Chapter 370: Manchester Villains
Leeds lined up in a 4-3-3 tonight, with three midfielders dropping forward in attack and two wingers dropping back in defence to form a 4-5-1, leaving only striker Bamford in front as the ball-passing point for counterattacks.
Chen Xiaoliang also started a close combat with the opponent's midfielder.
As the great man said, one punch is enough to prevent a hundred punches. Only by letting the opponent experience the power of the iron fist can they restrain their overly rough Kung Fu football.
In the 16th minute, De Gea kicked the ball directly from the backcourt. Cesco retreated slightly, leaned against the central defender Christensen who was defending him, and jumped to receive the ball.
Christensen did not just stand there and let him catch the ball. He also jumped and watched the ball headed out. However, any normal person would know that unless his neck was 50 centimeters long, it would be impossible for him to head the ball out.
The result hit directly on the back of Cesco's head.
The force was not great, but it was painful enough. Cesco felt pain after landing, and he didn't know what Christensen behind him had done to him, so he covered the back of his head with his hands out of self-protection.
As soon as Christensen saw that Cesco had given in, he immediately went around him and rushed forward to head the second penalty kick that was headed up by Cesco.
Chen Xiaoliang, who was standing in the midfield ready to receive Cesco's pass, took a step forward and also rushed towards the ball.
When Christensen saw him coming, he bent his knees, bent over, raised his arms, and raised his elbows, ready to head the ball and himself towards Manchester United's half.
The problem is that he clearly picked the wrong person.
Although he was slightly taller and heavier than Chen Xiaoliang, he was no match for him in terms of strength and jumping ability. Moreover, he was not the only one without martial ethics at this moment, as Chen Xiaoliang was also well prepared.
With a superior bounce, Chen Xiaoliang pressed Christensen's right elbow with his left hand in the air, and then headed the ball back to Cesco while hitting Christensen's chin heavily with his left shoulder.
The Danish central defender was immediately knocked to the ground by the huge impact, but being strong, he immediately stood up and wanted to find Chen Xiaoliang to argue, but a funny scene occurred.
The guy's jaw was dislocated. The ten thousand cordial greetings he had organized in his mind had just reached his throat when he felt pain on both sides of his cheeks. He then realized that his jaw was hanging there and he couldn't close his mouth.
Referee Paul Tierney blew the whistle and asked Leeds' team doctor to come on the field to deal with the situation.
"Ah...!" A huge booing sounded in the stadium.
No matter how popular and expected Manchester United's No. 7 is in other places, it has nothing to do with the Leeds people at Elland Road. On the contrary, he will become a thorn in their eyes.
Christensen exclaimed "Aba Aba" several times. After the team doctor held his cheek with one hand and supported his chin with the other, and then pushed hard, he was finally able to close his mouth and stop the saliva from dripping from the corners of his mouth.
"Don't you even change the rules for a flat tone?!" This was the first sentence he said to the referee Paul Tierney after he regained his ability to speak, but perhaps because his jaw felt a little strange after just closing, his pronunciation was also out of tune.
Paul Tierney smiled back at him: "Calm down and keep your emotions under control."
Although Christensen refused to admit defeat, he had truly felt Chen Xiaoliang's physique and strength just now. He looked at Chen Xiaoliang with a fierce look, but his feet honestly began to retreat.
However, the other Leeds players did not seem to think so, especially when they heard Allardyce yelling at them to be more active on the sidelines, the players seemed to have heard a charge, feeling that if they did not fight hard, their trip today would have been in vain.
In the 24th minute, Anthony tripped Leeds' left midfielder Sam Greenwood when he was returning to defense. I don't know if all men with the surname Greenwood have a hobby of forcing men to have sex, but Sam Greenwood immediately stood up and rushed to Anthony, pressing his body against him. Their faces were almost kissing, and there was a look in his eyes that showed he wanted to eat him alive.
“Beep, beep, beep!”
The referee Paul Tierney ran over with peaceful steps, separated the two and gave them a warning. As for the yellow card, that could not be given. The two looked at each other affectionately. It was just that their feelings were a little stronger. How could they get a card?
Chen Xiaoliang even wondered if Paul Tierney had forgotten his cards in the locker room.
Fortunately, the whistle was blown in a timely manner and the game was generally smooth. However, under the constant physical harassment of Leeds players, some Manchester United players, like Christensen who had just suffered a loss, began to consciously avoid unnecessary physical collisions.
In the 31st minute, the game saw the first goal.
Luke Shaw's diagonal pass from the backcourt was a little too powerful and was caught by Leeds midfielder Robin Koch. The German midfielder made a long pass forward to find Bamford to launch a counterattack.
