Cucurella was about to catch up, Chen Xiaoliang shouted, "Pass it!!!"
B Fee also knew that if he continued to stick to the ball he would waste the opportunity, so he pushed it towards the middle and passed it to Cesco who was following him.
The tacit understanding between Cesco and Chen Xiaoliang was extremely good. He pushed the ball to the front left without stopping and passed it to the top of the penalty area.
Kante had already been left behind by Chen Xiaoliang by five or six men. The French hero knew that even at the age of 23, let alone 32, he could not catch up with the kid with a V10 engine in his legs.
He couldn't catch up, but Osimhen and Leo, who were determined to take revenge today, did not give up. The moment Rashford got the ball from the wing and Chen Xiaoliang rushed out of the Manchester United penalty area, the two of them chased him with all their might.
At this moment, there is no longer any Qin Xiaogong, but only the two Black Wind Devils who have chased from the Apennine Peninsula to the British Isles, eager for revenge.
When Fofana saw the ball coming, he turned back to block Chen Xiaoliang.
Chen Xiaoliang received a pass from Cesco 5 meters outside the arc. Seeing Fofana coming, he changed direction slightly to the right and sprinted towards the penalty area.
Just now, B Fee passed the ball a beat late, and Chen Xiaoliang, who was advancing in the middle, had to slow down in order not to exceed the offside line. When he restarted, the two black players behind him had already caught up to a very close distance.
For a moment, with Fofana in front and Leo and Osimhen attacking from the left and right, Chen Xiaoliang seemed to have no other options except to continue trying to break through to the right.
Kante was still chasing back, and he and Colwell pounced on Rashford's side which was left open.
Chen Xiaoliang dribbled the ball to the front right and rushed towards the right side of the small penalty area. The three people who double-teamed him continued to chase him, and Osimhen was even ready to harass him.
To be on the safe side, despite being double-teamed by three players, Chelsea's goalkeeper and reserve coach Kepa moved towards the near post to prevent Chen Xiaoliang from suddenly firing a cold shot.
The problem is, when they did this, Enzo, who had already given up chasing, and Pochettino on the sidelines became anxious.
The two wanted to shout to warn, but in this fleeting moment, how could they have the chance to speak?
The two men were cursing in their hearts: "Fuck you guys, don't you watch the game?!"
"Didn't you guys watch how this guy assisted Manchester City in the Champions League final?!"
Indeed, not all players will spend their spare time on football. They should be thankful if they can avoid women and alcohol in their spare time. How can they concentrate on studying tactics and other players? That is a fantasy.
Seeing Kepa moving towards him, Chen Xiaoliang took a step forward with all his might. The three people who double-teamed him thought he was going to shoot. Fofana stretched his legs forward to intercept the ball, Osimhen put his right hand on Chen Xiaoliang's shoulder and exerted force secretly, and Leo could neither move his hands nor his feet. He could only open his mouth wide to show his white teeth and curse Chen Xiaoliang in his heart.
Chen Xiaoliang swept the ball with his right foot and it rolled under Fofana's crotch!
This ball cannot be too slow, otherwise it will be intercepted by Kepa, and it cannot be too fast, otherwise Rashford on the other side will not have time to react!
The ball drew a diagonal line and rolled to the other corner of the small penalty area. Rashford reacted immediately and stretched out his left leg to catch the ball!
But the persevering veteran Kante chased all the way back and stood in front of Rashford!
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze, and the more than 70,000 people from both camps in Old Trafford held their breath and waited for Rashford's move.
He just pushed the ball to the back of the penalty spot with the outside of his right foot. A 20-year-old, over 1.9 meters tall, energetic guy followed up, raised the arch of his right foot, and kicked the ball with a powerful shot, aiming at the left side of the goal.
Zhan Jun: "This ball goes in! Manchester United scored a goal in their first counterattack and first shot. Cesco scored the first goal for Manchester United in this season's Premier League BIG7 civil war!"
"He was once called the Little Haaland. After winning the Champions League last year, he returned to his hometown and was interviewed by the media. He frankly admitted the huge gap between himself and Haaland, saying that he still has a lot to catch up and improve!"
"At 65 million euros, he is the cheaper one compared to Kwa!"
"But the Slovenian, Xiao Liang's right-hand man, has made a very good start at Manchester United!"
"He ran to the sidelines, turned his back and kept pointing at the No. 9 jersey behind him!"
Zhang Lu: "If Bruno Fernandes had passed the ball earlier, Xiaoliang would not have been caught up and would have shot at goal. Fortunately, the last three players cooperated well. Rashford did not force a shot but passed the ball back to Cesco who came in from behind."
Zhan Jun: "After the last game, the media asked Rashford how it felt to be pushed by Xiao Liang and then fed the ball. Rashford was very good at speaking and told the reporter that it was a 'team feeling'. I believe that when handling this ball, Rashford also remembered the scene when Xiao Liang fed him the ball!"
Watching his former friends Xiaoliang and Cesco celebrating on the sidelines, and even Kva on the bench running over to hug them, Enzo felt very lonely and walked towards his own half helplessly.
They met in the knockout round of the Champions League last season. At that time, Chelsea was still under the great "Porter Dynasty". After two rounds, they almost lost everything. Porter also successfully abdicated, allowing the epic coach Lampard to ascend the throne, starting an extremely stable and unmoving standings in the Southern Division championship.
It was very depressing to lose the game, but Enzo knew that it was not the players' ability that was problematic, but the coach's "there" that had some problems. But how come...how come they are now making great strides, showing a new look, and even pressed Manchester United for 10 minutes at Old Trafford, but still lost the ball first...
One walked towards Chelsea's half and the other walked towards Manchester United's half, and Chen Xiaoliang and Enzo met.
Although they have been separated for more than half a year, the two still keep in touch via the Internet and text messages, and their tacit understanding has not completely disappeared.
Chen Xiaoliang knows what Enzo is thinking:
"The game isn't over yet, are you just going to admit defeat?"
Enzo: "Get lost, I will definitely win today!"
He is not the kind of person who would give in. No matter what he thinks in his heart, he will never give in in his actions.
Chen Xiaoliang saw through his doubts: "Do you know the difference?"
Enzo's eyes lit up, thinking that Chen Xiaoliang was going to tell him the most important difference between him and him, so he quickly asked, "Where?!"
Chen Xiaoliang laughed: "I never take corner kicks, hahahaha."