Although Bamford looks a little thinner than Tinbell behind him, no matter who it is today, under Allardyce's battle cry, they all become particularly aggressive as if they have eaten a bloodthirsty BUFF.
Bamford didn't even jump, but pushed Tinbell back with all his strength.
Although the 22-year-old Tinbell has played in the Eredivisie for several seasons and has played four games in the World Cup, he has never seen this traditional English football. After being pushed back by Bamford, he could only step back half a step to relieve his strength before jumping again. However, this made him jump half a beat slower, and after his scalp rubbed the ball, the ball bounced behind him!
For a moment, Timber didn't know where he had headed the ball, but Varane on the side had already rushed over to assist in defense, while on the other side, Leeds right winger Rodrigo had taken advantage of the chaos to rush into the penalty area and stopped the ball that Timber had headed offside.
Without waiting for Varane to rush over, and without giving Timber the chance to turn around and make up for his mistake, Rodrigo swung his left foot and shot at the left side of the goal. The ball actually drew a slight arc and rolled into the goal along the left post!
De Gea put his hands on his hips and shook his head. This unexpected mistake allowed his opponent to instantly get in and get a chance to shoot, leaving him no time to adjust.
1-0, Leeds' diehard fans stood shoulder to shoulder, hugged each other, and danced in the stands, singing all kinds of songs mocking Manchester United. Although the fan associations of both teams, as well as Liverpool's fan associations, had reached a consensus last season not to mock tragedies in the club's history, such as the Munich air crash and the Heysel disaster, this does not mean that other things cannot be included in songs.
The song playing at this time is:
"They are both rapists, you know, No. 7 and No. 11."
This is a satire on Ronaldo and Greenwood, despite the former's scandal being talked about by many, and the latter's scandal... not only reconciled, but also got married...
Of course, the targets of ridicule also include the older Giggs, who wore the No. 11 jersey but resigned from the position of Wales coach due to a scandal and disappeared.
Mortal enemies always use the harshest insults against each other.
As for the sky in Manchester being blue, this level of ridicule cannot satisfy Leeds fans' desire for ridicule.
After conceding the goal, not only were Leeds fans furious, but Manchester United fans were also very dissatisfied.
Barrage:
[Spending so much money to buy another Maguire? 】
[Header at the top of the penalty area? What level of central defender is this? ]
[I don’t understand why they had to buy so many players from Ajax. Did Teng Hai get kickbacks?]
Ajax Manchester United
…
Ten Hag had already told Timber, as well as Lima and Anthony before him, that the pressure they would have to endure at Manchester United would be much greater than when they were at Ajax. If they played poorly in a game or made serious mistakes, they would be labeled as a nobody for a long time. Therefore, to play for a top club, in addition to having sufficient strength, they must also have sufficient psychological ability to withstand pressure.
Chen Xiaoliang went over to encourage Tingbeier and asked him to kick harder.
Although he understood very well that not only Timberl but himself was still adapting to the Premier League's refereeing standards, and for the central defenders who were the last line of defense, they would be particularly careful not to commit fouls even outside the penalty area.
After all, giving the opponent a free kick near the penalty area line will also pose a major threat to your own goal.
In this regard, Tinbell's predecessor Limaco is the epitome of toughness.
The director's camera first turned to the frowning Ten Hag, and then swept to Maguire, Lima, Lindelof and others on the bench.
The language of the camera is very clear. Instead of using the veterans on the bench, a rookie is used, and he is another player bought from the old club Ajax. If there is a mistake today, the blame will be on Ten Hag.
Cesco kicks off and the game continues.
Taking the lead at home forced Leeds to retreat a little and start focusing more on defense, but don't think retreat is a symbol of conservatism. After a few passes back and forth, Chen Xiaoliang felt that the players on the opposing team seemed to be energized and were more excited and desperate than before.
He began to frequently ask for the ball on the right flank, constantly using breakthroughs, long passes or side passes to mobilize Leeds' defensive position.
In the 39th minute, Anthony held the ball on the right and made a two-on-one pass with Chen Xiaoliang. After passing Leeds left-back Firpo, he rushed diagonally towards the penalty area.
But facing the retreating Koch and the left center back Ute Faas, a Belgian bought from Leicester, Anthony, who had no breakthrough ability, could only cut to the left, and then fell into the trilogy of being double-teamed → almost losing the ball → having to pass the ball back helplessly.
Chen Xiaoliang was about to reach out to ask him for the ball. He could have passed it long ago when he attracted the defense in the penalty area after the two-on-one pass. However, Anthony's field of vision when dribbling the ball was limited to the ball. Even if there was a thunderbolt on the side, he might not be able to see it.
It was already a beat late for him to receive the ball, as Sam Greenwood had already blocked Chen Xiaoliang's way.
With no space to shoot, Chen Xiaoliang cut the ball to his left foot, flicked it back and hit Christensen from behind.
Kva received the ball at the left baseline and pushed it across the goal, and Cesco followed up with a shot and scored!
Cesco just ran to Kvar to celebrate together, but referee Paul Tierney blew the whistle. The system showed that when Kvar received the ball, the ball had already crossed the baseline, which meant it was out of bounds...
Research has shown that first depression followed by praise, first sadness followed by joy, can bring people greater spiritual satisfaction than being excited or happy all the time. This is the famous "Aronson Effect."
At this time, the excitement of Leeds fans in the stands was no less than that of their team scoring another goal.
The song became:
"When Ole was here, you were runner-up, when Jose was here, you were runner-up, and now you are nothing."
Allardyce on the sidelines was also very proud. The head coaches of their generation in the British Isles, whether they were leading big teams or small teams , were almost all ruthlessly crushed by Ferguson's Manchester United. They were also in awe of this legendary ancestor of the Premier League.
But he, as well as Hodgson who came on the field at the end of last season, are qualified and old enough to be the masters of Ten Hag's generation. Although the cards in their hands are not as good as those of this group of "kids", their card-playing skills have been honed and accumulated season after season in the cruel relegation battle.
Soon, the first half ended and Leeds returned to the locker room in high spirits with a 1-0 lead, while Manchester United were generally gloomy. After all, the general predictions of the media before the game were that Manchester United would easily defeat Leeds and take all three points without any suspense.
"Today..." B Fee, who was used to talking about something in the locker room, had just uttered a word when he was interrupted by Chen Xiaoliang's speech. He knew that the order of the team's locker room had changed, so he simply sat down and remained silent.
"I don't know how much you know about the history of the club."
Since they spoke at the same time, Chen Xiaoliang seemed not to hear Bruno Fernandes's words. When he saw everyone returning to the locker room, he started speaking directly.
For a moment, he must have forgotten that he had come to a new team, as if this was still the Roma locker room.
"I don't know how many videos you've seen of this team during its glory days."
"You've all been to the club's Hall of Fame at Old Trafford, right? The trophies, the 13 Premier League titles, maybe you've seen the videos of those great times I just talked about, but maybe you only saw the goals, the passes.
"Look at today's opponents. They want to win more than we do! They chase us and want to fight and confront us, but what about us? How many of us are hiding and avoiding?!"
"Maybe you are afraid of fouls, or maybe you are afraid of getting hurt, but if you don't dare to face your opponent head-on, how can victory fall from the sky?!"
"Think of Roy Keane. I don't know what he was like in the dressing room, but on the pitch he was a natural fighter!"
"Think about Stam. Even though he wasn't in the team for a long time, he had stitches on his face without anesthesia on the field. There were no automatic stitching machines in that era. They had to be inserted and pulled out one needle at a time!"
"And Vidic, it is said that he and Ferdinand are the best central defender combination in Manchester United's history. Look at how many times he was hit by opponents and had blood on his head and still played until the last minute!"
"The outside world is talking about our past heritage and dominance."
"What the hell is foundation? These are the foundation! Without these, there wouldn't be those trophies!"
"What the hell is dominance? How the hell do you think you can rule others when you can't even rule your own heart?!"
After saying that, Chen Xiaoliang looked around, his eyes seemed to be blazing with fire, looking at the silent crowd, and then roared:
"ah?!"
After the last roar, Chen Xiaoliang came back to his senses. The people in front of him were not Ibanez, Binya, Cristante, Zalewski, and Abraham.
For most of the people in front of them, it was the first time they saw the captain giving a speech like this.
Ten Hahe entered, closed the door, and listened to what he said with his hands folded across his chest.
Seeing Chen Xiaoliang finished speaking, he raised his hand and waved gently, motioning him to sit down and rest first.
Then Ten Hag did not take up Chen Xiaoliang's topic, but began to emphasize the tactical details on the tactical board in a normal speaking volume.
After speaking for 6 minutes, the game will resume in 4 minutes. It's time to get back to the court.
Ten Hag asked: "Anything else to say about tactics?"
The head coach explained it in great detail and the players had no doubts or anything extra to say.
Ten Hag then asked: "Do you have anything else to say about what the captain said just now?"
Unlike Chen Xiaoliang's angry speech just now, Ten Hag's calm and organized 6-minute tactical arrangement brought the atmosphere in the locker room back to normal.
It was these 6 minutes of calm that gave the players enough time to think about what Chen Xiaoliang had just said.
B Fee is the one who understands this the most, because he has rich experience of living in the same locker room with a superstar who is an absolute leader for many years.
At that time in Rome, Dybala once said that Ronaldo was a very strict player who had very high demands on himself and his teammates. He would criticize and complain in the locker room after losing, but he would not put all the responsibility on his teammates. When he got angry, he would even say that his performance on the field was based on his defense.
But at that time in Juventus, despite Ronaldo's status in football, everyone would quiet down and listen to him, but he was not the absolute leader in the locker room.
This is also true .
But B Fee is different. In the Portugal national team and after returning to Manchester United, Ronaldo even surpassed the head coach for a period of time and was the absolute team leader.
However, this is the first time that a locker room speech has emphasized the replenishment of spiritual strength instead of talking about skills or performance on the field.
This kind of speech is not meant to encourage, cheer up, or increase self-confidence, but to make everyone face their own weaknesses.
Not only B Fee, but everyone else also knows that they actually have their own fears.
Newcomers are afraid of mistakes, veterans are afraid of injuries;
Defenders are afraid of committing fouls and forwards are afraid of missing fleeting opportunities.
Anthony is reluctant to have too much physical contact with the opposing full-backs, fearing that he would anger the opponent and be retaliated against more harshly;
Wan-Bissaka is worried about getting injured after too much physical contact. He finally regained the lead over Dalot in the competition for the starting position this season, and he is afraid that an injury will ruin all his efforts.
Timber was afraid that overly intense confrontations would lead to mistakes and result in losing the ball. Even though they had already lost a goal because of him, he originally wanted to deal with it with a more conservative approach.
But after all, it was a newly-formed dressing room, and no one dared to be the first to speak. In the end, several times at such critical moments, Casemiro was the first to stand up and support Chen Xiaoliang:
“Only by being fearless can we make our opponents fear us.”
With five Champions League titles, he is one of the most qualified people to say this.
Kwa: "If the other side attacks us, we will fight back!"
Cesco nodded, and De Gea nodded as well. Both of them are people who don't like to talk at length but are willing to express their opinions clearly.
Maguire also said: "I am with you."
Finally, Bruno Fernandes also stood up: "Fight back in the second half! That two-armed referee won't show a card anyway!"
Chen Xiaoliang had already arranged his jersey and shorts, stood up and walked to the middle of the locker room, with a strange, happy, but slightly sarcastic smile between friends, shook his head and said:
"No, no, it's too soft and has no momentum."
He knew that now was the time. He had to start with the formulas before learning anything. Even if he wanted to be a gangster, he had to learn the spirit and ideas first .
He waved his hand and asked the players to gather around.
Kva and Cesco immediately looked at each other, smiled knowingly, and walked over immediately. The other team members also gathered around.
Ten Hag and his two assistant coaches, McLaren and van der Jag, also exchanged glances, but they were a little confused and didn't know what Chen Xiaoliang was going to do.
After all, Manchester United's scouts were unable to discover the little rituals in the locker room.
Chen Xiaoliang asked everyone to hook their hands around their teammates and said, "I will shout out Leeds United later, and you will shout out the word you want to say the most in your heart. Let's see if we, a bunch of grown men, have any tacit understanding!"
"Come on, one! two! three!"
"Leeds United!"
Cesco, Kwa: "Go Nimad!"
No one else said anything, only Lima, who did not play in this game, shouted something with different words but the same meaning: "Bought a watch!"
Now, all the remaining people, including the three coaches and the prop managers, were stunned!
What kind of organization did he get into by mistake? A pyramid scheme or a cult?
But Chen Xiaoliang did not give them time to hesitate and shouted again in a louder voice:
“Leeds United!!!”
At this point, everyone shouted, "Go Nimad!"
In fact, this was the sentence they wanted to say the most in their hearts, but only Lima, a born villain, got rid of the psychological barriers first and yelled it out loud.
Chen: “Leeds United!!!”
Players: "Go to hell!!!"
Chen: “Leeds United!!!”
Players: "Go to hell!!!"
Chen: "Go, go, go! Let's get back on the field and beat them!"
"If they hit us, we will hit them back. Protect ourselves. They will definitely be the ones who get hurt!"
"If the referee doesn't give us a card, we'll play with them to the end!"
The 62-year-old McLaren laughed as he pulled Ten Hag to his side: "I used to think Gerrard was too naive and Mourinho was too arrogant, and that the scouts he sent out to track him probably took kickbacks. Now I know that I was too narrow-minded."
"The world is full of wonders. It seems that we coaches only need to take care of tactics, spirit and discipline in the future, and let this boy do it."
